Lily Sweetie's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

Lily counted her tin again as the sun dropped. Four gold coins, no more. Her little cart held one small pan, and it baked six puffs at a time. Six puffs, then a wait. Six more, another wait. At this pace she would never reach ten coins by tomorrow's market close. She sat on the step of the burned booth and pressed her hands to her face. "Too slow," said a small voice. "Your oven. Too slow." Lily looked down. A mouse in a bright red hood stood by her shoe, nibbling a crumb. The mouse brushed sugar from her paws and pointed her nose across the square. "You need a bigger fire. I know where one sleeps." The mouse led her to a shop with a sagging roof and cracked windows. Faded letters spelled PIE SHOP above the door. Nobody had baked there in years. Inside stood a tall iron stove with four burners and a wide belly. Lily opened its door. The space could hold ten pans at once. "The owner's gone," the mouse said. "But the fire still works. Bake through the night. Fill your cart." So Lily worked. She hauled her dough and sugar inside. She fed wood to the old stove until its belly glowed. She slid in tray after tray. By dawn her cart overflowed with puffs, tarts, and sticky buns. She pushed it back to her booth, arms aching, and set out every treat. The crowd came fast. Coins clinked into her tin. But Lily needed them to come faster. Ten gold by market's close, and the sun was already high. Then the crowd shifted. A woman in a dark red jacket stepped to the front. She carried a leather bag and a small notebook. She did not smile. She picked up one puff, sniffed it, and took a single bite. Lily held her breath. The woman chewed slowly. She swallowed. She wrote something in her notebook. "Honey in the crust," the woman said. "Correct. Most bakers use too much. You did not." She snapped the notebook shut. "I am Vivienne Gastrell. I taste for a living. People follow my list." "Is it... good?" Lily asked. "It is the best sweet in this square." Vivienne turned to the crowd. "You. Buy from this girl. All of you." She said it like a fact, not a favor. The crowd surged. Hands reached over hands. Coins rained into the tin faster than Lily could count. By afternoon she poured them onto the booth and stacked them. Silver, copper, and gold. She counted twelve gold coins. Lily laughed and hugged the tin to her chest. She had more than enough. But as she scooped the coins, a shadow fell across the booth. A wide shadow, in a red robe stitched with gold. Aldric Goldwheat had come to collect. And his small eyes were fixed not on ten coins, but on the whole shining pile.