“Surely worthy of pity?”
Gloriana turns to face me, her face a mask.
“Don’t ever pity anything in the Yeavering, Kaitlyn. You’ll end up in more trouble with more dangerous creatures than you can ever imagine.”
She bustles into the bakery, and I hear her rattling the flour mill as I contemplate what all of this means.
Who was the Bluecap in the shop earlier, and what did he want?
I follow Gloriana and start with my prep for tomorrow. After a while, she relents and sends me over the road to get the apples Rowland offered, and he is ecstatic.
I don’t feel like anyone is watching me for the rest of the afternoon.
I’m not sure, but I think I sort of miss it.
I wake in the night,sitting bolt upright, the dream of the red eyes burning in my mind’s eye. I uncover the night light, and a warm glow fills the room.
I am alone.
And I am wide awake. It’s quite clear that, despite the early hour, I’m not getting back to sleep any time soon. I slip out of bed and go to the window. A large, waxy gibbous moon hangs low in the sky, and I recall the conversation with Gloriana.
The full moon is when the Bluecap’s powers are at their height.
With a sigh, I pull on my dressing gown and make my way downstairs. It doesn’t take long to stoke up the range and put the kettle on. I pull my nightclothes further around me as even next to the fire, there’s a chill. However it doesn’t take long before I have a hot cup of tea in my hand, and the world seems a better place.
One of these days, I’ll come to terms with how I ended up in the Yeavering. With what it was like to be at the mercy of a cruel Faerie Lord. A shiver runs through my body unbidden, and I tamp down the terror which rises within me.
I am not going to be defined by my past. What I do now defines my future. Taking my tea, I head into the bakery and stoke up the ovens. I may as well get a head start on my confectionary if I’m awake, and I might even have time to make some more.
Hey, I might even get the chance to keep a peach melba for myself for a change.
I busy myself with the fondant before going through to the cool and very dark scullery to whisk up the cream. I unveil the glow box which contains phosphorescent rocks and allows me a yellowy light which I can use to navigate.
The cream is on the lower shelves, and I realise I don’t have a bowl because I’m doing this in the early hours of the morning rather than actually being awake. So I put down the lantern on the cool slab, the loose cover sliding back over the light like it always does and we always say we have to get it fixed, and head back into the main bakery.
Lamp light flickers over the three creatures stood in the centre of the room. Three creatures I will never forget from my time at the hands of Lord Guyzance.
Redcaps.
KAITLYN
Ifreeze as soon as I see them. One of them, probably the youngest, although they all look like wizened old men, sniggers.
“Hello, pretty,” the middle one croaks.
“What are you doing in here? Get out!” I say with more confidence than I feel.
“It would appear your door was broken,” the one on the left says, taking a step towards me as I take a step back. “Which is a shame, but also an invitation.” He ticks his head to one side like an insect.
“You arenotinvited.”
I reach behind me to where there is a rack of implements, grasping for anything I can use to protect myself. Although Redcaps are vicious creatures who never stop, so the chances of me getting out of here alive are diminishing with every second. I catch hold of a handle and, without looking, brandish my new weapon in front of me.
“Get back, or I won’t be responsible for what I do,” I growl.
Three pairs of eyes go to the metal object I’m holding.
“Oh no, lads, we’re going to be whisked to death.” The middle Redcap chuckles. “What a way to go.”
