The Baker's Assistant (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Kayla waved back at her brother, tears coming to her eyes as she watched him and the love of his life disappear into the great beyond. Soon, however she found herself standing in front of Norr as the wolf looked at her with a bowed head and guilty expression.

"I warned you, Norr." She said softly, unsure of what else to say to the wolf who had taken her brother away so cruelly. "I tried to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I... I only wanted to keep the others from going through what I went through..." Norr nearly whispered. "The hunters... townsfolk helped them find the girl I was sweet on... But I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was just so angry..." He looked down at his hands, which in his shadowy state seemed to glow faint red like blood. It was a curse of his own guilt it seemed, and he would not be at peace. "When Eli came to get Lucy, I... I wanted to stop him but I got scared. I didn't even realize what I'd done until I was on the ground dying..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It isn't up to me to forgive you." She murmured softly. "It's up to that little girl. One day, maybe she will. Right now, she had to figure out what her life is now that her Da is gone."

Kayla knew that Norr would suffer, but perhaps one day he might be able to move on. His deed had ripped a family apart and they were still trying to figure out just what their new normal was. She watched him for the longest moment, wishing that she could take back the moments that had happened. She wanted to save her brother, take his place, but that was just wishful thinking.

"Ruben will care for Telma for the rest of his days." She murmured softly, knowing that his sister was the only family that he had. "They'll be safe. I promise you that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know... I only hope she can forgive me for being an idiot and leaving her and the kids." Norr looked up and met her eyes. "I'll do whatever I can here to make sure Lucy's safe... it's all I can do..." With that, he faded and the warm feeling of sun on Kayla's cheek woke her gently to find the blizzard had given way to a sunny morning and clear skies.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla slowly opened her eyes, the smell of bread baking reaching her nose as she noticed that the sun was out. Sitting up in bed, she looked around the room and noticed that Aleister was gone. That must have been why she smelled bread baking. Crawling out of bed, she made her way into the bake house and saw a plate of freshly baked scones sitting on the counter.

"Are these for Lucy?" She asked him, taking a cookie from a tray and nibbling on it.

Whatever had happened last night, Kayla felt hungry for the first time in days. Her belly grumbled in hunger and Aleister had been the one that had brought her back into the land of the living.

 

[KieranSoares]

"An' Leon if 'e wants any. Plenty there," Aleister nodded as he pulled a rack of rolls from one of the ovens. "I'm gonna open up jus' fer the afternoons this week, I think." After he set the rolls on a shelf in the front room, he returned to Kayla and paused before her. "Yer lookin' a lot better this mornin'. No' so pale."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I slept well." Kayla said as she went to gather her cloak from the peg on the wall and then gathered the plate of scones. "I'm going to see Leon this morning. I'll be back to help you this afternoon."

She needed to go back to doing normal things and a normal schedule. That meant that she wanted to come back to work as soon as possible. Eli wouldn't have wanted them to wallow in their pity. He would have wanted them to continue on with their lives and to be happy. She intended to make sure that Leon did just that.

"Thank you, Aleister." She said softly as she turned to leave the bakery, walking to Elijah's home.

It was warm and tidy inside as she opened the front door. Lucy was playing quietly on the floor as she looked up to see who was walking in the front door. Her dark eyes lit up when she saw her aunt, standing to hurry across the floor to hug her around the knees.

"Hello, little love." Kayla said softly, running her fingers through her dark curls. "Where's your uncle?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Leon stepped out from the small kitchen then, looking terribly worn out. His hard and serious facade had given way to the weakness he felt without his brother around. "Righ' here," he murmured, having just gotten done cleaning for the first time.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla looked towards her exhausted brother, feeling her heart break just a little bit for him as she guided Lucy towards the kitchen and set the plate of scones down on the table. She handed one to Lucy without a word, watching as her niece smile slightly and scampered off to her room to enjoy her treat.

"How are you doing?" Kayla asked as she found the plates in the kitchen and placed a scone on one for Leon before she made a plate for herself and took a seat. "Have you slept?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure y'know th'answers t'those questions..." Leon sighed as he sat down, finding he had no real want to eat for the moment. "I'm no' lettin' myself fall apart, if tha's what yer worried about..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know how you feel." Kayla said softly as she took a bite of her scone, unsure of how to talk to her brother about what they had lost. "Lucy can come and stay with me for a while if you need. I know it's hard to move in here to care for her. You need time to think through everything."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Th'last thing I want t'do right now is think, Kayla." Leon shook his head. "People keep telling me I ought t'take time fer myself an' think... but I don' want t'think about it. Thinkin' won't change anythin', it's only a waste o' time."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You'll have to think about it sooner or later, Leon." Kayla said softly as she stared at her broken brother. "Because Lucy will want to know about her father. You'll need to be strong enough to talk to her."

It seemed to everyone that Leon would be raising Lucy now. He hadn't said anything to dispute that idea and after he had moved into Eli's home, it seemed that he was going to do everything possible to give her the life that she needed.

"I saw him last night." She murmured softly, knowing that her brother might think she had lost her mind. "He and Lucille. They were dancing on the bank of a loch. He looked so happy."

 

[KieranSoares]

For the first time since the actual moment of Eli's death, Kayla would see tears fill Leon's eyes as he seemed to crumble once more. He let his head rest in his hands as his body tensed to fight back the emotion and tears. "Don' tell me tha'..." He whispered. It hurt too much to think about because Leon would have to admit Eli was dead in order to do so.

A knock sounded on the front door and Leon rose, composing himself quickly. The den and dining area were in full view of the door, so Kayla would be able to see when Leon opened the door that Dazu was there. The two men stared at one another for a long moment- they'd never talked much thanks to their language barriers- before Dazu held out a wicker basket of various food and tribal goods in silence. Leon slowly took the basket and Dazu turned to leave. Leon stepped forward as if to stop him, but he quickly halted himself and kept his silence.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Leon..." Kayla said softly, reaching for her brother when a knock sounded at the door.

She watched as Leon stood and answered it, Dazu standing there with a basket of goods for them. It broke her heart as they stared at each other for a long moment before Dazu turned to leave and Leon fought with himself to stop the man that he loved.

"Dazu." Kayla called, doing it for herself as she stood from the table and made her way to the door. "Please come in and have some scones with us."

She glanced at her brother, her slender hand resting on his arm to give him strength. He needed all the strength that he could get these days. He had lost something so important to him and she refused to let him lose the love of his life either.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dazu turned back as Kayla called out to him, and he looked to Leon once more. All Leon could do was look down at the ground, unable to hold his gaze anymore. But Dazu did return to them. Leon set the basket on the table and in a moment of weakness, he finally turned back to the Lion and clung tightly to him as a fresh wave of tears overtook him. Dazu didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the grieving man, laying his head against Leon's. He murmured softly to him in Erygonian, and even if Leon had an even weaker handle on Erygonian than Dazu had on English, anyone could hear that they were words of comfort and love.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla went to find Lucy to give the two the privacy that they needed. She found the little girl in her room, crying as she looked at the little shelf of all the things her Da had brought back to her from his travels. Kayla couldn't even begin to understand how Lucy felt, but she knew that the little girl was aching.

"He loved you a lot, Lucy." Kayla said softly as she sat down on the ground beside her niece, gathering the little girl tightly in her arms. "And you know he hasn't gone far away. He's always going to be watching over you."

Lucy cried against her shoulder, clinging to her as her little sniffles grew in intensity. There weren't words that could soothe her right now. She simply needed her family to support her until she could stand on her own two feet again.

"It's alright, little one. It's going to be alright." She whispered over and over again until Lucy cried herself to sleep on her shoulder.

 

[KieranSoares]

After a long while, Leon and Dazu came in and Leon carefully took Lucy from Kayla's arms to go tuck her into bed. When he returned, he sat down again at the table with Kayla and Dazu. He looked to his little sister and murmured, "I... I think I understand now... why y'tried so hard t'get me t'overcome my fear..." Of course he meant his fear of pursing his love of Dazu. "I think it's time I did... I don' know what'll 'appen t'morrow 'r anythin' that'll happen in th'future. So I oughta find happiness when I can, an' hold on." He reached out to take Dazu's hand then, taking the Lion by surprise but also melting his soft heart.

"If no' jus' fer me... then fer Lucy an' th'family. I need t'be strong... an' it's easier t'be strong when ye've got someone supporting you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're sure then that you want to raise Lucy?" Kayla asked her brother gently. "She can come and live with me once the baby is born."

He had no experience raising a little girl save what he had done when she was a child and when Eli needed help for a day or two. It would be a whole new world being the sole caregiver. She could see how much her brother loved that little girl and she knew that staying together would be the best for both of them.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think we need each other..." Leon nodded slowly. "If anythin'... I need her. Eli left 'er t'me when 'e gave me tha' locket, jus' like Lucille did when she gave it t'him. Besides, ye've got yer own t'raise before long, an' I can get 'elp from Ma an' Da if I need it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I think that would be for the best." Kayla said softly, squeezing her brother's hand gently. "You two make a good team. Always have."

Life would be different for Lucy now. No longer was Leon just the fun uncle that would cause mischief with her. He was now her father. There would be tears and anger, struggles as they both tried to come to terms with their new little family, but she was sure that Leon could handle anything that came his way.

"Let me make you some dinner before I go home. You need to eat something, Leon." Kayla said softly as she stood from the table, taking Dazu's basket and the leftover scones into the kitchen. "And no arguments. You have a little girl to think about now."

 

[KieranSoares]

Leon and Dazu exchanged glances as Kayla spoke, and however weak, Leon managed a tiny smile. He'd make it.

Both Dazu and Leon soon entered to help Kayla and they would sit down to a meal together before both Dazu and Kayla left and Dazu walked her home on his way to the Erygonian village.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla thanked Dazu as he walked her to her door and she kissed his cheek as if she were her brother already. She had hope for Leon, especially now that Dazu was in his life for a long while. She watched the wolf go before she entered her house. She was surprised to see the fire burning brightly in her hearth, the house warm and cozy. Someone had taken time to clean up a little bit for her and then she saw the sweet cookies sitting on her wooden table.

"Aleister." She murmured to herself as she hung up her cloak and entered the house, a cookie in her hand as a warm feeling centered in her chest.

 

[KieranSoares]

It seemed Aleister had just left before she arrived, having put most things in the den and kitchen in order. He'd also left her the bread she'd usually have bought and a note letting her know it was him who'd come by and that she didn't have to come by the shop if she wanted to skip the cleaning.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was touched by the idea that Aleister had spent his precious time making sure that she was alright. He made sure that she had food, that her house was in order, and that she rested. It seemed that she was much more than a friend to him. She just wished that her heart and mind were in the same place. He deserved someone that could love him fully, but her heart was still with her lost Gale.

She ate a light dinner before she went back to the bakery. Entering the space, she hung up her cloak and stepped into the bake house to help him with the nightly cleaning.

"Thank you for the bread, Aleister." She said with a smile on her lips as she went to an oven and started to clean off the excess dough.