Madeleine's Pov (When he was younger)
"He's old enough not to have a nanny caring for him 24/7, Lemon Cheesecake," My mother snapped and I covered my mouth in shock, "Or are you against my word?"
"Of course not, Lady Strawberry Vannila," Nanny said quickly.
I quivered, trying not to make a sound that will get me discovered by my parents who stood in their office. They'll be furious if they discovered that I was hiding inside the small closet of the office. The look of disappointment on Nanny's face will hurt me more, and she'll be punished!
"Not to worry, you won't get fired," My father added as an afterthought, "You'll still care after Madeleine as well, but don't you tend to his matters that are insignificant."
"Make sure he doesn't die, sneak out, miss any lessons, and isn't hanging out with filthy commoners again," Strawberry Vanilla finished.
"Yes, my lady, master," I heard Nanny say quietly.
"When he's out training, help the other maids. Maybe the newer ones that are stupid and fumbly," Cream Madeleine said, "Now, get out."
I felt my shoulders shake furiously as anger bubbled over me like a volcano. How could they speak like that so casually to Nanny? I thought upset. Nanny won't ignore me... right?
After an hour of hiding in the closet nervously waiting for my father to finish his paperwork so that I could sneak away - Ew, who likes paperwork?! - I got my answer from Nanny.
She won't change, we just have to be more careful now.
I'm glad.
~~~~
"Now I'm not so sure," I murmured, gliding my hand across the fountain.
No-one Pov (With Latte)
Almond crossed his fingers and twiddled his thumbs. A habit he had when he was nervous or upset. Latte sat across him from the police table, waiting for him to say something to breathe the uneasy silence. Plus, it felt like she was being interrogated and treated like a liked criminal.
"Have... have you seen him? Rougefort?" Almond finally said, his voice sounding desperately hopeful against his tired face.
"I haven't, Almond, has something happened?" Latte asked gently, "He may just be doing another break-in after a jewel that has caught his eyes."
"LATTE! IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I LAST SAW HIM!" Almond yelled and Latte flinched from the sudden outburst of the usually calm police detective, "He never gets caught or can't get out of a situation with his sleazy tactics! He never forgets to send his weekly damn flirty letters! NEVER!"
Two weeks? Latte thought, concern filling her mind, Wait, flirty letters? Arghh I want to tease him but this isn't the time-
"That is unusual, but he couldn't have gotten caught. He's the best thief in the history of earth bread!" Latte reasoned, feeling a weird tingle at the back of her neck as she complimented him secretly, "He could just be far away with no phone signal."
"He could have texted me first, and I've already checked. There's no gem worth stealing that is in a faraway populated with a bad phone signal," Almond said miserably, clutching his hair so hard it threatened to pull out, "If something happened to him Latte, I-I don't know what I'd do."
"Did you come to just tell me in person and not over the phone?" Latte exclaimed incredulously, and when she got no reply from Almond who was groaning into the palms of his hands, she yelled, "Almond! Get a hold of yourself!"
"I think he's here," Almond admitted and her eyes widened, "There are plenty of dazzling gems, rich people, rich parties, and newspapers I know he'd like!"
"Where do you think he's now?" Latte questioned, "It doesn't need to be specific!"
"Maybe personally arrested by a rich family," Almond answered, racking a sob, "Those families are rich and their defences are mysterious so we don't know anything about them!"
"I should get Espresso then. Give me a second," Latte said, pulling out her phone.
"Wait! He may dislike me considering I always thought he was up to something and stared at him with suspicion in the Vanilla Kingdom," Almond argued, not ready to accept help from who appeared as if he was the main lead who attracted a bunch of problems and solved just as much, "He may not like me-"
"Lots of cookies glared at him when he resided in our kingdom before the final battle," Latte shot, "I'm calling him. He's powerful and brilliant, you know that!"
Just at that moment, Latte's phone rang. She looked at the caller's ID and the caller number showed Sparkling's number rather than Espresso's or Madeleine's. She clicked and picked up curiously.
"Latte! I'm glad that you picked up," Sparkling's voice said cheerfully from the other end, "You won't believe where' I'm at!"
"I don't know, the Republix?" Latte giggled absentmindedly.
"Bingo! I'm serving drinks for this party and the rest of my groups here too!" Sparkling said and Latte's eyes widened, "I've got your friend's an invitation to the party as well. Let's see... eleven invites, right? Oh wow, that sounds a lot out loud."
"Wait, Latte, pass me your phone," Almond instructed and Latte glowered at him when he snatch it out of her hands sharply, "Sparkling, what are you doing here of all places?"
"Oh, Almond? Well, Mini-vacation and job offers, of course!" Sparkling half-lied, "Oh my, what are you doing with Latte all the way at the Republic?"
Both cookies turned pink at how cocky Sparkling's voice sounded as if indicating something dirty.
"Sparkling, I made you some more rose decor for your counter stand!" Herb's voice joined in kindly, "Hello Latte and Almond!"
"Sparkling, is this a personal getaway vacation for you two's honeymoon?" Latte teased and Almond chuckled along.
From the other side, they heard Herb meep and Sparkling cough loudly. Almond stopped, recalling what he was supposed to ask Sparkling.
"Sparkling, do you think you can get an invite for me as well?" Almond asked but instead of Sparkling answering...
"THE PARTY ISN'T IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW! GO STOP MY IDIOTIC BROTHER FROM CONSUMING ALL THE WINE SPARKLING! HERB!" Alchemist's voice screeched, nearly causing Almond to drop Latte's phone.
To be correct, he did drop it, and Latte barely conjured some fluffy Latte steam in time to prevent it from breaking. Latte plucked her phone from the center of the cloud and held it far away from her ear in case Alchemist or someone else there began yelling. From the times she helped Sparkling at his bar, she had learned how irked the teen could get.
"Uhm, Alchemist, let's calm down, mkay? I can't understand if the pitch is higher than what human ears can hear," Latte said gently.
"It's Espresso and my love potion!" Alchemist wailed.
"I'll arrest him for theft, don't wor-"
"How come you're just going to blame him?" Latte butted in and Almond shifted in his chair, ashamed.
"Uhm, yeah. So to sum it up Espresso's under a love spell. I've brought the antidote along with me," Alchemist said bossily, snapping their attention back to the phone, "Where's your hotel? We'll deliver it to you."
"Oh it's-"
"Alchemist, we'll bring Espresso to you, where is the party hosted?" Almond cut in, grabbing the phone once again.
"This is harrasement! Honestly!" Latte hissed as Almond nodded, jotted something on his pocket notebook, and hung up afterwards.
"Indeed," A voice said, and Pomegranate stepped forward from the shadowy corners.
"What the-!" The two cookies yelped and jumped backwards.
"Firstly, that wasn't harassment, second, it's against the law to eavesdrop on a private authority conversation," Almond said rudely, rubbing his eyes, "Nevermind. You'll just create a counter-"
"Then firstly, you arrested cookies outside your territory. Next, you're not even 1/20 as powerful as Espresso, nor as smart. How will we drag a lovesick cookie like him along agreeably or easily, you flea-brained detective?" Pomegranate listed, narrowing her eyes and Latte stifled a giggle at Almond's tired yet offended look, "Another thing, you're not supposed to integrate a cookie for your personal preferences. Lastly, you're dating Rougefort, an active thief who has a bounty higher than Chilli Pepper."
Almond flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet," Well, I-"
"No worries, I've known for quite a time now, before living in the Vanilla Kingdom with all those citizens," Pomegranate said calmly, though it didn't appear to tone Almond's blushing down.
"Pomegranate? Where's Red Velvet and uhm Chiffon?" Latte queried politely.
"He said he'll wait for me by this bench nearby a sign reading Walkway Park of Tinies," Pomegranate said, turning to Latte, "If Mr. Detective wants, he can come to help drag Espresso to Alchemist. Quite smart, that girl, unlike some cookies. Oh, my apologies, Mr. Detective will be coming because oh I wonder why?"
"Figured," Almond grumbled, following the two girls sweep out.
"Sorry, was there another reason you were surveying us?" Latte asked under her breath to Pomegranate as something was tugging her head.
"Heh, perhaps," Pomegranate said and Latte pouted at how she had chosen to stay silent, "I'll go get Red Velvet first. Meet me at Cream Brick Road 46 Convenient store."
Pomegranate wasn't going to reveal that it was to help her 2 students, Cream Puff and Chocolate Mocha's analysis anytime soon.
Red Velvet's Pov
I reward Chiffon with another treat for getting the right medicine quickly. He happily barked and I was about to test him again when he jumped into my lap and settled down comfortably.
"You've been bouncing around more than usual, I'll let you rest a bit boy," I said proudly, patting him and he arfed softly, "Good job!"
I wonder if the cakes are doing okay with Pastry, Red Velvet thought, Hm, Pomegranate helped me find Pastry. Didn't she once say something about a cookie named Starfruit?
Out of nowhere, Chiffon straightened up with such force it caused me to jerk backwards. He growled and gave a short yet loud bark which echoed through the small park. He continued a series of barks and leapt off me, each yap louder than the previous.
"What's wrong boy?" I soothed trying to calm him down.
There weren't any other cookies around since this wasn't a very populated park and the few residents that were hanging around left after seeing my cake arm. I didn't understand why Chiffon was bar-
I paused and my eyes widened before narrowing. The scent of Affogato, rich creamy coffee, lingered in the air as it did before, but stronger. Before I could stop Chiffon, he bounded forward and started dashing into the alleyway.
"Chiffon! Pomegranate will get angry at us!" I yelled, chasing after him.
Chiffon stopped running, but not before he leapt onto a cloaked figure trying desperately to blend into the shadows. The hood fell off and my eyes widened seeing it was Affogato. His hair looked slightly messy, but he still held the same aura and cold glare, along with his distinct appearance. I haven't seen him more than twice, but I've heard of what he did to Espresso. I clenched my fists tightly.
"Get this mutt off me," Affogato said nastily and Chiffon trotted back to be, still growly deeply at him.
"How dare you, you, uhm, outcast," I snarled protectively and Affogato rolled his eyes.
"What will you do if I called him that, you monster?" Affogato slurred and I raised my cake arm, furiousness rising in me.
Suddenly, I was stuck. Frozen. Chiffon yelped in panic and I tried to look at him but my head couldn't move, even an inch. I helplessly watched Affogato strut away, not being able to do anything. When he was out of sight for more than a minute, my knees weakened and I nearly collapsed, glad to feel control over my body again even though I was left feeling shivery.
I could move again, but Affogato was far away now.
I scooped Chiffon up who was shaking slightly and patted him, hurrying back to the deserted park where Pomegranate sat, waiting with what looked like anxiousness in her eyes.
"Pom!" I called out and she looked up, her lips thinning and smiling slightly.
"There you are, we need to head somewhere with Latte and that Detective, Almond," Pomegranate said, taking my non-cake hand since my cake hand was carrying Chiffon.
"Wait, Pom," I said grimly, "I ran into Affogato."
She froze and her eyes widened. She placed her palm against my forehead disbelievingly and said something. She flinched and then muttered a few words before pulling back, regaining her posture. The bones in my body grew warmer, spread from the part where she touched me.
"His freezing charm appears to have grown stronger, with worse effects," Pomegranate said, doing the same to Chiffon who whimpered, "I can't believe he'd be here of all places. Dark Choco and Caramel Arrow are going to be sent into a fit. Yes, perhaps even try hunting him down. Why are there now eight more cookies that we know coming here for a vacation?"
"Do we tell them?" I asked, thinking of Espresso, "Should we tell Espresso?"
She shook her head, the glittery red beads in her hair reflecting the sun's light into my face yet her eyes were still cold like usual.
"We'll say to be on guard, but for now, I say we stay silent until we're clear.
---------------------------------------
Word count: 2125
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a good day/night :D
- Crimson
Written: 05/26/23
Edited: _____