Hara:
We both watched on patiently as she tried several types of candy in vain, each time hoping something would change, and each time being disappointed. It almost seemed silly, but no matter how unlikely it seemed that a different type of candy would fix her taste, I couldn't help but still root for her.
She made it all the way to the end though, at least for how much money she brought, and the same result. "It's bitter…" She said softly.
"W-well, maybe we can try more?" Rune muttered, seeming somehow more invested.
The shopkeeper scratched her head. "Well… Sure, if you come back with more money. I can't say it will be any more likely to work though."
"What if… We help you somehow, instead of paying with money?"
She folded her arms thinking for a moment, her face clearly showing her desire to say no, but slowly caving to the little girl in front of her, staring up with hopeful eyes and a cheery tail. "I suppose… But…" She looked over at Vive. "Like I said if it hasn't worked by now… I'm not sure that it ever will…"
"What do we have to do?"
They all suddenly looked back at me, just as surprised as I was that I was suddenly joining in, and probably wondering just as much as I was… Why?
"You don't have to–"
"I wanna help!" Rune raised her hand high into the air beside me, and at that, Vive gave in with a sigh.
Not long after that we were each doing our own job. Rune was suddenly put in an adorable pink dress and bouncing around outside shouting about how amazing the candy was, Vive was helping her move some heavier objects, packing up in case she would have to leave. And I was helping her make more of their perishable candy, like sweet bread. 'I have an idea…'
The magic nullifying shackles I wore were restricting… That was for sure, but if I really tried I could still slowly seep my manna out of my body,y and with my gift I could manipulate it easily from there, slowly amassing a large amount of it… Well, large enough for something small… 'As a part of my training as a sage we learned about enchanting weapons and armor, that's the most basic level. But we can also enchant food… We can make it never go bad, or even cure diseases… I think. But the enchanting has to happen while it's being forged. Uh… Baked, in order to be most effective. Right? ' "Can I try making some by myself?" I asked.
She agreed and I got to work, pouring as much manna as I could into the dough and sugar, the way I was taught to enchant, you just focus on one desire and flood manna into the dough. It was far different than the dwarves and far more abstract, but it's what I did.
When it was done it didn't look very pretty, like some kind of sand castle that had collapsed in on itself… But the shopkeep still praised me for it… Only makes it even more embarrassing… After a while, we were released from our labor and Vive tried every candy left that she hadn't yet, which was only 3 at that point. Making it feel like a bit of a scam that we had to work for as long as we did… But that wasn't the point. Every single one of them was the same, and when she said "Bitter" on the last one, my heart almost broke seeing her eyes slowly fall to the floor, even though her expression didn't change, as if expecting that outcome.
"Did she really try everything? Even the sweet bread we made?"
She shrugged. "That's not technically a candy, so no, she hasn't yet."
I rushed to the back grabbed the one I made and brought it out. "This one's ugly anyway. Can she try this too?"
She started to sulk as well. "Yeah, go ahead…" She said softly, giving me her chair.
I sat down and pushed the plate forward to her. "I made this with magic, if anything can help you it will be this."
Her face stiffened slightly. "What about the shackles?"
"I only needed a little bit of magic… Which is good sense, that's all I can manage with them…"
She scrunched up her face. "A little bit… To do what… Exactly…" She said slowly.
"Uh… Well… It's kind of hard to explain so…"
"You didn't poison it right?"
I felt chills run down my arms. 'Oh… Right… In the empire, people would ask that too… There it never made sense but here…' "N-no… I just…"
"Rune and I… Aren't they supposed to accept food given for free by strangers…"
"Heheh… No… I mean… That's fine…"
"I guess you aren't really a stranger anymore… But…"
"I said it's fine, it's alright. It's not a big deal really… Let's just… Get going…" I stood up and walked back over to Rune, but as I passed her she grabbed my sleeve and stopped me.
"I really hate trusting people…" Vive said sternly.
'I know already… You can't trust me… So let's just forget any of this ever–'
She took a giant bite and slowly chewed it. "She's just like that… She didn't mean to make you sad…" Rune mumbled.
'She ate it? She actually… And I even told her I used magic? You hate trusting people you say? And Rune… But… These girls are…'
"It's bitter…" She mumbled standing up and taking the sweet bread with her as she came over to us. "And Rune you don't like bread,d right? Hara… Maybe, it would be best if you finish it." She extended it to me.
'I really thought it would work…' "You… Don't you still think it might be poisoned?"
She quickly pulled it back. "I just thought it would be better for someone to enjoy something that smelled so nice… But… I'll eat it… Rune ate my steak so I'm still hungry anyway."
"YOU GAVE IT TO ME!" She whined.
'These girls…'
Vive smirked, popping a candy in her mouth that she was hiding and making her tail suddenly start to twitch as if she was trying to stop it from wagging, but was unable to. "I did give it to you. But I'm still hungry." She said, still smiling as she took another bite, her whole face suddenly relaxing as chills shot down her arms.
"Vive?"
"It tastes wrong…"
Rune tilted her head. "What does that even mean?"
"It's sweet…"
"But isn't it supposed to be sweet?"
Rune hadn't seemed to get it yet, but I was already tearing up, holding my hands over my chest with my breath held tight.
"Wait, I thought you said it was bitter?"
"It was…" She took another bite, starting to tear up and all I could do was watch. "But now… It tastes sweet…" She said again. Despite holding it in for so long with a calm face, in an instant her expression broke all at once and she suddenly turned into a crying mess, tilting her head back to try and stop the tears, but to no avail.
Rune tugged on my sleeve. "You should give her a hug now…"
'Me? But… Should it really be me? She was even worried I might poison her…' "Why not you?"
She groaned. "If she was sad I would… But… I don't want her getting snot in my fur…"
I sighed, taking the sweet bread out of her hand and slowly wrapping her up in my arms until she calmed down. 'Even for her… I guess it was just a lot… And I'm sure I don't even know half the story… But, I'm glad I could give it a happy ending… Maybe it will bring me some good luck… Then maybe mine will have one too…'
It was already dark by the time we left, and once again the girls crowded me while I slept, even more than before, reminding me of my happier days in the orphanage, even more so after I found out both of them were orphans too… It was the best night's sleep I think I ever had, and the next day was the happiest I could remember. In light of Vive being able to taste again, we spent the whole day cooking and eating all sorts of things, and eating out what we couldn't make. It seemed like every day the guilt I felt from not being miserable slowly felt farther and farther away.