A Royal Wedding Read online

  Contents

  Candy Kingdom Map

  CHAPTER 1 The Big Scoop

  CHAPTER 2 Wedding Wishes

  CHAPTER 3 Swirling

  CHAPTER 4 Dipping

  CHAPTER 5 A Little Salty

  CHAPTER 6 Royal Gumdrops

  CHAPTER 7 Sweet Stitches

  CHAPTER 8 Showers of Sweetness

  CHAPTER 9 The Sweetest Secret

  CHAPTER 10 Mint Jitters

  CHAPTER 11 Crumbs

  CHAPTER 12 Finishing Touches

  CHAPTER 13 Simply Delicious

  CHAPTER 14 A Sweet Sign

  CHAPTER 15 Ever After

  About Helen Perelman

  For Samantha, who had the sweet idea for a royal wedding

  The Big Scoop

  Melli the Caramel Fairy swooped down to the sugar sand beach at Red Licorice Lake. The sun was slightly above the top of the Frosted Mountains. She knew she was early for Sun Dip and her friends wouldn’t be there for a while. Sun Dip didn’t officially start until the sun started to sink behind the Frosted Mountains. Melli fluttered her wings. She couldn’t wait to share her news!

  Spreading her blanket, Melli smiled to herself. She had made fresh caramel hearts for a Sun Dip snack and displayed them on a plate. Sun Dip was her favorite time of day. The colorful sunset in Sugar Valley was the perfect time to be with friends. And Melli had the best four friends in the world.

  She didn’t have to wait too long for her Chocolate Fairy friend Cocoa to arrive. Cocoa’s golden wings were easy to spot in the late afternoon light.

  “Hi, Cocoa!” Melli called.

  “I thought I was going to be first today,” Cocoa said. She looked at her friend. “You look like you are bursting with some sweet news.”

  Melli giggled. “I am!” she squealed. “The most delicious news!”

  “Hold on!” Raina the Gummy Fairy cried from above. “I have the most scrumptious news of all!”

  Dash the Mint Fairy whizzed past Raina and landed next to Melli. “Gee, everyone is extra-early today,” she said. “What’s the great occasion?”

  “They have news to share,” Cocoa said, nodding to Melli and Raina.

  “Well, spill!” Dash said as she settled down on Melli’s blanket. “Please don’t tell me we have to wait for Berry.”

  Berry the Fruit Fairy was almost always late to events. Her friends knew this about her and always expected her to be the last one to arrive.

  “She’s probably trying on some new outfit,” Dash said. Dash was more interested in sledding and speed racing than in all the fashions that Berry liked to talk about.

  “Maybe,” Cocoa said. She looked over at Melli. “I don’t think Melli and Raina are going to be able to wait. Go ahead, Melli.”

  “Hey!” Raina shouted. “I have huge, huge news!”

  Dash pointed her wings at Melli. “But Melli was here before you. She should share first.”

  Sitting up straight, Melli grinned. “Well . . . ,” she said slowly. She wanted to savor the moment. “Princess Lolli wanted to work on a new caramel-apple dipping technique for the Caramel Moon Festival,” she said. “And she chose me to help!” Melli’s wings flapped and she lifted off the blanket. “I am going to Candy Castle in a couple of weeks so I can meet with her. Today I have been trying different kinds of caramel for the dip.”

  Cocoa flew over to her friend and gave her a tight squeeze. “I am so proud of you!” she said. She knew Melli loved the fall festival, which happened during the full moon in the tenth month of the year. One night of the year, the candy corn crop was picked under the full Caramel Moon and there was a big festival celebration.

  “You are so lucky,” Dash told her. “It’s not often that anyone gets alone time with Princess Lolli.”

  “I know.” Melli giggled. “I can’t wait.”

  Raina smiled. “That’s great, Melli.”

  Dash looked down at the plate in front of Melli. “Are these fresh caramels?” she asked.

  Melli laughed. Dash might be the smallest fairy, but she had the largest appetite. “Yes,” she replied. “I couldn’t use this batch for the dipping because the caramel was too hard, but it was perfect for shaping hearts.”

  “Yum!” Dash said. “I think I am going to love this special project of yours,” she added.

  “I will be making lots of caramel,” Melli said proudly.

  Raina stood up. “Now it is time for my news!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry Berry still isn’t here, but you are not going to believe this announcement.”

  “Announcement?” Cocoa asked. “What are you talking about?”

  Raina took a deep breath. “I was at Candy Castle this morning,” she said. “And I saw this!” She took out a copy of the Daily Scoop. “It’s a special edition because this news is so delicious!”

  Dash, Melli, and Cocoa crowded around the newspaper that Raina laid on the ground before them.

  “Holy peppermint!” Dash cried.

  “Hot chocolate!” Cocoa exclaimed.

  Melli’s mouth just hung open. She couldn’t speak.

  On the front page of the newspaper was a large photo of Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop. The headline across the top of the paper read A ROYAL ENGAGEMENT!!

  “Can you believe Princess Lolli is engaged to be married?” Raina cooed. “Isn’t that the dreamiest thing ever?”

  “ ‘The fairy princess is going to marry the fairy prince of Ice Cream Isles,’ ” Cocoa read aloud. “ ‘Prince Scoop is the son of Queen Swirl and King Cone. There has not been a royal wedding in Sugar Valley since Princess Lolli’s parents, Queen Sweetie and King Crunch, were married. This is going to be a supersweet celebration.’ ”

  Berry had landed next to Raina, her large pink wings fluttering to a stop, just as Cocoa read the headline. Now her smile disappeared from her face. Cocoa turned to her. For someone who had just heard about Princess Lolli getting married, Berry didn’t look as happy as she’d expected.

  “Berry, did you hear Raina’s news?” she asked.

  Berry grimaced. “It’s not Raina’s news,” she said. “It’s Princess Lolli’s news!” She turned to look at Raina. “When did you hear? The engagement was announced just today.”

  Raina pointed to the newspaper. “I was at Candy Castle this afternoon and I got the latest issue. Hot off the presses!”

  Berry reached into her bag and pulled out her copy of the special-edition Daily Scoop. “I got the same news,” she said. “Only, you got to tell everyone first,” she added quietly.

  “Raina really scooped you with the news about Scoop,” Dash teased.

  Everyone laughed but Berry. She didn’t think that was so funny. She had wanted to spread the news of Princess Lolli’s wedding. A royal wedding was a very big occasion. Her head was spinning with fashion details and all that sugary royal glamour!

  Melli wasn’t as excited as her friends. “Has anyone met him?” she asked. She raised her eyebrows. She was very suspicious.

  “If Princess Lolli loves him, then he has to be sure as sugar,” Cocoa stated.

  “The wedding will be pure sugar,” Raina added. She gazed at the photo in the newspaper. “Don’t they look so sweet together?”

  “I’ve never been to a wedding,” Cocoa said. She reached for one of Melli’s caramel hearts.

  “I hope we’re invited to the wedding!” Dash blurted out.

  “Of course we’ll be invited,” Berry said with a sigh. “I think the whole kingdom will be invited. This wedding is going to be sugar-tacular!”

  Raina shook her head. “Not everyone is invited to a wedding. I am sure the guest list is not as big as you think.”

  “Maybe they won’t want young Candy Fairies there,” Melli said softly. “Maybe the guests
will all be royalty.”

  Berry stood up. “Princess Lolli wouldn’t do that,” she said. “She loves us!”

  “When Queen Sweetie and King Crunch were married, there was a grand procession throughout Sugar Valley,” Raina said. “I read all about their wedding in the Fairy Code Book. Most Candy Fairies got to see the royal couple in the parade and not at the wedding ball.” She took out the book from her bag. Raina loved books and always carried the large history book. It often gave the fairies advice for their problems. “Here’s a picture of their wedding,” she said, pointing to one of the book’s first pages.

  “That was a long time ago,” Cocoa said.

  “Look at her dress,” Berry commented. “I love the candy jewel beading, and that fabric is just delicious!”

  “What will we give to the new royal couple?” Raina asked as she closed the book. “We have to give them a royally good gift even if we aren’t invited to the wedding.”

  Cocoa jumped up. “Yes, something chocolate and gooey.”

  “Or rainbow and chewy,” Raina said.

  “Sugary, for sure,” Berry added. “More important, what are we going to wear? This will be the fashion event of the year!”

  “If we are invited,” Dash said, rolling her eyes.

  Melli shifted her wings. “How is Princess Lolli going to have time to work on the caramel project?” She looked around at her friends. “Caramel Moon is in four months.”

  Cocoa put her arm around Melli. “I’ll bet the wedding is after Caramel Moon,” she said. “Usually weddings take a long time to plan.”

  “Especially a royal wedding,” Berry added.

  Melli wasn’t so sure. As her friends continued to talk about wedding plans, she couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.

  Wedding Wishes

  The next week at Sun Dip, Raina was flipping through a wedding history book, Sweet Occasions. All the fairy friends were at Red Licorice Lake and enjoying the purple light at the end of the day.

  “There is still no news of when the wedding will be,” Cocoa said. She spread her legs out on her blanket.

  “I hope the wedding is after Caramel Moon,” Melli said wistfully. She drew circles in the red sugar sand with her fingers.

  Cocoa leaned over Raina’s shoulder. “What are you reading about?” she asked.

  “There is an old Candy Fairy tradition for weddings,” Raina said. “I read about it here.” She held up the thick white book. “Every bride is supposed to fly down the aisle with three treats.” She pointed to the book. “ ‘Something sweet, something swirled, and something twirled.’ ”

  “So mint!” Dash cheered.

  “I wonder what Princess Lolli will do for each of those treats,” Berry said. “I bet she chooses candy from Lollipop Landing or Fruit Chew Meadow.”

  “That’s because you are a Fruit Fairy,” Cocoa said. “There is plenty of fancy stuff in Chocolate Woods or Gummy Forest.”

  “And don’t forget Peppermint Grove and Marshmallow Marsh,” Dash added.

  Raina agreed. “That’s the fun of the tradition,” she said. “Each bride can pick what is special for her and her groom.”

  “I did hear that Princess Sprinkle is going to be the maid of honor,” Cocoa said. “I love that she chose her sister. I hope when Mocha gets married she picks me to be her maid of honor.” Cocoa’s older cousin lived near the Royal Palace and tended to the gardens there.

  Melli started giggling. “Can you imagine Cara being my maid of honor? I can’t imagine!”

  “Why not?” Dash asked. “I wish I had a sister. Either a big one or a little one.”

  “You have us,” Berry said, reaching out to squeeze Dash’s hand.

  Dash smiled at Berry. “I never realized how much you have to decide when planning a wedding,” she said.

  Berry held up her hand, touching each finger as she listed the decisions. “There’s the dress, the location, the food, the cake—”

  “And the ceremony,” Raina interrupted. “I wonder what Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop will choose to dip at the ceremony.”

  “What do you mean?” Dash asked.

  “During the ceremony, the bride and groom dip something into a bucket of chocolate, caramel, marshmallow . . . anything sweet,” Raina explained.

  “They dip the treat together and then each take a bite,” Berry added. “Isn’t that so sweet and romantic?” She swooned.

  “Maybe they’ll pick caramel,” Melli said softly.

  “Do you think there will be ice cream?” Dash asked. She licked her lips.

  Raina giggled. “Good point,” she said. “The prince of Ice Cream Isles is sure to have plenty of ice cream at his wedding.”

  The fairies couldn’t stop talking about all the plans and treats at a wedding. They had taken part in festivals and parties, but they’d never known anyone—especially a princess—who had gotten married. They had only read about weddings or heard other fairies telling stories.

  “I wonder what the princess is thinking about now,” Dash wondered. “I’ll bet she’s thinking of what kind of cake she’ll have at the ball. She’s lucky that her sister is the ruler of Cake Kingdom! Sure as sugar, that is going to be a sugar-tacular cake!

  Berry shook her head. “All brides are focused on their dress,” she said. “It can take months to create the perfect wedding dress.”

  “I don’t think I would care so much about the dress,” Dash said thoughtfully.

  “Me neither,” Cocoa said. “I’ll bet Princess Lolli is thinking about how dreamy her life will be with Prince Scoop and making lots of wedding wishes.”

  Raina closed the book and patted the silky cover. “I’m sure Princess Lolli is thinking about all the details for the ceremony,” she said.

  “Sure as sugar, she’s not thinking about us!” Melli blurted out. Her face felt hot and her fists were clutched in tight balls.

  Her sudden outburst caught her friends off guard. Melli was usually quiet and sweet. This was not like her at all. Cocoa spoke first.

  “Did something happen, Melli?” she asked.

  With everyone looking at her, Melli started to feel bad. She was happy for Princess Lolli, but she was annoyed with the timing of this royal wedding news.

  “Did you get some sour news?” Dash asked, inching closer to her.

  “My special meeting with Princess Lolli about my caramel apple project was canceled,” Melli said softly.

  “I guess she is too busy now with all the wedding planning,” Cocoa offered.

  “She’ll reschedule,” Berry said.

  “Yes,” Raina added, “don’t worry, Melli. Princess Lolli won’t forget. The caramel project sounded too delicious to forget.”

  Melli hung her head. “I’m not sure about that,” she said. “All these big new plans . . . Everything is going to change.”

  There was silence. Only the faint chirping of some caramella birds could be heard in the distance. Soon the weather would be turning colder and crops would be harvested. Autumn was always a season of change. But Princess Lolli’s getting married was perhaps the biggest change that the Candy Fairies had ever known.

  “Maybe things will be even sweeter around Candy Kingdom,” Dash offered.

  “Maybe they will get married around Caramel Moon,” Cocoa said. “Melli, you love that time of year. It will be even more magical this year with a wedding.”

  “It was supposed to be the season for my candy project,” Melli muttered.

  “I think the wedding will be after Caramel Moon,” Raina said. “There are too many plans to make. A royal wedding takes time to plan.”

  “Everyone has such sour faces!” Berry exclaimed, looking at her friends. “There’s a royal wedding happening. We’re supposed to be rejoicing!” She stood up. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a notebook filled with her dress designs. “I’ve even been working on my dress for the wedding.”

  “Berry, we haven’t been invited yet,” Raina told her. “No invitations have b
een sent.”

  “Well, I want to be prepared, just in case,” Berry said with a glimmer in her eye.

  “Any excuse for a new dress,” Dash said. “But I would really like to be at the Royal Palace for a piece of the wedding . . . cake!”

  Dash’s giggling got all the fairies laughing. They huddled together to watch the sun glide behind the Frosted Mountains. As they sat together they each tried not to think of all the many changes coming their way.

  Swirling

  Raina and Berry were tending to the lollipops of Lollipop Landing at Red Licorice Lake. About a month had passed since the news of the royal engagement. There was a shift in Candy Kingdom as everyone got ready for the upcoming royal wedding.

  The two Candy Fairies were working together on the rainbow flavors of a new crop of swirled lollipops.

  “Wasn’t the engagement party invitation the sweetest?” Berry remarked as they worked. “What a sugar-tastic party that is going to be! I knew we’d be invited!”

  “We were invited to the engagement party, not the wedding,” Raina said. “The engagement party is much larger than the wedding. I am pretty sure the whole kingdom was invited.”

  “We haven’t been invited to the wedding yet,” Berry said with a smile. “Those invitations haven’t gone out.” She sprinkled some fruit nectar around the stems of the lollipops. “It’s impressive how quickly the wedding planning is going.”

  “I think Princess Lolli wants to try to get married around Caramel Moon,” Raina said. “I read that in the Daily Scoop.”

  Berry flew over to another lollipop patch. “I think it’s supersweet that Princess Lolli wants to be married under the big romantic caramel moon,” she said.

  “This is going to be hard for Melli,” Raina added. “Not to mention all the fairies trying to plan the wedding. Caramel Moon happens in about three months.”

  “When you are a princess, I guess plans come together fast.” Berry chuckled.

  “Even so,” Raina said, tending to a small lollipop. “There is still not a lot of time.”

  Berry gently touched a light-pink lollipop. “This is like the color of the engagement invitation!” she exclaimed. “I wonder if pink is the wedding color.”