WHO MADE ME A PRINCE
chapter eighteen - cookies.

AT THE BASE. Arius met up with the others and they went to investigate that bakery they saw the last time. They were in a diamond formation, with Gunther at the front , Arius and Jasper in the middle and Cadell at the back.

A woman stood outside the bakery.

She had a broom in her hand and was collecting dust outside the bakery with it. She glanced at the children and beamed a smile at them.

"Welcome!! The bakery's open! we have everything a child would want! Candies , Cakes , Fresh Baked Breads And Many more fun treats!"

Cadell jumped up and down like a child and looked at Gunther for permission. Arius was about to say something but Gunther spoke first.

"Well , too bad we don't have any money with us today...."

"WH- Ouch." (Cadell)

Jasper elbowed Cadell in the stomach . The woman smiled at them. She put her broom aside the wall of the bakery and came a little closer to the boys. She crouched down to reach their heights.

"Such adorable little boys you all are. My bakery hardly ever gets any customers anyways. I have loads of extra candies and cakes left from yesterday and I made a bit too much today too. Sharing some won't harm us. Just seeing children smile gives me the best joy in the world." She said cheerily.

'I have a bad feeling about this...'

Gunther, Jasper and Arius signaled each other through their eyes.

'She's suspicious .'

"That's very kind of you, we'd love to but we need to go back home now." Arius smiled.

"Huh, Cad!?" Jasper yelled out as he turned back to see Cadell not standing behind the trio any longer. Gunther's face went pale and Jasper began to panic while looking around to spot the Azurette.

Arius grabbed Jasper's shoulder and gave him a look saying 'It's alright, calm down' The woman stared at them and said.

"If you're looking for the blue kitten with you..."

The trio made a confused expression before finally getting what she meant. The woman pointed at the bakery and smiled.

"..He seemed pretty happy about the free treats."

"That IDIOT! " Jasper shouted and marched into the bakery. Arius and Gunther followed behind. Within the suspicious building baked cookies of every kind layer the bakery counter. From white chocolate and macadamia nuts right through to sprouted grains and wheat germ, there really is something for everyone.

And among all the sweet aroma stood the Azurette frantically going from one side of the shop to the other.

The trio sighed in relief.

Jasper began hitting Cadell on his head and Gunther began scolding him for being so careless and almost giving them a heart attack. Arius observed the interior of the bakery and his attention came to a 'Click' sound from behind.

He turned around to see the woman standing in front of the door as if blocking the way out. Arius gulped as he became alert of his surroundings. The woman's smile was fixed on her face as she walked to the counter of the bakery.

"Now then , why don't you adorable kitties take all the sweets you want! It's free! And how about you take some home for your family as well?" Still smiling, the woman energetically spoke.

"Really!!? I'm sure Ruby and Eli would love to try some!"

Jasper again elbowed Cadell. He dragged him to a corner of the shop and whispered quietly.

"Are you dumb? you're supposed to be the eldest."

"But she doesn't seem bad, you guys are being way too protective."

The woman began "I see your parents taught you well, My name is Linda and I run this bakery. I understand why you'd be hesitant to receive treats from strangers, but I only recently opened a shop here and I haven't received any customers so I was just overjoyed to see someone come here.." Linda explained.

"Why would you even set up shop here?" Jasper asked.

The woman's expressions changed into a gloomy one. "Hehehe I'm new to Obelia , I was tricked by some people and in one or another way I ended up setting up shop wherever I could. Even in this depressing alley once people find out about my bakery I'm sure I'll get loads of customers. So if it's not too much to ask, please spread word about my bakery to your friends!" told Linda.

A short silence enveloped the room as the younger three decided whether to trust her or not. Arius was more focused on the door.

'The sound of 'Click'.. did she lock the door? but if that's the case she could simply threaten us now. Instead she's explaining her intentions. Are we really just overthinking , like Cad said? Maybe I've watched too many anime . She seems like those bubbly, optimistic characters that end up becoming the naive female lead.'

Cadell stepped forward . "Sure! we'll tell the others too! we'll bring them along next time. For now can we really take some sweets for them??" His eyes twinkled as he stared at the counter.

Linda chuckled, "I would be delighted."

Arius felt uneasy about this. 'What if there's a drug in the sweets that makes us fall asleep , that would be convenient for her. '

Cadell took a cookie from the many trays in front of him and started munching on it.

"IT'S SO GOOD!" Cadell yelled in delight.

"Are these really made by you??!" Cadell asked in shock.

Linda's smile grew bigger as she nodded at the question. Curious from Cadell's praise , Jasper and Gunther grabbed a cookie too.

They too enjoyed it and decided to take some for the others.

"Arion, you take one too, It's heavenly." Gunther said as he extended a tray of cookies towards him.

Arius thought about it for a while and decided to eat it. The cookies were dotted with chocolate chips. The surface is crackled as the earth is in late summer, softly golden and awaiting the rain. The cookie was sweet and crunchy.

A single bite lingered as you chewed it and now and then, a sweet, decadent pop of intense goo (a chocolate chip) melts in your mouth. It was simply amazing.

Arius took his time enjoying every bite.

The rest of them also wandered around the bakery putting something of everything in a bag to bring for the others. It was rather peaceful. They chatted with Linda for a bit, their suspicions died down with time.

They greeted her goodbye and were leaving the bakery when suddenly Arius remembered the 'Click' sound and instantly became alert again. But to his surprise, the door was open. Linda even waved her hand to them as they left the alley.

"So we really were overthinking." Gunther sighed in gloom.

Cadell proudly walked in the front, while the younger three followed behind in gloom.

"Congratulations ! We've successfully wasted a whole day. " Jasper started clapping.

"Well at least we got some great cookies and fresh bread for the others. Plus Linda is so nice I'd love for Ruby and Eli to meet her , since those two like cooking." said Gunther.

Their search ended a lot earlier today. They headed back to the base and discussed their finds with the others. All of them seemed excited to visit the bakery.

They decided to visit tomorrow. Arius remembered Claude's behaviour recently and decided to step out this time. While they were all sitting together Arius began

"I won't be able to come tomorrow. The Lord has some special guests coming tomorrow. So I've been assigned a lot more work than usual. "

"Sure it's no biggie! we'll save you some cookies!" (Cadell)

"It's fine , just enjoy yourselves tomorrow, I'll visit the bakery the next time." (Arius)

Jasper and the twins were staring at Arius.

"I'll be leaving now, I had fun." Arius said as he stood up and put his cloak back on.

"Already? but there's still time until sunset." Lifa asked.

"Now , I'm sure Arion has a lot of work to do for his Lord." Jasper said as he stood up as well, there was a hint of sarcasm in his words.

"I'll see you out." Jasper added.

When they got out of the building, Jasper began.

"I don't trust you."

"..."

"But.. I do appreciate you helping us with the search, even though you're completely useless."

"Oh. I'm useless?!"

Jasper pulled out his tongue and went back inside quickly before Arius could continue.

Arius was fuming with anger but he decided to head back instead of getting caught up in a useless fight with an idiot.

The twins watched as Arius left using teleportation.

"Well?" Jasper began as he entered the area where everyone was sitting. The twins were now the center of attention.

"We haven't been able to find out any news about any nobles in the capital having guests over."

"Hah, so he was lying " (Jasper)

"We can't be sure of that , Wins and Will maybe you guys need to look into it a bit more–" (Lifa)

"Magicians aren't common. And if a commoner or even noble has a good control in magic. They are likely to work in the Palace. " (Willow)

"But what if the noble Arion works for is not in the Capital?" Gunther asked.

"...."

"He teleports for a reason. If the noble was in the capital, he could just walk back to their mansion." (Gunther)

"Guys... let's stop being so suspicious of him. Yesterday, he was willing to be the bait to lure the slave traders out and then allow us to find their base. He's really trying to help us. It doesn't matter why. Now let's stop."

They all subtly nodded except for Jasper who insisted that someone who was not approved by Vincent was not trustworthy.

"Then we can ask him about Arion once he visits. He hasn't visited for a while now. If he was here , things would've been a lot easier." (Lifa)

The conversation ended there and the day went on as usual... Except for Arius... He teleported back to the Palace. And as he came back , he changed his eye color, height and clothing back to their normal ones. When he finished he started to walk towards the Ruby Palace but was startled by rustling in bushes.

'Is it... Athy ?'

But to his shock the figure that crawled out from the bushes wasn't that of a small girl but a grown man. It was.....