Without Starlight

Strawberry Pastries Feed the Strangest Strangers

~Chapter 3: Nicholas~

Nicholas woke to Broom nudging him in the face with its bristles.

Faint early morning light filtered in through the windows, causing pain to shoot through Nicholas's skull. He felt like he was made of lead and his head was cracking. Broom nudged him again, shaking itself when its master didn't stir. Nicholas didn't feel like moving, he was cold and still from his night spent on the stone floor. His neck hurt from his awkward sleeping position against the closest door frame, and something at the back of his mind told him that not getting up was safer.

Broom hopped up and landed on Nicholas's head, the dusty bristles poking into his skin. It twisted itself like it was scrubbing a tough spot before jumping up and down one more time. Nicholas put his hands to his face to pitifully protect himself. "Broom." He mumbled angrily. The broomstick stopped its assault. "Off, please."

It hopped off his head, landing in his dust cloud before his face, waiting expectantly. Nicholas slowly pulled himself off the floor, rubbing his neck with a cold hand. "What happened?" He asked Broom. Broom only shivered in response. "Oh yes. I remember now."

Nicholas pulled himself to the counter, grabbing a cup of water and dumping it into a white vase with blue flowers on it. The vase glowed faintly red and steam rolled out of the top. He grabbed the slightly warm vase and poured his boiling water back into the cup, adding a scoop of brown powder.

He sipped his bitter drink. There had been monstrous feet with harsh voices and malicious intent outside of his windows last night. He wondered if he should tell somebody, but who would listen? His step-family surely wouldn't as they were preoccupied with spouse hunting. Anyone within the city would call him insane, as the only dangerous magical creatures lived in the woods - which his house was not a part of. He could consult one of his spell books, but he knew that they didn't hold an endless list of magical creatures.

"What should I do Broom?" He leaned against the counter, watching as Broom nudged the mop on the floor. He looked to the clock that stood on the fireplace mantle. It was only now just reaching six in the morning. Fortunately, he had been instructed by Mabella that everyone was to gain as much beauty sleep as they could to prevent bags under their eyes. Nicholas knew that translated to his step-family waking themselves up when they felt like it.

He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. Was there something that he could do about what had happened last night? There had to be. Then, it struck him. He could go to the market, as his step-family was not likely to be up before noon and look through the books that one of the vendors sold. He looked to the oven and then to the cabinets, wondering if that vendor liked strawberry pastries.

Nicholas set to work preparing and baking pastries filled with strawberry jam. By the time he had wrapped them and placed them in a basket, it was almost eight. He paused on his way out to give Broom a comforting pat on the handle before walking up the stairs into the house's back yard.

He walked at a steady pace towards the city. His house was a couple miles from the city walls and up on a hill. The two-story, white brick house looked over the valley holding the city from the front and from the back looked across some rolling hills before a monstrous forest began. The weather was pleasant and the road fairly empty. He only met several farmers that were moseying along the road to the market, each one and their family's giving him a warm "Morning!"

The city wall reached into the sky, grey stone, and tiny windows. Soldiers stood at all the entrances and along the top, but it was not done in a threatening way. Almost every one of the soldiers engaged in hearty conversations with townsfolk. Nicholas gave a warm smile to a younger soldier that he had grown up with.