Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 6 - Chapter 7.2

Even if Anne fell in love with someone else, settled down, and achieved perfect happiness, Challe would never be able to leave her side. He would stay somewhere nearby, never losing sight of her and remaining hidden so she wouldn’t be aware of his presence. He wouldn’t allow even the slightest unhappiness to visit her and would protect her for the rest of her days.

That was the meaning of “forever.”

But he couldn’t say that to Anne. If he did, Anne would start worrying about him instead. And that was the one thing he didn’t want.

No matter what he did, Challe couldn’t seem to rid himself of these powerful feelings. Though he truly wished for Anne to find perfect happiness, when he’d said she could love whomever she liked, the words had tasted bitter on his tongue.

I want to touch her.

Even sitting here now, it was all Challe could do to keep himself in check.

Early the next morning, the candy crafters started their work.

The eight largest sugar candy sculptures were lined up with four to either side of the altar. The medium and small sculptures filled in the gaps.

The interior of the sanctuary had a wide aisle running down the middle from the large double doors straight up to the altar, with pews on either side. About midway down the aisle, there was a gap in the pews forming a second aisle that intersected the first in the shape of a cross.

King, Orlando, Elliott, and Kat had worked together to install a round, flat pedestal of polished silver sugar at the intersection of the two aisles. The pedestal was so big that two adult men could just barely get their arms around it.

Nadir saw it and marveled. “It really is huge, huh?”

“I know it’s a bit late,” muttered Jonas, sounding fed up, “but can we really do this?”

“Don’t give me that!” Kat yelled as he carefully brought over some snowflakes. “We’re doin’ it! Jonas, help carry these!”

All of them—every candy crafter, along with Challe and Bridget—carried countless snowflakes over to surround the pedestal. They had made them over the course of seven days, and there were enough of them to build three large towers.

“One more.”

Anne looked back and forth between the pedestal and the ceiling, which sloped down from the middle like an opened umbrella, judging the distance. The pedestal sat just below the sanctuary’s tallest point.

They would make their final tower there. Starting right then.

Normally, sugar candy sculptures were constructed in a workshop, then brought in for display. Building an entire sculpture on-site from start to finish was practically unheard of. But it was necessary for them to construct their last sculpture here.

Off to the side, Mithril was putting silver sugar and water into a stone vessel and mixing it into a paste. The lightly blended mixture would be used to fix the crystals in place.

“I’ll go work on the south side,” Anne said.

Elliott raised his hand. “All right, I’ll take the west.”

Kat stood to the east of the pedestal. “I’ll start here.”

Orlando silently took the side to the north.

The four veteran crafters stood around the circumference of the huge pedestal at the four cardinal directions. And behind each of them stood another candy crafter.

“Let’s get started,” Anne said. “We don’t have much time.”

Anne and the other crafters all knelt down in their positions. Anne turned to Keith, who was standing behind her.

“The largest size,” she said. “White ones. Two of them.”

Keith nodded and carefully used both hands to pass her two large white snowflakes. Anne took them and stood them up on the pedestal so that the two crystals would support each other. Then without a moment’s delay, Mithril came to stand in front of Anne’s knees, holding up the stone bowl. Anne used the tool resting in the bowl—a stick like a thin wooden twig—to scoop up some of the lightly blended sugar paste. Then she touched it to the points of contact between the pedestal and the crystal snowflakes, setting them into place.

Directly across from her, Orlando was doing the same thing, getting his crystals from Valentine. Elliott got his from Nadir, and Kat from King. Each of them had someone to pass them crystals.

Jonas was stirring up another batch of sugar glue in Mithril’s place. Challe and Bridget each sat on opposite sides of the sanctuary, watching the work.

The only sounds echoing through the chilly sanctuary were the hushed voices of the candy crafters.

“Would you hand me a little one? The smallest size, in white. Just one, please.”

Even Elliott was holding his breath, reining in his usual chatter.

“Bring me one of the big ones, light blue.”

Kat’s stern expression never relaxed.

“That one. That one’s good. Give me that.”

Orlando, too, seemed tenser than usual, like he wasn’t yet used to working with one eye and might still be in pain. Even so, it didn’t affect the precision of his work.

Though it was freezing cold inside the sanctuary, beads of sweat gradually appeared on the candy crafters’ foreheads.

“Keith. One more. A big one.”

Anne was focusing her attention on her own fingertips, affixing sugar crystals to the sculpture and thinking about which ones she would need next. She made her request in almost a whisper, and Keith’s subdued voice confirmed her orders.

“White next, right?”

“Mm.”

With perfect timing, just as she took her fingers off the crystal in front of her, Keith, working behind her, had another one ready.

The sun rose high into the sky, then fell again, and the light of sunset passed through the sanctuary’s stained glass windows.

The candy crafters had worked all day long, practically holding their breath.

“I’m not surprised, but this is really taking a while…,” Kat said with a sour look on his face. He let go of a snowflake and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “It’s evening already. The First Holy Festival is tomorrow night. At this rate, we won’t be getting any sleep.”

Elliott finished attaching a snowflake and looked up. “Oh, were you planning on sleeping, Kat?”

“I’ve gotten used to the ridiculous way you people work,” Kat retorted. “So no, I never expected to sleep.”

Anne sighed deeply and looked at the finished section in front of her. Sure enough, the way things were going, they wouldn’t have time to rest. The tower she had imagined wasn’t even one-third of the way built.

“We’re going to need ladders soon. Where are they kept?” Orlando paused and turned to look at Valentine behind him.

“Jonas and the others are bringing them now.”

No sooner had Valentine spoken than Jonas and Challe entered the sanctuary, carrying the ladders.

Bridget had brought as many lanterns and candlesticks as she could find to illuminate their workspace.

“Bridget,” said Anne, “please set up the lights where the candles will be during the First Holy Festival.”

“Why? Isn’t it better to have them closer to where you’re working?”

“Uh-uh. We need the same lighting we’ll have on the night of the festival.”

After thinking about it for a moment, Bridget replied, “So you’re trying to see what the light will be like then?”

“Right. We’re not just making a candy sculpture and setting it there. We want to make use of a whole sanctuary’s worth of light. So I’d like to see how it will look.”

At Anne’s reply, Bridget smiled and nodded, then moved the lights to where the ornamental candles would be placed the following day. Under the illumination of the gently flickering lights, the crafters launched back into their work.

They labored continuously, all day and all night. At dawn, the interior of the sanctuary grew faintly brighter.

When Elliott noticed that it was getting light outside, he looked around him.

“Jonas, Valentine, King: You three take down the frames around the sculptures already in place. Careful, now. Nadir and Keith, please assist us until the three of them finish with that.”

Having received their orders, the candy crafters scattered across the sanctuary.

As time passed, all superfluous thoughts left Anne’s head.

What color next?

What size?

How is it reflecting the light?

She thought about the balance of each snowflake as she attached it. All her thoughts were focused on a single purpose.

More, more.

When Anne had decided to make one last tower, she had wished that the good fortune summoned by their sugar candy would reach everyone, everywhere in the kingdom. In order to do that, she had to make the tower as tall as the sky. The sky was visible to everyone in the kingdom, so she wanted her sugar candy to reach up toward it. Anne stared at the sculpture they were building and let her gaze sweep all the way up from her workspace to the ceiling.

“It needs to be higher,” she mumbled.

That night, for the sake of the new year’s blessings, she wanted to gaze upward.

Higher.

Snow was falling silently.

It was the night of the First Holy Festival, and the whole of Lewiston was lit up. There was a tradition that on this night, every window should have a single light placed in it. There wasn’t a dark window in the city. Tents and stalls had been erected in the West Marketplace, the plaza in the south, along the triumphal road, and all across the city. People were selling hot wine and fried sweets.

That night, when the church rang its bells to mark midnight, a new year would begin.

Everyone was thinking about the year to come, and a restless but happy mood prevailed.

Right at that moment, behind the closed doors of the sanctuary, the king and his nobles were attending the First Holy Festival. The people of Lewiston had gathered outside, and once the ceremony was complete and the king and his nobles had departed, the sanctuary would be opened to the public.

Once the church’s midnight bells rang out, the heavy sanctuary doors would be pushed open by twenty priests. Then the people gathered around outside could solemnly enter and offer their prayers.

As they waited impatiently for the sound of the bells, the onlookers whispered to one another as they watched the flickering lights through the stained glass windows of the sanctuary.

“I heard the Paige Workshop made the candy sculptures this year.”

“The Paige Workshop? But they’ve never made them before, not even once. I wonder if they’re okay.”

“The state church selected them, so they must be all right.”

“I just hope they’re good. Good enough to bring a whole year of happiness to the kingdom.”

Anxious, expectant, and curious, the people crowded together, exchanging opinions.

Then the bells rang, echoing through the snowy night air.

All kinds of bells were rung at once, and their sounds blended together, covering the city and filling the sky.

The huge sanctuary doors began to move. From inside, twenty priests pushed the double doors open all at once.

Bright light spilled out over the people crowded on the steps and in the front garden.

Once the doors were completely open, the head priest stood in the doorway, lit from behind by dazzling candlelight. He wore black ceremonial robes and a tall, thin black hat. Around his neck hung a slim sash made of gold and silver threads woven together.

“Best wishes for the new year. May renewed fortune come to every one of us.”

After the head priest had spoken, he smoothly extended both arms, drawing a sacred symbol in the air with his fingers above the crowd.

Then he stepped aside, and the people at the front quickly climbed the stairs. The moment they made it to the top and entered the sanctuary, they stopped and gasped.

The whole place was sparkling brilliantly.

Along the walls on either side were rows of ceremonial candles, making the interior of the church as bright as day. That wasn’t unusual, and in the well-lit interior, they could see the stone pillars and altar of the sanctuary, with sugar candy sculptures decoratively arranged around them, as they were every year.

However, something was different. The sanctuary looked like an entirely new place.

It was much brighter than usual because the sugar candy sculptures all reflected the light of the candles.

There were large, medium, and small conical towers lining the room. But the sculptures didn’t hinder the light—because Anne and the others had built them out of irregularly placed, extremely thin snowflake crystals—and light passed through the gaps. The patterns carved into each and every snowflake scattered the candlelight, and it glinted sharply where it hit the tips of the crystals.

The bright-white sugar candy sculptures captured the very essence of snow. It was obvious to anyone who looked at them.

And among those pure-white snowflakes, here and there were delicate, faintly colored crystals. It was like a host of angels had descended on a snowy field, leaving signs from above.

And most surprising to people was the enormous conical sugar candy sculpture installed in the very center of the sanctuary. Looking up, they could see its topmost point, as small as the tip of a finger. It had been built in the same way as the others, constructed out of paper-thin crystal snowflakes. The enormous tower of snow stood there, taking in all the light in the sanctuary and watching over the people and the kingdom. The room was so bright because this enormous tower was gathering the candlelight and glowing all the way to the tips of each snowflake. It softly scattered the light up to the highest reaches of the sanctuary, where the candles’ illumination usually didn’t reach.

It was a gentle kind of brightness. But sometimes, a sharp glint caught the eye.

And even though it was so bright, it was clearly a scene of snow—a fantastical landscape like no one had ever seen before.

The sugar candy sculptures weren’t just sitting there, either. The crafters had taken into account the placement of the lights when they were situating and building their sculptures. They had turned the space itself into a field of snow. Their sculptures weren’t simply decorations—they transformed the whole sanctuary into something new.

Glen Paige made his way into the church, leaning on Hal’s shoulder.

The moment they entered, Hal said, “Wow…”

Danna and Noah, who came in behind them, both looked amazed as well. Even Cathy and Benjamin marveled at the sight from atop Danna’s shoulders.

Glen gasped in surprise. A lively twinkle sparkled in his eyes—they were the eyes of a candy crafter.

“It’s so large. Did they build it here? The effect it’s having on the light… The sugar candy has changed the atmosphere inside the sanctuary… I see. I had no idea this was possible… And with only sugar candy.”

Glen stood there, gazing intently at the scenery before him.

“Glen, it’s time we headed farther in.”

After a few moments, at Hal’s urging, Glen started walking. As he moved, he hung his head. Drop by drop, tears fell to his feet as he made his way slowly forward.

When he noticed the tears, Hal peered anxiously at Glen’s face.

“Glen? What’s the matter? Are you in pain?”

Still hanging his head, Glen forced himself to smile.

“No, no. I was just appreciating the audacity of youth… I’m delighted.”

Glen raised his head again and admired the light-filled sanctuary once more.

“Where do you think our candy crafters have gone off to, Hal?”

As it happened, the crafters were in the priests’ anteroom in the back of the sanctuary. They had worked through the night and used up every last bit of their strength, and as soon as their work was complete, they had returned to the anteroom and flopped down to sleep. They had each covered themselves with a blanket and were huddled together like a nest of rabbits in winter, snoring away.

Even Bridget was curled up in a corner of the room.

Anne, however, was alone in the back garden of the church.

The garden was set apart from the path that connected the sanctuary to the priests’ quarters, so other than Anne, it was currently deserted. The space around her was faintly illuminated by the light coming from the windows of the priests’ quarters and from the sanctuary.

Anne stared up at the sky. A continuous flurry of snow was falling. Even though she hadn’t slept, for some reason, her mind seemed half-awake and half in a daze, like she had awoken from a long slumber.

She hadn’t been able to sleep. Her own words about reaching for the heavens still lingered in her mind.

“Lusul El Min.”

She wondered whether the good fortune from their sugar candy sculptures would reach the little fairy who had said she wanted to see the ocean, and all the other fairies who had left. Anne had wanted to make the final sculpture as tall as possible, for their sakes—so that the good fortune would make it to them, no matter how far away they were.

“Anne.”

Someone called her name, and Anne turned around.

“Hugh?”

Hugh Mercury came walking toward her through the snow with a grin on his face and one hand in the air. He was wearing the formal uniform of the Silver Sugar Viscount.

“What’s the matter?” asked Anne. “Why are you here, and in formal clothes, no less?”

“Well, I am the Viscount. I attended the ceremony, you know.”

Salim was there, too, of course, following behind Hugh. He was moving quietly, as if trying not to intrude.

“You did a great job,” said the Viscount. “The other nobles in attendance were absolutely astounded. Until now, all the candy sculptures for the First Holy Festival have been simple statues, sitting there inert. But this time, your work showed them that sugar candy sculptures can transform a whole space. From next year on, I bet the way people make candy sculptures for the festival is going to change. With this, the name of the Paige Workshop will become world-famous. Starting tomorrow, it will be flush with job offers. What’s more, all the candy crafters who used to work there will hear rumors about this, and many of them will want to return. The Paige Workshop is going to make a sudden comeback.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Anne was happy to hear this news, and her lips turned up in a genuine smile. But Hugh’s own grin was strained.

“‘Wonderful,’ huh…? Are you really happy with just that, Anne? You may become known as the head candy crafter for the Paige Workshop, but as the Silver Sugar Master Anne Halford, you still don’t have a single accomplishment to your name.”

Hugh wasn’t wrong. The sculptures for the First Holy Festival were the work of the entire Paige Workshop. They did not exist because of Anne alone, but through the strength of the whole team. Anne’s own abilities were only a small part of that.

“If you want to be the head candy crafter of the Paige Workshop and work your whole life there, that’s fine. It’s a good job, too. If that’s your dream, that is.”

My dream…

Anne wondered exactly what that meant for her. The question took her by surprise. She had no idea what kind of work she wanted to do in the future or what kind of crafter she wanted to become.

Anne simply wanted to hone her skills as a Silver Sugar Master. If she wanted to chart a clear path for her life, however, she needed a goal to pursue, not just a vague desire. But an image of what that looked like hadn’t yet formed in her mind.

Maybe I could fulfill my dreams with the Paige Workshop, she thought suddenly.

Her current position was comfortable. It was fun, and she was satisfied with the work.

But since I don’t know what my dream life looks like, can I really say this is it? As it is, I’ve been following the path that Glen and Mr. Collins laid out for me. I’m probably taking their ideas as my own.

“Think about it,” said Hugh. “It’s your future, after all.”

Anne stood there, motionless. Then she heard a voice coming from behind her.

“Silver Sugar Viscount. Are you hitting on our head candy crafter?” Elliott strolled over from the direction of the sanctuary. Challe was with him. “When I woke up, I was surprised to see that Anne wasn’t there. We’ve gone through an awful ordeal, so I reflexively shook Challe awake and came looking.”

Hugh smiled wryly and waved his hand dismissively. “I considered hitting on her, but Challe scares me. I’ll go now.”

Hugh started walking away, and Elliott bowed.

“Thank you very much, Viscount, for rescuing our head crafter from that wicked fairy.”

“It’s my job. Besides, I just went to pick her up. I didn’t save her.”

That was all Hugh said, before walking off with Salim in tow.

Challe pushed Anne gently on the back. “Go somewhere with a roof. Your head is white with snow.”

“Challe, I—” As she started to walk, Anne grabbed the cuff of Challe’s jacket. “I made the decision to work at the Paige Workshop until the First Holy Festival. But I never thought beyond that.”

As she stepped under the eaves behind the sanctuary, Challe sighed deeply and brushed away the snow that had accumulated on her head.

“A scarecrow brain, as always…”

Elliott, who had stepped under the eaves with them, roared with laughter.

“It’s true that you only pay attention to the things right in front of your face, Anne. You aren’t very good at planning for the future, are you?”

She didn’t think she was bad at it; she’d just never really considered such things. Anne had always given only vague thought to what she wanted to do next and then recklessly thrown herself into whatever task happened to be in front of her.

“A word of advice for our dear Anne.” Elliott stuck his index finger in the air and said smoothly, as if reciting from a book, “First, speaking from my position as the proxy maestro of the Paige Workshop, we’d like you to stay with us. This is purely because you have done such fine work, so I believe it will benefit the workshop if you stay. However, I have one more opinion, as your senior Silver Sugar Master. If you’re thinking about your future, the first thing you ought to do is gain more experience. The Paige Workshop is small, and what you learn will be limited. If you want to become the kind of candy crafter who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Silver Sugar Viscount, you can’t possibly remain with us.”

Anne thought about Hugh.

I want to be like him.

She had never thought hard about her future, but that was the one thing she was certain of. And in order to make that happen, she needed to think about her own path forward.

I can’t stay at the Paige Workshop…

A painful feeling welled up in her chest. She felt at ease where she was. She had come to love all the candy crafters there, along with Elliott, Glen, Bridget, and the fairies. And yet she couldn’t stay.

It must have shown on her face, and Elliott bopped Anne on the head.

“Now, don’t get too worked up, okay? If you ever hate what you’re doing, you can just come back. You are our head candy crafter, Anne. You’re welcome anytime!”

Anne looked up at Elliott in surprise. He gave her a casual wink, then turned and started to walk away.

“Uh-oh…,” he said. “Everyone fell asleep, and we forgot to send someone to get Glen. Knowing him, he already made it here on his own, though. Yeah, I bet he’s already inside. I know it. And I’m in for a scolding.”

Grumbling, Elliott nevertheless skipped off with nimble steps and headed back into the sanctuary.

He said I’m welcome anytime.

Anne had never thought that hearing such a thing would be so gratifying and reassuring. She had a place to return to. She had people waiting for her there. If she grew weary, they would greet her warmly and pat her on the head.

A place like Mama.

She could venture on precisely because she had a place to return to.

“So then what’s your conclusion, scarecrow brain?” Challe asked, holding back laughter.

“I…can’t stay at the Paige Workshop.”

“So you’re leaving? What then?”

“Huh? Um, well…uh…I…”

“Take your time and think about it. Do whatever you like. I’ll come with you.”

Challe started walking, and Anne followed him.

He went through the back rooms of the sanctuary and stepped out the door to the side of the altar. Anne stood beside him, and they gazed out at the fantastical scene, at the people’s cheerful faces, and at the sugar candy.

A new year had come. And with it, new good fortune for the Kingdom of Highland.

Challe had said that he was coming with Anne. And he was standing by her side at that very moment. And yet she still felt a distance between them—the distance between humans and fairies. Suddenly, sadness overcame her, and she felt the urge to cry.

Challe… Challe.

The harder she tried to suppress her feelings of love, the more they overflowed. Even though she knew it would be better if those feelings disappeared, they simply wouldn’t go. She found herself wishing that the good fortune filling the room, brought by their sugar candy sculptures, would somehow close the distance between her and Challe. It felt like she had been thrown into a lake without knowing how to swim, and she was struggling even though she knew it was hopeless.

Someone sitting in a pew in front of the altar finished his silent prayers and stood up. It was Keith. His gaze wandered their way, and he noticed Anne and Challe standing beside the altar. He raised his hand in a casual wave and walked over to them.

“Anne, I was looking for you. There’s something I’d like to consult you about.”

“Consult?” She stared at him blankly. “What is it?”

She couldn’t think of anything that Keith might want to ask her for advice on.

He smiled mischievously. “The truth is, after I decided to help the Paige Workshop with this job, I quit the Radcliffe Workshop.”

Anne was taken aback by this sudden confession.

“You quit? Why? Why would you suddenly quit?”

“After watching the candy crafters of the Paige Workshop, thinking about the factions and my father’s legacy and everything else seemed foolish. So I quit. I’m not going to be part of any faction anymore. That’s what I wanted to ask you about, Anne. Are you going to stay at the Paige Workshop and remain their head candy crafter?”

“No. I decided to leave, but…”

“In that case, listen, Anne… Would you start a sugar candy workshop with me? I want to form a new one, with you.”

Keith stared directly at Anne and smiled gently, as he always did.

Anne looked back at him, stunned by the unexpected invitation.

The two of us, start a workshop?

They were surrounded by the soft glow of the sanctuary as shimmers of reflected light danced around them. Their sugar candy, inviting good fortune far and wide across the kingdom, lit up the room.

Keith offered Anne his hand like he was looking for a handshake.

Challe watched Anne intently. Though his face was expressionless, she sensed that his beautiful black eyes were swirling with mixed emotions.

Anne hesitated, perplexed by Keith’s offer. She stared at his outstretched hand, wondering whether she ought to take it.

As she puzzled over her decision, the sound of church bells echoed in the snowy night air.