The Demon in the Pastry Shop

35: The Icing on the Cupcake

 The plate sailed off the counter toward the floor but Kit caught it and put it back next to the bowl of frosting. The waiter apologized but Kit waved him off with a smile.

"Kit, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Jude sighed next to her. The muse looked out of place in the restaurant kitchen, even without his instrument or bright clothes.

She nodded at him over her shoulder as she worked.

"If you don't get out in time, then there's a chance-"

Kit nodded again, this time staring gravely into the frosting. She scooped it into the piping bag and focused on the cupcakes. It was a breath of fresh of to get to make something again. She was constantly having to remind herself that she was only working at The Cherry Tree until Silus and Lovell tracked her there.

Which was a shame seeing as she liked being in charge of pastries and desserts. Only a week in and the other chefs started to learn how to communicate with her. It involved a lot of kitchenware percussion but Kit was found of the wood and metal orchestra. No one here would have guessed she was a Bell Spirit despite her golden aura and there was never much need to explain why she wouldn't talk or defend the fact she couldn't.

Jude was friends with a Trickmaster who happened to own this place. No trick or illusion, he was just a good chef with a cherry tree the size of castle tower at his disposal. When Jude told Riryn what was happening to her, they laughed over some old story about Jude being chased by a mob of ducks with a bucket on his head that Kit couldn't begin to follow even if she had the whole story (it was shared primarily through gestures and eye contact and patterns of breath). Riryn was generous enough and made a plan to trick her hunters into thinking she was dead.

So dead, in fact, that her body would be destroyed. Kit was sure they could take her even if she was a corpse, so they needed to make sure Lovell and Silus thought nothing of her remained.

While Kit stayed in the kitchen, waiting for the day that Lovell and Silus (and that other one, Remis?) would walk in and the plan would fall into action, Jude's only job was to be around. To walk about The Cherry Tree and be very sloppy about it in a way that maybe only an old muse could so that he could be noticed without arousing suspicion. Jude was happy to help out but Kit knew he felt listless not having anything to do all day. She suggested he take more time with Riryn and relive their histories with each other.

At that Jude had shook his head with a knowing smile and said, "I'm more interested in making new memories than going over old ones with Riryn for the third time. Those were good times though. It's strange that this tree is carved out into a restaurant now, but you can still climb it. And, in fact, after you climb down, you can get a burger. How excellent is that!?"

Kit had shrugged. She liked that Jude was in love with the present and only spent moments with his past, but it wasn't so easy for her. She only ate burgers with Luca and would probably never eat one again for the same reason. Ironically, Luca liked to eat burgers because he used to eat them as a kid with Jude.

"What did you think about him before the Collector gave him the order?" Jude asked her, hugging tight to her side to let the other chefs pass easily.

Staring so hard into the frosting sent her thoughts into a swarm in her mind. She shook her head to clear it and looked at Jude as she frosted the last few cupcakes only to be given a new tray of un-frosted ones to decorate.

At her station, she had strung up a few papers for quick responses. She pointed at "huh?" before swirling chocolate over a slightly overcooked cupcake she hoped the frosting would compensate for.