Gigi was exhausted. She was sore, and her body felt heavy. However, triumph flowed through veins and let her push through the weariness. Jörg had been defeated. She had done what she could to avenge Mai. Surely, a little baking wouldn’t push her too hard, right? Right.

Even though her mother had excused her, with the harvest festival starting tomorrow, it was all hands on deck. In the House of Rising Bread, there were a lot of green hands. Usually, she did everything in her power to avoid working in the bakery. She didn’t mind baking but couldn’t stand the jail it had represented. She knew that prisons didn’t always have doors and loud chains. They can be made from a home's skin as easily as gray stone. Before Drake, she had begun to see her mother as her warden and her siblings as her fellow inmates.

That was not how she felt today. Now, she was unusually compelled to help, to show the same support she had been shown before her fight. The constraints made of baked goods felt absent as she worked the dough. Covered in flour, she diligently kneaded until the dough felt warm and ready for the oven. She gave herself a little smile, proud of her work. Her hand was…a little broken, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. She just favored her good hand as she worked.

Giada stared in awe at this newfound, good-natured Gigi. It wasn’t a mystery to Gigi why her sister was so surprised. Ordinarily, after this many hours in the kitchen, Gigi and Griselda would have been in at least three screaming matches. Today, though, Gigi simply attended to her tasks.

“Are you feeling okay, Gigi?” her sister Giada asked.

“Yeah, you hobgoblin, why?” Gigi retorted.

“No reason.” Giada looked at Gerinna behind her before slyly looking back at Gigi. “You know if I didn’t know better…I would say that someone’s in love.”

Gigi threw a piece of dough at Giada’s face. “Shut up! I am not,” Gigi said, staking her hands on her hips.

“Oh, so you don’t love Drake then?” asked Giada smugly.

“Nope.” Gigi folded her arms defiantly.

“Then you won’t mind if I ask him to the harvest festival?”

A jolt of electricity went through Gigi’s spine. She squared up with her sister and stared daggers into her. “Go ahead. He likes you as much as I do,” Gigi hissed.

“Okay, break it up,” their mother said, waving a towel to get their attention.

“She started it!” they both protested.

“Gigi, please, go sleep,” Griselda begged her daughter.

With a parting glare at her sister, Gigi hung up her apron and headed out of the kitchen. When she got to her room, she noticed drops of paint suspiciously outside her door. She frowned and leaned down to touch it. It was dry, which seemed ominous to the confused goblin.

“Drake…”

She pushed the door and was shocked to find him furiously painting her far wall. Extending from his back, a multitude of arms bloomed from the shadows. They all worked diligently and in tandem to spread the colorful oils. Drake was so engrossed in his work that he failed to notice Gigi come in. He turned around with a start, his hands following suit, surprise quickly giving way to delight.

“You’re back!”

Gigi took in the whole picture before her now that Drake’s brushes had stopped moving. Her brow furrowed in confusion. She couldn’t be looking at what she thought she was seeing.

“Is that...”

“It’s you and your father!” Drake gestured to the painting.

It was a painting of the drawing of her as a champion he had done. Only now, beside her, was her father, with a great bushy beard in full bloom and his war hammer slung over his shoulder. Beaming with pride at her accomplishment.

“Why did you paint this?” Gigi asked in a small voice.

“Well, I asked your brother what you liked, and he showed me this.” Drake handed her the forever stone. Gigi took it numbly. She looked into it, seeing herself smiling and looking at her father. Gigi said nothing, looking down to hide the tears beginning to form freely. “Do you think he would have liked it? Do you like it?” It was only then Drake saw the tears. “Gigi, I’m sorry, did I...”

“JUST SHUT UP!” she lashed out. Without thinking, she shoved Drake hard in the chest. The surprise and force of the blow took him off his feet, and he crumpled hard onto the floor below. Pain erupted in her injured hand from the push. “I’m s-orr-y, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Gigi broke from the room in tears, running through the halls. She ran out the front door with a slam, taking off for the forest. Remorse and anger flowed through her as her legs pumped in the autumn air. She was furious with herself for losing control and angry at Drake for reasons she didn’t understand. It felt like he had unintentionally broken into a part of her life that was hers and hers alone. Gigi only knew she felt terrible and needed to be alone.

***

Drake lay stupefied and in agony on the bedroom floor. He groaned as new bruises formed on his chest. Gods, she’s tiny but packs one hell of a punch. What he didn’t understand was why she had pushed him at all. Had his painting upset her that much? As he mewled on the floor, Griselda came storming into the room.

“What in the seven hells is going on here?” she bellowed.

Drake groaned and tried to stand feebly. That was when Griselda saw his portrait of her daughter and late husband. She put her hand to her mouth with a small gasp.

“I’m sorry. Gigi hated my painting. This is all my fault,” he gasped, getting to his feet.

“No,” said Griselda firmly. “It isn’t.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it would upset her. I just asked Grenn what Gigi liked…” Drake went silent.

“No, I’m assuming my son left that part out. Gigi never got over losing him. She’s not mad at you, Drake. She was just...daddy’s little girl. I think you opened up an old wound that has never really healed,” Griselda said, approaching the painting.

Drake nodded solemnly. “Do you know where she might have gone?”

“I know where she is. Go to the woods and follow the trail to the river. Her favorite flowers are there. She also goes there to skip deliveries when she thinks I don’t know.”

“Thank you, you are truly kind.”

“Yes, yes, I’m wonderful, now go after her,” she said with a wave.

***

Gigi wept quietly by the river and hydrangeas. The raging torrent of water usually soothed her, but today, it felt hollow. She was so mad at herself. Why had she acted that way? Although her father's death had been six long years ago, it still felt fresh every time she touched the wound in her heart. She felt like Drake had intruded on something deeply personal, whether he had meant to or not.

Her breath hitched as she sobbed into her knees. Perhaps she was the one that was broken. Gigi wondered if she deserved this pain. She asked if she deserved to be alone. Why would someone love her if she would lash out if they got too close? Why was she thinking about love and Drake anyway? She didn’t know if she loved him, but her heart ached severely.

Gigi raised her head as she lowered her ears. He had been so happy to see her—the happiest anyone had been to see her that she could remember. Maybe she did have unanswered questions about him. What did his being chained to a being beyond the Veil mean for them? What would it mean if the knights that hunted him ever found him? She didn’t know. But she knew he was sweet, believed in her, would be there when things got bad, and was nicer to her family than she was. What else matters?

“Gigi?”

She jumped to her feet like a frightened fawn, wildly rubbing her tears away. Gigi looked out of her watery eyes to see Drake standing before her sheepishly.

“I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories about your father-”

“Don’t apologize,” she cried.

“But...”

“STOP! You should be mad at ME!” she shouted through a fresh explosion of bawling.

“I’m not, though,” Drake laughed.

Gigi wanted to protest, to tell him he was wrong, but she held it in. “I’m sorry, I was a complete hobgoblin,” she said, sitting on the ground again.

Drake smiled. “Is it okay if I sit next to you?” Gigi nodded, mouth agape. She had almost broken this guy in half, and he wasn’t even upset. Drake grunted as he dropped down beside her. “I wish I could have gotten to meet your father. I’m sure he was a great man. I think I would have liked him.”

“He was...He would have liked you, even though you’re a soldier…and a human.” Gigi relaxed next to him. She could feel the tension in her body slowly dissipate. She wasn’t sure why, but something about Drake calmed her. His blue eyes stared out at the water. He looked lost in thought.

“I think I told you some of it back in the Hollow, but I never knew my parents,” he cast his eyes down. “The master of the orphanage said they died in the famine. I had a brother, but he’s gone now, too.”

“Oh, Drake... I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be, it’s okay. I never knew my parents, so I didn’t know what I was missing.” He drew in a slow breath and let it out sharply. “My brother hurts, though. I’m sure it isn’t the same as your Dad, but it aches a lot when I think about him now.”

Gigi didn’t know what to say. “You’re a really strong person, do you know that?”

Drake snorted, shifting his gaze to the woman beside him. “My bruises say that you are.”

Gigi blushed and looked away. “You know you have my family, right?” She placed her hand on his. “You have me.” She leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder. They both stared out at the water. Around them, the forest was in its full fall regalia. The forest was painted with the red and yellow death knells of the trees. The pair melted into one another as the leaves fell around them. They stayed like that until they grew tired, lying in the grass together. They looked at the fiery canopy above them with wonder, and she felt hope for the future. It felt wonderful.