Chapter 29
Prin's POV
The gardener led us both to the room where the cake had been taken from the building. It was only the three of us, which made me feel a little more comfortable. I didn't care too much that we were still able to see the party, and thus they could see us. I knew that the rest of the village would be on the gardener's side if anything happened, but I took it that he was trying to comfort us by having an audience. It was somewhat private. If someone was on the other side of the wall, just hidden out of my sight, I was sure that someone could hear.
"Now, I do believe that we have something very important to talk about." The gardener couldn't have looked more awkward if he tried. It was as though he was trying to be serious, but he really wasn't the type. It was as though the entire village wasn't used to being serious. Maybe this was Darman's words getting to me. I wanted to relax, and I thought that I was doing a pretty good job at trying to be casual, but I really wasn't sure. I didn't know if I was a good actress in any way, shape, or form.
"I suppose you know what happened?" Sarphi asked hopefully, a rather adorable sheepish grin coming to her face. "I'm really hoping that's the case." I was on the same boat.
The gardener sighed and nodded. "I am aware of what happened. To be honest, I had been told that there was something wrong several hours ago. That is why I asked where Ka was and wished for her to come back here. I wasn't sure of what had happened."
I nodded slowly, trying my hardest to be respectable. "She genuinely thought that she was playing a game, I think." Once more, I didn't know if I was any good at lying.
Sarphi chimed in once more, which told me I wasn't very good at lying. "It was really fun to hang out with her, she came up to us nearly as soon as we got to the party and asked us to play dolls with her." That wasn't too much of a lie, just twisting the truth.
I nodded. "Yeah, then Niko got sick, and we were worried about him. We still don't know what happened."
The gardener nodded and waved a hand. "I know what happened. Though, it is rather unfortunate that the cake had to face the back end of this issue." I didn't recognise that phrase, but I guessed that it meant that the cake was no longer edible or available.
"We brought another one?" I said with a hopeful expression. "Maybe that'll be enough to tide everyone over? We could try and decorate it in time, or maybe get something else to go with it?" I was a little lost when it came to what we could actually do to fix this besides hurriedly decorate.
"No, no, that would be far too boring," the gardener disagreed, voice getting a little more worried than it had been a few moments ago. "They will think that Ka had done something wrong, to warrant a punishment."
I couldn't help laughing. "My father locked me in a prison under the ground as a punishment. I would've adored a poorly decorated cake as a replacement."
Sarphi nodded in agreement. "I don't even want to begin with where my mother would've started with punishment."
The gardener looked absolutely horrified by our casual discussion of childhood punishments. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "I-I just got the stick," he mumbled under his breath. "Anyway, I don't know what to do."
"Maybe we could let Ka decorate it?" I suggested after a few moments of silence. "She said she was interested, and it might be fun for her and the other children."
"Oh, but the sugar," the gardener wailed as though it was the worst idea he'd ever heard. "It'll be so full of sugar; the children will be flying."
"I don't see anything wrong with flying," Sarphi said playfully.
I gave her a small nudge and shook my head., "They can only add as much sugar as we give them sir," I pointed out. "Maybe we could add some fruit on top as well? I'm sure that they would enjoy the colours." I didn't like the way this conversation was going, he seemed to grow even more uneasy.
"But what if the parents don't like it? The adults I mean. We would need to get the fruit, and I'm sure that the children might not enjoy the idea of fruit on cake. I mean, fruit's healthy, right? Cake isn't for sure."
Sarphi and I were quiet for a few moments. I wasn't sure if he was actually hearing himself, or if he was just worrying over nothing.
"Then, leave that part to us," Sarphi said confidently. "We're the bakers here, I'm sure that we can think of something. Just give us..." She trailed off for a few moments. "Thirty minutes?"
"Thirty?"
"Twenty," she quickly bargained. "We'll have a brand-new cake ready for you and Ka."
"I'm trusting you girls," he said in a stern voice, staring deep into our souls. "Don't disappoint me."
We nodded and Sarphi pulled me out of the room.
"What are you doing?" I whispered harshly into her ear, letting my worry show full force. "We don't know where to get fruit from, if Ka wants to join in, whether Queenie has more planned, or even what's happening because of the original cake."
"I know." She continued to tug me along, going on her tiptoes to look over people's heads, though I was sure she couldn't see over them even with the added height. "I'm trying to save all our skins; he was going to ramble himself into a frenzy."
I silently agreed with her before changing the direction we were going in, heading towards Ka, who sat unhappily with the other children. They all had their heads resting on their palms, frowning down at the floor.
"What's got you all so down?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful. "You're just minutes away from cake." I put my free hand on my hip.
"Minutes?" Ka asked suspiciously. "What happened to it? What cake?"
"The cake that you're going to help us decorate," Sarphi chimed in with a grin. "We told everyone that you guys would make a beautiful cake, because it's your birthday. We wanted to have something 'Ka', instead of what your father wants."
Ka's expression brightened up and she nodded. "Okay, let's do it." She looked at the other kids, probably expecting them to be as eager as she was.
The other children looked unsure, but they stood as well. "We're not adding dirt," said a young boy. "Or worms, or insects, or anything."
Ka seemed somewhat disappointed, but she nodded a little. "Yeah, I don't think that dirt would complement the flavour of cake at all." She tapped her chin a few times before walking in the direction of the room we just left.
Her father wasn't there, which I was grateful for. Sarphi ran off to get the decorating materials, which he then fed through the window of the hall, attempting to appear inconspicuous. It would be a little odd for her to race through the hall carrying all kinds of decorating utensils, given everyone assumed the cake was all decorated and had been since the event started.
Within a few minutes, the kids had created a monstrosity. It was colourful and looked very sweet, but there was still some fruit acting as a border around the edge. I thought that it looked pretty cute, but maybe I just had a strange sense of aesthetics.
I rushed to get the gardener and told him it was ready; within two minutes the candles were blown out and the cake was being distributed amongst the guests.
The corner was a very comfortable place, I had learned that after scurrying away there due to not wanting the attention that the two of us got after people began indulging in the cake. Sarphi could drink it up like it was second nature, whilst I'd rather hide from it at all costs.
"So, what's going to happen now?" A deep voice said from beside me, causing me to jump and shriek a little.
I put my hand on my heart and glared at Darman, who had somehow creeped up on me, even if I was standing in the corner. I narrowed my eyes on him, I didn't think that he did that in an honest way. That meant that I suspected that he had some kind of illusion magic up his sleeve. "What do you mean?"
"Don't act dim," he said and shook his head, leaning on the wall beside me. "What will happen now that Queenie's plan failed?"
I stuttered a few times before shrugging, smoothing out the fabric of my dress. "I don't know," I said quietly. "I really, really don't know. I haven't seen her since she was lurking around. Maybe she's planning something else?"
"Or maybe she's at the farm, plotting more mischief?" Darman inquired in a colder tone., "You haven't succeeded in anything, you just survived to live another day, maybe."
"I'd consider surviving a success," I argued. "Besides, what've you done? I didn't see anything dramatic around here happening. There was no grand reveal of what actually happened."
"There'll be payment to keep mouths shut." Darman shrugged. "But I did help you out. Whether you thank me for it or not."
"I still don't understand you, so I'll also be in the dark on that stance too." There was a moment of silence. "What's going to happen now?"
"You live for another day. It gives her another chance to come for you." He crossed his arms. "But there's already been some people hit in the fire, too many. Just make sure you keep the injuries low and get rid of the threat as soon as possible."
I was so distracted by his dramatics that I didn't notice him leaving.
"And how exactly am I meant to do that?"
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