Frozen Stars Over Wonderland - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

The rest of the day was spent out in the streets, shopping for essentials. The bedrooms were bare of any furniture and the kitchen needed to be stocked not only with food but plates and cutlery as well. The money that they saved thanks to June’s haggling quickly disappeared under all the other things they needed to buy for the hall. They came back with arms loaded with bags of goods. Carpenters were sent ahead by the shop merchants to assemble their furniture, a service Spica was grateful for. She was tired of sleeping in borrowed beds and sleeping bags. Alfre was laden down with bed sheets and other linens. Spica insisted on getting the softest sheets with the highest thread count possible. This was their home, she insisted, more so than anywhere they’d stayed before. There was no need to skimp on anything. Including the plates and cutlery that she herself carried with a grace that Alfre could never pull off carrying anything remotely heavy. 

“I think I can probably cook something nice with what we’ve got,” Elias said, his ears the only thing Alfre could see over the paper bags packed with groceries in his arms. “It won’t be fancy, I’m a butler not a chef, but it’ll at least be edible.”

“That’s all I’m asking for,” Alfre muttered, juggling her bags as she opened the guildhall door. 

“Miss Alfre!”

Alfre jumped back with a squeak, spilling the linens all over the floor as she did. Standing before her, a wide grin on his freckly face, was Wallace with a heavy looking knapsack over his shoulder. 

“Wallace?” she shouted, trying to keep the squeak out of her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I just couldn’t get you out of my mind, you see. And I knew I had to pay you back for saving my life like you did. But my folks don’t have much in the way of money so I decided to pack up and come and find you and see if you wouldn’t let me work for you to pay back my debt.”

“Wallace...”

“And so I came to this city, it’s a pretty nice city you got, and started asking around for you.”

“…Wallace…”

“And these nice folks pointed me towards the guild registry. So I asked the lady at the desk where I could find your guild. She didn’t look to happy when I mentioned you, which I thought was kinda weird.”

“Wallace!”

“And she pointed me in the right direction and-“

“WALLY!”

The farmboy blinked in surprise. “Yes?”

“What made you think you had to pay me for saving you?” Alfre asked. “I never expected anything and I’m pretty sure I told you that.”

“Yes, well, I just couldn’t let it go, Miss Alfre,” Wally insisted. “And it’s not like they need my help on the farm, that’s what my brothers and sisters are for. I’m the runt of the litter and I was never much good at nothin’ cept watering plants and if they needed someone for that they could probably ask any one of my six siblings. Oh, please Miss Alfre, let me work for you. You won’t even have to pay me, I’ll work for room and board.” 

Alfre sighed, trying very hard to ignore Spica and Elias’ barely contained giggles. Why did this sort of thing always happen to her? She looked up at Wallace, who stared down at her with the biggest set of puppy dog eyes she’d seen since her aunt’s spoiled corgi back home.

“Fine,” she acquiesced. “We’ve got some planter boxes and a greenhouse on the roof. They’re your responsibility now. Can you cook?”

“My mum’s been teaching me,” Wally agreed. “It won’t be anything fancy, but it’s filling and tastes pretty damn good if you pardon my language, ma’am.”

“Pretty sure I told you not to call me that,” Alfre muttered with a long-suffering sigh.  

“Yes ma’am, sorry ma’am…I mean Miss Alfre.”

“You can drop the ‘miss’ too, if you don’t mind.”

“Alfre?” She turned over her shoulder to see Elias’ look becoming more curious. “Who’s this?”

“This is the kid I saved from goblins the other day,” she explained. “Elias, Spica, this is Wallace. His mum calls him Wally. Wally, these are my friends Elias and Spica.”

“Look at that, she admitted we’re friends,” Spica cooed.

Alfre glared at her playfully. “Don’t push your luck. Everyone knows you’re actually just my minions.” 

Spica smirked. “Kinky.”

“Don’t be gross.” 

Wallace looked to Elias. “Are they always like that?”

Elias sighed, though his smile was affectionate. “You have no idea. Now, since you claim to know how to cook, maybe you can help me with dinner. Spica? Bring the pots will you?”

Alfre climbed the stairs up to the roof. Wallace had been disappearing up there for hours at a time the past few days, coming back with dirt under his nails and sweat on his brow each evening. She wanted to see what he’d been up to. She squinted against the bright light as she opened the door, raising a hand to shield her eyes.

“Wally?”

“Yes, Miss Alfre?” 

Alfre ignored the fact he was still calling her ‘miss’ and walked further out onto the roof. “What’cha doin’ out here?”

Her eyes adjusted to the light, allowing her to see the area around her properly. Wally was kneeling by one of the planter boxes, a mostly empty bag of soil beside him and a trowel in his hand. 

“Ah, just getting some plants started in the garden, Miss Alfre,” he explained. “Already got some different berries and such growing in the greenhouse. Those will be nice and ripe in a few weeks. But I’m planting some tomatoes in this here box. Thinking about getting an apple tree or something to put in that deep one over there.” 

“Mmm, looks like you’ve been a busy little bee,” Alfre murmured appreciatively.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about that,” Wallace said. “I was thinking of getting an apiary started up here. It’d be good for the plants. I could even plant some nice flowers. Do you have any favorites?”

“Mmm, well I know Spica likes roses and Elias is fond of tulips,” Alfre mused. “I don’t think I have a favorite. I’ve never really thought much about flowers.”

“Then I’ll plant all kinds until you find your favorite, Miss Alfre.”

Alfre laughed, taken aback by Wally’s earnest pledge. “If you say so.”