Chapter 1

The heath of the wood fired oven traveled through the air and landed on their faces as they entered, it carried a rich smell of sweet bread, common bakeries didn't smell this good. Holo's nose jumped under her cowl, she walked to the empty counter and jumped on it revealing her red hair wolf ears, she landed with her hands, leant on it leaving her small feet flying over the checkered floor. She scanned the place and with a laugh pronounced:

-This must be it!

She held a paper in her hand, a cream colored paper with a black manuscript printed, it read "King's Bakery: We might have the best apple strudel in the world!" Lawrence, standing behind her, looked at her small feet flying around and smiled thinking; when she acts like this she seems like a little girl.

A man appeared with a tray full of just made bread; Lawrence hurried and put Holo's cowl back on her head just in time to cover her wolf ears from the sight of the man. She was hasty and with a childlike look on her face asked:

-Can we get some apple strudel please sir?

The man didn't stop on his way to a table nearby the counter and put down the tray, then stopped and looked at Holo, he said with a deep voice and a strange accent:

-Welcome to the Kings Bakery strangers… I believe that nobody should make a girl like you wait, take a seat please.

His voice was strong and radiant with confidence, he moved next to Lawrence to take a bottle from the counter, he had curly short black hair and was taller than him, he possessed great posture without looking rigid, his black deep colored eyes looked at Holo with intensity, and without taking his eyes off of her, he moved freely around them to place himself behind the counter. Lawrence felt uncomfortable, it was the eyes of this man but he didn't realize it, he got nervous and a lot of images crowded his head, when he realized it he knew the reason but he lied to himself. Then she said:

-You have a lot in mind lately… Well, you shouldn't make me wait.

Holo was already sitting on a table behind him, he knew she was fast but he was surprised this man could take all of his attention like that. Then the sound of a cork called their attention, the man poured the wine in two cups and took it to the table. Lawrence sat on the table and said:

-We would like some apple strudel, we didn't order wine.

Lawrence talked with feeble confidence. Holo reached for a cup and the man said to him:

-You should pay more attention to her desires.

Then Holo looked at the man in a flirty way and said:

-Thank you! I love wine.

Lawrence felt smaller, he felt he was shrinking and then decided to display a totally misled defense:

-Holo, it is not a custom of girls to drink this often, I don't want to have to carry you to the inn again. She will drink water, please take away the wine sir.

Then the girl-wolf looked at him angrily and said:

-You forget your money doesn't give you power over me!

Then she looked at the man and candidly said:

-I have no money but can I pay for this wine with something else?

Lawrence looked at them, the man stood straight, he was strong, bold and good looking, he displayed completeness, and Holo was small, she was sitting on the edge of the wooden chair looking up to him and it was implied she had put herself in a needy position. The man looked down to Holo and said:

-I don't think you have anything valuable.

Holo was surprised, she couldn't hide it, she was proud and she had been treated like a little girl. She retreated; she sat back and then gave redirection to her plea, she looked at Lawrence and angrily said:

-I promise I will pay this and the other bottles.

Lawrence couldn't help but agree to buy her the wine; he was a light hearted man. But before he agreed he placed his conditions, and an ultimatum:

-I will buy the wine but if you don't obey when I tell you to stop drinking, I will not buy you wine again.

Holo felt angry by his weak threat, she looked into his eyes and didn't say a word but she had stated well her disappointment.

They remained silent drinking a few cups of wine and eating the apple strudel, and it was indeed really good. Lawrence felt guilt and self-shame, he knew he didn't handle the situation, but he didn't know why he was wrong; after all he understood he was in a position to lead, he was the man, he was older or at least looked like that, and he provided everything to her, why should he feel like that? Why was she this insensible about him? He knew she didn't mean to hurt him but why did she have to act like that?

He looked at her eating, she was pretty and he enjoyed looking at her natural way of moving. Then, without looking at him, she said:

-Ultimatums are expressions of powerlessness, empty threads designed to try to influence a situation someone has no power over. Never do it again.

Lawrence felt ashamed but he didn't attack her or put another defensive threat, instead he set his apology, something that Holo always appreciated. She thought it was very courageous of him to take responsibility for his shortcomings.

-I'm sorry; I don't know why I acted like that.

After the second bottle, Holo had already forgotten the whole thing and expressed herself freely, she had been learning a lot about commerce, economy and trading, and she always had questions that Lawrence felt happy to answer. This time Lawrence explained to her the supply and demand model of economy for price determination in a market, as he explained it to her, she sat next to him and looked up to him while he explained using his hands to illustrate, he was concentrated in his task, he felt confident about his knowledge and he tried to deliver it clearly to her, he didn't realize, but now he had all her attention and she admired him for his knowledge.

Then after he finished his explanation, she felt excited about knowing something new and she was grateful:

-Thank you! I now know something new!

Lawrence complimented her:

-And like always, you picked it up really fast!

They smiled and it felt really nice, then they realized their hands were touching; she leaned slowly over the table and placed her head over his left hand.

-I'm drunk; I don't think I can walk home… Will you carry me?

She thought she had become lazy, to let a human carry the wise wolf? But in reality it was only that she became closer to him, to the point where she felt comfortable showing this side of her. He looked at her; he brushed her hair with his right and whispered:

-I would carry you all the way to Yoitsu if I had to.

She smiled and closed her eyes.