Keith stood at Anne’s side and gave her a meaningful look, signaling to her that she should start.
Although the two were roughly equal in ability, Anne was a Silver Sugar Master, while Keith was not. It was Anne’s duty to give the opening remarks and get the fairies on the same page.
I’ve got to make them understand.
Anne repeated this to herself over and over. She moved slowly, trying her best to keep calm, and came to stand before the fairies.
“Once again, my name is Anne Halford. This is Keith. We’re looking forward to working with you. I’m sure you’ve already heard, but we would like you to make sugar candy over the next seven days. We’re asking you all to learn candy making techniques developed by other fairies in the past.”
She knew it was inevitable the fairies would feel anxious. In an ideal world, she would have preferred to spend several days slowly getting to know them before getting to work.
But they didn’t have that kind of time. The fairy dealers were adamant about loaning the fairies for no longer than seven days. During that period, the crafters would have to fully evaluate the fairies’ talent.
Anne continued, “Fairies who make sugar candy are called silver sugar fairies. A little while ago, I had the chance to meet a silver sugar fairy named Lulu, who served the fairy king five hundred years ago. She was hidden away in the royal castle in Lewiston until recently, and she wishes for her techniques to be passed down to others of her kind. Lulu is really incredible, you know. She taught me and Keith, as well as the Silver Sugar Viscount.”
The fifteen fairies were standing by the stoves. They all shot furtive glances at one another upon hearing about silver sugar fairies for the first time and learning that a fairy had taught Anne and the others.
“We crafters and the Viscount believe that silver sugar fairies like Lulu are responsible for endowing silver sugar candy with its amazing properties. His Majesty, King Edmond the Second, agrees. That’s why he issued the order to train more silver sugar fairies, and why we were able to bring you all here.”
The fairies stared at Anne, their faces blank. She wasn’t sure if they were even listening, but she forced herself to continue.
“I am hoping that at least some of you will become silver sugar fairies. Those of you who show interest and aptitude for candy making will be asked to remain here under the authority of the Silver Sugar Viscount and begin training as candy crafting apprentices. Once you are recognized as a candy crafter, the Viscount has promised to return your wings and let you work independently. Um…is that okay with you all? Is there anyone who doesn’t want to do this?”
None of the fairies reacted.
Anne visibly deflated at the frosty reception. Keith must have picked up on Anne’s feelings, as he quickly stepped in front of her and addressed the group with a smile.
“Behind you are workbenches. Please spread out, three to a bench, and then we’ll distribute the silver sugar. Once you have the material, we’ll work alongside you at the benches. Please knead the silver sugar as we do. Go on, split up.”
At the sound of Keith’s voice, the fairies finally moved.
“Thank you,” Anne said with a sigh of relief.
Keith smiled and patted her on the back. “This is my job too. I’ve got to do my part.”
Anne was grateful to be working with someone who appreciated her and was so ready to help. She could always count on Keith.
The two of them split up, each moving to a workbench. Anne approached the one where the indigo fairy called Allele was standing. His face was blank, just like the others’.
“Let’s begin.”
Anne smiled at the fairies, but they only nodded and looked confused. Allele pretended he hadn’t heard her.
Ah… This doesn’t bode well. She sighed internally.
At Keith’s cue, the Silver Sugar Viscount’s men placed stone bowls full of silver sugar in front of the fairies.
Their eyes twinkled when they saw the small mounds of silver sugar in the bowls. It was slight, but Anne could see joy in their eyes. The smell and color of silver sugar probably stirred something deep within them.
Keith gave Anne a signal with his eyes.
Anne straightened up again and spoke as cheerfully as she could manage.
“Near each of you, there should be a stone cup. Use that to get cold water from the barrel next to your workbench. Then mix the water into the silver sugar bit by bit and begin kneading it.”
As she spoke, she lifted the cup closest to her, then used it to scoop some water from the nearby barrel. Gradually, she mixed the water into her silver sugar. She moved her hands slowly so that the fairies could get a good look at what she was doing.
She made a small hollow in the center of the pile of sugar in her stone bowl. Then she poured in a small amount of water and covered the water with more sugar. After repeating that process two or three times, the sugar started to form crumbly clusters.
Next, she added more water and incorporated it all in one go. As she did, the silver sugar under her palms became smooth and uniform.
“If anyone can’t see from where they are, feel free to move closer to either me or Keith to watch us work.”
The fairies finally picked up their cups and began to move. They scooped up the cold water and added it to their sugar.
As Anne kneaded her sugar dough, she kept an eye on the fairies at her workbench and the other benches around her.
They looked hesitant and confused, but even so, they each began to knead their sugar.
As I thought, there’s something different about the way they work.
At first, the fairies’ movements were awkward and uncertain. But as they continued to work with the silver sugar, they started squeezing it tightly, using the right gestures and level of force to turn it into dough. In a matter of minutes, their work began to resemble that of experienced crafters.
Allele, who was at the same work bench as Anne, seemed to be adding his cold water carelessly, but his silver sugar quickly evened out into a uniform texture. Once his silver sugar came together, he added another dash of cold water and kneaded it vigorously another two or three times. As he did, the silver sugar took on a smooth, glossy luster. His hands, which were larger than the other fairies’, moved with surprising delicacy.
Hugh had been right; the fairies with potential would surely acquire a considerable level of skill in only two short months.
Unconsciously, Anne stopped kneading as she watched Allele work.
It seems lots of fairies have the talent to become a silver sugar fairies.
Some of these fairies could become master crafters. That was no idle dream.
But just then, Allele stopped working and looked at Anne. The other fairies did the same and all looked toward Anne and Keith.
Huh? What?
The fairies had gone still, as if waiting for something. Anne didn’t understand what was happening and stared at Keith for help. But Keith seemed just as confused, unsure why the fairies had stopped.
No one was moving, and no one was saying anything. After a few moments, Allele spoke up, sounding irritated.
“We kneaded it.”
“Huh?”
“We followed your orders and kneaded the silver sugar. And now? What should we do?”
“Huh? Um, we’d like you to knead it for a little while longer.”
“For how long?”
In his loud, rich voice, Allele asked Anne a rapid series of questions. They sounded accusatory. She felt like she was being barked at by a large dog.
“We’d like you to knead the dough until it gets glossier and more beautiful, but…”
“Mine is already glossy and beautiful.”
The silver sugar in Allele’s hands had come together wonderfully in a short amount of time. It had a nice luster to it, but he needed to distribute the glossiness more evenly throughout the sugar dough.
“It’s got to be even more striking,” Anne insisted.
“I don’t understand what you mean. You humans need to make that decision and tell us what to do. Either order us to continue kneading or let us know we can stop.”
Anne unconsciously glanced over at Keith.
In order to ascertain the fairies’ aptitude, she and Keith needed to look not only at how they handled the silver sugar, but also at their ability to determine on their own what the silver sugar needed. That included evaluating when to stop kneading and what was necessary to bring out the sugar’s luster. Anne and Keith needed to see if the fairies could make such intuitive judgments, and how creative and enthusiastic they were about applying themselves to the task.
If they simply ordered the fairies to do everything, then they would just be forcing them to work. In that case, the only thing they would learn was how dexterous the fairies’ fingers were.
However, Anne realized something important from the fairies’ cold stares.
If we keep going like this, we’ll only be ordering the fairies to do work.
She saw how naive her expectations had been, and a hard knot formed in the pit of her stomach.
She wondered what they should do. At the very least, she knew they couldn’t keep going like this.
“Keith, listen, why don’t we stop here for today? Everyone just got here, and they’re not used to this place yet.”
Keith gave a stern nod. “Good point… Maybe we need some time to think. You and me, I mean.”
These fairies had the potential to acquire impressive skills in only two months. However, whether they would do so was a completely different matter.
Anne finally understood the true meaning behind Hugh’s smirk. He must have predicted they would run into this problem, but kept that knowledge to himself. She respected and trusted Hugh, and yet…
He’s so mean…
No wonder Kat hated him. In fact, she was beginning to understand how he felt.