BreadCrumb Trail (The Yellow Hoods, #2): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale (2 page)

“Um,” said Egelina-Marie, her cheeks reddening. “Um, sure. If you're sure?”

Bakon couldn’t believe what was happening. He’d heard about when Nikolas had asked William to call him by his first name. Bakon had never imagined it would happen with him and Eg; after all, Jennifer was Nikolas’ own daughter, and William his prospective son-in-law. Bakon had always doubted how Nikolas really felt deep down, until now.

Nikolas smiled warmly at Egelina-Marie. “Quite, yes? You’ve earned your place. Your influence is wholesome and good. I allowed the formalities to continue until I could extrapolate a likely trajectory, and I am content with what I have now projected. So, I am formally asking for a reduction in the state of formality. Yes?” He could tell by the look on her face that his initial simplicity had been lost.

Egelina-Marie choked up. It had taken a moment to figure out what Nikolas meant, and she could barely believe it. With a sweet smile, she managed to say, “Okay,” and then kissed Nikolas on the cheek.

Nikolas turned to the surprised Bakon. “Same for you, Bakon. No more
Monsieur Klaus
. Yes? Good.” Nikolas turned and started to head away. “I’ll be back in a moment. We can’t keep all the children waiting, now can we? So much to do!” His muscular body bounced along and he sang to himself.

Bakon gave Eg an affectionate shove. “Look at you, Sergeant. I think you've been attacked on the cheeks by sentiment. Are your eyes misting up?”

“You’re no better. I can see it. That dark, rough exterior doesn’t know how to handle one old man who truly has always thought of you as one of his own. And by the way,
don't
make me hurt you,” she said, smiling, and poking back at him. “I
am
a trained professional.”

“I’m a professional ruffian. I—” countered Bakon.

“No, you’re not really—you just
pretend
,” said Eg, grabbing him by the fur collar of his coat. “But you can always be
my
tough guy. Come here—”

Just as they started to lean toward each other, three sail-carts came sliding up the path to the house, each piloted by a yellow-hooded driver.

“Careful! Here comes a little girl with a slingshot. Need a helmet?” joked Egelina-Marie. She could see she’d teased Bakon enough, and gave him an innocent smile.

The sailing Yellow Hoods engaged their handbrakes and pulled down their sails. Turning their steering wheels gently, each brought their sail-cart to a complete stop, with a spray of snow. Tee, Elly, and Richy climbed out. The winter afternoon sun danced off their yellow hooded cloaks.

“Hey guys,” said Tee, pulling back her hood and allowing her long, dark brown hair to pour out. “Are you ready to go? I can’t believe we’re officially doing it in Mineau this year!”

Thirty years ago, there was only the city of Mineau at the foot of the mountain. As Mineau grew into a trading hub, some freethinkers decided to establish a more secluded town up on the mountain’s plateau. They’d kept to themselves and were careful, at least at first, about whom they would let feel comfortable enough to stay in town. They decided to use an old nickname of Mineau as the new town’s name, not only because they liked the name, but also knowing the political headaches it would cause and how much more likely it would make the outside world just want to leave them alone. Thus, Minette was founded.

This was the first year the city of Mineau would officially celebrate Solstice with Minette. Both town magistrates had decided it was a great opportunity to bring the towns together—something attempted every now and then, and in different ways. The Solstice celebration wasn’t unique to Minette, but the
way
they did it was—the presents, and bringing everyone together to feast, sing, and dance outside.

“Woo!” said Elly, looking at the sleigh. “Are those sacks
all
full of presents? That’s even more than last year.” Her dark blond hair was almost the same length as Tee’s.

“We started preparation a week earlier this year! Four weeks, we worked,” said Nikolas as he returned, brass tube in hand. He jammed it into the sleigh in a secure spot.

Turning to Elly, Nikolas continued, “Egelina-Marie offered to help, which made us a small army! Each of us had our roles and we worked at our specialties. The Cochon brothers carved all the wood parts. Tee and her parents assembled the pieces. Egelina-Marie and I painted. When all the toys were dry, I went over each to make sure they were perfect.” Nikolas looked back at all the dull-colored sacks and did some calculations in his head to make sure he had enough.

“You always worry you didn’t make enough, Grandpapa,” said Tee, interrupting his thoughts.

Nikolas was content that he had everything he needed. He looked around at the smiling faces and noticed the sail-carts had skied in. “You have made another improvement, Richy, yes? Mind if I have a look? I was wondering, at the back of my mind, how you were using the sail-carts in this snow.” He twiddled his fingers in anticipation.

“Sure!” said Richy, with pride. Ever since Nikolas had built the sail-carts for them last fall, Richy had spent countless hours with his. He’d become the daredevil of the trio, and consequently found himself spending almost as much time repairing or tinkering with his sail-cart as actually using it. He didn’t have to tell Nikolas there had been changes—it was obvious.

Richy flipped his sail-cart onto its side. “I removed the wheels and put these skids on. I got stuck a couple of times in the snow when they fell off, so I put in this cross-brace—Tee’s idea. I also nailed this little box on the back, for tools. I had to put a buckle and strap on after I littered tools around the forest. I still owe my dad chores as payment to replace them.”

Nikolas bent down and gently ran his hand over the snowy skids. “Now what inspired you to use this wood?”

Richy glanced over to Elly. “I tried some others—they didn’t work so well, but then Elly found this type of tree in the forest that bends well. She said it’s used for bows, so we used that for the skids. The problem is we can’t go very far—the snow ends up stuck to the wood a lot. We have to keep scraping it off. Maybe I’m using the wrong wood.”

Nikolas stroked his beard. “No, no… the wood is fine. It is exactly the right wood to use. I know what you are missing. I must fetch something for you, yes?” He went into his large shed, still filled to the rafters. Few dared to enter for fear of being buried. It seemed to have a Klaus-shaped tunnel carved through. Soon he emerged, triumphant.

Klaus held a few bars of hardened yellow wax. “This is a special wax from a friend, an expert—very talented. Rub this on the skid bottoms until they are slick, and keep some with you.”

Hearing Nikolas mention wax took Bakon back. When he and his brothers had first met Nikolas, he’d put wax dust on a makeshift tent to make it rain-resistant. He marveled at how Nikolas helped people.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” said Richy. He took a bar and started applying it to his sail-cart’s skids. “Like this?”

“Keep going!” said Nikolas enthusiastically. He handed a stick each to Elly and Tee. They started copying Richy.

“Your parents must be proud of your innovations, yes?” asked Nikolas.

Richy paused. “Um, to be honest, they didn’t really notice.” He looked at the snow-covered ground. “Sometimes I feel they don’t know what to make of me.”

Nikolas put a reassuring hand on Richy’s shoulder. “I am sure there is something distracting them. You keep doing this. You were born to do these things, so do them! I am sure whatever it is your parents are struggling with, they both want the best for you.”

Bakon caught Richy’s eye. “I still hear tales in the taverns of how some Yellow Hood flipped his sail-cart into that villain, Andre LeLoup, sending him flying. The maniac who, after Egelina-Marie took him down, comes back and nearly has his revenge—except
you
stop him. You’re a
legend
, kid,” he said, offering his handsome, roguish smile.

“Thanks, Bakon,” Richy said, with half a smile.

“Anytime, kid,” said Bakon, walking past him and messing his hair. “We misfits, we stick together.”

Richy flashed a full smile, and got back to waxing his sail-cart’s skids.

“I’ve got the horses!” said Bore excitedly, walking the four horses forward.

“And here’s the rest of the gear for attaching them to the sleigh,” said Squeals, dropping the gear into the snow. “Feels heavier than last year.”

Bakon was about to give his brother his disapproving, disappointed face when he stopped himself. After a moment, he punched him in the shoulder instead. “Feel heavier,
now
?” 

Squeals glared back at Bakon with a cheeky smile. 

Nikolas thought about how this would likely be the last year when all this would be necessary. His secret invention, the horseless cart, would soon change everything. But first, he needed to give a copy of its plans to the Tub, to make sure his friends and allies had the advantage he suspected they needed.

The Tub was a secret society, led these days by a butcher, a baker, and a candle and stick maker. Founded upon noble principles, the Tub’s influence grew, over time spreading to all of the kingdoms, but eventually coming into conflict with another such society, the Fare. After centuries of a cut-throat, cloak-and-dagger war, the Tub finally achieved the upper hand. They used that opportunity to bankrupt the Fare, and shackle its members with a crippling peace agreement that would see certain actions taken by any Fare-man as grounds for execution. In the decades since that agreement was put in place, the kingdoms had enjoyed relative peace.

Nikolas had been involved in the Tub for a long time. He’d never completely bought into their ways or principles, but he had his own reasons for supporting them. He’d always been on the outside, often thinking that their struggles weren’t necessarily his. The recent events with LeLoup and Simon St. Malo had made him rethink that. 

“Elly, what’s poking out of your cloak pocket there?” asked Egelina-Marie. “Something is trying to escape.”

“Oh,” said Elly, securing the forearm-length metal rod. Its small handle was visible and had caught on the secret pocket’s edge. Elly collapsed the handle back into the base, and placed the rod back into the pocket. “Just one of my shock-sticks. At least the other is behaving,” she joked.

Elly had grown a bit quicker than Tee in recent months, making them now the same height. The two best friends had birthdays only a month apart and seemed to inch slightly ahead of the other every couple of months. While Tee was the daring one always jumping into adventure, Elly was the loyal friend who always jumped in after, knowing that together they’d get out of whatever it was. “Since we tangled with LeLoup, I think it’s always best to be prepared. We’ve helped more than a dozen people since, by being prepared. Although, my shock-sticks seem to need more winding and don’t give off as big a shock these days. We got these new ones—”

Elly caught herself, not wanting to reveal to everyone the secret treehouse at the top of the mountain, and how new equipment just seemed to appear, though it had been a while since any had. “—about two months ago. We stopped using our old ones since they aren’t as effective… maybe because of the weather.”

“Hmm,” said Nikolas to himself, making a mental note.

After checking the horses were hitched correctly, Nikolas turned to everyone. “It’s wonderful to have your help. Now let’s go have a wonderful Solstice! I’m sure it’ll be the best yet.”

Tee, Elly, and Richy hopped into their sail-carts and pulled up the telescoping masts. Within moments, the wind filled their sails and they started heading off.

“Okay, we’ll see you down there,” yelled Tee as she started to pick up speed.

Bore and Squeals climbed into the sleigh with Nikolas.

Bakon pulled out some cross-country skis and eyed them uneasily. “See you guys down there in a couple of hours—I hope.”

Squeals leaned over the edge of the sleigh. “Bakon, if you think you’re about to humiliate yourself, find a larger tree this time. It wasn’t very sporting of you to take out that little one last time. Mind you, it did do a number on you. Try not to damage the family name,” he said, laughing.

Bakon took a swipe at his brother’s head. “Get out of here.”

“See you in Mineau!” yelled Nikolas. He gave the reigns a flick and followed the departing Yellow Hoods.

Egelina-Marie and Bakon watched as the convoy left. Gradually, everything fell silent.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Do we even have enough daylight left?” said Bakon.

“We’ll be fine. Are you as scared as you sound?” said Egelina-Marie, putting her skis on.

Bakon had skied before, just not very successfully, unlike his younger brothers. He would have never considered trying again after the tree fiasco three years ago, but Egelina-Marie had a way of talking him into things.

“Follow my lead, watch what I do, and try to glide,” said Egelina-Marie. “And if you get lost or go missing, I’ll find you.”

“Promise?” asked Bakon, sarcastically.

“Can I get back to you on that?” replied Egelina-Marie with a wink.

CHAPTER THREE

A Letter of Warning

Maxwell Watt slammed his notebook down on the side table, whipped off his glasses, and looked at the fire snapping and popping away in the fireplace. The fire seemed to mirror his frustration at being interrupted again.

“Keep your blooming trousers on!” he bellowed as he got up and stomped over to the front door. After a second to close his robe before facing the winter weather, he angrily opened the door. “What do you want?”

A man stood there, holding a letter. “Special delivery, sir.”

“Oh, sorry,” said Maxwell. “A lot of people have been caroling this evening. A man can’t be left alone with his thoughts, it seems.”

“Don’t appreciate the singing, sir?” asked the man drily, still holding the letter.

Maxwell looked around, in case friends or neighbors were about to approach who might take offense. “Singing I don’t mind, but packs of wild people howling at each doorstep like out-of-key wolves baying at the moon? I
do
mind. How can a man change the world with such horrible distractions?”