Start of a New Friendship (1)

Chapter 42: Episode 21 - Start of a New Friendship (1)

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I asked but Fraise quickly added to Honey's response.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too since the Queen can't track her," Fraise said though Mari and I looked at the situation in confusion.

"What do you guys mean by Sucre's staff is destroyed?" I emphasized my question so they could answer.

"Oh… The Queen of the Sweets Spirits can track us down by locating our staff. Sensibly, it's our tracking device so she knows where her people are," Fraise explained. "Our staff is how we use magic but when our staff is destroyed, we can't go back to the Sweets Kingdom or use any magic to communicate."

'But… I understand that a queen would look out for her people, but why would she go so far to find one specific sweets spirit?'

This thought had lingered in my mind for a while now. I didn't understand why my mom's sweets spirit was so special. I understood that her skills were extraordinary for spirits to look up to her, but it still didn't make sense…

'Why would the Queen of the Sweets Spirits be so focused on finding one specific sweets spirit if they're replaceable? Strangely enough, I don't think Sucre is like the other sweets spirit… She and the queen have a different kind of relationship with each other than the others…'

"But this doesn't make sense. Why would the Queen of the Sweets Spirits remain so keen on finding Sucre? What's their relationship with each other?" I asked Honey and Fraise and their eyes widened in surprise from the question I asked.

"I agree. Though a queen should be looking out for her people, it's strange for them to be looking for one sweet spirit in particular," Mari added in agreement.

Honey and Fraise looked at each other in hesitation from our questions, but they nodded their heads in unison as if agreeing to say something.

"Keiko, I never said anything to you about this because it didn't seem important at the time but Sucre… is the Queen's younger sister…" Fraise's voice fainted but I had heard everything.

"So that means… Sucre is a princess?" I clocked my head to the side in confusion and Honey and Fraise nodded their heads.

"Yes, Sucre is a princess. She's of royal blood in the Sweets Kingdom but she didn't want to stick to being a royal. She lived life as a princess though grew bored. The late king of the sweets spirits sheltered Sucre because she was too curious about the human world and so she lived most of her life in the royal palace without going outside. Once the Queen of the Sweets Spirit became heir to the throne, Sucre asked her sister if she could venture into the human world. Though hesitant at first, the queen loved her sister and knew that Sucre didn't like her life as a princess so she allowed her to go to the human world and spend time there. Eventually, Sucre found a human she was fond of and made a contract with them which was forbidden at the time," Fraise explained and I raised my eyebrow.

"Why was it forbidden to make contracts with humans?" I asked and Fraise stared at me seriously.

"We're creatures from another world. Even if we wanted to venture into the human world, the late king was suspicious of humans, claiming that humans were evil and manipulative. So, the late king never allowed any sweets spirit to visit the human world. The portal was banned and we lingered in the Sweets Kingdom for a while until the queen finally ascended to the throne. Technically speaking, Sucre was the reason why sweets spirits were allowed to visit the human world," Fraise explained seriously.

"Why was that?" Mari asked.

"Once the queen became heir to the throne, she allowed her sister to go to the human world and experience time there. Once she saw how happy Sucre was with her partner, the queen decided to make visiting the human world legal though sweets spirits would have to pass an exam that had rules they would have to follow. Passing this exam was a ticket for those who wanted to visit the human world and meet humans. Because of Master Sucre, sweets spirits were allowed to befriend humans and now we're here to fulfill our dreams with you guys," Honey explained to us with a warm smile.

"I… understand that Sucre was bored with her life as a princess, but what did this have to do with dreams?" I asked in a serious tone.

"As we explained before, we had to pass this exam to visit the human world and bind ourselves with a human. The reason why the late king banned us from visiting the human world was because of the risks of our spirits lying dormant. The possibility for dormant spirits to become active again was little to no chance. Though the queen decided to allow this, she also made it required that we listen and follow the rules. Once she took over, she changed the rule from never making contact with humans to allowing sweets spirits to make contracts with humans who are 13 or older due to their more mature mindset. Sucre's aspiring dream was to become well-known, not just as a sheltered princess, but as a skillful and extraordinary patissiere in the Sweets World. She and her partner ventured off to complete their similar dreams together," Fraise told while Mari and I tried to absorb the heavy amount of information given.

"I hope it makes sense now about what's going on. The Queen is looking for her beloved sister that disappeared 6 years ago… When I personally met up with the queen... she'd threaten to ban us sweets spirits from visiting the human world just like the late king had…" Fraise explained and our faces turned to shock, even Honey's.

"The queen said that? But… I don't understand…" Honey's voice whimpered and her face remained in awe.

"Now, I hope this explains how serious this matter is now. If we can't find Master Sucre, our contact with humans will be terminated and we'll never be able to see you again." Fraise remained numb with an emotionless face.

It was sudden to hear this information be explained to us, but it was more shocking to hear what the stakes were now.

'Sweets spirits came to the human world to fulfill their dream with their human partners… but since Sucre is missing and can't be found yet, everybody's dreams are hanging by a thread… I didn't realize how serious this situation was…'

"I apologize to everyone for sharing this shocking news but right now, this is reality…" A sad expression remained on Fraise's face and we didn't know how to take it. "I never told anyone about this but since I can trust you guys, you all deserve the right to know."

Fraise remained troubled as we remained speechless.

"Well… I don't know if I'll be of help, but I will try hard with Honey to find Sucre," Mari said confidently and Fraise's expression brightened.

"I will try hard as well, Fraise. We'll find Sucre together, I *promise*. We don't want to stop the sweets spirits from coming to our world and finding human friends," I said to her assuredly and heartfelt tears started to form in her blue eyes.

"Really? Thank you all so much…" Fraise's high-pitched voice became squeaky from her crying, but she wiped the tears away, giving us a small smile.