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Mr. Mint wiped his brow and frowned. "Well, that's not quite right, is it?"
He'd been going about his job in the Royal Peppermint Forest, chopping down the peppermint trees, when he found a strange clearing near the forest's edge. Actually, it was the edge; he could see the bare earth extending out into Lord Licorice's lands.
His stomach dropped. "Oh dear."
The ground was full of holes where tall peppermint trees once stood. Their little peppermint shards littered the ground, causing a crunching sound wherever Mr. Mint stepped. And worst of all, some of the trees seemed to have been replaced by tall stalks of licorice.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" Mr. Mint wrung his hands.
Things were already bad enough. Just this morning, King Kandy and the Candy Castle had disappeared. And now this? It could only be the work of one person.
"Lord Licorice…"
"Does my little… landscaping project not please you?"
Mr. Mint whirled around. There, head held haughtily high, stood Lord Licorice himself. He sneered at Mint and twirled his cane.
"No matter," Licorice continued, "You will have no choice but to relish it after I turn Candy Land into a black licorice haven!"
He laughed maniacally and swung his cane into another tree, causing it to snap and fall. He pressed the heels of his pristine black boots into the fallen peppermint log, crushing it bit by bit.
"That's a bit of an inefficient method, don't you think?"
"Silence! Don't you dare mock my villainous ways!"
Mr. Mint walked over to him and leaned down. Licorice glowered and did his best to maintain his threatening aura, despite the nearly foot-long height difference. Unfortunately, looking down his nose at someone so high above him caused him to lean back, lose his balance, and stumble backwards.
Before he could blink, Mint's arms were wrapped around his back and he was being pulled up.
"Woah! Are you okay?"
Lord Licorice's cheeks flushed. He looked up at Mint with wide eyes, before regaining himself and snarling, "Release me at once, you impertinent candy commoner!"
Mr. Mint obliged and stepped back.
Lord Licorice grimaced as he dusted himself off. "I don't need any help from a lumberjack clown!"
"Perhaps you should leave now," said Mr. Mint, hands on his hips.
"You can't make me. My diabolical plot cannot be stopped by anyone! Not now that King Kandy has been spirited away! I shall turn this sickeningly sweet forest into- Hey! Stop that!"
In a brave act of defiance, Mr. Mint had scooped up the shards from the peppermint trees and thrown them at the dastardly lord.
"I will not!" he said, and bent down to gather more.
"Why you-! AUGH!" Licorice screeched as more minty shards bombarded his tailor-made garb. They stuck to the fine black licorice silk, peppering it with white and pink specks.
"Out! Out!" Mr. Mint continued his onslaught.
"I'll get you for this, you minty menace!"
Mr. Mint watched Lord Licorice's hasty retreat with much satisfaction. But it wasn't long before anxiety settled in once again.
"Oh, Candy Land Kids, please find Candy Castle soon!"