7.
September 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Blake tossed and turned almost all night, finding it hard to rest. It was strange to her to have other people in the room with her and her sensitive hearing kept her hearing them. Their breathing. Their shifts. Getting up to use the chamberpot. So many people in the same room. She didn’t understand how people delt with him. She was used to having her own room that was dead silent. She didn’t have a window that looked outside, so she heard nothing thanks to the magic that made her room silent.
By time six in the morning rolled around, she had barely slept a wink.But the woman were starting to get around for the day, so she rolled to her feet.
And now everything hurt too. She was used to a nice, thick, fluffy mattress that kept her a decent amount off the floor. Here, though the mattress was thin and on the floor. Everyone had their own blankets and pillow, but they all shared one mattress. She hurt in places she didn’t even knowcouldhurt. Dark Father, she was really regretting that snap decision now. She could have been warned about how different, well, everything was. But then she would’ve missed Weiss. Ugh, all of this was so terrible.
One of the women helped her into her corset and then headed downstairs after dressing. The food wasn’t even started yet and she looked at Ninlil. “Where’s the food?” She was used to having breakfast promptly brought to her each morning or prepared by her mother. She had no idea how to deal with any of this. Though, normally, the food was simply brought to her from the kitchen by the servants.
Ninlill shoved a spatula into her hand. “You’re on breakfast duty today. Nancy and Holly will help you with the food.” Blake glowered. Now she was being expected to cook? How awful. But there was nothing she could do about it. She had to abide by the matriarch’s rules. Even her own mother had said that. How was she expected to cope with this? She had never cooked before in her life!
A middle-aged woman and a girl about Blake’s age brought her over to the fire and started explaining things to her. Despite her having never really been in a kitchen before, she was finding a lot of this came easily to her. Spices smelled familiar and she could somehow tell which went with what. Her brow furrowed when she heard Holly suggest putting some spices together. “Those aren’t complimentary at all!” How could she think that?!
Holly glowered as did Nancy. “Well, if you’re so verse in spices, what would you suggest?” She regretted saying that. Why was she acting like she knew how to cook? She hadn't done this in her life before! But it all felt so familiar somehow. The kitchen felt like home. She wanted to take over entirely. Some partdidknow what she was doing.
So she made her suggestion, Holly and Nancy looking at each other. “Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s try it, Mother.” Holly spoke and looked up at the middle-aged woman. They opted for Blake’s suggestion, leaving Blake feeling awkward. They tasted it and Holly smiled. “This is great! How did you know?” Good question. She really didn’t know. But…
“Lucky guess, I suppose.” But she could feel some sort of knowledge wiggling at the back of her mind. Somehow, she knew spices. All of this felt intimately familiar. She simply knew despite hwo she had never spent time in a kitchen before. This…was her home. Her knife skills had impressed everyone despite her never having held one before. She somehow had a massive repository of skills at home in the kitchen. Same with her sewing skills. She knew and could do both things incredibly well despite this being the first time she had done both.
After it was all cooked, a couple of women took the men’s portion out to their quarters while Blake helped move the women’s food up to their quarters. There simply wasn’t enough for everyone to eat in the kitchen. It was really only large enough for cooking.By time they got the food up there, the mattress had been rolled up and set aside, small tables set up so they could eat.
Blake did look at the other women. “Are any of you Seraphic?” She wanted to warn them that she’d be eating more food than they would think. She was a high-level user, so she burned through a ton of energy. Oh right… She’d need to get her daily meditation too. That was going to be hard to fit in too. She normally did it after breakfast and before lessons. That wouldn’t work out so well here.
The women looked at each other and shook her heads. “We don’t have the budget to feed a whole family of Seraphics.” That was what she thought. She could still read them, but she could sense none of them were users. That was another hard part of this now that she thought about it… Going from enlightened people to…this. Tragic.
She looked at Ninlil with a frown. “Can I eat as much as I need?” She needed a minimum of two to three times what they did. She would literally slowly starve if she wasn’t given enough. She’d always gotten everything she needed at the castle. So if she couldn’t get enough here… And she wasn’t sure how to shop or anything like that. She would barely be making anything and she might have to spet id on food…
“You’ll have to go without until we can go shopping again. That’ll be in a few days. But I’ll figure the costs in when we do go again. Okay?” Blake sighed but nodded, her ears falling. Once again, there was nothing she could do about it. She was quickly learning that there was no point in fighting things she had no control over. And she wasn’t sure when she’d get paid or by how much. So she really had no way to get what she needed nutritionally. She would simply have to get by with minimum food for a few days. She really hated all of this. SHe wanted to go home, but she couldn’t back out of her Peregrination. Once she took it, she had to remain there unless there were extenuating circumstances, not simply because she wanted to.
With that out of the way, they sat down to eat. She did see and sense a small ripple pass through the women as they ate. Surprise, shock, and delight rippled through them. “This is an unusual spice combination. What prompted this?” one of the women asked. “It’s absolutely delicious!” The rest of them looked fairly pleased and Blake looked down. She still wasn’t sure how she knew so much abut spice. It was bizarre.
“It was Blake!” She heard Holly’s voice and looked up to see the girl beaming. “She’s an expert cook!”
Blake felt her cheeks heat. “No, it’s really not— I—” She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t an expert cook. She just…knew somehow. SHe really didn’t understand it. But it had come so easily to her and she had enjoyed it. The kitchen felt like home to her and she would rather be down there and anywhere else. It had felt terrible to leave the kitchen… Though she had struggled with the current organisation system.
“Oh really now? Maybe we should put her on cooking dutyeverymorning,” Ninlil mused. Amusement danced in her Seraphic but she could sense seriousness behind it. Part of her wouldn’t mind. She had enjoyed being in the kitchen and wouldn’t mind doing it again. But by the same token, she needed to get her daily meditation in. She couldn’t lose her Ambrosial abilities. Queen Maryam would be greatly displeased if she lose those abilities she’d been cultivating her whole life.
“Maybe I could write down my spicing knowledge so you guys could use it?” That felt like the best compromise. She would have to spend time doing it each day which would cut into her falconry time. She wouldn’t go out today, though; she had to scope out the town to see where she and Weiss could meet up for dinner once Weiss was done with her job for the day. She at least did have a fair bit of money on her, so she wouldn’t have to worry too much about budgeting. But she also didn’t want to flaunt her wealth and out herself as a member of the Donati family.
“That sounds fine.” Ninlil spoke and Holly looked excited.Blake would have to get a notebook or something then. It wasn’t like she’d brought anything like that with her. But where would she go? She didn’t know the town and would get lost. She would spend today after work exploring but she would have to spend hours trying to find the store. It was so annoying. Though she really didn’t understandhowto shop. About the only thing she’d bought in the past was incense at the chapel… She didn’t get out of the castle too much (unless one counted falconry).
“Could somebody possibly help me find the store later? I’ll need to buy a journal or notebook to write everything down in it.” She wasn’t used to asking for help like this. These were commoners. They shouldn’t be of aide to royalty. But she really had no other choice. There were no Weapons are servants here to fetch what she needed. She would have to do it herself. Honestly, she would probably need to stock up on notebooks. She hadn’t brought any with her and it was going to be a while until she could really get anything more.
“That won’t be too hard, so I’ll take you,” Ninlil said. Blake sighed internally. This old woman was giving her no breathing room whatsoever. It was so hard to escape her. But there was nothing she could do about it. Ninlil was the matriarch. What could she say against the matriarch of the family? Well, she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t have to listen were she in a plural marriage community.But she wasn’t so she was completely out of luck
“Okay.” That was all Blake could say right now. It really was. She was effectively trapped in this house at this woman’s whims. There was no point in screaming and crying about things. There just wasn’t.
With that, the women went to what were their normal conversations. Blake fell silent. She was alone here. She could easily talk to her family, but this wasn’t her family. She couldn’t even talk religion because she followed such an obscure sect. She was part of a serious minority and trying to talk to anybody about her beliefs was hard. Even her mother and father didn’t have the same beliefs she did.
Breakfast wound down and the women split off, some taking care of the dishes while most of them headed downstairs to the shop part of the house. Blake was placed in a corner with several younger girls about her age and younger. They all looked at her with wide eyes and glanced at each other. SHe could see them wanting to talk but they were clearly holding back. Apparently they were gossipy hens.
“Who exactly are you?” one of them asked. Like all of the women in the family, she bore a fluffy tail, likely a wolf or some type of dog.
Blake sighed. SHe wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t know all of the rules around there Peregrination. Plus, she felt so alone. Naliaka was outside with Kalena. She felt so naked without her guardian raven, but it would give her away in an instant. “I’m Blake. My mother knows Ninlil and sent me here to work.” That was the best explanation she could think of. She didn’t want to live but she needed to protect herself.
“Don’t you have a last name?” The girls looked at her curiously.
She couldn’t say it. She really couldn’t. They might start talking with as gossipy as these women seemed. Again, she didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to out herself either. She couldn’t risk having people in this town learning about her. If they learned, what else could she do? Her very life could be in danger. “I can’t tell you. That’s the honest truth. Ninlil told me to use the Busto name.” An unsatisfying answer but an honest one. These were commoners but she still didn’t want to lie to them.
THe girls looked at each other before going to their work. Blake looked around, completely lost. Ninlil walked over. “Blake, I thought you’d be working! I ain’t gonna pay ya if you’re not doin’ anything!”
Blake turned and looked at Ninlil, eyes like a stunned deer. “I-I don’t know what to do.” She’d been here less than 24 hours. How did Ninlil expect her to understand the ins and outs of the business. She only knew she was supposed to be in this corner since that was where she’d been direct to.S he wasn’t sure what to do aside from that. She wasn’t trying to waste anybody’s time. She legitimately had no idea what she should be doing.
Ninlil’s expression softened. “Ah, okay. Well, we have some orders to fill—” She explained what to do and how to view what was going on. Ninlil told her exactly what to do and she settled down. The other girls talked quietly among themselves, but Blake stayed quiet. She was in for a long day…
✧
“Blake, you’re done for the day.” Ninlil’s voice broke through the layer of concentration that had formed while working. She jumped a bit. She’d gotten into such a rhythm that she hadn’t noticed the time passing. Even the chimes from the grandfather clock in the room hadn’t broken through her concentration. “Oh, okay.” Thankfully, she had just finished up what she’d been working on, so she wasn’t in any worry to leave something half instead. She didn’t want to foist it on the other girls she wasn’t particularly happy about having to work in the first place, of course. But she would give it her best. She didn’t want to deal with an unhappy customer. She knew she was unhappy when the royal seamstresses messed up her dresses. She didn’t want to do the same to someone else. “Anyway, let’s go to the store.” Ninlil headed to the back of the house and Blake followed. She managed to get the saddle and bridle on with little trouble, much to her own surprise. But she didn’t complain, so she mounted her horse after getting her tacked up. Naliaka perched on top of the barn, then landed on Blake’s shoulder after they left. Blake petted her head which earned a croak from the bird. “You won’t want her hanging around on you like that in public, Blake. It’ll tip people off real quick to who you are.” She felt the tension in Naliaka’s feet as she perched on her shoulder. The bird had it drilled into her that she wasn’t to leave Blake alone. Ofcourseshe was angry. Blake simply sighed, ears drooping. “Yeah, I know.” She did. “Follow us in the trees.” Naliaka looked at her and then disappeared into the trees. Blake felt her heart break. Naliaka was her constant companion even her bedroom. She went into every building with Blake, even chapel. She was Blake’s last line of defense. If somehow somebody got past the Weapons, the bird would be there to protect her. It felt so very wrong sending her off like this. And not having her in the house felt terrible too. She felt alone and isolated. And she couldn’t even talk to Weiss either. “Can I tell your family who I am or is that best saved?” “Eh you can tell ‘em. Nothing in the Peregrination rules says you can’t tell your host family. It’s really up to you who you wanna tell. Some members of the Donati family are pretty open to it while some prefer to keep close their chest.” Blake nodded a bit. She’d rather not be too open with it. She could see danger at every turn. The more people that knew, the worse off she was. She would try to keep it to the family. “I was wondering because the girls around my age were asking. I wasn’t sure what to say since they seem like a bunch of gossipy hens.” She was far too used to gossipy hens. The entire nobility was nothingbutgossip. She tried not to participate in it too much since it simply didn’t appeal to her. Why talk abut others? Why speculate over love lives, marriages, illicit children, or anything of the like? She didn’t understand. That sort of stuffhurtpeople and she didn’t want to hurt anybody. Gossip was so uncouth… “All right. I was just wondering.” She normally wold have gotten this sort of information before leaving. The Peregrination normally was not any sort of snap decision. Usually it was done deliberately with months of planning behind it. She had no other choice though. She had needed to move quickly, so she wouldn’t miss Weiss. It was hard when it was likely her only chance to talk to her about the mysterious soul bond that they shared. And to say nothing of the second errant soul bond that also felt close… They arrived at a small building and hitched their horses to the post. They walked inside and saw people looking around. Blake looked at Ninlil who waved her off. “You don’t need me to follow you around.” Blake nodded a bit and wandered around until she found the notebook section. There were some nice leather-bound volumes along with some more typical spiral-bound ones. SHe picked up a couple of both, figuring that the family might prefer to have the spice knowledge in something that would last longer. She found her way to a line and stood in it, eventually making her way to the front. The main told her the amount and she dug it out of her wallet, then paid. She headed back to Ninlil who smiled. “Now that wasn’t too bad, now was it?” Blake shook her head. It was a novel experience for her, though. If she needed journals, someone else bought them for her. She would probably have to get used to this. She would be living here for the next year and a half. She couldn’t rely on servants to do everything for her here. It was so strange to not have everything simply handed to her. But she would have to get used to it. “Anyway, feel free to do what you want. I need to get back home. Your bird should be able to get you back there.” Ninili raised her hand then left the shop. For the first time in her life, Blake felt truly alone. No animals, no people, no nothing. It was only her. THere were other shoppers, but it was the first time she’d been truly alone in her life. She hurried out of the shop and back onto her horse. She pulled out her magic pen and one of the spiral-bound notebooks before she started routing around the town. Naliaka followed behind her in the trees, though they did occasionally convene so that Naliaka could help correct the map. The hours passed and Blake soon found herself with the setting sun and her teibas ringing. Blake put her map away and answered, already knowing who it was. “Hey Weiss.” The other girl’s image popped up, white hair and blue eyes there. Her eyes betrayed a level of exhaustion. Blake could understand that to some degree… Riding all day was hard. How difficult must Weiss’ job had been compared to what Blake was doing? “Hey Blake. Did you find anywhere we could meet up? I need a good, hot meal. Field provisions aren’t very good for Seraphics.” She could understand. She had had field rations while out on extended hunting trips. It wasn’t fun. “Uh, yeah, I found some restaurants.” She pulled out her map and pointed to the various stops. “Which place do you want to eat? As far as I saw, all were mahloa…” Which meant no meat, so she had no idea if that would do anything for her… “I expected as much. I guess we can hit the Brass Eagles. I should be there in about half an hour. See you there?” Blake nodded. “All right. I’ll go get us a place. Is there anything you’d like to drink?” “Hot tea. I don’t like this cold.” Weiss shivered visibly. It was starting to get a little nippy, Blake supposed. Where was Weiss from if she didn’t like the cold much? It was in the tens and teens.There was still plenty of time before snow fell and things got truly cold. Yeah, the worst of winter still had yet to hit. “All right. See you then.” “Bye.” Weiss’ image cut off and Blake turned her horse around to head to the Brass Eagles. This would be an interesting evening…
