Tani came out from the cookshop with a box in her hands. She opened it slightly and sniffed the warm scent looking pleased. She closed it and began to run into the castle. She sped across the bridge over the moat and dashed inside the grand doors as the guards were quick enough to see her run in again. She sprinted through the corridors and hallways. The handmaids greeted the snow covered blur as she passed by.
She arrived in the pantry as she placed the warm box onto one of the counters, she panted and rested an elbow on the same counter. She looked at the wall clock and smirked. "A new record!" She rejoiced while she lifted a fist into the air. She took off her coat and wet gloves and kept it in her arms band as she looked for a knife. She opened a few cupboards to see one hanging in a set next to her. She took the one in the middle and placed it next to the box.
She walked around to find a plate and a fork, putting both on the counter. She rubbed her hands together as she licked her lips, looking contently at the box. She threw the lid off and lifted a fresh, pretty looking cake as wide as her forearms, yet shallow. She took the knife and quickly cut a slice for herself, then proceeding to take the slice with a fork and taking a bite.
Tani grinned with great glee and ate the whole slice before even putting on the plate. Footsteps approached the pantry while she began to cut more slices.
"Oh!" Tani went as she saw the figure standing by the door. She placed another slice and put it on the plate. She continued to grin, enjoying the taste of such a fresh dessert and took the plate with both hands. Her pigtails hopping with her while she skipped to the man as she yelped, "Oh man, Leander, you have got to try this!"
The man rubbed his eyes with blotches of ink on his hands. "I… what is it?" he mumbled. Leander took a good look at the slice of cake while he adjusted his glasses. He quickly snatched the berry atop it and nibbled it.
Tani beamed while putting the plate back on the counter, "Don't be don't be so cautious, it's not poison-"
The man quickly spat out the miniscule amount of juice he had tasted and clapped a hand in front of his eyes.
The girl was extremely puzzled as she gulped. "Unless you're allergic, sure. Are you?"
"No, no. It's not that! This is technically considered poison in special ways." Leander cried as he carefully placed the berry back on the plate. "Tani, be a dear and dispose of all of this and the remaining berries you're keeping from me."
She looked exasperated with her mouth gaping wide in protest, "What?! I just got that, it's totally fresh! I was completely fine when I was eating it, you just don't want it."
"Tani, do you understand what this fruit can do? It's a 'Frochivito' plant, a plant rare enough not to grow here, and for good reasons."
"Then explain, you bookworm." she argued while crossing her arms and standing defensively in front of the box.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead while keeping his hand in front of his eyes. "A frochivito berry can induce many symptoms that make you mentally ill for long periods of time, specifically those related to your romantic perceptions and behavior. It's a tree that used to grow on the natural islands in the south, only growing in cold climates and the cold seasons, but became extinct after the volcano erupted those few centuries ago.
"All that I am saying is, you mustn't eat this. I am quite curious how you are not currently 'lovestruck' at the moment."
Tani became more and more confused and tilted her head, "Love… struck? When I ate these berries for the first time, Evan was with me and didn't mention that I was acting weird. And what do you mean, 'lovestruck'?"
"Ah, that explains it. Being lovestruck is when you've consumed the juice of a non-enchanted berry and having extreme romantic feelings for the first person you see. Which is the reason why I've covered my eyes."
The girl closed her eyes and quickly shook her head at her own thoughts and asked again, "So, what if it's enchanted?"
Leander stood still with his hand on his face and kept quiet for a while. He looked up again and spoke, "I wouldn't want to explain, but since I am suspicious of how frochivitos even got here, I'll explain just to keep you safe. When it's enchanted, you'll see a silk ribbon attached to spare clippings and that the berries are all of the same pink hue. The user will have a specific intent on the enchanted plant. It floats above the two people the user wishes to use it on. It also makes jingling sounds if you're keen enough.
"Now here are some of the things that could happen. There lays a curse with each enchanted tool, with the intensities based on the current intent of the user. It affects those it is being used on-"
"Wait, what does happen to those who stand under it?"
"Please do not interrupt. As I was saying, it is used on two people. The control is heavily based on the user's mental state, how they think. The two victims must be close to each other or the frochivito won't even float or work in that matter— are you ignoring me."
Tani had been drinking loudly from a cup and lowered it and asked with a lifeless expression in her eyes, "You didn't answer my question."
She continued to drink again as Leander inhaled and tried to speak, "... The two should kiss—"
She lowered the cup and spat out water as she looked to her side. "What?! Kiss!? As in on the lips!? *cough*" she cried as she proceeded to cough with the water still in her throat. "I am so sorry— it's just— it's just that I don't know wether to laugh or be threatened because there's a curse involved. That sounds like a petty requirement, what a ridiculous plant, and it's still considered poison."
Leander slowly removed his hand from his face and blinked hard. He began to look around and gave a sigh of relief after he looked at Tani. The girl looked around for a mop as Leander took a chair from the corner and sat on it. He gave a look at the cakes and waved a wand he summoned and it disappeared. Tani had been mopping up her mess and gasped as she turned around. She stuttered in an attempt to protest only to remember what the fruit could do and shut her mouth. Her form slumped at the loss of the dessert.
Leander rubbed his eyes again and fixed his sleeves right after. "Look, I will continue. Yes, for that last question. It's best to get the job done soon, or the curse will be laid upon you. You'll see the leaves dry up and the berries beginning to rot as well as noticeable dark mist surround you.
"It is true, I must say, that this was used for pranks and tricks, all just to embarrass others. Yet it proved effective with those using it with a malicious intent, and I am glad it died over the years— until now, of course."
Tani listened to his story as she leaned on the mop with her hands draped on its hilt and her chin resting on her hands. With a downtrodden expression, she queried, "So, effectivity… You mean people died?"
"Not so intense as that. More of extreme casualties. As I have said, the curse's intensity all depends on the users intention."
He stood up and brushed his lap. "So, are you sure that have no other berries, or any part of a frochivito with you? And how you got that in the first place?"
The girl combed her pigtails with her fingers a pondered quietly. "No, and Halimede gave me the fruit back at Hipponoe's place. There was a tree and everything!"
His face included suppressed shock as he rubbed his forehead again. He sighed, "Thank you for telling me, Tani. Now make sure to heed my words, I don't want any kind of disasters happening this week, or any time in this matter."
The man walked out while leaning on the wall, still looking tired. Tani threw the mop at a corner and grinned as she kept a finger on her cheek.