Chapter 13:
Let’s Go Home to the Workshop!
FINALLY, I RETURNED HOME TO ATELIER DAISY with Ariel at my side. Marcus and Miina were tending the shop and saw me immediately.
“Welcome back!”
It felt like ages since I’d seen their faces.
“I’m home! Sorry for leaving you both to fend for yourselves for so long. Was everything all right while I was away?” I asked, hoping to convey my gratitude for how much they’d done.
“I completed the Alchemy workshop’s deliveries on schedule with no problems at all. And the garden is thriving, as usual,” Marcus said proudly. It sounded like he handled everything perfectly.
“And the bakery’s running smoothly as usual!” Miina said with a bow.
“By the way, who’s this young lady?” Marcus asked, looking at Ariel waiting patiently by my side.
“Her name’s Ariel, and we met while traveling,” I said. “I decided to look after her. She’ll be living with us on the third floor from now on. Ariel, this is Marcus and Miina. They’re employees of mine here at the workshop.”
Ariel straightened up and then bowed deeply. “My name is Ariel. Lady Daisy saved my village and I’ll be assisting her to show my gratitude. It’s very nice to meet you all!”
Suddenly, she sniffed the air.
“You smell like fresh bread! You must be the one who baked all those treats!” she said, turning to face Miina with sparkling eyes and fists clenched in excitement.
“Huh?” Miina tipped her head in confusion, her kitty ears drooping a bit.
Ariel didn’t notice; she was already leaning over to peek into the bakery. “So this is a bakery! Wow! I’ve never seen so many kinds of bread before!” She grabbed Miina’s hands and squeezed them tightly. “Please let me help you in the bakery when I’m not traveling with Lady Daisy! I’ll work very hard! When I had your bread on our journey, I fell in love with it! I deeply admire you!” Her eyes were shining with admiration.
“Ariel, come along. I have more to show you,” I called, leading her outside to the garden.
All the fairies and nature sprites were hard at work tending the plants.
“I’m home, everyone!” I said, and they all gathered around me.
“Welcome back, Daisy!”
“Who’s that with you?”
They all started asking at once, their tiny voices overlapping.
“I’m Ariel, a Sun Elf! It’s nice to meet you all!” Ariel said. The fairies immediately clustered around and began to play.
The workshop felt even livelier now that Ariel was living with us. Somehow, I felt like life here was about to get even more colorful.