by C S Patra
“I am.” The girl nodded, holding out her hand for a shake. “I’m Vinnie.”
“Alice.” Alice shook her hand, grateful that she had her gloves. Poor Vinnie would be covered in vines by now. As she looked down, she noticed how fine and delicate Vinnie’s hands were under those gloves. It was hard to touch her and not wonder how she could feel under bare hands. “Well, Vinnie, what made you decide to come to my bakery?”
“It was through word of mouth. I’ve heard you were the best even though you were really young. You can’t be much older than I am, yet you are one of the best bakers around.”
“I am only seventeen, but I have been working since I was young,” Alice explained. “This bakery was originally my father’s. I’ve been taking care of it for the last two years. It can be rough at times, but the rewards are plenty. Just doing what I love and having people love what I make is good enough.”
“It sounds like you are very satisfied with your life,” Vinnie said, looking at the cookies that Tamara had packed. “Not that I can blame you. You are surrounded by these delicious smells every day. I’m sure it’s worth it.”
“It is. I take it that you study things back home?”
“I have tutors who come to my house,” Vinnie explained. “I don’t mind them, but lessons can be a little boring. I have the morning off, so I decided to come over here. I hope I’m not bothering you or keeping you from work.”
“It’s okay. I just finished my biggest order, so you aren’t interrupting anything.” Alice looked over at the counter where all her goods were. “Now is that all or would you like something else for the road?”
“I think I’ll be fine with this bundle. Thank you, Alice. Now I should be on my way because I have a few more errands to run. It was nice making your acquaintance.”
“Likewise. I hope you enjoy those sweets. My store is open from dawn ‘til dusk.”
She had thrown that last bit in because she did want to see Vinnie again. She hoped that she was pleasant enough and the goods were delicious. It was nice to come across a customer that was closer to her age. Vinnie seemed very prim and proper. The way she spoke was exceptionally soft and well-mannered. Alice had heard other girls her age but none of them had the same grace. None of them acted like prim and proper ladies yet. Vinnie seemed so mature for her age. Therefore, Alice knew she had to act just as mature. She wanted to show that she was a businesswoman first and foremost.
“I will keep that in mind,” Vinnie nodded at her. “Until next time, Alice.”
Alice watched as Vinnie walked out of the store and wondered when next time would be. She couldn’t help but be drawn to her. It was a shame that Vinnie didn’t order anything else. If they didn’t have something, Alice would quickly go to work and start putting it together. She would make anything Vinnie asked for and would have it ready within an hour or so. During that time, she could spend more time talking to her.
I just let that opportunity pass by. She realized. Oh well, I hope she does return. If she likes what I made, I can see her making another trip over here. She seemed pleased by what I offered.
“Are you all right, Alice?” Tamara asked. “I can see those flowers sprouting up.”
“I’m just fine,” Alice sighed, looking at the cakes under the glass. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like working anymore. She wished she had asked where Vinnie lived. “Do you know anything about her?”
“I’m afraid I don’t. This is the first time I’ve seen her.” Tamara admitted, looking at Alice’s faraway gaze. “I have a feeling you have some interest in her.”
“Is that so? What gave it away?”
“You are still staring at the door although no one else has come in. You still have to start the orders that king and queen have made. However, all you are thinking about is Vinnie. Not that I came blame you. She is quite beautiful.”
“Very beautiful,” Alice agreed. “I wonder if she’ll be going to Princess Lavinia’s eighteenth birthday party too.”
“If the king and queen have invited the neighboring kingdoms, I’m sure she’ll be there. Now come. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Alice went back to the cake she was making and began to think about Vinnie again. It would be nice to see the girl outside of work. Still, there was something odd about her. She was familiar, yet Alice had never seen her. It had nothing to do with her living in a neighboring kingdom. However, the way she carried herself made it seem like she was made of wealth. She was acting like she was a simple person but that couldn’t be it. It was hard to say but she liked this girl.
“I want her to come back again.” She decided. “I’ll make her some nice pastries. It’s a shame I didn’t find out where she lived, or I could give them to her myself.”
“I’m sure she’ll come back,” Tamara agreed. “Everyone that has come here even once has kept coming back. Anyway, I need to go into the market. Kian will be in shortly to help you if needed. Just be careful. That thief is still lurking around. They struck a house nearby last night and stole almost everything from it. We’re fortunate the owners were not around when this happened.”
Alice nodded. The excitement she felt earlier was now filling up with dread. For the past few weeks, a thief had popped up and was targeting houses of nobles and shops around the kingdom. So far, no one had been able to figure out who it was, nor did they find the missing items. Everyone was on high alert to find them before they struck again. Alice didn’t see any reason for the thief to come here but she didn’t want to risk a thing. She locked up on time, made sure everything was secure, and then went home. The thief had no chance of breaking in.
“Ah, there he is!” Tamara exclaimed as their new baker boy entered the store. “You made it to the shop well before you were supposed to, Kian.”
Kian brushed his light-colored hair out of his eyes. He was small for a boy, standing only a few inches taller than Alice. His cheeks and forehead were pink from having to walk a long way to the shop. Unlike Alice and Tamara, he lived further away from the store and it always took him time to get in and out. He had been working for a few days now, but he was a hard worker. He did everything that Alice and Tamara asked of him. He was also turning out to be a very good baker and took direction very well.
“I’m sorry I look so terrible. I was running through the forest today,” Kian apologized. “Is there anything you’d like me to do first?”
“Go ahead and wash up and then come over here to help me with the cake,” Alice suggested. “I’m going to need someone who can make some rosettes to put around it. You’re one of the best at doing that.”
“I’m not sure about that, Alice_”
“Oh, hush! I have seen your talents. I can trust that you will make nice rosettes for the princess’ birthday cake.”
Kian washed his hands, put on his apron, and got to work designing tiny flowers to place on the cake. “Are we absolutely sure this is a princess? I know you saw the name but how are you certain about that?”
“There’s no need to put ‘Lavinia’s requests’ on the sheet if this wasn’t a princess. Now if I’m wrong, then I will correct myself but I’m certain they have a princess. I’ve been thinking about her a lot. I wonder how she lives her life behind those castle walls,” Alice sighed. “It must be lonely there. She’s surrounded by all the wealth and attention but not much else. I wonder if she even has friends.”
“If she’s been locked away forever, I doubt that she knows many people,” Kian said, putting one of the tiny pink rosettes on the cake. “I wouldn’t think too hard about this, Alice. We’ll get to see her soon. We’ll finally know who will be ruling this kingdom.”
“I know,” Alice agreed. “We have a princess and we need to make her feel welcome in this kingdom. I say we throw her the best birthday party ever! That means I need all these rosettes to be perfect. Understood?”
“I understand, and I will work hard,” Kian promised. “This will be the best cake she eve
r saw.”
“That’s the spirit! I can’t wait ‘til this is finished! I know it will be nothing short of extraordinary!” Alice bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. “Oh, I should go and check on those cakes in the oven! Keep working on the rosettes and I’ll return when I’m done!”
“That’s fine, Miss Alice. I won’t go anywhere.”
Alice felt a bit more rejuvenated as she continued to work on all the orders. Meeting Vinnie had given her a little bit of a boost and she felt like she could complete everything on time. The main treats didn’t need to be ready until the day of the party, but she still had other orders that needed completion. She hummed to herself, rolled up her sleeves, and continued to work. Vinnie was indeed a pleasant surprise and she was a mystery too. This new customer was on her mind and making her want to do her absolute best. She didn’t know what it was, but she was looking forward to seeing her again.
Chapter 2
Lavinia felt guilty about running away like this from home and for not telling Alice the truth. Then again, she had no idea how Alice and her bakers were going to react. They would not be able to contain themselves if they knew that Princess Lavinia, the elusive Princess Lavinia, was in their store. As long as they thought she was plain old Vinnie, she could get away with it.
This was her disguise anytime she went into town. Despite what people thought, it wasn’t the first time she had left her castle walls. She had to do this without anyone looking and she had to be careful where she went. Even now, she looked down at her gloved hands and thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t touch anyone in that bakery. The slightest brush of her bare skin against someone else would have them turning into ashes. This was her curse from birth. It was called ‘Falling Ashes’ because that was what would happen to anyone who touched her. They would fall into ashes and cease to exist.
For years, people wondered about her, but she had to stay away from them. Her parents agreed this was the best solution for now. As long as Lavinia stayed behind castle walls, she would be fine. Only those who lived in this castle knew about her and they did their best to take care of her. She didn’t want them to touch her bare skin because it was lethal to them. Lavinia knew she was poison. There was poison in her veins. Anyone that got close enough would pass away because their bones would rot, and their flesh would shrivel. Bit by bit, they would turn into ash. This was something that began when she was a child. When she went to pick flowers, they wilted in her hands and crumbled to dust. She was cursed and forced to keep herself covered at all times, no matter how hot it was. She had to be careful who she bumped into. If they touched a covered part of her body, it was fine. Her bare skin was another story. She could touch herself but nothing else. She would kill anything in her grasp without doing much.
I really wonder what it would be like to hold flowers. She looked down at the rows of dandelions growing out of the grass. Her legs and feet were covered up, so no grass or plants would be harmed when she walked. For years, she heard about people picking flowers and running through grass with their bare feet. She knew it had to be fun and wanted to try it one day. It would have to be the day after her curse was broken. On that day, she would run everywhere with her bare feet and touch all she wanted to. For now, she had to wait.
It was tough to grow up this way. She never knew the warmth of her mother’s hug or her father’s kiss. She didn’t know what it was like to hold a bouquet of flowers in her hands without them dying. She couldn’t even touch an animal without it passing away. It was the sole reason that she had never had a pet. The idea of losing a beloved pet would have killed her inside. The curse not only kept Lavinia away from people, it kept her away from the world. She spent more time locked in the castle than outside. She had wanted to go to the other kingdoms and see new things. Her father refused to let her do so. He feared what others would do to her if they knew what she was capable of.
“Until this curse is broken, it’s dangerous for you to go out. Not very many people know about your curse. If they found out, it could be deadly. They would try to hurt you. That’s why we are trying to protect you. We’re looking for a cure. You want to be cured, right?”
Lavinia did want a cure, but she didn’t like being locked away. For seventeen years, she was watching the world from her window. She managed to go out a few times but rarely went beyond the castle walls. When she did go, she only went for a few minutes but never went into town. Out of fear, she just stood at the edge of the town and watched as people walked by. Everyone had heard of her, but she couldn’t speak to them. Alice was the first person she was able to talk to without falling apart. She was able to speak up and ask for something that she wanted.
She was so sweet to me. I felt like we were friends even though I know nothing about her. Lavinia thought about Alice’s smile and how lovely it was. She loved the way her cheeks and nose turned pink with excitement. She liked the way she smelled of cinnamon and vanilla from baking all morning long. She wanted more reasons to go see Alice tomorrow and the day after. If she got lucky, she could catch Alice after she was done with work and maybe go for a walk with her. They could talk about things happening in the village. She was certain that Alice would tell her more about this kingdom than her parents did.
When Lavinia was growing up, she was sheltered. The king and queen would only reveal the good things that were happening but not when there was trouble. She was never told when war was on the horizon or if there was a problem going on in the nearby villages. She would brief mentions of famine or people needing supplies, but she was never allowed to know where or why. They wouldn’t let her go to the other villages. Everyone knew her name, but they didn’t know her.
Earlier in the morning, she was getting ready when she heard her mother talking about some robberies that were taking place in the nearby village. Noblemen and women were being robbed of their coins and jewelry, yet no one could catch the thief. The only thing they knew was that he always struck in the middle of the night and he never made a sound. He went after the wealthiest people in the village and stole things that could easily be replaced. All the same, he was a nuisance and they were trying to get rid of him.
“No one knows when he will strike next, your majesty.” The townsfolk would say. “Other than striking at night, we don’t know what kind of motive he has. We don’t know why he is targeting us. How are we supposed to stop him?”
The king promised that he would do whatever he could to protect the people. He would have someone guarding all the houses in hopes that they would be able to catch the thief. Lavinia thought that there had to be a better idea of catching this thief. Keeping guards at all corners would do no good. The thief always managed to sneak in even while people were around. He could easily bypass the guards with no problem. Another reason that no one could catch him was that anyone who was in the house at the same time was always asleep. They never heard a sound from him. When they woke after hours, he was already gone.
“Father, we can’t let him get away with this,” Lavinia told him after she heard everything from the townsfolk. “I don’t think he’s a sorcerer of any sort. It doesn’t sound like he’s using magic, so it should be easy to catch him.”
“Believe me, Lavinia. I want to catch him. I want him to pay for what he’s done. My people are terrified because he can strike at any moment! As soon as he is found and unmasked, he will be tried and hanged. I have no doubt in my mind. Someone will get him.”
“Are you sure this will work? He gets away even with people around the houses.”
“If we cover every corner, he won’t escape. He might be too scared to strike. You need not worry about him, Vinnie. He will face justice sooner or later.”
Lavinia didn’t think much about that thief, but she still wanted to come up with a better plan. The thefts had slowed down a lot over the past few days and people were starting to feel safe again. She felt safe going out this morning and seeing Alice. Maybe the thief was finally tired of pla
ying around and had given up. Her father’s plan was working. He had decided not to strike anyone while the guards were about.
Well, that’s good. He is being wise and staying out of everyone’s path.
She made her way back home and headed up to her room. She avoided all the servants that were working around the castle because she didn’t want to touch them. It was hard to go through life where every living creature died when they brushed her bare skin against them. She didn’t want to kill anyone like this. She didn’t want to be cursed. She wanted to be a ruler that everyone loved and could be proud of. She didn’t want to rule without anyone knowing her. Until the day the curse was lifted, no one could know her.
“Ah, Vinnie! Where have you been all morning?” Her mother asked as Lavinia began to head upstairs to her bedroom. She had changed into her gown, but her hair was a mess. It was clear that something was bothering her. “I was worried! Rumor has it that the thief is back at it again!”
“Really?” Lavinia stood up straight. “I thought he stopped stealing.”
