Put back together

1. I'd hate to see them hang you

Flour coated his hands as Patton kneaded the dough. The white powder tickled his nose slightly. The smell of all kinds of baked goods filled the warm air.
Patton loved the bakery. He had worked here for years now. Baking bread, cakes, cookies, cupcakes and so much more for the royal family and their guests. He had never really met any of them. Sure, he had seen them from afar like every other person in the capital but that couldn't be called meeting them.
He didn't mind working for someone he didn't know. Some of his friends questioned that.

Not that Patton had that many friends. Most were more friendly strangers. People he could talk to, who liked him, but he couldn't truly trust.

Maybe that was why he spent most of his time either baking or with dogs.
Patton loved dogs. He also loved cats but sadly he couldn't be around them for long before he had trouble breathing and began sneezing.

Why he spent so much time baking?
First, it was his job. He needed the money to live.
Second, he loved turning a bunch of ingredients into something delicious and beautiful. It was weirdly fascinating.

But because all of it was for royalties everything had to be perfect.
A tray of slightly deformed cookies, a cake that didn't rise the way it should - that was unacceptable. So Patton gave it to the servants and often the children living near the palace. He loved the way their eyes lit up when they bit into the sweets he offered them. The way they stuffed their pockets to bring their treasures home for their families.
It filled his heart with joy and warmth.

He hummed a melody under his breath of a song he couldn't remember the name of, rolled out the dough and began spreading out a mix of cinnamon and butter on it. Cinnamon rolls.
The smell of the expensive seasoning filled the young mans nostrils. He wanted to taste it despite knowing he wasn't allowed to. Bummer.

Patton had just pushed the tray into the oven when a servenant entered the kitchen. Patton recognized her. Her name was Gloria, she liked his blueberry muffins a lot.

"Do you need something?", Gilbert the cook, a giant of a man, asked her, his gruff voice somewhere between exhaustion and annoyance.
The woman nodded and turned to Patton: "The King wishes to speak to you."

Patton needed a moment to process that sentence.
"What? Why?", he heard himself ask.
"I don't know, he didn't say", Gloria admitted with a shrug. "But you need to come. Now."

"Can you keep an eye on the rolls?", Patton asked one of the other bakers before quickly following Gloria.

The King wanted to speak to him. He had always assumed that the King didn't even know he existed but apparently he had been wrong.
Maybe he had done something bad? No. He was fairly sure he hadn't broken any laws and his baking couldn't be the problem either. Could it? Maybe he had accidentally let something burnt get served or had put too much salt into the bread this morning or-
Patton shook off the thought.

Gloria lead him through a part of the castle he had never seen before. To be fair he hadn't seen that much. Only the rooms that had something to do with his job; the kitchen, the storage rooms and the cellar.
Black and white stone tiles covered the floor, large windows on his left allowed Patton to see the garden. On his right were beautiful paintings and elegant wooden doors and he wondered what was behind them.
Finally, Gloria stopped in front of a door and turned to face him again:" Good luck, buddy. I'd hate to see them hang you. You're a nice guy."
She gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder before vanishing down another hallway.

Patton's hand shook slightly as he raised it to knock. He didn't even get a chance to do so. The door abruptly swung open, almost hitting him in the face. A tall man stepped out. He stopped for a moment when he noticed Patton and despite the dark glasses that were covering them, Patton could almost fell the man's eyes on him.

"Your majesty?", the man called into the room. Judging by his robes Patton guessed he was a Sorcerer or something alike. "I think you called the exact right person here." Without waiting for an answer he turned around and strolled towards a staircase.

Patton frowned. A Sorcerer had something to do with this? Magic was something he had been taught since a young age to stay as far away from as possible. So this couldn't be good.

"Come inside and close the door!", an authoritative voice called and Patton hurriedly obliged.

This story is going to get long, believe me. I already have a lot planned so I think I'll end this chapter here. Future chapters will most likely be longer.
Spoiler: Patton won't like were this leads.

Have a nice (gay) day!