Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 1 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

BORN IN THE MORNING

In the darkness, a cold drizzling rain fell.

Challe had moved the wolf carcasses outside the way station.

Still, the damp smell of rain and blood lingered.

The wolves had trampled the partially refined silver sugar, and it became filthy with their blood even before mixing with rainwater. Raindrops sent ripples through the slush.

Anne sat inside the wagon Jonas had left behind.

The interior of the cargo hold was set up exactly like Anne’s. It was a workshop for making sugar candy.

The broken remains of half-completed candies lay scattered on the floor.

The top of the workbench was littered with papers covered in candy designs. All of them looked to be copies of the candy designs Emma had left behind.

Inside the cargo hold were also five barrels, and all were packed with silver sugar.

It was premeditated from the very beginning. Everything he said was a lie…

Jonas was in a position to become the next maestro of the Radcliffe Workshop. But in order for that to happen, he had to become a Silver Sugar Master first.

He had told her that he’d entered the Royal Candy Fair twice in the past but had yet to become a Silver Sugar Master. That despite his prior losses, he wasn’t planning to participate in the candy fair this year.

She ought to have been suspicious of that.

Jonas had probably lost his confidence because of his previous failures.

But he wanted to achieve the rank of Silver Sugar Master, even if that meant resorting to theft. Once he achieved that title, he would have the chance to become the maestro of the Radcliffe Workshop. He might even become the Silver Sugar Viscount, as he’d always hoped.

The sort of people who earn royal medals and become Silver Sugar Masters are those with a sincere love for sugar candy, for whom profits are a secondary consideration. Only people like that can create splendid works of candy art.

Jonas only seemed concerned with glory.

Even if he did become a Silver Sugar Master, he would never care all that much about candy. He didn’t take it seriously.

Jonas must have been worrying about his future when a sick and helpless Silver Sugar Master and her daughter fell right into his lap.

He had obviously decided to put them to use.

First, he had stolen into Emma and Anne’s wagon and plagiarized Emma’s candy designs.

But even with those designs, he’d been incapable of making the candy to his satisfaction. Though confident in his talents, he had no confidence in the candies he created.

“That was why he proposed to me…”

The reason Jonas had proposed to Anne was to coax her into making sugar candy for him, to enable him to obtain the title of Silver Sugar Master on the back of her work.

But there, too, Jonas had failed.

That must have been when he’d had the idea of stealing Anne’s candy and entering it as his own creation for the Royal Candy Fair.

The people of the Anders household had fully supported this plan.

Jonas’s parents had provided their son with a wagon and bodyguards for his scheme.

If their son became the maestro of the Radcliffe Workshop, it would bring great prosperity to the whole Anders family.

Then, Jonas had followed Anne to the candy fair, journeyed with her, and stolen a portion of her silver sugar.

Cathy was probably the one who had actually stolen the sugar. She had the power to turn invisible. So the night that they stayed at the Doctor’s Inn, she must have sneaked in through the high windows and carried the silver sugar out bit by bit. There could be no doubt about it.

That had left Anne scrambling to refine more sugar and make her candy at the same time.

As Anne wouldn’t have enough silver sugar left after making her entry for the candy fair, it meant she didn’t have the three barrels that were required.

Jonas had brought the missing silver sugar into Anne’s wagon under the guise of bringing her an empty barrel. Doing so, he could steal the candy along with the wagon the moment it was finished.

Lastly, Jonas executed the final part of his plan.

He made Cathy lure the wolves to keep Challe occupied.

So he could take Anne’s wagon and run off.

Jonas had successfully gotten away with one work of candy art and three barrels’ worth of silver sugar.

It was half a day’s ride to Lewiston.

In the afternoon, Jonas would be able to run straight there without an escort.

Anne was left with five barrels full of silver sugar, a brand-new wagon, and a worn-out old horse.

She had plenty of silver sugar. But the fair was in two days.

Actually, since it was already evening, there was really only one night and one day left.

Anne didn’t have enough time to make another large sugar-candy sculpture suitable for a festival.

I can’t make it in time.

The Royal Candy Fair was held every year. Even if Anne didn’t make it this year, there would always be the next.

But this year’s Pure Soul Day was Anne’s only chance to see Emma’s soul off on its way to heaven.

The sugar candy for Emma’s ceremony didn’t really have to be something that Anne made herself. She could get a more veteran Silver Sugar Master to create a magnificent piece of candy, and that would probably be just fine.

However, Anne wanted to send her beloved mother off with a piece of candy made by her daughter, who had achieved the title Silver Sugar Master.

This thought had been keeping Anne afloat since her mother’s passing, spurring her to continue forward.

Without her motivation, Anne’s willpower drained completely from her body.

Jonas’s unexpected betrayal left her in shock. She had believed him to be a good person and ended up suspecting Mithril Lid Pod of eating her silver sugar. She felt foolish for her inability to believe the fairy. Just recalling Mithril’s tearful eyes pained her.

Anne felt like a naive idiot for believing Jonas. She was remorseful and angry.

Those emotions filled the gap her heart, making her whole body feel sluggish and heavy.

She couldn’t take a single step.

The wound on the back of her right hand, where Jonas had hit her with the whip, throbbed painfully, as if to remind her of her own foolishness.

“If I won’t make it in time for this year’s candy fair, there’s no point,” Anne muttered, placing both hands on the workbench. She hung her head and chuckled slightly.

“I’m so stupid. There I was, eagerly making my candy…”

She staggered out of the cargo hold, and the cold rain fell on her.

Anne had been drenched in a bloody liquid, and both her body and her dress were sticky and carried a terrible odor.

She was unbearably miserable.

Suddenly, she sensed someone looking at her. She saw Challe, standing beneath a tree near the wall of the way station. He had his arms folded and was looking at her with his usual arrogance.

In the end, I’m just a naive little fifteen-year-old girl.

I’m weak, I know nothing, and I have no one to depend on. I’m all alone.

Anne felt ashamed to have Challe see her in such a wretched state. She couldn’t stand it. She didn’t want him to look at her.

She reeled in the leather cord hanging from her neck and pulled up the little bag.

She then stalked over to Challe and thrust the bag toward him.

“I’m returning your wing.”

Challe didn’t move. He stared intently at the bag and asked, “We’re not in Lewiston yet. Aren’t you going to chase Jonas down? Aren’t you going to get your candy back?”

“Jonas has already arrived in Lewiston by now. He’s probably already registered for the candy fair and handed the candy sculpture over to the officials. Even if I went there now and claimed that I made the sculpture, I have no proof. They wouldn’t listen to me.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Of course I’m not…but…there’s nothing I can do! Even with your help… So I may as well give you your freedom. Go wherever you like!” Anne vented, hanging her head.

After a short time, Challe gently lifted the bag out of Anne’s palm.

“So now we’re equals?”

Anne shook her head.

“You’ve been my equal from the start, Challe…from start to finish. Even though that was the whole purpose of buying you, I never managed to become your master.”

“Somehow, I knew that when I first saw you in the fairy market.”

Challe’s words were gentle. His voice was calm like the sound of the rain.

“That was why I told you to buy me. I thought that with a naive little girl, I could easily steal my wing back and escape.”

“You must be happy. Everything went according to plan.”

“…I’m not sure. I don’t know.”

Anne sensed Challe move away from the tree trunk.

He walked straight past her, slowly heading toward the iron doors of the way station.

All alone. All alone.

Something kept repeating in her head. Sobs started to escape from her throat.

All the feelings she had been bottling up came flooding out. She couldn’t stop it. Everything that had been propping up Anne’s heart crumbled all at once.

“Mama! Mama! Why did you die?! Why did you leave me alone? You left me alone. Why…why?!”

Anne sank to the ground. She buried her head in her knees and let the rain soak her.

How long has it been since I held my wing in my own hands?

Seven years…

No, I feel like it’s been longer.

He looked down at the small leather pouch in his hand.

As the raindrops hit him, Challe Fenn Challe took in the tranquil atmosphere of a wilderness unspoiled by human hands. The way station behind him got farther away with every step.

Farther away. The girl with the sweet scent got farther away.

It was strange. Though Challe had obtained his freedom, he didn’t feel happy about it.

He pondered why that was and soon understood the reason.

It was because he had never listened to any of Anne’s orders. Because from the moment that Anne had purchased him, without even realizing it, he’d already achieved his freedom. So really, he had no reason to celebrate.

All that had happened was his wing had changed hands.

The one difference now was that the burden called “Anne” was no longer with him. The sweet girl who had done nothing but safely carry his wing on her breast.

He was free to choose where to go.

He was free to choose what to do.

Now that he had complete freedom, he suddenly questioned himself.

I got my freedom. So what do I want to do? Where do I want to go?

Darkness was closing in.

Break down… Something suddenly whispered in his ear.

I won’t break down. If anyone’s breaking down, it’s her. The goal she was desperately chasing was torn away right before her eyes.

Feeling lonely? The thing whispered again, coaxing him.

Lonely?

Challe had nothing he had to protect and nowhere he had to go.

Even though this was the moment he had imagined in his dreams, the moment he regained his freedom, Challe had the feeling of receding into his own mind, of shrinking, of being isolated from the world.

Then, he felt an overwhelming longing for something.

Was it for a long-vanished memory of the distant past that would never return?

No.

Memories of the past were vacant, empty. They only chilled Challe’s heart.

The thing he longed for was something warmer. Something he’d experienced more concretely.

I felt it until just a short while ago. It was…

A sweet smell. The warmth of life.

That sweet scent must have dissolved in the cold rain and vanished completely.

Challe remembered all the silver sugar that had spilled onto the ground earlier, and he stopped walking. He found himself wishing he could scoop up the scattered sugar with both hands.

As the rain continued falling on Anne, she soon became chilled from head to toe. She had already run out of tears.

Even as morning dawned and the rain lifted, she could not so much as lift her head, and she remained in a stupor.

But when she felt the brightness and warmth of the morning sun on her back, her mind suddenly cleared.

Looking up, she spotted a cluster of small blue fruits at the tip of a withered stalk of grass.

Bathed in rain and the light of the morning sun, the berries were glossy and shiny.

The color and sheen penetrated Anne’s mind, which was drained of all thought.

She gazed at the cluster mindlessly.

As she did, beads of light emanated from the bunch of fruit, covering the surface of the small blue berries. It was reminiscent of the effect that appeared when Challe produced his sword. The illumination gathered on one particular berry and gradually solidified, growing to about the size of a thumb. It condensed and started to take shape.

Anne stared in awe.

The beads of light formed a small head, as well as two arms and two legs. It may have been as big as a thumb, but it was definitely taking the shape of a person. Two translucent wings unfurled on its back.

Enveloped in a veil of light was a dainty feminine figure. It was a fairy.

“…So pretty…,” Anne mumbled unconsciously.

Atop the blue fruit, the fairy sat quietly with her legs folded. She vacantly surveyed her surroundings, then stretched and yawned.

The moment of a fairy’s birth. Anne was enchanted by the sublime and quiet brilliance of it.

She could hardly believe that such a pure radiance existed in the world.

“Fairies are born when the energy of something condenses and takes form.”

Suddenly, Anne heard a voice from behind her. She turned around in surprise.

“Challe…? Why…?”

The warrior fairy knelt down beside her.

Anne stared at him, overcome with surprise.

Without answering her question, Challe kept his eyes on the newborn and said, “Humans divide fairies into categories based on the purpose for which they use us. Worker fairies, pet fairies, warrior fairies. But we categorize ourselves based on our origin. Mithril is a water sprite. I am a stone sprite. That fairy was born from a berry, so she is a plant sprite. Her life span is probably only a year. She’s short-lived. Even so, I envy her… My life span is…too long.”

Fairies do not change from the time they are born until they die. Challe must have borne his current form the moment he was birthed. And fairies live about as long as the thing from which they emerge.

Challe had been born from a piece of obsidian.

Anne wondered just how long he would exist as he did now.

Trying to imagine it was mind-boggling. At the same time, she felt a pain like she was being wrung out to dry when she heard Challe say he was jealous of the new fairy’s fleeting existence.

What agony, she thought, to live alone for almost eternity.

The berry fairy seemed to have finally become conscious. She blinked her eyes rapidly and tilted her head to the side.

“Ah…a friend. And you there, you’re a human, right? I seem to have just been born. I’m not even wearing a dress. Sorry about my appearance. Anyway, nice to meet you. I am Lusul El Min. Oh, I wonder why that is? I already know my own name.”

The teeny-tiny fairy sounded surprised at herself. She beat her wings and flew into the air.

“You know everything that the berry from which you were birthed knows, that’s all,” Challe explained. “The echo of the energy that surrounds the berry turned into a sound and became your name.”

“Is that so? Anyway, I would very much like a dress. Like the one that girl is wearing.”

Challe gently extended his hand and let the little fairy step onto his palm.

“Lusul El Min, do not desire a dress. Wishing for such things brings you closer to humans.”

“So what?”

“Humans are dangerous. They capture fairies and put them to work. They steal freedom from us.”

“Really? But what about that girl? She’s a human.”

“That one is special. Now go, Lusul El Min. Go deeper into the wilderness. Go somewhere human hands cannot reach you and live as you please.”

“How kind you are. Thank you.”

The fairy thanked him, then hastily beat her wings and flew off.

After watching the little fairy go, Challe finally turned his gaze on Anne.

She was simply astonished and couldn’t pull her eyes away from Challe’s face. The stone sprite scowled.

“What is it? You’re making a weird face.”

“Am I? What are you doing here anyway? I gave your wing back, right?”

“You didn’t keep your promise. I came back to make sure you do.”

“My promise?”

“You promised to give me sugar candy.”

“Sugar candy…?”

Did he say he came back for candy?

All alone. All alone.

The echo reverberating in Anne’s head started to fade.

That can’t be right. No one would bother coming back just for one piece of candy.

“So will you make it or not?” Challe asked sullenly.

Anne looked at him with a bitter smile.

Or maybe Challe really did want some candy? But either way is fine.

For this moment, at least, I’m not alone. Someone is here with me.

That made Anne happy, and a smile passed over her lips.

Her modest hopes to become a Silver Sugar Master that year and send Emma off to heaven were dashed, leaving a gaping hole in her heart.

But Challe had come back to her. Not out of obligation or under orders. He had returned on his own.

If there was something she could do for him, she might be able to prove her worth.

A single small light shone in her hollow heart.

She was happy, more than anything. Her tears threatened to spill over, but she held them back and smiled.

“That’s right. I did promise, didn’t I? I promised to make you something exceptionally beautiful.”

Anne stood up. As far as silver sugar went, there was plenty in the wagon that Jonas had left behind.

“Wait. You can’t make candy like that.”

As he spoke, Challe tossed a dry cloth and a set of men’s clothes over Anne’s head.

She took them and tilted her head.

“Where’d you get these?”

“They were in the wagon. He left them behind. I doubt he’ll mind if you use them.”

Anne smiled bitterly.

“You’re right.”

Anne changed clothes behind the wagon.

The men’s pants and shirt were baggy on her, and she folded the sleeves and hem up several times.

“My hands are too cold. I wonder if they’ll even work.”

Anne was freezing. She rubbed her chilly body and flexed her stiff fingers as she headed into the wagon.

Challe calmly approached her. He clasped her cold hands in his and warmed them with his breath.

“Challe…?”

She shivered at the warmth of his breath.

“Once I give you your candy, are you going to leave again?” Anne asked, unable to help herself.

As soon as she did, a soft, pleasant warmth enveloped her.

She realized that she was being gently hugged.

“You smell sweet.” Challe’s breath grazed her ear. “It was your fragrance that called me back. Make the candy. It’s something you can do.”

Anne’s heart was beating fast.

When Challe let her go, she practically ran into the cargo hold.

I don’t know why, but my ears are really hot.

An intense feeling of delight had welled up from the depths of her heart.

Even if Challe did leave once she handed over the candy, he had come back like this to encourage her. That alone was plenty to be happy about.

For his sake, she would make an exceptionally beautiful piece of candy.

She scooped up some silver sugar and added cold water.

She didn’t even stop to think about what to make. As she kneaded the silver sugar, trying to calm the throbbing in her chest, her fingers moved on their own.

The desire to create flowed from her heart.

The image that appeared in her mind was the moment of the fairy’s birth that she had just witnessed. She wanted to capture the beauty of it in silver sugar. It wouldn’t have to be big. It could be small enough to sit in the palm of her hand, delicate and fragile. The thin wings and glossy, shining berries. The fairy’s soft hair and dainty limbs.

Before she knew it, Anne was working the silver sugar with intense concentration.

She stretched it thinner and thinner until it was see-through, and added fretwork to the transparent membrane of sugar.

She then turned her attention to re-creating the glossy berries.

By the time Anne had finally finished her work, the light streaming into the wagon had turned a deep, brilliant orange. The sun was setting.

She was surprised at herself for having worked straight through morning and into the evening. She was also surprised by what she had created: a very small piece of candy that rested in the palm of her hand.

Anne was amazed at just how much time such a small creation had taken.

However, it was the spitting image of the fairy Anne had witnessed being birthed from the berries that morning.

Her eyes were drawn to it, and she couldn’t look away. It had a certain allure.

Anne was startled to realize the similarity it bore to some of the candies Emma had made.

The candy sculpture that Anne created for the Royal Candy Fair had been impressive and a fine showpiece. But it had been one of her mother’s designs. Emma had fashioned it after finding something beautiful to inspire her.

It had conveyed none of Anne’s feelings.

In a way, the candy Anne had made using Emma’s designs wasn’t really Anne’s at all.

That’s why it was just an imitation…

Something she found truly beautiful and desired to capture in sugar. Using that as her inspiration, she had created a compelling, captivating piece of candy for the first time.

In that respect, Anne was certain this new piece was her best work to date.

“This is no imitation… This is my candy.”

She was filled with gratitude toward Challe for accompanying her so far and decided to give the piece to him.

Holding the sugar candy carefully in both hands, Anne stepped down out of the wagon.

Challe was sitting on a rock, gazing vacantly at the setting sun, but he turned when he sensed Anne’s presence.

“Challe. Here. As promised, sugar candy. It’s the best I’ve ever made. Though it is very small compared with the one Jonas stole… Still, that one was half Mama’s creation anyway. This is truly my own work.”

Anne knelt in front of him and held out the candy.

Challe regarded her delicate creation and said, “…It’s lovely.”

Anne’s cheeks flushed at his words.

She felt very happy, even happier than if he’d praised her looks. She was so delighted, she thought she might cry.

“Thank you. Will you accept it?”

Challe carefully claimed the sugar candy with both hands.

Now he’s probably going to go off somewhere.

With that thought, the fairy before Anne seemed like the loveliest being in the world.

His beautiful wing reflected the sunset, and she wanted to knows its texture before he left.

“Your wing. Would you let me touch it?”

Anne didn’t think that Challe would let her casually handle something that held his very life force. He would be making himself vulnerable, giving her the opportunity to damage him if she wanted to cause harm.

She knew all that but couldn’t help but ask.

But Challe nodded.

“Touch it.”

“You’re sure?”

After waiting for him to nod again, Anne gently scooped up Challe’s wing in both hands.

The wing was faintly warm. She let it slip through her hands. It had a texture that sent a shiver down her spine, smoother than silk. Then, she lightly kissed it.

Challe shuddered suddenly, raised his chin slightly, and narrowed his eyes. He exhaled sharply.

Anne released his wing and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Are you satisfied?”

“Yes. So now…”

Now you can go, she tried to say, but the words were stuck in her throat.

She actually didn’t want him to go anywhere.

For some time, Challe gazed down at the candy in his hand. He then asked curtly, “This sugar candy is mine, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“So you’ll let me do anything I want with it?”

As he said this, Challe rose. He untied the rope from the tree that secured Anne’s horse and hitched it to the remaining wagon.

He then walked back over to Anne, whose head was tilted in puzzlement. Challe jerked his chin toward the carriage.

“Get in the driver’s seat. We’re heading out.”

“Where to?”

“Lewiston. If we ride through the night, we’ll arrive in Lewiston by morning. We should make it just in time for the day of the Royal Candy Fair. You want to become a Silver Sugar Master this year, don’t you?”

“But, Challe, my entry—”

“We’ve got this.”

Challe held the candy in his palms out to Anne.

Prompted by his expression, Anne once again took her own work of candy art into her hands.

“If that really is your best work, then we should submit it. If it doesn’t win, then you can give up.”

All the entries for the Royal Candy Fair were always large and ostentatious. It was likely that a small piece like Anne’s would go completely unnoticed among them. It would probably be rejected.

But Anne had finally realized something.

She wondered why she had been in such a hurry to become a Silver Sugar Master. She obviously wasn’t ready, and even if she had somehow managed it by mimicking her mother’s brilliance, it wouldn’t have made Emma happy. Her mother would never have a peaceful journey to heaven with a piece of candy made by a fake Silver Sugar Master.

If the small sculpture really showed Anne’s true ability, then she ought to compete with it. She looked up at Challe.

“Why are you doing this for me? I gave you your wing back.”

“Indeed, I have my wing back, and you are not my master. So we can become friends—if you want.”

“Do you want that, Challe?”

The warrior fairy shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Anne could sense some hidden meaning behind his curt reply.

The natural brilliance returned to Anne’s eyes. Happiness imbued her with a surge of strength.

“It’ll be night soon. Do you think we can make it down the Bloody Highway safely? Will we be okay?”

Challe smiled boldly.

“Who do you take me for?”

They dashed through the night. Anne’s horse did very well, and though its breath became haggard, it never faltered. They exited the Bloody Highway at dawn.

Before the morning dew had even dried, the royal capital of Lewiston spread out before their eyes.