#dirandish

A sweet scent drifted from the kitchen. Brandish smiled to herself, breathing it in as she strolled past.

  Why the cooks were baking a cake was a mystery to her. A wedding? A party? Simply a spur-of-the-moment request from the emperor? Whatever the case, it smelled delicious.

  A quick glance through the kitchen window revealed that the cake was mostly finished. A chef stood beside the glorious creation, dotting swirls of frosting around the bottom of the top layer. Four layers tall and shining with pale blue icing, it almost looked too good to eat.

  Brandish wondered if she would get to try any...

  However, the cake quickly slipped from her mind as she strolled onward, enjoying the spring breeze.

  A shadow darted by and disappeared behind the kitchen building. Brandish paid it no heed; it was probably just Wahl up to his usual tricks.

  A light breeze disturbed the surface of the pond. Brandish took a seat by the rippling water, hugging her knees to her chest. It was quiet here; the wildlife seemed unusually peaceful today.

  She closed her eyes and lay down in the grass. It would be best to make the most of this tranquility while it lasted.

  "Randi!"

  Brandish sat straight up, her head almost colliding with Dimaria's chin. "Mari!"

  "I need your help." Dimaria didn't waste a second; immediately, she was dragging Brandish back toward the kitchens.

  "With what? Mari, let go of my jacket. You're dragging me across the grass. What's so important that you needed to interrupt me while I was relaxing?"

  Dimaria pulled Brandish into the narrow passage between the kitchen and the neighbouring building. Her grin was visible, even in the darkness.

  "I'm going to steal some of that cake."

  "You'll get caught."

  "No. I have a plan." Her grin widened.

  "...And how exactly am I involved in this plan?" Brandish folded her arms.

  "You'll see. Just follow me for now."

  Dimaria clicked her teeth together.

Every baker in the kitchen stood as still as statues. Dimaria darted between the frozen crowd to reach the table in the centre - where the masterpiece lay, gleaming pale blue in the afternoon sunlight.

  By now, the man adding the frosting swirls had reached the second layer.

  Though disturbing anything in the room would be impossible, Dimaria reached toward the knife with care. She grasped the handle and lifted it, positioning it next to the bottom layer of the cake.

  Brandish watched, observing Dimaria's precision as she cut a sliver out from the bottom of the cake and gently drew it out from beneath the rest of the treat.

  Dimaria motioned for Brandish to exit the kitchen. She followed closely, clutching the slice of cake as though she were afraid to drop it.

  Only when they were safely outside and tucked into the alley between the two buildings did Dimaria click her teeth again.

  The eerily still scenery around them immediately rustled back to life. A light breeze drifted through the area, as though it had been stopped mid-breath by the time pause.

  Dimaria grinned, holding up the slice of cake like a trophy. "Okay, this is where you come in. I want you to expand this piece of cake to twice its size."

  Brandish frowned. "Only twice the original size?"

  "...Good point. Okay, three times? Four?"

  Brandish grinned, casting her magic on the cake. It began to swell in Dimaria's arms, growing to twice its size, then three times.

  "You two!"

  The slice of cake snapped back to its original size like an elastic band that had been stretched and released. Both Spriggans spun around in shock to see the baker looming behind them.

  "You thought you could take a slice off m'cake and I wouldn't notice? You left the knife covered in crumbs!"

  Dimaria swore and turned to run away, dashing behind the building. Brandish followed closely behind her.

  The chef turned and rushed toward the other end of the building, hoping to catch the two on the other side. But he lacked the stamina and speed of the two Spriggans; Dimaria and Brandish shot out from behind the building and were quickly out of his sight.

  Dimaria reached back and grabbed Brandish's hand, all but dragging her along. She ran until she was out of breath, then collapsed onto a wooden bench.

  Brandish flopped onto the seat beside her, draping herself like a rug across the bench. She leaned back and tried to catch her breath.

  "So... how about that cake?"

  Dimaria nodded and held up the slice triumphantly - only to have it snatched out of her hands.

  Neinhart waved cheerfully at them as he walked away. "Thank you for the cake!"

  His two comrades could only sit on the bench and stare after him, open-mouthed.

  "After him...!" Brandish stood up, but flopped to the ground - still out of breath from their previous sprint across the gardens.

  Dimaria groaned, sinking down on the bench. "Asshole..."

  Brandish groaned in defeat and curled up into a ball on the ground.