With Chocolat and Pierre's first child on the way, Pierre finds a way to assuage his hidden fears by conversing with Queen Vanilla. Friendship-fic. One-shot. Chocolat/Pierre. Vanilla/Houx. Manga-verse.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sugar Sugar Rune manga or anime.
A/N: Sugar Sugar Rune was one of my first 'kiddie animes' that had me hooked on the stuff and I had lots of plot bunnies for this anime that sadly, never made it into story hares. But yep, posting one and I'm happy I completed this one-shot.
Vanilla blinked as Pierre suddenly appeared in her sitting room with a gust of snowy magic.
"Really Pierre, I gave you permission to come and go as you wish but do try not to shock me with your grand entrances." the Queen of the Magical Realm said wryly, setting her book down and rubbing her rounded stomach. It was getting harder to move about in her condition, and her court had insisted she relaxed herself for the rest of the duration of her pregnancy. Houx was practically insistent that she be wrapped in silk and kept inside safely. She wanted to roll her eyes at that.
The former Ogre Prince didn't appear to have heard her and was pacing back and forth the carpet, face stony.
Vanilla frowned. "Pierre, is something wrong?"
He stopped in front of the Queen, eyes closed, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose in a silent sign of someone who was at the edge of his limit.
Vanilla was really starting to get worried. Pierre mainly approached her for formal and official matters of the Kingdom with a cool and detached air. For him to look so distressed…
"Pierre, what is it? Is it Chocolat?" her voice an octave higher.
Chocolat was in the same boat as her, at her third trimester, grousing at her swollen feet and tummy for all to hear. If anything happened to her and the baby-!
"I think I might not be a good father."
The voice was soft and the words were merely a whisper, that Vanilla had to pause for a moment to make sure she heard right. When it finally registered in her mind, she sighed and smiled slightly.
"Sit down and have a cup of tea."
Vanilla smiled as Pierre elegantly sat himself in front of her, his movements a bit stiff and formal. They had never really got to clear the air between them about what happened during the Queen Competition, where she had her heart turned into Noir. It was one of the things that was never discussed after the war due to him and Chocolat disappearing for years, and when they were finally found and slowly regained their memories and mannerisms, too much had happened for it to be brought up once more.
Perhaps that was why they would never be comfortable with each other, Vanilla thought wistfully. Which was truly a shame. She found Pierre a fascinating person, and she believed that they had enough similarities and traits for them to be good friends.
"Now," she began as she poured Pierre a steaming cup of tea and served themselves some biscuits. "What prompted your statement earlier?"
A length of silence followed her query and Vanilla hummed over the rim of her cup, giving the man in front of her some time to compose himself. She had never seen him this ruffled before, and it would've been funny had he not looked so despondent.
"I…" Pierre sighed. "You know how children exude their parents' magic, even in the womb. The stronger the magic, the stronger the child will be."
Vanilla nodded patiently, already knowing this.
"Chocolat… our child… is showing signs of inheriting my magic." Pierre said in a flat tone.
The Queen's eyebrows rose high at the new information, although she wasn't terribly surprised. Firstborns were often the most powerful amongst siblings. The melding of two foreign magical signatures from the Exchange of Hearts would create fresh, untouched magic that the baby would inherit. The child's magic usually aligned to that of the more powerful parent. Glace's daughter or not, Chocolat was still no match for Pierre in terms of strength and experience. There was a reason he was the Grand Duke's chosen heir, after all.
"Really? How so?" Vanilla asked in interest. Her own unborn baby was showing magical prowess already. Gusts of wind would randomly whip around her, breaking delicate objects (much to the maids' dismay) and blowing annoying people away whenever the baby felt that Vanilla was irritable (much to the court's dismay). The powerful wind magic indicated that the baby was more inclined towards her husband's magic. Houx had been over the moon. Both figuratively and literally.
Vanilla was magically stronger than her husband, so her baby was probably one of the rare exceptions where the firstborn child inherited their other parent's magic.
"The air would get… chillier in her vicinity. Sometimes, when she's in one of her moods, ice shards would shoot up from nowhere and her feet could suddenly produce ice with just a step."
Vanilla would love to see that happen. Chocolat's 'moods' were legendary especially now that she was pregnant, but Vanilla never saw her create ice from nowhere. Her best friend was fire-aligned, as oppose to Pierre who favored ice magic. She giggled inwardly. Chocolat didn't really like the cold so she wondered how she was coping with ice popping out randomly when her baby felt like it.
"So your first-born would take after you then." Vanilla said, stating the obvious.
A tense, cold silence followed.
"I'm thinking of doing a Repudiation."
A sharp gasp followed the crash of china as Vanilla dropped her teacup to stare at Pierre in anger and incredulity. The air around them seemed to stop. Both ignored the broken cup to stare at each other.
"A Repudiation!" Vanilla said hoarsely, half-raising herself in rage. "You… do you have any idea… Anything at all of what that entails? You will be denying your child!"
"I… that didn't come out as I thought." Pierre replied in a defeated voice, slumping back on his chair.
"Well I should hope so!" Vanilla raged, almost yelling at the former prince. She wondered if punching him would make her feel better. The furniture around them began to rattle as wild wind magic thrashed in agitation. The young Queen took calming breaths, rubbing her stomach.
"Vanilla, I apologize. Now calm yourself, please."
The mention of her name stopped her short. Pierre rarely addressed her by her name, preferring to go by "Your Highness" or not to call her at all. She calmed minutely and waved her hand at the broken china and it vanished along with the spilled liquid.
"You'd better give me a good explanation, or so help me Chocolat will hear of this." she hissed, crossing her arms. The mere idea that her best friend's husband was even thinking of Repudiating their baby made her hackles rise. Chocolat had gone through so many tragedies in her life already. A dead mother who chose a man over her own daughter, a dead father who never cared… Well, Vanilla would happily add a dead husband to the list if Pierre even thought of coming near his wife with that kind of intention!
"I really didn't mean it."
"I'm happy you didn't. Talking about Repudiating in front of a pregnant woman. So considerate of you, Pierre." Vanilla said coldly. "And I'm already agreeing with you. You might not really be a good father."
She ignored his wince. He deserved it for even thinking about it.
Repudiation was terrible business. An unborn baby's source of growing magic are its two parents. To Repudiate meant to destroy the bond between a parent and child, so the child would be denied its parent's magic and influence. For a mother to Repudiate her child meant instant death for the baby and it was only done in extreme circumstances. A father Repudiating his child was less severe as the baby can still survive especially if the mother was magically powerful.
Vanilla bit back another angry tirade as she remembered that Chocolat was a Repudiated child. Poivre told her in confidence that Chocolat's mother Cinnamon hid her from Duke Glace and broke the bond between father and daughter before he could sense Chocolat, and so he was unaware of her existence for most of her childhood. It was why Chocolate resembled Cinnamon so much, both in looks and manner. She didn't inherit a lot from Glace.
Judging from the look of dismay on Pierre's face, he was finally in on it too. Good. He should feel guilty.
"I'm one too, you know." Vanilla said, much to Pierre's surprise. "Although it wasn't expected, and the bond wasn't forcefully cut. My father was General Dépolir and he died in the war. He knew mother had me, but he died before our bond was fully formed."
Like Chocolat, therein lies the reason why Vanilla looked so much like Queen Candy except her hair and eye color.
Sighing, Vanilla slumped herself into her seat and rubbed her forehead. "Pierre, why are you so afraid of the baby inheriting your magic?"
"Only one reason." Pierre laughed humorlessly. "Glace."
Vanilla's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, Pierre."
"You don't know what it's like. I'm looked upon as if I'm the mirror image of the Duke of Darkness every day. For me to conceive a child of my image…" Pierre closed his eyes. "I can't imagine the pain my child would go through. And what if I fail as a father? Fail my own child? I'm terrified of seeing myself in our child, that cold, dark version that I know is still buried deep in me. What if my magic turns itself against our child and twists him or her into something terrible? I was his heir. I… I'm afraid we'll fail our child. And it would be my fault. I… what would Chocolat think? What would my child think?"
Icy blue eyes opened, unseeing. "That was why I thought of Repudiation. If the baby turns out to be entirely like Chocolat, loving and bright, everyone would love him or her. The baby doesn't need me, or my magic-"
Soft, warm arms encircled the distraught Pierre in comfort. His voice hitched and he exhaled loudly, shoulders slumped as he accepted the silent support of the glassy-eyed Queen.
"You listen to me and you listen now." Vanilla intoned in a serious yet gentle voice. "The child Chocolat is carrying is yours and hers. Created out of your love, and the sacrifices you've made not just for yourselves but for our entire world. Such strong, brilliant emotions that you have for each other created the life within Chocolat. There is nothing wrong, tainted, or dark in a child created from pure feelings."
Vanilla shifted so that she could look Pierre in the eye. "You are you. You are not Glace. I know you will love your child and would never wish harm upon him or her. You are not evil, nor were you born evil. You have Chocolat with you to raise your child the way you wish to, surrounded with love and acceptance."
Vanilla's eyes softened and she squeezed Pierre's shoulders. "A child is pure and untainted. I think that even Glace was not born as what he became. I know you're terrified of the thought of being a father, but you'll have Chocolat beside you and I can't think of anyone else who'd be a greater mother than Chocolat."
Pierre's lips lifted in a soft smile.
"Except me, of course."
Pierre laughed lightly in surprise.
"What? I'll have you know every woman fancies herself as the best mother they can be." Vanilla huffed in amusement, glad that he seemed to have lightened.
"Thank you, Vanilla." Pierre said, a new light of appreciation dancing in his eyes.
"You're very welcome." she replied softly. Then she hit him sharply in the head. "And no more talk about that Repudiation business! Awful, awful topic."
"I apologize again."
"Of course you should. After all, can you imagine two Chocolat's running around the Kingdom? We'd be run ragged trying to keep up!"
Their laughter was clear and filled with good humor.
"Now, I think you ought to go home to Chocolat and grovel."
"She doesn't know." A blonde brow lifted in a casual challenge.
"Oh, doesn't she?" The Queen replied airily.
"No."
"Oh, I wonder if she did…"
"Are you blackmailing me?" There was definitely humor in Pierre's voice.
"Oh, am I?" Vanilla sing-songed. Then she sobered. "Nothing we've discussed is leaving this room, I assure you."
Pierre sighed in relief. He didn't want to think about Chocolat's reaction to his thoughts. There was a reason why this particular tormenting thought never made it to her even though they knew each other front and back. He didn't want to lose her or their child. Not now when he knew he could make things right for the three of them.
"But I hope our talk made you think." Vanilla said, nodding at him.
"It did. I'm glad I came to talk to you." Pierre said, hugging her gently. He didn't really know why he came to Vanilla with his problems of all people, but now he knew why people called her the benevolent queen. She gave good advice, and had a way of making people feel at ease.
He was about to leave, when Vanilla called him.
"Oh, and Pierre?"
The former Ogre Prince turned to her.
"You're welcome in the castle anytime. Make sure to bring Chocolat with you next time, alright? I do miss her." Vanilla said.
Pierre didn't mention on how the two just saw each other the other day and spent the day babbling about nurseries and baby clothes. He just chuckled, nodding at her request and disappearing from the warded sitting room with another gust of snow.
Vanilla poured herself another cup of tea, blowing at the heat. Her baby kicked and she rubbed at the spot soothingly. She had never realized that Pierre had hesitant thoughts about being a father but then again, maybe she should have known. His upbringing wasn't the best after all, being kidnapped and forced into a restricted and caged role.
Privately, she wondered how Chocolat would react to Pierre's dilemma. The young Queen gave an inelegant snort. Oh, she'd uphold her promise to Pierre and never reveal what they've discussed today but Chocolat had grown up to be more perceptive than she looked and would soon realize that something had bothered her husband. And Chocolat being Chocolat, she'd confront him about it.
Loudly.
And Pierre would deny it, but Chocolat would insist and their argument would spiral into one of their usual legendary epic arguments which would always end in them kissing and making up.
She'd give it three days, tops.
A/N: Three cheers for adult!Vanilla~
So yep, my first completed fanfic and in the span of what, 2 hours? This plot bunny had been sitting in my laptop for four years now and was only completed on a whim. It was originally short and fluffy, so I don't know why it devolved into a semi-angsty fic. _
General Dépolir is a made-up character since Vanilla has no apparent father, but his name stands for frost in French.
I had planned on adding a snippet with future kiddies in it but I felt that I had to end there. Review!