Chapter 25-Desserts

Astrape sat on a bench, looking west down the open street, gazing towards the setting sun that seemed to drape an orange blanket over the world. To her left was a large fountain with four dragons spraying water, located on four different sides. At the bottom was a small basin where all the water gathered, along with coins which people throw in to make a wish. Next to the fountain was a bard singing a song while sitting and playing a harp. She had an angelic voice, her hands gliding across the strings with graceful elegance.

Astrape listened, her ears feeling ecstasy, while her eyes gazed upon a sight that most only witness in paintings. The temperature felt amazing; she didn’t shiver, nor did she sweat. Her sense of smell was delighted as well with the pastries that were being made nearby. The soft smell of vanilla and the sharp smell of mint were wafting through the air, causing her to drool internally, but she didn’t release a drop. Her mind was so fixated that she could taste the desserts.

Many people were walking behind her, where most shops were located, some in buildings, some outside in stalls, allowing her to fully focus on the three stimulating scenes: the bard, the sunset, and the desserts. The peace she was feeling was rare, but it wasn’t unwelcome. She began to fall into a tranquil state, humming along with the bard, which caused her bones to shake with joy. Eventually, she fell into a dream-like state, where she became one with her surroundings, sensing the people around her, but also not focusing on one thing.

‘Oh yeah. I need to find Anemone.’ Astrape thought to herself.

Astrape continued sitting there until the sun went beyond the horizon, instantly causing a soft chill to spread through the air, and the flickering of candles became more pronounced as a side effect.

Astrape reluctantly stood up, her feet groaning slightly as they felt weight for the first time in a few short hours. Astrape returned to where Anemone and Astrape parted, near where the knights’ duel took place. This wasn’t far from where she had been resting, but she didn’t want to get up just yet.

Astrape arrived before Anemone, having a few more moments to herself, before the delighted Anemone, with her soft, but bright smile, which radiated happiness, arrived.

“How has your day been, Astrape?”

“It went quite well. How has yours been, Anemone?”

“I just painted for the first time, it was amazing,” Anemone said excitedly. “Now then, I saw this stall on my way here with many desserts. Would you like to go there?”

“If you would like, then yes.”

“Then let’s go!” Anemone said with a brightening smile.

Anemone grabbed Astrape’s hand and ran towards the stall she was speaking of, which just so happened to be the one Astrape had been smelling not long ago.

‘Did we come from the same way? Well, thank you, Anemone. Thank you very much.’ Astrape thought. A smile swept over her face as a single tear fell from her eye, fading into nothingness as it ran.

Anemone and Astrape arrived at the stall. In front of them was an array of sweet desserts, pastries, and all sorts. There were two large cakes, one with no icing, which was called Honey Cake, and the other was one with black icing, called Chocolate Cake. They both looked incredibly enticing and delectable, causing the pair of ladies’ mouths to water.

Some other desserts in front of them were simple, like an incredible apple pie with steam rising from it, and one of the chilled desserts was a Creme Bastarde, which was being made right in front of the pair. It was made with simple cream, sugar, and some spices, the likes of which the pair couldn’t make out. The other ingredient was a simple fruit; each was different, one had a lemon, another had an orange used to make it. Once the Creme Bastardew had been poured into a glass, it was topped with a small assortment of berries.

Each dessert had a different, but appealing smell that lingered in the area, attracting customers. Luckily, Astrape and Anemone had been there for a few moments, and the line moved fairly quickly.

There were two people working the stall, one was an elderly lady sitting in the back, creating the dishes. The other was a young, handsome man with short brown hair who seemed to actually be short, with only his chest and head being above the display in front of them.

“Hello, it’s a fine evening, isn’t it? I hope you both are enjoying the festival. So, what would y’all like?”

“Astrape, what would you like?”

Astrape groaned and responded in a childish manner, “I can’t decide, they all look incredible.”

“I understand, well, how about we order all of them?”

“Don’t waste your money like that!”

“It will be okay!” She said to Astrape, then turned to the man, “We would like one of everything, please, and if able, do you have small wooden boxes we can use?”

“Yes, we do in fact. They will cost extra, so in total, you are looking at about four silver.”

“Thank you!” Anemone said, stepping to the side of the line as they waited.

Astrape then looked to Anemone, “So, what are we doing after this?”

“We will go meet with Father, he did say to meet back once it was night.”

“Okay, Anemone. Well, thank you for letting me try everything!”

“Don’t thank me. I wanted to try all of them as well.”

After a few moments of the pair sitting to the side, the man walked up to them, carrying two different small wooden boxes with a lid covering them. The man was, in fact, smaller than both Astrape and Anemone, but he seemed to love his job.

“Thank you so much.” Astrape and Anemone said in unison.

The pair each held one box, looking inside to see three desserts in one, and the two slices of cake in the other. Anemone was especially excited about the two types of Creme Bastarde, while Astrape seemed to be drooling over the slices of cake. Attached to the interior part of the lid in each box was one wooden spoon for them to use.

“Let’s go eat!” Anemone said happily.

Anemone and Astrape carried the boxes near the tavern in which they would meet with Father, thinking it would be best so that they could spend time by themselves until they actually needed to meet with him. Just around the corner from the tavern was an open market, with many wooden benches and tables, many stalls, some selling skewers with meat, peppers, onions, and squash. While other stalls were selling simple desserts such as a honey cake, sweet types of bread. The last of the food-related stalls were selling all types of drinks, such as ale, mead, wine, milk, and even herbal tea. A rare-to-see stall was also located here; it was selling equipment, rings, pendants, and such. Anemone had only seen one all day, so she was surprised to see one surrounded by food-related products.

As Anemone took in the delectable smell and the savory tastes that hit her tongue that were flying through the air, she overheard a conversation.

“When does the fire festival officially start?” A young man said to another.

“I think it starts in two hours. Why do you ask?”

“Because I want to see it, dumbass.” He said, smacking the other man jokingly.

“Well, you do know what goes on, right?”

“No, I just know it’s something with fire.”

“There is a dance with flames, along with a large bonfire in which a sheep is burned. It is a commemoration of the first Fire Savant for helping the town. And toward the end of the night is when lanterns are lit and released.”

“Oh, that sounds cool. Well, time to drink the time away for the next two hours!” He said, raising a glass of foaming mead, then clanked it against the man he was conversing with, “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” The man responded

Anemone listened to part of the conversation, intrigued, but also worried. She knew deep down that such a large fire could make her feel dark emotions.

“Anemone, let’s eat already.”

“Oh, right,” Anemone said, then sat at a small wooden table with only enough room for the two of them.

Anemone then put her wooden box on the table and began to open it. Immediately, the appatizing smell wafted through the air, which mingled with the surrounding fragrances.

“This smells amazing!” Astrape said, beginning to drool again.

Astrape then took out the two slices of cake, setting them on a small cloth that was placed as a type of backboard for the cakes. Anemone did the exact same for her respective desserts, the Creme Bastardew and the slice of Apple pie. The apple pie had cooled down slightly and formed a small pool beside it from the melted apple. While the Creme Bastardew were in small wooden cups.

“Anemone, let’s try them all together!” She said excitedly, taking a small spoonful of the chocolate cake, waiting for Anemone.

“Okay, slow down, let’s take our time,” Anemone said, grabbing her own spoonful.

Anemone and Astrape both brought the spoonful to their mouths, slowly closing their lips around the spoon. The delectable taste hit their tongue, and they instantly fell in love. Astrape hadn’t grown up with desserts, unlike Anemone, who wanted to learn to bake and cook; for this reason, Astrape seemed even more shocked at the heavenly delight that covered her tongue. The fluffy cake melted in her mouth as she chewed it slowly to ensure the flavor didn’t go away any time soon.

As Anemone and Astrape both swallowed the flavorful chocolate cake, they let out a gasp of air from the carbon dioxide they had been holding, then began to breathe in.

“Now let’s try the other one,” Astrape said.

“Alright,” Anemone replied.

They both then grabbed bites of the Honey Cake, and a similar experience took place, but this time, neither of them was as excited.

“The chocolate cake is better,” Anemone said nonchalantly.

“You’re right. I can’t wait to eat more. Now let’s try the fancy dishes.”

Anemone then pushed forward her two small wooden cups that were filled with the white Creme Bastardew and a few berries. To the naked eye, both of them looked identical, though they were in fact different.

In the end, neither one enjoyed the Creme Bastardew, neither the lemon nor the orange. The basic flavor was too powerful; the only enjoyable part turned out to be the berries floating on top.

“Well, one last dessert,” Anemone said, trying to keep her excitement.

“I hope it tastes as good as the Chocolate cake,” Astrape responded.

Anemone then slid her small cloth that carried the slice of apple pie forward.

As the pair of women did the same routine for the apple pie. It turned out to be the most enjoyable thing there. It was sweet, but not overbearing; it had an almost warm and mild flavor, but was still strong enough to stand out from the rest. The balance of flavors was amazing, instantly falling the pair to fall in love.

‘This would be so much better hot.’ Anemone, thought to herself.

Astrape, immediately as she finished her bite, she went in for another. Meanwhile, Anemone, who, yes, enjoyed it, went back for the chocolate cake to decide which was the best dessert present. After Anemone took another bite, she found that she enjoyed the chocolate more; meanwhile, Astrape enjoyed the pie more, which turned out to be the best case scenario, as they could enjoy each thing by themselves.

“We need to hurry up and get back to Father,” Astrape said in between bites.

“Let’s finish this first,” Anemone said, digging back into her scrumptious cake.