Lai

          It was a lovely spring day. The flowers were in full bloom. It wasn’t hot enough to melt the candy that made up the homes of all the people that lived in Candy Land nor cold enough to make the candy hard and cold. Of course, everyday was like that in Candy Land.

          Candy Land was located on the Milky Way, the gateway to the United Lands. The inhabitants were called “Pixies” in reference to their national tree, the pixie mandarin. Pixies wouldn’t survive without the aid of the fairies that roamed the Elemental Lands. Candy Land was part of the Power Lands, the lands where the various forms of magic originated. The Type Lands formed the rest of the United Lands.

          Lai was the daughter of the leader, or Head Chef, of Candy Land. Her mother had revolutionized the potion industry. She had invented various potions, which could turn milk and nectar into foods humans liked to eat, like roast beef or crab. Lai looked up to her gentle mother and longed to be like her. Her mother never raised her voice or said anything ill about anyone, not even the notorious Iokolo. People always did what Mandy, her mother, wanted because she was so nice.

          On this day, Lai was playing in her garden. Ivy, who was blessed with the greenest thumb of anyone in the United Lands, had created it for her fifteenth birthday. Sugar plumb trees formed a circular rim fencing in the honey suckle and sugar cane. Berry bushes formed little walls within the larger one and made a labyrinth, which Lai loved to play in. Pixie mandarins were scattered throughout.

          While Lai was playing hide and seek with her best friend, Fairy, something else was seeking her. It was Fairy’s turn to hide and Lai was busy counting to ten. Ten was a long time; long enough for Fairy to be out of sight and long enough for Iokolo to enter the garden unnoticed.

          “Ten,” Lai finished and hopped down off the stone she was sitting on. “Ready or not, I’m coming to find you,” Lai yelled and then grimaced as she realized that would never do. Her mother never yelled. She silently cursed herself and fingered her golden wheat hair. It could never compare to her mother’s honey gold locks.

          Lai broke off her thoughts as her eyes caught some movement creeping towards her through the honey suckle.

          “So, Fairy thinks she can get home free, does she? We’ll just have to see about that.” Lai scrunched down in the grass, directly in Fairy’s way. Fairy would have to pass her to get to the safety of the rock.

         In a few moments, Lai heard the soft swish, swish of someone weaving through the plants. Lai tensed, ready to spring on her friend. The grass parted and Lai sprung shouting “I got you,” on Fairy. They tumbled over in the honey suckle.

          Lai laughed with joy and said “You’re it,” and then waited for Fairy’s good-natured laugh and half hearted “Dang it,” but it didn’t come. Something was wrong.

         Lai wiggled her fingers and felt thick fur. Fairy would never wear fur; it went against all of her principles. Feeling sick, Lai eased herself up. She reassured herself by reasoning that no one would want to hurt her mother.

         She got to her feet and the moment she dreaded. Now she would have to look at the intruder.

          Lai moved her field of vision to include whatever, or whoever, she had just attacked. Her heart began to beat faster and her palms got sweaty. Lai sucked in her breath and then Fairy’s pet monkey jumped up and began dancing as if to show it wasn’t hurt before running off, presumably to find Fairy.

         Lai let the air out of her lungs with a rush and then began to giggle at herself for being so silly. She turned to follow the monkey when a huge beast leaped on her. She tried to scream but no sound came out. The creature tapped her head with a taloned claw and Lai fell into unconsciousness.

          The animal threw the limp body over its shoulder and began to run, fast. It giggled to itself about how easy kidnapping had been. If it wasn’t in such a hurry, it might have danced for joy. It had Lai and L.D. didn’t.

          It passed the border of Candy Land in a matter of minutes. Six to be precise. It smiled; it had just broken its record. It pushed off the ground with its powerful hind legs and pulled out a pad of paper. The hulk quickly scratched a few marks on the pad and then put it back in its pocket, all before it hit the ground again.

          The thing and its captive made it to its lair in about three hours, a personal best for the dastardly beast. It laid Lai down in its garden, and awaited her awakening.

~*~

          Lai woke at sun up; the beast had timed it perfectly. Lai moaned and rolled over, trying to get comfortable. She pricked herself on a thorn and frowned; none of the plants in her garden had thorns. Then, it all flooded back to her. Fairy…hide and seek…the monkey…and the CREATURE!

          Lai opened her eyes and sat up quickly. She looked to the sky and saw the sun creeping up from behind the mountains in the East. Now knowing the approximate time, she turned her attention to her surroundings. She hugged her knees to her chest as her eyes darted around looking for traces of her kidnapper. Dead plants met her eyes at every glance and she found the dead rose bush that she had cut herself on.

          Lai spotted the creature and prepared to scream when she noticed it was glowing. She closed her mouth and studied the creature as it transformed in front of her eyes from a hideous beast to a handsome youth. He was a werewolf.

          “Welcome to my garden,” he said and gestured to the surroundings. Lai opened her mouth in awe as the dead plants sprang to life. She carefully moved her arm as the dead rosebush there turned green and roses budded and bloomed in a matter of minutes. The young man picked a pink rose off another bush and handed it to her. Lai accepted it with surprise. “I heard pink was your favorite.”

          “It is. It’s my mother’s favorite color and mine too.” Lai smelled the rose and sighed as its sweet scent filled her senses. When it cleared, her curiosity came with it, and Lai began to wonder where she was and who this dashing stranger was. “Who are you and where are we?” The stranger paused and then hesitantly answered,

          “I am Iokolo—“

          “The PIRATE!!”

          “Yes, but piracy isn’t my motive for taking you from your home. You see, by taking you from your home, I also took you out of harms way.”

          “No I don’t see,” Lai began angrily and then stopped as she realized her mother would never speak like that. Her voice was softer as she said, “Please explain.”

          “L.D. has a crush on you.” Lai longed to interrupt and point out that L.D. was a member of Iokolo’s crew but she bit her tongue and Iokolo continued, “He plans to kidnap you but I intend on foiling his plans.” Lai must have betrayed her thoughts because after eyeing her, Iokolo hastily added, “I know L.D. used to be a member of my crew but that is used to. He is no longer to be associated with me.”

         Lai digested the information thoughtfully. Her stomach growled before she decided whether to trust Iokolo or not. It was embarrassing because Iokolo heard it. Lai gave one of the shy giggles her mother was prone to and suggested that they eat and discuss the matter further.

          Iokolo rang a bell that hung on a chain around his neck and several servants appeared. He simply told them,

          “We’ll take breakfast in the study,” and they scampered off to do his bidding. Iokolo led Lai onto a path, through the garden, and into a large stone castle. Lai gasped as she saw the castle; it was breath taking. She told Iokolo as much and he grinned shyly.

          They walked down several halls before Iokolo halted before a large gold door, opened it and waited for Lai to enter before entering himself. He closed the door behind him and then held out his arm for Lai to take. She blushed and took it. Iokolo gallantly led Lai to the table where he pulled out a chair for her. She thanked him and sat down. Iokolo sat down opposite of her and offered her some tea. Lai gladly accepted and then turned her attention to the food on the table, all her favorites.

          Lai squealed with delight and began sampling all of the plates. When she was done, she realized how rude she was being and sheepishly sat back in her chair. Iokolo merely laughed and invited her to continue.

         He offered her a pomegranate and as she grabbed it, her fingers touched his. Both of them left their hands there for a moment and Lai stared into his eyes. His eyes were blue and she saw a boyishly mischievous gleam in them. His eyes seemed familiar, like she had seen them on someone else, but she shook her head and the feelings of déjà vu disappeared along with Iokolo’s hand. Lai pulled her hand back and blushed.

          The conversation throughout the meal was excellent. By the end, Lai felt as if she had known him his entire life. She decided to trust him. Even if she hadn’t felt this way, she knew her mother always gave benefit of the doubt.

          Iokolo described his plan to her. L.D. planned on kidnapping her in her garden. L.D. would kidnap someone, but not Lai. L.D. was confident in his ability and wouldn’t make sure that the person he kidnapped was really Lai. The stand in, Penelope, would wear a cloak so he couldn’t discover his error too soon.

          Penelope was the oldest and ugliest “princess” in the United Lands. She wasn’t even a princess but a queen. She was hundreds of years old and it showed. If that wasn’t bad enough, all of her people were now mummies or undead entities. She was the only one still alive. To top it all off, Penelope thought she was gorgeous; she showed way too much skin. Needless to say, she wasn’t invited to many beach parties or any parties for that matter.

          Lai agreed to the plan and the two of them set off to work. The first thing that needed to be done was to get Penelope to agree to get kidnapped. Lai was prepared to go see Penelope in person but when she was about to leave, Iokolo stopped her.

          “Don’t worry about it. I sent her a letter.”

          “When?”

          “While you were sleeping.” Then noticing the concerned look on Lai’s face, Iokolo added, “I sure she’ll agree. I made her an offer she can’t refuse.” Lai shrugged and then sat down at a desk to write a note to her mother.

Meanwhile, in Undead Land…

          A bat carried letter up to the top floor of a tall tower. It entered a small window at the top and dropped a letter in to an old woman’s waiting hands.

          “Oh? A letter from a prince come to rescue me?” The bat didn’t answer and ignoring the question left the same way it had come in. Penelope ripped open the letter with the energy of someone one tenth of her age. “What? L.D. loves me? He’s loved me over ever since he first laid eyes on me? He’s shy and so had his friend Iokolo write this letter? How precious! He wants me to go to Lai’s garden in a pink cloak that disguises me to be romantic!”

          Penelope picked a sword off the floor. She cut her hair with it and then found the matching scabbard. She tied the scabbard around her waist and tucked the sword into it, then she tied up the rest of her hair. She mumbled incoherently as she lifted up a hidden door and began to descend the stairs.

          “Just because my name’s not Rapunzel,” she finished as she reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door. She ordered a vampire to ready her carriage and to find her a pink cloak. She was going to Candy Land.

The Next Afternoon in Candy Land…

          Iokolo entered Lai’s house. He found her mother sitting on her daughter’s bed and crying. Mandy looked up when Iokolo entered.

          "Do you bring tidings of my daughter?” she asked sadly.

          “Yes,” Iokolo answered softly. He felt bad about not letting her in on the plot sooner. “A note from her hand itself.” He walked over a placed the letter in her outstretched hand. Mandy read the letter and then began crying again. “What is it? What did she write?”

          “That she is safe and L.D.’s plan and your plan—“she broke off crying tears of joy here. Mandy motioned for Iokolo to go to the garden. Iokolo bowed and left in the direction she pointed.

~*~

          When Iokolo arrived at Lai’s garden, he found Lai and Penelope waiting for him. Lai smiled when she saw him approaching. He seemed to get more enchanting every time she saw him. He frowned when he saw her.

          “Why are you here? You should be safe at my home.”

          “No. I’ll be fine. Besides, you’re here to protect me.” Iokolo flashed her a boyish smile, showing off his dimples. Lai giggled and smiled back with her honey eyes. Penelope eyed them critically and then said in her old, creaky voice,

          “I see you two love each other so you should understand. You’re ruining L.D.’s moment.” Lai looked at her funny and then raised her eyebrow at Iokolo. He whispered,

          “She’s a little delusional,” and then grabbed her arm and led her away while smiling and waving at Penelope. Lai shrugged and let Iokolo lead her away.

          “Let’s watch,” she said suddenly and beckoned Iokolo into a Sugar plum tree. He followed her up onto the top of the trunk of the tree. They sat down and were forced close together. The giggled like lovesick fools and then turned their attention to Penelope in the honey suckle.

          They watched as L.D. came swinging out of no where. They smiled as L.D. scooped Penelope up. The giggled as L.D. gave Penelope a kiss. They laughed out loud as L.D. realized it wasn’t Lai, dropped her and then fell himself. He rolled to a stop and then gagged and looked like he was about to throw up.

          “Lai and Iokolo, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Lai and Iokolo looked down to find Fairy grinning up at them. Lai smiled and waved but Iokolo stiffened and turned pale. “What are you two doing up there?”

          “Watching L.D. get what he deserves.”

          “Why? What did he do?”

          “He tried to kidnap me.”

          “When? My brother would never to anything like that. He may be crazy but he wouldn’t do anything that would hurt me. That is, unless my other brother, Iokolo, told him to.” It was then that Lai realized where she had seen Iokolo’s mischievous blue eyes before. Lai and Fairy both stared at Iokolo. Iokolo avoided their gaze and sidled down the tree. Lai angrily followed.

          When the reached the bottom, Iokolo simply stared at the ground with his hands in his pockets. Lai waited for him to deny it but he didn’t. As they stood there, Iokolo morphed again to Lai. He changed from the polite gentleman that she knew and loved to a lecherous loser. She told him so and then ran off in tears.

          “You went too far this time Iokolo.”

          “I went too far? You’re the one who got Bush elected as president of the United States in the Gate World.”

          “Yeah, well I didn’t mean to and I didn’t play with someone’s feelings.”

          “I’m sure the American’s wished you did.” Fairy kicked her brother and then boxed his ear.

          “They’ll only have to suffer four years,” she hissed. “If you don’t make it up to Lai, you’ll suffer for the rest of your life. I’ll tell everyone,” she warned. Iokolo ran off to comfort Lai and Fairy went to save L.D. from Penelope. “Besides, the rich people are happy,” she called after him. Iokolo groaned.