Eight

After traveling back into town and delivering the orders she’d finished, she made her way towards the end of Market District, where the bakery resided. When Kaida approached the building, she heard the most awful noise coming from inside. With her eyes wide and her insides feeling as if she’d been shaken around, she ran inside, almost dropping the basket of muffins in her hand. Cautiously, she cracked the kitchen door open and stood in the doorway. She was entirely unprepared for the sight before her. Standing in the kitchen was the group of dwarves, each armed with the sledgehammers she’d noticed on their hips, somehow seeming even bigger than they had that morning. 

The noise, she quickly learned, was caused by them taking turns plowing those very sledgehammers into the floor in pairs. She stood and watched, amazed by the amount of progress they’d already made in clearing out the rot in the flooring. 

It was so loud with them taking turns slamming into the floor, she didn’t hear Elkhean approach. He stopped at her side, standing close enough to her for their arms to touch. Leaning in, he spoke loudly to be heard over the commotion. “Not nearly as bad as I was thinkin’ it would be, Ms. Kaida. I say we should have your place up an’ goin’ in a matter of two months at the most.” 

Kaida turned to look at him, surprise lining her features. “Only two? Are you sure?”

“I believe so. Give or take a week or two, dependin’ on supplies and such. O’ course, it also depends on the counters cooperation while bein’ built,” he said, nodding at her.

“That seems so fast!” Kaida exclaimed. Remembering the basket tightly clutched in her hands, she looked up. “Oh! I brought these for you and the crew. They’re only banana nut chocolate chip muffins, so they’re not much. But at least they’ll be yummy.” She beamed when he smiled and gently took the basket from her hands. She felt her skin tingle when his hand brushed hers and it felt as if a meadow of butterflies now filled her insides.

“Thank you, Ms. Kaida. Even if they don’t like ‘em, I know I will. ‘Specially if they’re anythin’ like those cookies you made last time I was over to eat,” he said as he reached inside the basket for a muffin.

He bit into it, barely able to stifle his groan of delight as the sweet blend of the bananas and chocolate filled his mouth. Kaida laughed at him, still unused to the way he responded to her baking as if it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. Upon seeing and hearing their leader’s reaction, the other dwarves made their way to where Kaida and Elkhean stood. Curious, they each reached into the basket to procure a muffin, instantly enamored by what they found. They quickly devoured a muffin, followed by two. The crew devoured the muffins until even the smallest crumb was gone, the basket in Elkhean’s hands being left completely empty. 

The red headed dwarf, who introduced himself as Gromm earlier in the day, begged her to bring more back the next day and promised to bring her coin in exchange for enough to take him to share with his wife. She nodded, telling him that she would make sure to bring double the amount in the morning and all of the dwarves cheered. 

Elkhean seemed to thoroughly enjoy the scene in front of him, leaning his head in her direction. “Ya know, it’s been quite a bit since I’ve seen ‘em so excited over food. I don’t think you know what you’re gettin’ yourself into.” He laughed and handed her basket back to her. 

She laughed. “Maybe I don’t. Or maybe this is my way of convincing all of you to stick around after the job is done,” she mock-whispered as she arched an eyebrow.

Elkhean looked at her as if he were trying not to laugh, but after looking at her face for a moment longer, his large, booming laughter escaped. It was one of the most beautiful laughs Kaida could remember hearing from a male of any race, and she thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. 

🍪🍪🍪🍪

By the time Kaida finally returned to the farm for the night, the sun was well on its way to setting behind the mountains. Before leaving the bakery, she made sure to give Elkhean the extra key she and Eilaen had made for him that would allow him to let himself and his crew inside in the mornings that Kaida couldn’t get in due to baking and delivering orders for her customers. He assured her that they could manage it and told her to take her time. With a playful wink, he promised her the building would still be standing whenever she got there. Before locking up for the evening, she asked if he’d like to come to dinner the next night. When Elkhean accepted her invitation, Kaida did everything she could to hold in the squeal of delight that threatened to escape her.

Once inside the house, Kaida stopped in the den and stood in front of the fireplace. Eilaen had been kind enough to light it before leaving to meet with some of the townsfolk to deliver the vegetables she’d been able to keep growing, even with the snow on the ground. Once the heat had seeped down into Kaida’s bones, she went into the kitchen to warm up the soup Eilaen had left for her to share with Jareth, knowing she wouldn’t be home in time to cook dinner. Before the soup had even had the time to warm to a simmer, there was a knock on the door, followed by the sound of Jareth’s voice in the entryway.

“Kaida Lou! Are you here yet? I can smell something cooking and it’s not burnt!” the Fae male called out. 

“I’m in the kitchen and no! It isn’t burnt. I’m still heating it up, ya nut,” she replied. 

It only took moments for him to appear beside her, pulling out a stool from the island and planting himself on it. “So there’s a chance that even after all this, it could be inedible? Are you going to bake me something to replace it? I am starving, Kai. Starving. That menace pig had me running around more today than usual, and that’s saying something.” He paused for a moment to shuffle around on the stool and looked at her. “How’s the remodel coming at the bakery?” he asked. 

Kaida looked at him excitedly. “Great! I think it is, anyway. It’s only day two, but they’ve already made quite the improvement on pulling out the rotted flooring. I have to admit that when I came back after coming home for a bit, I was nervous because there was such an awful noise ringing out from inside. I didn’t know what was going on. Turns out they were just removing the flooring and there was nothing to worry about. I took some of my banana nut chocolate chip muffins for them to eat, and wouldn’t you know it? They thought the muffins were delicious! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone other than you eat my treats so quickly.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re giving away all my treats, Kaida. It would break my heart if I had to really share them–I mean you,” Jareth replied, overdramatically flinging his hand onto his chest in faux offense. 

“No, you goose. I would never give someone all of your treats. I’m just making sure that I bake enough to share with our new friends. That’s all it is. Besides, you know what they say, right?” she responded with a little extra sass.

“A friend in need is a friend indeed?” he asked.

“No!” she giggled. “Sharing is caring!”

The two of them talked about Kaida’s layout and design for the bakery as they dished their soup into their bowls and sat at the island with their food and ale. As they ate, a familiar sense of peace surrounded them. It wasn’t a sensation she’d been well acquainted with until they moved to Smallburrow. It was warm and calming, even with the icy wind and snow raging outside. Not for the first time, Kaida was thankful that they had the means to sit in warmth–both emotional and physical–regardless of where they were in their little farmhouse, especially when she remembered how a lot of the homes in her former town weren’t made for the intense weather like they were getting. 

She tried not to think about the life she had left back there—the sadness that she felt with anyone but Eilaen. Though everyone had been nice to her, nobody had tried to understand her in the ways Eilaen always had. Nobody ever had, not until they had moved here and she’d gotten to know the townsfolk and had been wrapped in love by Ms. Kestrel and Jareth. She’d always been seen as weird, as different. She was always “too bouncy” or “too loud” or “too much” for everyone. Even her own parents struggled with her uniqueness, the tension only growing thicker once she began to show her affinity for baking magic. 

She’d never forget the way her elvish family reacted when they found out that her power was one of yielding baking ingredients, as well as baking enchantment. After that, she’d only been laughed at and made fun of when with family unless there was an event where her magic was deemed as beneficial to them. She never told them how their teasing and words made her feel, but every time she was around them, she felt herself wanting to shrink into herself and hide. They made her not want to use it at all. It had taken her a long time to not be self-conscious of the beautiful skills her magic allowed her to wield. She was glad she was no longer in that frame of mind and was able to do what she loved without worrying about what anyone thought. Her magic was beautiful, it was comforting, and most importantly, it was uniquely her.

Jareth’s voice brought her back into the here and now when she heard him calling out her name, trying to get her attention. “You okay, Kaida? It seemed like I lost ya there for a minute.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m just tired. Between keeping up with orders and trying to get the bakery up and going, I haven’t been sleeping much. My brain is too busy running circles around the rest of me. You know how I am when I get excited about something. I can’t turn my focus off, no matter how hard I try,” she replied, laughing weakly as she tried to shake off the feelings of insecurity trying to rise up within her. She felt the overwhelming urge to shove her hands into a large wad of dough and find her peace again. 

Jareth nodded as he took another bite of his soup. “Did you ever decide what colors you wanted to paint the walls?” he asked.

“Not officially, but I think I’m down to an icy blue or a mint green. I think either color is going to look so lovely against the dark cocoa brown accent wall. Ms. Kestrel is supposed to be asking a friend of hers what color would be better for some kind of fling sheen? Or something like that. Honestly, I don’t even know, but you know how that silly gnome is when she gets something into her head.” She laughed again before making a mental note to ask Eilaen what it was that was supposedly important about the wall colors. 

Jareth laughed with her and patted her head before they began discussing the winter produce program that he and Eilaen had created to provide fresh produce to the townsfolk. Eilaen stayed so busy lately trying to ensure that her deliveries were made on time that Kaida barely saw her between making her own deliveries. Their conversation in the kitchen earlier made her realize how much she was missing having cozy nights inside the house together, just the two of them. 

As the sky grew darker and the snow finally began to let up, Jareth decided that it was time for him to go home. He hugged Kaida before putting his cloak and boots on, closing the door tightly behind him. Kaida poured her a second cup of tea, grabbed her favorite blanket from the basket sitting behind the couch, and picked up her book before she plopped herself down in her chair to cozy up and read. She’d barely gotten the second page read before her eyes began to grow heavy, falling asleep before Eilaen had even gotten home. 

Nine

By the time they’d reached the two-week mark in their renovations, Kaida was more than impressed by how quickly Elkhean and his crew had made progress within the bakery. They’d already managed to clear out every rotten board in the floor and laid the new ceramic tiling Kaida had picked out. As of that morning, they had begun the process of tearing out the walls, starting with the long wall that the stove and sink would be placed along. 

“Hey there, dwarf-chahos!” A chorus of groans filled the room. “Dwarf-chahos is out okay. I’ll figure this out eventually. Anyway, I’m back! I have a new flavor of cookies for you guys to try out!” Kaida yelled as she walked through the kitchen. 

She had been able to hear the loud muttering from one of the dwarves in the kitchen before she’d been able to pull the front door closed. At the beginning of the remodel, she would have slowly crept into the kitchen, but now, she recognized this for what it was–the sound of a hangry dwarf. The moment the kitchen door opened and she stepped halfway into it, the room grew silent, even before they caught a whiff of what the basket in her hands held inside. She lifted the basket and all six dwarves cheered, laying their tools down to walk over to where she was standing. 

“New recipe, men! Tell me what you think,” she said as she passed the basket around the room. 

The groans that came from each of the dwarves paved the way for the smile that formed on Kaida’s face as she watched them devour the entire basket of its contents in less than five minutes. After the crumbs were wiped from their beards and dusted from their hands, a chorus of gruff voices calling out “thank ya, Ms. Kaida”. With a smile, she performed a curtsy before laughing so hard she almost fell over. She dropped the basket down on the floor near the exit and walked around the room as she inspected their work while trying to stay out of their way. 

“You have all been so busy! I’m so impressed. Ya know, Elkhean, when you told me that you thought you could get this finished in two months, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to do it. There was just so much work that needed to be done. It seemed almost impossible and if Eilaen would have let me, I probably would have just chosen somewhere new. But no, she encouraged me to keep pushing on here when we hired you fellas, and I am so glad she did! I just want to thank you all for all of the hard work you’ve put into my bakery! Can I… Can I just keep you forever? Because I’m pretty sure I have decided you’re my family now.” Kaida asked before she could stop herself. As soon as the words had left her mouth, her mind began reeling.

Anxiously, she bit her lip as looked around the room, half expecting them to refuse for one reason or another. Instead, she was met with smiling eyes with each face she glanced at. Elkhean was the first to break, his loud, booming laugh cutting through the silence. He was soon joined by the laughter of the other dwarves. Kaida was the last to laugh, feeling at home and comfortable with the group of dwarves she’d quickly grown to love and view as family. 

“Ms. Kaida, if you want to keep us, then keep us you shall,” replied a dwarf named Bronn as he clapped a hand on her shoulder. The gesture was almost hefty enough to knock her over, but his firm grasp held her steady. 

A melody composed of the sounds of agreement came from the other five dwarves, filling Kaida’s heart with warmth and love. But none of their ‘yeses’ meant as much to her as Elkhean’s did. They’d spent a lot more time together than she had with the other dwarves. After weeks, she had finally been able to pick up on some of his quirks and cues. It was a feat she hadn’t been certain would happen when she’d first met him, even though she knew in her heart she could wear anyone down–even him. She smiled at him, not expecting her heart to begin to patter quickly when he returned the gesture before turning back to the dwarves.

“Let's get back to work! We’re on a deadline here!” he yelled as he winked at Kaida while picking his oddly normal sized hammer up to begin working on reconstructing his section of the wall. 

By the end of the day, they’d managed to completely tear down the long wall and had it mostly back up with fresh, rot-free wood. As Kaida stood back and looked at it, she was flooded with emotions and wished Eilaen had been able to come with her to see what she saw. In the very center of the wall, the crew had hung a hand carved sign that said, “Kaida’s Place”, painted in the prettiest ice blue she’d ever seen, the details standing out beautifully against it by being painted the same dark chocolate shade that matched her accent wall in the lobby.

Elkhean snuck up behind her, something he had begun doing once he realized even her elvish hearing couldn’t always pick up the sound of his steps and put his hand on her shoulder. “Ya like it?” he asked. His question was laced with something that didn’t match the confidence he typically exuded. If Kaida didn’t know better, she would have thought that he had asked for her approval and was nervous for her answer.

“I really do. It’s beautiful. Who painted it?” she asked as she turned to look at him, though something inside of her told her that she already knew the answer just based on his overall expression of pride and anxiety.

“I did, Kaida. Seemed like somethin’ needed to go on that wall an’ I couldn’t think o’ a better thin’ than a sign with your name on it. As I was workin’ on it, I remembered all the times I heard you mentioning how the brown and blue would look good. I believe your exact words were that they would be ‘lookin’ lovely together’, if memory serves me right. It all just came together after that. I was even thinkin’ we could make a big sign to hang outside the buildin’ for ya to match, if ya want us to,” he replied, staring deeply into her eyes.

She could have almost sworn she saw an emotion held in them that she hadn’t seen before. Before she could figure out what she had seen, their moment was over. With another small smile, he turned around and rejoined the crew as they finished boarding up the wall. Words escaped Kaida for the rest of the afternoon and she made herself busy in the lobby with arranging the table and chairs, as well as the shelves and glass cabinets that had been delivered earlier that day. She tried to busy her mind with things other than the dwarf leader in the next room, but he never strayed far from her thoughts. As she worked, she slipped into daydream after daydream–each of them revolving around him and her in the future, together. Always together. 

By the time she decided she was done for the evening, she was able to stand near the door and see the dining area she had envisioned for so long as it formed before her eyes. Now that she had the tables and chairs, she had the dimensions she needed to order the tablecloths. The countertop and hot chocolate table that she was going to put along the cocoa wall would be custom built the next week whenever Elkhean and the crew received the cabinetry supplies–it was going to match her counters and island in the kitchen–and her register would arrive any day now. She still needed to order the curtains, dishes, hot cocoa machine, and faerie lights to line the windows. She pulled a scrap of paper from her dress pocket and jotted those things down, knowing she wouldn’t remember otherwise.