Sunberry Buns and Miss Fae’s Face

 Fawn is still wreathed in blueberry smoke, but it’s not as dramatic. We’re walking through the streets very quickly, because according to Fawn “I’m too tired to run but sunberries are hot.”

“Funny, I didn’t think it was possible for you to get tired.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” I sigh at her as she shakes her head aggressively, finally clearing the last of the blue smoke as we reach the bakery.

“Uh… can you open the door?” Fawn asks sheepishly, waving the sunberries around. I let out a loud, dramatic sigh, flinging the door open.

“AAH I’M CURED OF ALL FATIGUE!” Fawn screams, bouncing inside. “MISS FAE! The buns aren’t cold yet right?”

“Girls!” Miss Fae looks as horrified as though we just trashed her whole bakery. “What have you been doing?”

“Getting sunberries!” Fawn yells loudly. She drops them unceremoniously on the counter. “OW!”

“Oh my goodness! How did you get such hot sunberries? This variety is usually guarded by a bird-of-paradise under a giant pine!”

“Um…” I decide I should probably answer for Fawn, who is dancing around the bakery waving her bright red palms around. “Um,” I say eloquently. “Um.”

“Girls, when I asked you to get sunberries I didn’t mean you should be messing with a bird-of-paradise,” she scolds. “That was reckless of you. Next time, I expect you to collect the variety that grows by the birches.”

“It was fun though!” Fawn yells. “We found a baby cobra-bud!”

I think Miss Fae’s eyes might pop out of her head. For a moment she actually looks like the all-powerful cupcake being. I guess she knows about the cats.

Then she laughs with a small smile. “The buns are still warm,” she says with a wink. She picks up a tray, places it on the counter, and holy cow- the buns are still steaming visibly. They’ve been topped with a fluffy white cream, and the berries as she drops them onto it sink down into it slightly.

“Here, girls, warm sunberry buns!” Miss Fae beams. Her facial expression is so identical to Fawn’s they might be long-lost relatives. But obviously Miss Fae is a little more plump. And Fawn is more CHAOTIC.

Fawn darts over and snatches the biggest pastry for herself.

“Hey!” I complain.

“First come first served!” she proclaims. “So-So, you try one! I’ll wait until you have your first bite!”

I gingerly lift a pastry off the tray. It looks amazing. A small, plump circle of bread so golden it’s basically orange, an X shape cut into the top, revealing the crimson loaf under the golden crust. A squirt of white, fluffy cream, with glowing, steaming golden-red sunberries scattered on top.

I take a bite. The burst of sweet deliciousness is instantaneous. The crust is crunchy and tastes like honey, while the inside is soft, warm, fluffy, and tastes like a maple cookie. The cream is like cinnamon, and the sunberries on top are- holy cow, they’re HARD. I bite down hard on one, ignoring the heat, and it bursts open, coating my whole mouth with a hot, sticky flavor, slightly salty but sweet.

“MMMMH!” I scream, my mouth still full.

“Is it good?” Fawn screeches.

“Ih ihf! Ah wah mhoah!” I aggressively take another bite.

“YAY!” Fawn immediately starts stuffing herself. “AH TOLHF YOO!”

“Are they good?” Miss Fae beamed. “I’m so glad you girls managed to get those sunberries.” The words ‘Miss Fae’ and ‘beamed’ belong together in every sentence. Her plump face glows like a sunberry bun. Uhh… best to steer clear of that train of thought before I start wanting to eat her face.

The door swings open. I spare a glance as I eat my bun to see someone wearing pretty much the same thing as Fawn and me, with a fluffy bundle tucked under her arm like a stack of books. She has blond hair, and she glares around with her green eyes as if the bakery itself murdered her mother. Or something.