Page 16 of The Orc Chief's Baker
“Yes,” Trinia muttered. “I hope the Fades ruin Yerina for stealing all my good pans. She took the round ones last night while I was collecting herbs! Can you believe it?”
“Yes?” Ulia said with a little shrug. “Your sister is as selfish as they come, and the witch—er, I mean,Leannahas been stricter about her trades recently. Especially for her face colors and lotions.”
Trinia blinked. “Stricter with her trades? Why?”
“I can’t get her to tell me.” Ulia pushed back her hair and edged away from the oven’s heat. “Something about the ground being too wet and preparing for disaster? You know how she is.”
Trinia did. The woman’s mind was addled half the time. Leanna was one of the people she gave free bread to a few times a moon. The young woman’s family had been exiled from Oakwall during her great-grandmother’s generation and often struggled in the winter.
There were many residents who struggled to get enough food during the harsher season. And it was coming in fast this year. The trees had lost their leaves so much sooner and the air had a particularly icy bite to it.
Trinia picked up a couple of the loaves from the pile that weren’t too bad off. “You’re going to get more rouge from Leanna, right? Could you take this to her? Take this one to Rebekia too. Her arthritis has been acting up, and she wasn’t able to knit anything for today’s trade.”
“Of course.” Ulia took the loaves from Trinia and went to wrap them in one of the cotton cloths. “You know, you probably wouldn’t be so overworked if you didn’t give away so much bread for free.”
Trinia shot her friend a hard look. “I wouldn’t be overworked if I could get new pans commissioned. Butsomeone’sfather has horded all the metal to make nails and tools.”
“It’s not his fault he’s gotten so many commissions for beds lately,” Ulia countered with a shake of her golden head. “It seems like everyone and their brother has outgrown sharing beds with their siblings all at once. Outgrown their houses too.” She tapped her fingers and asked hesitantly, “You... didn’t happen to find time to think about Petr’s house plan, did you?”
Trinia snorted in amusement as she recalled justhowshe’d managed to carve out time for it. “You know what? I actually did. The diagram is on mother’s desk.”
Ulia hurried over and picked it up. “This is perfect! Father will be thrilled. Thank you for helping. We really do appreciate it.”
Trinia cast her a teasing grin as she reloaded the oven. “So appreciative that you can’t pull my cart today.”
“I’m sorry!” Ulia said, looking far too contrite.
“I’m teasing, Ulia.” Trinia finished off in the oven and quickly closed the door. Blazing biscuits. It washot. She moved around toward the window to get some fresh air. “I like doing room designs, you know that.”
“Yes, and my father wouldn’t be able to make half the furniture he does without your measurements.”
“I’m sure he’d be able to figure it out.” Trinia threw open the window. The crisp morning air filtered into the hot bakery and cooled her overheated skin. It smelled incredible. Like clean frost and decomposing leaves. There was a light layer of fog around the tops of the red and yellow trees. The sun was starting to peak through, casting the neighboring cottages and dirt paths in a golden glow.
“I doubt he would,” Ulia said. “He poured over that living space for days trying to make everything fit before he came to you.”
“He didn’t have to do that.” Trinia turned her back to the window. “He can come to me anytime. I really do like doing that kind of work.”
Ulia gave her a smile that was laced with pity, and Trinia’s stomach twisted. “I know. He would take you on as an apprentice if you weren’t already the town baker.”
Trinia forced the thoughts of what could be out of her mind and went back to readying the loaves. Ulia was right. This bakery was more important than anything else. It had been in Trinia’s family for four generations. Every tool, every piece of furniture, every floorboard held precious memories of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She could still feel them here, surrounding her while she worked.
“Perhaps you could do both if you hired help?” Ulia ventured.
Trinia shook her head. “It’s not about help. It’s the lack of tools. It takes five times as long to make my loaves without the pans. And the blacksmiths just don’t have the metal to spare to make new ones.”
They didn’t... but that orc might. Hope swelled in her chest again.
“What do you think Yerina did with them?”
“I don’t know. I’ve asked more times than I care to admit.”Beggedmore like. “But she’s not talking, and you know how she gets when she wants to keep a secret.” Gloaty and smug and infuriating.
“She must have traded them to someone in town. Have you asked around?”
“I have, and not a single person I’ve asked could tell me what she did with them either.”
There was a pause as the mystery settled heavily on them both.
“It’s your own stubbornness that’s holding you back, Trinia.” Ulia broke the silence. “You could easily get the metal for yourpans if you would just play conquest for an orc like a normal woman.”
