The Tale of Princess Potato

Theodore ended up touring Cherry all over the mansion, including Dorothy’s massive garden, Penelope’s mechanical workshop, and Clover’s simple but oddly odorous office, much to her astonishment.

Although, at each sibling’s workplace, they ended up only getting a brief peek into their activities, each one with different reasons.

Dorothy’s garden expanded as one could see, with the most colorful and vibrant greenery Cherry had probably ever laid eyes on. Apparently, gardening was the only duty Dorothy had, so she ended up spending day by day taking the best care she could for them—all for her father’s sake, and besides, her inhuman strength and stamina made her job look more like a hobby if anything.

Honestly, her garden was so huge Theodore and Cherry ended up spending as much time out there as they did indoors, in quiet strides, that was. Fearing that Dorothy would end up dragging Cherry and him into her work, Theodore kept diving the new guest and himself into the bushes whenever the gardener hummed and skipped close by.

And thus, they walked back indoors covered in twigs and leaves. No regrets from Theodore.

Penelope, on the other hand, was simply way too incredibly shy to allow the new guest to enter. So, Theodore ended up simply explaining her duty to invent plenty of clockwork inventions that their father commissioned. A gut feeling told Theodore that she’d let her explore her workshop one day, but Cherry would simply have to wait until that time arrived.

Clover’s office, meanwhile, raised the most questions out of them all. In fact, even Theodore himself couldn’t explain much about his duty other than it directly correlated to Horace’s job out in the capital.

Interestingly enough, on rare occasions, Theodore claimed his brother would play the violin at night to himself, a fun fact he wanted to share. And yet, should she ever hear him, he recommended not to bother him about it, claiming he would be too shy to talk about it, which was understandable.

Finally, at their last destination, Theodore stepped up to a pair of double doors and twisted its doorknobs. The doors creaked open before him, and a faint scent of vanilla greeted the new resident. "Aaaand here we are!" he announced. "Welcome to our—er, more like ‘my’ library. No one else visits this place besides me."

She scanned the scene, and her mouth slightly opened in awe.

"Well? Whaddya think?"

"It's not too big nor too small," she commented, gazing at the tall bookshelves across the room. "It feels rather cozy here."

"Right?" Theodore stepped inside the room first. "It's the best room to take naps in. Whenever there aren't any chores, I'd always pick a random book and read until I fall asleep." He walked toward the center of the room occupied by rectangular tables. "You're lucky that I already finished all my cleaning duties yesterday."

Cherry stepped inside. "So, if there's no work today..."

"That's right! It's story time!" He spun back around, revealing a book in his hands. "Come sit! I want to share a nice story I have with you!"

"Where did you get that book from?"

"From my pocket?"

"How big are those pockets?!"

"Pretty big." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, that doesn't matter! Come make yourselves comfy!" He patted the velvet red chair beside him.

Intrigued, she followed along, sat on the chair, and rested her elbows on the table.

"You ready?"

She nodded.

Theodore opened his book. Rather than turning to the first page, he flipped it open directly in the middle. He paused for a moment before he raised his book and dramatically faced upwards, his hair uncovering the side of his masked face.

She peered at his mask, now noticing the faint, thin lines on his cheek. Was it perhaps his habitual mask scratching?

She didn't bother to ponder anymore the moment Theodore cleared his throat and took a deep breath. The young lady closed her eyes and emptied her mind.

"Once upon a time, in a lush, mystical forest, dwellers of many backgrounds lived in harmony. Among them, there was once... a potato."

"A what?" She opened her eyes and gawked.

"A potato!" he answered playfully. "But! She was no ordinary potato. She was Princess Potato!"

"She's royalty?!"

"I guess so." He shrugged and faced back to his book.

"Ahem, Princess Potato once lived a normal life like many others in the forest. One day, a grand feast was coming up soon."

"For a princess, she lived normally like the rest?" asked Cherry.

"Don't sweat the details," said Theodore.

"Anyway, Princess Potato was rather delighted. She had never been to the feast before, and she believed it would be a joyful, fantastic experience! And so, she brought her brother, Prince Potato, along with her and attended the event!

Together, the potatoes feasted their eyes, witnessing the marvelous park filled with magic and creative trinkets—like, uh, walking, glowing vines, musical leaves, giant golden gears, and all that. Yeah, just cool magical and mechanical stuff.”

Theodore scratched his head, falling momentarily silent.

“Uh, while the Potato twins explored the feast, Princess Potato felt like she was being watched. Unnerved, she kept her eyes peeled during their trip.”

He chuckled. “Heheh, get it? Eyes peeled? She’s a potato?”

She snorted and cracked a smirk.

“Anyway, she would always scan her surroundings, but no matter how much she looked, she never found out where the source was. Perhaps she wasn’t used to crowds or something, the potato thought to herself, shrugging away her uneasiness.”

The storyteller dramatically sighed, chuckling to himself.

“During their walk, the twins found a bird tangled up in vines! Turns out, it was Silly Bird, Princess Potato’s classmate!”

"They had school?” asked Cherry. “Since when?"

"Since now." He cleared his throat. "Anyway!"

"Turns out, Silly Bird was part of the security team! He and Strong Bird, his sister, were supposed to watch over the feast when they caught a suspicious fox lurking around! The siblings chased after him, but Silly Bird accidentally tripped over and trapped himself in vines!

Realizing that the shivers she felt earlier must’ve been from the lurker, Princess Potato was willing to help him out! She and her brother set him free, and Silly Bird continued his duty! Figuring that they should let the people in charge handle the issue, the twins shrugged to themselves and continued with their day—until suddenly, a nasty explosion boomed across the feast!”

Theodore scratched his head again.

“For some damn reason, the twins were very curious about the situation and rushed to the scene instead of listening to the authorities like everyone else. What a weird pair of twins, right? Anyway, there, they found Strong Bird, who accidentally damaged a machine during her chase!”

He rubbed his ears and clicked his tongue.

“Good thing no one was hurt, but Silly Bird, who had super sensitive hearing, almost got his eardrums exploded and had to sit out for some time. With Silly Bird immobilized and Strong Bird getting into trouble, the sneaky fox might as well get away with his schemes! How terrible, right?!

Good thing that Strict Bird, the sibling who also supervised the feast, showed up to settle the dispute between his sister and a pissed-off mechanic! Unexpectedly, Mama Bird arrived as well!

‘I know someone who could help fix the machine!’ said Mama Bird pridefully. ‘Sweet Bird, my brilliant daughter, shall lend a hand!’”

“Pfft—” Cherry cupped her mouth.

“What? What’s so funny?” Theodore asked.

"S-Sorry." She stifled her giggles. "Your... your voice acting is... is erm..."

"Outstanding. I know." He flipped his ponytail.

“Anyway, thanks to Strict Bird, Sweet Bird, and Mama Bird, they dealt with the mechanic’s anger. Silly Bird, on the other hand, was getting treated by... uh... another bird? It was uh... Papa Bird? I... think? Well anyway, with the whole Bird family busy, Strong Bird was left to continue her important duty alone!

But, feeling guilty about her actions, Strong Bird started to lose her focus. As much as the twins already fulfilled their curiosity, they couldn’t help but feel bad for her as well. Again, I have no idea why, but for some reason, those Potatoes wanted to help out the stranger. They figured at the very least, they could look around a little bit for her.

Then, Princess Potato found him—a cloaked fox staring intensely at them all and hiding behind a tree! Unsure whether he was the right one or not, she pointed at him for Strong Bird to see. Surprise, surprise, her hunch was right, for the canine was indeed the suspect Strong Bird was searching for!

Snapping herself out of her gloom, Strong Bird, now with a mighty grudge, charged at the fox with the strength of a whole army of rhinos! With a smash and a punch and pow, she knocked him out and stopped his schemes! The suspect was successfully detained, and peace returned to the feast! Now that the trouble was gone, the Potato twins continued their fun little trip!”

At that moment, Theodore's voice became grim, his playful tone dissipating with each word. He lowered his book and spoke slower.

"Eventually, the twins... encountered the entire Bird family again, and together, they all enjoyed the festiv—th-the feast together."

With one free hand, Theodore clutched onto his expressionless mask as if he were about to claw at it. "Wait, no, that’s not it," he mumbled. "Right, that... that damn fox..." The storyteller fell silent, his hands and shoulders slightly twitching.

"Theo?" Cherry looked up. "What's wrong?"

Leaning closer to his masked face, her stomach curled up. To her horror, his black eye sockets flickered red once more.