(Uh tiny author's note: I'll admit I legit forgot if it's ever stated if anyone lives in the castle or not so I'm just assuming that Custard III called dibs on it or something. I'm guessing if there's an answer it was in like a really early on story thing that I haven't seen in ages-)

(First time writing... technically all of these characters, I just realized I haven't written like any of these specific characters before. I think it's because I tend to get really attached to very specific characters so a lot of my google doc wips are about Milk and Alchemist and characters heavily associated with them XD. Anyway out of all of these the one I'm the least confident on is Lilac so I hope I get him right, I really like him as a character.

Hope this is good this is kinda really self-indulgent I just wanted some Big Sister Chili Pepper behavior but with angst)

(More characters will be appearing in the future and I'll add their tags as they appear.)

(Btw just in case it's needed or someone doesn't read the tags: there are no ships in this book. Ok enough notes now-)

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Nobody had noticed anything out of the ordinary that day. 

By all means, it appeared like just another bright and colorful day.

Custard Cookie III, proud as ever, was prancing around the Cookie Kingdom as he normally did. Practically no one really took him seriously as a king, but his naive mind protected him with a veil of innocence and optimism. He thought he was doing an excellent job, and that was enough.

Despite his lack of true authority, those who respected or at least humored him would give him presents from time to time. It filled him with joy to see that the his loyal subjects held such love for their king. He never had a single negative thought about any of them. He found something of worth in any and every single gift. 

So, with all of this, it was no wonder that he wouldn't  say no to a single slice of cake delivered to the castle's doorstep, with nothing on the letter attached but a statement of admiration.

It was his breakfast that day, and what a delicious breakfast it was! Truly, a treat fit for a king! 

...such was what he thought, despite the light nausea that accompanied him right after. In fact, it still hadn't gone away, even as he skipped around. He tried to ignore it, thinking it'd pass, but it just seemed to stick to him.

He felt the energy leave him, slowly, as the time went by that day. It was only the afternoon, he was at the edge of the kingdom, the side furthest away from the castle, halfway done walking around, and he already felt as if he were going to collapse. Even the simple task of breathing was beginning to feel like a chore.

He was trying not to let it show, though. After all, he thought, would it not be embarrassing for a king to feel such a way?

It was nothing, it would pass, he just felt a little extra tired that day...

"Hey! Custard Cookie III!"

When his four "most loyal-est subjects" (as he thought of them) came to greet him, he paused his skipping with a big smile:

"*gasp* Gingerbrave! I see you and *huff* my other most loyal-est servants have come to *huff* greet their king this fine afternoon...!"

He could barely get out the final words with how much he was trying to catch his own breath, but the other four cookies didn't seem to really take notice. Gingerbrave smiles, Strawberry Cookie blushed, Wizard Cookie sighed, and...

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, kid.."

As per usual, Chili Pepper Cookie was being her aloof self.

Custard Cookie III paid no mind to it. He was just happy to see his friends, Chili Pepper Cookie included.

Gingerbrave smiled and proceeded to explain what they were doing:

"So, Black Lemonade Cookie is coming to our kingdom, and we were just about to start planning the welcome party, but we didn't wanna do it without you. Ready?"

Custard Cookie III smiled, almost forgetting about the immense tiredness he had been feeling. 

"Why, of course!" The young king said with some difficulty. "What kind of a king would just ignore the arrival of a new subject??"

Custard Cookie III pointed his staff toward the sky with great pride, though he still sounded as if he were fighting for air. Wizard Cookie seemed to be the first one to notice:

"Um, are you sure you're up for it? You sound like you're out of breath. Maybe we should sit down for a little...?"

"Y-Yeah, now that I think about it," said Strawberry Cookie upon realizing, "you do look kinda tired... A-Are you alright?"

"I *huff* appreciation your concerns, loyal servant, but *gasp* y-your king is just fine! Now, let's go!!"

The three older kids looked at their little friend with worry. Gingerbrave was about to speak up with his concerns, but Chili Pepper Cookie had had enough:

"Whatever! If he says he's fine, then he's fine. Let's just get going already!!"

She really didn't care about any of this. She was just hoping that if the welcome party distracted Black Lemonade Cookie enough, then she'd be able to swipe something from the famous cookie's pockets without her noticing. She didn't really even plan on pitching in. The others insisted she help, but she only had plans to slack off and let them set everything up.

"...well, alright then!" Gingerbrave caved. "Let's get going, then."

The walk to the center of the kingdom, where the main festivities would take place, felt so much longer than normal for the young king. He was barely able to keep up with his friends, and they weren't even walking that fast. The light sound of wheezing seemingly went unnoticed by the other cookies around. The kid didn't even realize that, despite his efforts, he was still going slower than Chili Pepper Cookie, who wasn't even trying to keep up with the others.

Soon, wheezing turned to coughing. He usually ran while holding his staff out, pointed toward the sky, but for some reason he felt the strength to grip in his hands drain, causing him to drop it to the ground as he soon collapsed on the spot. 

Sitting down now, all he could do was cough, violently.

Chili Pepper Cookie often tried to both literally and figuratively distance herself from the other four.  Those cute little do-gooders didn't fit her style, she thought. She found them embarrassing sometimes, even.

So, trailing further behind the others, she was the one to notice the young boy's coughing fit. When she looked back, however, she completely froze with nothing but a yelp.

The bright green of the grass did nothing to camouflage many specs of red now coating its blades.

Custard Cookie III was coughing up his own jam.

And, once every cookie in the immediate area took notice, panic ensued.

"WHAT ON EARTHBREAD-!!!?!?" Wizard Cookie exclaimed as he and the other three ran up close to their fallen friend. Not just them, but the others who had been nearby: everyone had to see if the poor child was alright. A crowd formed, and whispers amongst it grew.

All apart from Chili Pepper Cookie, who hadn't moved from her spot, still petrified in shock.

The world seemed to come to a halt around her, the background turning to white noise. What did she just witness!? The kid said he was fine, so what was going on!?

The other three had been asking questions to the poor king, if he was okay and what happened to him, but all he could do was continue coughing up a storm, drops of jam hitting his hands as he held them to his mouth.

He could barely breathe, and he was beginning to feel light-headed.

When Chili Pepper Cookie could finally process enough of the current situation to react, she immediately ran over to the rest of the cookies to get closer. She had to be able to see what was happening. 

Over the years she'd been living, every fight she'd been in and every crime she'd committed, she had never seen something quite as heart-wrenching:

Gingerbrave was trying to support the kid sitting up, Strawberry Cookie was trying to keep herself from crying, and Wizard Cookie was frantically asking questions that the poor thing wasn't even capable of answering.

...and then there was Custard Cookie III himself:

The poor kid's dough seemed paler than usual. He could barely keep his eyes open, and barely a second would pass between each cough, and with it more jam would spit out of his mouth. 

Chili Pepper Cookie wasn't one to care about other cookies. Her typical attitude was much more like "every cookie for themselves!" This hadn't always done her well,   ̶p̶e̶r̶h̶a̶p̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶o̶k̶i̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶h̶u̶r̶t̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶,̶ but generally it served her in regards to her main goal: Treasure, coins, and other such shiny things.

Really, she couldn't resist the allure of such things. She didn't think she'd be able to quit even if she wanted to. And she really, really didn't want to. These valuables mattered more to her than her than anything else.

...but seeing Custard Cookie III like this made her feel something in her chest that made her grip it with her hand.

She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like it. 

With the other cookies, still surrounding their coughing companion, one cookie in particular came out of the crowd, bringing with him a faint lilac scent that seemed to somewhat calm the panicking cookies.

"Lilac Cookie...?" said Gingerbrave. "What are you..."

"I believe I've seen something like this before.... Let me take a closer look." 

The floral-scented cookie got down next to Custard Cookie III and put his hand on his forehead, as if trying to feel for a fever. He took a look at the poor child's face, as he continued to fight for a moment of breath. Thankfully, somehow, Lilac's aroma seemed to soothe the coughing just a bit, though it was clearly making him tired.

"...I've seen some poisons like this before. Not in popular usage... but they still exist. This doesn't seem exactly like them, but... I think I can be certain that a poison was used."

Gasps came out from all around. Someone had poisoned Custard Cookie III!? The king!? A child!?

The little king seemingly wanted to say something, but he couldn't get out anything but a few whimpers as his eyes finally couldn't keep themselves open any longer. His breathing was still labored as he passed out right there. Even the usually stoic Lilac showed a hint of pity in his eyes.

He patted the kid's hair gently, before softly speaking.

"...he needs rest, urgently. If he doesn't receive it, then..."

Gingerbrave, Strawberry Cookie, and Wizard Cookie all exchanged looks and then nodded. The first to take action, however... was Chili Pepper Cookie.

Without a word, she walked over to the others and picked Custard Cookie III up into her arms. It could almost be described as a hug, but those who knew Chili Pepper Cookie wouldn't exactly associate her with such actions... at least without the motivation of taking from the reciprocant's pockets without them suspecting her of anything.

"Ch-Chili Pepper Cookie...?" Strawberry said quietly, surprise evident in her voice. "You're going to help...? Uh, n-not that I didn't think you cared or anything, but... um..." 

She couldn't finish the sentence. Really, she wasn't used to Chili Pepper coming in and helping out. She knew Chili Pepper Cookie wouldn't actually work on getting Black Lemonade Cookie's welcome party together, and she was fine with that. Just about everyone was used to the way Chili Pepper Cookie acted.

"..." Chili Pepper Cookie didn't say a word, only turning around- after just a second or two's stare at Lilac Cookie with a hint of recognition in her eyes (which Lilac Cookie seemed to share toward her)- and then beginning to head toward the castle.  Lilac Cookie and co. followed suit, while the rest of the crowd were left to discuss the situation and hope for the best.

It seemed Black Lemonade Cookie's welcome party would have to take a backseat.

"...so, this is where you are now..."  Lilac Cookie thought to himself as he walked, with the three kids following. "I never thought I'd see you again... or that such a ruthless thief would be carrying a child cookie in her arms..."