Lord Piereva strode through the garden door to the kitchen waving over his shoulder for the Knights to remain outside in the blistering sun and whirring insects.

Fin looked up only briefly from the cake that he was pouring an opaque glaze over to see who was paying him a visit.

“Lord Piereva, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“One of your aides outside dares to threaten me. I will have your word that you will see her punished.”

Fin straightened, and fixed the man with a blank expression.

‘Are there poisonous fumes in this kitchen? Are the kitchen staff brain damaged?!’ The Lord growled in his mind as he wondered why none of the people he had met showed any ounce of fear.

“What did Hannah threaten you with and why?” The cook almost sounded bored.

Lord Piereva grit his teeth.

“You even know exactly the aide I’m speaking of! I suppose your lack of disciplining the wench is-”

“Did you behave inappropriately towards Hannah?” Despite the light tone Fin used, he drew out his cooking knife and began slowly polishing it with the tea towel he had tucked in the front of his apron.

“I was questioning the group of Knights regarding you, a mere cook, being in charge of their duties. She was disrespectful when she told me to go talk to you.” The growl in Lord Piereva’s voice only made Fin glare. The Lord watched the unmoving cook gripping his knife warily.

“I am in charge of those Knights because of their sexual harassment towards Hannah. Meaning there is zero tolerance for that kind of behavior towards my staff. Are you saying there is nothing you said to Hannah that would’ve warranted her telling you to come see me?” There was something about the intense stare Fin was giving the Lord that made the Earl’s temper darken.

“You dare question me on behalf of a mere maid?”

“Maid or Queen, man or child, harassment is not tolerated by anyone in my kitchen or to my staff.” Fin’s voice was quiet and he remained completely unaffected by the murderous glare from the man in front of him.

“I will bring this up with your King to see if he feels the same.” Lord Piereva hissed.

“Please do. Until then, I ask that you refrain from talking to my staff. Is there anything else I can get for you my Lord?” Fin asked, his emotionless voice grating on the noble even more.

“Why yes there is. I happened to speak with the Troivackian Chief of Military about you. It would seem you lied about your relationship to him.” The Earl snarled, ignoring his orders to not reference the discovery before Aidan Helmer himself descended upon his offspring.

Fin stilled and straightened.

There was a strange unnatural glow in the redhead’s eyes that had the Earl taking a step back.

“I did not lie. I have no father in the Troivackian court. I was raised by my mother alone.” He explained quietly.

“You expect me to believe your mother had a virgin birth?” The Lord scoffed before continuing, enjoying the sight of Fin’s hand clutching the knife hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“Or are you saying you’re a bastard?” The last word dripped with scorn and condescension from the Earl.

Fin continued staring at the Troivackian in silence, calculating the noble’s odds of death should he be ‘accidentally’ clubbed with an iron pan.

‘No… I can’t do anything that could end up harming Annika…

Then again… I can always do what I do best.’

Fin almost chuckled aloud, but kept it firmly locked in his chest.

The cook tilted his head suddenly and peered with a small frown at the Earl.

“Do all Troivackians have to shave their earlobes?”

Whatever Lord Piereva had been expecting in response to his taunts, it hadn’t been that.

“You impertinent little sh-”

“You dared to insult my mother with your casual assumptions. Now, be on your way, I have work to do.” Fin waved airily, indicating that the Earl was to exit before he began slicing the cake so deftly and precisely that the noble was momentarily mesmerized.

“You think you can dismiss me? You are worth less than the dirt beneath my boot.”

“Unless you plan on eating aforementioned dirt for the rest of your time here in Daxaria, I recommend you remove yourself from my kitchen.”

Never in his life had the Earl been treated thusly. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in the cook, and what was more, he appeared somehow… amused.

It was then a small voice of reason weakly spoke in the Earl’s head, it was not used to being heeded.

‘For him to be so confident… it means he has magic.’ Lord Piereva smiled slowly.

“I think we should have another talk soon Mr. Ashowan. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you.” There was a strange glint in Troivackian’s eyes as he stared at the redhead. Fin continued ignoring him and began to turn his attention to a batch of cookies that were cooling.

With a swish of his ebony cape, the Troivackian noble left the kitchen making Fin’s instincts prickle as he did so.

Something wasn’t right.

‘That tyrant would never give up so easily.’ Fin began pondering carefully as he tried to dismiss the uneasiness in his stomach.

When he couldn’t ignore the loud warning signs in his gut, he summoned the serving staff to deliver the teatime snacks. Once that task had been completed, the cook took a moment of rest while crossing his arms and leaning his shoulder against the side of his hearth. He stared blindly at the table as server after server came and cleared the plates.

‘He brought up my father… so he must’ve wanted to get a reaction from me, but why? Was he trying to see if I would use my magic? Does my father even know what my abilities are exactly?’

Sighing, Fin shook his head and headed out to the garden pathway as the last footman disappeared with a tiered plate dish that was ladened with cakes, cookies, and small sandwiches.

He stared at the tidy rows of herbs that flourished under the meticulous care of the Royal Gardener, and slowly crouched down.

He had been putting off trying out this new branch of his abilities, but decided he could use the distraction.

Closing his eyes, Fin attempted to reach out his magic towards the herbs. Not to request anything, but to see what he could sense about them. He still found it hard to believe.

‘Tickles!’

‘Tickles!’

‘Danger?’

‘Danger?’

‘Friend?’

Fin’s eyes fluttered open surprised.

The Basil leaves had begun curling in on themselves, while the dill fluttered despite there being no breeze. The pepper plants gently lifted their ripening vegetables towards him as though eager to meet him.

Not all the plants had responded, but Fin was surprised that he could sense anything at all. The peace the delicate greens felt was unlike anything he had sensed before.

They all seemed completely content and at one…

He could also tell that they would not obey him nearly as easily as they would an Earth witch, but that he could sense their wellbeing was more than he had been anticipating!

It wasn’t at all like when he commanded objects in his kitchen.

“Mr. Ashowan?” Fin straightened immediately and turned to see Peter standing beside Hannah with an unreadable smile on his face.

“Well now there’s a sight for sore eyes.” Fin offered his hand and Peter shook it grinning.

“Physician Durand says I am fit to return to peeling and prepping vegetables so long as I don’t do any heavy lifting. Ruby says Heather can stay on to help- at least until the suitors leave.”

Fin nodded with a small grin.

“Very well, I’ll grab you a paring knife and get you working. You might regret getting out of bed so soon.”

Peter chuckled.

“Not a chance. I was going mad with boredom. Though there was a bit of excitement yesterday afternoon.” Fin nodded idly as he turned to the kitchen. He failed to notice the devious smile Hannah shot Peter who in turned had to take real pains not to laugh.

“I happened to be taking a lap around the second floor of the castle to work up my endurance, when I heard Lady Jenoure’s maid Clara inquiring about a rose that appeared in her bed chamber. She was talking with some of the entourage for both Zinferans, but no one knew anything about it.”

Fin gave no indication that the news affected him as he rounded his cooking table-, other than his face becoming devoid of any emotion as he reached underneath the table and procured a knife for Peter.

He handed the small blade to the man, and began wiping down the cooking table to begin preparing for dinner.

“Apparently Lady Jenoure is a little upset if what I was given to understand was correct…”

Still, Fin remained stoically unreadable.

“I hope everything is put to rights for the Viscountess then. You two better get to work. Tonight we are serving duck. We will serve it with a beet salad and mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. So lots of peeling to get done.”

The look of disappointment on both the aide’s faces made Fin narrow his gaze.

As the two turned and slowly trudged to the garden door, Hannah suddenly perked up and swung around.

“How was your first dance lesson this morning?” She asked excitedly.

Fin continued staring at the small blonde skeptically, and after a moment of saying nothing, she had the decency to blush.

“It would seem I am as unskilled as the Prince. Now get back to work.”

Fin watched them go, and didn’t move a muscle until they were out of eye-line.

‘They better not be doing what I think they’re doing…’ He thought to himself slowly before turning to the task at hand of preparing dinner.

Fin strode through the castle door and across the corridor to the larder door, where he began collecting ingredients for dinner.

As he did so his mind turned to the news that Annika was upset by the rose he had left on her bedside…

It had been a stupid impulse on his end.

She had been flushed with fever and fast asleep when he had knocked and opened the door a crack to drop off the bloom, and against his better judgment, he had still entered her vacant chamber.

He had left it there for her to see hoping that at the very least, perhaps it’d brighten her day.

He didn’t know it’d lead to such a fuss…

‘Why is anything to do with that woman complicated?!’

Shaking his head, Fin proceeded with starting to pull out the ingredients he would need to prepare the dinner. He was in the midst of the chore, when a series of giggles drew his attention down the corridor.

He had to blink several times over to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating at the sight of a blonde woman clad in bright yellow silk, flanked by a brunette wearing a pale green, and another woman in pale purple strolling down past the servants dining hall.

Fin hurried back into his kitchen. Something about their presence didn’t bode well with his already overworked instincts.

He thought he was out of the woods after a few moments when he heard neither a knock or a titter, but the Gods liked to have a laugh on occasion at his expense.The unmistakable sound of raised whispering voices suddenly broke out outside the castle door.

‘Gods, what now?’

To Fin’s slow horror, the door opened and in walked the Ladies. Each of them lifted their skirts even higher off the ground to avoid getting them dirty. They peered around the room in awe and wonder as though they had never before seen a kitchen. Then they all shot Fin sidelong glances and whispered behind their hands.

“I beg your pardon Ladies, but is there a purpose to this most unexpected visit?” Fin hoped the pained note in his voice went unnoticed by them.

“Mr. Ashowan, I am Baroness Emily Gauva, this here is Lady Aurora Danen.” The blonde woman in the centre gestured to the brunette with straight hair in a pale purple, who had wide blue eyes.

“And this here is Lady Everly Lamont.” The other brunette had a face full of freckles and somber hazel eyes.

Fin gave the shallowest of bows and hoped they grew annoyed and left.

“We came down to this er… room.” The Baroness cast a disparaging glance around the kitchen as the women behind her giggled.

None of them noticed the broom behind them that levitated in the air indignantly and shook itself angrily at their backs. They had paused in their speech to collectively giggle, and Fin could feel the tic under his left eye begin anew. He forced the broom back to its corner and to remain motionless.

“I see that you have come to my kitchen. However I am very busy preparing for the dinner this evening, so if there is nothing more, please have a lovely day.” Fin bowed, dismissing them as he then chose the most unsavory task of his cooking to begin with in hopes of scaring them off.

He opened the bottom of the beheaded and plucked ducks, and began pulling out their entrails.

Fin didn’t look but heard all humor in the women drop away, and instead a small squeak drew his attention upwards. He tried not to smile in triumph at the matching expressions the three women wore as they stared sickened at the mess on the table.

“W-We came down because,” Lady Gauva swallowed with great difficulty and began to turn a delicate shade of green.

“M-my maid, Valerie, s-she heard that y-you tried to give a rose to M-Mr. Howard.” Lady Lamont jumped in, sounding quite faint when she spoke, but what she said had Fin fighting off the urge to laugh hysterically with everything he had.

“I see, and… where is it your maid heard such a thing?” Fin sounded as though he were being choked, and to both his utter horror and delight, the women all suddenly looked at him sympathetically.

Lady Gauva rested her lily-white hand on her chest as she stepped forward and her tone took on one of ‘wise matron’.

“Mr. Howard was muttering about, and I am sorry to have to repeat these words to you Mr. Ashowan, but he said ; ‘That idiot cook trying to give me a flower- I know his game’. That is all Lady Lamont’s maid was able to hear, and we just wanted to come offer our condolences for your rejection.”

Fin was terrified to speak. He was going to laugh until he was crying if he tried.

Fortunately, the women believed his silence and small blush were from shame.

“No use in dwelling on it. Mr. Howard has chosen your aide Peter- a slap in the face I’m certain since Peter is under your care after all. However, try to rise above the inclination to take out any hurt feelings on the man. You shouldn’t stand in the way of love.”

Fin risked a small nod.

He was slowly getting himself back under control when he managed to speak.

“T-Thank you. For your kind words.”

Lady Gauva nodded, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Perhaps you can go tell Mr. Howard my congratulations, and to be a little kinder to me… I… I don’t think I can manage it on my own.” Fin’s lips twitched and he wasn’t certain what was lending him strength enough to keep a straight face through it.

The Ladies all sighed clutching their chests as they shared determined glances to their new cause.

“Of course. Mr. Howard has always been a bitter brute, but we will not let him abuse your gentle nature any longer.” The Ladies began to chatter over how insensitive the King’s assistant was, and Fin was relatively sure he’d be laughing until the nighttime. It was around that time when they were interrupted however.

“What is it you’ve done to earn the presence of these glorious Ladies, Mr. cook?” A smooth male voice that despite being quiet was easily heard, made the three nobles twirl around with a mass rustling of silk.

Leaning against the doorframe of the garden exit, stood a man of average height, sandy brown hair, and deep green eyes. He was lean with a clear complexion and, all in all, quite pleasing to look at. Or so Fin guessed, given the excited breathiness in Lady Gauva’s voice when she spoke.

“Oh my- Reese Flint!”

Fin caught the profile of the Ladies and saw their pinkened cheeks. He immediately became intrigued and studied the man in the doorway more closely.

Who was he?

“If you fine flowers wouldn’t mind letting me have a word with the cook here, that would be greatly appreciated. Besides, you all should be enjoying the sunshine on such a gorgeous day, and going for carriage rides down by the water.” He smiled brilliantly at them and the women seemed to all forget how to speak for a moment.

“O-Of course! Come Ladies, we will let Mr. Flint speak with our beloved cook.”

The three noble women filed out of Fin’s kitchen all wearing dazed, excited expressions.

Fin turned to look at the man he had never met before who strolled in with an easy grace, and peered around the room with casual interest.

“Do I know you?” The redhead asked after a moment of awkward silence.

“Not yet.” The man turned a warm smile on Fin, one that made the witch both equal parts curious and wary.

“I am Reese Flint, the newest Bard and minstrel for the Royal Court of Daxaria, and I am just dying to get to know you.”