Hidden Talent

  ( Winterwish )

  With boo-boos plastered, wet hair wrapped in towels, tootsies snug within slippers and fluffy dressing gowns tied tight, Winterwish, Merrymint and Cherrychomp entered the dining room. Spiced warmth enveloped them and stirred stomachs to famished growls.

  Merrymint caught the back of Cherrychomp's robe just before she could pounce upon the prepared platters.

  "Lemmie go! Am 'ungry! 'Ungry, 'ungry, 'ungry!" She clawed and gnashed at the air as if possessed by starvation.

  "We're all hungry!" said Merrymint. "But we gotta wait for Cutie', Bubble', Sunny and... oh! Ahoy-hoy, Puddin'!"

  The mouthwatering feast was so attention grabbing that it had taken them a moment to notice the fanciful fairy, who was already seated in waiting. "Princess Puddingpuff," she corrected.

  The three arrivals took their places. Sitting directly before the steaming delicacies only made them harder to resist.

  "That's what I said." Merrymint gave a cheeky wink. "You missed all the excitement. Things got pretty crazy!"

  Puddingpuff closed her eyes. "Sunshine proved imbecilic. Newbie almost got herself killed, and the imp's reservations prevented her from being any real use."

  Cherrychomp appeared too busy drooling to register the slight.

  "Oh, you were watching?" asked Merrymint.

  "Simple conjecture," said Puddingpuff. "Though prophetic in this case, apparently."

  "Actually, it's Winterwish now, and I do not believe Sunshine to be an imbecile, nor Cherrychomp an imp," said Winterwish.

  Puddingpuff responded with a polite smile.

  "Aaannnd where the hel were you?" Bubblebun entered, all bundled up in a gown and jammies.

  Cutiehorn followed, suited in fresh armour. A towel remained atop her head, the silver horn's tip glinting at its peak.

  "Terribly sorry, but I was otherwise engaged," said Puddingpuff. "I do hope I can join you for the next tussle."

  Bubblebun clicked her tongue. "That's what you said last time. In fact, that's what you say every time."

  "Indeed. Quite unfortunate," said Puddingpuff.

  Bubblebun rolled her eyes and dropped into her chair. "So, we eating or not?"

  "Eat!" roared Cherrychomp, her fists beating the table and rattling cutlery.

  "Uhm! Actually, could we wait for everyone, maybe?" asked Winterwish.

  "This isn't everyone?" asked Bubblebun.

  Cutiehorn motioned to the vacant, wing-chiselled throne beside her. Bubblebun let out a groan, slid back in her chair and reached out to flick a grape. The juicy berry bounced off the unamused knight's metallic bust with a sonorous sound.

  "If I may," said Puddingpuff. "Cutiehorn, in your long-lived memory, has our eldest ever attended dinner following training against Splishsplash?"

  Cutiehorn opened her mouth to speak, yet no words emerged.

  Just like that, plates were piled high and mouths stuffed without further protest.

  Once her belly was full, Winterwish sat back in her chair and rubbed her tum. She watched as Cherrychomp crammed fistful after fistful of mushy peas into her maw.

  Merrymint took up a napkin and leaned across the table to wipe the little red fairy's messy chops. "Awesome effort, Cherry', but maybe you should slow down. Try swallowing between mouthfuls."

  From that simple act sprung an idea. Winterwish plucked two napkins from the square stack then started to assemble a selection of dry treats upon each.

  Merrymint watched curiously, slurping up a sprig of buttery broccoli from between her lips and chewing it all the faster until she was free to talk. "Whatcha doin'? Midnight snacks?"

  "They're for the others," said Winterwish. "I figured I'd take Splishsplash and Sunshine some food since they're not here."

  "Awh," doted Merrymint. "That's my Mentee for you! Sweet and considerate! You want me to come with?"

  Winterwish paused and pondered. "...Actually, I kinda want to talk with them both anyway. Alone, if you don't mind?"

  Merrymint nodded without a hint of offense. "Of course. Sure."

  Fluffy ears flopped as Bubblebun leaned forward. "Not to spoil your fun, Winterwish, but they're not exactly social."

  "I know, but, we're sisters, right?" asked Winterwish.

  Iridescent eyes narrowed. A tongue clicked.

  Did I say something wrong?

  Winterwish looked around the table, studying the others' expressions. "So... Splishsplash said something earlier. She seemed to think we're not a family at all. She said we're just, well, weapons..."

  "Don't worry," chirped Merrymint. "That's just her way. We're all born under the same roof. We care for each other. We even call it a sisterhood!"

  "Sisters!" cheered Cherrychomp.

  Even Puddingpuff raised her creamy cup high. "Family indeed."

  "...Right," said Cutiehorn with a slightly awkward smile. "Splishsplash might come off as harsh, but she means well."

  Winterwish nodded.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Well that's a relief...

  "I, for one, wish good fortune upon your diplomacy," said Puddingpuff. "You very well may need it. Just don't press said luck too far, especially with Sunshine."

  "Actually, I kind of thought I might be getting somewhere with her earlier," said Winterwish. "Sort of. Though, in the end I think I just made things worse..."

  "I wouldn't blame yourself," said Puddingpuff. "Repellence is simply her nature. You are not the first to offer her a hawthorn branch, and you shan't be the first to see it snapped."

  Winterwish pulled her dressing gown tight as she stepped out of the palace and into the cool night. The stars were easily visible, twinkling bright even through veiling auroras.

  So pretty... Another special night for Stargazers, no doubt.

  It didn't take long to spot Splishsplash. She was standing exactly where they'd left her, still vigilant and undaunted.

  Winterwish took a deep breath and strode forth. Much like Sunshine, the merprincess intimidated her, but perhaps she could overcome that fear by simply understanding.

  "Princess Splishsplash? I brought you some food." She handed over the carefully wrapped meal. "There's been no other flares, right?"

  "Nothing." Splishsplash unfolded the napkin, poked around, then plucked a radish from the selection.

  "Good..." Winterwish cast her gaze over the Enchanted Forest. In the distance, screaming orange bled into the glittery sky. "That's a lot of fire."

  Three crunches and a swallow later, Splishsplash responded. "A necessary amount. Queen Titania will not take chances."

  "It's ichor, right?"

  "Almost certainly." Splishsplash refolded the bundle for later consumption. "A simple stray beast would not require so much force nor time."

  Winterwish's face creased with concern. She tried to imagine the horror their monarch was facing at that very moment. A hideous, writhing giant filled her thoughts. "Have you seen it?"

  "Only the aftermath. Those it has mutated."

  "You mean animals, right? ...Not people?"

  "Both. Ichor affects all living tissue. Rapid growth and deterioration with neither order nor reason. Simply put, it creates monsters, mindless and misshapen."

  Gulping made Winterwish painfully aware of how dry her throat had become. "...How exactly do we reverse that process?"

  For the briefest of moments, ocean pools turned to focus upon her. "Being a Fairy Princess isn't always about fun, frills and flowers. Ready that cold heart of yours, Winterwish, for when the time comes, you may need it."

  Just like that, the night felt all the more frigid.

  "...The last sisterhood. The one before ours. What happened to them?" asked Winterwish.

  "I do not know," said Splishsplash.

  "What about Sunshine's Mentor? She must've been among them, right?"

  "I do not know."

  Winterwish dug her nails into the fabric of her gown. "Do we know anything about them? Or any of the graduated sisterhoods?" she asked, her voice laced with frustration.

  Splishsplash's eyes flicked down a moment. It wasn't much, but it was the closest she'd come to displaying emotion since they'd first met. "Queen Titania has endured many tragedies. Too much misfortune to dwell upon. Our priority must remain the present and future. We have a duty to fulfill."

  Winterwish loosed a steady sigh, her breath not warm enough to form condensing clouds unlike the merpincess beside her. "What about us? Will we too be forgotten one day?"

  "Everyone will be forgotten eventually."

  "That's not what I meant. I want to be strong. Strong like you. Strong like her," Winterwish motioned to the distant glow. "Strong enough to help. To defend Queen and queendom. To protect everyone. Tell me how."

  "Resolve," said Splishsplash without hesitation.

  A single word? Resolve? It can't be that simple...

  "Right. Thanks..." For a moment Winterwish simply stood there, running her fingers over the second bundle of food within her pocket, until the complete void of communication became unbearable. "...Well, I guess this is goodnight."

  "One more thing, Princess Winterwish."

  "Yes?"

  "Do not repeat your actions today. Queen Titania will not have appreciated them."

  It might've just been Winterwish's imagination, but she was sure she saw Splishsplash's grip on Loyalty tighten. Dread and anxiety descended upon her like midnight rain. She thought back to training. To Titania's distraught expression. Was disobedience the cause? Recklessness? Or perhaps something else entirely? As curious as she was, her nerves were getting the better of her. She lowered her head timidly.

  "I'm sorry," she croaked.

  The merprincess did not look back nor speak again, and so Winterwish returned to the palace, chilled and unsettled.

  Upon arriving at the Dormitory, Winterwish's existing concerns were lessened, but only because they'd been replaced with fresh worries.

  Her knuckles were an inch away from Sunshine's bedroom door. There her hand remained, hovering before carved feathers. She thought back to the golden spheres glowing within the darkness of the hillside, and the pile of burning blankets. Through pursed lips she sucked in a deep breath and forced her hand into action.

  Conk-conk.

  She winced as if the door might explode in her face, but came no such reaction. An uncomfortable moment passed.

  "Princess Sunshine? I brought you some food."

  Still no reply. She started to doubt the firstborn was even inside. Though, if anything, that made talking somehow easier.

  "Look... I'm sorry I didn't wait for you. I didn't mean to end up in Splishsplash's arms like that..." She cringed at the ridiculousness of her own words. "I'll leave the food out here, ok?"

  Silence.

  Winterwish placed the food package upon the floor, then moved to her own room. She opened the door, reached inside and picked up a bag she'd brought down from Rainbow City earlier. Within were the purchases she'd made at the market during their return. An embossed journal with gilded pages and a collection of pencils.

  The others might be content to let the heroes of the past fade, but Winterwish was not. She wanted answers that no one seemed to have, so she'd create her own record with whatever scraps of information she could gather. The portraits of the palace wouldn't tell her much, but she had to start somewhere, and so she set off toward the halls beneath the dressing room. It seemed fitting to begin with those she'd first laid eyes on.

  It was only when Winterwish came to stand before the initial painting that she realised she couldn't even remember what her own handwriting looked like. Fortunately, upon putting pencil to page she discovered it was legible enough. She started with the name. Princess Razzledazzle. She was a flamboyant girl with glinting lashes and a dress of colourful peacock feathers.

  Winterwish figured next she should make note of some defining features to help remember each image. Though when lead pressed down she instead found her wrist making sweeping motions to sketch basic shapes. "Huh! I guess I can draw..."

  Is this some odd boon of the metamorphosis, or a remnant of my former life?

  Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, she watched as her digits wielded the pencil with unexpected expertise. Proportions were developed and details added until the Fairy Princess on the canvas was replicated within her journal. With a strange sense of unearned pride and curious excitement, she moved on to the next.

  One by one, past royalty appeared upon the pages of her journal. She scratched down Snugglehug's fleecy, sloth-like arms. Choccyrock's spiked hair and cocoa-clad fists. Bravesail's tasselled nautical coat. Pearlypop's bright, toothy smile, and many, many more.

  Winterwish had made her way down to the main entrance and was just finishing Princess Glimmergleam's diamond dress when she realised several hours had passed. The rest of the sisterhood were certain to have retreated for the night, and if she didn't hurry she might not get any sleep at all. Tomorrow would surely bring fresh challenges, and so she reluctantly pressed her journal to a close.

  With her mind no longer occupied, Winterwish noticed how much quieter the palace was at night. Even the flickering fires of wall torches and braziers seemed tamer, as if their flames were being ever so careful as to not disturb anyone. She spared a brief moment to close her eyes and appreciate the relaxing crackles. Yet there was something else, hushed yet faintly detectable through the sizzles and pops.

  Isn't that... breathing?