From the Flames and Smoke

Chapter 01 - Mistakes

Claire was a girl on a mission. No one had the power to stop her from fulfilling the mission she was sent out on. No one - and nothing. Not even the freshly baked loaf of bread which was set out on the window steal to cool down by the baker.

She did love her freshly-baked bread. With some sweet strawberry jam and a good layer of butter, this would be a delicious meal. But no - not even the mouthwatering thought of carbs could stop this girl in her tracks. At least, not again.

Her mother was clear and Claire's mind made up. She was going to be one of the first ones at the town store to get a big bag of sugar. But as she approached the town center, disappointment greeted her. It was already very busy, busier than usual and she would have to stand in line to get her sugar.

But as she got closer to the store, she realized, that the people weren't standing in line to pick up groceries, but they were standing around a sign. Claire knew immediately that the sign would have "The Kings Declarations" written on top in a large font.

Every Monday, new orders were declared, sometimes the king's messenger just told them if there were changes made. Other times if there were more than one or two points, or if the messenger was afraid of being beaten up after the villagers heard the bad news, they would just nail up a big poster during the night and disappear before the sun rose.

Usually, it was nothing that interests Claire. The rise of tax money and the current value for certain materials on the market weren't the most interesting reading materials.

It wasn't that she didn't care at all. After all, if the people in her town were all short on money, her parent's business would suffer in the long run. But they found, no matter how little money people had, they could always find some for the things they really wanted. And what they wanted was her family's jam. Their jam was after all, famous. Even the wealthiest of people came or sent their servants on the two-day journey to get their hands on a jar of fruit jam.

It seems silly to think that people would go so crazy for a spread that you can put on a slice of bread. But the family business has existed since the beginning of time, or so everyone says. Claire wouldn't know, seeing that she was only 17 years old, and so wasn't there when the first jar of jam was sold.

The jam was not only delicious but it was also said that it has healing properties. Claire knew that that was obviously not true, she made the jam herself and knew the secret recipe in and out. She memorized it when she turned thirteen, but not before her mother swore her to absolute secrecy. Claire was a bit disappointed when she found out that it was mostly sugar and fruit that was cooked and stirred nonstop until the perfect jam came about.

Clare didn't have to make the actual jam very often. Even though she knew the recipe, she always managed to mess it up somehow. She was in charge of growing the fruit in their garden instead. Every day she spent hours out there, taking care of the little strawberry bush, and climbing up prune trees to harvest the ripe fruit. She always poured her whole heart into the garden, knowing that if the fruit weren't the right sweetness, the jam wouldn't taste as it should.

Her family could have sold the jam for a lot more than what it is going for now. But they never wanted to make more money than they needed.

Claire didn't always understand that, especially when other girls in her age could buy a new dress, and she had to wear her mother's old garment for the annual town feast. She knew how much jam her parents sold each day, and knew that they could be living in a big house like the wealthy people of the town if they would charge more per jar.

She knew that she has tendencies to come across like a spoiled little girl. She's been told so by her good friend Mark. He spends his days in the forest chopping wood like many other young men do. It was hard work with not much reward in the end. But it's the work that more than half of her town relies on.