Flower Falls and Crystal Calls

Milk in Your Tea?

Chapter 6 

The next morning, Elle was woken by a masculine voice calling her name. She frowned. It was too deep to be Kurt's, and he shouldn't be in Chicago anyway. He was still attending Blackburn, nearly a full state away. She blinked her eyes open and rubbed them as she yawned. "Did Kurt let you in?"

The deep voice chuckled as he answered. "I believe you have things switched. These are my quarters, after all."

At his words, Elle groaned. She had hoped it was all a bad nightmare. She sat up and was at least thankful that her head wasn't still pounding as she glared at her purple-haired host. He was grinning at her. "Is Kurt your mate?"

She sighed and shook her head as she pushed herself up and started trying to clean up the mess. "No, he's my little brother. He's the only person that has a key to my apartment, and he's been known to be a little shit. It wouldn't have been the first time he's let himself in after a night out with his friends."

"And you allow this behavior?"

She paused and looked back at him with a sad smile. "Not really, but it's hard to tell him to leave when it's just the two of us."

His eyes widened as understanding came to him. He wasn't given a chance to say anything as she handed him the pile of folded blankets and such. "Thanks for letting me crash here."

He looked confused for a moment, but he nodded as he realized what she meant. "It is an honor to assist."

She gave him a sardonic look but kept her mouth shut. Instead, she looked around. "Now what?"

He set the armload back on the table and started to gesture back to the entrance, but her stomach picked that moment to growl loudly. He frowned at her. "Were you not given the means to find food yesterday?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but I had too much on my mind. I think it's been a minute since I actually ate."

His frown deepened. "We can find something to break your fast before we return."

"That would be great."

He gestured to the door, and she followed him back down. When they got back to the street level, she was inundated with the sounds of a busy city once again. There weren't the sounds of honking or squealing tires, but there were the rumble of cart wheels and the clomp of different beasts. Most notable were the giant yellow birds. The first time she saw one, she stopped and stared until Caius came back and asked her if she was alright again. She wondered how many times she was going to do something like that before he realized just how different her world was. He seemed like a smart guy.

Thankfully, he was also polite and didn't ask about it as he led her through the streets. It wasn't long until she began to recognize buildings from the day before. She was surprised when a familiar face stepped out in front of them and smiled up at Caius. "Good morning, Apprentice! Do you have time for tea? I could have it brewed for you in no time."

Elle tried not to laugh at the way Caius looked at the request. He was obviously not unaware of the other woman's ulterior motives behind the request. With that being the case, Elle was shocked when he stepped to the side and nodded. "We have yet to break our fast. Would you still have food as well?"

The woman turned wide eyes to Elle and then looked between them. "Oh, I didn't realize you weren't alone! Of course, we always welcome customers. Come in, come in!"

Elle raised a brow as the woman frowned slightly as she turned to the back after they were seated. She leaned over and tried to speak in low tones. "I was here yesterday for a few minutes, but I cannot remember her name for the life of me. Do you know it? I was too frazzled."

He raised a brow at her admission and smirked. "She is Paddra Lor-Raine."

Elle sat back with a frown. "Is Lor a common family name then?"

They were interrupted when the woman came back, and Elle jerked up as she called out. "You remembered! You seemed rather distracted, so I wasn't sure you would. Or were you asking about my uncle?"

Elle gave Caius a shocked look, and he shrugged. She looked back to the woman and stuttered a little. "Actually, I was just asking to see if there was a relation, but I guess I got my answer."

The woman smiled wider, but there was a sad note to it. "Yes, well, I haven't seen him in years, but if you do, feel free to tell him that he still has family that thinks of him sometimes."

Elle suddenly felt like she was in the middle of something she didn't want to be and wondered if this was more the reason Caius had been uncomfortable and not the fact that the woman had been ogling him. Still, she tried to be polite. "I'll do that."

She was more than thankful when the woman put a plate in front of each of them and a steaming cup before she walked off again. She picked the cup up and wrinkled her nose at the acrid smell. Caius chuckled at the look. "It is not as bad as it smells. Here." He cut a piece of fruit from his own plate and squeezed it into his own cup and motioned her to do the same. She followed suit and took a tentative sip.

She nearly gagged on the bitter flavor that the sweet fruit did little to cover. It was like adding sugar to coffee. She could tell he was trying not to laugh at her and she glared at him. She tried to keep her voice low. "Have you never heard of cream? I mean, this isn't exactly coffee, but it's close enough."

He sat back with a start. "In the tea?"

She shrugged. "Why not? It would cut the bitter better than something sweet." She made a disgusted face, and he did laugh. He caught Raine's attention, and she was by their side in a flash.

Her attention was solely for Caius as he made the request. "Do you have any milk left this morning?"

She gave him a questioning look, but she nodded. "For you, I'm sure we can find something. Give me a minute."

She was as good as her word and had a small bowl of milk. She handed it to Caius with a grin. "Here you go!"

He then turned and handed it to Elle. She tried to ignore the look the woman gave her as she poured a bit into her tea. When it became a sufficiently creamy color, she stirred and tried it again. Once the bitter was toned down, she was surprised to find it was actually pretty good. It had a spiced tone that was different than anything she had before. She grinned over to them both. "Much better. Thank you!"

The woman blinked at her in confusion. "I have never seen anyone add milk to their tea."

Elle smiled awkwardly. "Oh, well, where I am from, there is a similar drink. The milk cuts the bitter. It's pretty good when you can taste it past that part."

The girl's eyes widened. "Not everyone complains about the bitter, but I will remember that for people that do, thank you!"

Elle didn't even get to respond before the woman ran off again. Caius caught her attention again as he pointed to the drink. "I have never seen the like either. May I?"

It took her a moment to realize he was asking to drink from her cup. She gestured to it. It was the least strange thing she had seen in the last couple of days. His eyes widened as the liquid crossed his tongue, and he set her cup back down. "That is almost decadent. Such a small change to make such a significant difference."

Something in his words snagged Elle's attention, and suddenly, she felt like she had been hit by a sledgehammer. The ripple effect. Small pebbles still made large waves. Oh god, how could she have been so blind? Surely Yeul wasn't as clueless as she was letting on either.

Caius must have noticed something was wrong as he gave her a worried glance, but she shook her head. She needed more information before she could decide anything. For the moment, she needed to eat. Getting sick from malnutrition wasn't going to help anyone. The rest of the meal was quiet before he led her out and back up the long trail to the Seeress' compound.