Winterpop Wonderland Part 1
There is an island about an hour north of the Sugar Rush kingdom. Once upon a time, a great stretch of land made is accessible by foot but as time went on, the great ocean covered it up, making the pass hard to get to by anything but boat or plane. Years before that, the kingdom of Sugar Rush would converse with the small land of the North, the people from both lands forming a bond with one another.
But as the ocean swallowed up the pass, the communication seemed to stop.
For the longest time, the two lands didn't speak, they didn't trade. And while Sugar Rush grew and grew, the snowy land of the North languished. There were talks a few years ago when the leaders of both lands meet but there was still unrest, there was still worry.
The kingdom of the North worried that their land, their home, their world would be swallowed up by the ever expanding Kingdom, to be a former shadow of itself.
Magistrate Chipwich and his wife Denali had plans. They were to talk with the King and his queen about keeping the northern land independent from the kingdom but continue to work together, to continue to thrive. Chipwich and Tobias knew that in order for both kingdoms to survive they needed help, they needed strength in numbers and that could not be achieved with either lands fighting nor ignoring each other.
That was then.
But Chipwich and Denali are now gone.
"Magistrate Bomba!"
Bomba nearly snapped her pen in two as he heard the sound of a herald rushing into the office.
"Yes, what is it?" the woman growled, trying her best to keep her temper in check.
"We have gotten word from the villagers near the East Harbor that another peir has broken!" said the peppermint herald. Bomba's brows creased as she felt her throat tighten in anger.
ANOTHER issue to contend with.
"We just had that repaired…." The woman said, getting up from her desk, the tiny candy man shaking at the massive figure before him.
"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am. B-B-but you know we can only do so much. It's not as if our hammers can fix things in one-!"
"Tell everyone not to worry…." The woman said as she reached for her coat and hat "I'll will be there as soon as possible but relay to those down by the docks. Keep away from the derbies, don't go near the water. We don't need anyone else getting hurt."
"Yes, ma'am." The candy man bowed as she quietly tip-toed out of the office. Alone, Bomba turned towards the window, seeing the fresh snow floating down upon the village below.
She remembered when things were so much easier, when things looked so much better. The village was filled with lights and so much cheer despite the bitter cold around them. It never matted that compared to other kingdoms, their own was so small.
Everyone knew that things would be okay.
But that was a long time ago.
The woman turned, seeing the massive picture of the great family on the wall. It had been years since it was painted but every time she looked upon it, the memories felt so fresh, so new.
There was Chipwich.
Dear, Chipwich.
"Chip?"
"Yeah, sis?"
"What are ya gonna do when you're in charge?"
"When I'm in charge? That's a long way away, Bomba!"
"I bet your gonna make our kingdom HUGE! It'll be the best ice kingdom in the world!"
"Maybe."
"Why aren't ya excited? I'd be excited if I were gonna be in charge."
"I dunno, sis. I just wanna enjoy things now. Have some fun with ya before we get too old ta do things like that."
"Too old?"
"When we're big. I dunno if we'll have time ta have fun like this. I wanna be a good leader, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I gotta learn how ta act like one an' a leader doesn't act silly."
"Hmmmm."
"Bomba?"
"I don't care!"
"About what?
"Even when we're big, I know we can still have fun! An' you're gonna be tha bestest leader this kingdom has ever had! I know ya will!"
"With that kinda energy….makes me wish ya could be leader, stead of me."
She remembered what he had said that day.
The way he said it, with a smile.
It was almost prophetic.
No.
Don't think like that, Bomba.
DON'T.
The woman shook her head, putting her hat on as she marched towards the doors of the great office, throwing them open so hard that the sound echoed across the massive halls.
"EVERYONE!"
The candy people shook at Bomba's presence, her cold eyes cutting through them.
"Ropes, woods, hammer and nails. Gather them up!"
"Your Magistrate?"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DAWDLE!" the woman boomed, rushing towards the stables "We have people who need help! MOVE!"
Many eyes were on the woman as she marched down the halls….but there was a set of two who found themselves the most intrigued of all.
"Auntie Bomba really knows how to get people going." Said the first girl, her frosty purple hair tied back into two long braids. A smaller child huddled near her, her features nearly the same save her for single dark blue braid.
"I hate it when she gets angry like that…." Shivered the smaller girl "She's always so mad, always so loud."
"Well, this is what it's like bein' leader, Beezie." Said the first girl "Sometimes…sometimes ya gotta take command a'things like this."
The two girls remained on the second floor, their forms going unnoticed as the others prepared for the emergency.
"Adorabeezle?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"C'mon." said the second girl "I wanna help Auntie!"
"Nougetsia, wait!" said the smaller Popsicle girl "W-We might not be able to-!"
Before the younger of the two could protest, she found herself down on the main floor surrounded by the flood of candy people who were still gathering around with their supplies.
"Okay, we have the rope, first-aid kits…." Bomba said, getting herself organized "We just need-!"
"AUNTIE!"
The woman stopped in place, crumpling up the paper in her hand. She looked about, seeing her held petrified in fear before her but she KNEW the sound couldn't have come from them.
"Auntie, down here!"
Adorabeezle?
Nougetsia?
Caught in the moment, the large woman continued to eye the children, the motions inverted as she now felt cornered by everyone else. She snapped to, returning to her normal face.
"C-Children!" she said, trying to sound as commanding as possible "What are you doing here?"
"We just wanted to see what you were doing, Auntie." Said Nougetsia "An' we wanted to see if we could help."
One look in her eyes and it was easy to see that Bomba would have hit the roof had she not restrained herself.
"HELP!? There's a crisis going on right now and there is now way I am going to let either of you-!"
"But Auntie!" the older child said "We need ta learn from you if we're to be good leaders of this kingdom right?"
"Yes, YES." The large woman said, her nerves starting to rise "But not right now. Maybe later."
"You say that all the time." Nougetsia pouted, refusing to give up against Bomba "You said that last week, the week before, the week before that! When can we go out with you, Auntie?"
"GOB DAMN IT, YOU TWO! I'VE GOT WORK TO WORRY ABOUT!"
That got everyone quiet.
Even if a pin were to drop, IT would be too scared to make a sound.
The two girls were petrified as they stood before their aunt, Adorabeezle more so than her sister.
There was no use in hiding it; Bomba had once again gone too far and as a result?
Adorabeezle tore off to the chamber rooms in tears.
"Ah! AH, Beezie!" shouted Nougetsia as she followed her sister upstairs "Wait! Don't run away!"
"Girls, hold on-!" Bomba cried out as she took a step towards the stairs "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!"
"BOMBA!"
The woman turned back, seeing her helpers heading out the door.
"We need you, NOW!"
Darn it.
The girls needed her but so did the villagers.
Here was some hesitation but Bomba knew she could wait no longer. With a growl, and a heavy feeling in her heart, she turned towards the doors and rushed off.
"They'll be fine." Said one of the candy helpers "One of the staff shall see to their needs."
The staff?
If the girls needed anyone at the moment, it was BOMBA.
But now, they were alone.
Adorabeezle hid under her bed, sobbing as she clutched onto her stuff yeti.
"Why is she always so mad?"
"I dunno…." Said Nougetsia, the girl laying just above her sister on the bed "She's always like that."
The smaller girl sniffled "Not always…..Auntie didn't always used to be like that."
"Huh?"
"Don't you remember? I-I know it was a long time ago and we were both so little but…."
The small girl took in a breath, trying her best to stop crying.
"Do you think….do you think Auntie is mad because papa is gone?"
Nougetsia didn't respond, the very mention of the word 'PAPA' making her heart skip, her hold on the pillow she had becoming tighter.
"Remember….remember when we all went out to the coast?" the smaller girl continued "Me, you? Mama an' papa….an' Auntie?"
Nougetsia remained silent.
"Papa had declared it a day of rest for everyone but the way he an' mama were acting around Auntie. Everything they did to get her to just smile."
"Y-Yeah….I remember."
"An' when she did…."
"You remember all of that?"
Adorabeezle looked, her sister peeking her head under the bed.
"H-Huh?"
"You remember all of that?" the older girl said "I….I don't. I mean, it feels like it was so long ago an' you were only two so-?"
"I just remember it because it felt like the only time everyone was together…." The smaller girl said "After that….."
The two fell hush, one particular memory coming to them.
The morning was grey and cold.
The two girls could remember the shouting, the yelling.
They could remember….
Bomba.
Auntie.
She was crying.
Why was she crying?
"I think…."
Nougetsia clutched her knees closer to her chest, shutting her eyes tight.
"She just wants to make things right." The girl said "Back then, that was papa's job….but now that he's gone, she had to take over. She only wants tha best for everyone."
Adorabeezle slowly crept from under the bed, sitting next to her older sister "But….but it makes her so upset. And when she gets upset, she gets so scary…."
"I know." Nodded the older girl.
"Don't you think we should do something?"
"I want to, Beezie." Nougetsia piped in, her younger sister seeing the glistening of the elder's eyes "But ya wanna know somethin'?"
"Ah-huh?"
"I'm kinda scared of Auntie, too."
The two sat alone in the room, silence between them deafening.
What could they do?
What could they say?
"I wanna make Auntie happy."
"I do too, Beezie."
"I wanna see her smile again, Nougie."
"I do to."
Adorabeezle held tight to her doll, squeezing it closer and closer as she remembered the looks, remembered the faces.
The smiles.
She wanted to see her Auntie smile again.
She knew she was scared, she knew she was nervous but-
She got up.
"Beezie?" asked the older girl "Where are ya goin'?"
"Alright, you on the left! Grab this!"
A candy villager took a hold of the rope, pulling it as tight as they could.
"Cover me! I'm going to dive in!"
The second candy village looked in HORROR at the words of its leader "Wait! DIVE IN?! FOR WHAT?!"
"Someone has to hold the dock up!" Bomba said, pulling off her heavy coat "If we don't have proper support, this whole thing will sink!"
"But we can have lift it using one of the sleds!" cried a concerned candy person "We can just call them out here and-!"
"There's no time!" Bomba said, rushing into the water and bracing from the cold "We have only minutes before this thing sinks!"
"MAGISTRATE BOMBA!"
She took in a breath full of air….and down she went.
"Why did you yell at them, why did you yell at them?!" The woman thought to herself as she swam through the water "Those kids only want to help and what did you do?! You roared at them like some sort of maddened Yeti!"
Bomba saw the bottom end of the pier, her legs kicking faster as her hands brushed underneath it.
"Gotta get this right."
The lower end was already starting to break away and Bomba could feel the weak wood bending against her palms. If those on top could not pull it back into place, the whole thing would go under. The water was freezing and her chest was starting to ache from the lack of air but she had to lift if it up as best she could.
She had to.
She HAD to!
Any great leader would do so!
The candy people on top gathered around and pulled but it was no easy task, the boards of the small pier creaking and groaning but so was Bomba.
Of course, part of her mind was focus on other things.
"What should I say when I get back?! I mean, is it a good idea to even go back at this point? Should I give them some time to rest, to calm down? What should I do?"
Denali.
That's who she needed.
Chip AND Denali.
They knew Adorabeezle and Nougetsia better!
They were their-!
"MAGISTRATE!"
Bomba felt herself shoot upwards, stopping herself a second before she hit her head on the bottom of the pier. Thankfully, there was a small pocket of air for her to breath but even with her air filling her lungs she was not out of the woods yet.
"What now?!"
She could hear the wood creaking and breaking behind her, the rotted planks slipping from her grasp.
"No! NO NO NO!"
It was too late; the dock was on its way down.
"Magistrate!" called a voice from above, the sound muffled from the water.
"Can she hear us?!"
"Oh, no! What if she's DROWNED!"
"No, no! Things are fine! I'M FINE!" the woman called, realizing that she had to get back to the shore as soon as possible "Give me a mome-!"
She readied herself to dive back under water but she felt something tug upon her leg.
"W-What-?!"
She inhaled deeply and ducked back into the water only to find that her pant leg had been caught upon the rocks. She pulled but there was too much of a tangle for her to get free.
Hurry, HURRY!
She reached for the knife on her belt, cutting away as fast as she could but the docks were still collapsing on top of her. Up above, the candy people fought with all their strength combined to hold the toppling wood back, to keep their leader from being crushed but it was far too heavy for them.
"E-Everyone!" the leader of the candy shouted, his own feet dragging through the mud-soaked snow "C-C'mon! Don't let go."
Bomba cut as fast as she could, finally freeing herself but as she did the final plank gave away and came crashing down. She could feel the looming weight above her and as she turned, the darkness surrounded her. The water began to churn and swirl but Bomba wasn't going to allow herself to get trapped, not when she knew that an entire village counted on her.
She threw herself forward, powerful arms and legs carrying her just far enough from the collision.
Or so she thought.
The weight of the collapsing pier dragged mud and other debris into the water, causing a thick sludge to cloud the woman's view. She could feel that she wasn't that far from air so she headed up but the water was far too dark and there was too much going on around her! She couldn't see, she couldn't feel where she was going and-!
BAM!
There was a gurgled cry as a heavy THUD landed upon her head. The pain rippled for a second but things began to fade, began to slow. She wanted to move but her arms and legs felt so heavy, the coldness of the water fading.
Fading….
Fading…..
"We will be gone for a week."
"A week? Th….that seems like an awfully long time, brother."
"Oh, come now Bomba. You've gone on excursions longer than that."
"Perhaps, but trips only required me to represent this land. I've…I've never had to care for the entire village."
"Oh, and is there a problem with that?"
"Chipwich! I-! I-!"
"Yes?"
"This is not my role?"
"What do you mean?"
"Chip, YOU'RE first born! YOU'RE the one who is supposed to be in charge! NOT ME!"
"Lady Bomba."
"Denali?"
"Why must you always question your abilities like this?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your brother has great faith in you, and so do I."
W-Wait, don't tell me-!"
"What I'm telling you, Bomba, is that you too are a wonderful leader. Your order of birth should have nothing to do with your skills."
"I…I thank you for the words of encouragement but really you two? I have no real experience leading so many people or…or even taking care of the children."
"But Bomba."
"Y-yes, brother?"
"The girls LOVE you and they've waited so long to actually spend more time with you."
"Maybe so…."
"Bomba, we will be gone but a week. I know that it seems like such a time for you but I know you can take care of this land."
"Why do you say such things?"
"Because I BELIEVE it, sis. No matter what the rules of this land say, no matter the order….I've always felt that between the both of us, you were much more suited for this role than I was."
"W…what?"
"Bomba."
"Chipwich, what is it."
"Bomba!"
"Chip! SAY SOMETHING!"
BOMBA!
"CHIP!"
Bomba shot up, looking right into the light!
Was this the end?
Why did it smell like coco?
"Urgh, my head…."
"Oh, thank goodness you're awake Magistrate." Came the voice of a relieved candy doctor, the aforementioned cup of coco in their hand.
Bomba looked around, finding herself in her grand chamber and gown. She turned, the sun having set some time ago.
"Ooow…."
"Not so fast, not so fast."
"W-What happened?" the woman moaned, reaching up and feeling the bandages on her head.
"Well, the good news is that you're injuries are not as extensive as we first feared. Just a light bump on the head, some cuts on your back and-!"
"THE DOCKS!"
The candy doctor nearly fell to the floor, Bomba looking around in desperation.
"What happened at the-?!"
"Th-the docks…." The candy said as they clumsily got back to their feet "Ma'am, they broke apart."
"What?!"
"I am sorry but that is what happened. You should thank your nieces that-!"
"Hold on a moment…." The woman said, looking right upon the candy doctor "Adorabeezle? Nougetsia? What…what did they do?!"
Once more, Bomba's size had done its job in muting the tiny candy person, the doctor clutching their chart against his chest.
Should he tell her the truth?
Bomba looked over, seeing the two girls wrapped in blankets and in their PJs, asleep on the side chair.
And Adorabeezle still had her stuffed yeti in her arms.
A sinking feeling formed in Bomba's stomach, her worry no longer on the docks but on the children who lay before her.
"Please leave."
"OH!" gasped the doctor "O-oh, yes! Right Magistrate Bomba!"
Perhaps he already knew what was going to be discussed for as the candy left, there was a bit of a smile on his face. He didn't know why but he felt that something good would finally rise from all of the chaos that had happened during the earlier hours.
Now alone, Bomba crept over to the girls, her nervousness rising the closer she got.
"They look just like us…." The woman said to herself, her heart beating faster and faster "I…I can see both of us in them."
What was she talking about?
Just the very sight of the two before her were bring back a flood of memories, memories that Bomba had always made certain to keep away. She couldn't bring them up for if she did, they would bring her down, they would make her weak.
"Don't you dare…."
"We're gonna be together forever, Bomba!"
"Oh, Gobs. Please stop!"
"We're going to make this village the best it can be, Chip!"
Tear began to roll down the woman's cheeks "Stop crying!"
"IT SANK?!"
NO!
Bomba felt herself drop, unable to go any further as she fell to her knees right before the girls. She felt herself choke up but she forced it all back, she pushed the tears back, the sadness.
"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" she cried to herself "Stop being so weak, Bomba! You can't be weak now! THE VILLAGE IS-!"
"A-Auntie?"
Bomba froze once more as she looked up, the girls coming out of their slumber.
No.
No, why did they have to see her like this?
When she was at her weakest?
"G-G-Girls!"
"Auntie" Adorabeezle said "A-Auntie, are you-?!"
The smaller girl could only see the bandages on her Aunt's head and quickly thought the worst. She instantly burst into tears, her high pitch wails echoing through the halls.
"Adorabeezle, stop!" Bomba said, trying her best and failing at calming the child down "Beezie, stop!"
"You're hurt!" the girl cried out even louder "We did everything we could and you still got hurt!"
"What do you mean by that?" the woman said, looking curiously at her nieces. Nougetsia shrunk back in fear, refusing to look her aunt in the eyes.
"You two, what happened?" the woman asked, her usual angered tone having disappeared "You…you two DID follow me down to the docks, didn't you?!"
Nougetsia knew that Adorabeezle wasn't going to be answering to anything, not with the way she was crying, but even she couldn't get her voice up. She tried to reply but the only thing that came out was a squeak.
"Y-Y-!"
"GIRLS!"
"YES!" Nougetsia said, bursting into tears herself.
"Why?! Why would do you that?!"
"W-We just wanted to help!" the youngest of the girls said "We knew you were so busy but-!"
"Girls, that was no place for you to be….."Bomba sighed, feeling the energy draining from her the more the two girls continued to cry "So why in the WORLD would you even think-?"
"We're sorry, okay?" said Nougetsia "We just didn't want you to get hurt."
"Nougetsia…." The woman sighed "I'd think you'd be better than that. Leading your little sister all the way down there because-!"
"It's not her fault."
Both Bomba and Nougetsia looked, seeing the tiny form of Adorabeezle hunched into the crook of the couch, her toy yeti to her chest.
"I…I was the one who told Nougetsia to go to the docks…."
"YOU?"
The small girl nodded "Y-Yes. I…I wanted to show you that I wasn't scared. That even in an emergency, we can help."
"That….you didn't have to do that." Bomba said, lost for words "It was stupid, it was foolish."
"But then we saw the docks fall apart!" Adorabeezle shouted "And-! And we knew that you were in the water so we both went in and-!"
Bomba felt her heart leap into her throat; she was correct in her guess that the two had followed her but she had no idea they would risk their own lives to go in AFTER her!
"You didn't!" she said "I-! It's bad enough what I did! But going after me?! You could have been killed!"
"We couldn't leave you!" said Nougetsia "So…so Beezie an' I jumped in an' swam as far as we could! We couldn't lift ya up but….but we did have some rope…."
"And we tied it around you…" the younger sister continued "And when we got back up, everyone was pulling you to the surface."
That's what they had done.
That's why they had left.
Bomba had yelled at them, she had gotten mad at them but despite all of it, despite it all, they had gone after her. They had risked their own lives just to save hers.
"Why…" the woman gulped back, feeling an odd sensation coming over her, almost as if the three were no longer alone in the room "Why did you do that?"
"Auntie…" Adorabeezle sniffled "We….we love you."
LOVE.
That was the word.
"Bomba, I love you."
How long had it been since she heard those words?
It had been a long time, such a long time. The word made her stop, it made her think, it made her….hurt. It was a word she WANTED to hear but at the same time, with all the happiness it brought, there was also some pain. The pain of remembering a face that had long since vanished of remember his voice. The voice that had always reminded her that despite it all, it never mattered if she were second-born, that she was never meant to be leader.
She was loved.
But she wasn't ready to show it yet.
She just could not convince herself to face the truth of it all.
"Auntie?" asked Nougetsia "A-are ya okay?"
The woman took the two girls in her arms and carried them to their beds.
"We will discuss this in the morning…." She said, her voice firm but there was a new sense of warmth to it "For now, go to sleep. The both of you."
The girls uttered not a word, nodding towards their guardian as the lights were shut off and the door closed.
But behind the door, Bomba weakened again.
She placed her back on the door and looked down into the hall.
Adorabeezle had dropped her yeti doll.
HER doll.
The next morning came the summary of the damage. With the dock in such ill condition it meant even more lose to the village. They would be unable to set their boats to go fishing, to continue to trade and commute.
But there was so little money, so little material.
Bomba knew the signs were there.
She needed help.
"I hate to do this…but I need to see the King."
A few of her candy staff murmured in worry, looking among themselves.
"But….but it has been so long. Not since King Hershel and your brother has there-!"
"I know what the old King, rest his soul, said! I know what my Brother said! I know….."
There was no point in trying to deny it now…
"I know what I said…." The woman continued "But perhaps…perhaps an agreement can be made. I mean, at this point we have no other choice! We're at our limits as it is and unless we want this village to go under-!"
Bomba stopped, looking at the door to see two pairs of eyes trying to spy on her.
There they were.
The woman scowled, putting her arms behind her back.
"Gentlemen, pack our things."
"OUR?" asked one of the candy helpers "Who else should we-?"
"I need MY things as do the girls." The woman continued, gathering up some papers "The three of us are heading to the Kingdom of Sugar Rush."
"SUGAR RUSH?!"
"Beezie!"
At the mere mention of the kingdom, Adorabeezle flung herself through the door, stopping at her Aunt's feet.
"We're…We're going to SUGAR RUSH?!"
"I don't see why not." Bomba replied, her face still ice-cold serious "And it would be good for these two girls to see the world outside of the Tundra, to meet their neighbors and future partners."
The girls looked at each other; they had NEVER once stepped outside of the little village and to suddenly be whisked away to Sugar Rush, a place they had only hear and seen pictures of?
It was quiet the surprise.
Bags were packed, plans were made and before the girls knew it they were off, charting on their boat across the vast ocean towards this strange kingdom called Sugar Rush.
"Have you ever been there, Auntie?" asked Adorabeezle, feeling excited as she looked at clear blue horizon.
Bomba kept her focus on the water, having not moved an inch "Once."
"Once?"
"When I was….well, not that much younger."
"Was it fun?" asked Nougetsia.
"It was…eventful."
They were passing it.
Passing the spot.
"Auntie?"
Bomba's eyes slid over towards her nieces, the look of worry clear on their faces.
"We're going to Sugar Rush again Bomba!"
"The storm looks like it's getting worse."
"We've lost contact with the ship."
"We found something!"
"No survivors!"
"The Magistrate is D-!"
"Girls, please….I just need time to concentrate. We can discuss more once we get to land."
Just when it seemed that Bomba was coming out of her shell….
It was noon by the time the boat hit land, the docks cleared as the guest arrived. Bomba looked around, surprised to find that there were no familiar faces around.
"Where's….where's Tobias?" the woman thought to herself "At the very least, I would have thought REESE would be here but-!"
"Excuse me."
A gloomy voice caught the woman's attention and after looking around a moment, she peered down to see the person to which the voice belonged to.
"Excuse me."
A green candy man?
"Er, yes?"
"I am Sour Bill…." The candy man droned on, not looking too impressed at Bomba or her nieces "I have been sent down by the Royal family to greet you, Magistrate."
Bomba knew better than to stare, getting into position as she stood in salute.
"YES, SOUR BILL!" she roared, once again scaring a few people around her "I apologize for coming to the Kingdom in such short notice!"
Bill covered his ears and shuddered; only a few days on the job and he was already feeling stressed out.
"That is fine. We have a coach waiting for you that will take you to the Palace."
Adorabeezle and Nougetsia were in AWE at the vehicle, having never seen anything like it before in their lives.
"Look at those wheels!" said Nougetsia.
"Look at the color!" said Adorabeezle.
Bomba could feel a smile forming but she stopped; the way the girls were giggling and going on about the coach was cute but she couldn't break her stance.
From the way they were going on about it, one would think they wanted to DRIVE it.
"Come on, girls. We need to get to our lodgings." Bomba said as she plucked her nieces off the ground and carried them to the car "And maybe once I am done with the King, perhaps we can look around."
"Yeah!" cheered Nougetsia "Doesn't that sound great, Beezie!"
The smaller girl nodded, feeling giddy but a little nervous as well. As fun as it was being in a new kingdom she couldn't push back all her fears. She could see smaller candy children running about the square but then-
"Who are all of these people?" Bomba asked, noticing that there were a few more HUMANOID figures around the kingdom than she remembered.
"They're visiting for an event…." Sour Bill said, looking not at all interested in what was going on just a few yards away.
"Wonderful…" Bomba huffed "As if it weren't bad enough that the docks collapse, am I interrupting Tobias during an important time?"
"Do not worry, ma'am. The King said he would be able to make time for you." The green candy man said "But in light of things, maybe we should-!"
SHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRK!
"HOLY GOB STOPPERS!"
The coach jolted forward as it narrowly avoided coming into contact with another car, Bomba looking out the window just in time to see a flash of pink barreling down the road.
"What in the name of-!"
"HANG ON!"
Something within Bomba snapped and without a moment's hesitation she leapt upon her nieces and ducked for cover, the timing perfect as not a second later the coach collided with a light pole, the thing crashing down into the busy crowd.
"OUTTA THA CAR!" Bomba barked as she picked up her nieces, Sour Bill and somehow managed to reach in the front and grab the driver as well.
"AH, AUNTIE!"
Perhaps it was just pure instincts that Bomba was working on but whatever it was, the woman came TUMBLING out of the coach only to crash right into the wall of a nearby shop, losing her grip and dropping everyone into the mess.
"Who was THAT?!" Nougetsia asked as she got to her feet, looking about as more and more people began to gather around the accident site.
There were far too many people and far too many questions being asked for Nougetsia to get a proper answer and before she knew it-
"Auntie Bomba?! Beezie?!"
Who else was she with?
"GREEN GUY WHO'S NAME I CAN'T REMEMBER!?"