Chapter 1.10:

With Guy’s sudden departure, I decided to lock up. I made my way home with a lot of unanswered questions in my mind. I tried to recall if Guy had ever mentioned a son before.

Maybe he didn’t know he had a son and that was a letter letting him know?

I got lost in thought and found myself back home without realizing. I checked the time.

A little after five… Lady Mina shouldn’t have roused yet. Maybe I can get everything ready and prepare an early surprise birthday celebration for her before she leaves?

I darted inside, placed the long box in my workshop, and headed to the kitchen. I washed up and started preparing a small cake.

Right. Now that the dough’s in the oven, I have a bit of time. I should run down and grab some other things.

I cleaned up the kitchen, left a note, and headed out to pick up the scabbard and some flowers.

After navigating through a few streets, I arrived at Mister Dapp’s leatherworking store. I saw Mister Dapp dusting inside. I gently rapped my knuckled on the window and gave him a wave.

He waved back and gestured for me to come inside.

“I take it you’re here to pick up your special gift?” Mister Dapp greeted with a warm smile.

“Ah, yes sir!” I said, a little embarrassed.

The middle-aged man started chuckling with his arms still crossed. “Well, lucky for you I always prepare orders in advance.” He pulled out a beautiful sky blue-colored box. He opened it and I couldn’t help but gasp.

“It’s… It’s beautiful! It’s even better than what I described to you!” I gushed as I traced the gold embroidery on the polished leather.

Mister Dapp nodded proudly. “Aye. That’s why I’m the best, lad.”

I gave him two thumbs up. “Without a doubt!”

He ruffled my hair. “I take it since you’re picking it up today, you’re planning to give your gift a little early?”

I nodded. “She suddenly came today and she’s going to be pretty busy next week. I don’t think I’ll be able to see her on her actual birthday so I didn’t want to miss my chance.”

“Young love.” Mister Dapp shook his head while smiling. “Here’s a little extra service for you, lad.” He brought out a silver-dyed silk ribbon. “I normally don’t offer an ornate box or decorations to my customers so… This’ll be our little secret.” He winked.

I looked at him with awe. “I don’t know what to say Mister Dapp… This was really nice of you. But…” I brought out my little money pouch. “I don’t have enough money to cover these.” I poured out all the money inside on the counter.

Mister Dapp shook his head. “It’s fine, lad. I’ll take the original fee we talked about.” He took fifteen silver. “Take the box and the ribbon as payment for the help you gave me last week to fix my store sign. All of us shop owners are grateful for the little things you do for us. You’re a good kid.” He smiled at me as he gave me back the rest of the coins.

I felt so happy and grateful to Mister Dapp that I couldn’t help but go behind the counter and give him a hug. “Thank you… truly.”

He patted my head. “Alright, lad. Make sure to drop by Miss Maddow’s shop later. A gift to a lady isn’t complete with a nice bouquet of flowers.”

I gave him a warm smile. I put back the scabbard and ribbon inside the box and left the shop. I gave Mister Dapp one last wave with my free hand before crossing the street to the flower shop.

Inside, I could see a slightly portly woman wearing a pink blouse spraying a light mist on the flowers in vases.

I rang her little bell outside. She looked at me and I went in.

“Good morning Miss Maddow!” I greeted the woman who was around the same age as Mister Dapp.

“Oh, good morning indeed, Adi.” Miss Maddow returned my greeting with a sweet smile. “I see you’ve been by Jim’s store already.” She said, eyeing the box in my hand.

I felt my cheeks turning red. “He told you about this?”

Miss Maddow giggled. “Oh, honey. No need to be embarrassed. I hope you don’t feel like we’re snooping. But all of us here, we think of you as our own son, you know?” She cupped my face in her hands. “We’re just looking out for you. We want to support you in finding your happiness.”

I nodded shyly at her. I felt a catch in my throat so I chose not to talk.

“Now, how about a nice bouquet of flowers for your little lady friend?” She offered as she went behind the counter to bring out some scented papers.

With the money I saved, I could probably get Lady Mina something fancier than just a rose… But I don’t want to scare her off with something too lavish…

I felt troubled. I looked at Miss Maddow who was staring at me expectantly. “Um… Could you help me pick something out? I don’t want to spook her.” I confessed.

She nodded in understanding. “I know exactly what you mean. Don’t worry dear. Leave it to me. Just tell me what you want as the base and then a little something about her.”

I suddenly remembered my dream. “Could you use lilies as a base? And uh… well, she’s a noble from the Roost. She’s really strong and brave. She aspires to be a Hero someday.”

Miss Maddow held a finger to her lips with her eyes closed, deep in thought. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. “I have just the thing.”

She started pulling out some sharp leaves and small white buds. From the back she pulled out some beautiful white lilies with a slight pink hue.

“She’s your first love, I gather?” Miss Maddow asked knowingly.

My cheeks flushed an even deeper red as I gave her a small nod.

“Well, nothing beats these kinds of lilies then to represent the purity of a first love.” She explained. “We’ll use these dark green ferns and baby’s breath to accentuate the pink hues of the lilies.” She arranged the bouquet together and wrapped it in a simple white scented paper and some twine. “This particular paper has been soaked in lily sap. That way the fragrance on the bouquet lingers.” She added as she handed me the flowers.

“It’s amazing, Miss Maddow. How much do I owe you?” I asked as I opened my money pouch again.

“Two silver is fine, dear.” Miss Maddow replied.

I was stunned for a bit. “But I thought your small bouquets are three silvers?” I held out three coins to her.

Miss Maddow took two silver and closed my hand for me. “Two silver is plenty.”

“That’s too much…” I protested weakly. “This is so beautiful. I can’t pay you so little for it.”

Miss Maddow thought for a while and then smiled at me. “How about this then, I give it to you for two silver and tomorrow morning, you come by for tea and tell me whether she liked it? I’d love to know whether nobles from other cities can appreciate my arrangements.”

I laughed nervously. “Really?”

“Really. Think of it as an early commission for some market research.” She winked.

I nodded at her and started heading out the door. “Thank you!”

She waved at me and I headed back home.

I was walking slowly, thinking about how grateful I was at everyone’s generosity when I remembered something.

“MY CAKE!”

I gripped the box and the bouquet tightly as I sprinted back home.

I slammed the door open and rushed to the kitchen to find the cake base resting on the table and Paul preparing some ingredients.

“Yo.” Paul greeted casually with a small wave of the knife in his hand. “I saw that your cake was done so I took it out.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I set aside the box and bouquet on the side table and slumped into the chair trying to catch my breath.

“Thought… the cake… was burning.” I panted.

Paul let out a laugh. “Lucky I woke up early to make breakfast then.”

I gave him a thumbs up, still slumped over. I looked up and Paul had moved to the side and was looking over the bouquet. He grinned at me. “Nice.”

I flushed red. “Yeah… I finished my gift earlier and decided to prepare an early birthday thing for Lady Mina.”

“Ooohhh. Where is it?” Paul asked, putting down the flowers.

I pointed to the basement door and he disappeared behind it.

I looked over at what he was cooking and lowered the flame. I washed my hands and took out some cream from the cooler box.

Simple white cream with mashed strawberries should be good.

I set out to work. After a few minutes Paul went back up with the sword in hand. “Hey! This is pretty good! I see you also got to mark it with your own insignia.” Paul pointed to the base of the hilt.

I grinned proudly at him. “Can you put it inside the scabbard inside that blue box?” I pointed as I scooped the strawberry cream into a piping bag.

Paul headed over, uncovered the box and let out a whistle. “Way to go the extra mile, little bro. This is the swankiest gift I’ve ever seen.”

He took out the scabbard and started appraising it. “Hey! This is enchanted! Must have cost you a lot.”

“What?” In my surprise, I squeezed the piping bag too hard and pink cream splattered unevenly over the cake. “Ah, crud.” I wiped my hands on the towel and approached Paul.

I tried to assess the scabbard but felt nothing unusual.

I guess I can only gauge things I make. Or is it only metalwork?

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“You didn’t know?” Paul asked in confusion. “You got this from Mister Dapp, right?” Paul thought for a while. “Well, he doesn’t really enchant his leatherwork. He probably asked Master Turnin to do it. That, or he bought enchanted materials before putting this together.”

I can’t believe Mister Dapp did that for me…

“What’s the enchantment?” I asked.

“Enhanced durability on the leather and a locator enchantment on the gold thread.” Paul answered. “Fairly common but pretty handy in Mina’s case. This should help the scabbard withstand the heat of the blade after she channels her fire magic through it. Plus, if it ever gets lost, Mina won’t have any trouble finding it.”

Man… I really owe Mister Dapp a lot.

“Hey.” Paul clasped my shoulder. “You can pay them back tomorrow. Just be grateful for right now and don’t over think things. Besides…” Paul gestured behind us. “You have a cake to finish.”