📚 Short Stories From The Immortal Quill – Issue #58
Taffy & Tales – A Most Suspiciously Sweet Beginning
The morning light glinted through the dusty windows of The Immortal Quill, casting buttery beams over the long table now cluttered with notebooks, spilled ink, and an alarming number of half-eaten pastries. Goldi was already there - aturally - bouncing in her seat with the kind of barely-contained chaos that only signaled one thing: she had an idea. And not just any idea… a big, sugar-coated, business-scented one.
Across from her sat Rapunzel, hunched forward, twirling her braid around her wrist like a plotting villainess, eyes locked onto a small sketchpad.
“I’m telling you,” Goldi insisted, “taffy pulled on enchanted machines shaped like dragons. People love dragons. Especially if they can eat their breath. Like… cinnamon-chili taffy. We’ll call it Dragon’s Breath.”
Rapunzel nodded slowly. “And it could come wrapped in scrolls that tell tiny stories. Or curses. Or clues to secret stories.”
Goldi clapped. “Taffy & Tales! It’s basically half cursed candy, half edible storytelling. What could possibly go wrong?”
Just then, the door creaked open.
Dorothy strode in, boots tapping dramatically, hair just messy enough to scream I’ve been up all night with ideas. She dropped a notebook onto the table with a satisfying thunk. “Okay, okay. I overheard something about cursed candy and I just want to say - I’ve got thoughts.”
Goldi squinted suspiciously. “How long have you been eavesdropping?”
“Long enough to know you’re underselling pop rocks and need a ‘Twister Taffy’ that changes flavors mid-chew.”
Rapunzel blinked. “That’s… actually genius.”
Dorothy flopped into a chair with a smug little grin. “Also, ‘Witch Slayer Citrus Zing’ - thank you, you’re welcome.”
Red sauntered in with her usual casual menace, sipping something dark and dangerous-looking from a black Slasherbucks mug. “Y’all starting a sugar empire without me? That’s adorable.” She leaned on the table, eyes gleaming. “You know, cinnamon taffy that bites back would sell like wildfire. Rage Red. Make it burn a little. Like heartbreak. Or revenge. Or Mondays.”
Goldi’s eyes widened. “That… that’s brilliant.”
Red smirked. “Obviously.”
Then, as if summoned by the scent of attention and mildly controlled chaos, Rumplestiltskin himself materialized with two more Slasherbucks cups and a smirk so sly it deserved its own postal code.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the sticky sweet plotting committee.”
Goldi gave him side-eyes so sharp they nearly became a weapon. “If you’re here to sabotage, you’re too late. We’re already up to our elbows in taffy dreams.”
“Sabotage?” Rumple tutted. “On the contrary, my dear sugar goblins. I merely wanted to suggest that, perhaps, a Rage Red cinnamon-chili taffy might be… an excellent idea. With a hint of enchanted espresso.”
Red narrowed her eyes. “You’re stealing my flavor and adding your coffee addiction to it?”
He sipped smugly. “Synergy.”
And then, in a glittering whirlwind of stardust and opinions, Tinkabella stormed in, wings fluttering aggressively.
“Okay WHAT is this I smell? Industrial-level sugar scheming and I wasn’t invited? Shame on all of you.”
Goldi sighed. “Tink, I swear, we were going to loop you in - ”
Tink slapped a glittery folder on the table. “Too late. I already have prototypes. Fizzy Stardust Surprise. It sparkles. It fizzes. It sings your name if you chew it fast enough.”
Rapunzel leaned over to peek. “Did you… bedazzle your flavor notes?”
Tink flipped her hair. “Branding, babe. Look it up.”
Dorothy snorted. “Does it curse people too?”
“No, but it might turn their lips blue.”
Cinderella drifted in, late as ever but holding a slasherbucks iced caramel thing that smelled like heavenly sin. She blinked at the chaos, took a sip, and asked, “Is this a fever dream or did someone say taffy business?”
Goldi looked up with the gleam of a ringleader. “Both.”
Cindi tilted her head thoughtfully. “Okay well… what if we had a more elegant spin-off line? Like, Enchanted Elegance. Less chaos, more charm. Rosewater lavender. Champagne peach. Gold-dusted honey.”
Tink muttered, “Ugh. Why does that actually sound good?”
And so it began.
The Great Taffy Debate of the Realm.
Name ideas flew across the room like rogue spells. “Taffy & Tales” remained the front-runner, but contenders included:
- TaffyWitch Confections
- Sticky Ink Sweets
- The Quill & Cauldron Candy Co.
- The Enchanted Pull
- LoreLicks (quickly vetoed by Tink)
Then came branding battles.
“What if every flavor came with a QR code that unlocked a digital mini-story?” Rapunzel offered.
“What if every bag cursed your enemies for three minutes while you chew?” Red countered.
“What if the wrappers were spells and you had to chant them to unlock bonus flavors?” said Tink, cackling.
“WHAT IF,” Goldi boomed, “WE OPEN A POP-UP STAND AT BELTANE.”
Everyone went dead quiet. Then slowly, evil grins began to form.
“…With costumed mascots,” Dorothy whispered.
“…And sugar-free potions for the warlocks on keto,” Cindi added.
“…And a flavor so cursed it’s literally named Regret,” Rumple said, far too excitedly.
Rapunzel scribbled “haunted taffy” in her notebook.
Tink began sketching glitter-infused wrappers.
Cindi looked up boutiques to sell in.
Dorothy drafted promo ideas with ominous crows.
Red went to the kitchen and came back with an apron, a candy thermometer, and a small smirk that could ignite a revolution.
And that, dear reader, was how Taffy & Tales: Enchanted Confections was born. From coffee-fueled chaos and a sugar high with a side of storytelling. As for whether any of the taffy was truly safe to eat?
Let’s just say… always read the wrapper. Twice.
And maybe… say a little spell before you chew.
🔥 🖋 📚
The Immortal Quill Short Stories
🩸✨ A Bloodthorn Publishing™ Original
From the twistedly magical minds of the Immortal Quill™ Storytellers, welcome to the World of 4EverMore™ - where fractured fairytales wear combat boots, myths misbehave, tea spills itself, and chaos is couture. ☕️
Featuring your immortally iconic favorites:
• Goldilocks (paranoid and perfect)
• CindaSpy™ (that’s Cinderella with a security clearance)
• Red (badass in boots)
• Snow (soft goth apple queen)
• Dorothy (click it and rip it)
• Beauty (rose-stem sharp)
• Wendy (shadow-slick rebel)
• Alice – Queen of Ink & Lore™ herself
• Loki (divine trickster snack, taken 😘)
• Ivy (Rumple’s sister, lethal in Louboutins)
• and Rumplestiltskin (unhinged, unmatched, unstoppable)
✨ Guest appearances may include sentient teacups, tragic ballgowns, questionable prophecy scrolls, and one flirty, possibly dangerous Elven stranger...
🪄 Storytime just got a whole lot more immortal.
Bloodthorn Publishing™ • The Immortal Quill™ • World of 4EverMore™ Universe 💋🔥
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