A Fickle Fingered Fate
Chapter 11
Tough Love and Tougher Hate
"I'm not so sure about this..."
Toffee chuckled softly, shaking his head. He stood on the other side of the large changing screen in the seamstress's workroom. The talented purple-skinned, blond spider monster was halfway behind the screen, her four arms armed with pins, needles, threads, and scissors, ready to make adjustments. "Trust me, this will make things much easier."
"But It's hardly ladylike," she replied. He could almost heard the blush in her voice.
"Not for Mewnians. You don't fall under their rules anymore."
The seamstress plucked a pin from between her fanged teeth. "If I may?" she asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "As the Queen you set any dressing standard you please for yourself. Our Queens are never 'out of fashion' or 'improperly dressed'." She grabbed something with two hands, snipping it and sewing it up with a swift, fluid motion.
"Like the lady said," he said with a smirk. "Now just come out. I'm sure you look fine."
With a rustle of fabric, the Queen slowly stepped out, her face bright red.
A short dark blue dress with white ruffles hugged his wife's curvy figure, the skirts only reaching her knees. Loose black breeches covered her legs and where tucked into her tall boots. The long white sleeves were loose, but clung to her wrists and elbows so they were out of the way. Her hair was down, her ringlets framing her face, the shortened lock still braided and hanging over her collarbone.
'She really is attractive I'll admit,' he thought. "See? You look wonderful," he said aloud. "Now you can sit astride when you go riding."
She smoothed down her skirts, glancing at him shyly. "You don't think it's too...revealing?"
The seamstress openly scoffed, throwing her hands up as she crossed the room, her carapace legs clicking against the floor. "Oh please, I can't stand when people dance around words. Just tell her she's cute and kiss her!"
Toffee arched a brow at the spider while Mia gave a slight squeak. The king had known the seamstress since he was young and had seen her be just as frank with his parents. He remembered his mother laughing at his father's red face when the spider had groaned and told them to 'just go make another child'. Oddly enough, Renata had been born the next year.
Normally he would have corrected someone's behavior, but she was an exception. "Thank you, Miss Muflynne, but I'm certain we communicate exactly what we want just fine," he said. "Now, I believe I'm to be your next doll to dress."
She turned to him with a grin, folded clothes in her hands. "Oh indeed you are~" She set them in his outstretched hand, and all but pushed him behind the changing screen.
Mia tried to suppress a smile and a snicker as the spider, who was shorter than herself, shoving her tall husband like an eager child. She turned towards one of the mirrors set up around the workshop, taking in her appearance. 'I've never shown so much of my legs before. Does he...really like this?' She glanced towards the changing screen in the mirror's reflection, thinking that she wasn't apposed to her husband finding her attractive.
"You really are cute, you know." Mia jumped in surprise, turning to find Muflynne standing behind her. "Those fabrics your mother brought are some of the best materials I've ever had to work with. I'm going to make such lovely garments. I would have liked to have had time to actually fashion your wedding dress, but I did what I could."
"You'll have more materials to work with once we get the first corn harvest in," Mia replied. "I can teach weavers how to make cloth from the corn silk."
"Quite a handy little plant, isn't it?" she said. "Let me be honest, my Queen, I wasn't happy about this marriage. Not because you're Mewnian, but because I had hoped Toffee would finally find a girl for himself." The tips of her fangs peeked out as she smiled. "However, spiders have a keen sense of things. I can already tell a few things are between the two of you. Despite what some people think, Toffee isn't made of ice and you're a pretty girl-I'm sure you see where I'm going with this."
Muflynne giggled at Mia's burning face and stuttering attempt to respond. "Oh you're going to be so much fun~" said the spider. "Though I must know if you fancy him the same way, or if you'll get emotionally attached to him."
The thump of boots drew their attention back towards the screen as Toffee stepped out. He was clad in black, his pants, vest, and jacket all as dark as his hair. His shirt was snow white, and stood out against the dark colors. But what caught Mia's eye was the tie around his neck.
Bright candy pink with sky blue swirls, exactly like her hair.
Muflynne beamed, clapping all four hands together. "Perfect! I think pink just might be your color, my King."
Toffee fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I still prefer to wear black for everyday clothes, Miss Muflynne." He glanced briefly at his wife. "But...I suppose a change in tie colors is acceptable."
"I...I like it," Mia murmured, bashfully avoiding her husband's gaze. "Black does look nice on you, but a touch of color brightens you appearance."
Toffee bowed slightly. "I'm pleased my Queen approves." Mia couldn't help but laugh.
The spider glanced between them with a grin of her own. One of her questions had already been answered.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
The castle kitchen was bustling with activity as Toffee led his wife into it. Servants darted about carrying food and cookware, tending to the preparing meals and cleaning up from the previous ones. Not even the presence of their king could call a halt to their work, though a few nearby acknowledged him briefly.
Mia stuck close to her husband's side, hoping to keep out of everyone's way as she followed close behind. "As you can see we're far from understaffed here, so if you ever need something there's always someone here to assist you," he said, feeling the intense heat radiating off the ovens as he approached them, seeking the monster currently chucking wood into the flames. "And this is the head of the kitchen staff, Miss Margaret Skullnick."
The tall figure turned, revealing themselves to be a troll. She was actually taller than Toffee by a few inches, and had a rounded heavyset figure. Tall ears poked out of the mane of flaming red hair on her head, and black glasses were perched on her long nose, but Mia wasn't sure if the troll was wearing lipstick or if her lips were naturally turquoise. She wore a short sleeved lavender top under a stained leather apron, which had a set of knives on one pocket and a few wooden spoons in the other.
The troll pushed up her glasses, eyeing Mia before arching a brow at her king. "This her?" she asked. "Didn't take you for a pancake girl kind of guy."
"Pancake...?" Mia mused hesitantly.
"Short and stacked," replied the troll. "Just like me. Well at least your not a twig-can't stand me some skinny little rich girls."
Mia felt her face flush red, glancing down subtly at herself. She was already starting to regret choosing to wear her new dress again. Toffee's hand gently landed on her shoulder, drawing her attention even though he didn't look away from the redheaded troll. "You're hardly short, Margaret."
"Am for a troll," she replied almost smugly as she casually fluffed her hair. "I'm a tiny thing compared to my sister-but not as itty-bitty as this slip of a thing you've got. Bet she's barely an armful soaking wet even with that meat on her bones!" Skullnick cackled, slapping her knee before throwing an armful of logs into the oven as if they were mere twigs. "All good humor aside, what did you need? I've already got dinner planned out for tonight so you're out of luck if you were hoping to change it."
The reptilian shook his head. "Nothing like that. Mia actually wanted to get a feel for our kitchen. I want you to show her around, teach her how we do things, and introduce her to the staff."
"Eh, why not? I'll show her a few things. But let me get her an apron and some gloves. Last thing I need is her getting cut or burned on something." She slammed the oven shut with her heel as she stalked off. "Wait here. Keven! Where's my spare apron?!"
Toffee turned to his wife, quickly noting the way she stared intently at the floor. "She's a bit of a blunt character, but she means well," he assured, trying very hard to resist the urge to draw her to his side. "Are you sure you want to do this? As Queen you aren't required to work in the kitchen-it would be enough just to know how things are set up."
She looked up, plastering a smile upon her face that he was certain was only half genuine. "I'll be fine. Part of becoming a member of a household is helping to maintain it, after all. Besides, I'd like to show my people that hard work doesn't scare me. Princess or not, I'm just as capable as the next maid...or at least potentially so." She giggled slightly, glancing away. "The next maid is likely to be much more skilled at her work than me. But I can certainly try my best!"
"Wise words," he replied, his hand sliding down her arm to cup her elbow. "Just try to stick close to Margaret. She'll look after you."
The smile slipped slightly from her lips. "You make it sound like there's something I should be wary of...is there?"
He cast a brief glance of his eyes over the kitchen, catching a few hard stares and dirty looks. "Not exactly," he replied quietly. "However, we both know that not everyone is very accepting of our marriage. I'd just like to make certain you're safe."
Mia's gaze flicked over the room briefly, then returned to the floor. "I know. I'm not exactly welcomed by everyone." She slowly looked up with a sad smile, her hand gently covering his. "But don't worry about it. I'll be alright. I'm sure Miss Skullnick will keep me in good company."
Toffee felt as if he should say something, a word of reassurance or a bit of gently encouragement to stay strong-even a little praise for her bravery. Yet his tongue seemed to refuse to work, stubbornly stick to the roof of his mouth like glue. So he subtly clenched his jaw as the troll returned, tossing another leather apron over his wife's head.
It fell to the ground, far too long on his small lady. Skullnick hummed in thought, and spun the pink haired queen around, tying a knot into the strap around her neck. "There, that outta do it. Put these on too, they're a little big but they'll get the job done." The troll turned to her king as the Mewnian pulled on the thick leather gloves. "Anything else?"
He shook his head. "That will be all, Miss Skullnick. Enjoy your afternoon." He looked to his wife, giving her a slight smile. "I'll see you this evening."
She returned the smile, bidding him a good day before turning to the large troll. "So, where shall we start?"
"Know how to make rice cakes?" she asked. Mia shook her head, her curls bouncing slightly. Skullnick frowned, and turned her around, pulling a cord out of her pocket to tie Mia's hair up into a tight, no-nonsense bun. "Well you're about to learn."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Renata was practically bouncing with excitement when Toffee reached the training grounds a short distance from the castle, bow in hand and quiver on her back. A few of his warriors were sparring nearby, some with weapons, others with bare hands. Much like his sister, a couple of them were young apprentices being taught by the older warriors. "I'm so ready for this," she stated. "I could hardly stand waiting for your slow butt to get here!"
"Pardon me for dropping off my wife," he apologized sarcastically as he picked up a bow and quiver of his own. "You're going to have to learn a little more patience if you plan to be any good with a bow."
She scoff, waving him off. "Please, once I get into it I'll have the patience of a sage for every arrow."
Toffee rolled his eyes. "Where have I heard that before..." He couldn't help a slight smug look when she slapped his shoulder. "Now I just grew that arm and you're already assaulting it."
"You're lucky it was only your arm," she murmured, letting him set her into the proper stance.
He moved behind her, adjusting her grip and leading her arms through the motions of drawing the string taunt. "Keep your elbow down, sight along the arrow, draw it back until it touches your cheek, and slowly let it go..." The arrow flew with a satisfying 'twang!' and buried itself into one of the targets at the other end of the firing range. It was far from the center, but Renata beamed like she'd hit a bullseye.
He felt a swell of brotherly pride as they continued, watching his sister absorb everything he said and striving to better herself with each arrow fired. In between correcting a few mistakes and helping her reposition her stance they spoke of random topics to fill the silence. Toffee was comfortable with quiet, but Renata always wanted to banish the silence, so he tried to oblige her when he could.
But after a few minutes, and half a quiver of arrows, Toffee grew silent, thinking quietly before he spoke again. "What do you think of Mia?"
The string slipped from her fingers, sending the arrow flying well over the targets and into a tree. She cursed under her breath, mumbling it enough that he couldn't make it out to scold her for using it. The princess refused to look at him as she grabbed another arrow. "What does she have to do with this?" she grumbled. "Am I suppose to aim above or directly at what I want to hit?"
A twinge of irritation fluttered through him. "Renata, don't change the subject."
"I didn't," she growled, turning to shoot him a glare. "You did. I don't want to talk about her, I want you to teach me archery. I already had to wait an entire extra day for you to start teaching me, I'm not going to waste it chatting about her."
He folded his arms, lifting his chin slightly, a habit he had developed when disciplining and correcting his sister's behavior had fallen to him. "I asked you to be nice to her, Re. You gave your word to me."
"And I've kept it," she shot back, mimicking his pose, though her chin tilted downward stubbornly, like a donkey digging in its heels. "I've been nice to her-did she say otherwise? Because if she did-"
His hand shot up, a call for silence that she obeyed with enough reluctance he could tell she was literally biting her tongue. "She has said nothing but of how sweet a young lady you are. You've been so warm and cheerful with everyone around you-lighting up the room, as she put it. All she's had to said is good things about you," he said. "Yet the one thing she doesn't say is what bothers me. She described how good you are to everyone else, but she never mentioned how kindly you've been to her aside from showing her around with Rasticore."
"So? You said I didn't have to like her-and you know what? I don't, okay? There, I said it. Are you going to punish me now?"
Toffee dropped his head slightly into his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had partially been expecting something like this, though he could hardly blame her. Renata was still rather young, and admittedly a bit sheltered, so he reminded himself mentally to ease the tension before she grew aggressively defensive, which she tended to do if she felt attacked.
"No, I'm not going to punish you. You're right, I never said you had to like her," he said gently. "However, I am rather disappointed. After how mature you acted at the wedding I had hoped you would give Mia a chance and at least attempt to befriend her. So that tells me she's upset you, and I'd like to know what happened."
The lavender skinned girl looked away sullenly, the fire of her temper all but gone. She shuffled her feet as the silence began to stretch between them, but he refused to break it, waiting patiently until she decided to speak on her own. When she finally replied, her voice was barely louder than a mumble. "I wanted her to leave when that lady came. It felt like we were suddenly so close to having things back to the way they were, and then she just decided to stay anyway-like it was just out of spite or something! She's always around, everywhere I look she keeps turning up-either hanging off you like a creeper vine on a tree or somebody is talking about her!"
As she rambled, he saw the wet shine in her eyes, the glitter of tears forming slowly on her lashes. But he let her continue, allowing her to release every thought she had, even ones that likely just popped into her as she ranted. By the time she seemed to run out of words, she was choking on her own sobs, tears streaming down her face.
He opened his arms as she lunges for him, holding her close as she cried against his chest, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. "I don't want her to take you away from me too!"
There it was at last. The real truth that Renata likely hadn't even acknowledged herself. She didn't hate Mia, she was afraid of a stranger stealing the last of her family out from under her nose. After all, Toffee was all the family she could clearly remember, having acted more of a parent than a sibling to her almost her entire life.
His hand stroked soothingly over her back, his other arm holding her tight as he softly hushed her sobs, muttering quietly in her ear. The cries slowed to a stop, but she refused to leave the shelter of his embrace. He gently brushed back her messy bangs, swiping his thumb over her wet cheek to dry the salty drops.
"I understand how you feel, Re. But you know that I'd never leave you. No matter what happens, I'm always your brother. I might not have as much time to spend with you as I had before, but I don't love you any less, and adding a wife into the mix doesn't mean I've run out of room in my heart for you. Don't you remember what Mother used to say?"
She sniffled, lifting her glasses to rub her eyes. "A heart doesn't only have so much love to give, it just makes room for more." A handkerchief appeared in front of her from Toffee's pocket, and she blew her nose. "I'm sorry..."
He gently lifted her chin, giving her a soft smile. "We all make mistakes, especially when we're afraid. Just promise me that this time you'll really try to be nice to her. Mia has actually lost her family in a sense. Her father will likely never speak to her again, and her mother has been distant from her for years now. She's rather alone if you think about it, and if I know anything, it's that little sisters make for good company."
A shy smile and blush formed on her face as she brushed her hair behind her ear. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll...I'll try better this time," she mumbled. "I'm sorry for being a brat."
"Forget about it, it's in the past now," he said, and turned her back towards the targets. "Now, shall we try that last shot again? Possibly without the attempted tree murder?"
He chuckled as she punched his arm hard enough to hurt her own hand. "Jerk!"