Tangled Autumn

Candles

     Cassandra groaned and rubbed her eyes as she walked through Corona Kingdom's Capital to her home at the edge of the island. The evening sunset was obscured by the lingering grey rainclouds. The heavens had opened up earlier that afternoon and Cassandra had to dodge puddles with every step. Suddenly, a horse and carriage raced past forcing her to jump to the side, pressing herself against a building to avoid injury, but not avoiding the spray of water - and her feet landed in a puddle.

     "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Cassandra yelled after them,

     "Same to yourself!" the guy yelled back.

     Growling under her breath, Cassandra glared after him. At that moment the gutter along the roof above her chose to snap and her right arm was soaked with drain water. "Great. Just great." She carried on walking down the street with a scowl on her face, shivering in her sodden coat. When searching her pocket for her keys, they fell out into one of the overflowing flower pots sat on either side of her front door continuing her good luck for the evening. The key slipped through Cassandra's grasp multiple times due to the mud now covering her fingers.

     Causing the pictures on the walls to shake, she slammed the door shut once she stepped inside.

     "Everything ok Cassie?" she heard the voice of her husband call out from somewhere within her home.

     "Yeah fine," she angrily threw down her keys into the bowl on the table to her left, "Everything's just peachy."

     Varian poked his head out of the first door on the left hearing clearly in his wife's voice that everything was not 'fine'. "What's w-hey. What happened?" He stepped out into the hall, closing the door close behind him,

     "Oh nothing much. Just nearly got run over by a horse and carriage with a crazy driver,"

     "What? Are you alright?"

     "Injury wise? Yes but he still managed to splash me."

     Varian crossed his arms and smirked, leaning against the wall in front of her, "Maybe I should ask if he's ok,"

     Cassandra shrugged her coat off her shoulders, "Had he not been speeding, he wouldn't have got away unscathed I'm telling you." She kept trying to shake off her coat but the right arm of it was stuck to her blouse with rain water. "Urgh," she grumbled.

     Varian chuckled, "Here," taking her coat and helping her to pull it off, planting a kiss on her cheek as he did so. She hummed in content and leaned her head back against his shoulder. He leaned to hang up her coat on the row of hooks beside the table and Cassandra turned to kiss him properly this time but he knelt down in front of her.

     "Uh, what are you doing?" Cassandra asked,

     "There is no way I am going to allow my wife to take another step in wet shoes." Cassandra giggled and let him continue unlacing her boots.

     As she kicked them off, he straightened and caressed her forearms, she resting her hands on his shoulders then winding them to interlock around his neck. The stress of the walk home had melted away from Cassandra and she released all of her remaining anger with a deep breath. "Hi," she greeted properly,

     "Hi," he replied with a smile, lowering his mouth to hers and kissing her. His soft smile turned playful, "How was your day?" She hit him on the arm to which he laughed, "You're cute when you're angry."

     She closed in for another kiss before announcing to the rest of the house, "Fern! Jordan! I'm home!" Now that Cassandra thought about it, she was surprised that the young girl and boy hadn't already greeted her in the hallway, her children was usually bouncing all over her as soon as she walked through the door.

     "In the kitchen Mama!" Cassandra furrowed her brows, odder still.

     She started walking towards the kitchen - the first door on the left, throwing a glance at Varian over her shoulder, "What are you lot up to?" He said nothing, only shrugged and smiled. Cassandra reached for door handle but before she could open it a hand covered her eyes. Another hand came to rest on her waist. "Var, what's going on?" Cassandra laughed,

     "You'll see," was all he said. His hand briefly left her waist, she guessed to open the door as a second later she was gently walked forwards. The swordswoman could hear her children giggling as her husband led her into the kitchen.

     "Jordan, knife on the right, fork on the left," Fern whispered,

     Jordan whisper-shouted back, "That is the right,"

     "No that's your left. See, look at my hands, that makes an 'L' shape - meaning that's your left. 'L' for left, got it?"

     "Well you do it then!"

     "Oh shush!"

     Cassandra heard Varian clear his throat behind her then Jordan gasped, "Mama's here, stop fussing."

     There were sounds of a quick scramble, including chairs being moved. "You two had better be behaving when I open my eyes," Cassandra said to which her children giggled again.

     "Keep them closed for a minute," Varian said, removing his hand from her eyes but she dutifully kept them closed. She could sense lights coming to life in the room beyond her closed eyelids. "Alright...now."

     Cassandra opened her eyes. She gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. The table was set complete with a couple of delicious plates of food. There were fresh flowers sat in the glass vase at the centre of the table - purple orchids, her favourite. Fern held out a chair and so did Jordan opposite her. But her breath was taken away by something else entirely. The room was filled with candles: along the windowsill, two sat on the table beside the vase and the kitchen counters were covered with them. That wasn't all. The small flames were flickering different colours: purple blue and green - the colours dancing across the walls and ceiling. "I'd say it looks magical but that would be incorrect," Cassandra said with a knowing smirk at her husband,

     Varian smiled and crossed his arms, "Indeed Cassie. By simply sprinkling a mixture of copper sulfate, copper chloride and potassium sulfate and nitrate over the top of each candle, when it reacts with the burning oxygen the C.S. particles cause the flame to take on a green colour, the C.C. makes it blue and the P.S. & N create purple."

     She giggled into her hand then wrapped her arms around his neck, "I can't believe you did this for me,"

     He wrapped his own arms around her waist, "Well I fancied treating my beloved wife. I know you've been a bit stressed lately and I wanted to do something nice for you."

     Cassandra smiled, "You are the most wonderful man." She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

     "Bleurgh!" Jordan exclaimed. Fern slapped him.

     The parents laughed then Cassandra knelt down and scooped up both of her children in a hug, tickling Jordan until he squealed.

     Cassandra laughed again when Fern said, "Your dinner table Madame."

     "And thanks to you two for your help. Now upstairs, bedclothes and teeth brushed. I'll be up to read you a story and tuck you in," Cassandra said.

     "Race you!" Jordan shouted,

     "Hey, no fair you got a head start!" Fern chased him out.

     Gazing after them lovingly, Cassandra asked Varian as he closed the door, "They've already eaten right?"

     "Yes Cassie," he smiled and nodded,

     "Right. Ok, just need to turn off Mom-mode," she smiled, Varian returning to her side and offering her his hand as she sat down.

     "Well it is just another gorgeous thing I love about you." Cassandra blushed and lowered her head, only he could make her feel so special.

[~Author's notes~]
Since these are supposed to be Halloween/Autumn type prompts I know other people might've thought of a seance or something along those lines but I got this idea in chemistry class and I just had to write it.  There is some one-shots coming up that aren't Cassarian-related (then again I'm not complaining lol) so prepare next chapter for some New-Dream fluff.