Anne felt terrible. She was on the verge of tears. “Allele is wrong about our intentions,” she insisted. “I’ll prove it to you, the best way I know how.”
She couldn’t afford to waste time lamenting her own stupidity. Instead, she needed to think.
Just wanting to do the right thing isn’t enough. Promises are cheap. Unless I can get the fairies to trust me and truly put them on an equal footing, my words will mean nothing.
Anne squeezed Noah’s shoulders tightly, then let him go. She raised her head and confronted Allele directly.
“You’re right, Allele,” she said. “Regardless of how we might feel about it, from your perspective, we’re doing exactly as you said. So I’d like to change our methods. I want to make our feelings and intentions clear to you.”
Then Anne turned to Keith and Kat. “I want to ask Hugh to let me change the way we’re going about things. Otherwise, the fairies here won’t understand.”
Kat frowned. “Change things how?” he asked.
“We’ll get the fairy dealers to hand over the fairies’ wings for the duration of their stay with us. That way, the fairies can have access to their wings while they’re here.”
This was the way forward—she’d known that from the beginning. But everyone else had avoided this solution, claiming it was impossible.
“Anne, that’s…”
Keith was at a loss for words. A commotion began among the fairies as they all turned to one another.
“But if we don’t do this,” Anne insisted, “no matter what we say, the fairies will see us as just more humans forcing them to work. If I was being treated that way…I wouldn’t even want to touch silver sugar.”
“That’s true,” Keith said, bewildered. “But…”
Next to him, Kat was stroking his chin intently with his long fingers. “The girl’s right. I wouldn’t wanna do a job like that, either. But if we give ’em their wings back, they’re hardly gonna work, are they? Won’t it end with everyone runnin’ away?”
“Of course. I think I would run away, too,” said Anne with a strained smile. “You would all flee, wouldn’t you?”
They averted their eyes uncomfortably.
Anne nodded. “Of course you would. It would be strange if you didn’t. But I don’t want you to.”
Anne took one step closer to the fairies and looked at each of them in turn.
Allele vigilantly tracked Anne’s words and movements with his eyes. Since he and the other fairies had been through intense hardship, they were cautious and distrustful. Like wild beasts, they protected themselves by avoiding careless action.
However, if Anne and the other humans were wary in return and only did what they thought was safe, the two parties would never reach a compromise. If neither side made any moves, nothing would ever change.
“In the event that we can return your wings to you, I would ask you to not run away. I would like you to stick around and try working with silver sugar for seven days. And if we see you have talent, I would like you to remain here. Those who do not demonstrate an aptitude for candy crafting will have to go back to the market. I know it’s a horrible thought…but if you do that and follow the rules, then other fairies at the market will also have an opportunity to come here and work with silver sugar. From there, the path will open for any fairy to train as a candy crafter and get back their wings. You’ll be able to make a living as candy crafters.”
The fairies exchanged glances, unsure how to respond.
Anne repeated herself. “If you all promise not to run away, I will consult with the Silver Sugar Viscount and negotiate to have him return your wings for the week.”
“…Fine. It’s a deal,” said Allele. “We promise not to run away. So give us back our wings.”
His crimson gaze was locked on Anne. She wasn’t sure if she could trust those eyes. But if she didn’t put faith in him, she couldn’t expect him to do the same.
“You promise? We can put our trust in you all?”
“We’ll keep our promise. Believe me.”
Anne turned to look at Kat and Keith. She wondered what they were thinking.
“A promise, huh? No choice but to take ’em at their word, I guess,” Kat grumbled.
Keith nodded. “That’s all we can do, I suppose.”
Accepting the danger, they took the first step forward. If they didn’t take the risk, there would be no progress. This was the price they had to pay.
After breakfast, Challe went out into the front yard of the castle. He sat in the shade of the trees that surrounded the garden, stretched his legs, and listened to the sound of the wind. The soft rustling of the leaves on the trees overhead helped calm his nerves. Small blue flowers bloomed just beyond the tips of his boots.
The gardens of Hollyleaf Castle were wild and unmaintained. A beautiful garden was not a necessity for a candy crafting workshop. The spacious expanse was overrun with low vegetation that swayed in the wind. In the early summer sunshine, the yard looked like a lush meadow, bursting with little white and blue flowers.
Not so much as a sign of Lafalle or Erril.
After his brothers had fled, Challe had done his best to stay at Anne’s side. As long as she was close to him, his brothers would be unable to use her in any of their schemes again.
But they hadn’t appeared anywhere nearby, and he hadn’t even heard any rumors of fairies matching their descriptions.
He couldn’t help but wish this peace would last.