The Tale of the Dragon Scale Slippers
Long ago in the Hollyberry Kingdom, there lived a very kind and happy cookie. In her house, surrounded by the wilds of the Jungle with her mother and father. Tragically, however, her mother soon fell ill and passed away, leaving the young cookie with her father.
Feeling like she needed a mother figure in her life, her father soon remarried, giving her a stepmother and stepsisters who were as beautiful as they were cruel, taunting and bullying the young cookie whilst her father was away, until the day her father went into the jungle and never returned.
The young cookie’s stepmother and her stepsisters soon after began to fear for their own safety, being surrounded by wyverns, butter tigers, and cookievorous plants. So they came up with a plan, to send the young cookie into the jungle everyday to protect their manor, mocking her and giving her the name “Jungleberry Cookie”.
Unbeknownst to her step-family however, Jungleberry Cookie soon grew to love the jungle itself, often bonding and playing with the Butter Tigers as she protected her home and, occasionally, hunted for some food. She’d enjoy the way that the Butter Tigers took care of her, and liked to smell the vibrant, orange flowers that bloomed in the emerald depths of the wilderness.
Some days, though, she missed being able to have the old life she used to have as a lady. Being able to sip tea, dance, and dress in pretty dresses like she used to. One time, Jungleberry Cookie even pretended to dance with the Butter Tigers, much to their confusion.
It was revealed one day that her Royal Majesty Hollyberry Cookie, as she often tended to do, decided to host a ball for all of the cookies in the Hollyberry Kingdom. Jungleberry cookie was so excited to hear the news that she ran over to her stepmother and begged for her to go.
As always though, her stepmother refused, “You still need to guard the manor, Jungleberry Cookie. You don’t have time to go to a ball. Besides…” she glanced at Jungleberry’s clothing, torn and ragged from the many times she went into the forest, “You’re not exactly… presentable or ladylike. You’ll embarrass the whole house!”
“I can change clothes! Jungleberry protested, “Please, just this once, can I wear one of my old dresses? I’ll behave!” At such a suggestion, her stepmother sneered, “No, those are much too nice for a feral girl like you.” At that, Jungleberry couldn’t help but give a dejected sigh.
“Maybe she can go!” said one of Jungleberry Cookie’s stepsisters, snickering. The other stepsister took an old, dusty curtain off of one of the windows cackling, “Yes, mother! Maybe she can make a dress out of this! It’s so stale and out of style, it’ll suit her perfectly!” Flippantly, Jungleberry cookie’s step-mother waved her hand, “If she can, then fine.”
Hurt, and humiliated, Jungleberry cookie quietly grabbed a spear and headed to the jungle as the other cookies prepared for the ball, fighting back tears. It was quiet in the wild for a while, until roars from the distance were heard, heading straight towards her. Wyverns soon surrounded Jungleberry cookie, and her sadness soon turned to rage, as she fought off the pack of the dragons that came to eat her.
The wyverns fled, and Jungleberry Cookie was soon left alone once more, until a rustling was heard and, fueled by adrenaline, she threw a punch at the rustling behind her, met not by a wyvern this time, but by a large dragon, scales shining bright red as the sun peaked through the leaves. At the sight, Jungleberry shrieked.
The dragon however, wasn’t angry. If anything, they seemed delighted, “Well, what do we have here? A sssmall cookie looking for a fight!” Jungleberry Cookie huffed at the notion, “I’m not looking for a fight! I’m merely defending myself!” “You ssseemed to have fought off thossse wyvernsss well enough!” “Yeah, well… it’s not like I want to get eaten!”
The red dragon huffed at that, “Ssso you don’t want to fight me?” “Obviously not! I’d crumble!” “I wonder about that.” “Please don’t!” The delight from the Red Dragon quickly shifted into annoyance, “If you don’t want to fight, then why are you out here!?”
Jungleberry Cookie sighed at that, “I’m upset, ok? Not like you’d care.” The dragon thought for a moment, before answering, “Well, I’m bored, ssso why don’t you tell me anywaysss?” Jungleberry Cookie glared at the Red Dragon, “There’s not much to tell! My stepmother refused to let me go to the ball Hollyberry Cookie is hosting! She said I was “not ladylike” and “too feral”! Is it too much to ask for one nice night out!?”
The Red Dragon glanced away at that, making a face that Jungleberry Cookie could have sworn was a smirk, “Hollyberry cookie herssself isss plenty feral, I ssshould know. I don’t think ssshe’d mind.” “That’s a nice thought, but then my stepsisters gave me a curtain and told I could go if I made a dress out of that!”
A couple minutes of silence washed over the two as the Red Dragon processed what Jungleberry Cookie said, before transforming into the form of a cookie itself, “Can I sssee it?” “What!?” “That curtain, or whatever it wasss… can I sssee it?” At that, Jungleberry groaned a bit and led the Red Dragon to the manor, stopping it before they could enter the house as she stormed into it, angrily coming back with the dusty curtain from before, “Here! Why did you want to see it, huh? To mock me further!? Burning me to a crisp would me more merciful than this!”
The dragon laughed a bit before taking the curtain in its own hands, humming a bit as they looked at it, noticing the burnt-orange color of it. Soon enough, they closed its eyes in thought, muttering something in an intelligible language as the curtain transformed from its original form into a sparkling, vibrant orange gown of a strange style, matching Jungleberry Cookie’s eyes and flowers that were tangled in her hair, before handing it to her, “Here you go.”
Jungleberry stared at the gown, completely stunned, “Wait, what?” “You ssseem to be much more interesssting than mossst cookiesss in the kingdom, and while I think it’sss boring you don’t want to fight… I can at leassst help you be petty to thossse cookiesss you were complaining about.” “I… still don’t understand. How am I interesting?” “Mossst cookiesss wouldn’t even dare ssstike me, let alone in my face.” “You’re helping me because I punched you!?” “Jussst take the ssstupid dresss!”
Jungleberry Cookie did, and smiled a bit before quickly running into the manor and changing into the new gown, quickly getting ready and tying her hair in curled twin tails before placing the tangled flowers in her hair back in gently, soon leaving the manor before stopping, realizing one important detail, “Oh no! I forgot shoes!”
The dragon groaned in annoyance at that, quickly giving Jungleberry Cookie two scales, “Thessse ssscalesss from my clawsss ssshould work. I’m ssstarting to get bored now though. Meet me in the Dragon’sss Valley if you change your mind about wanting to fight.” And soon after that, it flew away, leaving a beaming Jungleberry Cookie to herself. She did not waste a moment before quickly running to the ball.
There was so much to explore at the Hollyberry Castle that Jungleberry Cookie was bouncing with excitement. She got to try many fancy kinds of meat jellies and cheeses, cakes and teas, all things that she missed so dearly when she was a child. She gleefully danced with many interesting cookies that she had never met before, and soon enough, she wore herself out, deciding to take a breather on the balcony outside.
Jungleberry smiled as she looked at the view of the jungle up above as the sky started to glow that orange-purple hue of dusk. Soon enough, she saw a couple of Butter Tigers coming from the edge of the jungle, and quickly and quietly snuck off to see them, sneaking some meat jellies out of the ballroom for them to snack on. “You all are always so kind to me, I know you can’t go to the ball yourselves but you should enjoy a little bit of it.” She spoke, softly petting a butter cub as it gingerly ate the piece of meat.
As quiet as she had been though, she did not go unnoticed, and a gentle voice spoke, “Wow, I’ve never seen a cookie talking to the Butter Tigers like that before.” Startled, Jungleberry turned around to see a young man her age, looking well dressed with pink hair and red eyes, who quickly panicked at her surprise, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!”
Jungleberry Cookie quietly smiled at the cookie, “It’s no trouble at all, I just thought I’d give my friends a treat here. My name is Jungleberry Cookie.” she offered her hand as the other cookie took it, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Royalberry Cookie. If… if it’s not too forward, may I ask for this dance?” “I’d be honored!”
And dance they did without a care in the world, laughing and twirling away as the ballroom cleared, other cookies being almost compelled to stare at the young couple. They soon stopped dancing and talked to each other, learning more about their interests. Jungleberry Cookie herself couldn’t help but be fascinated by the man in front of her, and the two nearly kissed- only to be interrupted by the chime of the midnight clock.
Noticing the time, Jungleberry Cookie quickly stood up, “Goodness, it’s so late! My stepmother will be furious with me if she sees I’m not home!” “Oh! Are you alright? Do you need an escort home?” “NO!” She panicked before coughing, “I mean- no thank you. I… I appreciate it but I must leave now.” she bolted quickly, before tripping on a step and haphazardly stumbling out of the castle, leaving behind a bright red slipper.
Quietly, Royalberry Cookie walked over to the step, gingerly picking up the slipper and inspecting it. This, just like Jungleberry Cookie herself, was nothing like Royalberry Cookie had seen before, though he couldn’t help but wonder if his mother had. So he asked her, “Mother? Have you ever seen a slipper like this before?”
Curiously, Hollyberry Cookie herself picked up the slipper in one hand, humming as she sipped her goblet with a mother, “I can’t say I have. Though it almost looks like-“ she cut herself off to stare at it, befuddled, “Like what, Mother?” At her son’s question, Hollyberry Cookie couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s probably just my imagination, they wouldn’t do something as silly as that… I don’t think... Though it looks like it’s a dragon scale of some kind.”
“Maybe someone was inspired by Lord Dragon so make a fancy shoe for that young lady I danced with.” “Oh ho? What’s this about a young lady?” Royalberry quickly flushed at his mother’s question before answering, “She said her name was Jungleberry Cookie! She was a really fascinating cookie! I hope I can see her again.” “Well, if anything, she needs her slipper back, doesn’t she?” Hollyberry Cookie suggested, giving a soft smile to her son.
Back at her home, Jungleberry cookie quickly ran into her room in the basement of the manor, changing from her dragon-gifted dress and single shoe before laying in her bed and screaming joyfully in her pillow, kicking her feet. Soon enough, she heard a noise from upstairs, along with talking, “I swear I tried to get the prince’s attention mother, but he was too busy paying attention to that… that weird cookie!” Her stepsister complained, bitterness creeping out of her words. “Don’t worry, girls. It’s likely just a… passing fancy.” Her stepmother seethed as footsteps got louder in the stairs. Jungleberry Cookie quickly pretended to be asleep as her stepmother opened the door, looking in before giving a huff and closing the basement door.
The next morning, the manor received a knock on the door, Jungleberry’s stepmother opening it to see Royalberry Cookie, holding the slipper, “Um excuse me? Is Jungleberry Cookie here?” Calculating, the stepmother looked at the Prince’s face, then the slipper, “Jungleberry cookie?” “Oh! Yes, she accidentally left her slipper at the Palace the last ball. I was wondering if I could return it to her? Is she in?”
A cold look washed over the stepmother’s face as she lied, “Unfortunately, no. She went into the jungle that way.” She pointed northward from the manor, “Oh, alright. I’ll come back later then…” Royalberry Cookie said, leaving dejectedly. Coming up from the basement, “Is everything alright?” Jungleberry cookie asked, coming up the basement, causing her stepmother to huff, “No! I thought I heard wyverns screeching southwards from here! Get on it Jungleberry!” The young cookie nodded, grabbing her spear and doing her daily duties.
This happened repeatedly over a month’s time, Royalberry getting more disheartened as Jungleberry kept to her patrols, all while daydreaming of the night of the ball, until one day, Jungleberry Cookie came upstairs from her room just a little earlier than she normally would, seeing Royalberry walking sadly into the forest, “Stepmother? What was that?”
At that, her stepmother looked coldly at Jungleberry, “I know you went to the ball that night. If you think you could steal what belongs rightfully to my daughters you’re mistaken. I sent him away, and he’ll give up eventually.” At that, Jungleberry cookie quickly became furious, grabbing a spear and nearly shoving her stepmother to the side, screaming “YOU SENT IN THE DIRECTION OF A COOKIEVOUROUS GARDEN I’VE BEEN TRYING TO CLEAR OUT!”
Jungleberry Cookie ran as quickly as she could, afraid she would not make it to Royalberry in time. Soon enough she heard a trill and turned around to see a Butter Tiger, leaning down as if to give her a ride. Together, they made it to see Royalberry Cookie, upside down and smacking a scepter at the very hungry Cookievorous Plant that grabbed him.
“LET HIM GO YOU OVERGROWN WEED!” Jungleberry Cookie shouted before fighting the Cookievorous plant, eventually killing it, smiling at Royalberry Cookie, “I’m dreadfully sorry, my stepmother failed to inform me you wanted to talk. Are you alright!?” Royalberry Cookie smiled at that, offering Jungleberry Cookie a messy bouquet of tiger lilies, “I’m quite alright, would you like to go on a date, Jungleberry Cookie?”
Several dates later, and eventually Jungleberry Cookie and Royalberry Cookie held a grand wedding ceremony, beautiful orange flowers everywhere as the blushing bride herself was followed by a procession of dapper looking Butter tigers, all while she was wearing the now complete set of Dragonscale Slippers she was gifted that first night.
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