For Love of Mister Cotton Tail: An Apocalyptic Fairytale (Single) (10 page)

“Yes.”

“Good.” Candy gestured the other way. “Now go home. Take your spot at the window and I will see you when I get home.  If you decide not to go home, then you decide not to. It’s your choice.”

* * *

In his rabbit form, Cotton waited by the window. He snuggled himself up tight in his bed, not knowing what would happen. The snow had increased again, but he didn’t care anymore. Candy wanted the power of forget. She didn’t say she forgave him, chose him, or despised his trickery.

It scared him more than anything. What did she want with that power? Was he supposed to forget her, or the other way around? Did she want to forget being with Darren so she could b
e
―

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the door open. Instinc
tively he wanted to run and greet her. He stayed on his bed though, as she instructed.

She moved over toward him next to his bed by the window. “Did you
find Matt?”

“I did.”

“I want to forget that you can talk. I want my Big Bunny, before things got awkward. I don’t want to remember the other rabbits, the chicks, or the hill.”

Full erase. She wanted him back as her pet and nothing else. Oh, was that hard to hear! His head ducked a little further down than usual, letting his ears completely hit the ground without
care. She would still be able to take care of him. He could still see her.

Just nothing else.

“Can you do it?” she asked him.

“Yeah. This time tomorrow, I could have it done.” His voice was broke, but he completed the sentence. He could never be anything more than a pet to Candy, but at least he’d still have her in his life.

“You would?”

Cotton looked over toward her. “Anything to make you happy.”

“Good. Then cancel that. I canceled the thing with Darren too. You know, marriage.”

Cotton’s ears shot up
a moment before they flopped back down against him.

“You used me. You betrayed my trust
and you lied to me.” Candy shook her finger at him. “Naughty Big Bunny. If I wasn’t madly in love with you I would have kicked you to the curb. In adult form. I couldn’t do that to you as a rabbit, you’d hurt your head.”

Cotton couldn’t even wrap his mind around everything he was hearing. A second chance?

“Now, before I tell you anything else?” Candy gestured to him one more time. “Is there anything
else
that you have to tell me? Any more secrets that you are hiding from me? There’s not some other lost part to a prophecy book out there somewhere?”

“There might have been. I believe your kind took it and began to worship it.” Big Bunny chuckled, finally feeling relief. “Oh, there is something though. You are safe.”

“What do you mean safe?” Candy asked as she stroked his ear. She always did that when she was conflicted. “Big Bunny?”

“Cotton Tail would work better for me now,” he said, “and I meant dying because of a Vegan kiss. I am not your typical Vegan
, no other action is needed.” Before she could say anything else he added, “I didn’t know if you would love a rabbit that you only knew as a pet. I really planned on telling you.” She had nothing but trust for that issue. “You’ll have to trust me on that. I know I lied a lot, but from now on, I won’t.”

“Okay.” Candy sighed. “I lied too by the way.”

Cotton looked over toward her. “About what?”

“Getting nailed by the wolf. I’d never let Darren near me.”

“What?!” His ears shot up again before gravity brought them down along with him in her lap.

“You pushed me to the
edge of sanity, buster.” Candy crossed her arms, refusing to acknowledge him. “I had to push you to the edge to see if you would still want me. If you didn’t, then I’d have my answer and be married to Darren with Sweet Meats making me tons of money right now.” She uncrossed her arms and groaned. “Instead, Posh and Darren tied it. Momma and Poured are angry as hell I let that happen, but I’m angry at them, so . . .” She shrugged. “Life’s just as messed up as ever.”

No more Darren Manner.
Yes.

“As for you,
rabbit
, I don’t know what to do yet with you.” Candy lifted his ear and watched it droop. “Should I help out with the next year as a rabbit, or should I help out as the human I like to be? Especially since my father is just fine, Sweet Meats business is thriving nicely. Maybe I should do both?”

“Both would be fine, whatever you want.” Cotton rubbed up against her tummy, finally being rewarded with a scratch behind his ears. So far, so good, but she hadn’t said what he wanted to hear yet. He knew she loved him. She let Darren go. She was figuring out her future.

But did it include him as more than just a nice pet?

“I think both then. No rus
h this time, I can work on weekends down on Bunny Hill, and weekdays at Sweet Meats.” Candy nodded. “Yeah, I think that settles it.” She moved away from the window and headed for the fridge. “What would you like for supper? I saw you chewing on that carrot grass when we were out delivering baskets.”

Cotton’s ears drooped further down again. “Oh, I don’t know,” his nose twitched. “I was thinking maybe some of the carrot grass with a side of-
am I just a pet or not?

Candy looked away from the refrigerator back at him. “If I am human and you are my cuddly rabbit, you are my pet. When we are the same, we’ll just see next time what happens.”

That’s all he needed to know as he took action. He watched as Candy danced around, trying to get out of her oversized clothes. “There, we are both rabbits. So?”

* * *

Candy trotted away from her clothes, now back in her white fur with blonde streaks. She twitched her nose. Then started licking her paws and washing her face. Cotton wasn’t going to just transform her into forgiveness. She watched him hop over towards her with a single untransformed basket. He laid it in front of her and transformed it.

“I made this for you.”

Candy looked at the basket. It didn’t have candy in it or a chocolate bunny. There were eggs, but they weren’t real. “What are the fake eggs?”

“Something I tinkered with on the old conveyor belts.” Cotton gestured to the two fake eggs. “You twist in the middle and they open. I wanted you to have it if you didn’t throw me out.”

Candy climbed into the basket and tried to hold the fake eggs with her paws. She held the bottom and the middle twisted easy. Inside were two tiny strange gold bands. “What are these?”

“We call them
pinkerlings.”

Pinkerlings
? She picked one up and looked at it. What were they supposed to do?

“Your kind have something similar. It’s in the other egg.”

Candy moved herself to the second egg. She held the bottom with her body and twisted it with her front paws again. The whole top fell out of her hands and onto the carrot grass as she looked inside.

The human equivalent.

Two engagement ring bands.

***

It was the first time Candy had been cuddled up at her window with Cotton in her rabbit form. Watching the snow get lighter, they still wanted to cuddle up next to each other. Tucking her head below his, she thought for a moment over the last two crazy weeks she had. It was all worth it though. She wiggled her own cotton tail, still feeling the pinkerling around it. A magical band that never fell off.  “Do you think the snow will stop soon?”

“I am
sure by tonight it will. True Spring has already started for us.” Cotton nuzzled her gently with his nose.  Nothing else was said between the two rabbits.

Year by year, Spring took over its rightful place. The word Easter Bunny was known on every child’s lips as if there had always been such a thing. People picked up preparing for it as they did other holidays. They even colored their own eggs, just in case the rabbits didn’t leave enough.

The supply of Easter Bunnies to keep the special day going each year only increased.
Even Candy and Cotton added their own children to the mix. They all tended to be Vegans. Except for Butterscotch.

Like Candy, she had Sweet power, which just went to show everyone:

Even vegans could be Sweet.

###

Author’s Note:

Did you enjoy your adventure? If so, I hope you consider reviewing it to let others know how much you enjoyed it. The more reviews I receive, the more it helps me out, so I appreciate it very much. I do not respond to reviews, but if you would like to contact me personally to let me know how you are enjoying the adventures, you can reach me at
[email protected]
. (Serena Walken is my pen name.)

Don’t forget, you can get many more adventures in Apocalyptic Fairytales.

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You just read a single An Apocalyptic Fairytale. If you would like to enjoy more adventures, check out my other An Apocalyptic Fairytale.

Order of Books:

Enslaved in Wonderland (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 1)

The Dreaming (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 2)

Branded (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 3)

Apocalypse Travelers (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 4)

Castles of the Seas (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 5)

Good Boy Bad Girl (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 6)

Painted Ideals (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 7)

Wonderland Mafia (An Apocalyptic Fairytale Part 8)