Elemental Soul (Book 1 of 'A Fantasy in Time')

Chapter 12: A Surprise Guest and a Happy Occasion.

Chapter 12: A Surprise Guest and a Happy Occasion.

The very next morning I woke feeling extremely refreshed, knowing that I had completed the important and painstaking quest that would gain me extremely useful training.  I did wonder though when Monroe would start in on his ‘Special’ Training.  As I moved to get out of the bed, Azure readily woke as well to slip out before I could even pull off my covers.  It was getting decently cool lately and I had been piling on an extra blanket to keep warm at night.

With the barest fringes of daylight filtering into my loft I could already smell the mouthwatering aroma of breakfast wafting through the back door to the kitchen area.  Almost closing my eyes I made my way to Victoria’s kitchen to enjoy her tasty meal.  I did wonder though why she had begun cooking without my help this time.

“Good Morning Jade!”  She called out cheerfully.  “Morning” I called out still sleepily which turned into a yawn.  I wasn’t fully awake, yet the scent of food was like a drug that could pull the dead from their graves.  Soon enough there was a plate of what looked suspiciously like crepes in front of me.  I didn’t know they even knew of crepes here.  Sure enough, after the first bite, I knew it was those delicious light, thin, and fluffy crusts rolled up around a sweet creamy center.  There was a bowl of mashed strawberries in the center of the table.  It smelled and tasted so good that even Azure jumped up onto my lap after eating her meal to sniff at the food.

Looking down at her with a raised eyebrow I watched as she took a single nip at the edge of one of my crepes.  “Azure . . .!?”  I drew out her name with a ‘what the hell are you doing’ tone in my voice.  *Sigh*  I just pulled her off of my lap and set her gently on the floor before severing the portion she had gotten her mouth on to lay it on the floor next to her.  I suppose it was the crème that drew her to it, since she just ignored the thin crust.

“Hahaha . . .” Victoria was laughing at my expense as she watched both of our antics.  “See, my cooking is so good that even carnivores will change their diet for it.” I rolled my eyes and smiled ruefully at her proclamation, though I wouldn’t doubt its accuracy.

As Azure and I had finished up breakfast and stepped out of the shop to decide what to do for the day, I was entirely surprised at the greatly increased activity at this time in the morning.  The cobble stone street that filled the space between Victoria’s apothecary shop and the other shops in the general area was crowded with people.  There seemed to be an air of excitement in their steps and more than a handful of strangers with different styles of clothing were wandering about.  “What in the world is going on?”  I asked turning to Azure who had opted to walk around today.

Obviously she didn’t respond, other than to look back at me in trepidation in reaction to the much busier street than she was used to.  A plaintive look seemed to cross her face as she looked between me and the shop.  *Sigh* “Alright.”  I said.  “I’ll go get it.”  Running inside with her close at my heels, I grabbed her personal hammock which she promptly jumped into after I hung it across my shoulder and waist.  Now properly armed for the day, we both strode forth into the streets with her perched up in the hammock to see the bustle of the city in safety.  

Instead of dropping by Kade’s smith shop this morning, I opted to drop by the jewelry shop where his wife the town gossip was likely at.  It couldn’t Possibly be that I wanted to say hi to Lynette too.  Having rarely been at the Apothecary shop whenever she was in the area, we had only seen each other a couple of times during the days I’d been banging away at the rapidly growing cave.  Making our way over to the shop that had sparkling crystals hanging from the door sill, I pushed open the chiming door to face the sparkling interior of the shop.  Motes of light refracted off the walls in a series of different colors.  Azure gazed about in fascination as this was her first time here.