Page 58 of Myths and Manuscripts
Thankfully our destination was right up ahead. The scent of freshly baked bread and sweets drifted out of a cozy little bakery with a sign hanging by the door that had a giant cleaver stuck ina loaf of bread.
The hero raised an eyebrow. “The Destroyer’s Bakery?”
“Just go inside. You’ll see why we’re here soon enough.”
A loud thunk made the hero jump as a giant, hulking demon slammed a massive cleaver on the counter, cleanly slicing a loaf of bread. The demon picked the weapon up and slammed it down again and again until the entire loaf was sliced evenly and perfectly.
The hero’s mouth dropped open. “That’s Varnok the Destroyer!”
A woman laughed. “Noki’s mostly the destroyer of diets now, so there’s no need to worry.” The voice was coming from behind the counter, but we had to look down to notice the petite demon baker, Miri, who had married the Destroyer a few years ago. She smiled warmly at us. “What can we get for you today?”
The hero gaped, turning from Varnok to me. “But he’s one of the six great demon generals! And he’s just...baking bread?”
“And pies,” Miri said. “He makes a delicious apple pie. The secret is a good caramel sauce and multiple kinds of apples for variety. But don’t tell anyone else that.”
Varnok the Destroyer grunted and nodded at me. “Back again, huh? I didn’t realize our lord had such a sweet tooth.”
“Well, Willow does.” I shrugged, not wanting to admit to such a weakness myself, but I did quite enjoy the pie here. “We’ll take a loaf of bread and a cherry pie to go.” I glanced over at the hero. “What about you? What kind of pie is your favorite?”
He blinked at me. “My favorite pie? Um, well, probably apple?”
“Excellent choice.” Miri clapped her hands together, bumping her hip against Varnok’s. “See? I told you today was a day for apple pie.”
The big demon smiled softly as he patted her head. He was so tall that she only came up to his waist, but the way they lookedat each other was full of love.
Thiswas what I’d wanted to show the hero, that even the demons he thought were monsters had people they cared about. The hero couldn’t seem to stop staring at Varnok’s broken horn though, so I nudged him.
“Stay calm, you’re fine,” I whispered.
“But I’m the one who shattered that horn.” His voice was full of panic and so quiet I almost didn’t hear it. “It’s literally hanging on my wall as a trophy!”
“Oof, don’t tell him that.” I turned back to Miri and handed her a few coins, shaking my head when she tried to protest. “If you don’t let me pay, I can’t keep coming here and then I’ll have to bake for Willow instead and we both know how that would go.”
A soggy pie. I’d tried it once while Willow was busy writing, and it was more than a little disappointing.
“Let me do the baking.” Varnok laughed a big belly laugh as he slammed his cleaver to cut up some apples. “Grab a seat while I finish this.”
Miri led us to a table by the window and set out two plates of cherry pie. “To snack on while you wait. Oh, and have your consort try this with the bread!” She handed me a jar of strawberry jam with red frilly fabric on the top. “It’s extra sweet for her.”
“Thank you.” I took a bite of the cherry pie and couldn’t help but make a happy noise. “It’s wonderful yet again, Miri. You two are amazing.”
“Oh stop.” The petite demon slapped my shoulder as she laughed. “You’re always welcome here.”
I dug into the pie as she went back to help Varnok with the other pie, but the hero just sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“Eat already.” I nudged the plate closer to him. “You don’twant them to think you don’t like it, do you?”
He snatched his fork up so fast I thought he might knock something over. He took a wary bite, reminding me of the first breakfast he’d eaten at the castle, but then his eyes widened.
“This is amazing!” He wolfed the rest of the slice down as Miri smiled at Noki. The hero turned to them. “Ma’am, could I please try another kind of pie as well? This was delicious.”
He didn’t even ask me, the one paying for that pie, but at least it meant he was comfortable here. That was the goal today, to show him that even the worst enemies he’d ever fought had another side to them. A softer side when they weren’t being forced to fight because of the humans’ fool of a King.
“Do you see now?” I asked. “Not all demons enjoy fighting. Some do, sure, but most of us just want to live in peace and focus on the things we love. Demons as a whole work hard on their art whether that’s baking, gardening, glass blowing, or anything in between. We’re a people who love beautiful things and enjoy sharing the warmth of good food and good art with others. You can’t just label us monsters because of how we look and call it a day.”
“Of course not.” The hero wiped crumbs off his mouth with a frown. “But I’ve seen your generals hurt people.” He leaned over the table to whisper. “Varnok didn’t get the nickname the Destroyer for no reason, you know.”
I’d read the books, so I knew that, but I also knew that he’d never do that on a whim. He was so at home here in this bakery with Miri, so for him to have gone to war, there had to be a good reason. After spending enough time with the villagers, I think I knew what that reason was too: to protect our people.
