by M J Marstens
I don’t want him to think I’m some meek maid.
“Yes, I’m Lord of the Peanut Brittle Plains. I’m Sugarland’s best hunter and tracker. I make sure the Praline population doesn’t grow too large and stays to the West. I also monitor The Sweet Nothing.”
“What’s that?” I wonder.
“Not quite sure,” Chester admits. “At first, we thought it was the Dessert Desert expanding into Sugarland, but this is something completely different, but similar. People go into it and never come back.”
“That’s terrible!” I exclaim.
The Savory Citadel knows about the Dessert Desert. It stretches to the west and then upward. The few survivors that have gone into it say that there are sweet mirages that drive the wanderer insane with hunger until they eat the sand and die. I remember being very afraid, listening to the stories Graham’s dad would tell us when we were children.
The Dessert Desert is where King Umami would send prisoners for punishment.
And execution.
A handy one-place-for-everything.
“It is terrible. King Kandi has charged me with observing the growing landmass,” Chester hesitates before continuing. “It appeared shortly after Maraschino’s exile.”
“You don’t think she had anything to do with it, do you?” I ask.
“It’s hard saying. As I said, it formed after she was cast out. . . but there’s an allure to The Sweet Nothing. We’ve lost half our citizens to it.”
I gasp.
No wonder the land seems to be devoid of people.
The Sweet Nothing is eating them!
Chester wraps an arm around my shoulder reassuringly and I snuggle into his side. In the distance, the barren land becomes craggy as the Gumdrop Mountains appear, and I practically plaster myself into Chester. I sigh and pull back a little. I’m acting like a ninny. I’m afraid of the monsters hidden within the mountains, not the rocky peaks themselves.
Sometimes I wonder how much Mari has messed with my mind, making me unsure of everyone and everything around me, including myself.
I don’t ask Chester any more questions. Quite frankly, I’m terrified of what I might learn next. Sugarland is turning out to be more of a nightmare than a fantasy land of sweets. We walk another forty minutes or so, and with each step, the mountains loom closer and bigger. I know we are getting closer to Lord Licorice’s lair.
To my left and right, I don’t see much, but up ahead are three tall trees. As we get closer, I realize they aren’t trees; they’re men on a trail that I completely missed in the dark of the night.
It’s Plumpy, Pepper, and Graham!
“Anise!” Graham cries and I rush into his arms.
He swings me up and around and I peck small kisses all over his face, until our mouths are dangerously close. We stare into each other’s eyes, lost in the moment, and I think he might actually kiss me until someone clears their throat. Instantly, guilt and shame roll into Graham’s eyes and he sets me down.
I turn to Plumpy and Pepper, hugging them tightly to me, not wanting to acknowledge Graham’s emotions.
It simply hurts too much right now.
When they finally manage to disentangle themselves from me, Plumpy walks over to Chester, shaking his hand.
“Looks like you got the message,” he comments.
“Thankfully, Anise was already with me,” Chester says, pulling me back to his side and placing a gentle kiss on top of my head.
I watch the other men assess our overly-familiar stances, and I tense up with worry.
“Relax,” Chester murmurs, but he’s not looking at me. “They’ll just have to learn to share.”
Plumpy looks resigned at Chester’s decree, whereas Pepper’s face gives nothing away, and Graham. . .
Graham looks positively murderous.
PLUMPY
I can’t take my eyes off the stunning woman walking next to Chester.
At first, I don’t recognize her.
Her hair is unbound and curls softly around her shoulders, hanging halfway down her back. She’s in a short, plaid green dress tied with a rope that accents her little waist and long-as-sin legs. She’s absolutely stunning, but it’s the look on her face that takes my breath away.
I expected a broken doll.
A shell of the woman I have only begun to understand, but instead, I’m met with someone whole, lively, and almost glowing.
I know that look.
And I know who put it there.
A small part of me burns with jealousy at having lost her to yet another man, but the bigger, better part of me recognizes that Chester has saved Anise’s life and has given her so much more. He’s given her something to live for.
His love.
And seeing the complete look of adoration on Anise’s face, I reconcile once more the fact that if I want this woman in my life, I’ll have to share her. But I also concede that I would do anything it takes to claim this woman as mine.
I’ll wait patiently while she sorts herself out.
But I won’t wait forever.
O
PEPPER
“Is that your shirt Anise is wearing?” I ask Chester in amused curiosity.
He shrugs, not answering, but I know. Chester might assert that we all have to share her, but he’s also staking his claim. The man in question narrows his eyes.
“It was all I had,” he insists, accurately reading my face.
Damn tracker.
He might as well be a mind reader.
I sigh.
In our haste to find Anise, Plumpy, Graham, and I came together in a common interest. She’s still that common denominator, but I don’t know how many more she can take in her life. It’ll be a battle convincing her stepbrother to accept Plumpy and me, let alone Chester; but in reality, that’s not our decision.
That’s Anise’s choice.
And from the look of her hand on Chester’s arm, she’s made it.
I’m not a jealous man. I come from a big, unconventional family. My fathers were all from different kingdoms visiting Sugarland, and like Anise, they all fell for my mother, daughter of the then Lord of Wintergreen Forest and Head Caner of Sugarland. I grew up having three fathers, never questioning who might be my real one.
I look like my mother, a true Sugarlander, and it never mattered.
All the men were my dads.
When my grandfather passed, my mother shifted the title down to me and left with her mates to travel the northern kingdoms. I haven’t seen them for many years, but we keep in touch, and I know they are doing well. As their only child, I know they hope I will find a wife soon and give them grandchildren.
Sometimes I think that’s the only thing that will bring them back to Sugarland.
I smile, watching Anise interact with the others.
I know my mom and dads will adore her.
“Come on,” Chester orders and brings me out of my reverie.
“To the Candied Castle?” I ask.
“To the Candied Castle,” Chester confirms.
Anise links arms with Plumpy and me, like before, and we head down the Hazelnut Trail.
She keeps the conversation light, and we follow her lead, but we all know eventually we’ll have to address the elephant in the room.
Soon, we’ll enter the Lollipop Woods.
With any luck, General Caramello will be around and we can formulate a plan. Maraschino is planning something and we need to be ready, especially with Lord Licorice and Jolly Rancher gone.
Who knows what those two assholes are up to.
O
GRAHAM
Another one.
Another fucking man.
How much cock does my sister need?
I blanch at my thoughts.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I’m a monster.
My jealousy is eating me alive and I’m letting it. If I don’t watch out, I’m going to end up pushing Anise away forever, but I feel as if the world is slippin
g through my fingers. Every opportunity I have to make Anise mine is slowly being stripped away.
Fuck, I’m in denial.
A shout pulls my head out of my ass. The servant from Lord Licorice’s castle is running up the trail behind us, waving frantically.
“My lords! My lords!”
He stumbles to a halt before us, his eyes arrested on Anise’s gorgeous face.
“My lady,” he whispers in hushed reverence. “I’m so glad to see you well.”
He bows low at her feet and she blushes prettily.
“Please, you don’t have to bow to me,” Anise tells him, but he shakes his head.
“My lady, you saved my life. I am forever in your debt. I’ve come back to warn you. I-I forgot something,” he admits nervously, looking at me like I might choke him again at any second.
I might, depending on what he tells us.
“Go on,” Anise encourages gently when the man doesn’t continue.
He looks like he’s awaiting his own death.
“When you first came to the castle, with J-J-Jolly Rancher, his hi- I mean his lordship sent off a bird.”
“I remember, but it wasn’t a truffle,” Anise interrupts, her brow furrowed.
“No, it was a Kookaburra,” the servant hurries to tell her, causing Plumpy, Pepper, and Chester to curse.
“What’s a Kookaburra?” I wonder out loud.
“A type of bird that can speak and think like a human,” Plumpy explains.
“And that can teleport,” Chester adds.
Teleport?
Sweet fuck, is there no end to what Sugarland creatures can do?
“There’s more,” the servant rushes on, “Lord Licorice sent it to. . . t-t-to tell Queen Maraschino that he had finally caught her, um, favorite whore. He spoke in the old dialect of the mountain people. I only know it because my grandma taught me.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before?!” I demand, incensed.
Suddenly, the servant slams to his knees, his eyes bulging as he scratches at his neck.
Pepper attempts to knock his hands away, but the servant falls to the ground in a thrashing convulsion. No one can touch him without getting kicked or hit. Anise is crying, trying to get to him, but Plumpy holds her back.
Finally, Chester comes over and pins the man to the ground and Pepper rips his tunic from him. I see a collar, similar to the one around my neck and Anise’s, only black and thinner. It seems to be shrinking, slowly cutting off the servant’s airway.
Pepper is shouting, but he can’t get his fingers under the thing. Chester tosses him a knife, but it’s too late. The servant collapses with a final twitch and never moves again. Pepper works tirelessly to finally get the damned thing off but to no avail.
The servant is dead.
Plumpy gathers Anise into his arms and rocks her as she sobs.
Now I know why the man didn’t say anything.
The collar must have been spelled to keep such information from us.
Apparently, anything spoken in this other language was the tripping mechanism for the device to activate its deadly magic.
The servant gave his life to save Anise.
I just hope it wasn’t in vain.
ANISE
“Fuck!” Chester curses and I jump at the harsh word. “We’ve gotta get out of here, now.”
“I agree we must make haste, but Maraschino can’t come into Sugarland. All the entries are warded, as well as all boundaries to the north, east, south, and west,” Pepper points out.
“True, but with Dickorice and Jolly doing her bidding, who knows what can happen,” Chester rejoins.
“Dickorice? Isn’t that a little childish for you, grandpa?” Pepper teases, laughing.
“Nah, I’m younger than a grandpa. More like a daddy; right, sugarbaby?” he adds, winking at me.
I blush fire red, which I’m sure is a charming combination with my blotchy skin and watery eyes. I know Chester is just trying to make me smile, but when I look at the servant, dead at our feet, it dries the happiness inside of me right up. It seems with every step towards King Kandine’s castle, death stalks us and Mari’s torment looms, larger than life.
“Well, daddy’s right,” Plumpy jokes. “We need to move. The sooner we get to General Caramello, the better. If we walk quickly, we can get there in a few hours.”
With that, we start off again.
The Sugarlanders walk together, speaking in hushed tones, but I hear the words strategy, truffle, war, general, and king.
“Hey,” Graham says softly, calling my attention.
“Hey,” I parrot back shyly.
So much has happened since that fateful moment I ran from him.
Something I regret with my whole heart.
Although, it did lead me to Chester and how can I regret that?
“I’m sorry for running,” I apologize to my stepbrother.
“It’s my fault. I. . . I shouldn’t have been watching, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”
Another blush.
I’m beginning to wonder if my skin is turning to a permanent shade of pink.
“Why did you call my name?” he suddenly asks.
“I-I-I. . .” is all I can manage to stammer out.
What do I say?
“I. . . just saw you looking at me and must have said your name in reflex,” I hedge.
“Liar,” Graham snarls, drawing the attention of the three men in front of us.
“Everything alright, sugartits?” Pepper asks, but he’s staring at my stepbrother.
“Yup,” I lie some more.
Plumpy raises an eyebrow.
“Sugarplum, what’s wrong?”
Chester doesn’t say anything but crosses his arms and gives me a look.
I scowl right back at them, trying to corral my stampeding emotions.
I’m embarrassed, irritated, and turned on.
Why does Graham have to push?
Why does everyone have to know when I’m lying?
Why do they all have to be so domineering and sexy?
And why, oh why, do I have to be attracted to them all?
All this attention on me is uncomfortable, so I do the unthinkable.
I turn it away from me.
And onto my stepbrother.
“Graham was just apologizing for watching me get off,” I blurt out.
Everyone winces, even me.
I drop my head into my hands. So much for diverting the attention. In fact, I think I just made everything worse.
“Are we clearing the air finally, sugartits?” Pepper asks in amusement.
I refuse to look up and shake my head no.
“Oh, but I think you should. Do they know what I know, sugarbaby?” Chester ponders.
I look up at him in horror and silently plead for him not to use his magic on me. Surely, I will die of embarrassment if he makes me confess to everything that I told him. Chester’s face softens and he gives me a little smile. It says he’s not going to make me do anything.
Like before, it’s my choice.
“What aren’t you saying, sugarplum?” Plumpy gently prods.
“Anise!” Graham booms in a commanding voice that nearly sends me to my knees.
He’s much more direct than Plumpy.
My head swims with naughty visions of all he could do to me using that voice.
Suddenly, the three Sugarlanders groan.
“I know that look,” Pepper remarks darkly.
“As do I,” Chester concurs, “but we’ll never get to the Candied Castle if we act upon it, and time is of the essence. Anise, tell your stepbrother the truth so we can go, please.”
“I. . . I have feelings for. . . ah, Chester,” I confess, skirting the real issue.
Pepper and Plumpy roll their eyes.
“She’s not going to say it, is she?” Plumpy laments.
“No, but neither is he,” Pepper rejoins cryptically. “Let’s just go. And no more talk of Anise getting of
f. I can barely fucking walk watching her in the shirt dress.”
More blushing.
For once, my hair is down and I pull it forward to shadow my face.
We set off once more, the tension growing between the five of us.
“I like your hair down,” Plumpy comments, breaking the silence.
He fingers one long lock and I bashfully thank him.
I’m not used to compliments.
I’ve always been a little more timid than most maidens my age.
When Graham and I were growing up, I would hide in palace libraries, while Graham would chase the girls. And it’s not like Mari ever praised me, not truly. Any admiration was merely an extension of something about her. Yet these Sugarlanders are full of compliments for me.
They really are sweet.
“I haven’t seen it down in years. It’s so long,” Graham adds.
It’s true. Before Mari, I wore my hair up in a royal net, but when my stepbrother and I set out for Sugarland, I simply braided the length to keep it out of my face. It was a simple fashion that I liked. Once Mari captured us, she never let me wear anything but braids. She claimed she preferred the girlish look on me.
I almost braided it back at Chester’s house but decided to let the curly tresses free. I couldn’t believe how long my hair had grown, but I’m sure Plumpy’s miracle plum had more to do with that than anything else.
“You look beautiful, but I’m partial to your braids,” Graham muses.
“Is that all you’re partial to?” Chester asks from in front of us.
I see Graham stiffen.
“What exactly are you insinuating, Sugarlander?”
Chester snorts.
“I’m not insinuating anything. Not when the truth is patently obvious.”
Of course, Pepper decides to throw his two cents in.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, if you two are going to tiptoe around this, I’ll say it. Anise, your stepbrother loves you-”
“Like a brother,” Graham interjects firmly. “Nothing more and nothing less. We’ve been together since childhood and I view you as blood. Let’s simply call one another brother and sister and be done with the step nonsense. You’re my best friend and will make an amazing aunt when I someday marry and have children. Oh, look, we’ve reached the Lollipop Woods. Let’s go speak with the general.”
