So I wrote this for Camp NaNo in April, as a sequel to A Witch Scorned. I hope you like it.
Chapter One
"No, Castle." Kate sighed, exasperated by his exuberance. "We are not having a chocolate cake covered in fudge sauce. That is an after dinner delight, not a wedding cake." She got up and headed for the kitchen, in search of more wine. Undeterred Castle followed, intent on extolling the virtues of said dessert.
"C'mon Kate, it's chocolate." He looked at her expectantly, hoping the unspoken 'enough said' was plain to see.
"No. The perfect wedding cake is, and always has been, a sponge cake." She poured herself another glass and held the bottle up for him.
Nodding, he placed his glass on the counter and continued. "But everybody loves chocolate. It's a win-win." He spotted Alexis hurrying down the stairs. "A-ha! There she is. Alexis! Don't you think a chocolate wedding cake would be perfect?"
The young woman barely stopped on her way out. "Sorry Dad, gotta go, I'm already late. And no, a wedding cake should be a Victoria sponge with strawberry jam." She added before shutting the door firmly behind her.
Kate hid her grin at Castle's crestfallen expression. "See Rick, even Alexis knows what cake she wants at her wedding."
"She was supposed to side with me, she loves chocolate cake." He moaned, staring at the closed door, until he realised what his fiance had said. "Her wedding?"
"Yes Castle, there isn't a girl alive who hasn't dreamt about her wedding day. Alexis will no doubt already have plenty of ideas about her own." Kate told him, walking around the counter to join him. "Just like I have. And in mine, our wedding cake is a Victoria sponge with a plum jam and buttercream filling topped off with a vanilla icing."
"Sounds delicious, but I'm not completely sold on that idea." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "I mean, I had my heart set on chocolate. I may need some convincing."
Smiling at his obvious ploy, she leaned up and kissed him soundly on the lips, intent on helping him to see the light. Things were just getting interesting when another voice intruded on their moment.
"There are more than just chocolate and plain sponge you know." Martha called out as she sashayed down the stairs. "There are many other wonderful flavours you can try." Unwilling to separate, Kate and Rick just lifted their heads to look at the older woman. "For example, there is a gorgeous lemon sponge in that little bakery just down the street from here. Whenever I head in that direction I can't resist going in for a piece. It's just exquisite."
"Thank you Mother, but we were hoping to narrow the choice, not expand it." Castle said, reluctant to release Kate, but knowing he needed to if they were going to actually make a choice.
"Don't knock it til you've tried it Richard. I'm telling you, just give it a go. They have many lovely cakes in lots of styles and flavours. Go down there and try some. Trust me, it'll help." With those parting words Martha swept out of the loft, telling them not to wait up.
"She has a point you know." Kate said, sitting down at the counter and pulling a pad and pencil towards her. "We just automatically chose our favourites, without actually doing a taste test. Maybe we should arrange one to help us decide."
"You're right, Kate." Castle replied, pulling out the number for the bakery. "I'll call them first thing in the morning to arrange it. Hopefully we can come to an agreement quickly."
Kate nodded, thinking a little about it. "Maybe we can compromise. A wedding cake is traditionally make up of several layers right?" At Castle's nod, she continued. "So maybe we can have a different flavour for each layer. That way everyone can have a piece of whatever flavour they like."
Rick's face lit up at that. "Of course!" He pulled the pad back over towards him and started to write whilst he spoke. "We can have plain, lemon, strawberry and chocolate. With each layer identified by colour and design."
"So lemon is yellow, strawberry is pink, chocolate is brown and plain is white." She watched as he added the colours next to the flavours. "Which way round should we structure them?"
"How about we put the plain at the bottom, then the lemon and the strawberry, followed by the chocolate at the top." He suggested, knowing from previous experience that most people chose the sponge over chocolate. When he got no response he looked over and found her staring at him with a look of awe and bewilderment on her face. "What?"
"You were adamant you wanted a chocolate wedding cake and yet you'd be willing to put it at the top, as the smallest piece?" She asked, confused and amused in equal parts by him.
"In my experience, most people prefer sponge over chocolate, so it makes sense to put the most commonly chosen flavour at the bottom." He told her solemnly, displaying his experience on the subject. "Whilst many people like a piece of chocolate cake on occasion, when they're at a wedding it's traditional to have a sponge or fruit cake, so it's what they expect. I'm not saying we should cater to everyone else, but we shouldn't stray too far from tradition either."
Overcome with love for the man in front of her she leant in and kissed him sweetly.
"What was that for?" He asked, when he got his breath back.
"Just because." She shrugged, not wanting to elaborate.
Seeing her discomfort at his question, he let it slide and kissed her once more, softly and full of love. "It's likely that only a few people would choose to have a piece of fudge covered chocolate cake. Which means it would suit a smaller section." He suddenly grinned at her impishly. "And likely leave more for me."
Kate smiled at the re-emergence of the nine-year old on a sugar rush, before taking another sip of her wine. "What did you mean about the design of it?"
"Well, we could have each section be a different shape, or have a design on each piece to differentiate the flavours." He listed several ideas, giving Kate the opportunity to make the decision.
He watched and waited as she took a few moments to go over the choices in her head, visualizing each one to see which she preferred. They were all equally good ideas, but with the wedding being so close they needed to keep it simple, yet elegant. "I think we should just go with the colours and add some edible stickers to each layer, with a picture of each flavour on them."
Castle smiled at her before writing her ideas down and attaching the card so he could call tomorrow with the details. "That sounds perfect, Kate." Getting up he took her hand and led her to the study. "Shall we watch a movie?"
"Sure, what did you have in mind?" She asked as he set her on the couch and headed for the tv.
"I've got the new addition to the Avenger series if you're interested." He told her, knowing full well she couldn't resist it.
"You've got Thor The Dark World?" She asked excitedly.
He smiled at her enthusiasm and nodded as he found out the disc and put it into the player. Joining her on the sofa she immediately snuggled into his side, pulling his arm around her and a blanket over both of them. He started the movie and settled in to enjoy it with her.