Well, I'm at it again. I was trying to figure out what the best way to go with the first issue of Sweet Shoppe would be. The previous story I wrote has a few things that I would change in view of recent plot developments, and what's more, there wasn't an introduction of all the main characters (Sugar, Tange AND Candy were absent in that one). So, I wanted to figure out a better introductory chapter for the series and after a couple days of writing and brainstorming, etc. this is the chapter that I came up with.

Now, I've still got until May to have this finished so...the first issue may yet change again ^^; I don't know. For now, this may be what I go ahead and illustrate. We'll have to see, though

Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks for reading! *waves*






Miss Catriona Isles

“In the news today, early preparations are being made for the marriage of our second prince to the third princess of Kitwa. This is the first time that a royal marriage between island cultures has occurred and is cause for great interest across both regions.”

“That’s right, Sabrina. Never before has a marriage amongst the monarchs traversed nations, but it seems that true love knows no borders.”

“Indeed. Prince Arjuna seems to be glowing with anticipation and he attributes his radiance to his engagement with the beautiful Princess Amarah shown here at the engagement ceremony with our prince. Don’t they make a handsome couple, Ken?”

“Certainly. Their names even sound good together, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I couldn’t agree more. Keep watching Calico News 7 for more updates into this ceremonious event. In later news…”


----


A sweet breeze was blowing across the sea from the east, whispering and singing to the people of Calico. The sun was making her ascent into the sky, her warm light kissing the faces of her people, young and old, rich and poor. It was mornings like this that Sugar loved taking her time getting to work. Walking leisurely up the street, humming a secret tune as she trekked to the shop, the azure girl was in a world all her own.

“Hmm?” she mused as she passed an electronic shop where the latest model television sets were showcased. “Oh…” she cooed, moving closer to the glass, pressing her palms to the clear window as she watched the news cast that was being aired across the many sets on display. The fleeting image of Calico’s second prince danced across the bright screens, teasing her eyes and making her heart flutter. “Ar…juna…” she whispered to herself, releasing a sigh of contented admiration.

“You know, you look very nearly exactly as the third princess of Kitwa, the one whom he is supposed to marry.” a heavily accented voice said from behind her.

Sugar gave a start, recognizing the voice immediately. Spinning around in a flustered heap of embarrassment, she blushed at the radiant sight of her co-worker and friend… “Mint!” she exclaimed. “What are you—“

“I have always thought so.” Mint interjected. “From your light blue coat to your beautiful white hair, you resemble her quite a bit.”

“Me? A b-beautiful princess?” Sugar stammered, blushing beneath her coat all the more.

Mint chuckled, demurely. “Yes, beautiful. And YOU are beautiful, Sugar. I cannot understand why you do not yourself see it.”

“Oh, no, not me.” she whispered. “I’m not…I mean, I’m not anyone special. And I could never be a princess. ..and I’m not very beautiful, either. I’m just…Sugar.” she sighed.

For a moment, Mint simply watched her little friend in silence. It truly was difficult for her to understand why the younger cat could not see her outstanding loveliness. It was so obvious to everyone around her. Even as they stood there, more than a few pairs of appreciative eyes glanced over the girl’s form, though she was sure she hadn’t noticed. “Well, we had better hurry to work.” she said at last. “Come on, Sugar.”

---

“GET OUT OF MY SHOP!!” a roaring voice thundered from the back house area of the Sweet Shoppe, startling customer and worker alike. Moments later, a saucy, scarlet cat emerged from the hallway leading to the back areas looking supremely smug and satisfied.

“Sure thing, Sweetheart.” she said, the shop owner’s name sounding ominously acidic coming from her lips. “I’ll see you at the festival.” she drawled, shoving an envelope into the other’s hand.

“Just get OUT!” Sweetheart snarled, snatching the envelope and sending the other female cackling merrily out of her store. “…viper…” she mumbled beneath her breath.

“Sweetheart, what’s going on?” a violet female asked as she hurried to her manager’s side.

“Just Brandy meddling like she normally does, Plum.” she growled.

“So, she always meddles.” the violet cat, Plum, retorted. “But you’ve never let it get to you before…not like this anyway.” she added, glancing at the bewildered customers.

Realizing that her patrons had certainly overheard the altercation, Sweetheart folded her ears in discomfiture as she turned to survey her audience. “Everyone, please forgive me. I…I did not mean to lose my composure like that. I’m very sorry.”

“It’s okay, Miss Sweetheart.” a youngster sitting amongst his friends before a textbook filled table remarked. “If SHE came into MY store, I’d have kicked her out, too!” he proclaimed, eliciting murmurs of agreement from his peers.

“She’s nice to look at, but she’s NOT very nice.” one boy said.

“Naw, Miss Sweetheart is nicer to look at than her!” another said.

“And she’s nicer, too!” the last chimed in.

“TO MISS SWEETHEART!” the first boy cheered, holding a glass of milk high, inviting his comrades to toast the kindly shopkeeper.

“TO MISS SWEETHEART!” they all cheered, clanking their glasses loudly against one another’s’. In that moment, the entire restaurant seemed to erupt into peals of laughter, cheers, and other words of praise that made the golden cat’s heart swell with unbridled emotion, filling her with a warmth she always felt whenever she set foot inside her beloved store. Tears brimmed in her eyes as the cheering ensued, evolving into a chorus of delight and praise. It was at once humbling and prideful.

“You’re so emotional, Sweetheart.” Plum chuckled.

“Eh?” she mused. “I am not, I’m just…so happy.” she amended. “This place means so much to me. I’m just so touched that it means so much to them, too. …I wish Mama could see it.” she whispered as a lone tear slid down her cheek.

“She sees it, Sweetheart.” Plum said, gently wiping the tear from her friend’s visage. “She does. And what’s more, she’s here. This was her dream, too, so I know that she’s watching over it to make sure you continue to see it through.”

“Thank you, Plum.” she cooed, hugging her friend, fondly.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m here for.” she grinned, returning the embrace. “So, what’s the sticky wicket?” she asked, righting herself up once more.

“The what?” Sweetheart asked, bewildered.

“Ah…the problem?” Plum corrected. “Sorry, Dayton has been watching programming from Cathal lately and he’s been picking up their dialect and using it as his own. …I guess he’s rubbing off on me a little.”

She chuckled. “Your siblings are so funny.” she said, handing her the envelope which Brandy had given her. “It sounds like something Amber would do.”

“You say that because you only have one to deal with.” Plum replied, slipping a folded document from the envelope and reading over it with interest. “If you had as many as I do you’d…oh wow!” she breathed, abandoning the former conversation. “Are we…you didn’t…SHE did this?” she exclaimed, her eyes still on the paper.

“Yes, SHE did this.”

A dry chuckle left Plum’s chest as she continued to read the paper.

--

“Dear Participant #718 - Sweet Shoppe,

Thank you for participating in the Calico City Consumer Competition to be held at the Festival of Return on the fourteenth day of this month. We are thrilled to have you join us in celebrating the annual resurgence of our water’s fishing population and the enrichment of life which it ensures for our people.

This year’s festivities promise to be the best ever and your contribution and participation promise to make it even more so. Enclosed is the packet for your table setup along with the rules for the Consumer Competition and the Employee Talent Competition. Please call no later than two days prior to festival to schedule catering for the event. Also, as a reminder, please keep in mind that the outlook for this year’s turnout promises more than 1,500 patrons, so please prepare your samples accordingly.

Thanks again for joining us this year and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Festival Committee”

--

“Wow!” an awed voice breathed just behind Plum’s back. “That’s a lot of food we’d have to make for a lot of people!”

Sighing, irritably, Plum shoved a pink furred co-worker, from hovering over her shoulder only to realize that another tangerine-colored cat, yet another co-worker, was hovering over her other shoulder.

“Correction.” the tangerine cat named, Tange, spoke. “That’s a lot of FREE food we’d have to make for a lot of people!”

“Yes,” Plum began, shoving the remaining cat from her person, “free. This festival is a free event.”

“That’s why whenever you go to the Festival of Return you don’t see vendors selling wares.” Sweetheart added. “They’re not allowed to offer anything other than samples at no charge.”

“But, why?” the pink cat, Candy, asked.

“It’s supposed to be a celebration of appreciation for the bounty the land affords us.” Plum explained. “We’re not supposed to be making a profit, we’re just giving back to the people, a symbolic representation of giving thanks to the land and waters that have given us so much.”

“So,” Tange began, “we represent this time of accumulation and bounty by…giving up everything we have?” she asked dubiously.

“No, Tange.” Sweetheart sighed. “We give freely of what we have, so that the people can gain and accumulate what they do not.”

“OH!” Candy beamed. “I get it! So, WE are the land and sea and the people are…er…the people, right?”

Even if she tried, Sweetheart couldn’t hold back the laughter that claimed her at Candy’s sudden realization. “Yes, that’s exactly right, Candy. We the food offering stores are the tides that bring forth the fish which are harvested and feed our people.”

“As noble as that might seem,” Plum interrupted, “Tange does have a point. This is an awful lot of people and a heck of a lot of food we’d have to prepare for free. I think we should back out. After all, we didn’t actually register for this.”

“I know how you feel.” Sweetheart sighed. “But, a lot has been invested in this. The festival committee has to pay for the catering of our food and for banners to be made for our table and a hundred other things specifically for the entrants which, now includes us. Our backing out may not seem like much, but it would really put a damper on things for them.”

“But, that’s not really our fault.” Tange pointed out. “I mean, Plum said that we didn’t register so how did we even get signed up for this?”

“Brandy, of course.” she snarled. “She filled out the form for the shop and even went as far as to pay the registration fee. She gave a different address so that all this time SHE has been in correspondence with them until all the preparations were complete and she showed up today to deliver this.” she concluded, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the letter. “She’s the one who’s been playing this game but she got them involved…and I can’t let them suffer for being caught in her web of deception.”

“The truth is,” she continued, “we CAN do this. The consumer competition part of this calls for samples of things that we regularly serve here. We wouldn’t be making full desserts and drinks for people, just small serving portions of them. For 1,500 people, we’d only really have to make about 200 things each that we would cut up and sample out.”

“Oh, that’s not so bad.” Candy sang. “We can do that no problem!”

“Wait!” Plum said. “If this isn’t a problem, why were you so upset?” she asked of her golden friend.

Once again, Sweetheart sighed, anger and frustration all coiled into the single exhale. “It’s not the consumer part that bothers me, it’s the employee talent that burns me up!”

“What’s that?” both Candy and Tange asked in unison, sending a shiver racing along Plum’s spine.

“It’s so CREEPY when you both do that!” she snapped at the pair, leaving the two girls, affectionately referred to as “the twins”, grinning mischievously in her wake. “You’re not even related so HOW do you consistently say things at the same time like that?”

“You don’t need an exchange of blood to be soul sisters.” Tange said, proudly.

“No, just an exchange of heart.” Candy added, pouncing upon her beloved friend, tenaciously. “What were you gonna say, Sweetheart?” Candy asked, inviting her to go on.

Her mood lightened by the antics of the trio, Sweetheart continued with a smile. “The employee talent is a competition amongst the employees of the various entrants which gives them an opportunity to show off their abilities and their…appeal…to the public.”

“Appeal?” Candy asked.

“She means their looks, Candy.” Tange elaborated.

“Oh…OH!” she exclaimed.

“And it is that very reason why Brandy entered us in this festival.” Sweetheart growled.

“To put her girls against ours.” Plum reasoned. “And determine publically who has the better staff and in her eyes, the better shop.”

“Exactly.” she hissed. “She always finds some way to compete with me even when there’s no competition. The Sweet Shoppe and her restaurant aren’t in the same division when it comes to the consumer competition. We would be up against Bonbon’s Delight, Hanson’s Creamery and the other confectioners who entered. She would be against Chile’s Steakhouse, Milky’s Diner and the rest of them. But, the employee competition is a competition across the board so, of course, she leaps at the chance to try and show us up and she uses her own girls to try and do it!

“Her girls are like…DOLLS to her! She couldn’t care less about them. But, you girls mean more to me than a way to compete against her. I would never use you like that. I love you all much too much to even think it.”

“Aww…” Candy and Tange cooed, once again in eerie unison. “It’s so sweet when you act like a mother, Sweetheart.” Tange sang.

“I’m not acting like a mother.” she protested, blushing beneath her fur.

“Yes you are.” Tange insisted, hopping over to her to latch onto her arm while Candy adhered to her other. “But, like I said, it’s really sweet, too.”

“It really is.” Candy agreed, leaning into the softness of her arm. “But, I don’t think you don’t have to be motherly about this.”

“I agree.” Tange chimed. “It’s a contest, true, but there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, right?”

“And besides,” Candy sang, “I think we can win!”

“I KNOW we can win!” Tange cheered. “As far as skills go, we’re all talented in different ways!”

“And as far as looks go, I think we’re all very pretty girls. We may not be as sexy as Brandy’s girls, but…umm…umm…”

“But, what we lack in sex appeal, we make up for with charm and charisma.” Tange finished. “And besides, between Mint, Plum and Sweetheart, we’ve got sex appeal to spare!”

“Ah…not quite.” Sweetheart said, apologetically. “Plum and I aren’t allowed to participate since we’re management.”

“And we would also need to man the booth while the competition processes.” Plum added.

Tange frowned, her brow furrowed in contemplation. “Alright then!” she said, suddenly, her composure renewed with hope and determination. “We’ll just have to rely on Mint to pick up in that area. But, even so, I think we can do it! Won’t you let us have a go at it, Sweetheart?”

“Oh, Tange, I don’t know.” Sweetheart replied, dubiously.

“Please, please, please, PLEASE, SWEETHEART?!” Candy begged, tugging on Sweetheart’s arm like a kitten begging its mother for a cookie from the jar.

“Candy…”

“We CAN do this!” Tange promised, tugging her arm as Candy did.

“Tange…”

“Have faith in us.” Candy chimed. “We’re YOUR girls after all! We can definitely do this!”

A longwinded sigh left the golden queen. “Girls I don’t know about this.”

“PLEASE!?” the pair begged in their disconcerting unison.

“Sweetheart…” Plum ground out, irritably rubbing the bridge of her nose between her fingers, “you know full well the terrible twosome are not going to let this go easily. You’d be saving ALL of us a massive headache if you just let them do it.”

She sighed, once more, then cast her honey-colored eyes down at the wide-eyed pair staring longingly up at her. “Alright, if you can get Mint and Sugar to go along with this, then…then it’s a go.” she reluctantly agreed.

The words had hardly spilled from her mouth before Tange and Candy erupted into riotous cheers and whoops of accomplishment. “You got it, Boss!” Tange beamed, hurrying back to the counter to attend to a handful of customers that had just entered the store.

“Just leave it to us!” Candy added, racing to join her bosom buddy.

“’Just leave it to us’, she says.” Plum groaned. “Somehow, that makes my stomach flip over with anxiety.”

“Hey, letting them go forth was your idea.” Sweetheart reminded her as she watched the girls hurry to their positions to attend the customers.

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect you to cave in and agree with me!” Plum retorted.

“WHAT!?” she exploded. “You’re my assistant manager! Of course I consider your advice when you offer it.”

“So, you really are going to blame the outcome of this on me, then?” she asked, arching a brow.

“Absolutely!”

“…what will you do if it turns out that my advice was successful and we win?” she asked, smoothly.

“I would do the only fair thing to be done.” with equal coolness.

“Which is?” Plum asked, despite herself.

“I would march over to Brandy’s Place and thank Brandy whole heartedly for entering my shop in the competition and bask in the delight of her response.” she grinned.

A slow, dry smile spread across Plum’s lips as she turned and stated for service area to resume her tasks. “You’re not right, Sweetheart.” she tossed over her shoulder. “And they call Brandy the Queen of Mean!”

“You say it, but you don’t really mean it.” Sweetheart teased, smiling at Plum’s raspberry reply. “I really have to find a tom to catch that tongue of hers.” she chuckled to herself.

“I HEARD THAT!” Plum barked.

“You should have!” Sweetheart returned. “It was meant for your ears to hear.” she sang as she slipped down the hall to escape the return fire from the violet cat, returning to normality of her office and the peace, quiet and shelter it afforded her.