The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 57

One morning a week or so after the battle against the storm-daemon Typhoon, I rose very early, and leaving Avani asleep in bed, I slipped into my clothes and out the back door. Dashing through the chilly morning air, I hurried over to see Lin. I wanted something from her, and quickly—before my wife awoke and found I was missing, anyway. So hurrying into the inn and through the lobby, I knocked on her bedroom door. She answered a minute later, yawning as she shrugged into her robe. “Leon? What’s going on? Why are you here so early? Is something wrong?” she asked in rapid fire, confused by my arrival in her private room.

“No, nothing’s wrong, Lin. But I want something as quickly as possible, and I’m very much hoping you can give me what I need. Can I come in?”

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A few minutes later, I was hurrying back through the garden, a small parcel in my hand, and slipping back into the house as quickly and quietly as I could. Fortunately, she didn’t appear to have so much as stirred. I went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee brewing while I arranged my purchase on a pretty plate. Placing the plate, a fork, a bowl of strawberries picked just the day before from the spring field on Sercerezo Hill, a small dish of sweetened whipped cream, and two cups of coffee on a tray, I carefully crept back out to the main chamber.

Placing the tray on the bedside table, I slipped under the covers alongside my wife. Kissing her gently on her cheek, I whispered, “Good morning, My Lady. It’s another beautiful day in Selphia.” She opened her eyes somewhat reluctantly—I’m afraid I’d kept her up rather later than usual last night, plus she apparently still hadn’t recovered all of her energy from her two most recent battles, against the grimoire and the storm-daemon. She yawned and snuggled up against me, closing her eyes tightly again, but I could see a mischievous curve at the corner of her mouth and knew she was only kidding around.

Smiling at her dissemblance, I murmured, “I have a little something for you, but you have to be awake to receive it.” That got her attention, and her eyes flew open, bright with anticipation. I sat up, and she pulled herself up alongside me, peering around me to see what I’d brought for her. As I placed the tray on her lap, she looked it over, seemingly delighted yet puzzled by my odd selection.

“Thank you! It looks delicious. Though… why cake for breakfast?” she asked as she took a sip of the hot coffee, blowing on it to cool it first, and examined the large slab before her.

“Well, as I was starting to drift off last night…”

“More like this morning,” she interrupted with a wide grin, her eyes twinkling merrily.

“…this morning,” I conceded with a smile, “I suddenly remembered something from our conversation a few nights ago, the evening of our fight with Typhoon. I recalled that it had struck me as remarkable that you kept using cake analogies and idioms, and I wondered at the time if you were wanting something sweet. But then one thing led to another, and I’m afraid the cake was forgotten—until early this morning, anyway.”

She looked both surprised and touched. “I don’t think I consciously meant anything at the time, but now that I have it here in front of me, I can see it’s the very thing I’ve been wanting. Thank you, love. You’re always so thoughtful.” She selected an especially large, plump berry, and without warning, popped it into my mouth. I smiled at her as I ate it, then I returned the favor, first dipping hers into the cream. And so we went on—feeding each other berries and bites of the cake and sipping our coffee, until the unusual meal was over.

I took the dishes back out to the kitchen to wash, so that she could rest a little longer. I was halfway through with the washing up, when suddenly I heard a thud from the main chamber. Rushing out, drying my hands on my pant legs as I ran, I found her half-fallen to the floor. She looked up at me, her face wan, and groaned, “Leo… I don’t feel so good…” Then her eyes grew large, and she stumbled to her feet and out the door, with me close on her heels.