Chapter Text
Vanessa gasped almost pressing her nose up to the glass—not caring in the slightest if she looked foolish. A cake shop! A real cake shop! The colorful and intricately decorated confections seemed to gleam and sparkle in the window, and divine smells wafted from the door every time it swung open and closed with the tinkling of a bell. All those years she had spent listening to the other girls rave about the cake shop in the nearby village couldn’t have prepared her for how positively wonderful the real thing could be—and she hadn’t even been inside yet. Still just being there—being able to visit a cake shop, to explore the world outside the Forest of Witches, to have that kind of freedom was a dream in and of itself.
“It’s wonderful!” she exclaimed though she hadn’t intended to say it aloud. She glanced around at the people on the busy street who it seemed had stopped to stare at her and ran a hand quickly through her short hair. She supposed it must look ridiculous for a girl of her age to be so childishly excited about a cake shop, but having so little experience in the outside world, even the most normal, everyday things were exciting to her.
“Do you want to go inside?” Finral tilted his head and smiled with a somewhat awkward laugh.
“Oh right…sorry…” she answered though she wasn’t sure if she was apologizing for gaping at the shop window or for completely forgetting he was there. It seemed an awful thing to forget seeing as he was the whole reason she was here in the first place.
That morning when Captain Yami had given her a bag of golden coins and told her it was the squad’s “day off” and she could spend it however she pleased, Finral had offered to use his Spatial Magic to take her to any place she wanted—as long as he had been to it before or could see it. The offer had surprised her. She had spent very little time with Finral and barely knew anything about him, but he had been nothing but kind and welcoming to her—if anything maybe a little too kind and welcoming.
Though they hadn’t talked much at all, Finral was always giving her lavish bouquets of pink and red flowers. She’d return from a trip to the market with Gordon or a walk through the woods around the hideout or even just from a trip upstairs, and there he’d be— pulling a bouquet of roses out a spatial portal. It seemed hardly a day went by without hearing some variation of “Hey Moron, this is a Magic Knight Hideout not a Flower Shop!” from Captain Yami.
Even his offer to take her somewhere on their day off had been prefaced with a presentation of flowers she didn’t have a vase for. Luckily Gordon had emptied a jar of fabric pins from their joint sewing kit for a makeshift vase.
If Vanessa was being honest she wondered if she should’ve just stayed back at the hideout and worked on her latest sewing project with Gordon. Perhaps she could have even asked him if they could take a walk to the market if she was feeling particularly bold. But having seen so very little of the world outside of the Forest of Witches she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go exploring a bit—even if it was with Finral.
However, to suddenly have the world almost quite literally opened to her was a little overwhelming. It must have been amusing when out of anywhere in the world, she had sheepishly chosen, “A cake shop?” But Finral seemed more than happy to oblige her request.
“After you,” he said opening the door to the cake shop for her as the bell jingled.
She tried to stay composed but couldn’t hold back a smile as she glanced around in wonder at cases filled with the most delicious looking cakes and sweets she had ever seen. How in the world would she ever decide which to buy? She practically skipped from case to case until her gaze finally settled on a slice of cake with shiny pink frosting next to a sign that read “White Chocolate Raspberry” in delicate script.
“Do you know what you’d like?” asked Finral.
“I think I’ll have that one…” she said with a smile. “Should we bring something back for Gordon and Captain Yami?”
Finral shrugged. “Sure. We can do that. What do you think they’d want?”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as she perused the case again. “Maybe the Strawberry Shortcake for Gordon…” she suggested unsurely. Gordon was by far the person she had spent the most time with her since she had joined the Black Bulls—or, more accurately, had followed Captain Yami back to the hideout after escaping the Forest of Witches and been inducted in the squad simply since she hadn’t left yet. However, she still couldn’t understand practically anything that he said, despite her best efforts. They had bonded over their interest in sewing—even though, if Vanessa was being honest she found the dolls that Gordon made to be somewhat frightening—but she still knew next to nothing about him let alone his favorite food. “What do you think?”
“Sure. Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Finral with a shrug. “I still can’t understand anything Gordon says to tell you the truth.” He chuckled awkwardly. “But he’s good people, the only one of us who can cook something semi-decent—well before you came along anyway.”
Vanessa tried to stifle a laugh. She couldn’t cook well at all—had never learned in the Forest of Witches—but she and Gordon were trying their best. No one ever complained, but Vanessa was fairly certain they were all secretly hoping the next member of the squad would be a chef.
“Gordon buys strawberries in the market a lot so I think he’ll like it…” she added, and Finral fidgeted.
Vanessa got the feeling that Captain Yami’s insistence on constantly pairing her and Gordon up for errands and missions was a source of contention for him. She had often overheard him complaining to the Captain about it—something along the lines of, “You finally let a beautiful girl onto our squad and then you keep sending her off with Gordon!” This was always followed by the Captain pointing out his concern that Finral would scare her away. It perplexed her—didn’t the Captain know she didn’t have anywhere else to go? What in the world could Finral possibly do that would scare her off so much she’d take her chances out in the unknown world? If she was being completely honest, she had purposely been avoiding him so she wouldn’t have to find out.
“What do you think we should get for the Captain?” Vanessa asked trying to push the thought away.
Finral tilted his head towards the case. “I don’t know. How about chocolate? Everybody likes chocolate.” Vanessa nodded in agreement, and Finral said, “We’re all set then.” He motioned to the shopkeepers, an elderly man and woman who had been whispering amongst themselves since they had walked in, a fact Vanessa had tried to pretend not to notice. She could almost feel the shopkeepers staring at her as she pointed to the pink-frosted cake in the case.
“I’ll take a slice of that one please…” The shopkeepers looked from Vanessa to Finral to each other and, then, back to Finral again. Vanessa fidgeted with the small pouch of coins Captain Yami had given her earlier. “Um…how much…?”
“That will be 18 Yul,” answered the old man.
“Um…” Vanessa’s voice trailed as she began to empty the contents of the small pouch of coins and stared down at the gold pieces not knowing exactly how many would equal 18 Yul—was that eighteen coins or…? Her cheeks felt hot as the shopkeepers whispered amongst themselves out of the corner of her eye.
“Don’t worry,” said Finral stepping up to the counter. “I’ll get it.”
“But…” Vanessa began to protest but was promptly cut off.
“I’m the one who brought you out, right? Besides I’ve been on the squad longer than you have and have been paid lots more times.” He smiled, and then added a slice of Strawberry Shortcake for Gordon and Double Chocolate for Captain Yami “to go”—whatever that meant. Then, he asked for another slice of the White Chocolate Raspberry cake, Vanessa supposed for himself. He exchanged a handful of coins to the shopkeepers and received a paper box and two plates of cake with pink frosting in return. He handed one of the plates to Vanessa before picking up the other and the box saying, “There are some tables and chairs outside. We can eat there if you want.”
Vanessa nodded and followed Finral out of the jingling doorway as the shopkeepers went back to whispering.
“Great choice of cake, by the way,” he said as he pulled out a chair for her at a small round table. “The frosting matches your hair—though your hair is much prettier.”
Vanessa tried to stifle a laugh at the ridiculous compliment. She didn’t know much about Finral but she had noticed that he tended to say some pretty corny things when he was trying too hard to be charming.
“Thanks,” she answered with an awkward smile before picking up her fork to take a bite of the cake. She sighed. It was absolutely delicious!
“Did it live up to your expectations?” asked Finral. “I know you said you’ve been wanting to visit a cake shop for a while now.”
Vanessa’s face brightened, and her smile widened. “It was wonderful! Thank you!”
“I’ve never seen anyone get so excited about a cake shop before,” Finral chuckled lightly. Vanessa shifted, and her cheeks flushed.
“I’m sorry…I know I must’ve looked really silly…” She looked up from her plate and found Finral smiling at her with kind eyes. It was probably the most genuine smile he had given her all day.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to make you happy…er…the cake shop…that the cake shop was able to make…” his voice trailed as a blush rose in his cheeks. Vanessa blinked at him. Getting flustered like that…it was so honest and real—she honestly preferred it. But he cleared his throat and donned that wide, toothy grin again saying, “It was cute—how excited you were!” And the moment was gone.
Vanessa sighed and pulled out her bag of money emptying the contents into her hand. “How much do I owe you for the cake? I can pay for Gordon’s and the Captain’s as well…Oh and yours to thank you for bringing me here.”
“No. No,” Finral insisted. “It’s fine.”
“If you just tell me how much…I’m not sure how many coins…” Vanessa’s cheeks felt suddenly hot, and she downcast her eyes as she admitted, “That’s why I couldn’t pay earlier.”
“I can teach you about Yul sometime if you want, but don’t worry about paying me for the cake. I can get it.”
“But the Captain will be upset with you,” Vanessa protested meeting his eyes pointedly. “He told you not to blow all your money on some girl.”
Finral sighed. “I don’t think that’s what he meant…Besides you’re not just some girl.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” countered Vanessa resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
Finral’s cheeks turned red, and he looked away from her rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “I’m flattered that you think…” he stopped abruptly with an awkward chuckle before he cleared his throat. “Anyway, you’re on our squad now so I don’t think Captain Yami would mind if I bought you some cake especially since it was so important to you.” He paused. “Why have you always wanted to go to a cake shop? You don’t have to answer…” he added quickly with an awkward chuckle. “I was just curious…”
“That’s okay. I guess it’s kind of a silly thing…” her voice trailed. “There was a cake shop in a village close to the Forest of Witches. The other girls would talk about it—how great it was—but I was never allowed to go. Then, it closed down and well…” She stopped.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t take you to that one. I hope this one is just as good…it was the best I could think of.”
“It’s alright. I’m just excited to be at a cake shop…” Her face brightened at the thought. “Any cake shop!”
“You really didn’t get out much did you?” asked Finral. Vanessa shifted and bit her lip, and Finral added reassuringly, “That’s okay. I don’t think I would’ve gotten out much either if I couldn’t make portals when I was growing up.”
Vanessa looked up from the table and tilted her head. It was the first time she had ever heard him mention anything somewhat personal about himself. “Where did you grow up?”
Finral fidgeted. “Here actually. It’s a town in the Noble Realm near the Royal Capital. It’s called Tota.”
Vanessa paused for a moment to really look up and down the bustling street full of shops and people. It was very different than the market where she had been with Gordon. The roads were paved with stones and the buildings were ornate and decorative—very different than the villages in the Foresaken Realm near their hideout.
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen any place like it.”
“Yeah…well…it’s nice…” answered Finral shifting awkwardly. He seemed so uncomfortable all of a sudden—it was perplexing to Vanessa until she caught sight of the shopkeepers glancing at them through the window. A blush rose in her cheeks.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Finral tilted his head. “For what?”
“For embarrassing you in front of your neighbors…” she replied her voice trailing.
“Believe me, I embarrass myself well enough on my own…” he muttered before adding hurriedly, “Not that you did anything embarrassing. You…”
“I made a scene gaping in all the cake shop windows and the cases,” Vanessa sighed. “The shopkeepers…”
“Oh them…” Finral cut her off. “Don’t worry about that. I think they were whispering about me, not you.” He chuckled awkwardly with flushed cheeks and a forced smile. He changed the subject abruptly. “This is the shopping district. This whole street is filled with stores and restaurants. I know it looks busy now, but this is nothing. In the Summer, they have a festival and it’s packed with people and carts the shopkeepers have pushed out into the street. There are games and music and fireworks! Oh…fireworks are…um…” He waved his hands around as if trying to think of how to describe it. “These big colorful lights in the sky. They kind of explode and make a loud noise, but they’re really pretty.”
Vanessa glanced up at the blue afternoon sky and tried to imagine bright exploding lights. Her face brightened. “That sounds amazing! I’ve never been to a festival before.”
“If you want, maybe I can bring you back for it someday,” Finral suggested with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
Vanessa smiled. “I’d like that.” Finral’s eyes widened for just a moment as if he was surprised, but then a beaming smile spread across his face.
“Great! It’s a date then!”
“A date?” asked Vanessa with a tilt of her head.
“Well…not a “date” date…” stammered Finral. “More like we’re just planning…on going…” Vanessa blinked at him. She still wasn’t quite sure what a “date” was or what was so important about it or why everyone felt the need to clarify if things were or were not one. She didn’t expect to get these answers from Finral however as he tilted his head at her almost as if he was as confused as she was. “Um…unless….you…uh….well, you wanted…to…?” His voice trailed as he gestured at her with fidgety hands.
It took Vanessa a few moments to realize what he was trying to ask her, and she lowered her voice and leaned a bit closer to him so, hopefully, the nosy shopkeepers and bustling townspeople wouldn’t overhear. “Oh well to tell you the truth, I don’t know what a date is so…”
“Oh,” Finral’s cheeks turned a bit pink as he added hurriedly. “Right. Right. Um…never mind.” Chuckling awkwardly, he turned away from her rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. Vanessa blinked at him wondering if she had said something wrong, but he stood up from the table and looked off down the busy street. “Do you want to walk around a little before we head back?”
Vanessa shrugged but smiled slightly. “Sure.” She wasn’t about to give up the chance to go exploring in a big, fancy town like Tota even if Finral was acting strangely.
*-*-*
Vanessa tried to hold back a wide smile as they took off down the street. She had never seen so many shops or people in her whole life, and she could scarcely decide where to look! She held herself back for fear of further embarrassing Finral in front of his neighbors who it seemed were already gossiping about them—glancing over and whispering as they walked by.
“Sorry about that,” said Finral quietly. “I guess I’m kind of notorious around here…” He chuckled but something almost sad passed over his eyes making Vanessa wonder if he was really joking or not.
Trying to imagine what kind of welcome she’d receive at the Forest of Witches if she ever tried to return there, she felt sorry for Finral and almost wanted to ask him why he had notoriety in his hometown—but she didn’t want to pry. Whatever it was, Finral shook it off immediately as if it was nothing and went back to telling her fun stories about the antics of the butcher’s cat or the trouble he had gotten into as a kid. She particularly enjoyed the anecdotes about how he had snuck into the Fine China Shop in disguise in order to buy a tea set after he had been banned for life or how he had once won a game of hide-and-seek with some of the local boys by portal-ing around the shelves at the bookshop.
When Finral wrapped up a particularly funny story about the time a dog had gotten lose during a festival and knocked over a cart of baked goods sending sweets flying everywhere, he paused chuckling almost sheepishly, “I’ve been talking a lot…sorry. Do you have a story, you’d want to share?”
“I don’t really have any good ones,” she said. It wasn’t really a lie. She didn’t have any stories from growing up in the Forest of Witches besides maybe some embarrassing ones about making her own “friends” out of her string magic so she wouldn’t be so lonely or staring helplessly out the window dreaming about one day getting out of that horrible place. But no one would want to hear about that. Vanessa would much rather forget about it herself.
She was about to apologize for not having anything to add to the conversation when she stopped abruptly her jaw falling a bit slack as she stared wide-eyed at carts and carts full of the most beautiful flowers in every size, shape, and color imaginable.
“Is this a Flower Shop like the Captain is always talking about?” she asked. Finral who was shuffling his feet a few steps ahead of her stopped and turned toward her nodding but she barely noticed as she made her way through all the flower carts exclaiming, “I’ve never seen so many before! I didn’t know there were so many different kinds!”
“There are more inside,” said Finral. “Do you want to see?”
Vanessa nodded excitedly as she followed him through the jingling door. Finral was right: there were even more flowers inside the shop in bright, colorful displays. Looking around the shop she could somewhat understand the Captain’s point about their hideout, but even the many vases of flowers they had were just a fraction of the flowers in this store. She could scarcely decide where to look when an elderly woman with grey hair and kind eyes peeked out from behind a counter.
“Finral, it’s good to see you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen more of you than just your hand,” she said with a laugh. “Come to pay your tab?”
“Well…I guess I can do that while I’m here, but um…” Finral began with an awkward chuckle.
“Who’s this?” asked the woman narrowing her eyes curiously. Vanessa shifted a little under her gaze unsure if she should answer or if the question was directed at Finral.
“This is Vanessa. She’s on my Magic Knight Squad,” he explained before turning to her and adding, “Vanessa, this is Mrs. Lavande. She owns this flower shop.”
“How do you do?” asked Vanessa a little shyly, but Mrs. Lavande’s wide smile put her at ease.
“Nice to meet you. I hope Finral isn’t being too obnoxious. How many bouquets of flowers has he given you?” Vanessa shuffled her feet with an awkward smile. She had lost track after the first dozen or so and honestly didn’t know.
“That’s no way to talk about your best customer,” protested Finral with a breathy laugh.
Mrs. Lavande put a hand on her hip. “My best customer who hasn’t paid off his debts. You owe me over 1000 Yul, you know?”
“Oh, is this where you get all your flowers?” asked Vanessa. It seemed almost foolish that it had taken her so long to make the connection though if she was being honest, she had never really given much thought to where all of those flowers were coming from.
“Most of them,” said Finral with a shrug. “Some are wildflowers. I know where a few of the best fields are so I go and pick them myself sometimes.”
“You will have to do that all the time if you don’t settle your debts. I might have to start charging you interest,” Mrs. Lavande said sternly but her mouth was turned up in the corners and her eyes seemed to be smiling.
“Alright. I’ll pay you, don’t worry,” said Finral. “But Vanessa has never been to a flower shop before so…”
“Oh well welcome, dear,” said Mrs. Lavande. “Feel free to take a look around. If you find anything you like, I’m sure he’ll pay for it.” She chortled teasingly, and Finral sighed.
“You’ve known each other for a long time?” asked Vanessa.
Finral nodded. “Yes, though mostly I just grab flowers through my portals these days so we don’t see a whole lot of each other.”
“Mostly these ones,” interjected Mrs. Lavande motioning to a fixture of pink and red roses, flowers Vanessa knew well from all the times Finral had given them to her. “I have to constantly keep it stocked since I’ll blink and all my bouquets will be gone.”
“Are they your favorite?” asked Vanessa suddenly intrigued. Since there were so many different options, why did he always decide on these ones?
“To give away, yes.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed curiously. “What do you like for yourself?”
Finral shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it, I guess. No one’s ever given me flowers…” his voice trailed with a soft chuckle. “But um… I like these ones.” He motioned to a bucket marked “Calla Lilies” full of tall white flowers with long curved petals.
“They’re beautiful,” said Vanessa with a gentle smile.
Finral blinked—his cheeks blushing again—before he said, “What do you like?”
Humming, Vanessa looked around. There were so many and they were all so lovely she wasn’t sure how she would ever decide when her eye was drawn to a cluster of bright yellow flowers, and she couldn’t help but smile. “I like these ones,” she beamed. “They’re so bright and cheery!”
“Yellow Roses,” Finral explained.
“Roses?” repeated Vanessa. “Like the pink and red ones you give me?” Finral nodded, and Vanessa tilted her head curiously. “Why do you never give the yellow ones?”
Finral’s cheeks turned red, and he looked away from her clearing his throat. “Well…” he began. “They all mean something different and…the yellow ones are for friendship so…” His voice trailed.
Vanessa swallowed. Something twisted in her chest, and her face fell. “Oh…” she said quietly turning away. “I see…” Friendship? Did he not want to be friends? Even though they were on the same Magic Knight Squad and had spent this whole afternoon together…he didn’t want to be friends?
“Vanessa…?” Finral began but was promptly cut off by Mrs. Lavande holding one of the yellow flowers out to Vanessa while giving Finral a pointed scowl.
“Here, dear,” she said. “On the house.”
A small smile returned to Vanessa’s face. “Oh thank you, but I couldn’t…please let me…” She began to dig through her bag for her coin pouch, but Mrs. Lavande cut her off.
“No. No. I insist, and if someone has to pay, I’ll just add it to his tab.” Mrs. Lavande chuckled. “I think that flower would look just lovely in your hair. May I?” she asked, and Vanessa nodded a little unsurely.
Mrs. Lavande gently tucked the flower into Vanessa’s hair folding the steam behind her ear. Vanessa could feel a blush rising in her cheeks, and she paused at the sudden display of maternal kindness and affection. She wondered if this was what it was like to have your mother do your hair. Growing up as she did in loveless isolation, she had no concept. Her eyes felt misty as she said, “Thank you.”
“There,” said Mrs. Lavande once she had fluffed Vanessa’s short waves a couple of times for good measure. “I wish I had a mirror. You look beautiful. Doesn’t she look beautiful?”
Vanessa turned to look at Finral who she had almost forgotten was there. He nodded at her with wide eyes and rosy red cheeks. “You look…lovely.” It seemed like a genuine compliment until he followed it up with, “I always wanted to go to a flower shop with a pretty girl. I guess I can cross that off of the bucket list.”
Sighing, Mrs. Lavande gave Finral a light tap on the back of the head. “Hopeless.” She shook her head. “He really is a nice boy—very kind, gentle. But he can be flirt sometimes—most of the time.”
Flirt. Vanessa knew this word. Her Majesty had often said it with malice when she told her horror stories about those “awful” men in the outside world. Vanessa didn’t want to believe that Finral was one of those types—after all, the horrible things the Queen had told Vanessa about men didn’t seem to be true about the Captain or Gordon—but if he didn’t want to be friends with her then…? Vanessa sighed.
“Maybe I should go…” said Vanessa. “Thank you, Mrs. Lavande.”
“Yes,” chimed in Finral. “Let’s get going…” He took a step toward the doorway, but Mrs. Lavande pulled on the back of his collar.
“You still have to pay your tab.”
Finral smiled sheepishly. “Right. Vanessa, go on ahead. I’ll be right there.”