Skeppy and Bad spent the next several days avoiding each other. Bad locked himself in his room, refusing to come out for anything other than to eat. He spent most of his time at the windows, looking out at the garden and the forest beyond, wishing he could be back home. He often wondered what his friends were doing, and found himself growing more and more homesick. He missed his little cottage at the edge of his village and his cozy bed that made him feel safe. He missed his home.
Meanwhile, Skeppy's life returned to it's old, boring routine: eat, walk around the manor, talk to Spifey, stare at some books, eat some more, repeat. He quickly grew tired of the lackluster schedule, and found himself missing Bad's company. Of course, they saw each other three times a day during meals, but neither one would talk - Bad was still upset with Skeppy about the basket and Skeppy was too prideful and stubborn to apologize.
Finally, after four days of the dreadful silence, Skeppy decided to do something about it. He returned to his study, where the hourglass was displayed. The floor was still littered with the broken pieces of Bad's basket. He bent down and picked them up, making sure not to leave even a single splinter behind. Once all of the pieces were cradled in his arms, he carried them to Spifey.
The fairy saw the diamond boy and raised an eyebrow.
"I need you to fix this," Skeppy said, holding the remains of the basket out. "Please," he added for extra measure.
"You're finally owning up to one of your mistakes?" Spifey guessed.
"Look, I- I realize that I might have been a little... rash... And I'm just trying to fix it, okay? Can you please help me?" He asked again.
"Eh, I guess I can help you, but it'll come at a price, you know. Outbursts like that have consequences, and magic isn't going to stop those consequences from happening. Besides, you really shouldn't let your emotions get control of you, especially if you had been hoping to break the curse," Spifey said.
"Yeah, yeah, I didn't ask for the lecture, O Wise One. I don't care what it takes, just fix the basket," Skeppy insisted, desperation peeking through his eyes. "I'll do anything, but I need this to be fixed. I owe it to Bad."
"Alright," Spifey sighed, "let me see what I can do."
Skeppy handed the broken basket over, and watched as Spifey turned to leave. "Wait," he called, fidgeting with his sleeve nervously. "Do you really think he can break the curse?"
"I don't know," Spifey spoke over his shoulder, "but if you want your chances to be good, you might want to put in a little more effort. Time is running out, Skeppy."
~~~
Skeppy walked briskly up to Bad's door, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. His thoughts were like a torrent, full of uncertainty and anxiety. What if Bad didn't forgive him? No, surely the kind boy would give Skeppy a chance to apologize and explain himself. Afterall, he had been determined to be Skeppy's friend before, surely he would give him a second chance... right?
Gulping down his doubt, Skeppy reached up and knocked on the door once, twice, three times.
"What do you want?" Bad called from inside.
"Can we talk?" Skeppy asked. He held the basket behind his back, planning on surprising Bad with it. He could hear footsteps as Bad walked over and opened the door, peeking out from his room. He looked annoyed and a bit sad, but mostly just tired.
"What do you want to talk about?" Bad asked, crossing his arms.
"Well... I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Skeppy began. "I was unreasonable and I lashed out at you without even giving you a chance to speak. And I did some things that I shouldn't have. So... here," he revealed the basket, which he had filled beforehand with flowers.
Bad gasped and took it, examining it from all angles, even taking a moment to appreciate the colorful blooms that Skeppy had picked out. There was no sign of the basket ever being smashed, and it looked as good as new.
"Oh my goodness, thank you, Skeppy!" Bad threw his arms around the diamond boy in a hug, smiling from ear to ear. "You fixed my basket!"
The sudden hug surprised Skeppy, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He hadn't been hugged in a long, long time. When Bad stepped away, Skeppy wasn't sure he was ready to let go.
"So... Can you forgive me?" Skeppy asked, shuffling his feet bashfully.
"Yes, this makes up for everything!" Bad exclaimed. He carried the basket into his room, placing it on the little table in his room and adjusted some of the flowers. Their pleasant smell caused him to hum happily. "These are so pretty, Skeppy, thank you. I love them."
"I hoped you would," Skeppy admitted. "They're fresh from the garden." Remembering Spifey's words, he had an idea. "Hey, um... Do you want to- uh..." He paused, un able to find words. Bad watched, waiting for him to continue. The attention only flustered Skeppy more, and he was glad that his diamond skin prohibited him from blushing as he babbled on. "What I'm trying to say is, um, since you like the flowers so much, we could - if you want - go for a walk in the garden...?" He shrugged as his voice trailed off.
Bad perked up at the idea, his eyes sparkling. "Really?! I'd love to! But am I allowed to go outside? Y'know, since I'm prisoner and all?"
"You'd technically still be on the mansion property, so yeah... As long as you promise not to run away or anything." Skeppy knew that even if Bad promised not to run away, there was still a chance he would anyways. This was going to be risky, but Skeppy felt like he could trust Bad.
"I won't, I promise," Bad said solemnly.
So, Skeppy led Bad out to the garden, which stretched all around the mansion. There were thousands of flowers, and hundreds of different types of them. Two hedge mazes stood in the garden, one on either side of the mansion, each with a gazebo in the center. Benches popped up along the cobble walkways every so often, providing a nice place to sit, rest, and admire the view. Most of the garden was around the back side of the manor, and that was where the statues and topiaries were located. A large, beautiful fountain occupied the center of the back garden.
Bad had been able to see the fountain and a portion of the back garden from the windows in his room, but it was much more grand to be standing there in person.
"It's so beautiful here," Bad gasped. "How do you manage it all by yourself? I'm amazed that it's not overgrown."
"Spifey enchanted it. It takes care of itself." He stepped over to the fountain and ran his fingers through the water at its base. "I used to love to come out here all the time when I was younger. I still like to, every now and then, but once you've seen it a hundred times, it starts to lose its charm." He sighed.
Bad walked over to a nearby flower bed, admiring the colorful blooms that it housed. "I've never seen flowers like these. They're so colorful!"
"They're zinnias," Skeppy said. "Those are some of my favorites. I think I put a few in your basket."
"Thank you again for fixing my basket," Bad said. "It really means a lot to me... I was so upset when I thought I'd lost it for good."
"Don't thank me, I shouldn't have broken it in the first place," Skeppy chuckled. "I saw you near the hourglass and I overreacted... I should've at least given you a chance to explain why you were there."
"Honestly, I hadn't even realized I was in the south wing. I just happened to wander over while I was searching for Spifey. I didn't realize I had broken the rule. I tried to tell you, but you weren't listening," Bad explained.
"I know..." Skeppy sighed. "I was worried you were gonna break the hourglass. I guess it's as important to me as your basket is to you."
"What's up with that hourglass anyways?" Bad turned and looked back at the diamond boy, tilting his head. "Is it like a family heirloom or something?"
"Uh... No... It's just special. No one was supposed to know about it except for me and Spifey," Skeppy said. He walked down one of the many cobble paths, falling silent, as if dismissing the conversation.
Bad, for once, seemed to pick up on the unsaid words, dropping the subject and following behind. He stopped to admire each of the different types of flowers, and Skeppy named them all.
"You can take some of the flowers if you want," Skeppy offered, noticing how Bad seemed to linger at some of the flower beds a bit longer than the others. "Take as many as you want, they'll grow back."
"Are you sure?" Bad bit his lip with uncertainty. "I won't have to stay here another two weeks if I pick some, will I?"
"No," Skeppy laughed, "you won't."
Bad was a bit confused at why he had to stay for picking a single rose if it was okay for him to pick as many of the other flowers as he wanted, but he didn't question it. He grabbed a few of his favorite blooms before following Skeppy to another area of the garden.
Eventually, they reached one of the hedge mazes, and the two shared a look.
"Race you to the middle?" Skeppy challenged, a playful smirk on his face.
[Beauty and the Beast arc continues]
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[A/N]
Hello :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I did some revising to the original version that I had written for this one, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Also, I might, might be uploading another chapter sometime today. No promises though, it depends on how much time I have to work on it.
In other news, this story has reached 150+ reads :D Thank you all so much, I hadn't even realized we were past 100 reads until now lol! And thank you so much to the person who voted on all the chapters, I'm so glad that you've been enjoying the story so far :)
As always, I hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for reading!