"I see, so the situation is serious, how long has she been feeling like this?" Said Dedede as he cleaned the hot chocolate left on his mouth. Flamberge then took a sip of her own and made a defeated look. " I don't know, I got so carried away that I didn't even ask how she felt about Kirby inviting us to Popstar."
"I know how ya feel, impulsive people like us tend to forget about others, what can I do to help?"
The red-haired lady widened her eyes as she spoke. "Are you really willing to help? The literal king of Dreamland is gonna help my sister? Wow, if this place has an election, you already have my vote."
Dedede chuckled and ruffled the young one's hair. "It's impossible to not be amused by your words. Of course I'm gonna help ya, it is my duty to help my people. I'm not that selfish dictator I once was."
"NO WAY, you were a bad guy?! That is not possible!"
"Yes, it happened, I was the first villain this planet has seen, but Kirby opened my eyes and now I am a Star Ally, like ya. It was hard being good, however, I eventually had the strategy mastered; other people also helped me." Dedede stopped for a moment to think. "I think I know who can help your sister, he is a friend of mine."
Flamberge jumped off her chair, maybe she drank too much hot chocolate. "You do?! Amazing!! Who?!" She said between jumps.
The king looked at his window, memories flying back to him. "His name is Taranza, he is the king of Floralia, a kingdom high above Dreamland. Here is a funny story: when we first met years ago, he came to capture me-"
"CAPTURE YOU?! I don't want this guy around my sister, okay?!" Flamberge interrupted, raising her sword in the process.
"Listen, I know it might sound a little bad, but he-"
"A LITTLE? He literally made a criminal act against you!! I-" She looked at Dedede, who wasn't making any expression. "Sorry your majesty, I overreacted, again."
Dedede smiled at her. "You're forgiven, now as I was saying, he may have a dark past, but he redeemed himself by helping me save Kirby defeat his former queen. His heart is pure and a friend like him can help soften even the sturdiest heart (he only failed once...). Taranza it's the best option to resolve Zan's problem."
Hearing the king's words, Flamberge calmed herself. "Okay, he sounds nice, I may have misjudged him before even meeting him. I hope he is available."
"I'm sure he is, that clumsy spider is always willing to help (even if it hurts him even more...)"
"Why are you muttering some parts, Triple D?" Flamberge asked.
King Dedede sighed and sat on his throne. "There is just one detail, he is going through a deep grief, so please, don't mention the queen and don't ask about his past, he doesn't like to talk about it. Only Kirby and I are the ones to know, trust me, it's the saddest thing you'll hear in your life."
"You have my word, I'll keep my mouth shut and will inform the others about that. Thank you Dedede, if he accepts, let me know." The red-haired girl said, making her way to the exit.
"I'll keep ya informed, tomorrow I'm gonna call him. Goodbye!!" Dedede waved.
"Bye!!!!" Flamberge waved back.
-------------------------------------------
Above the clouds, there was the beautiful castle of Floralia, it shined brightly as the sun rose and ended the dark night.
"Huh?" Taranza awoke as the day lit up his bedroom, his eyes were sore due to the crying of the last day. The room was messy and had many frames of the deceased queen, along with some pots with blue and pink flowers.
The spider quickly cleaned up his mess before starting his day, he gave water to his plants, helped his people and signed some paperwork. Suddenly, his phone rang, which made him jump, Taranza then answered it.
"Good morning, here talks the king of Floralia, who is talking?"
After a minute of silence, the young leader floated to his room with his phone in his hand. "Umm... is someone there?"
"Hello? Waddle dee, how do I turn this thing on? Is it working?" A voice finally came from it. Dedede was calling him.
"King Dedede, is that you?" Taranza asked.
Now in Dreamland, Dedede raised a fist in celebration. "Yes, it is I, the mighty King Dedede! I'm sorry for the delay, I'm still getting the hang of these technological devices Susie gave me."
The arachnid chuckled before continuing the call. "It's good to hear your voice, but I am intrigued, why did you call me? Is there something wrong with Dreamland?"
A loud finger snap from Dedede could be heard over the phone. "Nothing very urgent, I just need your help to make the only citizen that doesn't like my leadership, START TO LIKE ME! I NEED that one hundred percent of support, pal! If you're willing to teach someone to be kinder, meet me at my castle."
Taranza looked at his schedule of the week, it was almost empty. "I have good news, I have nothing important to do this week."
"Perfect! I'll wait for your arrival. Also, could you bring another bag of those chips? I love the Floralian ones."
"Of course, au revoir!"
Ending the call, the spider returned to the main hall and put the phone back to its original place, he sighed and looked to his favorite frame, now covered by a red cloth.
"Do not worry my queen, I, Taranza, king of Floralia, will not allow someone to fall in unhappiness like you once did. You have my word." He said, bowing.
--------------------------------------
In the three mages' house, Flamberge went to her sisters' rooms to wake them up. She was excited to tell the good news, but couldn't do it since they were sleeping when she came home. She pinched Zan and removed Francisca's pillow.
"Ow! Why did you do that!" The oldest girl said, touching the place that was pinched.
The fiery sister put her hands on her hip and said: "You two have been sleeping for hours! I think it's enough sleep for today, right, Francisca?" She looked at her younger sibling, who was still sleeping. "Dear sister of mine, I know you're probably having a good dream, but could you please WAKE UP!!"
That shout made the bluette jump off her bed and fall on the floor. "Ugh... I almost added him to my collection of frozen foes." She got up and fixed her hair. "Good morning Flamberge, what time is it?"
Flamberge looked at the clock in the wall, it marked midday. "It's twelve o'clock, you two are quite the sleepyheads."
The mere comment made Francisca widen her eyes. "Twelve o'clock?! Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I hate waking up late..."
Flamberge faced Zan and pointed at her younger sister behind her with her thumb. "See? Franny gets it" She grinned. "I told you that your sleep was too long."
"Okay, miss Know-it-all, do you have something to say or just came here to annoy me?" Zan held her fist with her other hand, her hair starting to conduct electricity.
The red-haired lady narrowed her eyes, stopping for a moment to think. "Oh! Right! I have good news for you, sis! I found a solution to your problem!" She opened her arms and made a winning pose.
"You do?" The other two spoke in union.
"Are we leaving Popstar?!" Zan perked up as she asked, which made her younger sisters look at her with confusion. "Sorry, I'm still adapting to this planet." She looked down in shame.
"No worries, my plan will help you adapt as soon as possible. After that, we can all live happily here."
Francisca smiled at the idea. "I like the sound of that, what shall I do?" She asked.
Flamberge laughed, removing a tear on her eye. "That's the fun part, you don't need to do anything, just wait for it to happen."
That made Zan even more confused. "Is this some kind of magic?" She thought, but kept it hidden and just played along with the 'plan'. "I'll give it a shot." She shrugged. "How long do we keep waiting?"
------------------------------------
Two hours have passed, the youngest sister was lying down on the couch and Zan was resting her head on her hand, getting bored. "This is getting irritating, it's taking too long!"
All of a sudden, a knock on the door was heard, Flamberge opened it, revealing two figures on the other side. "Dedede! Welcome to my not so humble home!" She said.
Zan looked to see who knocked, she saw the once lazy king of Dreamland and someone that she couldn't tell who it was. "Why is he here? You know that I don't like him." She whispered to the sister closest to her. "I don't know Zan, just try to be kind and we'll see what's this all about." Francisca whispered back.
"Bonjour, you must be miss Flamberge, it is a pleasure to meet you." Taranza extended three hands to her. Not sure which hand she should shake, Flamberge shook the top two. "So you're Taranza, the pleasure is all mine." She tried being the most polite possible, after all, she was in the presence of two kings.
"See? I told you he would accept it, this little fella is helpful all the time." Dedede patted the spider's back. "Like the old days, am I right, pal?" Taranza smiled and entered the house. "Indeed, now, if you may, where is the person I need to help?" He gently asked.
After that, Francisca and Zan went to the house entrance, curious to know who the caped stranger was. The older sister analyzed the odd guy who was at her place. He seemed nice, but something about him made the girl stand on her guard.
"Miss Francisca and miss Partizanne" He shook their hands. "My name is Taranza, I have come from a kingdom far away from here, I am its royal king and came here to make you, miss Partizanne, an offer."
The two girls looked at each other and then looked at him. "What kind of offer, you bowl cut intellectual?" She raised an eyebrow to him, Francisca then nudged her sister. "Zan, mind your manners, we're in front of royalty." She whispered.
"I am glad you asked, allow me to explain." Taranza bowed down. "He's weird" Zan thought. "I have heard about your hard time on Planet Popstar, along with the difficulties you have gone through in your life. What I am offering you, miss Partizanne, it's a chance to know how to enjoy the moment. With my help, I am most sure that your unhappiness will pass. You would spend a few days, or maybe a week, in Floralia with me." He finished and took a notebook out of his pocket.
"Do you accept?"