The Knights were far quieter as they worked on coordinating their attacks against Fin’s magic, yet as they also went along, the very helpful questions such as:

“How do we fight against a witch from Troivack if they…”

“How can I get around…”

To which Fin had very little he was able to help with. He had never considered the combative side to magic, and really was more interested in shielding and neutralizing those that had sought out to attack…

It wasn’t until the Captain stepped forward from his vantage point with an idea.

“Fin, you mentioned that you are able to do long term charms in your home that are far less of a drain on your magic.”

The redhead nodded while rubbing his eyes wearily. Constantly battling using small bursts of a shield was beginning to wear away on him. It was hard controlling how far back each Knight would go so as to not fling them out of the arena.

“What if you managed to magic particular spots long in advance? Say one spot the soldiers will sink into the ground up to their knees, or another area they-”

Fin’s head snapped up, a smile lighting his tired features.

“Captain, that's brilliant. I don’t know long term how that will affect me, but if it was a single use of my magic instead of me having to repeat the spell, that should help. I also don’t know what would happen to me if a bunch of charms ended up going off at the same time… but I think it is a better option.”

The Captain nodded and addressed his men then who were all dripping with sweat and panting heavily.

“Alright men, go to the rain barrels. We will train tomorrow, but after that, you rest. Good work today.”

Fin nodded to each of them, though the gesture went mostly ignored which gave him a somewhat uneasy feeling in the pit of his belly.

“It’s more about their anxiety about the war than you. Don’t worry too much,” the Captain explained after he had climbed down from his seat and joined the redhead’s side.

“I’ll try not to,” the Viscount sighed wearily. “I think I’ll head back to Annika’s estate and find out what the problem was.”

“I think you mean, your estate, Viscount,” Antonio reminded with a firm tone but a kind glint in his eye.

Fin tried to smile, but failed as he then pressed his hands to his pockets.

“I suppose so. I feel… more like an imposter right now than I do a proper noble if I’m honest. I’ve never felt so… out of my element,” he tried to explain, the bags under his eyes somehow appearing darker.

Antonio squared off with the redhead, halting their trek across the castle lawn.

“Adjusting your scope to such a grand change will be difficult for you. Especially after losing your mother and standing to lose so much more. Your home is no longer a single room, nor are you safe behind closed doors out of sight. You are a leader now, Lord Ashowan.”

“I don’t know that I should be. Not in a position where I have had zero training. I know nothing about this role. At least as a cook I was able to learn more about inventory and expectations from Luca the previous cook before coming here.”

Antonio managed a small smile. “I wouldn’t worry. Your wife has been managing splendidly long before you came into the picture, and I think you just need to remember what you are bringing to the position. Remember, part of the reason for his majesty’s decision, was that you are meant to be different. You have a strength that is not like other nobility, and knowledge most others don’t have.”

“I can make a terrific pie, but-”

“Lord Ashowan, how is it you thought of creating a protected union within a brothel?” the Captain interrupted with an arched eyebrow.

“Oh… that was because that was similar to what the Coven arranged for some of its members after so many hostile takeovers of their government a century or two ago. The abandoning posts until demands were met? That was how part of the treaty between Daxaria and the Coven of Wittica came to be agreed upon. They get tax breaks in exchange for their continued work.”

Antonios straightened in surprise. “Their continued work…? What work?”

“Remember how I mentioned some of the most skilled people in the kingdom were, in fact, witches? All of those witches who leant their powers to their accomplishments and contribution to the kingdom-”

“-Ceased to work.” The Captain finished in growing awe. “Gods… that was why the blacksmith Theodore refused to make anything for anyone in the beginning of his career.”

Fin smiled and nodded.

“But see, Viscount? That is precisely what I mean. You’ve brought equality, and balance to those you encounter because you are able to implement this unique knowledge and vantage point.”

The witch dropped his gaze to the ground.

“I’ve also been speculating how it is that you seem to have the strangest… persuasion over people. You seem to generally… come out with the most favorable dealings.”

Fin glanced up at Antonio, revealing that he was equally curious of the man’s theory.

“I think it’s because there is something about you that makes us all think… of home. Of a good place that is whole… something about you makes us want to embrace the harmony you suggest.”

The redhead’s cheeks flamed red as he turned and resumed walking.

“As someone who is not on that side of my, what was it Mr. Howard calls it? ‘Chaotic mischief that leads to a ghastly mix of problems and solutions’?”

Captain laughed. “Ah right… he did say something to that effect… I honestly can’t tell if you are the bane of that man’s existence, or if he is really trying hard to hide his feelings for you.”

“So Mr. Howard does prefer men?”

“Who's to say. He is married to his work and gives no indication that he has any preference, though you have made us all speculate more deeply…”

Fin laughed and continued striding towards the front of the castle where he would have the very awkward task of ordering someone to fetch him a carriage to return back to the estate. One day he hoped he could learn to ride a horse and not have to feel so… cumbersome and noticeable…

Another point of his new responsibilities that only made the burden on him a little heavier, but the Captain’s words were beginning to churn in his mind a little too.

Perhaps he needed to think a little bit more about how to approach his nobility.

*

As Fin stepped down from the carriage, he was surprised to see servants standing outside waiting for him. They were already bowing as he approached, and yet again he needed to fight off the intense discomfort he got from their show of formality and respect.

“Where might I find my wife?” Fin asked one of the stewards who straightened.

“In your bedchamber, my Lord.”

“Ah, thank you… what’s your name?”

The man’s thick gray mustache bristled. “Dirk, my Lord.”

“Thank you, Dirk. Has she had dinner yet?”

“I do not believe so, my Lord.”

Fin nodded, then turned away from the stairs, his hands pressed into his pockets as he felt himself reach a very important conclusion.

‘If I have to change my scope of what my home is… then the best place to start is the estate's kitchen.”

Once he had reached his destination, the redhead greeted Raymond and the handful of maids in the room who were all talking amongst themselves.

“Greetings, Viscount.”

“Good evening, everyone, I… I am going to have to ask you to leave the kitchen.” There was a note of uncertainty in Fin’s voice as his stomach roiled at executing his authority, but…

‘If I’m going to start feeling more connected then I need to start treating it like I belong here.’

The servants glanced at each other warily, then all vacated the room quietly while issuing bows and curtsies.

Fin shifted awkwardly, only moderately relieved that none of them had sought to argue his request.

Once the door was closed behind them, and he was alone in the kitchen, the witch let out a long breath, and immediately felt tension melt from his chest and shoulders.

Rolling up his sleeves, he stepped behind the cooking table that already had the beginnings of a meal started.

“Looks like… cabbage salad and… carrot soup.” Fin murmured quietly to himself.

Reaching out, he began to clear a space for himself on the table, picking up a bowl he began measuring out flour, then salt, sugar, and yeast…

As he worked, he slowly found himself igniting an old spark of joy in his chest. There was a comforting rhythm to the task that was familiar to him and truly made him feel whole…

Glancing up briefly with a smile on his face, he noted the beautiful sunset setting the kitchen ablaze.

‘Better start carmelizing the onions,’ a pot then floated down from its hanging place by the hearth, and rested atop the grill.

Fin turned suddenly, realizing what he had done. He turned his chin towards the paring knife and abandoned carrots, and with his heart hammering in his chest, he nodded to it.

The vegetable and knives sprang into action immediately. Matching his masterful pacing, the magic coursed through him and began stretching out throughout the room. Ginger floated over to the table. A wooden spoon dove into a churn of butter and planted the dollop into the pot making Fin smile as a swell of emotions rose within him.

‘I guess I’m heading in the right direction.’

*

Annika looked through her lists of poisons that had been disturbed by her husband’s familiar, Kraken. She sat on the couch in front of the hearth paging through the inventory that Clara had double checked for her while she’d been at the castle, and grew more and more perplexed.

“He really did just disrupt… this one barrel… but why? It wouldn't smell appealing to them...”

The Viscountess’ mutterings were interrupted by a soft knock on her door.

“Come in,” she called out without tearing her eyes away from her page.

The moment the door opened, Annika’s senses were assuaged by the most mouth watering aromas she could've imagined.

As soon as her eyes landed on Fin and Clara holding trays ladened with food, she had no doubt over who was responsible for the fare.

“I thought we might eat in here today,” the redhead greeted.

He looked tired… but there was something in his face that seemed more at ease. Something that looked a little more like the Finlay Ashowan before his time aboard the Troivackian ship.

Annika set her papers aside, and waited as her husband proceeded to use the small table in front of the fire to lay out their dinner.

Once he had completed the task with Clara’s help, the maid excused herself, leaving the couple alone.

“This smells incredible, Fin.” Annika looked over the colorful food before her and noted the orange colored soup with a faint aroma of ginger, then the cabbage salad that looked crispy, and finally the strange fried bread that looked mouthwateringly incredible.

“Thank you, I figured it had been a while since I’d been able to prepare a meal for us on my own.”

Annika would have replied only she had already dug into her meal with great enthusiasm.

“I was able to use my magic in your kitchen,” the witch informed her quietly, his gaze fixed on the fire.

The Viscountess stopped her chewing and turned towards her husband, her expression calm.

After swallowing what was in her mouth, she spoke.

“Does this mean you can no longer use magic at the castle?”

Fin shook his head. “I don’t think that is the case, no. I just wish I had more time to grow comfortable with having a wider area I think of as home. I don't know if I'm weaker with a wider radius that includes more people. After all, if multiple people are scared or in danger there's no telling what will happen to me. Not to mention, what if I start losing the sense that the castle is my home as I grow attached to this keep here?”

Turning to face him more, Annika reached out and took his hand. “War brings out emotions you don’t even know you have. It brings passion, rage, and violence. You might find yourself developing a very keen sense of just how big your home is once the fighting begins… I remember never feeling like my father’s household had any meaning to me… until a civil war broke out and it was my father’s men against those who wished to hurt us.”

The Viscount listened quietly.

“Once it was clear that those that stood beside me wanted to protect the same thing, even if it was for different reasons… I felt more a part of the family than I had ever before.”

“I don’t really like the idea that violence is what unites a home…” the witch admitted while giving his wife’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I think because of my experiences in the past with the Coven and others… it is still hard not to feel like an outcast. You yourself said part of your pull towards me was that I seemed as alone as you felt. I don't really know what the new house rules are with these places and roles all getting jumbeld together, and somehow despite having more than one home I'm feeling more misplaced than ever.”

“I can understand that, but... do you still feel alone even though… you’ve already started your own family?”

Fin went still. He looked at Annika seriously for quite some time.

He still hadn’t told her one of their children was supposed to help the Gods in some fashion, but at that moment, it didn’t seem as important.

Instead, he pondered how she was right.

He still felt adrift in a wide world, even though everyone had made room for him. Everyone had welcomed him and invited him into their embrace… He even had children who would need him as a father…

Pulling Annika into his chest, Fin closed his eyes, and tried for the first time to sense his children and what they might be craving. It seemed a strange thing to do in that moment and yet… he was beginning to suspect it may be the small things that would help him find a way to settle into his new life as a noble.

Breathing slowly, he reached out with his magic. He could feel the warmth of the room, felt the furniture react to his awareness, could feel that Annika was craving the carrot ginger soup fiercely, and then…

He felt a strange yet strong desire for peaches.

Underneath that sensation there was another craving. One that was quieter and harder to discern… A craving for herb bread and butter.

Fin opened his eyes, smiling. The cravings felt stronger to him than the Queen’s had, perhaps because of his filial relation to the two he was connecting with…

“What is it?” Annika asked, staring up at him with her wide dark eyes.

“Tomorrow I’ll give you a bushel of peaches and bake you all the bread you want.”

His wife’s shocked expression made him laugh. “At least I know one thing about my place in all of Daxaria… it is going to have to be very close to you three.”