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

Chapter 15: Final Farewells

Chapter 15: Final Farewells

As we broke camp and headed back to the city, Azure walked morosely by my side.  She had long since grown too large for the hammock and the people of the city had grown used to her appearance.  In the dim light of day I watched as the gentle fall of snow created a fresh layer of powder on the ground, seemingly reminiscent of the previously cold night.  It seemed to reflect my current feelings, for I too felt sad that I would be leaving behind the friends that I had made, whose lives I had touched.  I was proud though to have had such an impact on the city.  

I married off a powerful couple, inspired a promising young blacksmith while assisting in his growth, aided in protecting a young woman from sexual assault, and brought a measure of comfort to another who had not been so lucky.  In time, I believed that the cave complex I built would become home to a new protector of the city.  Daenerys.  I wonder if once he got big enough, if Monroe would finally do away with that annoying mini kraken under the falls, since it would no longer be needed to kill invading monsters in the night in that area.

A smile crossed my face at the image that created in my mind.  I had to chuckle as I recalled how he had manhandled that very same kraken when it had the audacity to interrupt his date with Victoria.  “Hahaha.”  *sigh* ‘Such good times,’ I thought to myself.  Azure looked up at me to see what I had found so funny but I just shook my head while smiling.

Back at the Apothecary shop I was warmly greeted by Victoria who seemed to be expecting me.  “Jade, I’m glad to see you are back.  I heard that you are planning on leaving soon?”  She enquired.  I returned her look somewhat guiltily as I wondered how she was going to take that news.  “Um, Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Hah!  I knew it was going to happen, just wasn’t sure when.  I’m glad then that I decided on organizing a goodbye dinner today.”  “Wait, what?!”  I cried out with the swiftness of it all.  ‘How had she planned me a goodbye dinner already?’  My thought process was broken by her next statement.  “Today you are going to help me cook a lot of food.”  I wanted to whimper and hide from the massive amount of work I was imagining for myself already.  But it was to no avail.

Too soon I was engrossed in cutting up and dressing an entire boar and a deer flank.  I became busy with the seasonings as I smelled each one before comparing it to the scent of the meat.  I was imagining what the end result would be with each possible combination.  Finally I settled on a sort of spicy yet tenderizing concoction to marinade the boar meat in.  As for the Deer meat I hadn’t really done any fancy cooking with it before, so I opted to add a bit of salt, a sprinkling of mint, some garlic, and a few other native spices.  The overall smell of it as that too marinated in its sauce made me feel as if I had made a good choice.

The meat wasn’t all that we prepared.  In addition, we kneaded out a bunch of dough for 3 pie deserts with fillings of pumpkin, raspberries, and something that vaguely smelled like cheesecake.  Already my mouth was watering as I helped to prepare these delicious treats.  Throughout all my time with Victoria, we had made frequent special dishes to train my cooking skill, but never had we done anything on this large of a scale.  In addition I peeled a bunch of potatoes and after throwing them into boil in the pot I checked in on the meat that was cooking in the oven.

The edges were definitely darkening up nicely showing that they were just about ready to pull out and the aroma was to die for.  The 3 pies were on the counter cooling down from their baking and all that remained was the salad mix that Victoria was working on and the potatoes that were just about done boiling. . .   Too soon it seemed, I was done with even that and had begun setting the small kitchen table.

Victoria happened to look up at what I was doing before she interrupted me.  “Jade, we are going to need more than those 4 small spaces.  I’ve already cleared the dining room table and if you wouldn’t mind, we are expecting to seat 7 people.”  My eyes widened at that new information.  “Who of all are we expecting?”  I enquired in surprise.   A crafty smile filled her face before she replied.  “Ahhh, you will just have to wait and see.  But I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.”  With that she returned to her work and left me to mine.