Darkness into Light - Espresseleine

Chapter Twenty Eight ~ A Guide to Restoring Your Magic

Espresso watched as Pure Vanilla dug through a pile of old books on a bench, fully distracted as his mind unwillingly played their argument over and over.

He should be happy right? He did what Dark Enchantress would have wanted, what she would have expected. He drove the paladin away, ensuring that nothing would get in the way of his victory. He should be feeling amazing, a cookie-shaped problem lifted from his shoulders. Shouldn't he feel free?

But he feels emotions far from those that should be felt after a successful victory. Guilt was all he felt. Guilt and misery. Emotions that he wasn't familiar with, at least not in this form. It made him feel nauseous even. Espresso clutched his stomach, letting out a shaky sigh. Pure Vanilla turned his head, "Are you feeling alright? I won't be too much longer,"

The mage cringed, suddenly feeling faint. "Yes, I'm fine."

Pure Vanilla nodded and got back to his search. Espresso returned to the wild battle of his thoughts. It was confusing, really. One minute he's a dark mage feared by the residents of the Vanilla Kingdom, the child sculpted into the image of Dark Enchantress, a heartless monster with no mercy, and the next he actually cares about whether he hurt some stupid blond cookie's feelings or not.

He had a right to be confused of course, all of his life teachings, all of his morals and the rules set at a young age that ultimately shaped his mindset, these feelings totally abolished all of them. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Dark Enchantress taught him so. But with every set of beliefs there are the doubts.

Who knows, maybe the world isn't as cruel as he'd been taught. Maybe he really does need to rely on others at times. After all, he'd lived his whole life relying on himself. He wanted to protect himself, keep himself safe from the hurt of reality. But when you spend so long trying to shut yourself away, you lose the ability to grow. When a flower blooms, it doesn't solely rely on itself to survive, it needs the sun. The one thing that the flower is unable to provide for itself. And when you hide the flower away and allow it no sun, it dies. And just like a newly bloomed flower, the mage simply had to find his sun and allow himself the opportunity to grow again.

This went against the will of Dark Enchantress, he knew the least. But maybe he could forget about her for a little while, and focus on himself for a change.

"Ah, I've got it!" Pure Vanilla pulled out a thin piece of paper which at first resembled a map. Of course, Espresso was correct at this observation. "I found a way to restore your magic, something that isn't a hoax this time, don't worry."

The mage's eyes widened, immediately standing and making his way over to him to snatch the map, analysing it, "What? How on earthbread..?"

His eyes landed on a faded picture of a glowing light brown coloured flower. The petals looks delicate, sprinkled with dark brown spots and flecks. Espresso scoffed, "What is this?"

"That is the Caffeinated Orchid, a flower that only thrives on the outskirts of the Cacao Kingdom. Luckily that isn't too far away, a day's journey at most." Pure Vanilla answered.

"I... But Dark Enchantress... she told me.." Espresso struggled to form a sentence, still staring helplessly at the dull photo.

"She is manipulative," Pure Vanilla muttered, "If she told you this didn't exist, she'd be able to control you easier."

The blond leader walked circles around the mage, arms folded behind his back. Even if his staff was discarded to the side, he could still sense where he was stepping.

"You see, the coffee magic in this plant is different to yours. She thinks if you consume it then your magic would be altered and be less useful to her." He informed him. Espresso was frozen, eyes wide in devastation.