‘Caden, what a lovely surprise!’ Azam said, going to greet the man. Caden stood and they hugged.
‘Just thought I’d pop in,’ Caden said, squeezing Azam’s shoulder. His gaze turned to Sonya.
‘Caden, this is Sonya,’ Azam introduced her.
‘Ah! Like our princess!’ Caden said. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ he continued, shaking Sonya’s hand with both of his.
Sonya froze, but Caden’s tone wasn’t suspicious. He was just pointing out what he thought was a coincidence. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
‘Y-yes, I was born shortly after the princess, so my mother named me for her,’ she replied. The words were heavy in her mouth. She felt truly horrible lying.
And they all believed her so easily. Her stomach twisted.
Sonya went to the kitchen to wash her hands, hoping they wouldn’t notice her downcast expression. A moment later, Azam came to wash his hands as well.
Checking to make sure Caden wasn’t looking, Azam leaned in close to Sonya and whispered, ‘He has a crush on Grandma Kiri.’
Sonya giggled, surprised, until Kiri came over and swatted Azam’s arm with a tea towel. ‘I heard that,’ she said.
Azam held up his hands, then turned to Caden. ‘You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you? And where’s Butterscotch? Outside with Dania?’
‘Yes, they’re outside,’ Caden replied. ‘As for dinner…’ He trailed off, looking at Kiri.
‘Of course Caden will stay,’ Kiri said, a soft expression on her face.
‘Wonderful!’ Azam smiled. Just then, a dog came bursting in through the garden door.That must be Butterscotch. He was a border collie with a white and brown coat. His ears flopped as he ran, his brown snout panting as Dania ran after him. Butterscotch settled on the rug by Caden’s feet, and Dania sat with him, cuddling.
‘This is Butterscotch,’ Caden said, petting the dog’s fur. ‘He helps me with my shepherding.’
‘Oh! Are you a shepherd-witch?’ Sonya asked.
Caden nodded. ‘I knew Azam’s father; I used to deliver wool from the sheep to the factory he used to work at.’
‘Caden and Kiri are on the festival planning committee together, as well,’ Azam told Sonya. ‘They have been for the past decade.’
Caden smiled warmly at Sonya. ‘I hope you’ll come and visit me sometime. I’ll take you out to the pasture, if you’d like. You can meet the sheep! Dania here loves them.’ His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Though I can’t say the sheep love her very much in return.’
They watched as Dania tried to tie a ribbon into Butterscotch’s fur. He barked, running away from her chubby hands, and she chased after him with an exasperated cry of ‘Scotchie!’
She and Caden laughed, and soon got to talking while Kiri prepared dinner. Then it was time to eat, all of them sitting round the table for a meal of a spiced chicken and chickpea stew with thin flatbread.
‘Kiri mentioned something about re-opening the shop?’ Caden said.
Sonya felt guilty for having brought it up that morning. PerhapsAzam wasn’t ready but he was so kind, and he did so much for others, she wanted him to have this one thing for himself, too, to see him as happy as he made others.
‘I’ve been considering it,’ Azam said.
‘Well, I think it sounds like a brilliant idea,’ Caden continued. ‘Why not? Everyone misses Bunto and her store. There is another seamstress in town, of course, but she does tasks more akin to mending or stitching basics, while Bunto’s designs—those were for special occasions! Pretty dresses aren’t just for princesses, you know.’
‘I agree wholeheartedly,’ Sonya said, grinning.
Azam looked at her with mirth in his eyes, shaking his head a little. ‘You don’t give up, do you?’ he asked.
The funny thing was, back at the castle, Sonya gave up very easily. But perhaps she had never found something important enough to fight for before.
‘What about your job?’ Caden asked. Something strange crossed Azam’s face.
‘I’m not needed there right now, not for a few weeks,’ he said. Then he took a deep breath. ‘Perhaps we can see what happens in that time.’ Sonya and Kiri exchanged a glance, both of their eyes wide. ‘If it works, it works, if it doesn’t—’
