Chapter 62 - ...a little bit of baking.

Faun didn't let himself mope around for too long, he hated the collar around his neck with every fiber of his being but if it was what he had to endure to escape, then he would.

A couple of hours later, he rang for Ash and Cade. There was no time to waste.

Now that he was free to leave Declan's room, his chances of successfully escaping from the palace had gone up.

Ash and Cade shared a look when they found a collared Faun waiting for them in Declan's main bedroom but said nothing about it.

"You really want to bake?" Ash asked, fidgeting with his hair.

"Yes." Faun straightened his shoulders to say.

"There are cooks in the Kitchens though, if you want to eat anything they'll…"

"I want to bake." Faun cut him off, starting to get irritated.

Cade nudged Ash with his elbow. "Of course, come with us." He agreed professionally.

Faun let out a sigh and followed along, he didn't have it in him to argue further about this.

"This is one of the private kitchens," Cade explained when they got to their destination. "I'm pretty sure anything you might need would be stocked up here..."

"But don't forget to call if you need anything." Ash interrupted, sounding worried. "As a matter of fact do you need help? I'm not so bad with cooking, I think?"

Faun almost smiled at this. "Thank you but I'll be fine."

Cade eyed him warily. "If you say so." He huffed out a breath. "No one will bother you here but if something happens, don't forget to call, alright?" He asserted, pointing at the phone that they handed to Faun earlier.

"I'll be fine." Faun repeated again. He was grateful for their concern but he wished they would just leave.

They eventually did and he was left all alone in the kitchen.

It was much larger than the kitchen back at the cottage but it calmed him down all the same.

Cooking and baking were therapeutic to him so for the first time since his life was upturned, Faun could smile.

He was making brownies. It was the first thing that came to mind and he didn't question it, getting right to work.

He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't notice someone walking in.

"Wow, that smells delicious." Gigi said from the doorway, keeping her distance.

"Thank yo…" Faun started to say without thinking, only to freeze up in horror.

He whipped around to get a look at who had come in. a furrow on his brow.

"Sorry if I startled you, I was just walking by and then I scented something delicious." She said in a sincere tone.

Faun dropped his head. "Um... t-thank you."

His wild red-gold hair was tied up behind his head to keep it out of his face, and the collar around his neck was a thin silver band so it didn't dig into his neck when he moved around.

"Um, sorry but who are you?" He asked after a short spell of silence.

"What?" Gigi was thrown aback, expressive shock on her pretty face. "You don't know who I am?"

Faun forgot his wariness and seriously studied the newcomer in his kitchen. "You look a little bit familiar but… no, I don't…"

Gigi fell back against the door dramatically, clutching her chest. "I can't believe this." She gasped.

Faun dropped the mixing bowl in his hand and started forward in concern. "Hey! Are you okay?"

Gigi immediately straightened up, anger on her face. "I'm going to smack that big block of ice."

Faun paused. "What?"

"I'm Declan's younger sister, Gillian but you can call me Gigi, I can't believe he didn't tell you about me." She crossed her arms, peeved all over again.

Faun backed up this time. "Y-You're Declan's sister?" He half-panicked.

"Yeah." Gigi put out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Faun."

Faun reluctantly put his hand out as well. "Hi." He awkwardly muttered, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you too."

"Ah! Sorry! I got flour on you." He panicked when he glanced down at their joined hand and saw that he had smeared flour everywhere.

Gigi laughed at this, "It's fine, I should be the one apologizing for interrupting you. Do you mind if I keep you company?" She asked in a quieter tone.

Faun looked skeptical at this; he wanted to be alone, not to mention that he would be unable to do any snooping around if she was here with him. But he found that he couldn't turn her down. "S-Sure. Just take a seat anywhere." He agreed, gesturing at the stools in the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" Gigi asked to be friendly, wiping her hand on the towel that Faun offered her.

"Can you bake?" Faun asked curiously, his slanted eyes flicking from the mixing bowl to his visitor.

Gigi fiddled with her fingers, "Honestly, I can't."

"That's fine, I don't really need any help, I'm just baking something simple." He reassured her.

"And what is that?" Gigi asked, trying to peek into the bowl.

"Brownies."

The stars in Gigi's eyes made Faun laugh softly. "Do you want me to teach you how to make them?" He asked before he could realize what he was offering.

His eyes widened at the same time that Gigi turned his offer down. "I'd love that because I get to spend some time with you but I really have no talent for baking, or cooking for that matter."

Faun found himself sighing softly, he couldn't believe that he had made that offer. Maybe it was because he was in the kitchen doing what he loved the most that made him let his guard down but Gigi was essentially the Princess of all werewolves.

The image was a little off though, just like with Declan. Wasn't she supposed to be an evil hulking monster trying to kill him? Why was she smiling kindly and asking to spend some time with him?