Allegiance

Chapter 21

"Tell us a little about yourself."

Tabitha's words rang like a loud bell in Tessia's mind. Her hand froze with the knife she was holding barely touching the bread on the cutting board, and she felt the blood leave her face. Here Tessia was, the elven princess of Elenoir, standing in a kitchen with Arthur's family. They had no idea who she was, and Tessia had no idea how they would react to her royal status. She assumed they held no ill will toward the elven race since they'd been treating her so kindly, but that didn't mean they liked royalty.

Thoughts raced through Tessia's mind, quickly trying to come up with something to say. It didn't take long for her to come to the idea that she should play it safe and slow and provide the minimum information about her.

Tessia began to move the knife, slowly cutting into the bread, and her lips curved into a small smile, "Oh, where to start."

She cut through the first slice of bread before looking at Tabitha over her shoulder, seeing she was also looking at Tessia with genuine interest. Alice, standing beside Tessia, was also looking at Tessia curiously while stirring the contents of the pot since she wanted to know more about the girl her son was interested in.

"Well, as you may have guessed, I'm from the elven kingdom of Elenoir," Tessia said jestfully, gesturing to her pointed ears with her free hand. Alice, Tabitha, Lilia, and Eleanor chuckled at Tessia's witty comment, genuinely amused by her simple humor. Tessia smiled as she looked back at the bread and continued to cut another slice, "I grew up with my parents and grandfather. My parents worked a lot, so I spent a lot of time with my grandfather when I was younger."

Alice took out a stand of spaghetti from the pot and ate it, seeing if the pasta was ready. Satisfied with the spaghetti being al dente, she turned off the stove, picked up the pot, and carried the pot over to the sink. Alice reached the sink and looked at Lilia, "Lilia dear, can you put the strainer into the sink, please."

Lilia's attention snapped to Alice, and she smiled, "Of course."

Lilia approached the sink, grabbed the strainer that was sitting on top of the counter, and placed it into the sink. Alice then carefully poured the hot water and spaghetti into the strainer, separating the water from the pasta. Once that was done, Alice put the pot down on a hot pad, picked off the strainer, and proceeded to shake the pasta to get the excess water out.

As Alice shook the strainer, she inquisitively looked at Tessia over her shoulder, "So, what was it like growing up in Elenoir?"

Cutting another piece of bread, Tessia's lips curved into a warm smile, thinking about Alice's question. Memories of her growing up in the elven capital of Zestier flashed before her eyes. She thought about what it was like training with her grandfather in the backyard of the elven castle, playing with kids her age, and spending quality time with her family.

"It was wonderful," Tessia said warmly and looked at Alice over her shoulder, who smiled as she met Tessia's gaze. "The capital of Zestier, where I grew up, is pristine, and the people there are very kind. Plus, I always enjoyed spending time with my family."

"That's something you and Arthur have in common," Tabitha said with a caring smile, remembering Arthur growing up under her roof.

Tabitha put the finishing touches on the salad, put the tongs she was using to mix the salad down and turned to face Tessia. She leaned back against the counter and chuckled, reminiscing about Arthur growing up, thinking about how cute he was as a little boy. But, she also remembered how amazing he was, how he was talented with magic and with sword skills. Plus, she would always be grateful to him for helping Lilia awaken and become a mage.

"Arthur has always held his family close, enjoying every moment he could get with them," Tabitha continued warmly.

"He's especially protective of Ellie," Alice said with a playful smile, looking at Eleanor, who finished cutting the bacon.