I am so, so, SO sorry I haven't updated in so long! I was visiting family for early Christmas. But I'm back now! But I won't be going quite as fast from now on, since I've started another book that is really taking up most of my interest at the moment =P You can find it on my profile or on Wattpad... it's called The Lion Killer. And since it's holiday time, you can expect updates at least once or twice a week. I will try hard. I promise.

"If you press the crust this way… so… and crimp the edges like so… there." Anna frowned in concentration as she guided her daughter's hands with the pastry dough. "I can't believe it, Sarah! Why… you're a natural! You must have baking in your blood." With a pleased smile, she gathered the little girl in her arms and kissed her. "See how beautiful they are?"

"Almost as beautiful as yours?" Sarah asked hopefully, her eyes sparkling with the excitement of her new skills.

"Just as beautiful as mine. But now we must mix the fillings."

"What kind?" Sarah reached for a long-handled wooden spoon in anticipation.

"Whatever kind that you like."

"Ooh… blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry?" Sarah cried, clapping her hands.

"Any kind but mulberry," Will commented, coming up suddenly and staring expectantly at the row of pastry shells. Sarah wrinkled her nose at him but Anna laughed.

"And why not, young man? Mulberries might be good!"

"As long as the crusts aren't made of mud."

Anna had not heard of the mud pies and so it is understandable that she was not quite certain what Will was talking about. She was just going to say something, but Sarah interrupted quickly, shoving a bowl under her mother's nose.

"Let's start with the raspberry. How much sugar do I put in?"

oOo

In no time at all, the heavy oaken table beside the ovens was laden with steaming, fragrant pastries, nearly every one of them of Sarah's making. She absolutely gloated over those little pies, counting and recounting them greedily.

"… thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." She smiled, satisfied. Fifteen beautiful pies. How was that for a morning's work? She decided, after all, that she'd rather like to stick to the kitchen. It was such a perfectly contenting thing to create things like that.

"Sarah?" Will's voice interrupted her reverie. He was looking at the pies with such a hopeful expression in his big blue eyes that she was at once alarmed.

"No." she stated firmly, before he could get another word in. "You can not have any of these pies." She turned up her little nose at him and prepared to flounce off, but had a sudden change of heart. Even at eight years old, she found it terribly hard to resist those beautiful blue eyes.

"I wasn't going to ask for any," he tossed his head indignantly. "I was trying to say that, if your mama will let you now, you can come out to the stables and see Brioc."

"Really?" Sarah bounced up, eyes shining, the pies momentarily forgotten. But even her anticipation didn't prevent her from stopping at the cookie jar, always kept full by her mother, and pulling out a handful of gingerbread men, all with raisin buttons and frosting eyes carefully placed.

"You can have some of these," she nodded at Will. "But not the pies."

"But I said…"

"I'm just warning you… just in case.

oOo

The stables were a delightfully dark and dusty place, full of little nooks and crannies just perfect for hiding in. Sarah had always loved the sweet scent of hay combined with the smell of leather.

Will's father appeared around the corner as they entered, heavy leather harnesses draped over his shoulders.

"So you've come to see Brioc, eh?" he grinned at the children. "As soon as I put this harness away, I'll take you down to his stall."

"Why are you wearing a harness, Mr. Will?" Sarah frowned up at him.

"Mr. Will, is it?" he laughed. "You'd better just call me Tom. And I'm wearing the harness because the queen's horse was lame, so she wanted me to pull her carriage today."

"Really?" Sarah's eyes grew wide in astonishment. "Isn't the carriage heavy?"

"He's just teasing you," Will interposed. "Aren't you?"

"You got me," Tom laughed again as he led the way back into the room were the tack was kept. "I was repairing the harness, actually. But it sure would be handy to be able to pull a carriage if ever a horse did go lame."

When at last they approached Brioc's stable, Sarah was in awe all over again by the size and beauty of the huge stallion. At first she was frightened as Tom handed her an apple and lifted her up to see better. Brioc lowered his head with a gentle nicker, picking the apple up out of her hand and eating it in one bite. Sarah laughed with delight and reached out tentatively to stroke the glossy black neck.

"He's a friendly horse," she smiled. "But he should be careful about eating apples that fast… my papa always told me that if I ate my food in such big bites I would get the stomachache."

"Well, that's true of little girls," Tom answered as he set her down again. "But horses are so big that even an apple is just one bite to them."

"I wanted to ask you," Sarah remembered suddenly. "You know about names, don't you? What does Brioc mean?"

"I don't know about all names," Tom grinned. "Just the most important ones."

"Isn't Brioc an important name?"

"Aye, of course. It means "mighty prince"."

"That's perfect!" Sarah cried happily. "See, Will?" But she didn't wait for him to answer as she turned back to the stallion.

"Can I ride him?"

"You'd better not," Will shook his head gravely, as with wisdom beyond his years. "You'd get hurt."

"Will's right," Tom nodded as Sarah frowned with disappointment. "But if you'll come this way, I'll show you something better."

Sarah could not have been more delighted when Tom showed her a tiny little brown pony… just the right size for an eight-year old.

"Meet Buttons," he bowed with a flourish as he presented the little pony. "No question about meaning there. And you are welcome to ride her."

When Sarah arrived back at the kitchen an hour later, much besmeared with dirt with an unsightly smudge on her nose, not to mention the strong scent of horse, her mother was much astonished. But she did not have to remain so for long, for Sarah was bubbling over with excitement and could not be made to stop talking of the little pony Buttons.

"This is such a nice place, Mama," she sighed happily. "I'm so glad we came here. Why… this really is a place where dreams… almost… do come true."

Sorry, not my best writing. I was in a hurry. Next chapter will be better, I promise. In the meantime, I would be absolutely THRILLED if anybody would check out my newest project The Lion Killer. I have only one dedicated reader and that is slightly disappointing... it's pretty different from this story but one can't always stick to one style, can one? =P Anyway, just look at it and let me know what you think =D