The Peppermint Princess

by Helen Perelman

  “Wait,” Cocoa called. “Don’t go. We should talk some more.”

  “There are so many outfits to prepare,” Berry cried.

  “And royal plans to make,” Cocoa added.

  Dash had made up her mind. She didn’t want to talk anymore or hear stories about a missing royal family. She took off before her friends could stop her. What she needed was a fast sled on a steep slope, and she knew just where she could find one. Maybe if she got out on the slopes, she would feel more like herself. She sped away to the mountain, full speed, without looking back.

  Minty Power

  Dash flew straight to Ice Cream Mountain. In the distance she saw the trails down the mountain and her heart began to beat faster. Even from far away the sight of a mountain trail made her smile. She felt a rush from the tip of her toes to the top of her wings. Ice Cream Mountain was not as high as the Frosted Mountains, but she could still race down the slope at top speed.

  There were sleds to borrow at the mountaintop, and Dash chose a silver cone-shaped one. She thought the size and shape of the sled would be perfect for a quick ride. She added a bit of slick mint ice to the bottoms of the blades. If Dash was going to get more speed, she needed extra minty power! She strapped on her helmet and took hold of the wheel. She pushed aside all thoughts except for one—speed!

  The trail was easy for Dash, and she took the turns quickly and with great control. The cool wind was pushing her hair and wings back. She loved the feeling! But her thoughts slowed her down a little. . . . Mint Fairies were spread out all over now. There were Mint Fairies in Sugar Valley, Cake Kingdom, and here in Ice Cream Isles. Was there even a need for a Peppermint princess? What would a Peppermint princess do?

  Dash came to the end of the trail. She sighed. She belonged on a sled on a trail and not in a fancy ballroom for a grand occasion. She would prefer wearing a racing helmet to a crown any day!

  At the bottom of the slope Dash sat in her sled and watched a couple of Ice Cream Fairies talking and laughing. They reminded her of her own friends. What would happen to their daily Sun Dips in Sugar Valley or their sweet adventures if Dash really were a princess? Would she have to live here in Ice Cream Isles? Where? Dash shook her head. She didn’t want to think about not being in Sugar Valley or with her friends. The idea was so sour. She flew off the sled and pushed it over to a long belt that would take her up the side of the mountain for another ride. Then she joined the line of fairies who were waiting to fly up the mountain for the next run.

  “Want to race?” an Ice Cream Fairy asked.

  “Yes! That would be so mint!” Dash exclaimed. The offer to race was just what she needed. Sure as sugar, a trail ride was more fun when there was a race. “My name is Dash,” she said, holding out her hand.

  “I’m Drizzle,” the Ice Cream Fairy said. She stared at her for a minute. “Aren’t you a friend of Melli the Caramel Fairy?”

  Dash smiled when she recognized the Ice Cream Fairy standing in front of her. “Hi, Drizzle,” Dash said. “I remember you!”

  Drizzle laughed. “I definitely remember you,” she said. “I got a sugar fly message this morning from Melli that she is staying at the palace. Fluff and I are planning to go over there tomorrow night for the Ice Cream Fete.”

  “Melli will be so happy to see you,” Dash told her.

  “She said that she is here on royal orders,” Drizzle said.

  Dash let out a sigh. There was that word “royal” again! “Well, we’re here doing a favor for Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop,” she said. She tried to change the subject. “Is that your sled?”

  “Yes,” Drizzle said. “I love racing. One day I hope to go to the Frosted Mountains. I hear those trails are tricky.”

  “Not so tricky,” Dash said. “But minty fun. You’ll have to come and race there.”

  Drizzle nodded. “I would love that!” she exclaimed.

  The line was moving, and the two fairies flew up to their sleds at the top of the mountain. Dash couldn’t wait to get on her sled. When they were racing, she wouldn’t have to talk about anything royal!”

  “Come, let’s race,” Drizzle said as they neared the top of the slope.

  Both fairies got into their sleds and fastened their helmets. The second time down the trail was more fun for Dash. Now she knew the turns, and she took off superfast. Racing against Drizzle made the run much more fun!

  “You are fast!” Drizzle said as she came up behind Dash at the bottom of the mountain. “I’ve been on this trail a ton of times and have never gone as fast as you. You are a natural.”

  Dash blushed. “Thank you,” she said.

  Hearing Drizzle tell her that made Dash’s stomach flip. She was definitely born to be a racer more than a proper princess. She decided right then that she would need to explain how she felt to Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop. She didn’t want to be crowned anything but the fastest fairy in Sugar Valley.

  “So, what is your special candy assignment here in Ice Cream Isles?” Drizzle asked as they dragged their sleds off the trail. “I still remember Melli’s hot caramel sauce for the Summer Spectacular. That was triple-scoop good!”

  “My friends and I are here to help clean out the Hall of Records,” Dash told her. “Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop are going to remodel the place for their new castle.”

  “Oh,” Drizzle said, looking down. “I was hoping maybe you were here to make a mint sauce or something else minty. We don’t get much mint around here.”

  Dash looked at Drizzle. “Really? What about mint ice cream?”

  “Well, sometimes,” Drizzle said. “But mint is very precious around here. There aren’t many Mint Fairies in Ice Cream Isles. Sad, right?”

  “Super minty sad,” Dash said. She thought of the story Queen Swirl had told her.

  Dash took the rope of her sled and shouted, “Race you down again!” The two fairies joined the line to fly back up the mountain, and raced again.

  Bitter Mint Times

  B y the time Dash finished the last sled run, the sky was getting dark. She said good-bye to Drizzle and headed back to the Ice Cream Palace for dinner. She was surprised to find Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop sitting with her friends in the throne room.

  “There you are!” Melli cried. She flew over to Dash when she entered the room. “We were going to send out a search party for you!”

  “Where have you been?” Raina said, glaring at her. “You shouldn’t have flown off like that.”

  Dash hung her head. She knew that she had been out on the slopes a long time, but her friends should have known that she needed to race.

  Princess Lolli flew over to Dash and gave her a hug. “Were you on Ice Cream Mountain?” she asked.

  Dash nodded. “I’m sorry I missed your arrival. I didn’t think you were coming until tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Prince Scoop said. “We received a sugar fly message from the palace about the Peppermint Kingdom books. We thought it was a good idea to get here sooner.” The prince paused. “We thought we’d come help you celebrate.”

  “Celebrate?” Dash asked. She looked around. Her friends all looked very fancy in new dresses that Dash assumed were Berry’s.

  “Your new dress is upstairs in your room,” Cocoa told her. “Princess Lolli got us new dresses for the dinner tonight. Isn’t that choc-o-rific?”

  Dash didn’t say a word. She just nodded and headed up the stairs. Even Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop were already thinking this was a Peppermint celebration.

  Melli followed Dash up to the room. “Dash, are you all right?” she asked when they were alone. “We’ve all been worried about you.”

  “I met Drizzle on the slopes,” Dash told her. She tried to steer the conversation a different way. “She is excited to see you tomorrow.”

  “I know,” Melli said. “I’m excited to see her and Fluff.” She handed Dash her new dress. “All this Peppermint Kingdom stuff is a lot for you, but aren’t you curious to hear more of th
e story?”

  Dash shrugged. “It may not even have anything to do with me,” she said. “Unless there is a story about a speed racer.” She smiled. That thought did make her happy. “Now, that would be so mint!”

  Melli zipped Dash’s dress up in the back. “You never know. Maybe there are some mint racers,” she said. She stood back. “Dash, you look sugar-tastic!”

  “Thank you,” Dash replied. She still didn’t really feel like going downstairs to the fancy dinner.

  “It might be strange to you, but I think we all want to figure out what happened to the Peppermint royals,” Melli said. “It’s a royal mystery.”

  Dash had to admit, maybe she was a little curious to hear what Princess Lolli knew about the Peppermint royal family. “Come on, let’s go join the dinner party,” she said. “Thanks, Melli.” She gave her friend’s hand a tight squeeze.

  Dash and Melli found everyone already seated in the dining hall. A large sugar-crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. It was the largest and sparkliest chandelier Dash had ever seen.

  “There they are!” Berry cheered when Dash and Melli entered the room. “Now we can hear the story!”

  “We were waiting for you before Princess Lolli tells us what she knows about the Peppermint royals and her family history with them,” Cocoa explained.

  “Oh, please tell us,” Melli begged.

  “Now that we’re all together, I can tell you what I know,” Princess Lolli said. “Long ago, my great-great-grandparents were the rulers of Sugar Kingdom. It was a bitter time for the Peppermint royals. They were battling a very strong ogre who loved mint candies.”

  “Anytime trolls or ogres are involved, it is upsetting,” Cocoa added.

  “Indeed,” Princess Lolli agreed. “And this ogre, Orni, was very salty. He was stealing and making life miserable for the Mint Fairies in Peppermint Kingdom.”

  “My great-great-grandparents didn’t know what to do,” Prince Scoop said. He pointed to the painting above them. “But the Peppermint Royals knew they needed help.”

  Dash looked at the old painting of a king and queen and saw their kind faces. “What did they do?” she asked.

  “Well,” Princess Lolli said, “my great-great-grandparents decided that they couldn’t stand by and do nothing. They called a meeting of all the royal families.”

  “It was very brave of them,” Prince Scoop said. “The meeting was held in secret.”

  Raina’s eyes widened. “There is no mention of this meeting in the Fairy Code Book,” she said. “Or any book I have ever read!”

  Princess Lolli nodded. “No one except the royal families knew about the meeting,” she said. “They didn’t want to let anyone, most especially the ogres, hear of their plan.”

  Dash looked over at her friends. Each fairy was leaning forward, waiting to hear the secret plan that the royal families came up with to save Peppermint Kingdom.

  “What did they decide?” Dash blurted out. She couldn’t wait any longer to hear.

  Princess Lolli took Prince Scoop’s hand. “The meeting lasted many hours,” she said. “What they decided was very painful and difficult.”

  “Bitter chocolate,” Cocoa whispered.

  “Yes,” Princess Lolli said, looking over at Cocoa. “It was very bitter for the Mint Fairies. It was decided that Queen Mintie and King Leaf would go to Sugar Valley in secret. They would no longer be king and queen. For the sake of the safety of their baby princess and all the Mint Fairies, they went to Sugar Valley as regular Candy Fairies.”

  “The group of Mint Fairies were not safe here to live and to work in Peppermint Kingdom,” Prince Scoop added.

  “Hot caramel!” Melli exclaimed.

  “There was a small group of Mint Fairies already living in Peppermint Grove at that time,” Princess Lolli continued, “and so the Mint Fairies went to live with them in Sugar Valley.”

  “So Queen Mintie and King Leaf gave up their royal life?” Berry asked.

  “Yes,” Prince Scoop said. “It was very generous and brave. They did this to keep the Mint Fairies and their candies safe from the ogre.”

  “What happened to the ogre?” Dash asked.

  “Orni moved on,” Princess Lolli said. “With no mint here, he moved away, and no one heard from him again.” She sighed. “These things happen with ogres.”

  Prince Scoop nodded. “The plan worked. He never explored Sugar Valley. Some say he sailed out on the Vanilla Sea.”

  “Now, that is a happy ending to a bitter mint tale,” Raina said.

  Dash stood up. “So it is very possible that I am related to the Peppermint royal family even though I was born in Sugar Valley,” she said softly. She touched the butterfly birthmark on her ankle.

  “Yes,” Princess Lolli said. “Not only do you resemble the Peppermint queen, you also have the mark of the royal butterfly.” She got up and flew over to Dash. “We now believe that you are the great-great-granddaughter of Queen Mintie. You could rule over Peppermint Kingdom and bring the brilliant frozen mint world back to glory.”

  “So mint!” Cocoa exclaimed. “Right, Dash?”

  But Dash’s expression was one of frozen surprise.

  Ice Cream Fete

  The next morning Dash slowly opened her eyes. Her head was still swirling with all the incredible news from the day before. Dash wanted to believe that the story of the Peppermint royal family was a dream. But she knew it was real. As real as the butterfly birthmark on her ankle.

  Dash saw her four friends gathered on Raina’s bed in their room at the Ice Cream Palace. They didn’t notice that she was awake. Dash listened to their conversation.

  “I can’t believe Dash is a princess!” Berry said. “After all the time we’ve spent together! I think that I should have known.”

  “How would you have known?” Cocoa asked. “Besides, Dash will be no different than she was before.”

  “I don’t know,” Raina said. “There will be many Candy Fairies and Ice Cream Fairies who will want her to be a proper princess.”

  “What is a proper princess?” Melli asked.

  “You know, with all the royal responsibilities,” Raina said.

  “Will she still live in Peppermint Grove and come to Sun Dip at Red Licorice Lake?” Melli asked.

  Dash opened one eye and saw Berry lean her head against the window with a heavy sigh.

  “What about all those royal clothes and tiaras?” Berry added.

  “I don’t see Dash going for all that royal stuff,” Cocoa added.

  Berry snapped her head back. “Exactly! So we need to have a princess plan,” she said. “We have to help Dash see that being a princess is a dream come true.”

  Cocoa stood up. “It might be your dream,” she said, “but I don’t think Dash has the same dream.”

  “I think Cocoa is right,” Melli said. “If this isn’t really what Dash wants, we should help her out.”

  Dash shut her eyes. She didn’t want her friends to see that she was awake.

  Raina flipped through the pages of a book. “I can’t believe this story is not in any book,” she said. “Isn’t it strange that we’ve never heard of Queen Mintie and King Leaf?”

  “Not strange at all,” Cocoa said. “It means that the plan to keep the royal family hidden worked, and that the Mint Fairies were saved.”

  “If Orni had tried to get to Sugar Valley, he would have probably gotten lost,” Raina said, giggling. “Ogres are greedy, but not very smart. Just like trolls.”

  Raina’s giggling got all the fairies laughing, and Dash couldn’t hide that she was awake any longer. She let out a little giggle too. Then she flew over to her friends.

  “Hey, Dash,” Melli said. “Sorry, did we wake you?”

  “No,” Dash said. She didn’t want to say she had been listening to their conversation. How could she tell her excited friends that she was not as excited as they were about her new royal role?

  Just then a sugar fly appeared at the window. M
elli let the little messenger fly into the room, and he dropped a note in Dash’s hands.

  “It’s an invitation to meet with Queen Swirl here in the palace tomorrow,” Dash said as she read the note. “I guess we have lots to talk about,” she added quietly.

  “You have to accept the title of princess,” Raina said. “That is how it usually works.” She tapped the Fairy Code Book. “And then there will be a coronation ceremony, where you will officially become a princess.”

  “What if I am not sure?” Dash asked.

  Cocoa stood up with a burst of energy. “Let’s think about today instead,” she said. “Remember, we’re going to do some more cleaning at the Hall of Records, and then we’re going to have the Ice Cream Fete.”

  “Cocoa is right,” Melli said. She put her arm around Dash. “You love an ice cream feast. It’s going to be fun. Drizzle and Fluff will be there too.”

  Dash smiled. She knew Melli was trying to cheer her up. While the Ice Cream Fete sounded delicious, she was not in the mood to celebrate.

  “Let’s go over to the Hall of Records now,” Dash said. “After all, that is the real reason we came here.”

  Dash led the way to the Hall of Records. Working on the cleaning task made her feel a little bit better. The Candy Fairies cleaned and threw out trash. When the sun started to move lower in the sky, the five Candy Fairies were done and ready for an ice cream treat.

  “I can’t wait to see Drizzle and Fluff,” Melli said. “Tonight is going to be superfun!”

  “And sweet-tacular!” Cocoa said, looking over at Dash. “Dash, aren’t you excited about the Ice Cream Fete?”

  Dash shrugged. “I guess,” she said. As much as Dash wanted to join in the fun with her friends, she felt like melting into the background. All she wanted to do was go back up to their room and pull the covers over her head.