Chapter 22
The group of townspeople who greeted the stranger looked at the hooded prince. They have watched him fail climbing up the tree. They only laugh upon looking up to see the Beanish children enjoy their time on top of the tall Woo Bean tree.
One of the townspeople called out to the hooded stranger, "Hey, Haricot! Pass the farmland for another day. As this day goes on, you will learn more about our way of life to be ready."
Peasley insisted, "Things are better when it is done fast."
The townsperson replied in response, "That Woo Bean tree has stood much longer than me, son. It can wait for you until you are ready."
The hooded prince sighed and finally stood up. He rubbed the dirt off his clothing and accessories as he walked towards the Beanish townspeople. The townspeople proceed to guide the hooded stranger to the next area. They walk down the floor tiles of their town that lead to an open park where the Beanish, both child and adult, play around and socialize.
One of the townspeople said to Prince Peasley, "We don't just farm, Haricot. Sometimes, the Beanish would want to take a break after a hard work at the farm or other places of work."
Another townsperson in the group added, "We take a break here in this park. Children would play with cute little Beanlets…"
A group of children suddenly approached the hooded prince and the group of townspeople to ask them, "Excuse me, could you help us find our Beanlets? They've ran away again."
"Don't worry, child," one of the townspeople answered, "we'll help find them."
The Beanish children proceed to scatter to find the missing Beanlets. The townspeople also scattered around the town to help in the search. Peasley and one townsperson remain.
The townsperson openly reacted to the hooded stranger, "I've seen you help a group of children back at the farm. Whatever that blasted academy is doing to our water, you've made quite a solution. Despite the children's help, however, you do not seem to play well with groups."
Prince Peasley crossed his arms and replied, "I do not tolerate failure due to a past experience. We were climbing up a tall mountain and those who are accompanying me have bailed the experience out of cowardice."
The Beanish townsperson quickly resolves by saying to him, "The Beanish people will eventually learn to try again, because they learn from their mistakes. I understand your tired interest in teamwork. There can't be a perfect Beanish all the time. It always takes time not to be perfect, but to be better. You have to help yourself feel great after helping Beanish children fill their buckets, find their Beanlets and learn to walk, I guess. It always makes us feel good to help and offer, because you know those children, or anybody you wish to help, would learn. Next time, those Beanish children will know what to do that would make you feel great."
"So, you're saying," the hooded prince clarified, "how I help them would inherit to others?"
Suddenly, Prince Peasley has a memory flashed in his head. He was above the ocean, on his winged board with Jojora by his side. He remembered saying to the snow witch, "Therefore, I, the prince of Bean-bean kingdom, end the banishment of you and your family."
And then, another but drastic one flashed in his head to recall Jojora's retaliation against him, to which Jojora's voice is spoken, "That's why you're no prince of me or to anyone, not even to these cute little creatures you want to eat."
The hooded prince looked down and thought to himself about the memories, "I freed Jojora, so in return, she liberated the monsters in Bean-bean Fields from my survival," and then, he openly said to the Beanish beside him, "I have done those things. I helped people and they did it to others I mistreated, so those I helped used my gratitude against me."
Prince Peasley sadly looked at the townsperson, who stared back as a wind blows the red cape of the hooded prince while the two Beanish stand.
The Beanish townsperson could see that Peasley is disappointed at himself even with the hood on covering the upper half of his face. He said to the prince, "Different people always have different traits, Haricot. We have to be careful, for our judgment can be misguided and it is why we should learn… from them and from our mistakes. We are always given a second chance to repair whatever you have done."
"I can't depend on your people to redeem myself," the hooded prince said to the townsperson.
To which the townsperson replied, "For that, you have to find out. But first, we must help find the Beanlets. They're cute little things and always run off to lonely places in this town. If we're gonna go together, do you mind talking about your lawless community?"
Prince Peasley, still disguised and going by the alias Haricot, went off to find the missing Beanlets by himself while the rest have spread out in Bean-bean Town to help in the search.
The hooded prince finds himself in the eastern part of the town. He heads north, where many of the Beanish townspeople are suspicious and curious of the stranger's presence. The prince's red cape, made as a scarf as part of his disguise, blows in the air as he walks. The Beanish around him shudder in response and in awe.
Prince Peasley's hearing caught quiet high-pitched barking in the north. He follows the sound and arrives at a wide house located in the northeastern part of the town. The people watch the hooded stranger leap from his feet and reach the roof of the wide house.
The source of the barking is finally found on top of the roof in the form of a small bean creature, smaller than a Beanie, with a pair of beady eyes and puppy-like mouth. It has yellow roots for legs.
The prince picks up the bean creature in his hands. The bean creature continues to bark and bounce around in the prince's palms. Prince Peasley proceeds to fall back down on the ground to start finding one of the Beanish townspeople or children involved in the search party.
A Beanish child is seen leaning his head beside a tree and looking around before withdrawing his head back to sigh.
Prince Peasley approaches this Beanish child and shows him the little bean creature.
The child gasps joyfully and identified the creature to the hooded stranger, "Thank you, stranger. This is one of the five Beanlets we're looking for."
"Yes," Prince Peasley replied and said to the Beanish child, "I found it on top of one of the roofs of your people's houses."
The child expressed the fact to the stranger, "Is that so? In our previous searches, it took us a really long time finding one on the ground."
"So maybe, we could find the other four on other rooftops," Prince Peasley shared the idea to the child.
The child excitedly replied, "Yeah! Let's catch them all!"
The Beanish child ran off giggling and went towards other houses to climb up their walls and peek their heads to check for Beanlets on rooftops. Prince Peasley watched the child search for Beanlets according to the prince's advice. The hooded prince looked down and made a proud smile. He chuckled and helped the child search for the other Beanlets by climbing walls and checking rooftops of each house.
A townsperson with part of the search party met the hooded stranger while the latter is searching for Beanlets. He asked the hooded stranger, "What are you doing?"
The hooded prince answered, "The Beanlets may be hiding on top of rooftops. I found one on the roof of the wide house, so I suspect that the other four are found on rooftops."
The Beanish townsperson nodded in agreement and shared a fact, "That's right, Beanlets tend to enjoy and bask in sunlight. In any unsuspecting places exposed to sunlight in this town, there might be a chance that we'd find a Beanlet."
"Spread the word," Prince Peasley suggested with a smile as the townsperson complied to his word by telling the others involved in the search party.
Later on, Prince Peasley has checked every rooftop in the eastern part of town. Unfortunately, there aren't any Beanlets left on rooftops of the eastern area. The hooded prince proceeds to cross a wooden bridge leading to the west side of town.
There, he sees the search party members checking the roofs of their people's houses. They manage to find two more Beanlets as they frolic around happily carrying the missing Beanlets in their palms.
Prince Peasley smiles proudly upon seeing his own people happily finding the little bean creatures they consider pets.
The hooded prince hears slight barking coming from his right. He turned north to see a Beanlet hopping around on a set of stairs in place. The prince easily takes the Beanlet in his palms. The Beanlet looked at Prince Peasley and stopped barking to snuggle itself in the palms of the hooded prince. Prince Peasley blushed shyly as he continues to find the rest of the Beanlets.
A group of Beanish children stand by the bridge to count their Beanlets. They have two in their possession.
The hooded prince proceeds to return two more he found earlier. He says to the children, "I've found one on a rooftop and the other on the stairs."
"Thank you for your advice, stranger" one of the Beanish children acknowledged, "my friend says you said it."
The prince smiled and nodded in response.
Another Beanish child noted to the prince, "There's one left Beanlet missing. It's not anywhere here, but in the east side. They don't like going inside buildings, by the way."
"Got it," Prince Peasley replied in response to the child's note about the last remaining Beanlet.
Another child among the group of Beanish children said to the stranger, "We'll stay here to keep an eye on our Beanlets."
The hooded prince returns to the east side of town where he found the first Beanlet. Many of the adult Beanish townspeople involved in the search party. Prince Peasley looked around and tried to hear a single bark from the last Beanlet.
"Stop it!" a female voice cried out.
They all turn their attention to the cry. In the direction the Beanish are facing, a Beanlet is running towards their path. A Beanish woman is chasing the runaway Beanlet. She yelled out to her fellow search party members, "Stop the Beanlet!"
The Beanlet is running faster than the Beanish behind it. The disguised Prince Peasley is the only one in the way, so he ran towards the Beanlet in front of him and caught it in his hands. The Beanlet aggressively struggled in the prince's grip.
Prince Peasley tries to hold it in. He angrily tells the Beanlet inside his hands, "Stop moving, or…!"
But then, he started to look at his own people who are watching him trying to stop the Beanlet from aggressively breaking free.
The hooded prince sighs and proceeds to quietly shush the Beanlet. The little bean creature continued barking and shaking. But it started to calm down a little after hearing the prince's peaceful gesture. It stopped barking and moving and just stayed still in the prince's hands.
The prince proceeded to cross the bridge, followed by his own people behind him. He handed the final Beanlet to the children and said, "This one is really aggressive."
The children squealed in delight and happily took the last Beanlet from the prince's hands. One of the Beanish children remarked, "This is our favorite one. Quite a fighter like the troops."
One of the children added, "Always angry, but knows when to calm down."
"Yeah," the prince replied with a chuckle, "yes, it does."
"You did a good job, Haricot," one of the townspeople in the search group praised the hooded stranger's support, "you're beginning to learn."
Prince Peasley sighs and nods in response. The sun is about to set as they speak. The children thanked the hooded stranger before leaving with their Beanlets. Afterwards, the townspeople would invite Haricot, who is actually Prince Peasley in disguise, to dinner with them and the farmers from earlier, including the children. They feasted on the harvested Woo Beans as the stars sparkle in the sky after the Beanish are prepared to enjoy staying at night to watch the dark skies shine.