Dash was proud of herself and her friends now that they had a wedding gift plan!
Mint Jitters
As the wedding day drew closer, the fairies were all extra-busy preparing for the big event. All anyone could talk about in Candy Kingdom, Cake Kingdom, Sugar Kingdom, and Ice Cream Isles was the wedding. Before they knew it, the five royal gumdrops had received word that their wedding dresses were ready!
The five friends met at the shore of the Vanilla Sea in Gummy Forest. Butterscotch was there to greet them and to fly them to Meringue Island for their dress fittings at Sweet Stitches.
“Have you heard any more about the Caramel Moon Festival?” Cocoa asked Melli.
Melli shook her head. She sat up on the unicorn’s back and made room for Cocoa. “No, and the moon will be full in two weeks. The Caramel Moon Festival will be after the wedding, but I’m afraid that no one is focusing on that.”
Cocoa squeezed her hand. “We’ll figure something out,” she said as Butterscotch took off toward Meringue Island.
Once again the five Candy Fairies sat in the beautiful waiting room at Olivia Crème de la Crème’s shop. “I wonder what color the dresses will be,” Berry said. “When I asked Ms. Crème de la Crème last time, she wasn’t sure.”
Melli flipped through a book of dress designs. “No matter what, we are going to feel like princesses,” she said.
“Princess Lolli’s dress has been the topic of the Daily Scoop for weeks,” Cocoa said. “It’s a huge secret! No one knows what it will look like.”
The door opened and a fairy with a measuring tape around her neck peeked into the waiting area. “Ms. Crème de la Crème is ready for the gumdrop fittings,” she said. “Please follow me.”
Cocoa giggled as she got up from the plush satin couch. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being called a gumdrop,” she whispered.
“A royal gumdrop,” Dash added.
The five fairies followed in a line to a large dressing room.
“Have a seat,” the fashion fairy told them. “Ms. Crème de la Crème will be in to see you all.”
“Sweet strawberries!” Berry squealed. “I can’t wait!”
Raina smiled at Berry. “I know,” she said. “What color do you think the dresses will be? Pink? Yellow? Rainbow?”
Cocoa flopped down on the seat in the center of the room. “I don’t care what color the dresses are,” she sighed. “It is just so nice to be here.”
Dash took a handful of mini meringue cookies from a silver tray. “I could stay here all day,” she said. She leaned back on the soft pillow. “A unicorn ride to Meringue Island, delicious treats, and being treated like a princess are all sweet to me.”
Her friends laughed and joined Dash in a little snack. The fresh meringues melted in their mouths and made the waiting not seem so bad.
“Hello, my sweets,” Olivia said, bursting into the room. “I am so sorry to have kept you waiting.” The famous fairy fluttered her sparkling wings and flew to the far end of the room. She took the corner of a long white piece of fabric and lifted it up in the air. “Here are the gumdrop dresses!” she said. She pointed to five delicious cotton-candy-pink outfits hanging on a rack.
Berry’s mouth hung open. “Ms. Crème de la Crème’s creations are sweet as sugar!” she exclaimed.
The fairies rushed over to the rack to examine the dresses. Each one had that fairy’s special candy emblem sewn on the front. There was a chocolate chip, a mint candy, a gumdrop, a caramel, and a sugarcoated fruit slice.
The fairies slipped on their dresses and Olivia smiled.
“Sweeties,” she cooed. “You look delicious! Princess Lolli is a very lucky bride to have such lovely gumdrops to attend to her.” She flew over to her assistant, who was holding a large box. “Here are your baskets, ” Olivia said. “You simply hold the basket in your left hand and toss the gumdrops along the sides of the aisle with your right hand.”
Berry couldn’t help but take a trial flutter, pretending to throw out gumdrops.
“Berry,” Raina said, grinning, “you do that very well.”
“I’ve been practicing with fruit chews at home,” Berry said, blushing a bit.
Suddenly Dash’s blue eyes were wide and full of panic. She sat down on the couch. “We have to fly down the aisle in front of everyone staring at us? I can’t do it!” she cried.
“What are you talking about?” Melli asked. “This is a huge honor.”
“Dash,” Cocoa said, coming to sit next to her, “you are always in the spotlight when you race. Think of this in the same way.”
Dash looked up at her friends. “I am wearing goggles and speeding by the crowds. . . . This is so minty different!” she yelped.
Olivia’s assistant came back into the room. “Excuse me, we need this room,” she said. “Queen Swirl is here for her fitting. Would you please hang your dresses back on the rack?” She turned and flew quickly out of the room.
“I guess we only get to be princesses for a short time,” Melli muttered.
The fairies undressed and quickly got back into their own clothes. Dash was very quiet, and her friends all shared worried glances. They had never imagined that Dash would feel so nervous about flying down the aisle.
“It’s just mint jitters,” Raina told her. “You’ll be fine.”
Dash nodded. She tried not to look at her friends.
“Butterscotch is supposed to meet us at the beach,” Berry said. “I suppose we should wait for him there.”
As the five gumdrops left the shop, Melli suddenly realized she had forgotten her shawl inside the waiting room. “Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll catch up with you.”
When Melli returned to the waiting room, Queen Swirl was sitting on the couch with a dress fairy.
“Excuse me,” Melli said. “I forgot my wrap.”
The dress fairy smiled and handed her the shawl that was draped on the chair in the corner of the room.
“Sorry,” Melli said, trying to leave quickly.
But before she flew out, she heard Queen Swirl make a comment that sent shivers from the tips of her wings down to her toes.
“I just don’t see how they will manage in Candy Castle,” the Queen said. “I didn’t think Scoop would live there. He does have several responsibilities in Ice Cream Isles.”
The door closed behind Melli and she tried to catch her breath. Did the queen just say the royal couple was not staying in Candy Castle? Would Princess Lolli leave Candy Kingdom? Melli flew straight to the dock where her friends were waiting. Her stomach was swirling as she rushed to tell her friends what she had just overheard.
Crumbs
Melli! You look like you saw a goblin! What happened?” Cocoa asked.
“I just can’t believe what I heard!” Melli said. Her face was flushed strawberry red. “Princess Lolli is going to leave Candy Kingdom!”
Her friends froze.
“Hot chocolate, Melli!” Cocoa finally muttered. “Who told you that piece of news?”
Melli put her hands on her stomach. She felt a little woozy. “I told you everything was going to be sour. Everything is going to change! I knew it! You see? Everything is going to be different around Candy Kingdom.”
Berry took Melli’s hand and brought her to one of the rock candy benches to rest. “Melli, maybe you didn’t hear correctly,” she said.
“Or maybe you didn’t hear the whole story,” Raina added.
“Queen Swirl said that she didn’t think Scoop was going to manage in Candy Castle,” Melli said. Tears started gushing from her eyes. “She was saying Prince Scoop has responsibilities in Ice Cream Isles.”
“Princess Lolli has lots of responsibilities here,” Dash whispered.
The fairies all fell silent. None of them knew what to say. Just at that moment four Cake Kingdom unicorns flew down, pulling a cupcake-shaped carriage.
“It’s Princess Sprinkle!” Berry cried.
“Hello, gumdrops,” Princess Sprinkle gre
eted the fairies. “I guess we all had dress fittings today.” She looked at the sad faces in front of her. “What happened here?” She flew over to Melli and raised her chin with her finger. “Why such long faces? Please tell me this is not about your gumdrop dresses!”
“Oh no,” Melli replied, snuffling. “We love the dresses.”
“You don’t look like happy gumdrops,” Princess Sprinkle noted. “What has happened to make you all so sad?”
Berry stepped forward. With every ounce of courage she had, she dared to ask the question all her friends were thinking. “Is Princess Lolli . . .” Her voice trailed off, and then she took a deep breath. She started again. “Is Princess Lolli going to leave Candy Kingdom?”
“Who told you that?” the princess asked.
The five fairies looked down at their feet.
“Princess Sprinkle,” Olivia Crème de la Crème’s assistant called, “Olivia is still with Queen Swirl. She will be with you shortly.”
Princess Sprinkle nodded, then turned back to the Candy Fairies. She smiled. “Queen Swirl told you that?” she asked.
“Well, more like I heard her say something like that,” Melli confessed.
Princess Sprinkle sat down on a nearby bench. “I see,” she said. She let out a long breath. “You should know that Princess Lolli cares for all the Candy Fairies very much.”
“So it’s true?” Dash exploded. “She’s going to leave us?”
“No,” Princess Sprinkle said. She looked each fairy straight in the eye. “She doesn’t want to leave you, or Candy Kingdom. My sister has been feeling pressure from both kingdoms. While both kingdoms are so happy about the marriage, Prince Scoop’s parents, Queen Swirl and King Cone, had very different ideas than Queen Sweetie and King Crunch about what the wedding would be like and where the couple would live.”
“I can see that,” Cocoa whispered.
“I am very proud of my sister and Scoop for sticking to what they want,” Princess Sprinkle went on. “Planning a royal wedding has been hard.” She stopped and stood up. “Change is hard for everyone, even a fairy princess—and a queen.”
“We thought Princess Lolli was so happy,” Raina said.
“And all the papers said how thrilled Queen Swirl and King Cone were to have their son marry Princess Lolli,” Cocoa said.
Princess Sprinkle laughed. “Everyone is happy,” she told the Candy Fairies. “But everyone had their own ideas. The way Queen Swirl imagined the wedding would be was not what her son and Lolli wanted. And how they are choosing to live is different from some royals.” She stopped and smiled. “Change can be messy at times.” She sighed. “But Lolli and Scoop are going to make it work.” She looked the Candy Fairies in the eye. “I know for a fact that Lolli and Scoop have decided to stay in Candy Kingdom. Princess Lolli is very dedicated to all the Candy Fairies and to Sugar Valley. She has many responsibilities that she needs to be here to attend to daily. Scoop felt that he could govern from here. He even has plans to use some ice cream techniques with candy.”
Melli hung her head. She should have known Princess Lolli would never leave them. And Prince Scoop’s comments about caramel sauce made more sense to her now. Maybe there would be the Caramel Moon Festival after all. Maybe there would be even more caramel-inspired events. “Poor Princess Lolli,” Melli said. “How is she now?”
“You are sweet for asking,” Princess Sprinkle said. “Lolli is actually doing very well. Often with difficult changes we can’t help making crumbs.” A smile spread across her face. “But crumbs are good too!”
“Sure as sugar,” Dash agreed.
“I hope at the rehearsal next week you can sweeten the event with some good cheer,” Princess Sprinkle said. “Knowing that her Candy Fairies are happy will ease my sister’s mind.”
“We’ll be there one hundred and chocolate percent!” Cocoa cheered.
“Princess Lolli has always been there for us,” Raina said. “We will be there for her.”
Princess Sprinkle grinned. “I knew Lolli picked five very special fairies to be her gumdrops.”
Butterscotch flapped his large wings overhead. Their ride back to Sugar Valley had arrived.
“Princess Sprinkle,” Olivia’s assistant called, “we are ready for you.”
“Perfect timing,” the princess replied. “I believe our business is done here,” she said to the fairies. “I will see you at the rehearsal. Make sure to bring all that sweet good cheer!”
As the five Candy Fairies climbed up onto Butterscotch’s back, they were all quiet.
“Do you think Princess Lolli is okay?” Dash asked.
“She always knows the right thing to do,” Raina told her friends. “It is hard to imagine her upset.”
“She’s under some royal pressure!” Dash exclaimed.
“I bet that she is fine,” Berry said. “More than fine—she’s going to have a beautiful wedding, and she’s marrying dreamy Prince Scoop!”
Dash nodded, but she still wasn’t too sure.
As Butterscotch took off for Gummy Forest, each of the Candy Fairies felt the weight on their wings of changes ahead.
Finishing Touches
Raina spread the newspaper clippings from the past few months out on her desk. She was working on a royal wedding scrapbook. As she reviewed the articles, she realized that many of the details of the wedding were recorded. It seemed that everyone in Sugar Valley was hungry for details of the wedding plans.
When Raina finished gluing the articles into her book, she realized that she had better get dressed. She didn’t want to miss one minute of the rehearsal. She and her friends had worked hard on their toast. They were going to show Queen Swirl and all the other fairies how much Princess Lolli meant to them . . . and how much they loved her.
Just as she was about to leave, Berry flew into Gummy Forest.
“Hi, Raina!” Berry called. She swooped down and landed next to her friend. “Ooooh, I love your dress!”
“Thank you,” Raina said. “I wasn’t sure if I should wear the blue one or this rainbow one.” She spun around for Berry to get the whole look of her outfit.
“Sweet-tacular!” Berry cried. “I really like the rainbow colors.”
Raina grinned. “And your dress is supersweet,” she said. She had seen the fabric that Berry had selected for her dress. Raina thought the dress had turned out even better than she had imagined. “You are so talented, Berry.”
Berry blushed. “Thank you, Raina.” She was so glad that there was no more sour sugar surrounding her and Raina. It felt good to be back to being nice to each other and working together to make the wedding bouquet. “The lollipops are doing well,” she reported. “I checked on them again this morning. We’ll pick them tomorrow morning so they will be fresh for the wedding bouquet.”
“Perfect,” Raina agreed. “I can’t wait to see Princess Lolli’s face when she sees the lollipops. I think they are our finest work.”
Berry reached into her shiny strawberry-shaped handbag. “I made this for you,” she said. She handed a small package to Raina.
“Oh, Berry,” Raina sighed. She opened the wrapping, and there was a beautiful rainbow lollipop necklace. “This is the sweetest gift.” She put the dazzling necklace on. “I am going to wear it tonight!”
“I wanted to give you something,” Berry said. “And to apologize to you again.”
Raina laughed and took out a wrapped package from her bag. “I have this for you,” she said. “I guess we both had the same thought.”
The gift was a shawl with a giant rainbow lollipop. Berry knew that Raina had spent a lot of time sewing the fabric together. “Thank you, Raina,” she said. She draped the wrap around her arms.
“I think we’re both ready for a royal rehearsal,” Raina said. “We’d better get flying. I don’t want to be late!”
The two friends headed to Red Licorice Lake, where the fairies in the wedding would be rehearsing. Cocoa, Melli, and Dash were waiting for them when they arrived.
Amandine, the wedding planner from the Royal Palace, was directing fairies. She waved the five gumdrops over to her. “Please stand here,” she said. She was holding a long scroll and checking off all the fairies as she spotted them. “You will fly down the aisle, pretend to toss gumdrops, and fly up the steps to the canopy.” She touched her hand to her head. “The homemade canopy that isn’t ready yet,” she grumbled under her breath. “But the poles are set up so you know where to stand.” Then she stared down at the gumdrops. “Two of you stand right and three stand left down near the canopy.” She gave a quick smile and added, “Don’t fly down without a smile!” She turned and flew off to attend to Princess Sprinkle and King Crunch and Queen Sweetie.
Raina saw their gumdrop baskets on a bench and handed one to each of her friends. “Don’t worry,” she said. “And smile!”
“Did you catch that insult about the canopy?” Dash growled.
“She hasn’t seen it yet,” Melli said, soothing Dash. “She has no idea how special the canopy is.”
Amandine rang a white sugar bell. “Places, please!” she called. “I need the royal family, the ushers, and the gumdrops. Start the music!”
“She’s tough,” Cocoa whispered to Melli. “I hope she thinks my chocolate dip is royally rich enough. I worked really hard on getting the chocolate ready for dipping.”
“I am sure it’s choc-o-rific,” Melli told her. She watched Amandine flutter around the wedding party. “We only get one rehearsal,” she replied. She didn’t take her eyes off Amandine. “Where do we stand?”
“To the left,” Cocoa responded.
Amandine stood at the back of the aisle. She cued the conductor, and the music of a harp and six violins filled the air. “Come along,” she said to the gumdrops as the song played. “Heads up and smiles wide!”
Berry and Raina flew down first, and Melli and Cocoa followed. Dash was the last one to fly. When she got to the end of the aisle, she stopped.
A Royal Wedding Page 5