*The day after the events of the previous chapter*

*5/16/90*

"Well, now!" William declared when he saw Rose, Brianna, Jade, and Garrett approaching his wagon. "Three young ladies? This must be my lucky day. Or is it your lucky day?” He added, looking at Garrett with a sly wink.

Garrett was slightly taken aback by the trader's manner but recovered quickly. "No, one's enough for me," he replied, ruffling Jade's hair.

"Oh, stop!" Jade giggled and batted his hand away, her face immediately turning pink.

William laughed. "Smart man. Sometimes, one is all you can handle. I learned that in the last town with two street girls. But of course, you good folks aren't interested in such a story."

"I am!" Rose said immediately.

"Yeah, me too!" Jade added.

"Honestly, you two,” Brianna shook her head despairingly.

"Information like that costs money," William said, tapping his nose smartly. "Speaking of which, what's your pleasure today? More books for your friend, Brianna?"

Both Rose and Jade started snickering. Garrett decided to save Brianna from the long bout of teasing he sensed was coming. "Sir, do you sell maple syrup by any chance?”

“I supply syrup extracted from the western forests where sugar maples grow like weeds. I also carry honey from some of the finest apiaries if you're interested. Take a gander.”

"William," Rose said once Garrett started looking through the wares. "There is some information I'd like to buy.” She withdrew a silver coin and a map borrowed from Hunter. "Someone we know wants to leave Castell Henllys and do so on the low. They don’t know much about the surrounding areas. Whether or not there are werewolves or shadows, where there are bigger human populations, etc.,” she held out the coin. "I hope this pays for your advice and your mouth shut about this."

William took the coin and eyed it carefully before pocketing it. "You have my word," he said with a smile. He spread out the map and looked at it, tapping his chin. "Mind if I mark this up?"

"Nope," Rose said.

Brianna decided to browse through Williams's wares, considering he would be leaving for London in just a few days. He had a box of perfumes, some of which could easily come from her collection. There were silk scarves in various colors, soaps, and cooking equipment. Her eye fell on a box of small paper packages. She picked one up, reading the hand-drawn label. "Chocolate Cake," it said. Another one said, "Shortbread."

William noticed Brianna's interest. "Those are called Sweet Mixes. They are hard to find outside the larger cities. Just add half to a whole cup of milk, follow the instructions, and you'll have lovely baked goods within minutes. Provided you have a stove and the correct pan, of course."

"I see.” An idea occurred to Brianna, and she started looking through the packets in earnest. "How long has Coraline gone without cookies by this point?" She wondered. "Maybe Rose and I could make her a fresh batch as we used to."

Upon finding a packet marked "Chocolate Cookies," she turned to William, still marking the map. "How much is this?"

"Just the one?" At Brianna's nod, he held out his hand. "For you, Brianna, two coppers, please."

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"Thank you very much," she said as she handed over the money.

William nodded courteously. "Let me know if you need anything else,” he returned his attention to Rose and the map.

Rose, of course, was obviously flirting with the merchant. Brianna could tell even from where she stood by her friend's stance and grin. She shrugged and decided to let it be. "Just as long as she doesn't get too serious."

Garrett emerged from the cart, holding two bottles of syrup and a jar of what looked like molasses. Noticing Brianna's inquisitive stare, he handed her the jar. "Buckwheat, honey. It tastes darker than regular honey and is hard to come by." He noticed the package. "Will that be for Coraline?"

"Well, she probably doesn't get the chance to eat them now,” Brianna glanced at the package, smiling. "Rose and I haven't had many chances to bake since the raid, too."

"It's a good thing Jade wasn't the one turned," Garrett murmured. "I don't think she’d be able to live without pancakes.”

William handed Rose the map, now covered in various marks and notes. "Well, here's all I know. The shaded areas are parts known for having lots of Shadows or werewolves. I circled the safest towns and made boxes around less-populated, relatively safe areas. I wouldn't recommend they go north to the highlands. I don't know what's there. Over here is a stretch of forest that no one goes through since there's supposed to be a huge werewolf pack there. And I marked the best roads to travel and some waterways if they wanted to go by boat. Can you read my handwriting?"

"Yeah, I can read it," Rose said, looking at the map again before folding it. “Thank you. This’ll help a whole lot.”

"For a whole silver piece, I hope so.” William grinned.

"Thank you again for your help, William," Brianna smiled.

"My pleasure, Brianna. I hope to see you again before I leave for London.” He noticed Garrett hovering in the background. "Ah, made your decision, did you?" He eyed the bottles and jar. "Found the buckwheat, honey, huh? Good choice. That'll be four silvers."

Garrett paid William and called over his shoulder. "Jade, you are not allowed to drink this syrup or honey until it’s on an actual pancake, okay?”

"Okay, Garrett!" Jade chirped while crossing her fingers behind her back.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group bid farewell to the merchant and returned to town. Rose slipped the folded map into her bag. She knew Hunter was planning the best days to visit the werewolves. Once she knew when they'd be meeting next, she and Brianna would bake the cookies.

~o0o~

Hunter glanced at several pieces of paper, where he noted the different days and nights when larger Shadow/werewolf hunts were scheduled. He also looked at the calendar to see which days were ideal for daytime hunting and which were less likely to have impromptu Shadow hunts. Jotting down a few notes, he eyed the paper he was currently writing on. The next day they could meet would be two days away. After that, they'd have to wait three more days. He breathed an inward sigh. It would be so much easier if they didn't have to sneak everywhere.

Once again, he remembered his conversation with Ellora and how she wanted to bridge the gap between werewolves and humans. A smile came to his face as he imagined having the luxury of visiting his family and friends whenever he had free time, without worrying about the Temples condemning him.

Coraline would even be able to come home if she wanted to. The image of Coraline walking down the streets at night as a werewolf entered his mind, and it was so absurd that he let out a short laugh. That would definitely be something.

He was glad that Ellora could come to all of those secret meetings. However, he hated the thought of her being isolated by her pack. Even though he hadn't known her for very long, she was one of the nicest people he'd ever met. Why couldn't her pack just see that and forget about all that stupid "destiny" talk?

"If we make peace, she could live in Castell Henllys," he thought. "Building her a small house near the woods would be easy enough. And she'd get along well with everyone.”

The sound of thumping feet outside his room jolted Hunter from his thoughts, and he quickly shoved his papers into his desk drawer. Ada opened the door. "Hunter, Kenny says you're late for Sunday dinner."

"Coming,” Hunter got up and followed Ada toward Kenny's house. He always hated Sunday dinners. It was Kenny’s way of buttering up any mercenary and Huntsman groups living in Castell Henllys so he would always have someone backing up his leadership.

Hunter sat at the table as stewed venison and mashed potatoes wafted over him. He bowed his head as Kenny said a brief grace. "For the bounty of the Maidens, may we be truly grateful. Amen."

All was silent for a few minutes, except for the muffled chewing of ten people. Eventually, a huntress spoke. "Hunter, we've noticed you've been out of the house more often lately. Going on extra hunts, disappearing for hours…."

Hunter barely kept from freezing while putting some potatoes into his mouth. Thankfully, he had the presence of mind to just look mildly surprised. "Well, I'm just doing my job. My clan hasn’t had many requests to defend other villages lately, so we are just keeping busy.

"You've been doing twice the work I've been doing. That's saying something,” the huntress said.

"We know you're still mourning your mother and little sister," Kenny said. "It's understandable, trust me. Throwing yourself into your work is one of the best ways to handle grief. However, if you overexert yourself, you or your group could be badly hurt. And I can’t afford to replace a group as useful as yours. Even if you are still unlicensed huntsmen"

"We're fine, guys," Hunter protested. "I'm trained in healing, remember?"

Ada smiled gently at him as she served ale to Kenny. "Just promise you'll be careful.” She immediately shut her mouth when Kenny shot her a death glare.

"Okay, I'll be careful," Hunter continued. "Honestly, the extra work has been good for me."

"That's good," Kenny declared, taking another helping of venison. "Many good bodies fall into depression when they lose friends and don't do anything for a long time. It's good to remain productive. You do still have a duty, after all."

"You can also talk to us about it if you need to." A mercenary added. The whole table, minus Kenny, nodded adamantly in agreement.

Hunter thought of his crew. They had come close to losing Coraline and essentially lost Emma. The danger of their profession was still genuine. In all the planning and sneaking they were doing. It was easy to forget that.