Anne was just as concerned about Noah as Elliott was. She had worried about him when he first joined the Paige Workshop, and from time to time, she would send Elliott letters asking how he was doing. Elliott always answered her, writing back in detail about how things were going.
It sounded like Noah was doing well there. As the only fairy apprentice, he slept, ate, and worked in the same spaces as the human apprentices.
According to Elliott, the other crafters and apprentices were perplexed by Noah’s presence, especially at first. But the young men who joined the workshop as apprentices were still flexible and open to change. Slowly but surely, they got used to having Noah around, and in Elliott’s most recent letter, he’d reported that Noah had befriended some of his colleagues.
Anne felt bad for pulling him away after he’d worked so hard to get comfortable. But they needed him here in order to change the minds of the other fairies.
Accepting Elliott’s kind consideration, Anne stored the letter securely in her pocket.
“Thank you for coming. And I’m sorry for calling you out here. I know how hard you were working at the Paige Workshop.”
Noah put on a bashful smile. “It’s fine. Um, well, I’m…kind of glad, actually.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. It made me happy to hear that you needed me. Besides, you and Kat are both here, right? I think it will be a great learning experience for me to work with two Silver Sugar Masters.”
Noah’s features looked a little bit different than before. Since he was a fairy, he didn’t experience any physical growth or decline like a human would. The change was all in Noah’s purple eyes. Once, they had looked frail and fearful, but they now held the fairy’s firm conviction to stand on his own two feet.
“I’m happy to hear that,” Anne replied. “All right, let’s go inside. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?”
“Nope!”
Noah seemed delighted to see Hollyleaf Castle again after so long. He picked up his bag and walked inside with Anne.
Anne’s dash to the front yard had awoken the others in her room and informed them of Noah’s arrival. They’d all come out into the lesser hall: Challe with Mithril riding on his shoulder, Keith with slightly sleepy-looking eyes, and Kat with Benjamin snoring away in his breast pocket.
Keith offered a cheerful greeting as he did up his necktie. “Welcome, Noah. You got here early.”
Kat waved casually. “You made it, pip-squeak. Guess Elliott sent you instead of writing a response.”
Anne and Noah quickly ascended the stairs and joined the others.
“It’s good to see you all again. Here I am.” Noah bowed, sending his neatly cut purple hair swinging. “It’s nice to see you, too, Challe and Mithril…” Noah smiled at the fairies, only to blink in surprise and stare at Mithril.
“What is it? Do I have something on my face?” Mithril asked.
“Mithril Lid Pod, did you shrink?”
“I did not shrink! Absolutely, positively not! How dare you suggest such a thing!”
“Oh, really?” Noah cocked his head to the side, looking bewildered.
The bell at the Church of Saint Lewiston Bell rang in the distance. At that sound, the other fairies streamed out of their respective rooms and into the lesser hall. Since their second day at the castle, they had been using the church bell to mark when they got up, when they started and finished their work, and when they took their meals.
The assembled fairies sat at the long table, glancing at Noah out of the corners of their eyes. They must have been curious about his presence, but not one of them asked about him or approached him, unwilling to upset the order of things.
Noah looked a little anxious when he saw the other fairies’ behavior, so Anne conferred with him.
“These are the people who have come here from the fairy market. You’ll be working with them starting today. Is it all right if I introduce you?”
Noah bit his lip hard and nodded sharply.
Anne gave Noah a push on the back, and the two of them approached the long table where the other fairies sat.
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce someone to you. This is Noah, and he’s going to be training with you starting today. Noah is a free fairy who’s had both his wings for a long time. About six months ago, he met us and said he wanted to become a candy crafter. So he’s got a jump start on his training compared with the rest of you.”
When they heard Anne say that Noah was free, the fairies looked at one another and began to stir.
Noah swallowed hard and bowed enthusiastically. “N-nice to meet you! I am Noah! I’ll be working with you from now on! I’ll d-d-do my best!”
The room fell totally silent. Noah gradually raised his head and made eye contact with the other fairies, but they said nothing, their faces blank.
Noah looked uncomfortable and fiddled restlessly with the strap of his bag. “Um, should I tell them about my…favorite things or special skills?”
Reading the room, Kat jumped in. “Nah, no need. That was plenty. Thanks, kid. Go ahead and eat breakfast. The food will be ready soon, and we’ll bring it out. You three, lend us a hand.”
He beckoned to the three fairies nearest him, and they went down the stairs. Anne prepared a seat for Noah at the breakfast table and had him take a seat. Settling snugly among the other fairies, he looked incredibly uncomfortable.
I’m sorry, Noah.
Anne’s chest ached.
After breakfast, she headed down to the workshop on the first floor together with Keith and Kat.