Chapter Six - Instinct

Stepping into the kitchen, Jade was slightly taken aback to find far more people than she’d been expecting. Raphael was moving barrels onto a counter while Kaylee and Jessica cooked at the stove. People she didn’t know were washing the dishes and prepping a vast variety of food under the hawkeye supervision of what she assumed was a head chef giving orders. “I said chop, not mince.” He had the annoyed aura of a certain blond chef she’d watched, but at least he wasn’t calling people idiot sandwiches.

Not knowing if she should go in or leave, she stood frozen in the doorway as she watched the flurry of activity. Camille took pity on her, pulling her further in and out of the way as she explained, “Mom brought some people over to help. Feeding our entourage is a bit much to put on two maids.”

Nodding absently, she watched the chaos as the head chef seemed to acknowledge their presence finally. Jessica and Kaylee hadn’t even noticed her in the din. Brushing off his hands and giving an instruction to one of his assistants, he walked over, giving them a slight bow as he spoke, “Princess Camille, Duchess Jade, you’re just in time. Their majesties instructed us to prepare a large amount of food for you to ‘restock your supplies.’” She could hear the quote in his speech, knowing he was just parroting something Ashanna said. She’d mentioned she was running low on food last night, so it was obvious the queen took that to heart and made plans.

“That’s wonderful, thank you.” She nodded respectfully to the chef. She wasn’t sure what the protocol was, because she still didn’t have a name or title for him. He seemed unperturbed, simply gesturing for her to follow him. The first place he stopped was the barrels by Raphael.

One of his assistants was dumping fruit and sugar into the latest barrel, and she realized they were making smoothie mix. “We’ve put together these barrels according to Estelle’s instruction on ratios. She said you could handle it from there. Is that correct?”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s perfectly fine.” Curiously, she activated her mana sense, looking over the chefs. The head had an abundance of fire, some of the assistants had nature, and the one washing the dishes had water. Nothing too strong, but probably helpful in keeping food fresh and controlling the heat. It made a certain amount of sense. Strong mages would only become a cook if it was something they were really passionate about.

Looking at the barrels, she knew she could just shove them into her inventory as is, but for emergency uses… Holding her good hand above them, she turned water into ice blades and set them to mixing, doing all six barrels at once. The chef looked surprised, but leaned over in fascination as random food thrown in became a delicious smoothie.

Absently, she used a tiny bit of wind magic to make sure she got everything from the edges and bottom. She couldn’t see the problem, but her senses were telling her it was there. It was a weird awareness that she chalked up to her growing domain. Satisfied that it was smooth, she dropped the magic, scooping a bit out of each one into a pocket of air which she deposited into clean cups she whisked off of a nearby shelf.

Floating them up like she was performing some sort of magic trick, she held them in the air in front of each person, setting them down by the ones who had their hands full. “What?” The head asked in confusion.

Smiling, she gestured to the cup. “I know you’re under orders to do this for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. Besides, I like sharing and if you spent so much effort putting it together, you should at least know what it tastes like. That way if the queen asks you to make it another time, you know for sure if you did it right.” She paused, then gestured to the dishwasher, who kept glancing at the cup near him. “He’s got enough water magic that he should be able to learn the trick of blending it with ice.”

Several people gave him considering glances, but he had turned to stare at her like a deer in the headlights. “How…?” The words slipped out in confusion.

Laughing softly, she reminded everyone, “I can see magic auras.” She didn’t add that she could practically feel it in her bones now. They were already awed enough.

“All right, back to work! This food isn’t going to make itself.” The chef chided his workers, and while most of them took a quick gulp of smoothie first, they made themselves industrious once more. He too, had taken hold of his cup and tasted it appreciatively. Nodding to himself, he turned back to her and continued. “Thank you. We’ll just…” His words trailed off because she’d absently used wind to put the lid barrels back on and then poof, they vanished into her ring as she touched them. “Right. They did say you had… I should have expected that. Okay. Then come this way…”

She spent the next few minutes collecting the food as the chef introduced it to her. Even with her prodigious appetite, she should have enough to last a few weeks. Not that she wanted to use it all up, but it was nice to have reserves just in case. She did note that quite a bit of it was magically charged, and wondered if they’d brought back some of the meat she killed in the square, or if the royals had released it from their own supply.

Reaching the girls, she smiled as they slowed what they were doing to take a good look at her. “Are you feeling better?” Jessica asked under her breath, knowing she could hear.

Nodding slightly, she whispered, “I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry.” It wasn’t exactly an answer, but it was all she had to offer. Jessica huffed slightly, handing her a steaming platter of pancakes which she whisked into her ring.

A bit louder, the girl admonished, “Let us know if you need anything else and we’ll get it taken care of.”

Smiling at her friends, she gave Jess a little pat on the shoulder as she said, “Actually, I wanted to warn you.” Her eyes went wide, looking to Camille as if asking what this was all about, but Jade just laughed softly as she continued, “They convinced me to leave my dirty armor in the room so it could be cleaned. It doesn’t smell the best, so I didn’t want it to catch you by surprise.”

Rolling her eyes, the maid retorted, “Oh, is that all? Don’t scare me like that!”

Still chuckling softly, she acquiesced, “Fine, fine. Oh. Just so you’re aware, I’ll also be relocating the beann to Dracona campus today, so you don’t have to look after them anymore.”

“Oh, is their cage finished?” Kaylee asked curiously from behind her.

Shrugging, Jade replied, “I actually don’t know for sure, but that’s where I’m headed to find out. If not, I learned I can store living creatures in my rings just fine. They just kinda go into some sort of stasis, but it’s perfectly safe.”

Jessica seemed relieved, and she realized the girl might have become attached to the little buggers in the last few days she’d been taking care of them. She’d have to think about that. Meanwhile, Kaylee asked, “How did you figure that out?”

Pausing a bit awkwardly, she finally shrugged. “I threw a few dying fae in. And… well, they’re still currently alive.”

There was a small gasp from one of the cooks who’d been eavesdropping, and even Jessica asked in mild horror, “You have living monsters…in your ring right now?”

Nonchalantly, she agreed. “It’s perfectly safe, don’t worry. But I’ll be dealing with them today regardless.” Or well. She wasn’t sure she would be, but it was a little white lie and wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“Be safe.” Jessica admonished again, and Camille laughed softly, which caused them to exchange weird looks.

Shaking her head, Cami explained, “Anywhere she is, is both the safest and most dangerous spot.” When the quizzical gazes didn’t abate, she continued, “She can handle just about anything the world throws at her, but even if there’s nothing at the moment, it doesn’t mean she won’t create her own trouble.” The princess raised a brow as if daring her to refute.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She couldn’t. She’d already blown up a room accidentally…twice. Both using light magic and crystals, now that she thought about it. Funny that one of the disciplines that was considered the most harmless was actually the most destructive in her hands. Raising her hand slightly in surrender, she replied, “Failure is the mother of invention.”

Pursing her lips, Jessica scolded her like a mother hen, “Well would you try to take your inventions easy for a few days and give us all a breather?” She really did look worried.

“I’ll do my best.” She lied with a straight face. She wasn’t going to get better without experimenting. Although was it really a lie? It depended on what the benchmark was. If she left light magic and crystal applications alone, shouldn’t it be fine?

Either way, no one called her on it, though the three girls surrounding her still looked skeptical. From behind her, she heard Raphael’s droll, “There hasn’t been a peaceful day since you arrived.”

She turned to mock glare at him as she retorted, “Hey, there’s no need to be mean about it.” She paused, then muttered, “Even if it is true, you don’t have to say it out loud.” Then again, he’d probably dealt with more than she knew. Especially if he’d been dealing with some of the assassination or kidnapping attempts. Maybe she should give him more credit.

Her growing sympathy was completely doused when he asked dryly, “Weren’t you leaving? Or are you going to stay here with your entourage?” He glanced at the myriad cooks and guards.

Frowning, she muttered softly, “It’s not my fault they’re all here.” To which he just raised a brow, and she sighed because, yeah, he was right, it kinda was. If she didn’t want to come back and wasn’t having a meltdown, the royal family wouldn’t have stayed the night or brought over half their kitchen staff. Honestly, she could kinda get why he was annoyed. He was probably used to a much quieter environment where he was in charge, and now suddenly there were all these people in his space giving orders. She’d be annoyed if houseguests took over her place too.

“All right, all right, we’ll get out of your hair.” She stuck her tongue out at him, then grabbed onto Camille and half dragged the princess out while waving to her girls and the chefs. Her friend laughed softly before she untangled herself and took the lead, opening the door to the common room. They waved briefly to the people eating, then quickly trooped up the two flights of stairs before they could stop them again.

Exiting onto the garden rooftop, she automatically turned left and started walking before she even realized why. It was only as she saw the cage of birds that she made sense of the feeling that there were a bunch of living creatures in that direction. It was like her subconscious was reading the magical room and then correlating it with what she knew and needed. She couldn’t help but speculate that her special abilities were resonating with each other. If insight worked with domain, it could be super useful.

Of course…everything required testing. Her little ones flew out, joyfully playing among Jessica’s vegetable garden. She reveled in the bright sunshine, admiring the glint of golden feathers as she habitually stuck a hand out to absorb energy. She hadn’t used a ton of mana in the kitchen, but waiting until she was empty to refill was just asking for trouble to come knocking.

“Oh, they’re so pretty.” Camille murmured as she walked close behind her, her fingers brushing against the cage. Her ballgown had been decorated with their feathers, but the princess had been otherwise occupied when she brought them back, so this was her first up close and personal interaction with them.

Watching her admire the birdies, Jade pondered her decisions. Could she make more fellacai queens and bond them to the princesses? Absolutely. But the brightly colored birds matched her eyes and hair so beautifully, and her reaction was similar to when Jade first set eyes on her babies. Aside from that, they reminded her a bit of parrots, and given that they were lucky… Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to attach them to the royal family. She had to admit it would be an inspiring sight.

“Lovelies, how would you feel about bonding Camille to some beann? I know they made you uncomfortable before…” Mentally, she reached out to her fellacai, wanting to run it by them first. She spent a lot of time with the royals, and she was trying to learn her lesson. A repeat of the dragon situation where they hid in the background wasn’t what she wanted.

Her little ones flew back out of the garden, most landing where they could see the cage. Lilith was far more bold, sweeping just past the bars, almost as if she was taunting the birds. They fluttered in agitation, squawking at her little one, but not seeming overly aggressive before they either went back to pecking at the grain Jessica gave them or observing Camille as she circled the cage to get a better look.

Lilith perched on the top corner of the cage before replying, “They won’t bother us if bonded to friends.” A few images of baobao flashed through their connection, and she concluded that they were probably right. Bonded companions became much more intelligent, so it shouldn’t be a problem as long as they were taught correctly. Agreement filtered through from the others, so she nodded and sent a wave of love back to them before they took off again to play, but staying close so they could watch.

“What was that?” Camille asked, having noticed the brief impromptu meeting.

Smiling, Jade gestured to the cage. “I was asking them if bonding you to some beann would bother them.”

“Bonding me…to the beann?” Camille repeated in hesitation, her gaze going back to the beautiful birds. “Can I?” The words slipped out, and Jade couldn’t help but grin. Her response basically sealed the deal for her.

Closing her eyes, she reached out with her magic as she commanded out loud, “Stand next to your mates if you have them.” She’d layered compulsion into the order as she directed it to the birds, wanting to make her job a little bit easier. They shuffled around, the single birds seeming to stick out like a sore thumb, but Jade ignored them. Poor singles, this wasn’t their opportunity. If she was going to bond them, she was going to make it a pair that would grow together.

She wasn’t sure how to find what she wanted. In truth, she thought she should give Camille the luckiest pair. Her friend could use all the extra goodness that might bring. But luck wasn’t exactly magic, or tangible at all as far as she was aware. She could look at their physiology and find the strongest, or have them fly to see who was the fastest, but unlike the fellacai, there weren’t any obvious leaders.

So she looked at them with her spiritual magic, trying to get her insight domain to activate and give her a clue. She’d gotten insight from the birds, so shouldn’t it be able to help her find the pattern now? “Stay.” Her voice was still layered with compulsion as she reached for the door to the cage, opening it and reaching her hand in.

To her spiritual sight, the birds basically all looked the same, but there was one who seemed to be a little brighter. Targeting them and their mate, she ordered, “Come.” They flapped up, landing on her outstretched palm as she opened her eyes, carefully drawing them from the cage. Camille quickly closed the latch as she stared in awe at the two birds who were huddled together as they sidled up to her wrist.

Glancing at the side where Jessica kept the birdfeed, she sent a flick of wind to pick a handful up, sending it to hover in front of Camille. When the girl belatedly realized what she wanted and held out her hands, she dropped it into her palms, and the princess carefully held it out to the two beann, who were watching her closely.

“Go ahead, eat.” Camille said softly, encouraging them. They gave her the side eye before pecking at it once or twice, still more interested in watching them than eating. She could tell they were also slightly anxious, wanting to fly now that they were out of the cage.

She let out a soothing life aura, and finally felt them stop trembling as they pecked at the grain a bit more. Camille was trying not to scare them, but she had the hugest grin on her face as Jade asked, “Camille, are you willing to bond with these beann, to watch over and care for them, to share your life and experiences together?” Experience taught her she didn’t need to say everything out loud, but she could weave her intentions into the magic.

“Of course. I would be honored.” The blonde’s voice was soft and full of reverence.

Raising the Beann a little higher, Jade made eye contact with them as she touched them with pink strings of magic. “Little ones, will you share a bond with Camille, to grow together and watch over her?” She habitually added her intentions that they wouldn’t harm humans save in self-defense, nor her fellacai.

The birds let out soft caws as they communicated with one another. She honestly wasn’t sure how this would work, given that they didn’t speak the same language. When she bonded the fellacai to others, her queens had been running interference. Her own bond with them was more instinctual, but she was banking on that being good enough to convey her intentions.

Finally, they seemed to agree, and she felt the string snap into place as they hopped over to Camille’s hand and began to eat more earnestly. Her face was filled with wonder as she stared down at them, lost in the moment of souls connecting.

Jade waited patiently, happy to let her friend have this moment. Her fellacai flew over, perching on her hair as they radiated their own memories of the initial bond and the awe they felt when they were chosen, when they began to understand.

Lost in the memories and love, she barely registered the noise of the door opening. “Oh good, you’re still here! I thought I’d missed you. Wait, did the beann escape?” Hunter’s voice interrupted their reverie as he jogged over to see what was going on.