SWEET SUGAR ANGEL
AKIRA: My pet bunny will do the sad thing for me.......
WIND: Piuu! Akira-hime owns nothing except for the boys of Salvation (I'm proud of my Darlings.) It's the disclaimer!!! Piuu! Puu!
CHAPTER 6 :Candies
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"Wah!" They are surrounded by life-size candy sculptures. There are knights, swordsmen, damsels and townspeople. They wore garments that reminds them of a time of crusades and knighthood. The little group was amazed at the precise usage of details in the romantic scenes.
"Oh. You're here. You really are here."
They all turned to find Sophie at the open door. Behind her stood Azure.
"Crimson."
"O, yeah. I gotta go back to my post. See you all later."
After Crimson has gone, the two newcomers went in.
"Why are you here?" Azure demanded.
"We were told that there's a good art exhibition today. So, we went." Robin answered plainly enough.
"Shouldn't you be going back to your wing too?"
Sophie is gently pushing Azure out of the doors.
"But Princess... You can't..."
"What? Do you know that I can handle my friends quite as well as you could? Now go. Or your guests might get upset."
"Why would they?"
"I don't know. Just go. Bye-bye." Thud.
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"You guys really came. Welcome. " Sophie stood in front of them. She's wearing a fawn-colored dress with white lace. Her hair is pulled up into two silky ponytails. She began swaying. "So... You like my candies?"
"Yes. They're awesome. You made all of these?" Vanilla asked.
"Uh-huh... And... Kyaa!!!" They all had to cover their ears. Her scream echoed in the hall.
"What's the matter? Are you okay?" Pierre held her by the shoulders. There's the ring of concern in his voice.
"Uh... Yeah. I forgot I don't even know your names. If I remember right, I introduced myself to all of you. But I didn't get to have you guys to tell me who you are. Thanks to the impolite entrance of Azure and Crimson. Anyways, I apologize for his rude behavior. He's just like that when it comes to me." She seems suddenly uncomfortable with him holding her, for she began backing away. And only stopped when she had distanced herself from him.
Pierre noticed her sudden retreat. "Oh. In that case..."
He stepped forward and halted just in front of her. He then kneeled on one knee, took her hand and kissed it ever so gently. The contact sent shivers down her spine.
This... This already happened... I-I remember... No... Impossible.
"My name is Pierre Claude Vandelle." (For those who knew his real name...Please concede...I like it this way...) He stood up and stepped back from where he came.
"You're embarrassing me, Pierre-san." Sophie said, blushing deeply.
"I don;t think so. It's just proper to give respect to a Princess."
"STOP THAT!!!" They were surprised to see anger in her eyes.
"Not you too. Please call me by my name. We're friends, right?" Her bangs covered her eyes, but her voice sounded like she's close to crying.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to..." He reached out but she stepped back so he just stopped.
"Of course you don't... It's okay. Please don't sound too guilty." She smiled again.
"How about you guys? What's your names?"
"We're Haux and Saule!" The twins said in chorus.
"Hi! I'm Vanilla."
"I'm Rock 'n' Robin, call me Sir Robin, little girl."
"Well... How do you like my candies?"
They were walking around, looking at the images closely.
"They all look sad. Don't get me wrong. They're really beautiful and most of them are smiling, but... But you could see it in their eyes, that they weren't happy as they seem." Vanilla said in a small voice.
"You noticed? And here I was thinking that people who'll come to this exhibit would all be busy making themselves look too important to ever notice that tiny detail. Thank you. Well, I don't know. I make them as how I see them in my dreams."
"Dreams?"
"Well, yes. You see, I've been painting and sketching all I have been dreaming. They're pretty. Calm and sad at the same time."
"Have you been dreaming about this one too?"
They all turned their attention to the piece that Pierre referred to. It is of a pair. A boy and a young girl, skating on ice. The boy held the girl gently. And the girl, in turn, held on to the boy as though she had just learned how to dance on ice. The whole piece is made entirely with a shimmering sweet. Almost crystalline in appearance, it froze the gentle moment into eternity.
Vanilla smiled sweetly to Sophie. "It's very nice. The clear candy with a bluish tinge made it look like ice. But the closeness between them made it feel warm."
"Wacko!"
"Wizard!"
"Simply beautiful."
"And this is from a dream too."
"A recurring dream. I always had that dream almost too often." Sophie was staring at the artwork with a hint of scorn on her face.
"Why the expression, Miss Sophie?" Pierre was looking at her intently, cool as though he hadn't asked a question.
Sophie probably knew that everyone thinks that she looks like the girl in her work, only younger. And she blushingly noticed that Pierre looks a lot like the boy.
"Oh. Azure says he doesn't like the way I was having disturbing dreams, ever so often at that. Particularly this one, I don't know why."
"Maybe he's jealous of the boy, Sophie. Yeah. I think he's just that."
"Could it be? But how? And besides I don't remember having such a memory with anyone. Sir Robin, I must think it isn't or I'll feel awkward with him."
"I'm just kidding. Maybe."
"Change topic, okay? So about this splendid sweets... Uhm?"
"Oh, yeah! Enjoy them as you see them, for tomorrow, they're gone."
"Meaning?"
"All of the works in this gallery today will be sold in an auction later tonight. So if you find anything you'd like, I suggest you attend the party later."
"I suppose, the money from the auction will be used for charity."
"Yes. I'll have it donated to a children's hospital in the city. I really admire the way children live their lives, don't you?"
"Because they can play pranks all day long?" Robin asked, remembering a time when he's always 'pestered' by the youngsters that stood in front of him now.
"Because they are always happy and carefree. They see the world with much more clarity than grown-ups do." Sophie smiled sadly at a replica of playing children.
"They have such light souls, able to alleviate suffering from those around them and at the same time carry the burden of responsibilities with an innocent smile on their faces."
"Sophie..." Pierre called her. She's becoming less and less focused as she poured out words.
"Be happy, create bright memories of your youth. For all too soon, innocence will be lost, then you'll drown in the pit of fate called reality. And you can never be truly happy again."
"Sophie... It's okay. Come on."
"Well. That's what my big brother used to tell me." There's relief when she snapped out of her mood and smiled again.
The group continued their little tour. Sophie is such an adorable host. She had an ideal voice for a guide, clear and soft and melodic. Her enthusiasm for her candies is contagious. They didn't notice how the time passed.
"Enough about that. You know, I really enjoy being with you guys. I hope we'll get to know each other better. Next time! I think it's fair enough if I tend to the other guests now. Well, see you!"
They all bowed then watched as Sophie walked off to accommodate the other visitors.
"Should we really be taking off? I mean, we didn't make her remember anything, did we?" Vanilla asked them as they walk out the gallery gates.
"Today's enough already. We don't need to force her. Or else we'll look too suspicious. She's just beginning to trust us, so we remain cool, okay?" Sir Robin ruffled the princess' hair. "You going off, Pierre? Where you'll be going?"
"Back to the house. I have business to attend to."
"You enjoyed the visit that much, I can see."
Pierre stopped and faced them with a little smile.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean." And with that he disappeared with a whisk of wind.
"Yeah. Right."
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"Welcome back, Young Master." Gatou bowed as he entered the door. (I don't know the name of Pierre's servant... so, bear with me.)
"Gatou. Do you perchance to know the art auction at Belmore Gallery?" Pierre sat down as the man poured him some coffee.
"It's the Princess' works which are on stage, right? So you're attending the event to buy some interesting pieces, I presume."
"Definitely not." The servant is amused to see hate flash in his master's cold eyes.
"If I see that Azure once more, Lord help me, but I'm gonna kill him. Although I found some nice artworks. You're gonna go for me, Gatou, won't you? Buy me a couple. I want the bastard's 'Pink Lace' and Chocolat's 'Blue Haze'."
"As you wish." Pierre was left alone to coffee.
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n_ n~Dark Petal Emo Lolita~
=( o _o)==Black Sakura: Dark Princess of the Forgotten Petal=
( o )oOo Akira Kinimoto oOo
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