Chapter 22 Evil Search

Cackletta let out a breath and snuggled back on the throne. She stretched her arms up to the ceiling, yawning in a way that made her grateful that no one else was in the room. As she lowered her arms, she did something that she didn't do very often, if at all. That being, she counted her blessings. There were so many of them! Her ingenious mind that allowed her to take over the Beanbean Kingdom, the magic she had to ensure that her magic would dominate the land for years to come. Oh, and the fact there were thousands of servants who were now brainwashed and waiting for hand and foot. Those blessings made her feel like she was on top of the world.

Or… would they be curses, considering that all of them had something to do with evil? Hmm… eh, it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was reaping the rewards of the best plan she could ever come up with. She leaned even further back in the throne, closing her eyes. She had thought before that the throne was comfortable enough to be slept in, and she was going to test that theory right now.

"Mistress Cackletta, I have brought you your drink," said a monotone voice.

Cackletta opened one eye and grinned when she saw Lady Lima, with white lights in the places where her eyes should be, and a silver platter with a pink strawberry smoothie. Hmm, maybe Cackletta could leave her villainous nap for later. That luscious smoothie of wickedness needed to be consumed now, now she says!

Without saying thank you, Cackletta snatched the smoothie. She felt like she had tasted paradise as the cold, smooth liquid came in contact with her tongue. "Ahh!" She looked at Lady Lima and gestured her to go away. "Shoo, shoo! Go paint a portrait of me or something; I'm busy here!"

"Of course, my queen." Lima bowed and made her way out of the room. Cackletta slurped up the rest of the smoothie as she left, all at once feeling a little extra giddy. The advisor to the Beanbean queen now serves her without questions or even batting an eye. Was this a dream? It felt like a dream. Cackletta had wanted to take over the kingdom of her homeland for years, decades even. The fact that she had finally succeeded in accomplishing this amazing task almost didn't feel real.

But it was; that was the beauty of it. Putting on another smile, Cackletta looked up at the ceiling. "To whatever evil God is watching over me and guiding me, I want to thank you." She took another amazing sip of her smoothie. "I don't know where I'd be without your influence."

"Who does the Mistress Cackletta do the speaking to?"

Cackletta blinked, turning to see Fawful standing beside the throne. When did he even come into the room? She didn't know, but… eh, it didn't really matter.

"I'm talking with the Gods of Evil," Cackletta said, deciding there was no harm in being honest this particular time.

Fawful giggled. "Ah, the Gods of Evil. The Gods of the wicked morality are doing the great work of ensuring the wicked jelly be spread across the bread of the world." Fawful licked his lips. "They all have an amazing plan for you."

"Of course they do." Cackletta leaned back once again. "And the best part is that I am the only one who they think positively of. I am literally the only person wicked and selfish enough to make them even consider giving favor too."

Fawful shrunk back a little bit. "Well, Fawful was thinking he does the earning their favor too, but what does Fawful do the knowing of…"

Cackletta chuckled. "The answer is nothing; you know nothing." She sipped the smoothie, realizing in frustration that she was reaching the bottom of the glass. "I should get Lima to make me another one…" her eyes traveled over to her henchman, and she laughed. "Actually, you're closer." She shoved the glass into his hands. "Make me another smoothie Fawful, and be swift about it!"

A glare flashed across Fawful's face, and it was one of the sharpest Cackletta had ever seen. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what in the world could be making Fawful this annoyed, when he let out a breath and spoke up.

"Actually, Lady Cackletta, Fawful has done the thinking and pondering some."

Cackletta's eyebrow rose even higher. "Wait, you can think?"

"Of course, Fawful can think; Fawful is the genius!" His glare grew sharper. He looked ready to fight his mistress, something that said mistress knew wouldn't turn out well for him and his sorry butt. She was just about to prepare herself for a duel (or maybe even a battle) when Fawful spoke up once again. "But any of the ways, Fawful has been doing the wondering about a topic that itches his head organ."

"Head organ?" Cackletta giggled. "You mean the brain?"

Instead of making his glare sharper, Fawful sighed and pinched his brow. "Yes yes, whatever." He looked back at his mistress, by this point looking so ticked off that he would probably explode if the anger within him wasn't dealt with. "The topic that has taken up the space in the brain of me is the queen."

"The queen?" Cackletta blinked. "You mean Queen Bean? Cause she's currently brainwashed and scrubbing the castle floors right now."

Fawful shook his head. "No, Fawful doesn't do the worrying about that queen. That queen is the queen who is former. Fawful's concern lies with the queen who is current."

"The current queen?" Cackletta snickered. "Well, considering that I'm the current queen, it makes sense to me why you would think about me so much." She wiggled her eyebrows. "I am amazing after all."

Fawful hesitated. "Uh… yes, the Mistress Cackletta is the amazing." The tone of voice he used made Cackletta raise an eyebrow, wondering why he sounded so annoyed and fed up with life. "But no. Fawful hopes to not inspire the offense, but his mind has been focused on Queen Peach."

A silence filled the room as Cackletta tried to wrap her head around what he just told her. "Queen Peach?" She puzzled over why this would be such a cause for concern, but couldn't think of a single good reason. "You mean the girl who we tricked into giving us access to the crown?"

"That is the one. She has done the consuming of Fawful's thoughts. She stays in the mind like the splinter drenched in poison, and as such fills Fawful with the dread."

Cackletta smirked. Snickers came out of her mouth before transforming into full-on laughs. "Oh, Fawful!" She wiped a tear from her eyes. "There's nothing for you to worry about! 'Queen' Peach is dead! And if not dead, then the darkness has captured her and zombified her like everyone else in the kingdom." She smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, my dear." She patted him on the head. "I assure you there is nothing to worry about."

"Even still… Fawful has these feelings. Fawful feels as though she could come back. She could come back with the army of strongness or the hero of cleverness and courage."

"Neither of which will pose a threat to me, even if she does return with those." Cackletta pulled back and snuggled into the throne once again. "I have more magic than you can shake a stick at! I'll wipe the floor with her."

Fawful still didn't look very comfortable. He put his hands behind his back and shimmied his foot across the floor. "Fawful does the understanding of that… but his worries aren't close to ceasing."

Cackletta thought about this before giving Fawful a sympathetic look. "Well, I'll tell you what, Fawful. I will employ every zombified citizen of this kingdom to search for Peach and bring her to me if they find her. And, on top of that, I will personally join in the search, including a search that covers our neighboring kingdoms. We will track down that queen, whether she be dead or alive. If she's dead, hallejuah; we can praise the Gods of Evil. If she is alive…" Cackletta smirked. "Well, we will again give the Gods of Evil praise as we have the prestigious privilege of ending that little girl's life."

Fawful let out a breath of relief. "Well, I will thank you for that, Mistress Cackletta. That makes the worries within me do the halting."

"Of course, my henchman." She gestured toward the glass he still had in his hands. "Now, why don't you go give me a refill on that smoothie, and afterward we can start with the plan?"

"That will be perfectly fine." Fawful bowed to her and left the room. Once he was gone, Cackletta rubbed her hands together.

"Let's get right to work, shall we?"

…

Traversing the rest of Stardust Fields made Peach appreciate the beauty of the place. The dusty purple ground sparkled and shone, playing with and bending the light that hit the particles. It was like the whole landscape was covered with shards of amethysts, and Peach wasn't afraid to admit that it excited her. She felt like she hadn't seen something quite as beautiful as this landscape in her life.

Well, almost. Peach reached her hand up to Peasley's broach yet again, giving it a squeeze. It felt warm in her palm, which was funny because blue was usually a color used to represent cold. She supposed this was the case because the broach represented a simpler, happier time for Peach. She thought about growing up with Peasley. She thought about all the times they had looked out for each other, each time they played with each other. Peasley had given her a lot of dolls and toys over the course of her early childhood, toys that she loved with all her heart.

Thinking about them now, Peach severely wished that she could say she knew where they were. A lot of them had been lost to time, forgotten by her as she turned from a girl into a woman. She hadn't really thought twice about them before. But now that Peasley was gone… she wanted them back. They were gifts from him to her. A little piece of his soul might as well have been put into each one of them. They had always brought her comfort as a child.

And Lord knew that she needed comfort now.

She wiped her eyes, squeezing the broach even harder. She wanted to take the time to mourn, to send Peasley off with the dignity and honor that he deserved. But he wouldn't get that, at least not right away. And as such, as she looked down at the glowing sapphire broach for what was possibly the billionth time in her life, a new emotion filled her. She never wanted to part with this gem. The fact that she had been foolish enough to wear Cackletta's talisman above this amazing gift now made Peach feel sick.

Peach shook her head, deciding she wasn't going to focus on that now. Sighing, she removed her hand from the broach and kept on trucking. The hills of Stardust Fields grew far less frequent and far more spaced-out, and she saw various plants all over the place. There were some flowers, growing in what appeared to be patches of brown soil as opposed to purple sand. She saw ferns, she even saw some trees. These plants grew appeared more and more often until, much to her delight, she was surrounded by them. The sights of Stardust Fields lay behind her, and World 5 welcomed her with open arms.

"I did it. I made it to World 5." She squeezed the broach in her hand again before looking up into the sky. "Well, Peasley. If you could watch over me and give me your guidance because…" She faced forward, feeling both determined as well as anxious. "I'm really gonna need it."