29. Lemon Cake
Lemon Cake
Prism Malefic
Fable whispered to her friend before moving toward my frozen spot on the bridge. “Hello there,” she called. “I’m Fable. Welcome to Nisse. Would you like to join me for a tour of your new Provence?”
Shaking my head in disbelief, I leaned on the railing of the bridge, pointing toward her stomach. “How?”
The women looked at each other, one biting her lip to hide a smile. They all seemed so… normal. Intact, fed, healthy… happy even. How could that be? “Were you all stolen by the withers, too?”
Fable tilted her head and spoke gently, as if I were a fallope caught in a snare. “All of us here were chosen, yes. Please, don’t fear. Nothing and no one in Nisse will harm you. You’re free now.”
Free ? These women were brainwashed… had the withers bewitched them?
Fable stepped onto the bridge and offered her hand.
I stepped back as if she’d offered snake instead, not wanting to be infected with whatever madness had overtaken these women and…
preserved them? Fable was as youthful as the day she was taken when I’d been an infant. Over twenty years.
“Is this real?” I asked. “Are you real?”
With a patient nod, she stepped forward again. “You’re in shock after such a long journey. Come, have some water and a slice of cake. I’ll answer all of your questions. I have to say, though, my ankles are swollen and I’d love to sit down, if you don’t mind.”
With hesitation, I slowly took her hand. Fable smiled, as did the other women, who went back about their conversations and chores. “We haven’t had a newcomer in some time. This is an exciting day.” She looped her arm with mine and bent to pick up the bucket of water.
“Let me,” I insisted, taking the handle. “I was only just born when you were taken… how do you remain so young?”
“We were chosen, darling. You will not age in Nisse. What is your name?”
“Prism Malefic.”
Fable paused, leaning against the stone well in the center of the square. “Malefic… Were Alchemy and Spirit your parents?”
Breath left my lungs in a wisp of sadness and heartache at hearing their names. “Yes, they were my matri and mother.”
“Were?”
My gaze fell to my feet.
Fable placed a soft hand on my shoulder, her auburn curls falling in soft waves along her plump cheeks. “You’re safe now, Prism.”
“How can you say that?” I asked. “There are withers all around us.”
Gesturing behind me to a small wooden building with planters full of pink roses, Fable said, “That’s my house. Let’s talk over cake and then I’ll show you around.”
Still in disbelief of what was happening, I carried the water bucket, and followed Fable Woolworth, the last taken maiden—well, before me—into her home.
The aroma of butter and sugar comforted my senses, making my mouth water.
Fable’s home looked similar to mine, with plush pink cushions at a round dining table, and hanging roses above the kitchen basin. “All the homes here the same?”
“Similar,” she answered, pulling a tray from the counter.
“I decorated yours. I hope you like it, though I won’t be offended at all if you decide to change it.
For your dresses, I didn’t know your size or style, however.
You can always go to Lyric’s Fabrics for more dress options, though.
She’s our seamstress, and I know she’s excited to dress you. ”
Sitting at the table, I felt lightheaded, and my vision spun as Fable sat a piece of cake in front of me. “How does any of this exist? How are you so calm being surrounded by monsters?”
Fable cut herself a slice and joined me. “It’s lemon blueberry with a sugar glaze.” She took a spoonful. “We were chosen, darling. There’s nothing to fear here.”
“How can you say that?”
“You’ll see. Especially with Vore. Oh, we’ve hoped for his chosen for so long… and here you are.” She smiled.
“So a wither… chose… you? Is that how you’re…” My gaze dropped to her rounded belly.
Fable let out a small giggle, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Yes, though don’t fear. Pregnancy isn’t common. It is something Cadaver and I hoped for very much.”
“Cadaver is your… your wither? And you… you… do what married people do together?”
With another giggle, Fable reached over and held my hand.
“We are their chosen, darling. Yes, we are bonded in that way. But don’t fear, they aren’t as horrible males of our kind are.
They are patient, kind, and only desire what we do.
Some women wait years before being intimate, and that is okay. Yours will not pressure you.”
“I’m dizzy,” I admitted, leaning back in my chair.
Pouring me a glass of water, Fable placed it in my grip. “Drink, eat, I know this is a lot to take in. We’re in no rush. We have all the time in the world in Nisse.”
After finishing the water, my spoon dipped into the sugar glaze as I pondered. “Where do they go? The withers? Why are they not here with you?”
“They’re nocturnal,” Fable replied, refilling my glass.
“That’s why only a few of the ladies are out this morning.
A lot of us sleep during the day so we can stay up all night with our chosen.
Though, some chores are best done in daylight, of course, we take shifts with those.
The withers, as you call them, are resting in their caves surrounding us.
They’ll join their chosen at twilight. My favorite time of day. ”
The sugary frost melted on my tongue, and I gave in to the treat, taking a big bite of lemon cake. “My mother used to make a cake just like this,” I said wistfully, needing to talk about something other than monsters. “She’d make it every summer solstice.”
Fable smiled a toothy grin. “Spirit is the one who gave me this recipe… Truly, your mother was the most talented hedge witch I’d ever met.”
Tears welled in my eyes, and my lip quivered, the taste of my mother’s sweet lemon on my tongue.
“Oh, darling, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Fable moved her chair closer to me and wrapped me in a hug. The first human embrace I’d had since—since Rumor hugged me on my wedding day.
My sobs choked into the curls atop Fable’s shoulder. “I miss my moms—my sister—my town. I’m scared.” The words came out in strangled gasps between muffled cries.
Fable rubbed my hair like any mother would and shushed me softly.
“I know, I know.” She straightened my shoulders, wiping my tear-stained cheeks.
“Listen to me, Prism. Both of your moms would want you here. You are safe, you are chosen, you will live forever in good health and fortune. I know it is scary now… but just give it some time and you will see. I promise.”
Fable Woolworth had lost her mind. She’d been captive in Nisse for over twenty years and now was pregnant with a wither’s baby.
Though her eyes were kind and her touch maternal, her mind was lost to whatever this place was.
Still, she was a blessing in the form of a familiar face and a fellow woman.
I had no choice but to accept her friendship.
“I don’t know what to do,” I confessed. “What do I do?”
“Well.” Fable placed another slice of cake on my plate even though I hadn’t finished the first. I liked her enough already before that.
“Your night is spoken for with Vore… your day can be whatever you like. Sleeping, meeting the ladies who are awake, or exploring the town. Actually, I have a place I want to show you. I think you’ll like it. ”
Two pieces of my mother’s cake delighted my taste buds, pulling me from my despair and uncertainty.
I swore there was magic in her recipes, witch or not.
If someone made one of her desserts, it was impossible not to be happy and uplifted after finishing it.
Recipes were hedge witch spells, she would always say.
Everyday magic. Enchanting flour and sugar into something delightful.
Fable brought me back outside and showed me the square.
Along the line of houses sat the seamstress’s home, the well and washing stations, a few stands where, Fable explained, the ladies left things they no longer wanted and took items they needed.
We only passed two ladies, who smiled as they fetched water in their nightgowns and disappeared back into the drawn curtains of their homes.
The town seemed to run peacefully and seamlessly.
Though, the real question remained: what happened at twilight when the withers joined us?
Unease pressed on my shoulders like a weight. To be surrounded by monsters with no place to run, no one to hear us scream… Vore had taken me in, but what if the others didn’t think as highly of me?
Near the stream, not too far from the waterfall, Fable opened a creaky wooden gate and ushered me into an overgrown patch of foliage.
“These are our current crops,” she explained.
“As you can see, it needs some work. Most of us grow what we need in our yards or on our roofs. Tomatoes, peppers, and berries. Over along the tree line is our grove of fruit trees and some bushes of berries, and the corn and wheat fields are over there. But we’d love some melons, maybe more root vegetables or legumes. ”
Kneeling, I dusted the soil between my fingers. “The soil is so rich… and it looks you have most of them started. They just need to be propagated and have the beds tended.”
Fable widened her eyes expectantly and blinked, fluttering her eyelashes. “You don’t say…”
I laughed for the first time since I’d arrived, the sensation welcome and warming.
“I can do it.” I smiled, giving the pregnant lady what she was aiming for.
“I can get this garden into shape. My mom taught me everything she knew. I may not be magical like her, but I have somewhat of a green thumb. Well, as long as a wither doesn’t eat me. ”
Giggling, Fable handed me a rusty shovel. “Rest assured, Vore will not eat you… and if he does, it will be because you asked for it.” She winked.