This is a short fic I wrote for Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. I'd only been writing very long fics for a while and decided to prove to myself that, damnit!, I could still write a SHORT fic! So I did. Kind of cute.
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Title:
Apple Tarts
Author: Res (resqdog51@hotmail.com)
Archive: My page only
Pairing: N/A
Category: Humor!
Rating: PG13
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: The Dispensing of an Age Old Wisdom continues.
Disclaimer: The Heralds of Valdemar and all related information belongs to Mercedes Lackey. Astral, Aimee, and Grandmamma Tali are mine.
Feedback: Sure! Love it! I promise not to bite...at least, not unless requested!
Notes: This was originally written as part of my submission to Queens Own for status as a Herald. It was written with permission to use that universe.
THANKS: To Mercedes Lackey for allowing fan fiction in her universe. It’s a great sandbox Misty, thanks for letting me play!
The morning sun shone down upon the bright city as it slowly woke. Shop owners unlocked their doors, street hawkers open their stalls, and guards took their posts as watches were changed. Beggars tried to sell colorful spring flowers outside the temples.
Beside the Palace, an old woman and her teen-aged granddaughter pushed a baker's cart to the gates, then began setting out fresh pastries under a brightly striped awning. Leaving her granddaughter to tend the cart, the old woman walked over to the guard. Smiling amiably, she said, "Apple today!"
The guard grinned, "Right!" As the old woman headed back to her cart, the guard hailed a passing page. "You, page! Apple today!"
The page smirked. "Yes, sir!" he said as he hurried on his way. Soon passing a dark-haired Bard polishing his gittern by a fountain, the page passed on the message. "Apple today!"
With a nod and a smile, the Bard climbed to his feet and walked over to the stables. Spying a groom, he called, "Apple today!"
The groom chuckled, then said, "Apple, huh? Well, I'll pass it on. Just keep the gate clear!" The Bard laughed with him, then went back to his fountain and gittern.
The groom, however, walked to the other end of the stable, and, seeing a kitchen maid at the well, called, "Apple today!"
She winked back, and nodded before heading back to the kitchen. Passing a Herald on her way to the Companion's Field, the maid told her, "Apple today!"
The Herald grinned knowingly, and nodded. Upon reaching the field, she told her Companion, "Apple today!"
The snowy mare snorted in amusement, then sent to another Companion, this one a stallion, on the other side of the field. :Apple today, Astral!:
:Apple!: Astral jerked his head up, spun on his hind legs, and bolted for the gate. Choosing to avoid the bridge and take the shorter way across the river, he didn't even slow down, leaping into the river at top speed.
Lunging up the bank on the far side of the river, he paused only long enough to shake once before heading for the fence at top speed. Vaulting the fence, he cleared it by several feet, and raced through the stable yard, startling a group of new Herald-trainees. The homely blonde Herald supervising them just grinned and explained, "Must be apple today!", as the Companion vanished around the corner of the Palace.
Flying toward the gate, Astral neighed loudly. The guard looked up from the record book where he was making a notation, and sprang from the guard house to clear the gate.
Skidding through the gates, Astral almost sat down in an effort to stop. Scrambling to keep his feet under him, he barely heard the girl exclaim to her grandmother, "Look, he's here! That's his fastest time yet!"
The old woman grinned at her, then turned to the stallion who was nuzzling anxiously at a basket. "Relax, now, Astral! Granmama Tali baked plenty of tarts for you! Just hold on a moment, and let me get them." The old woman slapped gently at the Companion's question nose as she pulled the basket away from him. Opening the basket, she pulled out a beautifully baked tart, lightly frosted with powdered sugar, and held it out on her palm. "Here you are, youngling! The biggest and best, just for you!"
Astral carefully bit into the tart, and chewed slowly. He moaned with pleasure as his eyes rolled in ecstasy. Swallowing the bit of tart, he ate the rest, then nuzzled the old woman affectionately.
"You see, Aimee?" Granmama Tali said to her granddaughter. "Ever since he was a colt by his mama's side, he's never missed a day, save when he wasn't in Haven! There's proof for you that the way to a male's heart, be he man or beast, is through fresh-baked apple tarts!"
