Helena had been right and the blacksmith she had picked not only had all of the things I wanted, he was also a tool maker himself. After buying a dozen setups for potion making, which made the man very happy, it took us nearly half an hour to tell him about the custom engraving tools that I needed. He wasn't quite getting it, so Helena asked the blacksmith to send an assistant to go buy an enchanter's tool kit.

“Yes, we are paying for it.” Helena said, almost exasperated, when the blacksmith was reluctant to part with extra funds, despite just making a lot money from me.

The assistant left at a run and came back a few minutes later with the right tool kit, then I showed the blacksmith what I needed, the size I needed them, and how many. I didn't want to have to come back if something broke, considering how small the tools had to be, and he agreed. He assured us that he would have a dozen of each tool done by tomorrow and that they would be delivered in the morning.

The potion brewing materials were arranged to be delivered immediately to the Longshore Estate and we left there to go to the shop the assistant bought the tools from. They apparently sold kits for several professions and also ingredients of all kinds. I wanted to see what they had in stock and the quality.

I already knew that they wouldn't have the better versions of them that I could get in the marsh, considering how far away the marsh was. What I hadn't expected was how they had prepared some of them for storage and display. Horribly.

As I browsed the shelves, comparing the ingredients and their names to those in the recipes that I knew by heart, I didn't wonder why the potions made locally were weaker and not as powerful, if this was how they prepared their more expensive stock of ingredients.

“I see you're eyeing some of our more lucrative items.” A woman said as she came over to me. “This one was freshly harvested this morning from the Mages Guild gardens.”

“They grew them?” I asked, surprised.

“Oh, yes. They cultivate them year round in a temperature controlled magical environment.” The woman said, proudly. “I had to outbid three other shops to get my hands on the first budding crops this year.”

Almost as if she knew what I was going to say, Helena covered my mouth and whispered to me. “David, they don't have access to countless miles of growing area and some sacrifices had to be made.”

I nodded my head and she moved her hand. “How do I learn to do it?”

“It's a course at the academy.” The shop owner said. “They don't get many passing graduates, so the availability of the rarer ingredients is limited, to say the least.” She explained. “They also apprentice at the guild; but, that way is much harder, since you need the classroom learning to fully succeed. Otherwise, you are relegated to just tending the gardens and you aren't allowed to grow anything yourself.”

I nodded again and understood that I would have to take the growing course if I was allowed. If I could cultivate the better ingredients on my own, I wouldn't have to travel out into the marsh at all and just stay at home and brew potions.

“If you are interested in this highly sought after one, I can sell five portions to you. You can make up to five batches if you're careful with the preparations. I'll just need to see your license for my records.”

“Helena, how do I get a practising license?” I asked and the shop owner caught her breath.

“You don't need it, because you're enrolling in the academy next week.” Helena said. “If you want some of the ingredients right now, I can buy them on my license.”

“I'm sorry, I can't sell them to you if you aren't brewing them yourself.” The woman said, firmly. “I wouldn't normally bother with the distinction, except these ingredients are both expensive and rare. I won't have them wasted on a school student.”

Helena sighed and touched my arm as she shook her head to tell me not to speak. “David, we should go.”

“I have no problem selling the common ingredients.” The woman said and waved at the large bins of them, probably in the hopes of salvaging a sale after losing a quite expensive one. “If he's going to be a student next week, he's probably going to need a lot of these for practice.”

Helena and Selena both had to turn away from her to hide their laughs.

“No, thank you. I already have two large canvas bags full of properly prepared ingredients for potion making.”

The woman stared at me and looked a bit confused.

“Did you prepare these yourself?” I asked and pointed to the expensive ingredient that she wouldn't sell me.

“I did. It took me nearly...”

“You did it wrong. It's already starting to wilt and lose its potency.”

“Wh-what?” The woman stepped close and looked into the see-through glass bin. “I don't see...”

“Although, if there was still some of the old ingredient inside, perhaps that's contaminating it?”

“No, I... wait, I think... maybe...”

“You need to clean the container better, with magic or potion, and stop it from contaminating the ingredient. You should still refine the preparation, assuming you know someone that knows how to do it properly. You might get another day out of the contents if you're lucky.” I said. “I suggest you put it on sale and let your regular buyers know that you're almost out and it needs to be used up.”

The woman opened the container and took out a small pinch of it, smelled it, and rubbed it on her palm. Her hand glowed for a second and she sighed. “How? How did you know?”

“My David has been brewing potions since he was a child.” Helena said, very proudly, and she took my hand as she beamed a smile at me. “I'm sure the twelve potion brewing setups have been delivered to the Longshore Estate by now.”

The shop owner's face lost some of its color at her words.

“Finally!” Selena said with a huff and opened the door for us. “I'm bored!”

Helena laughed softly as we walked towards the open door. “I knew you would be.”

The shop owner didn't holler for us to wait or asked me if I knew how to prep the ingredient properly. I wasn't sure if it was because she was embarrassed about our interactions or sad about losing so much money.

“Don't worry, David. If she takes your suggestions, she might be able to break even by the end of the day.” Helena said a little loudly as we walked by Selena and stepped outside.

“How did you know I was thinking that?” I asked as Selena closed the door behind us.

“I know you felt bad about the ingredients not being treated properly.” Helena said and kissed my cheek. “Will you come back to buy things from her?”

“A lot of the other things I saw were properly prepared. The large bins might have the bottom quarter wilted, though. I should have dug through them to look.”

“I doubt she would let you do that!” Helena laughed. “Can you imagine the look on her face if you did? She would be scandalized!”

“I've never seen them empty.” Selena commented from beside me. “They've always been at least half full every time I've been in there.”

“They must be easy to grow.” I said.

“I'm sure that a lot of the common ones grow on their own and don't need to be tended to and only harvested when it's time.” Helena said. “Of course, I'm just assuming this, since I've never bothered visiting the gardens personally.”

“Are you allowed to harvest them yourself or get ingredients from the guild?” I asked.

Helena shook her head. “No, even internally, it's expensive. Mages expect to be paid for their work, even if it's for other mages.”

I remained quiet as we walked back to the shopping district to the waiting coach. We climbed aboard and drove back home to the Henrietta Family's mansion. Helena and Selena quickly filled the maids in on what had happened at the blacksmiths and the potion ingredient shop. Not surprisingly, they didn't mention their mother or our discussion. I would need to remember to not say anything, too.

We arrived back at the mansion and split up. Selena and her maid took their purchases and went to her room. Helena and her maid took their purchases and went to her room. My two maids took their purchases and the things Helena had bought for me, and brought them and me to my room. They were all quickly opened, sorted through, and packed into the various dressers and the large closet.

When that was done, Hope and Sara took out my work clothes and exchanged knowing smiles, then I was quickly stripped of my casual suit, right down to my underwear and the knife sheath. I was dressed in a pair of thick and rugged pants that the sheath was then tied to, a kind of tank top that was actually just a buttonless shirt without the arms on it and still with the collar and tie, and heavy work boots.

“I don't see the Henrietta Family emblem.” I said when they showed me what I looked like in a mirror.

“We have a temporary one that we can put on your front pocket or on your back pocket.” Sara said. “I'd suggest your back pocket, because you'll probably be carrying a lot of things and people will probably only see you from behind.”

I nodded and turned around to let her stitch it to the back pocket. She seemed to have a bit of trouble as she gripped and rubbed me, then she was done.

“There. That's perfect, my lord.” Sara said with a sly smile as she pat my backside. “You can bend over and not worry about popping the stitching now.”

“Geez.” Hope said with a shake of her head. “I'm glad maids aren't allowed to do more than what you've already done.”

Sara chuckled and gave her a partial hug. “It's just a nice perk for a lord that makes you happy.”

“I'm never doing what you did in the bath.” Hope said. “You know why.”

Sara laughed. “I've heard a lot of the stories about him now. He's died a couple of times and he is definitely not who he was as a child.”

Hope let out a sigh. “He's still my brother, no matter what happened since he was little.” She looked at me with pleading eyes. “Please, never ever ask me to do that.”

I stepped close and held a hand out to her. “I didn't ask Sara to do it.”

Hope had to smile and she took my hand. “You can say no, even if she wants to do it and your fiance is okay with it.”

“Why?” I asked, a little confused. “If everyone's okay with it, what's the problem?”

“Ha ha! I told you he understood what it meant.” Sara said and put her hand on ours and gripped both. “I'm really lucky to have met you. Both of you.”

“Why me?” Hope asked. “I thought...”

“That the other maids are my friends?” Sara asked and Hope nodded. “We're associates and we gossip, that's about it. They didn't even help me clean up the mess when I dropped the plate.” She said and her other hand joined ours. “You are the first actual friend that I've had in the capital since I was a kid.”

Hope's eyes were wide and Sara laughed again.

“I like that expression!” Sara said and let our hands go. “Grab a few extra towels and the bag of supplies. We're heading over to the Longshore Estate to prepare while David has lunch with the Henrietta Family.”

Hope nodded and grabbed the towels and the large bag, then the three of us left the room and met Helena and her maid in the hallway. Helena was wearing pants nearly identical to mine and they fit her form very well.

“You should grab your bandoleer and your pack.” Helena said and saw my eyes looking her over. “You might need more number ten potion before the new batches can be brewed.”

I stepped close and gave her a kiss on the lips for several seconds to thank her for reminding me, then I went into the vault room. No one else was there, so I quickly opened the wall and the vault to retrieve my things. I put on the bandoleer and then the pack, closed the vault and the wall, and went back out into the hallway. The maids were already gone and Helena took my arm and hugged it as we walked to the same room where breakfast had been served.