The Sugar Ball (6 page)

C
ocoa flew down to the small chocolate oak. Her eyes never left her chocolate wand. “Cara, what are you doing with that?” she asked the small Caramel Fairy. Melli's little sister stood wide-eyed, staring back at her.

“Oh, Cocoa!” Cara cried. Tears sprang from her eyes and she sobbed so hard that Cocoa
couldn't understand a word she was saying.

At that moment Cocoa wasn't angry at all. She reached out, took the wand, and put her arm around the young fairy. “Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me what happened?” she asked gently. She guided Cara over to a rock and sat her down. Cara still hadn't stopped crying. “Please stop,” Cocoa begged her. “If we are going to fix this mess, we have to know what happened.”

Cara sniffled and took quick breaths to try to calm down. “Please don't tell Melli or Princess Lolli,” she said. She looked up at Cocoa. “I
really am so sorry for this mess that I've made.”

“Cara, just tell me what happened,” Cocoa begged. She gave Cara's shoulder a tight squeeze. “I promise I won't be mad.”

Cara's shoulders relaxed and she was able to breathe easier. “Well,” Cara began, “I saw your wand on the ground after Sun Dip. It was sticking out of one of the licorice bushes by Red Licorice Lake.” She wiped her eyes with her hand. “I was going to give it back to you. That's why I picked it up.” Her brown eyes glanced at the wand now in Cocoa's hands. “But the wand is just so beautiful.”

“It's the power of chocolate,” Cocoa said. “It's very hard to resist.”

Cara nodded. “Yes,” she agreed.

“And so you tried it out?” Cocoa asked.

“I didn't realize the magic was so strong,” Cara went on. “As soon as I picked up the wand, things started to change into chocolate.” The Caramel Fairy sniffled. “And the more I tried to stop that from happening, the more chocolate I made!”

Standing up, Cara walked over to the chocolate oak and leaned against the tree. “I wanted to fix what I had done, but I couldn't,” she explained. “I went to find one of Raina's books. I thought I could find the answer without anyone knowing what I had done.”

“Why didn't you just come to me or to Melli?” Cocoa asked.

Cara looked down at her golden brown shoes. “I wanted to fix my mess by myself,” she said.

“Oh, Cara.” Cocoa sighed. “You should never
be scared to tell a friend that you need help.”

Pulling her hair away from her face, Cara let out a long sigh. “I guess,” she said. “But at the time, I thought Raina's books could offer a quick fix.” She let her hair fall around her shoulders.

“Those books don't always have the answer,” Cocoa said sadly.

Cara paced around the tree. “When I got to Gummy Forest, Mogu was there!” she said. “I had never seen a troll up close before. He was so salty! I panicked and caused a chocolate explosion.”

Cocoa flew over to Cara and took her hand. “Yes, I've seen Gummy Forest.” She guided the young fairy back to the rock. “And then why did you go to Sour Orchard?”

“I remember hearing that Berry went to see Lemona the Sour Orchard Fairy,” Cara said.
“Lemona was able to help Berry with those sour heart candies that she found by Chocolate River.”

Cocoa remembered how difficult that journey had been for Berry. Berry was afraid to go to a different part of Sugar Valley. Raina had gone with her, and together they had found the Sour Orchard Fairy. And Cara, who was much younger, had gone by herself! Poor Cara, she really was trying to do everything alone.

“I didn't get very far into Sour Orchard when the wand starting oozing chocolate syrup,” Cara told Cocoa. “Then I knew that I was really in a mess.” She hung her head. “I heard the sugar flies buzzing about the Sugar Ball being canceled, and I got scared. I couldn't believe I had caused so much trouble. I came back here
and thought I'd be safe in Chocolate Woods.”

The wand in Cocoa's hands sparkled in the sunlight. The candy jewels were catching the sun's rays, and the fairy etched in the round globe was smiling. When she'd had the idea for the Sugar Ball accessory, Cocoa had never dreamed that the wand would create so many problems. Cocoa looked back at Cara's sad face.

“I thought it would be fun to try to be a Chocolate Fairy,” Cara said softly. She was staring down at her hands. “At least for a little while.”

“Just because you are a Caramel Fairy doesn't mean that you can't work with chocolate,” Cocoa told her. “Melli and I work together all the time. But trying to make chocolate? You're going to have to leave that to the Chocolate Fairies.”

Cara nodded.

“You know, when I was younger, I really wanted to be a Gummy Fairy,” Cocoa told her. “I was so jealous of all the colors that Raina got to play with. Her candies were all the colors of the rainbow. Chocolate only has a few shades, you know.”

“Really? You wanted to be a different kind of fairy?” Cara asked. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

“Yes, even though I am one hundred percent chocolate!” Cocoa exclaimed. “As you can imagine, my trials didn't work out so well.” She laughed to herself as she recalled her attempts. “My candies were not very good or tasty. I learned an important lesson. Candy Fairies can enjoy all kinds of candy in Sugar Valley, but
when it comes to making candy, we need to stick with what comes naturally.”

Cara giggled. “Well, I believe that. I can't seem to aim right or make anything except chocolate puddles!”

Cocoa was happy to see a smile appear on Cara's face. She held out her hand to her. “Come on,” Cocoa said. “Let's let everyone know the wand has been found and get Sugar Valley cleaned up.”

For the first time since the wand had disappeared, Cocoa had hope that the Sugar Ball still had a chance of happening.

C
ocoa stood by the chocolate oak tree and watched Cara and Melli. She wanted to give the sisters a few minutes together. After Cara had calmed down, Cocoa pleaded with her to let Melli know what had happened. Just as Cocoa expected, Melli was in Chocolate Woods in a flash once she got the sugar fly message.
Knowing Melli, she would feel terrible that Cara hadn't come to her for help.

Melli's arm was around her sister as the little fairy told her story. After they hugged, Cocoa flew over to them.

“I sent a sugar fly to Candy Castle,” she told the sisters. “I wanted to let Princess Lolli know that there was no chocolate spell, just a chocolate mess.” She looked at Cara. “I didn't get into all
the details,” she said. “So if you want to tell her what happened, that can be your choice.”

Cara smiled. “Thank you, Cocoa,” she whispered. “And I promise I will tell her. I don't want her to think that any of this was your fault.”

“Licking lollipops!” Berry shouted as she sprang down beside them. “I just heard the sweet news from the sugar flies. No chocolate spell!” She swooped up in the air and then landed on her feet. “But we need a cleanup crew. Sugar Valley is still chocolate-coated.”

“And we're just the fairies for the cleanup job,” Dash said as she landed next to Berry.

“We came as soon as we heard the good news,” Raina added. She hovered above her friends.

Cocoa laughed. “You see, Cara,” she said, “you always need your friends around to lend a helping hand.”

“Sugar flies really do get the news out in Sugar Valley,” Cara said.

“Sure as sugar!” the fairies said together, laughing.

Feeling a boost of energy, Cocoa took charge. “We should each take a part of Sugar Valley to cleanup. The faster we get the chocolate off the ground, the better the chance for the crops.”

“And for making sure that the Sugar Ball happens tonight,” Melli added.

The fairies all stood together in agreement.

“I'll take Gummy Forest,” Raina said.

“Consider Fruit Chew Meadow cleaned,” Berry said.

“Peppermint Grove will be chocolate free after I'm done!” Dash exclaimed.

“Cara and I can help out in Sour Orchard,” Melli offered. She grabbed her sister's hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

“And I'll take care of Red Licorice Lake,” Cocoa added.

“Sounds like we've got a plan,” Melli said.

“Hopefully we'll have a Sugar Ball to attend too!” Dash said with a grin. “Now that there is no spell, we can have a party tonight.”

“But first we need to make sure all the crops are safe,” Cocoa said. “The chocolate puddles haven't been sitting too long, so maybe there won't be any damage.”

Raina agreed. “I think we have a good chance,” she said. “From what I have read, the chocolate
hasn't been on the ground long enough to change the crops.”

“Let's all meet back at Candy Castle at Sun Dip,” Cocoa told her friends. “That should give us enough time to clean up and then talk to Princess Lolli.”

“Oh, I hope she'll let us have the ball,” Dash mumbled.

“Me too,” Cocoa whispered.