Chapter 8: Heart Shaped Bread

Hearing the surprised tone of the young woman, Molly couldn’t help but fumble further as she scrambled to come up with an explanation. No, two explanations for both women.

Hearing her daughter’s startled voice, Jasmine couldn’t help but frown. “Have you two already met?” she asked.

Jasmine’s daughter glanced at her mother and gave a short nod. “Yes,” she said, her gaze drifting back to the fumbling Molly. “I met her a few hours ago when she healed a mana-poisoned kitten with an advanced healing formula.” She looked at her mother again. “Though she moved her lips, no words came out of her mouth. If I wasn’t a master sword mage, I would have thought she was using fast chanting.” She shook her head slowly. “But no, she didn’t use fast chanting. She used voiceless chanting.”

Her eyes settled once more on Molly. “Is that even possible?” She shifted her attention back to her mother, gesturing toward the pale-haired girl. “I mean, she’s just a little girl.”

Jasmine listened calmly, her face a mask of quiet composure. She glanced at Molly, who fumbled all the more, staring down at her own feet as if she had committed some grave offense.

Jasmine understood the girl’s dilemma at once. With a soft sigh, she stepped out from behind the counter and crossed to where Molly stood, placing a gentle hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “There, there, little snow. You’re not caught. Your secrets are still safe.”

She turned to her daughter with a pointed look. “Fiona, don’t scare the little girl with questions. It is very wrong of you.”

“But—” Fiona opened her mouth, ready to object, then paused as she finally took a proper look at the young girl. She noticed how Molly’s fingers fidgeted and twisted around each other in a nervous tangle. Her eyes remained fixed downward, even as her mother tried to soothe the situation.

Fiona’s face softened with regret. ‘It seems I let my curiosity run too far.’ A deep sigh escaped her as she leaned closer to the young girl, a small smile gracing her lips. “I’m very sorry for my poor manners. Please forgive me for intruding on your privacy,” she said, her tone warm as fresh bread.

Molly’s eyes, which had been fastened to the floor, finally lifted to meet the gaze of the young woman named Fiona. She had never expected to encounter this lady here, much less discover she was Miss Jasmine’s daughter. And now it seemed her secrets had been laid bare to yet another person because of her carelessness.

She hadn’t known master sword mages possessed such keen senses. Had she known, she might have thought of a different way to help the little boy. Still, how could she have known? There was no spell to reveal someone’s area of expertise. And besides, since this was Miss Jasmine’s daughter, there was nothing to worry about.

A small smile finally touched Molly’s lips as she gave a short nod in reply.

Seeing this, Fiona’s tentative smile warmed into something genuine. “Thank you very much,” she said, straightening up and glancing at her mother, whose eyes twitched in a manner Fiona knew all too well, a silent message that read: Do not take this any further, young lady.

A tired sigh escaped Fiona as she stepped toward her mother and wrapped her in a brief, warm embrace before pulling back and slipping past the counter into the next room of the bakery. “Mom, I’ll be inside, waiting for you.”

Jasmine smiled warmly as she watched her daughter’s retreating back. Soon after, she sighed and returned her gaze to Molly, who had begun smiling again, her usual cheer creeping back into place.

Jasmine was almost mirroring that smile when she paused, recalling their earlier conversation before her daughter had walked in.

Planting both hands firmly on her hips, Jasmine fixed Molly with a stern expression, though worry flickered beneath it.

“Young lady,” she said, eyes darting to the stained portion of the green robe that Molly was now trying rather conspicuously to cover. “Care to explain what happened to you?” She arched a brow. “In full detail. Without missing a single thing.”

Molly stared at Jasmine’s stern expression for a long moment. A deep sigh soon slipped through her lips. There was no escaping this.

The tiny black particles that had coalesced back into a sphere shuddered once more, dissolving into swirling motes that danced through the air. They shaped themselves with each fluid motion until they formed Molly’s full and detailed account:

*******

Molly sighed deeply. The tiny particles in the air swirled and gathered, reshaping themselves back into a simple black orb that floated calmly beside her.

Her eyes shifted to Jasmine, awaiting a response now that she had laid out everything that had happened, omitting not a single detail. She watched as Jasmine’s eyes grew distant, lost in thought.

A flicker of sadness soon crossed her features, and she exhaled slowly. “I don’t have much to say, since I didn’t know your affinity worked that way, but…” She fixed her gaze on Molly, the sadness now plain on her face. “I know this might sound rude, but as a mother, I must tell you.” She paused, drawing a brief breath.

“Don’t hurt yourself just to help others. Think about the people who worry about you, Molly.”

She hesitated for a heartbeat before adding, “Think about your mother, that old auntie of mine. She would never forgive herself if anything bad happened to you.”

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Molly absorbed every word, a sad expression settling over her features as she felt the full weight of them. Jasmine was right. Jen would have been frantic with worry had Molly been injured. Molly also remembered her constant warnings, Jen had always been careful to caution her about the repercussions of her affinity.

A deep sigh escaped Molly’s lips. Perhaps she had been too blind to her own well-being.

A determined light kindled in her expression, and she clenched her small hands into fists. From this day forward, she would try to make the right choices, so Jen wouldn’t have to worry so much.

Returning her gaze to Jasmine, she gave a short, solemn nod.

Seeing the young girl’s earnest yet resolute expression, Jasmine smiled lightly and reached out to ruffle her pale white hair. “Alright, enough of that. Let’s move on to your reason for visiting.” Her smile brightened as she studied Molly. “What bread would you like to get?”

Molly’s whole face lit up at the word. The orb hovering at her eye level shuddered briefly before dissolving into tiny particles once more. They swirled in the air, arranging themselves until they formed a sentence:

~ May I see what bread you have available? Oh, and I would prefer it to be strawberry flavored.

Molly beamed as she projected her thoughts outward.

Jasmine smiled warmly. “Alright then, little snow.” She gestured toward the chamber behind her where breads of every kind lay in waiting. Her brows lifted with gentle amusement. “Why don’t we go and have a look?”

Molly nodded with vigor, her expression brightening further as she practically bounced after Jasmine, who led her through the doorway behind the counter and into the bread storage room.