Our perspective shifts to Calix, who is clueless as to what has happened. Plucking chorus fruits from their native trees, he thought to himself that this might help him in some way, but he wouldn't know the answer to that until later. He took the portal back to the overworld, passing by the previously slayed Ender Dragon, its body deteriorating, holding as many chorus fruits as he could grab. (rewrite later,make a profile for calix, atleast with the image bc its confusing)
but as he was doing this, Butterscotch was having a serious conversation with Estella about the whereabouts of Olive.
"Estella, I trust you but.."
Estella seemed.. puzzled, to say the least. Why was she even having this somewhat dramatic conversation? It was odd..
"and I'm sorry I even have to tell you this-"
Butterscotch stopped herself, the only thing she was able to get out were stuttering sounds before spewing out a lie.
"Olive's just- taking a trip..? In the woods- for a while.."
"And.. They might not come back."
there was just.. silence. Not the type of dramatic silence, But the kind of silence that makes you not know what to say back, and it makes you think.
But Estella was even more confused on the fact that Olive left her.. left everyone, just to go in the forest, the scariest place she could think of. She knows that they could go into the woods whenever they wanted! They didn't have to leave!
And then it caught her. Butterscotch was lying.
She was upset. they were a liar, and the trust butterscotch gained from her would soon be ripped to shreds.
But she knew why they lied.
Butterscotch thought Olive ran away because they didn't like Estella or thought she was annoying, so she's keeping it a secret! She doesn't want Estella to worry, right?
At least that's what she thought.
- - - - - -
Later that day, Estella arranged a plan, making it easier for her to sneak into the woods, the same woods Butterscotch warned her not to go in. Her plan was to bribe Calix into helping her by distracting Butterscotch, just long enough for her to run out into the forest, find Olive, apologize for whatever she did wrong, and bring them back to butterscotch. Then everyone will be happy!
..But is she sure that Olive will even want to come back? Maybe they don't even want to communicate with Estella! Maybe she pissed them of so bad that they're gonna...
..Well, there's no time to think like that! Olive needs to be found so everything can go back to normal and so Butterscotch is happy! Because even she, being the dumb ten-year-old that she is, has picked up on the romantic tension between olive and butterscotch. But now Olive's gone, and butterscotch has no one to talk to. So it's Estella's job to bring them back.
- - - -
The clock was ticking now, her plans were in order.
"You ready?" Estella asked Calix while he put all the chorus fruit he gathered into a chest.
"Yeah, but you better help me gather chorus fruit the next time I decide to get it. whether that be 3 in the morning or not."
"Why would you need chorus fruit at 3 in the- you know what- never mind."
Calix picked up the last fruit he needed to put away and handed it to Estella, taking it and examining it as if she was unaware of what it was.
Calix let out a sharp sigh, slightly disappointed in Estella that he even had to explain this to her.
"If you run into any hostile mob, you can use that to teleport up to 8 blocks away in any direction, so use it wisely because this is the only one I'm giving you."
"Alright then.." She put the chorus fruit into her bag and signaled for Calix to go distract butterscotch long enough for her to make her escape.
- - -
5 hours before
In the direct center of the forest, something strange had happened. a strange purple mist had overlaid the area, at least 5 blocks in every direction. A figure had emerged from the mist, spider legs, dark green hair, everything needed to make an exact copy of olive. But was it really them? Would they have remembered everything that had happened? Would they remember the exact expression on butterscotch’s face that replayed in their head, even after they-
...
..how were they even here..?
- - - -
After what felt like restless hours of aimlessly walking in the forest, they stumbled upon something no one would wish to see, something so gut-wrenching, that any normal person would turn away and run.
But they didn't.
They stared down blankly at the body that lie down at their legs. Although it was covered in vines, it was clear to see who exactly it was supposed to represent. Dark green hair, spider legs, even the same outfit. The dried blood covered the grass below it, and even on their jacket. Their jade green eyes are swallowed by what can only be seen as darkness. A sword most likely puncturing multiple organs before bursting out the other side of their abdomen.
They weren't scared, nor were they surprised.
They picked it up like it was nothing, ripping the vines out from the ground in the process, sliding the sword out of it, the point still sharp. They dropped the body back down onto the ground, feeling no remorse for what may or may have not happened in a past life. Walking over it like it mattered nothing to them, studying their newly found weapon, swinging it around trying to find a better way to get a grip of it.
They were here and ready to fight anything in their way. Ready to slaughter anything they see, with no mercy, Not even knowing who they were or where they came from.
In fact, they didn't know anything. What had even happened to cause them to lose all memory that they might've had?
- - - -
Estella made her way deeper into the forest, wanting to turn back and run for her life. The hissing sounds coming from almost any direction, the harsh winds viciously blowing the trees, some even looking like they're about to fall down.
Olive had seemingly walked in circles, the autumn leaves crunching beneath their boots as they dragged their sword on the ground below them, scratching out a path in the dirt.
Step by step, Estella got closer to where olive was, eventually getting to the point where it was getting hard to keep quiet. She peeked out of the nearby bushes, The leaves and twigs scratching up against her skin. Olive looked around aimlessly, clutching their sword just a bit harder, ready for something to jump out at them at any given moment. And this time they'd be able to strike back.
Estella bit by bit was building up the courage to stand up from out of the bush and talk to olive, Finding the wording of what she would even say. "Hey, so butterscotch misses you so please come back..?" no, no. That's not it. How about, "we all miss you, especially butterscotch, so you better come back or i'll-" no, that sounds too threatening. Oh, right! she needed to apologize! what if she said..
"WHO'S THERE?!" Olive yelled, frantically looking around For any suspecting person they could lay their eyes on.
Just then had Estella realized she was talking out loud that entire time. She'd blown her own cover.
"REVEAL YOURSELF!" Olive yelled, getting more impatient every footstep that they took. Every second they were unaware of the person that lurked in the shadows.
Estella jumped out of the bush, holding her hands up as if she was about to get shot. "Relax, Olive! It's just me!" she said as her voice beginning to shake.
Their was a brief moment of silence, Olive having a somewhat puzzled look on their face.
"..Who's Olive?"
“You.” She frantically responded, “You’re olive, don’t you remember?”
Olive continued to look confused, having no idea what this.. child might’ve been talking about.
“We all miss you, please..please come back.”
Soon that confusion turned to anger. The more she spoke, the more Olive had wished they knew what she was talking about. But they didn’t. They knew nothing.
"I DON'T KNOW WHO OR WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" They shouted, holding up their sword as if they were about to strike directly towards the heart of the poor kid that was looking for "Olive". But the question still stands, who even is olive?
Was it a relative of the kid's? Why would they of all people even look like Olive? They didn't even know who or where they were!
Estella had tried to make her way out of the bush, the thorns now pricking at her legs. She reached out one hand towards Olive, quickly darting it back as olive got ready to swing their blade at her.
- - - -
They ran backwards as fast as they possibly could, Olive running behind her. She didn't know what she did to anger them, but she did something, and bothering them more was just the cherry on top.
"OLIVE PLEASE STOP!" She screeched, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID TO MAKE YOU UPSET BUT I'M SORRY!"
"For the last time, I. AM NOT. OLIVE!"
They swung their sword, just giving enough time for Estella to spawn a giant star, making a barrier between the two.
Olive stayed silent for a brief moment, studying the sight before them that separated the two.
"holy shit."
They looked around, grabbing their sword and running further into the forest, not being seen for the remainder of the time as Estella just stared back, shaking uncontrollably.
- - - -
Butterscotch had counted the children to make sure none had walked off without her permission.
one, two, three, fou-
oh no.
She frantically looked around, counting them again to make sure she had counted them correctly.
One, two, three.. wait..
"ESTELLA? ESTELLA WHERE ARE YOU?"
She had paced back and forth, searching the area in hopes that Estella would be there, hoping that maybe she didn't go into the forest.
Until she had accepted the fact that she had to go back into the woods. Those woods. It would take a lot of courage to face whatever may be there. Even If she had to face things that she would never wish to see.
And at long last, she stepped foot inside the forest.
- - - - - -
The hissing never went away. No one ever knew what it was either. It was assumed that it was the trees blowing in the wind, taking into consideration that the weather was getting colder, and winter was just around the corner.
Yeah, that was probably it.
Butterscotch knew that was it, the reason behind the hissing, but just the thought that it might be something else had terrified her. She could've turned back now and left Estella for dead. But she knew that wasn't the right thing to do. She had to face whatever was here, whether she liked it or not. She kept telling herself that everything would be fine. she would get out of there alive, and stuff would be..somewhat normal. She says this to herself repeatedly, knowing that things can't magically just become normal again. There's always going to be some sort of tension or silence between everyone, and she was okay with that. Everyone will just have to “adjust” to it, and over time it may even become ordinary for them.
these thoughts circled their mind like a cyclone, chasing them when their mind seemed to slip. They weren’t paying attention to where they were walking, the hissing sounds somehow disappearing from their sense of hearing as they were deep in thought. Until they heard something out of the ordinary, not the hissing, not the wind. But a distant crying.
- - - -
Estella’s heart thudded in her chest.
The blood pounded in her ears.
Her hands shook as she dug her fingernails into her arms. her legs tingled.
Hot tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face. She felt her throat closing up. Breathing was hard. Really hard. She didn’t know why.
“Estella..?”
She darted her head up in surprise not truly seeing who it was.
”Estella!” Butterscotch shouted in relief, rushing towards her as Estella stared out into the distance, her vision being blurred by the water that flowed through her eyes.
“Oh my..” Butterscotch said, her voice becoming more tense.
she lifted up Estella’s chin with her hand. It pained them to see Estella like this. she was only ten years old and she was panicking like she wouldn't live another day.
"Dear, what happened..? Are you alright?"
She couldn't speak. Her words broke up and all Estella could manage to get out were stuttering sounds.
"I- I just wan- ted to help.. I didn't mean to drive them away- I-"
"Estella, dear, what are you talking about?"
"Olive! T- they went away be-because of me! A-and you seemed so sad I just- I wanted to bring them back because you seemed so upset- w-without them!"
"Oh my.. dear.. olive is.."
"Olive's dead."
Estella seemed confused. Didn't she just see Olive a little while ago? How could they be dead..?
"No- I- I saw them. They can't be dead."
...
"You.. You saw them?"
- - - -
Just the mere thought that Olive still might be out there, somewhere, still alive, kept Butterscotch awake at night. Tossing and turning on the hammock Olive had found for her to use that she put right up near the ceiling to make her feel like she was higher up in the air. She was tired, yet so restless just thinking about what might happen if they could actually find Olive. I mean, she found Estella, she could probably find Olive too. It might not be the easiest thing to do, but she could at least try. These thoughts raced back and forth in her mind. One minute she'd be thinking about something, and the next minute she'd only be able to think about Olive. "What book should I read next? Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, historical books... Will Olive be alright? Are they safe?" "What should I do tomorrow? Should I find Olive?"
The fact that the only thing they could think about was Olive made them feel disgusting. Obsessing over someone that still might be dead? That's repulsive. The thought of Olive's smile staring back at them made their face flush red, even though they knew they shouldn't feel this way anymore.
But something told them that Olive was still here. Estella was only ten years old, but she was smart enough to tell Olive from someone else trying to pose as them, right?
So Butterscotch made the decision. Tomorrow, at sunset, they would go look for Olive.
- - - -
It was 7:00 PM, right before the sun was about to set. The sky, bit by bit faded into a warm orange color as the air became cooler. She had left Estella in charge since she was the oldest, which probably wasn't the smartest idea, but there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. This time they were following their heart, not their head. Even if there was that small possibility that Estella could be wrong, and Olive wasn't out there, she couldn't be sure, and it was worth a shot. The last place Estella said she saw Olive was when She was at the dead center of the forest. She told Butterscotch that she saw Olive run north, right where the giant star she somehow created divided the both of them. She assumed because of the size of the star, It hadn't 'exploded' yet. So all Butterscotch had to do was find the star and walk north. It would be easy to find the star, but less easy to find olive. The more she walked, the more she got closer to the dull light that stretched out between the trees. That must've been the star that Estella was talking about. She walked to the star, somewhat glued to the mesmerizing glow, not being able to take her eyes off of it. She struggled to climb up the star but eventually, (with the help of a tree,) successfully was able to sit on top of it, staring down at it like a little kid that got a puppy for its birthday. Coincidentally, Olive was patrolling the area and heard butterscotch ramble on to herself about how shiny and beautiful the star was.
Olive spied on the unsuspecting person that would be captured once they decided to make their move. They spied on Butterscotch, watching as she stared down at the giant star, talking to herself, not even about the star anymore, just talking to herself about.. things. Olive decided to jump out in front of Butterscotch.
"WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" They yelled, pointing their sword at Butterscotch like it was a spear.
Butterscotch jolted her head up in surprise. Her eyes dilated just by seeing them.
"Olive!" She jumped down from the star and ran to Olive, tightly hugging them and, in a way, prevented them from using their sword as they held it down by the side of them.
"Oh Olive! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"What..?"
They became even more puzzled than they could ever imagine. This was the second time they had been mistaken for Olive. But this time they took more time to realize that they had even been called olive. they were too busy being wrapped in the coziness of the hug Butterscotch had given them, and it almost make their face flush as red as a tomato.
“Please get off of me-..”
“Oh- sorry!” butterscotch let go, backing up a bit with her hands up.
“Soo.. Olive, what have you been up to..?”
There was a bit of silence, and much more silence to come. But this time, no one knew what kind of silence it was. Olive had stood there, clenching their sword in their fist. It was exhausting, sure, but there was a part of them that wanted to swing their sword at butterscotch’s wings and rip them to pieces for just touching them, not to even mention the fact that she called them olive. But another part of them felt comfortable around butterscotch, like sitting at a fireplace during the winter with a cup of cocoa. And because of their current state, they didn’t even know who this person was. For all they know this person could kill them, but.. if they even wanted to, wouldn’t they have done it already? Why did they feel this way?
Soon enough, they were trapped in their own thoughts.
Just a few tears were welling up in their eyes. They wanted to bang their feet against the ground or punch a tree, just to at least let some of this confusion and anger out. But they didn’t do anything. They just stood still.
“I-”
“I don’t know what I've been up to.. I don’t even know who I am.. Or even why people are calling me Olive.”
“It’s confusing and I hate it.”
Butterscotch seemed to not have caught onto the fact that Olive had lost their memory, not yet at least. Confused and wanting to console what used to be their lover, and still might be if they can handle Olive’s current state well enough, they took a couple steps forward as they were about to lean in to hug Olive again, but this time Olive didn’t let them.
“Are you alright..? Is something wrong?”
“Oh, geez, I don’t know- JUST LOOK AT ME! I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM, OR WHAT I AM, AND PEOPLE ARE CALLING ME NAMES I'M NOT EVEN SURE ARE MINE. AND I'M SO CONFUSED ABOUT EVERYTHING.”
Butterscotch successfully held onto them this time. Olive, themself didn’t even do anything to stop it, nor did they know how to stop the water that fell from their eyes.
“Well, maybe I could help you figure this stuff out? We could go to my library and you could stay there.”
Olive’s eyes widened as they wiped the tears away from their eyes, pushing Butterscotch away. Butterscotch had almost fallen down, but due to them repeatedly fluttering their wings, they were able to level themself out, though they had gotten some dirt stains on their shoes.
“No! I’m not going with you! You- You could be dangerous!”
Butterscotch dusted off their pants and walked back up to Olive who was holding their sword like they were about to swing it and chop her head off.
Butterscotch lifted Olive's head with her hand, staring Olive intensely in their eyes before they spoke.
"Love, do I look dangerous to you?"
They watched as Olive's face flushed a bright pink color, and for a split second, they thought they had some sort of circulatory issue. Olive tried to not make eye contact but their eyes seemed to keep drifting towards butterscotch in a way they couldn't prevent. They were so caught up in their own feelings that the only thing they could manage to get out were quiet stuttering sounds.
"I'm waiting for an answer."
"Wha-"
"You know what? I think I waited long enough for a response."
They attempted to pick up Olive, fluttering their wings as they struggled to lift them up from the ground.
"On second thought you can walk without me carrying you.”
Olive rolled their eyes in disappointment as they spoke. “How considerate of you.”
“You do realize now i could just walk away if i wanted, right?”
“is that implying that you want me to carry you?”
“No thank you-“
“plus if you wanted to walk away you would’ve done it already.”
“wow. interrupting me while i’m talking. how sophisticated of you.”
“wow. making fun of me. how kind of you.” She said, attempting to mock Olive.
The two walked together in complete silence before reaching an old, worn out library in the middle of the woods. wood was barricading some of the windows, and the house overall, (from the outside), looked like a complete dump.
“Trust me, it looks better on the inside.”
They walked inside, the place being very well-lit. All you could see were walls upon walls of books. Fiction, Children's books, History, Non-Fiction, Fantasy, Everything you could've ever dreamed of. The shelves were way taller than Olive, and in a sense, it sort of scared them.
But it was mesmerizing.
They couldn't take their eyes off it. It was amazing.
"How- how did you get all these?"
"The books?"
"Yeah."
"Hm.. about half of them were here when I found this place, the other half I've collected over.. I want to say two years. Any book I saw went straight to the shelves."
Olive just stood there, staring in awe at the massive amount of books that could be seen from wall to wall. The rays of sun that peered from the large windows reflected dust that aimlessly floated in the air. The sky was a faded orange color, making the place look so pleasing. there were light's on the ceiling, but none were on. Butterscotch had pulled onto their hand to get their attention as they walked towards a bookshelf in the corner of the large room.
And when Olive thought things couldn't get more amazing, it did.
It was like something you'd see in movies. Though it wasn't fake. It was real.
Butterscotch searched though the shelves on the bookshelf, seemingly looking for a specific book.
"What are you showing me? Your favorite book?"
"Nope. Better than that."
She kept on searching for the book until..
"Aha! I found it!"
She pulled book out of its rightful place. But it didn't budge. All that could be heard was the clicking of a switch.
The bookshelf slowly swung open like a door, revealing a large room, it had a hammock that hung from the ceiling in one corner of the room, and a tall bookshelf that spread across an entire wall. There was a moving ladder that could sway from one side of the wall to the other if needed. Two beanbags surrounded by piles of pillows lay on the ground just waiting to be sat in. near the corner the hammock was near, was a study desk.
Olive looked around the entire room before speaking.
"THERE ARE MORE BOOKS?!"
Butterscotch began to laugh, "Of course there are more books! We're in a library after all."
"yes, but THERE ARE WALLS OF BOOKS- IT'S LIKE A MAZE IN HERE!"
"And?"
"And no one should need to have that many books!"
"Whatever. You're staying here now.” Butterscotch said, flying up to the hammock near the ceiling, making sure that it was comfortable enough for Olive to sleep in.
“Are you okay sleeping in my hammock for tonight? or until i get another bed, or something for you to sleep in?”
Olive looked around the room, “I guess?”
“Alright. I assume you can climb walls to get up to it, since you’re an arachnid.”
Olive nodded their head, “yeah, i don’t do it often but i can climb walls.”
“…”
“Uhm, well it’s getting dark. you should get some sleep.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“Oh. Uh, Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back in a couple minutes. You can do whatever, just- I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay..?”
Butterscotch walked away, closing the door to the secret room as they went to the main room of the library.
They had aimlessly walked around for a couple minutes before choosing to pick up a book and sit in the corner near the shelf to read. It didn’t even take 5 pages before they got too distracted to even get past two words at a time. Their own thoughts and worries chased them in their head and seemed as if they’d never go away.
…
They’re back. After what seemed like forever, they’re actually back. So why do i still feel so bad?
They thought to themself, “I just need to get some fresh air. That should clear up any worries