The spare room Robin was given could be more readily compared to a greenhouse than a bedroom. Two large windows faced the back pond, and on their windowsills sat numerous small potted plants crowded together as if all vying for the sun's attention. Each plant was planted in a different strange pot if some could even be called that. Some plants were crowded into old food containers or broken teapots. Many larger plants were located around the room, a significant portion perched on top of the worn-down dresser. The one small plant sat pitifully on his nightstand and was left naked in a pile of dead leaves.

Sadly, it looked as if most of them were barely alive. Suffering in silence in the forgotten spare room.

Still, Robin found the room very comfortable. The bed was small but well-kept, unlike the many plants it shared the room with.

It was a significant upgrade from the train seats Robin had become accustomed to sleeping on over the last couple of weeks, and as soon as Roobin laid down, he slept the best he had since leaving London. Robin only awoke as the light trickled in through the room's large windows the following day.

As Robin sat up, his stomach growled at him, mad at him for missing supper the night before. Robin shot out of bed as he remembered where he was, realizing he was meant to start as the house cook for a sorceress and her apprentice that morning. Not sure what kind of punishment he might receive for making a late breakfast, Robin hurriedly dressed and rushed to the kitchen.

As Robin came around the corner of the stairs and hurried into the kitchen, he was shocked to find Jo sitting at the table doing homework, with the small dog creature dozing in her lap.

"Good Morning, Mr. Pear Man!" Jo said excitedly as she looked up to see him in the doorway. The dog jumped down from her lap and trotted over to greet Robin as well.

"Good Morning, Miss Jo, and- why, I don't think I ever got this creature's name," Robin observed as he reached down to pet the dog, ruffling the hair on the small dog's back.

"That's Sugar Cookie," Jo explained. "She looks like a normal dog, but she's a descendant of Nanabozho."

"Nanabozho?"

" I mean, not technically, but that's what people call them. You probably heard them called Nanahouds. They are pretty common in these parts. You might have heard some of them last night. They like to cause trouble and keep people up."

Robin didn't want to admit it, but he had slept so deeply that a Nanahound could have been in his room, and he wouldn't have heard it.

"There is actually a pack of them in the forest past the acres," Jo continued, "but they are scared of Sugar Cookie, so they keep away. Many people don't like Nanahounds around here because sometimes they can cause trouble to farmers and travelers, but they aren't that bad. They only give trouble to those who mean trouble.

Jo came over to pick up Sugar Cookie from Robin's feet and brought the squirming Nanahound to their seat.

"Miss Holly found Sugar Cookie at the local animal shelter," Jo continued in her childlike ramble as Robin walked over to the sink to wash his hands and start breakfast.

"...and nobody had noticed she was a Nanahound since she was such a cute puppy," Jo said as she massaged the dog's ears. Sugar Cookie tried to lick Jo's face, causing the child to giggle.

"You know, they say Nanadogs are great at judging people with bad intentions and only attack those with evil intent, which is why Holly said she decided to keep her after realizing she was a Nanahound. But I don't think that Cookie minds; she likes being spoiled. Miss Holly said Cookie can leave anytime she likes, but she prefers this life of getting treats and being lazy to being a fearsome creature in the forest. I think Cookie wandered over to the animal shelter as a puppy just so she could find herself someone to spoil her." Jo said with a laugh as the dog continued to lick her face.

Robin turned and looked at the little dog on the girl's lap, basking in the child's attention. "What a smart little Cookie."

"She sure is!" Jo cooed as she squished the small dog against her face. Cookie's tongue hung out as if smiling, completely unbothered. "The smartest and the sweetest! Just like a real sugar cookie!"

Robin couldn't help but chuckle. He wiped his hands and headed over to the cabinets.

"Let's see. What should we have for breakfast..." Robin muttered to himself, turning to the large cabinet near the hearth.

To Robin's surprise, inside this large cabinet was nothing except several large bags of pears stacked on each other. Robin stepped back and closed the cabinet, fearing that the bags of pears might fall on him.

"Yeah.." Jo mumbled shyly. "We have too many pears... the pear salesman from the town over won't leave us alone."

Robin scratched the back of his neck. It's no wonder she tried so hard yesterday to get rid of him; they definitely didn't need any more pears.

"But fear not!" Jo exclaimed excitedly before running into the mud room and returning with a basket.

"I already went and got some eggs! We can have eggs for breakfast." Jo exclaimed proudly as she sat them on the table. " Mr. Robin, could you please make mine Sunny Side Up? I've always wanted to try them that way!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I don't think I know how to make eggs sunny side up," Robin replied, slightly embarrassed. "I think the best I can do is scrambled...if that's okay?"

"Oh... yeah, that's fine," Jo said disappointed. She sat back in her seat, looking dejected.

"But I'll see if I can figure it out by the next time we have eggs for breakfast. Is that okay?" Robin said, trying to cheer her up.

A big smile grew across Jo's face.

"Oh yes! Thank you so much, Mr. Robin! Can we have eggs for breakfast tomorrow, then?"

"No, we will have to have something different tomorrow. We can't have the same thing every day," Robin said, trying not to admit that he wouldn't be able to learn how to cook sunny-side-up eggs by tomorrow.

"Why not? We would eat the same thing every day if you weren't here... Miss Holly only knows how to cook toast for breakfast." Jo grumbled.

Robin walked over to the stove, cracked a few of the eggs in an old cast iron skillet, and began to stir.

"Can you add some sour cream? Jo said, coming up from behind him. "That's how Miss Holly usually makes them ."

"I thought you said she only makes toast?" Robin said, intrigued.

"Yeah, well...Lately, it's been toast, but she made really good scrambled eggs for a while until we got sick of eating them every day." Jo shrugged. "She's been too focused on her jewelry magic and teaching me stuff to have the time to try new food recipes."

"Ah. I see." Robin said, going over to the ice box to grab sour cream. "how did you become Miss Holly's apprentice?" Robin asked, trying to keep up a conversation with the young girl as he continued to cook. Jo returned to her seat at the table, cuddling up to Cookie once again.

"Well, my dad is an engineer for the Transcontinental Railroad. When my family came through town with the Railroad, my dad heard about a jewelry sorceress and found Miss Holly to ask if I could stay and be her apprentice. I have wanted to attend a sorcerer school, but my dad doesn't trust sorcerer specialty schools. He thinks they are planted by the government to help control sorcerers or something like that." Jo explained with a shrug.

"Miss Holly agreed because my dad has a connection back in Tang that helps her get stones for her jewelry that aren't as easy to get here in the Great Plains. In the end, those stones are much cheaper for my family than sorcerer school. Plus, I get to go home in the winter and be with my family. Which is also something I wouldn't be able to do if I went to sorcerer school." Jo's tone got more excited as she continued. " I leave for home in a couple of months or so. Which is great because the winter here is terrible!" She mimed a huge shiver.

"Oh no!" Robin said absentmindedly, trying to focus on both his cooking and listening at the same time.

"I come in the spring and stay till the beginning of fall. I go to school here at the schoolhouse and then study magic under Miss Holly. And actually, Miss Holly is one of the strongest sorcerers in the world, so I am actually really lucky. Even if her food is bad."

"One of the strongest in the world, huh?" Robin said.

"Yeah! I heard a rumor that she once had one of the largest Sorcerer's Hearts ever!"

"Oh? What's a Sorcerer's Heart?" Robin asked.

Robin knew they had something to do with a Sorcerer's power from what his brother had mentioned, but he had to admit he wasn't very well versed in sorcerer's terminology for someone whose older brother was a master in the field.

"Well." Jo cleared her voice and sat up on her knees as if preparing to give a presentation. Acting as if she was a teacher and Robin was her student,

" A well-trained sorcerer can build a Sorcerer's Heart, a stone built and maintained by their magic. Some say it even becomes a sorcerer's life force. A Sorcerer's heart works as an amplifier of a sorcerer's magic and can help them hone their magic to be more specific with less training." Jo cleared her throat again before continuing,

"As you may already know, Magicians have one precise power they can use without training, such as being able to grow pear trees that always grow perfect pears. Sorcerers can do a wide range of magic and are often more skilled in one area of magic. However, a Socerer's magic will never be as precise as a Magician's without years of training. For example, a sorcerer could learn magic that makes a pear tree grow pears, but it would take a lot of training so that the pears the tree grows are perfect, even if they are specialized in farming magic. Therefore, many sorcerers make a Sorcerer's Heart to help hone their magic, which helps make them stronger. Does that make sense?"

Jo paused and raised her eyebrows at Robin, waiting to see if he had any questions.

"Yes, that does make sense," Robin said, Robin flipping the eggs in the skillet and nodding in appreciation of the young girl's explanation. He knew the difference between sorcerers and magicians, being a magician himself, but he had no idea that a Sorcerer's Heart had that capability.

"Good." Jo continued. "A Sorcerer's Heart is also rumored to have health benefits and can give those who carry it strength. If a sorcerer gives their sorcerer's heart to someone else, it magnifies the power of the sorcerer's heart because it can use the energy of the wearer to make the stone even stronger. This is why many sorcerers give their heart to their significant other instead of keeping it to themselves..."

Jo suddenly hesitated in her speech, causing Robin to turn to look at her. "However, there are always downsides to that." She paused, leaning forward to whisper over the table to Robin.

"...like what happened with Miss Holly."

"What happened t-"

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Miss Holly made her descent. Jo gave him a look to drop the subject, and Robin turned back to the stove and the food he was cooking.

"Oh man, I am hungry this morning." Miss Holly said, entering the kitchen with a stretch. "I finally finished all the new pieces I will add to the store this morning. So, Jo, before you head to school today, could you come help me with some of the displays? I'll teach you a new teleportation spell as payment."

"Okay, Miss Holly," Jo said, cleaning up the papers in front of her, jumping down from her seat, and walking to the mud room to put her homework away in her school bag.

Miss Holly sat at the table, and Sugar Cookie immediately jumped onto her lap to lay down with a huff.

"Good Morning, Cookie, I'm sorry I didn't give you much attention this morning." Miss Holly said, cooing at the small dog.

Robin suddenly realized, with a bit of embarrassment, that he was the last person to wake up this morning. He made a note to try to wake up earlier tomorrow. Robin hoped the two of them weren't upset about waiting for him to cook their breakfast this morning.

Robin finished cooking the eggs and set them on one large plate in the center of the table before returning to the cabinets and grabbing three plates and silverware for each.

"Jo, could you be a dear and grab some pears too." Miss Holly called as Jo walked back into the kitchen.

"Of course!" Jo said, running to the pear cabinet. She grabbed a pear for each of them and returned it to the table.

"When it comes to meals, we here at Sunshine Acres like to say that 'Pears Always Pair.'" Miss Holly explained jokingly.

Robin raised an eyebrow at the horrible pun. "Yes, I hear you have quite the pear salesman problem. I was scared for my life when I first arrived yesterday, and Jo assumed I was one."

"Oh really?" Miss Holly said, amused. "Good work, Jo. I've trained you well." She said, patting the little girl on the head.

"Thanks," Jo said smugly. "Just wait 'till another real pear salesman shows up..." Jo aggressively took a bite of her bacon and growled.

Miss Holly laughed.

"It's actually my fault they are like that." Miss Holly confessed, turning to Robin. " I used to buy a ton of pears from the town over, but now I have more than enough for the next couple of months, if not years. However, some greedy men have picked up on my love for pears and now buy them from local farmers and then come to Sunshine Acres to try and up-sale them." She sighed. "They won't take no for an answer, and they think we can be intimidated because we are two women alone, and they especially like to come if they think Jo will be home and I won't. She had to buy pears from them a couple of times just so they would leave her alone and stop throwing themselves at the door." Miss Holly said with her teeth clenched, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Mr. Robin, if you are ever here and they come, just ignore them. They only mean trouble," Miss Holly added, glancing at Robin.

Robin had never met a pear salesman before but was sure they couldn't be as bad as Miss Holly was making out. Still, he noted that he should try not to buy any pears if they happen to come around.

"Jo and I are going to head to town to set up the shop after breakfast, so before we leave, a few housekeeping things ." Miss Holly said quickly, finishing the food from her plate before getting up and helping clear the table.

" I'm sure you noticed, but the room you are staying in could do with some maintenance. If you want to clean that room first and do your laundry from your travels, you are more than welcome to do that first. But, if you don't mind, go ahead and look through the recipes to figure out what you want to make for the next couple of days. If you create a list of what you need from the market, I'll grab the items tomorrow on my way home ."

Miss Holly put the dishes in the sink and walked over to where Robin sat.

"Any cleaning supplies you might need should be in the bathroom or the mudroom. Again, if you need anything else for cleaning, just write it on the list for me to buy tomorrow." Miss Holly continued as she headed for the mudroom.

"Oh, and feel free to help yourself to as many pears as you want!" Miss Holly said with a wink.

Robin smiled and got up from his seat as Holly and Jo got ready to leave. Robin felt a pang of guilt in his chest, as it was apparent they had been waiting for him to make breakfast this morning and now had to hurry to get out the door.

Robin could hear the muffled voices in the mud room before they disappeared with the slam of the door as they went out to the backyard.

Suddenly, Miss Holly opened the door from the outside into the kitchen, and Sugar Cookie walked confidently back in.

"She's gonna stay behind to keep you company." Miss Holly said with a smile. She blew a kiss to the small dog."Bye Cookie! Be good. " Miss Holly cooed before closing the door again.

Sugar Cookie turned in a circle and huffed in response before walking over to Robin's feet and wagging her tail.

"Are you here to keep me company or keep an eye on me?" Robin asked the creature at his feet.

Sugar Cookie huffed in agreement.

Robin hummed; he was going to assume the latter. Fortunately, he had no intention of stealing, snooping, or whatever the nanahound had been left to keep an eye on him for.

After Robin finished the dishes, he walked upstairs to his room with the small dog in tow. As Robin looked around, he noted that the poor plants looked even worse in the daylight than he thought. Robin searched the room and found a record player in the closet. He pulled the old contraption out and looked through the records tucked away in an old leather bag. Robin didn't know a single artist, so he put on a record with the most intriguing name to listen to. The comfort of the slow country music cackled in the background as he watered the plants around him. Sugar Cookie also seemed to like the music, as the dog had hopped on his bed and snoozed as he worked, lulled to sleep by the old records.

After an hour or so of watering the plants, Robin had to admit he was satisfied to see some of them already looking perkier after being in his care. As he worked, Robin also made sure to dust the window sill that the plants sat on and clean off some of the dustier leaves on the larger plants.

Robin had to admit he never did much cleaning back home. His family had hired maids who had done the cleaning for him his entire life, so there was never the need. Even if he had been curious to try it, cleaning was treated as something below his position. He regretted that now. However, Robin was thankful for the fact that he had always tried to be tidy, so he knew the basics of how to clean.

Still, there were some things he did not know how to do, like his laundry. In the hot September sun, after much trial and error, Robin managed to get a few of his travel-worn clothes looking clean again. However, he quickly decided to take a break from laundry until his frustration died.

Robin hung his clothes out to dry in the backyard of Sunshine Acres as the sunset. A full day of cleaning had flown by, and he had a new appreciation for this kind of work. Robin had hoped he might have a moment of downtime to relax after such long travels and a day of cleaning, but unfortunately, he needed to start on dinner for when Miss Holly and Jo came home.

Robin thought he could survive a life like this for a week or so.

Still, he didn't want to feel a fast sense of security, as the previous day's warnings about his hostess still ran through his head.

Robin really hoped Otto got his letter.