Chocolate Dreams (2 page)

A Big Chocolate Surprise

Cocoa leaned back and looked up at the sky. She loved being with her friends—and taking a rest from watching the eggs! She bit another chunk out of her caramel stalk. “After these eggs are delivered to the castle, I'm going to sleep for a whole day!”

“Hey, lazy wings!” Berry called cheerfully from the air. She gracefully landed next to Cocoa on the sugar sand. The beautiful Fruit Fairy smoothed out her raspberry-colored dress. “What are you fairies up to this delicious morning?”

“Waiting for you,” Cocoa said, rolling her eyes. “What else is new?”

“What's got your wings all in a tangle?” Berry asked. “I'm right on time.”

Raina stood up. “Well, we're all here now,” she said kindly. She grinned at her friends. “And that is what's important.”

“That's true,” Melli said. “Let's have some fun!”

The five fairies ate their caramels and talked about the upcoming Egg Parade.

“I'm going to wear a chocolate-leaf crown,” Cocoa declared. “I've already started to look for the best leaves.”

“And I'm going to wear a new fruit-chew necklace,” Berry said. She dug her hand into her pocket to show the sparkling sugar-coated jewels. “I just picked them yesterday.” She held out her hand to show her friends.

“Oh, Berry!” Melli cried. “Those are beautiful. You have the best taste.”

“They'll make a really nice necklace,” Dash told her. She peered into her friend's hand. “But they certainly look good enough to eat!”

Cocoa laughed. “Berry, you'd better hide those from Dash. You always know how to dress up an outfit with delicious treats.”

“A fairy has to know how to accessorize!”
Berry said, grinning. She touched her head. Sparkly sugar clips held her dark, thick hair up in a perfect bun. “There are some great new fashions this spring,” she added.

“That's for sure,” Raina told her. “Everything about spring is so sweet, isn't it?”

“You say that about every season,” Dash kidded her. She flew up to a chocolate flower, plucked it, and dipped her hand into the gooey mint center. “But I have to agree. These spring flowers are very good!”

“Mmm, let me have a taste,” Melli said. She
flew over to Dash and took a piece of the fresh flower. “You are right,” she said, licking her fingers. “These are good.”

Raina stood up and faced Gummy Forest. A gentle wind ruffled her red wings. She closed
her eyes. “I have to get back to the forest,”
she said.

“Will you be at Sun Dip later on?” Melli asked.

Sun Dip was a special time when the sun dipped below the Frosted Mountains, casting a beautiful evening light on the valley. All the fairies in Sugar Valley gathered to feast on their candy crops before they settled in for the night. It was the best part of the day!

“Can't wait!” Cocoa exclaimed, spreading her wings to fly.

“Wouldn't miss it,” Dash shouted.

“Me too,” Raina and Berry said at the same time.

Cocoa and Melli took off together for the eastern part of Sugar Valley. They waved good-bye to Berry, Dash, and Raina. Together, they flew back up Chocolate River, over Lollipop Landing, and to Chocolate Woods.

“Don't forget the caramel corn,” Cocoa said.
“We can dip them in chocolate tonight. I'll bring a bucket from Chocolate Falls. We can make chocolate dip surprises for everyone. It will be fun!”

“Sounds good,” Melli answered. “I won't forget.”

“Race you!” Cocoa shouted as she soared into Chocolate Woods. She loved a race! Skillfully, she dodged in and around the tall trees and quickly pulled ahead of Melli.

As she flew toward the rumbling of Chocolate Falls, Cocoa's eyes grew wide with fear. Just before Melli had to turn off for Caramel Hills, Cocoa gasped.

“Oh, sweet sugar!” Cocoa cried. She pointed to the chocolate egg nest on top of the tallest chocolate oak tree. The nest was empty! The chocolate eggs were gone!

A Chocolate Mess

Cocoa couldn't believe her eyes. She flew over the empty chocolate nest. Where could the eggs have gone?

Maybe this is just a bad dream
, she thought. She blinked her large brown eyes, but the nest was still bare! Her heart pounded in her chest. She shouldn't have left the eggs alone! But she never
thought anything would happen to them. …

“The eggs!” Melli exclaimed. She touched down on the edge of the nest next to Cocoa. Her purple wings flapped quickly.

Cocoa shook her head. The whole kingdom was counting on her to deliver the chocolate eggs for the Egg Parade. And now she'd let everyone down.

A few weeks ago Fairy Princess Lolli had flown to Chocolate Woods and picked Cocoa to watch over the eggs. Cocoa had felt so special! In front of everyone in Chocolate Woods, she had made a promise to care for the eggs.

Having the royal fairy princess come to her home had been such a special treat. Everyone loved the beautiful fairy princess. Princess Lolli had a heart of sugar and was fair and true. She
cared for all the Candy Fairies and made Sugar Valley the sweetest place to live.

Princess Lolli will be so disappointed!
Cocoa
thought. She didn't want to upset the fairy princess. Not to mention the Royal Foil Fairies who were hard at work painting the elaborate wrappers for the eggs!

All her chocolate dreams were melting away.

“This is all my fault!” Cocoa cried. “No fairy has ever lost the chocolate eggs.”

“Maybe they just rolled out?” Melli said hopefully. Melli always tried to see the bright
side, but Cocoa couldn't see one at the moment.

Cocoa flew below the heavy branches of the chocolate oak tree. She knew eggs falling from the nest would be very unlikely. The nest was woven from the strongest chocolate branches. Each one had been carefully picked. The idea of the eggs slipping or falling out didn't seem possible.

“Melli, they're not here,” Cocoa whispered. “The Egg Parade is in two days. I can't create new eggs in time!”

Chocolate Fairies had chocolate magic. They could create chocolate candy with a simple touch. But unlike regular chocolate eggs, the spring eggs needed time to grow. Everyone in the kingdom counted on those eggs being in the Egg Parade. They needed to be extra-special!

“Let's keep looking, then,” Melli said. She smiled at her friend. “I'm sure we'll find them.”

Cocoa and Melli carefully searched Choco-late Woods. The bushes and trees were bursting with chocolates, and the rich, dark soil smelled delicious. But there were no eggs anywhere … not even a clue.

The two fairies flew in and out of the rows of
trees looking for any sign of the eggs.

“Let's check under the chocolate chip bushes,” Melli told Cocoa. She pointed to the low, prickly bushes around the old chocolate oak tree.

“I guess it is possible that they rolled under there,” Cocoa said. She was willing to look anywhere for the precious eggs.

The short twig branches of the chocolate chip bushes tickled Cocoa's wings, but she crawled under several of them anyway.

“Melli, what am I going to do?” Cocoa cried. Tears were in her eyes. She sat at the bottom of
the old chocolate oak. Her wings rubbed against
the rough chocolate bark. “Everyone was counting on me! How could this have happened?”

“It's not your fault,” Melli told her. “Come,
quick.” She pulled Cocoa's hand. “Let's cover the nest before anyone sees.” She put her hand on Cocoa's shoulder. “That will give us time to figure something out.”

Together, the two fairies pulled three large chocolate leaves over the nest. As they covered the nest, Cocoa thought about her morning. She had checked on the eggs and rolled them. The morning was no different from any other in the past few weeks. This was a real mystery. Or was it?

When the nest was covered, Cocoa looked up at her friend. “Melli,” she said softly, “do you think someone
stole
the eggs?”

As a young fairy, Cocoa had heard stories about candy stealing. But those were just fairy tales. She had never heard of chocolate eggs
being stolen from their nest! And so close to the Egg Parade!

“Stolen?” Melli gasped. She had also heard the stories, but she thought that's all they were—stories. “You don't really believe all those fairy stories, do you?”

“But how else do we explain this?” Cocoa exclaimed.

“I suppose someone
could
have stolen the eggs,” Melli said. She thought about that idea for a moment. “But who would steal the spring eggs?” she wondered out loud. “Who would do such a sour thing?”

Cocoa shuddered. She immediately knew the answer to Melli's question. There was only one creature sour enough in Sugar Valley. Her wings twitched. She didn't want to say what she was thinking.

“We're going to need more help,” Melli said. She fluttered her wings nervously. “Raina, Berry, and Dash will know what to do. I'll send word for them to meet us here.”

As Melli sent a sugar fly to deliver the messages,
Cocoa sat with her head hanging low. She wanted to believe that her friends could help her. But this was a huge problem. This was one huge chocolate mess.

More than anything, Cocoa wanted to make this situation right. She'd need every ounce of chocolate courage she had. She hoped her friends would get there soon.

A Sour Sight

R
aina was worried.
The message from Melli didn't make sense to her. How could the chocolate eggs be missing? The sugar fly that delivered the message had also told her to find Berry and fly as fast as they could to Chocolate Woods. Sugar flies only delivered short messages, so she'd have to wait until she saw Cocoa to get the whole story.

As fast as she could, Raina flew to Lollipop Landing. She spotted Berry right away, putting the finishing touches on her cherry lollipops.

“Berry!” Raina called. She flew up to her and
grabbed her arm.

Berry was surprised to see her friend. But as soon as she saw her, Berry knew something was wrong. Raina's worried expression and her shivering wings made Berry concerned. When Raina told her what had happened, Berry left her lollipops and they flew off to Chocolate Woods.

Cocoa needed them. And the two Candy Fairies were on their way.

“I don't understand,” Berry said. She was soaring through the air as fast as she could. “Chocolate eggs
don't
disappear.”

“No, they don't,” Raina said, agreeing. “All of Candy Kingdom is waiting for those eggs—and the Egg Parade! Spring isn't official until those eggs are delivered!”

“The sugar fly didn't say anything else?” Berry asked. She knew that Raina often overreacted.
But in this case, she understood. Missing choco-late eggs were something to be very concerned about.

“No, he had no other information,” Raina said. “The fly just delivered the message and then flew off. He was off to Peppermint Grove to find Dash next.”

Raina took a deep breath.
This isn't good news
, she said to herself. She thought of her friend, and shook her head. “Poor Cocoa!” she cried.

The two fairies flew up along Chocolate River to Chocolate Woods. Raina glanced down at the roaring river. She put her hand up to her eyes to shield the glare from the sun. Was she imagining things? She shook her head and then
looked down below again. She slowed her wings and pointed to the river.

“Berry!” she cried in a hushed whisper. “Look!”

Following Raina's finger, Berry looked down below. She squinted her blue eyes as she watched the scene.

“Come on! Let's get closer!” Berry said. She quickly dove down to get a better look at
the river. As she flew closer, she saw what had caught Raina's eye. Hiding behind a large wild fruit-chew bush, she and Raina watched carefully. Furry little Chuchies were crossing the river. They were carrying a black licorice stretcher filled with Cocoa's chocolate eggs!

The Chuchies lived in the salty pretzel stalks near Black Licorice Swamp. Although they
lived in the swamp, they loved fairy candy. The Chuchies were sneaky creatures who would do anything to get it!