King Kandy of Candyland's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Three mornings ago, Lord Licorice took a second helping of plum pudding at King Kandy's table, laughed at a joke about gumdrops, and walked out across the drawbridge. He turned at the gate and lifted one hand. Red and black licorice ropes shot up from the ground and braided themselves across every door and window of the castle. The feast inside went quiet. King Kandy, Imperial Head Bonbon and Grand Jujube of Candyland, set down his fork and understood that the third day of his feast would not end the way he had planned. Now he stood on the inner grounds in his cookie-scaled armor, peppermint cane in hand. The ice cream drawbridge gate was bound shut by twisting red and black ropes that shimmered like wet glass. He pushed the gate with his shoulder. It did not move. He tapped a rope with his cane. The licorice hissed and tightened. No baker, no lumberjack, no gumdrop guard in his kingdom could cut it. He had tried them all on the first day. He climbed the peppermint watch tower. From the top he could see the paths of Candyland, gone gray, cracked down the middle like dry frosting. His subjects stood in small groups along the road, hands at their sides, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. The smell of baking was gone. He pressed his forehead to the cold peppermint rail and watched. Then he saw them. Two children stepped onto the start of the path. A boy in red stripes and blue overalls. A girl with messy pigtails and a red bow. Both had blue hair, bright as fresh frosting. Each carried a lollipop. The boy pointed up the road. The girl nodded and walked first. King Kandy gripped the rail. The land itself had called them. He had not. He did not know how he knew this, only that he did. He went back down the tower stairs faster than a king should. In the castle kitchen he found two muffins still warm under a cloth. He set them on a silver platter. He piped yellow frosting on one and pink on the other, dropped sprinkles across both, and pressed a small gold crown into each top. He carried the platter to the inner side of the sealed gate and set it on a low table. Two royal cupcakes, one for the boy, one for the girl. Ready for the moment the licorice fell. King Kandy sat down on the step beside the platter. Through the gaps in the licorice ropes he could see a thin stripe of path. He would wait there. The twins were coming. When they broke the spell from the outside, he would stand, lift the platter, and walk out to meet them. Until then, he watched the road and counted their steps.