Chapter Two - A Bitter Turn Of Events

Ripplelina and several of the other racers finally reached the Cakeway track lined with cherry bombs, the one Sugar Rush attack Ripplelina disliked the most. Just then, Taffyta and Rancis drove up behind her, but she spotted them easily. "You guys are doing great!" she called out. Suddenly, Taffyta drove in front of her, bumping the side of her kart as she did. She laughed as Ripplelina nearly skidded. Ripplelina growled in frustration. She HATED it whenever Taffyta did that! "Hey! That's not fair Muttonfudge!" she snapped. "Too bad! I'm already past you Von Schweetz!" Taffyta laughed out. Ripplelina just rolled her eyes. Taffyta was in her Racing Mode, but in a rude one at that! Her, Taffyta and Rancis then reached the tunnel on top of the Cakeway track, with Candlehead not far behind. "Never underestimate me Taffyta!" She shouted out and drove to the side of the wall tunnel, driving around the inside before driving back down again and landing up in front of Taffyta, who was so shocked that she skidded and accidentally hit Rancis, who accidentally hit Candlehead. They all suddenly came to the opening and were flying through the air, over the red velvet cupcakes. Ripplelina herself landed perfectly on the other side, whilst the other three racers weren't so lucky, and ended up in the red velvet cupcakes. They popped up, with Taffyta crying, and Rancis staring in shock. "My Candle!" cried out Candlehead. Ripplelina smirked triumphantly. "I told you not to underestimate me Taffyta!" she called out, and carried on driving until she reached Frosty Rally. Ripplelina cried out excitedly as she drove down the Rainbow bridge. "THIS IS AWESOME!"

'No matter how many times she drives down that part of Frosty Rally, she just loves it, every single time.' the King thought to himself as he watched his wife on the Jumbotron. He gazed at her dreamily. 'That's one of the reasons I fell for her, her excitement and anticipation to race is irresistibly attractive'

Meanwhile, Ripplelina drove out of Frosty Rally and came to the exit, where she saw the finish line just up ahead. She smiled as she came close to coming first.

So close...

SO CLOSE...

But then suddenly, a sharp intense pain attacked her stomach, causing her to skid. She tried to keep on steering, but the pain got worse. "Oh no...not again! Why now? Why NOW?!" she whimpered. She looked in her rear view mirror and saw several racers not far behind. If she carried on driving, one of the children could end up getting hurt with her skidding. She quickly slammed down the brake, stopping her kart a few inches from the finish line. She shut off the engine and pulled off her helmet as the other racers crossed the finish line. She laid her head on the steering wheel, groaning in pain.

The other racers noticed Ripplelina hadn't finished the race and got out of their karts, full of concern and worry. They ran over to her. "Ripplelina? Ripplelina, what's wrong?" Candlehead asked worriedly. "N-nothing...I need...to finish...the race..." she groaned, but when she tried to move, the pain got worse. To her, this was worse than the cramps you get when you don't drink enough lemonade before a race. King Daimian saw everything and ran down from the stand, over to his wife. The racers moved out of the way as the King walked over. He bent over and gently tried to encourage his wife to sit up. "Ripplelina? My love, what's wrong?" he asked in a soothing tone "I...I can't..." she cried out. Once Daimian saw the tears running down her cheeks from the pain, he unbuckled the belt to the royal kart and carefully picked her up, carrying her away from the track, while she clung to him, her face contorted with pain. "I-It hurts!" she wept. "Sssshhh – sssshhh. It's alright my sweet. I'll take you home and you can rest ok?" Ripplelina didn't respond. She just clung to him tightly, indicating she wanted to go. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Daimian turned to Sour Bill. "Sour Bill, please sort out the racers who are going to be on the scoreboard tomorrow and notify the Sugar Rush Physician IMMEDIATELY!" Ripplelina buried her face in her husband's shoulder. "I'm taking my wife home" Daimian finished before heading for his kart. "Mmm...yes sir" Sour Bill grumbled.

Daimian sat in his kart before carefully setting his wife down on his lap with one arm around her and the other on the wheel before driving off at full speed. The racers at the track turned to one another, looking worried. "Wow! Ripplelina has NEVER backed down from a race before! Not ever!" Candlehead exclaimed. "What do you think happened?" Rancis asked. "I don't know, but it looks like she had been hurt pretty bad." Taffyta responded, licking her lollipop. "Maybe you shouldn't have rammed her Taffyta!" Jubileena snapped. "What?! I BUMPED her kart! A bump can't cause that much pain!" Taffyta protested. "Hey! What's going on here?" Minty and Snowanna appeared after regenerating back to their karts. Candlehead told them everything. "For Sugar Rushes' sake Minty! It wasn't my fault!" Taffyta retaliated after Candlehead finished with Minty giving a glare at the pink lollipop racer. "Why else would Queen Ripplelina be in so much pain that King Daimian had to carry her because she couldn't move? Not to mention she was crying!" Jubileena snapped "I don't know! But I know it wasn't my fault!" Taffyta snapped back.

King Daimian looked down at his wife as he continued driving and stopped outside the castle. He gently picked her up and carried her inside, running up the stairs as she writhed in pain. One of the servants opened the doors to his and his wife's room and he gently laid her down on the bed. He stroked her hair soothingly "Don't worry my Queen, the physician will be here soon. I'll get you some cold lemonade ok?" Ripplelina nodded as she closed her eyes, trying her best to relieve herself from the pain. Daimian quickly kissed her cheek as he got up and left the room. After he left, Ripplelina held her stomach. The pain was really bad, and she had no idea what could be causing it.

Her husband returned a few minutes later with a crystal glass of lemonade. He gently lifted her head to help her drink it. After a few sips, she started to feel better. Just then, the Sugar Rush physician, Dr Gourmet, arrived. "Your Majesties." he said, bowing respectfully. "Please can you help doctor? My wife has been in horrible pain. She wasn't even able to cross the finish line during the Random Roster Race today!" Daimian exclaimed. Dr Gourmet turned to Ripplelina. "Was it that bad Your Majesty?" Ripplelina nodded. "I had to stop racing right there and then. I could've caused a crash. I was hurting everywhere." Dr Gourmet looked concerned. "Is this the first time this has happened?" Ripplelina shook her head. "The pains started a week ago. I'm worried one of the children could end up getting hurt because the pains get too much" The doctor simply smiled. "Well, let's run some tests and get to the bottom of what caused your pain and why." he said. He sat down at a nearby table with two chairs, and began pulling medical equipment out of his chocolatecase. Ripplelina then saw him pull out a syringe with a long needle. Ripplelina gripped her husband's hand. "Daimian Von Schweetz..." she muttered nervously. Daimian smiled and stroked her hair. "It's alright my love. The doctor will do the best he can". Dr Gourmet walked over. "I have to take a sample of your code blood Your Majesty, to see whether there's any changes." Ripplelina stared at the needle, her eyes wide. She buried her head in her husbands shoulder while he soothingly stroked her hair as the doctor took a sample of her code. "I HATE needles." she hissed seethingly. Dr Gourmet looked on nervously as he gently dabbed her sore arm with some antiseptic. Daimian chuckled. "That's my girl".

Dr Gourmet then took Ripplelina's temperature and checked her heartbeat (which were both normal). "Well, it seems you may have gone through a quick phase Your Majesty. It's a normal occurrence, but just to be sure, I'm going to run some tests on your code sample and I'll be back at the end of the week with the results. If any other symptoms occur, be sure to make a record and notify me immediately" he said as he began to pack up his things. "Thank you doctor" the King said. The doctor looked up. "May I have a private word King Daimian?" He asked respectfully. The King nodded and got up from the bed and walked over to him. Dr Gourmet turned to the King, speaking in a low voice so Ripplelina wouldn't hear "Just to be aware, any symptoms she may have will act up during the next few days. So she might seem fine for now, but tomorrow she could act differently" Daimian looked over at his wife worriedly. "Are you sure? What kind of symptoms?" he asked. "It's hard to say Your Majesty, but there could be mood swings, fainting spells, sickness, the kind of symptoms relating to her stomach pain." "Ok, thank you doctor." the King said and walked back over to his wife. "Be sure she gets plenty of rest and drinks a glass of cold lemonade twice a day" Dr Gourmet pointed out. Ripplelina looked up "Would I be able to race tomorrow?" she asked, sitting up. Dr Gourmet turned and looked at her thoughtfully "If you are feeling better by tomorrow's Random Roster Race, then I don't see any problem with you entering Your Majesty. Though I suggest you rest for a few hours before then." Ripplelina nodded "Thank you." The doctor gave a respectful bow to her and Daimian and swiftly left.

I hope you enjoyed Chapter Two of A Sweet Beginning! I thought it would be more fun if some of the more known racers from the movie like Jubileena and Minty had some speaking roles in this story. But don't worry! The other racers have more speaking roles throughout the story! Chapter Three will have some mature intamacy between Daimian and Ripplelina, so be aware of that! Be sure to leave a review!