The Baker's Assistant (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Kayla had always been doted on by all of her aunts and uncles. She supposed it had to do with the fact that she had been born in the middle of the war that they all felt it important to protect her. Durban was no exception and she hugged her uncle tightly as he greeted Aleister with a nod and a smile in his direction. She was quickly discovering that Aleister knew more of her family than he was letting on.

 

[KieranSoares]

The feast was lighthearted and warm in spirit, and it was after the dishes were cleared and the tables were moved to the sides of the hall that the musicians that Brogan had commissioned began to play some Invernessian favorites with only the occasional slow song in between. Aleister seemed happy, but still nervous and out of place as he sat with Kayla at one of the tables at the side.

 

[heartofcourage]

It wasn't long before little Lucy came scurrying out of the dancing crowd and tugged on Aleister's hand with a bright smile. Eli had bought her a new dress for the evening, one that was a festive green color. Her little eyes were wide and excited and Kayla had to laugh as she glanced towards the tall and slightly imposing baker.

"Seems like someone is intent on making you her first dance of the night." She teased him.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister looked down at Lucy with the most conflicted expression. He didn't want to disappoint her, but he was terrified. "I, uh... I s'pose I could..." Aleister nodded slowly. He looked up to see Eli come out of the crowd to find Lucy, and seeing what the little girl wanted, Eli smiled and nodded to Aleister to let him know it was fine by him.

So Aleister followed the little ball of energy out to the dance floor and soon, she was standing on the tops of his boots as he showed her how to step. He knew a basic dance, but it was enough.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla found it charming the way that Aleister swallowed his nerves to dance with Lucy. The little girl was smiling so wide, feeling grown up just like her other cousins. When the dance was over, she shyly curtsied before she scurried off to find her grandfather to pull him onto the dance floor. Kayla was still smiling as Aleister came back to her side, a soft laugh leaving her lips.

"You are very sweet for dancing with her, Aleister." Kayla said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. "She'll remember that for the rest of her days."

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister couldn't help smiling back at Kayla, taking both her hands. "An' 'ow about you?" He murmured. "Would y'like t'dance?" He'd never imagined he'd be the one asking, especially not asking her. "I mean, after all... wha' kind o' gentleman would I be if I didn' dance with my date, aye?" He felt a little... strange at saying that. He only hoped she knew he meant date in a casual way.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla felt her cheeks burn a dark crimson as he asked her to dance. She loved dancing, but with her growing belly, she felt clumsy and awkward. Glancing out at the floor for a moment, she admired the way that Annie moved with David, her perfect round belly not hindering her in any way. Suddenly...she felt so self conscious, but since she had been the one to pester Aleister into coming, she knew she couldn't say no.

"A dance would be lovely." Kayla said as she took his hand and let him pull her out onto the floor.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister was slow and incredibly gentle with her. Being so close to him, she could see all the care he took not to let his size or his nerves get in the way of being the best gentleman he could for her. His dance step wasn't completely perfect, but he certainly didn't step on her toes or get in the way of her own steps. As they danced, several pairs of eyes were upon them. Some were of interest while a particular handful were suspicious and a little cautious. Those, of course, were Durban, Boar, Eli, and Leon.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You four look as if you're ready to pounce." Marri said with a grin on her face as her husband finally looked at her with that serious look of a man watching out for his children. "Let the girl have some fun with a dear friend without watching their every move."

"He's very kind to her." Emma said simply as she rocked a tired Lucy in her arms, watching her youngest dancing with a man that would have moved heaven and earth for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"'E is," Boar nodded slowly. Unlike usual, he was actually the least concerned. He knew Aleister and how the man operated and he knew it better than Durban did. Boar knew Aleister was an honorable and kind man, and had nothing but the best in mind for Kayla. Still, old habits died hard and he still watched over his little girl like a hawk. Eli and Leon only knew Aleister from one night at dinner, and Durban, though he wasn't nearly as worried as the boys, still worried for his niece.

"'E might be, but if it makes one wrong move, I'll 'ave 'is head," Leon growled quietly. Eli didn't need to say anything to let it be known that he felt the same.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Caerleon Bear." Emma scolded her son, looking over at him as Lucy nestled against her shoulder with a thumb firmly between her lips. "Go dance with your cousins and stop spying on your sister."

She motioned across the floor to where Kate sat talking to Elise and a few of their close friends. Leon knew that his mother would not put up with his nonsense and she watched him like a hawk as he and Eli grumbled, but stood and did as she asked.

Kayla noticed the care with which Aleister danced with her around the floor. He was very sweet and always kind and he actually made her smile.

"I have to confess that next to Annie I feel like some kind of sea monster." Kayla said in a low whisper, again sharing her secrets with her best friend. "Thank you for showing me that I still have some sort of grace trapped in this bloated body."

 

[KieranSoares]

Leon sighed almost silently at his mother sending him away, "Yes, ma'am..." So he went over to join his cousins and was quickly distracted by Kate, whom was probably Eli and Leon's favorite along with Rho and Sam. Eli soon joined them as he knew Lucy would be fine with Emma.

Aleister smiled down to Kayla at her confession, and he leaned in to whisper, "Well, I think yer easily jus' as, if no' more beautiful than she is, but it's not fair t'compare two women tha' look completely different, aye?" Annie did have Ghis features, but she was the only one of any of them who also had Monaghan blood, and for that, she could always be picked out among Brogan's children. However, among Boar's children, each one of them shared certain features from the Campbell side that made them distinct from Brogan and Julia's children.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I think you might be biased." Kayla said with a laugh as he told her that she was just as beautiful as Annie. "If you agreed with me, you might lose your baking partner."

Aleister was so completely different from Gale. Aleister was shy, kept to himself, and was much older than herself. Still, when she was with him, she felt that same comfortable feeling that she got with Gale. He made her laugh, cared about her, and she could talk to him easily. Being with him and working at his side certainly helped the lonely months to go by faster.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Biased maybe, but I really mean it, lass," Aleister assured her softly. He felt his heart leap at her every smile, and for the first time, he forgot his nerves and relaxed. He danced with her as often as she liked, and even talked freely- well, listened more like- to anyone who approached them without getting nervous. Both of them received ample compliments on the baked goods and Aleister, being the smart businessman he was, had made sure to leave a sign by the pastries with the shop's location to bring in business from people who might not have known he was there.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was resting at her spot as Aleister talked to a few of the wolves from the towns just outside of Inverness. He seemed more at ease and comfortable in his own skin as the night wore on. Ruben was talking to him about setting up a stand in their little village, his twins shyly agreeing as they met the man that they thought hung the sun and moon. Ruben's lovely wife, Telma, stood at his side, her white fur almost sparkling in the lights as she held both of her children close to her side. Their other little ones were far too young to come that evening, but Kayla enjoyed seeing them whenever she could.

She let out a sigh as a large arm draped around her shoulders and drew her into a warm embrace. Glancing to the side, she gave her father a tired smile and let her head rest against his shoulder. She noticed that her mother was gone, probably putting Lucy to bed at home as Eli and Leon continued to enjoy the party.

"Don't give me that look, Da." Kayla said, looking at her father with a sly smile on her lips. "We are just good friends."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Mhm," Boar rumbled as he sat down beside her, his knees giving him a touch of trouble. She knew the story of how they were so badly damaged, but they'd recently started getting a little worse with Boar getting closer to his fifties after working so long as a lumberjack and becoming head of one of the two lumber camps on either side of the town.

"So this Aleister..." Boar murmured. "Did I tell ya I fought at 'is side? Th' few times I got back int' fightin' after y'were born, 'e was there. Young an' quiet lad, fightin' as a job rather'n honor an' glory an' our home like th'rest of us did. 'E said 'e hated fightin', only did it so 'e could support 'is family an' serve 'is king. Never 'ad any dream o' bein' a hero 'r a decorated warrior... I liked 'im more'n most o' the younger warriors. His thoughts were only fer 'is family. E'en today, he's still takin' care o' his own people, which is really jus' you an' some relatives... I couldn't ask fer a better man t'look out fer my little girl outside our clan."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He wants me to be his business partner." Kayla said as she snuggled up against her father's side. "I told him I would have to think it over. That's a big step to take and I feel bad because he's the one that has put so much into that bakery to make it successful."

She was quiet for a long moment after that, letting Boar's words soak in. He was telling her that he thought everything was alright between her and him even though she didn't really see romance as an option right then. Her heart wasn't ready for a romance after losing Gale, even though Gale had encouraged her to find happiness.

"How did you find the strength to let your wife go before Mummy?" Kayla asked her father, knowing that he had been married once before meeting her mother.

Eli had met the woman once while traveling and he had said that she had problems that went far beyond anything that the healers could have helped her with. She lived with her family in the far north of Scotland, stuck in a dream world but seemingly happy.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Brianna... I loved 'er more as a friend than a wife... Married 'er because we were comfortable with each other an' we didn' mind 'avin' a life t'gether. But after an accident with 'er horse, she went mad. She was still th'same lass, but... I couldn't take care of 'er an' be what she needed. So... fer her sake an' my own peace o' mind, I sent 'er home t'her family who found a healer tha' could care for 'er. Last I heard, she fell in love with the' healer an' she's happy as can be. I still get letters every so often. Overall, I guess I knew I wasn't what was best for Brianna, an' I had t'let 'er go fer both of us."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sometimes I feel like I'm never going to find that person that makes me feel the way Gale did." Kayla said softly after her father had told her his story. "And then when I dream, I see him and I think to myself that maybe I shouldn't ever wake up. Then he tells me that I have to let him go."

She let out a long sigh then, looking towards Aleister as the Katya and Timmal suddenly became very excited about something, their eyes lighting up as they looked towards their parents almost for permission.

"Maybe instead of searching for that great love again I should just settle for someone who makes me happy." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Never settle," Boar told her softly. "There's more'n one great love out there fer everyone. Jus' look a' Brogan an' Ria. Brogan 'ad Cassandra an' 'e was happier than I ever thought was possible. But when 'e fell fer Julia, he ended up all th' happier. Ria lost David's Da, then found 'er wolf Gerard an' she's happy as can be. Hell, I once 'ad another love, a pretty lass I was courtin' when I was carin' for yer Ma. I gave 'er up fer yer Ma fer the wrong reason at first... But later I knew I'd made th'right choice. It's better t'love again than t'only let yerself 'ave one great love."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Maybe one day I'll decide who that is." Kayla said as she chuckled with her father, kissing his cheek fondly as Katya and Timmal scurried over to her side.

"Kayla! We get to open a bake stand in the village!" Katya squealed, her bright eyes wide and full of childish excitement. "Aleister said it was alright!"

"Well, look at the two of you. Before too much longer, you'll be making more money than any of us combined." Kayla said, indulging the twins with a grin.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Thank you, Aleister," Ruben smiled gratefully to the baker. "It'll give them somethin' to do rather'n running me an' Dad ragged." His slight Scottish accent that he'd picked up over the years tended to fade in and out depending on who he spoke to.

"I could use the business, an' if things keep up th' way they are, I could use a couple new helpers by th'time they're fifteen an' ready fer a proper job," Aleister nodded and shook Ruben's hand.

 

[heartofcourage]

"With their little brothers only just turning five, it's enough to keep them out of my hair." At'ala said with a fond smile as she shook Aleister's hand too. "And out of trouble. When they get with Rho and Sam, they can be terrors."

Kayla smiled as the thought about the family affair that the bakery was turning into. With a bit more money, she could help out her own family. She could help Eli get off the road so much and home with Lucy more before she grew up completely. And then there was strong and silent Leon. She worried about Leon the most out of anyone. He always seemed on edge and bristled at a wrong comment. He was always there for her though, no matter what. Perhaps she would invite him to dinner one night, just the two of them, where they could talk.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I could put those two t'work too if it's ever needed," Aleister chuckled.

"I'll mention it t'Julia. She might like th'idea," Ruben nodded. "Then th'kids can 'ave fun t'gether an' still be out o' trouble."

Soon they parted from Ruben's family and got to talking to several other family members, mostly about the bakery and Aleister's history. Many people recognized him from his fighting days but had never spoken to him before. It was nearly midnight when the festivities drifted to a close and everyone headed home Aleister fetched his horse and cart before coming to get Kayla as she gave her farewells to Brogan and Julia.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla wished goodnight to her aunt and uncle, kissing them both and hugging them tightly. "Send Sam and Rho tomorrow in the afternoon. We'll put them to work with Timmal and Katya." She murmured, knowing that they were looking for anything to keep the twins out of trouble.

She saw Aleister pulling up with his cart and she hurried down the steps to meet him. She spotted Leon saddling his horse and she paused, going to her brother's side and kissing his cheek without warning.

"Dinner is at my house tomorrow night. Be there. I won't take no for an answer." Kayla murmured to her older brother, chuckling at the look on his face. "I'll make your favorite..."