The baker's girl came around the smithy from the back way, with a basket covered in cheesecloth. Her furtive look gave Merrigan a good hint of what she was doing. She wasn't surprised at all when the girl whistled softly and stayed in the shadows of the trees, close to where Merrigan sat. The boys came running and she quickly handed them bread with thick slabs of cheese, and an apple each. They thanked her with much nicer manners than Merrigan would have credited them, and she blushed prettily and turned to leave. Then she saw Merrigan sitting only a dozen or so steps away.
"Oh, Granny, I'm sorry. If I had known …" She looked back over her shoulder at the boys, who had emptied her basket.
The youngest looked up and his gaze met Merrigan's. She shivered and lost her breath for a moment. Was that tingle in her fingertips a sign of some majjian nearby, watching? Of course, it would be the youngest who looked at her, looked at the remaining bread and cheese and the apple in his hand, and moved away from his brothers. Why was it always the youngest chosen for magical tasks and help? More important, why wasn't she granted such protection and help, since she was the youngest daughter of the King of Avylyn?
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