Mac's winning of the Stellar Enchantment Pin did not surprise Lyra in the slightest. What did surprise her was the backlash of mixed emotions she felt while participating in the wild applause.

Her enthusiastic joy for her friend was absolutely sincere. Mac had fought an uphill battle with pastry, and his efforts had been both faithful and diligent. Plus, as the only 'Puff Paragon' who had not yet received a Stellar Enchantment Pin, Lyra firmly believed this was Mac's hour. Her brain, heart, gut, and internal melody lines were all in complete agreement on this.

Yet, she couldn't deny the strange minor key that kept intruding upon that inner melody line, nor the sudden twisting of her gut, nor the sinking sensation hitting her mind and heart in sneak-attack waves.

What is wrong with me? she wondered, jumping off her stool to join the group gathering around Mac. Where is this coming from?

Understanding arrived in the unexpected and unwelcome form of Florentine Clafoutis.

The Apprentice Baker muscled herself through the second-years until she was standing directly beside Mac. "Congratulations, Aspiring Baker Fondant," she said briskly, pen poised over her notebook. "What spells did you use for this exam, besides the required pastry spells?"

Mac glanced at Professor Genoise. The Presentation headmaster drew in a sharp breath, then nodded slowly.

"Go ahead, Fondant," Professor Genoise said. "The documentation must be complete."

Mac swallowed hard. "I… I used Madame Hazelnut's Deepening Spell for the cherry chocolate tart. And for the croquembouche. Same Flavor spell for both. Then… I used Madame Millefeuille's Structural Chant to make sure the tower stayed together."

"Madame Millefeuille?" Florentine stopped writing and stared at Mac. "I only just started Madame Millefeuille. That's third-year material."

"Aspiring Baker Fondant does a great deal of learning on his own time," Professor Genoise said proudly. "He requested a reading list for the summer holiday, which I was only too glad to give him. An introduction to Madame Millefeuille's work was on that list."

Florentine still seemed at a loss for words. Eclair stepped up beside her to continue the 'documentation.'

"So that's Madame Hazelnut for Flavor, and Madame Millefeuille for Presentation." The Flavor Apprentice Baker made some adjustments to her own notes and peered at Mac. "Anything else?"

"Master Brulée's Coloring Charm," Mac went on, watching Eclair's pen move busily across the parchment. "And Master Glaze's Shine Spell."

"Expert level," Professor Genoise added.

Caramelle and Florentine both gasped. Mac smiled shyly. "That's right. Master Glaze… at the expert level."

"For both?" Florentine's voice was approaching a Marzy-esque squeak. "You used those two Presentation spells for the shortcrust and the choux assignment? Plus Madame Millefeuille for the croquembouche? On top of the required pastry spells for all three disciplines?"

Mac nodded, his smile widening.

Caramelle seemed as taken aback as Florentine. "Oh, Mac… how did you have the time?"

Summoning all his courage, Mac looked her in the eye. "There's always time to make things beautiful. Beauty makes the world sweeter. I know… you understand."

Caramelle dropped her eyes, a smile spreading across her faintly pink cheeks. Mac, meanwhile, appeared to puff up like a perfectly made profiterole. Lyra thought he might actually lift off the ground.

That just made the blow of Florentine's next words even harder to bear.

"So you didn't use any Enjoyment-based spells?"

Mac froze. Slowly, he tore his gaze from Caramelle and met Florentine's narrowed eyes. "What?"

"En-joy-ment," the third-year repeated slowly. "The second-years are supposed to be pioneering a new discipline, after all. Did you use any spells from this new discipline?"

To Lyra's immense relief, Professor Puff stepped in.

"We are still in the early experimental stages," explained the Texture professor, each word heavy with dignity. "New spells must be developed, tested, and retested before entering into widespread use. It is highly unrealistic to expect such a thing after a mere few months."

Florentine smiled. "I believe I saw Aspiring Baker Treble attempting an Enjoyment spell. What was that you were singing over your quiche, Treble?"

"Chef Flax's song," Lyra replied coolly. "The one he sang over the disaster cake during the welcome feast. I believe it has the potential to be the first true Enjoyment spell."

Florentine was still smiling. "And did it work?"

"It absolutely did!" This time, it was Professor Honeycomb who leapt into the fray. She nodded so emphatically that her green Flavor chef's hat nearly slipped down over her eyes. "That quiche was, quite definitively, the happiest quiche I have ever tasted. The delight it gave went above and beyond the normal experience of eating a well-made meal. I am sure my colleagues would agree."

"Indubitably," Professor Genoise affirmed. "A most peculiarly pleasant pastry. The new magic we have come to expect from Aspiring Baker Treble's work was undeniably present."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"But was it visible?" Florentine pressed, her eyes wide with innocence. "Was there any verifiable manifestation of the magic at work?"

All three professors looked at Lyra. She shook her head.

Before Florentine could crow in triumph, Professor Puff spoke up. "That is to be expected. Light is the last sign of a fully developed spell, not the first."

"Of course." Florentine deliberately underlined something in her notebook. Then, with syrupy graciousness, she returned her attention to Mac. "But you did not use Chef Flax's song as part of your exam strategy?"

Mac's eyes darted from Florentine to Lyra to the professors and back. "N-no…"

"We have not made it part of our official curriculum," Professor Honeycomb said, her voice unusually heated. "Not yet. First term is quite full enough, with two types of pastry to cover."

"But we have still been exploring Enjoyment," Professor Genoise added hastily. "Aspiring Baker Treble has been helping us set every new spell to music. Singing seems to add an extra spark to the existing magic, which propels the finished product to new heights of delight."

Professor Puff nodded. "That allows us to incorporate Enjoyment into established spells as we learn them. The second-years used this technique to help learn all the spells from last year, also."

"That's right!" Professor Genoise turned eagerly to Mac. "You used that technique in your exam spells, didn't you, Fondant? I believe I heard you singing several times when I passed your counter."

"Yes… yes, I sang the spells." Mac's voice sank to barely above a whisper. "Most of them."

Florentine and Eclair leaned in as one, reminding Lyra forcibly of her friend Thespy's pet cat about to pounce.

"Most of them?" Florentine echoed.

Mac looked uncomfortable. "I sang all of the Flavor and Texture spells. But Lyra hasn't written a tune for Madame Millefeuille, or for the expert level of Master Glaze."

"Still, you sang the pastry Presentation spells," Boysen cut in. "For shortcrust and choux. Right, Mac?"

"I… no."

Florentine ignored the group's collective gasp and plunged ahead. "No? Why not, Aspiring Baker Fondant?"

Mac looked at Lyra. He sounded almost like he was pleading. "I… I realized I didn't need them."

Both Florentine and Eclair began scribbling frantically in their notebooks. Suddenly, Rye stepped forward and tapped them both on the shoulder.

"Presentation is Aspiring Baker Fondant's specialty," the Texture apprentice told them sternly. "I'm sure he's developed his own flow in that discipline, which ought not be disrupted. But in the other two disciplines, the new singing technique has proved invaluable. Correct, Aspiring Baker Fondant?"

Mac nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes. Oh, so correct. I never would have made it through Texture this term without Lyra's songs. Last year, too."

Boysen seemed to catch on to Rye's point. "That's right," he said, throwing an arm around Mac's shoulder. "Tell 'em why, Fondant."

"Because… because I can get really distracted." Mac took off his glasses and began polishing them on his floury apron, having apparently reached his limit of intense eye contact for the day. "Especially in Texture. And then I get anxious, which makes it even harder to concentrate. Singing the spells helps me relax. It makes me… enjoy baking more."

He managed a sidelong glance at Lyra with a tentative smile. She did her best to return it, pushing the discordant internal melody down far enough that the newly crowned 'Stellar Enchantment' baker wouldn't detect it.

"There you have it." Rye pulled out his own notebook and made a great show of writing and then circling his point. "Second-years continue to explore the various applications of Enjoyment. First term Stellar Enchantment baker attests that this new technique is crucial to his baking success." Looking up, he met his fellow Apprentice Bakers' glares with a grin. "I look forward to presenting our first term findings to the board when we return from break."

"Another three cheers for Fondant!" Boysen called, leading everyone in one more raucous round of applause.

Lyra cheered and clapped as loudly as anyone. But then, once she had given Mac a warm hug and whispered another fervent congratulatory message in his ear, she used the general hubbub to slip out of the exam hall.

She needed to be away from everyone. She needed to think. The end-of-term feast was starting soon, and Lyra had some inner tuning to accomplish if she wanted to greet that momentous event in the right key.

It was time to visit Queen Penelope.

Blindly, she followed the familiar path to her favorite out-of-the-way thinking spot on the royal academy campus. She barely heard the crunch of her feet on the fallen leaves that covered the stone walkway. Even the crisp winter air, now pale pink with the rapidly approaching sunset, failed to hold her attention.

That discordant song that had sprung up at the end of the exam was now blaring at full volume. It required every bit of her focus to sort through all the different melody lines, picking them apart so she could deal with them one at a time.

Letting the main hall doors swing shut behind her, she began her long trudge up the many flights of stairs to the roof, thinking all the while.

If I had won the Stellar Enchantment Pin, that would have been more of a win for Enjoyment. I am Enjoyment… at least, to Florentine and Eclair. Caramelle's parents too, probably. A failure for me means the new 'discipline' is a failure….

Over and over, in an incessant round. Lyra was thoroughly sick of the conflicting tunes by the time she reached the fourth floor, but they just kept pounding along, like her Uncle Clef trying to perfect a new drum solo.

They're looking for any reason to shut us down. Disqualify us. Maybe even get me kicked out of the academy. I'm the only one who doesn't fit anywhere else. If they get rid of me, they get rid of Enjoyment…

Lyra sighed as she pushed through the door leading to Queen Penelope's rooftop kingdom. Then she stopped, frozen in the doorway.

"Marzy?"

The first-year girl was curled up at the giant chicken's side. It was the exact same place Lyra had fled to after her disastrous first term exam the year before. And, judging by the comforting tone of Queen Penelope's squawks, Marzy was in a similar state to first-year Lyra.

"Marzy?" Lyra repeated. She approached cautiously, giving the royal chicken a wave and a smile as she went. "Marzy… are you all right?"

Marzy finally became aware of Lyra's presence. Instead of her usual cheerful greeting, though, she groaned and buried her face further in Queen Penelope's downy feathers.

"Oh, flats." Lyra rushed forward and knelt beside the despondent girl, placing a hand on her shaking shoulder. "Did you get cut?"

Marzy shook her head against the royal chicken's fluffy side.

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. Then another thought struck her. "Did Arch get cut?"

Another head-shaking. No.

"Well, congratulations!" Lyra said brightly. "You and Arch made it through the first term. That's a huge achievement!"

Marzy simply shook her head again.

"It is," Lyra insisted. She looked at Queen Penelope, who clucked emphatically in confirmation. "You should be very proud, Marzy. You and Arch both."

Marzy said something, but it was muffled in feathers.

Lyra poked the back of her head. "What's that?"

Sighing, Marzy pulled away from the giant chicken. "It's not enough."

Lyra looked at Queen Penelope again. The royal poultry had no further insight to offer.

"Not enough?" Lyra repeated. "For whom?"

"For Enjoyment. For —" Marzy suddenly spluttered. Coughing, she picked a stray feather from her mouth and gazed at it forlornly. "Arch and I are the biggest supporters of Enjoyment in our class. If either of us had won the Stellar Enchantment Pin… it could have helped. We could have contributed something. Instead…" She sighed again.

An ominous note spiked through Lyra's internal melody. "Sweet and savory sharps," she breathed. "Did — did Chantilly —"

Marzy nodded glumly. "Aspiring Baker Joconde. Hater of all things fun and joyful. Winner of the first term Stellar Enchantment Pin." She buried her face in her hands. "I… I failed."

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