Chapter 17
brEAD AND STEW
Elden and I shared a look for many moments. I swallowed, not exactly sure of what was happening to my stomach. I was flustered, my middle swirling in knots more surely than a kitten playing with a cluster of yarn.
This could not be happening. I was falling for the Elf King.
I knew it as I knew the flush I’d seen in lovers’ expressions as they moseyed about the village, hand in hand.
But, I’d never felt…well, this before. I chided myself and glanced away from the shards of gold in the Elf King’s eyes, but not before I noticed a beautiful ring of bright yellow around his irises.
Breathtaking.
No. I would not fall for the Elf King. I was a human baker. He was, well, not only an elf but the king. We were just playing a part. I could play the role of an adoring wife, just for the night.
“Ah, well met!” The large elf strode up to us with a wide smile. “Welcome to the Spindlewood Inn. I’ll have my daughter, Terrine, retrieve your horses and give them proper rest and food.”
“Thank you.” Elden took my hand gently and led me over to the large elf. “My name is Elden, and this is my wife, Noelle.”
My cheeks flushed at the sound of my name on the Elf King’s tongue. He’d never spoken it aloud, and I’d feared he’d never taken the time to know it. Maybe he had been paying attention to more than just my baking.
“Pleased to meet you both. Names Todd.” The large elf and Elden shook hands in greeting. A very human greeting. “What a handsome couple the two of you make. I take it by the way you two look at each other that you are very recently wed?”
Elden smiled politely while I fought the flush in my cheeks and lost miserably.
“We have been married only a fortnight,” Elden answered in his deep baritone. “We are traveling the lands as part of our Honeymoon.”
Another very human tradition.
The innkeeper’s smile widened. “You will find no more welcoming Inn than here at Spindlewood. Let me introduce you to my wife, Tabitha.”
And with that, we left the horses with a sweet-looking young elf, Terrine, and entered the Inn.
The massive tree had been hollowed out by some kind of magic.
Winding staircases led out to doorways which connected the bridges to the other trees on the outside.
Fireflies, completely out of season, and gemstones glowed within.
Every piece of furniture was carved from the tree itself.
Several couches and chairs flanked a fireplace that roared in a stone-covered hearth.
“Towering trees,” Elden whispered in my ear as we entered. “The seeds were brought over from my home world before its destruction. These trees can grow big enough to house at least fifty people. They also have a sweet bark that makes a delightful tea.”
I stared in awe at the enormity of it all when the smell of heated brown sugar and butter wafted over from an adjacent kitchen. My stomach grumbled angrily when it sensed a new delicacy it had yet to try.
“My wife is cooking up her famous caramels for the feast tonight,” Todd said as he led us toward the kitchen. Then he stopped and turned around, “You are coming to the feast, aren’t you?”
“We hadn’t heard of any feast—” Elden started, but then a round female elf burst through the kitchen doors.
“Oh, you must come!” she exclaimed as she pulled off her apron, exposing a rounded stomach. Was she pregnant? “We are celebrating the marriage of Jareth to Jalla tonight! You can’t miss out on all the fun.”
So that is what the townspeople were bustling about preparing for today.
“And you two being so recently married—” Todd started, but was quickly cut off by the loud exclamation from his wife.
“Recently married!” She squealed. “How absolutely delightful.” She smiled wistfully at her husband, then took in my appearance from top to bottom.
“You must be exhausted from your travel, dear. Please, we must have you both rested and bathed. I’ll send up food to your room.
The celebration starts at nine, and you must come! It will be a night to remember.”
“But we have not been invited by the couple—” I started.
Tabitha’s eyebrows dropped as if she were confused. “All who enter Spindlewood are invited. You can’t miss it!”
I looked to Elden who gazed at me expectantly. As if it were truly up to me to decide.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “We would love to attend.”
I chanced another glance at Elden and he nodded in a grumbly way. Somehow the look on his face only bolstered me further.
“Now that’s settled, let’s get you two cleaned up and fed,” Tabitha offered.
I smiled at the prospect of not only bathing, but food. My stomach grumbled angrily and my leg started to ache. My wound needed more tonic before too long. “A bath and food would be most welcome.”
Tabitha pat me on the shoulder kindly and pressed a handful of candies from her apron pocket into my hands.
They were small square treats wrapped in wax paper.
“Have some of these while you get cleaned up to tide you over, dear. Nothing better on an empty stomach or full stomach, truthfully, than my famous caramels.”
“Caramels?” I asked. I’d never heard of such a thing, though the ice cream parlor down the street from my bakery made a caramel syrup for their ice cream, and I’d created a caramel glaze for my cream puffs. These were solid little candy confections filled with pecans.
“Come to think of it, I’ll just send you on up with some food now.” Tabitha winked, then bustled back into the kitchen. She emerged a moment later with a large basket full of breads with a steaming covered caldron in the center.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Todd offered as he received the large basket of food from his wife.
I was all too aware of how close Elden stood to me. How tall he was. Though we stood in a magical tree inn many stories high, Elden commanded the space.
We followed Todd up the main winding staircase and through the doorway leading outside.
We walked along the enchanted bridges leading to the adjoining trees, each with several doors in various locations.
The sounds of twittering birds and buzzing insects were joined by the nearby murmuring conversation and preparations for the wedding tonight.
The sun was beginning its setting. Pinks and fuchsias shot through the patches of sky visible through the tall branches and trees.
“The Dragonfly Room.” The innkeeper announced as he twisted a large key and unlocked the door to our room.
Blue and green fabrics covered the windows and bed.
Large dragonflies, butterflies, and bees embroidered on them in bold, artistic ways.
Our saddlebags and belongings had been brought up already and placed on a small sofa by the fireplace.
But I could only stand at the door and stare at the large canopied bed in the center of the room.
There was only one bed.
Elden would not make eye contact. I would die if he had. Todd excused himself, and I pulled out Jel’s tonic from my shoulder bag and took a swig. The pain in my leg eased immediately. I let out a sigh of relief.
“Is your leg bothering you?” Elden asked from where he stood rummaging through his saddlebags.
“Yes, but the tonic helps,” I said into the swallowing silence. It was so quiet. The lack of noise deafening.
“Take care not to take too much of the tonic,” Elden said as he produced his own flask and pulled in a sip. “The effects can be a bit…unexpected.”
I had no idea what he meant, but instead of asking more, I went straight for the crock of stew and freshly sliced loaf of bread. The proof of this bake was perfection. The inside of the bread had just enough spring, and the crust was nice and crispy. “Do you mind if I eat? I’m starving.”
Not waiting for him to agree, I brought the food basket over to the center of the room and plopped down on the thick and intricately woven rug.
I pulled the lid off the forest green crock, and the most delicious aroma flooded the room.
I breathed it in, then tore off a chunk of bread and dipped it in the stew.
“Mmmm.” I moaned as I took the first bite and chewed.
The hot chicken broth dripped down my throat, with rustic vegetables, noodles, and meat seasoned to perfection.
I’d had stew, I’d had vegetables and chicken, but after a full day of riding horseback, I didn’t think I’d ever tasted anything so delicious. I leaned back onto the bed and sighed.
Elden sat beside me, not close enough for my shoulder to brush his arm, as he followed suit. “You know, the king is always supposed to eat first.”
I raised an eyebrow, worried that he might be annoyed, but the lift to the side of his mouth told me he was teasing.
“We are married, husband,” I teased back, “And every husband knows that if his queen is hungry, he better make way.”
A laugh sounded from Elden, low and rumbling. I curled my toes.
“Indeed, Little Baker. I would no sooner stand between you and your meal as I would a dragon and its prey.”
“Are there truly dragons here in Ravensong?” I asked.
I’d heard of the creatures, but knew nothing about them except that they were wild, strong, fiercely intelligent, and dangerous.
Tales were told of dragons flying over human lands and scooping up children as they slept in their beds.
They’d also fought along side the elves in our many wars and skirmishes.
“There are. Most of them live deep below Sunspire, near the coast in the tundras south.”
“I never knew The Undying Lands were so vast.”
Elden nodded. “Our lands were not closed off a thousand years ago.”
“And we are here to find out why that changed,” I said through a mouthful of warm bread and stew.
Elden chomped down on some bread and nodded. He ate as fiercely as I. And for a long moment we said nothing as we ate. The silence didn’t bother me so much as the idea of having only one bed. It would not be proper to—
“I will sleep on the floor tonight,” Elden said as though reading my thoughts.
“Oh,” I breathed. “Thank you.”
Elden nodded and pushed the bread over to me. I shook my head. “I’m full,” I lied. If he was going to sacrifice and sleep on the floor, I could do something for him.
I stood and stretched as Elden finished off the last drops of stew and bits of bread.
Then I tossed Elden a caramel and unwrapped one myself.
It was squishy, softer than a hard candy.
I popped it in my mouth and chewed. Brown sugar, browned butter, pecans—an explosion of deliciousness hit my mouth.
It was both chewy and sweet. The soft crunch of the nuts offered a satisfying texture to the confection.
I had never known such happiness was possible to achieve from one bite.
“Wow.” I moaned.
“Wow, indeed,” said the king through a mouthful of caramel.
“I have got to learn how to make these!” I exclaimed, and almost rushed from the room, but Elden grabbed onto my hand. I looked down at him, where he sat back against the bed, one hand in mine. He was so beautiful it hurt.
“You might want to wash up first.” He smiled, gazing at me through impossibly long black eyelashes.
Oof. Here I was, admiring his beauty and all the while, I must look a complete mess. It was as if I’d been smiling and talking happily, all while having a piece of broccoli in my teeth.
I blushed, then attempted to smooth out the frizz that must be flying around my head from out of my braids from our journey on horseback. Resisting the urge to sniff my armpits, I asked, “Are you saying that I offend?”
Elden’s eyes popped open in alarm and he worked his jaw for a moment before sputtering out, “No, of course not. I am sorry, it is just—”
I giggled. Sometimes Elden just said the wrong thing. It was very human. It was fun watching the Elf King scramble for the right words. “I’m just teasing. I know I must look awful.”
“You look…” Elden glanced away and cleared his throat. “As decent as ever, I was merely suggesting that you may not get another opportunity to bathe on this journey and since you have tasked us with a party tonight, I thought it would be prudent.”
“It is more than prudent.” I agreed. All embarrassment forgotten as I thought about the wedding party tonight. “And parties are fun! There’ll be dancing, laughing, and most important of all…eating new food. We are going, aren’t we? I promised Tabitha.”
“It might be best if we rested. We are on an important mission that we cannot fail. You saw the blight for yourself. We cannot afford to get sidetracked.”
I felt my own face fall at the words, my shoulders slump. “Of course.”
“Unless we make sure to be back by eleven.”
I perked up. “Truly? We can go?”
Elden’s eyes sparkled. “I wouldn’t dream of keeping my Little Baker from trying the delights of the party. It might help spark your magic.”
And with that, I surprised myself by kneeling by his side and flinging my arms about the Elf King’s neck. “Tonight is going to be amazing!”
I jumped up and gathered my clothes, thanking Rafia silently for packing me a fine gown, then I strode up the winding staircase to the upper floors where a warm soapy bath awaited.
I was going to a marriage celebration tonight in an elven village with the Elf King.
My stomach squirmed at the incandescent thoughts, but I focused on washing my hair, on combing through the tangles with my fingers.
I focused on the dark green satin dress that matched my eyes.
My eyes. Not the golden eyes of the Elf King that all the village girls wanted to capture.
I wasn’t silly like them. I would not fall for him.
He needed me, that’s all. He needed my magic, and once I learned how to wield it, he would be satisfied and look at another woman with those golden eyes, with the intensity of his stare until their stomach turned to jelly and they were silly with their thoughts.
Despite the gentleman Elden seemed, he’d still taken a maiden into Elkhaven.
What did he truly have planned for Lila?
And once we found this cure, what did he have planned for me?