Temporary Sick Bay

  Despite the rumors going around there were many in Golden Grain that had jumped in to help the Aurelia once they knew about the recent events.

  One of those people was a young woman named Zezolla, the daughter of a baker, with dirty blonde hair, dark brown eyes and slightly tanned skin, she was dressed in a simple beige and dirt white practical dress that still had traces of flour on it

  “Who is that child?” she had asked

  “It’s Lady Veronique, the injured Undead in the corner is her guard” Eva, the plum looking senior maid had answered her question in a whisper

  “You mean the bastard?” Zezolla had carelessly said, only to be immediately shushed

  “Shh don’t call her like that here!” Eva warned her then explained still whispering “the Duke insists we treat her like his own daughter and he even made a point out of it by firing Mr Kepler and Doctor Franklin” Eva warned her against

  “Wait I thought Doctor Franklin was arrested” Zezolla asked back in a harsh whisper

  “He was and that’s why it’s best to not badmouth Lady Veronique where she could hear us” Eva didn’t need to say anything more for Zezolla to get the idea that the man hadn’t actually done anything.

  Their conversation quieted down till they saw Veronique leave the room

  “I didn’t know things were so tense there” Zezolla commented as she got closer to the senior maid

  “Now you know, and it’s all that girl’s fault” Eva lightly accused, feeling more confident now that the redhead wasn’t here anymore

  “Mrs I doubt the girl caused all of this, she’s just a child” Zezolla said back almost teasing her for thinking so

  “Yet ever since she was born she brought nothing but tragedy” Eva couldn’t help but say “She’s cursed I tell you”

  Unknown to them there was a darker shadow pressed against the wall near them that heard all of it.

  Golden Grain, Baked Goods Bakery

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Dad it’s exactly as Uncle said, the Duke has gone mad and is favoring the bastard” Zezolla had called out as she entered through the front door, coming back home straight from volunteering at the Aurelia, but the words died in her throat as what she stepped into was an unnatural darkness in the usual bright shop and her father looking straight at her with a pale face.

  Her father had always been a big man, one that never took bullshit from anyone and always stood tall, what was before her was the exact opposite of it.

  “Honey, we have to pack” he had said, there was no trace of the strong man that had raised her, the one that always laughed and stood strong in his beliefs.

  Giuliano the proud owner of the Backed Goods Bakery was nowhere to be seen, in his place there was mere a shriveled imitation.

  “Pack why?” Zezolla demanded to know, feeling a sense of danger

  “I sold our bakery and there is a nice spot at the capital I found for us” her father had explained “you will be able to attend school there”

  “But this was my Mom’s bakery! Our family is all there! What will we tell to Uncle?!” Zezolla’s world fell down on her in a moment, she had thought she would become the owner of this bakery and keep baking for the rest of life.

  “Nothing, because we are leaving now” her father was firm on it

  “Now!?” She couldn’t even say goodbye to her family or even her friends, she looked at him as if he had gone completely mad

  “Yes, now go to your room and pack!” but he didn’t budge, his voice had gone deadly serious in a way it had never done, at the least not towards her.

  Zezolla ran to her room and slammed the door shut.

  Once she was gone, the shadows permeating the usually bright bakery had converged into one and Julius stepped out with a smile

  “Mh you are a good Dad, you made the right choice in accepting the offer” he had told him “if you didn’t, you would have gone under with your brother in law”

  “Ivano didn’t even do anything” Giuliano had lightly protested “he’s just hurt and running his mouth” he tried to justify it, even if he knew the mere fact Ivano had sent Zezolla to spy at the Aurelia completely invalidated such justification and they both knew it

  “Yet, but he will and when he does it will be hard to get the whole family cleared of treason” Julius had said as a matter of fact, not even bothering to refute Giuliano’s weak justification “Now you should go pack yourself” and warned him

  “Will Lucia be safe? She really got nothing to do with all of this” Giuliano knew the young woman didn’t have malicious intent when she joined the Aurelia household

  “Since your daughter had to get in to try to get some information from the inside, the Duke has no reason to suspect her” Julius had reassured him, omitting the fact that Lucia was on thin ice by default regardless.

  “It’s a relief” Giuliano let out a sigh, almost moving to go and make his own bags when he decided to dare to ask “Do you think you could get this bakery back into my family if things get peacefully resolved? It’s kind of a family heirloom”

  Julius considered the request before answering

  “I will see what can be done” he said but added in warning “but I wouldn’t hold my hopes too high” it was highly probable that things weren’t going to resolve in a peaceful manner, even if that didn’t mean they weren’t going to try.

  Hopefully their Hound Master’s plan will work, assuming they will get a chance to enact it.

  “I appreciate it anyway, give my thanks to the Duke for allowing us an out” Giuliano had said at last before leaving for his room, at the same time Julius turned back into a shadow and overtook the bakery once again.

  He had stayed till Father and Daughter were out of the door and followed to make sure they left on the carriage that would bring them to the Capital.

  Yes Zezolla is an actual name, and I will tell you more it’s the name of the first Cinderella, coming from Giambattista Basile in his “La Gatta Cenerentola” written in Neapolitan.And yes I named that character that way just cause I wanted an excuse to say that.

  Previous appearance of Eva - Chapter 23