Raina touched Melli’s shoulder gently. “Some things will change,” she said. “But some things won’t. The way Princess Lolli feels about us will never change.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Melli mumbled.
“I think you’ll feel better once you see her and talk to her,” Cocoa told her friend.
Melli thought about the last time she’d seen Princess Lolli. The princess hadn’t been herself. The conversation she and Cocoa had overheard was circling in her head.
“She was acting very strange the last time we saw her,” Melli said. “She’s already forgetful, and she’s not even married yet.”
“Even a princess can get overwhelmed planning a wedding,” Raina told her.
Melli rubbed her forehead. “What will happen once she has all those new responsibilities as a wife? She is going to forget all about us, I know it.”
“You know no such thing,” Raina snapped. “Melli, you have to stop talking like that.”
Dash sat down in front of Raina for her turn for a fancy hairstyle. “She’s probably under a lot of pressure. I heard that Prince Scoop’s parents are very proper and want the wedding a certain way.”
“Oh, who wouldn’t want a proper fairy princess wedding at a palace?” Berry said wistfully. She leaned back on a thick licorice stem with a dreamy look in her eyes.
“Berry,” Dash said, rolling her eyes.
Raina brushed Dash’s blond hair. “Even though things will be different once Princess Lolli gets married, they can still be supersweet,” she said.
“We can’t just always stay the same,” Cocoa added.
“Why not?” Melli said. “Everything was perfect. We all lived happily here in Sugar Valley.”
“And we still will,” Raina said. She put the brush down and started to braid Dash’s long hair.
“If things always stayed the same, life around here would be pretty tasteless,” Dash added.
“I guess,” Melli said softly.
Berry stood up straight. “Well, tonight will be elegant,” she said. “I am sure Princess Sprinkle will bring lots of cakes and special treats.”
“We’d better hope Mogu doesn’t show up,” Cocoa said. A thick silence fell over the fairies. The thought of the salty troll Mogu barging in on the engagement party was so sour no one could speak.
“Oh, he wouldn’t dare come,” Dash said. Then she thought for another moment. “I guess he could . . . ,” she said quickly.
“We’ll have to be on the lookout,” Raina said.
Berry put her hands on her hips. “I’ll bet that old troll is licking his lips over all the sweets in the kingdom.”
“Which is why we should be more careful about the lollipops,” Raina said, glaring at Berry.
“Do we have to talk about this again?” Berry said. “The lollipops are fine.”
“Should we talk about your dress instead?” Raina spat.
Cocoa looked over at Melli and Dash. The lollipops might have been fine, but somehow making the swirled candy had caused them to argue.
Dash picked up the mirror to admire her hair. “Thanks, Raina,” she said quickly. “You know we really do have to fly.”
“Yes,” Cocoa said, jumping up from the blanket. “We’d better get going.”
“And can we try not to fight in front of Princess Lolli?” Dash asked. She looked right at Raina and Berry. Neither fairy replied.
Cocoa hoped the fighting would not make the evening salty. No one wanted that! She was anxious to see Princess Lolli. She hoped the fairy princess was feeling more herself and ready for the upcoming wedding.
Royal Gumdrops
Holy peppermint sticks!” Dash exclaimed as she walked into the grand ballroom at Candy Castle. “That is some royal engagement party.”
There were hundreds of tiny mint candies strung across the ballroom. The white mints made the whole room glow.
“Look at those centerpieces!” Berry cried. “Have you ever seen anything so deliciously beautiful?”
Each table was covered in a sparkly white meringue material with an extra-large ice cream cone filled with bunches of lollipops in different shapes and sizes. They were the perfect centerpieces for the bride and groom.
The fairies stood together at the front of the room.
Melli’s eyes were wide as she looked around at all the fairies. “And the Sugar Pops are playing too!” She pointed to the far end of the garden.
The musical brothers, Char, Carob, and Chip were entertaining the fairies and singing. Melli loved their music and started to tap her foot.
“We should have known they’d be here,” Berry said. “If I were a fairy princess getting married, I would have them here.”
“But you are not getting married,” Raina said. “And you are not a fairy princess.”
Melli, Dash, and Cocoa all gasped. They couldn’t believe Raina and Berry had brought their fight with them to the party.
“Would you two please stop?” Cocoa asked. She looked from Berry to Raina. “This is not like you two to be saying bitter things to each other. How can you be arguing on a night like this?”
A Cake Fairy flew over to them with a tray of mini cakes. “Would you care for a tasty sweet treat?”
The Cake Fairy didn’t realize that she was interrupting anything sour. There was a silence until Dash reached over and took a couple of the treats.
“Thank you,” Dash said. “Did you make these? They look very good.”
The Cake Fairy fluttered her wings. “I didn’t make these,” she said. “But I did make the chocolate cakes on that table.” She pointed to a table filled with large round chocolate cakes decorated with lollipops and ice cream cones.
“Choc-o-rific!” Cocoa exclaimed. “I guess the theme of this party is lollipops and ice cream cones.”
“I am glad you noticed,” a voice said behind them.
“Prince Scoop!” the Cake Fairy said. She bowed her head and curtsied to the prince. At the same time, her tray of mini cakes teetered and toppled to the ground. “Oh, cake crumbles,” she muttered. “I am so sorry.”
“Not to worry,” the prince said with a wide grin. He bent down and picked up the fallen cakes. “There is way too much food here, anyway.”
Melli watched as the royal prince helped the Cake Fairy clean up the mess. He was both charming and sweet.
“Isn’t he just dreamy?” Cocoa whispered to Melli.
Melli watched how calm the prince was as he helped the Cake Fairy clean up. He didn’t make her feel bad about the spill and seemed to cheer her up. “He is not like I had imagined,” Melli said.
“Really?” Cocoa asked. “I think he is just as all the articles described him. I think he is the perfect match for Princess Lolli.”
Melli shrugged. In her mind, this prince was someone who was taking Princess Lolli away from her. He was also the reason that Melli was not working with Princess Lolli on dipping caramel apples. As she thought about all that, Melli started to feel a lump grow in her stomach.
Suddenly Melli felt a tug at her elbow.
“Melli,” Cocoa whispered. “Say hello.”
Melli didn’t realize that the prince was standing right in front of her. Her friends had introduced themselves already, and everyone was waiting for her to speak.
“Hello,” Melli managed to say in a low voice. She bowed her head and curtsied.
“You must be the Caramel Fairy that Lolli was talking about,” Prince Scoop said.
Melli’s eyes widened. Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop had been talking about her? She could hardly breathe.
“Yes,” he said, looking at her. “You are the one who was going to try the caramel apple dips, right?”
Cocoa nudged Melli. “Tell him,” she urged her.
Melli nodded. “Yes,” she said.
Prince Scoop slapped his hand to his knee. “I knew it!” he said. “You know, I am a huge fan of caramel sauce. I was hoping to be part of the caramel-apple dipping project.” He smi
led at her. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, she wouldn’t mind!” Cocoa cried out.
“I was telling Lolli how on Ice Cream Isles, we use caramel sauce differently,” Prince Scoop said. “She was curious if the technique would work with candy.” He winked. “I told her that anything with caramel can’t be bad. It would be perfect for the Caramel Moon Festival, don’t you think?”
The fairies giggled, and Melli couldn’t even manage a response. Her heart was beating so fast. She just eagerly nodded.
“But will there even be a Caramel Moon Festival this year?” Melli asked meekly.
Prince Scoop wrinkled his brow and looked at Melli thoughtfully. “What makes you think that?” he asked.
“Scoop!” Princess Lolli called. She rushed over to the group of fairies. “I see you’ve met my fabulous five Candy Fairies,” she said.
The friends all beamed with pride.
“You look scrumptious,” Berry told Princess Lolli. She hoped she wasn’t gawking too much at the princess’s gorgeous chiffon dress. The details of the sugarcoated jewels on the dress were sugar-tacular! “This is the best party ever,” Berry added. “We are so happy to celebrate with you.”
Princess Lolli smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “I am so glad you could be here today.” She smiled at the fairies. “But just wait for the wedding!”
“You mean we’re invited?” Berry blurted out.
Raina grabbed Berry’s arm. Not another outburst! she thought. “Berry!” She gasped.
Princess Lolli smiled warmly. “How could I get married without the five of you there?” she said. She looked at the fairies and then moved closer to Berry and Raina. “My mother said you have agreed to make my lollipop bouquet. I hope you’ve been having fun.”
Cocoa, Melli, and Dash shared a worried look. They hoped Berry and Raina would keep their bitterness to themselves tonight.
At that moment Dash spotted Mogu! He was lurking outside the ballroom by the window. The troll was definitely out of place. Dash’s wings started to flutter. Her heart raced. She had to act fast!
Dash grabbed Cocoa’s hand. “Excuse us,” she said to the princess and prince. “We have to fly.” Dash motioned for her friends to follow her.
“She must see some cake she has to try,” Cocoa said, trying to cover for her friend. She was embarrassed by Dash’s quick exit.
Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop laughed. “Oh, enjoy!” Princess Lolli called after them. “We’ll talk to you later.”
“What are you doing?” Berry spat at Dash when they were across the room. “That was rude to run off like that.”
Dash pointed to the window that faced the Royal Gardens. The fairies all gasped.
“Sweet strawberries,” Berry whispered. “Mogu!”
Seeing the salty troll standing outside the castle window made the five fairies shudder.
“We’ve got to do something quickly,” Cocoa said.
“Like what?” Melli asked, biting her nails. She watched as the troll paced back and forth near the window. He was dodging behind the bushes.
“He just couldn’t stay away,” Raina said.
“We need to keep him away from this ballroom,” Cocoa told her friends. “Come on, let’s create a distraction fit for a greedy troll!”
The five friends headed out to the Royal Gardens. In a flash they had created a sweet feast for the troll.
“Well, this should keep him busy for a little while,” Dash said, grinning. “After all these chocolates and sweets, Mogu is bound to fall asleep!”
Berry looked around at the candy they had made. “Let’s hope this works,” she said. “I want to head back to the party.”
“Me too,” Dash said. “I haven’t gotten to eat any cake yet!”
The fairies flew back inside. They felt good about keeping Mogu busy in the garden, but they kept their eyes open. They didn’t want Mogu spoiling the party.
The Sugar Pops sang, and everyone danced. The five friends kept checking out the garden. They were pleased when they saw Mogu fast asleep in a jelly bean bush with chocolate all over his face.
“Our plan worked,” Cocoa said. “Sweet sugars, that was close!”
Raina looked over at Queen Swirl and King Cone. The royal couple were sitting at a nearby table. “Could you imagine Prince Scoop’s parents’ reaction to a troll coming to this party?” she said. “I’m so glad we saved Princess Lolli from that embarrassing moment!”
The friends sat down at a table and took a break from dancing. They were enjoying a fancy fruit nectar when Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop came over.
“Are you all having a good time?” Princess Lolli asked.
“Yes!” the fairies all said at the same time.
Princess Lolli laughed. “We are so glad,” she said, beaming. “Prince Scoop and I would like to ask you something.” She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. Prince Scoop stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. “We would like to ask you five to be our gumdrops at the wedding.”
“Us?!” Melli and Raina squealed at the same time.
“You mean you want us to fly down the aisle?” Cocoa asked.
“Dropping gumdrops?” Dash added.
“In fancy dresses?” Berry cried.
“Olivia Crème de la Crème is making the wedding party dresses,” Princess Lolli said, winking at Berry. Princess Lolli took Prince Scoop’s hand. “We’d love for the five of you to lead the procession down the aisle. Will you do it?”
“Sure as sugar!” the five friends answered together.
“Delicious,” Prince Scoop said, grinning at them. “This is going to be a supersweet event.”
As the royal couple flew off to greet other guests, the five friends stood in shock. They were going to be the royal gumdrops!
Sweet Stitches
The next morning Raina arrived at Lollipop Landing to check on the swirled lollipop crop. She spotted Berry talking to Fruli, another Fruit Fairy.
“Can you believe we’re going to wear original Olivia Crème de la Crème dresses?” Berry gushed.
Raina rolled her eyes. Berry was already blabbing to everyone about being a gumdrop. It was an honor to be proud of—not brag about. Raina flew closer.
“Hi, Raina! What sweet news I hear,” Fruli called.
Raina wished she could say that she was happy, but fighting with Berry was weighing her down. Fruli was fluttering her wings and smiling. Seeing the Fruit Fairy so happy made Raina feel even worse. She knew that this was such a joyous time in the kingdom and that she should feel honored and happy. But when she saw Berry lifting up the tent covering the lollipop crop, she wanted to explode.
“Berry!” Raina cried. “We talked about this. We were going to let the tent stay another week. If we take the covering off too early, we risk damaging the sticks. The weather has been too cold for the lollipops to keep their color. It says all that in the Fairy Code Book.”
Fruli stepped back. “I am going to let you two work this out,” she said quickly. “I have some errands to run for Princess Lolli.” She blew a kiss and shot off toward the castle. “Good luck!” she called over her shoulder.
Berry stood with her hands on her hips. “Did you have to say that in front of Fruli?” she said, glaring. “And who knows who else is around listening? I don’t want Princess Lolli to hear that we’ve been arguing.”
“Well, we wouldn’t be arguing if you just listened to me,” Raina snapped.
“You know as well as I do that the Fairy Code Book is a guide,” Berry told her. “Sometimes crops are different.”
“I know it’s hard to be patient,” Raina said. “But to get the right color swirl, you have to wait for the perfect time for the crop to be in the sun. It does say that in the book.”
“I have made rainbow-swirl pops before,” Berry said. She turned on her heel and flew off.
“We’ve made them together,” Raina quietly added. Her wings drooped down low to the ground. She looked around. Berry
was right about one thing: They had to be careful about their bickering. The last thing Raina wanted was for Princess Lolli to hear that the two of them were not getting along. Raina vowed that next time she saw Berry, she would try harder.
Later that day at Sweet Stitches, the five friends waited for their Olivia Crème de la Crème gumdrop dress fittings. Butterscotch, one of the royal unicorns, had taken the fairies over to the designer’s dress shop on Meringue Island. The shop had a lavish waiting room with large couches made of the softest, silkiest fabrics.
“Feel this couch,” Berry said. She pet the soft cushion. “If this is the fabric she uses for furniture, imagine what our dresses will be like!” She popped off the couch and walked around the room, gazing at the photos of different brides on the wall.
“Butterscotch was so mint!” Dash exclaimed. She had loved the speed and strength of the royal unicorn. The usually long trip from the mainland to Meringue Island had taken no time at all on Butterscotch’s back. She sat down on a puffy white chair. “That was the fastest ride ever. Butterscotch is even faster than Carobee,” she said. Carobee was a dragon that lived in the caves of Sugar Cove. He was a good friend to the five Candy Fairies.
“I think Butterscotch might be the fastest of the royal herd,” Berry agreed.
Melli and Cocoa were huddled over a fashion book with Raina on a couch across the room.
“Hot caramel!” Melli said. She pointed to a dress in the book. “Look at all the details on that dress. Those are the smallest candy crystals I have ever seen. How did she sew those on?”
“Olivia Crème de la Crème is known for her delicate candy work,” Raina said. “She is very talented.”
Cocoa leaned back on the cushion. “I wonder what our dresses will look like,” she said. “I hope mine is as rich as a chocolate soufflé!”
“I’ve always wanted to wear an Olivia Crème de la Crème dress!” Berry swooned. “Do you think we’ll meet her? Do you think she is here?”
A Royal Wedding Page 3
