41- A roughshod interrogation

8/2/5/4353 M.A.C - Niwut- Morning

"Morning Dad!'

Sarima opened the shutters of her father's bedroom window, letting the soft light of dawn fill the room.

"Uhhhhh.......Morning Sari. I'll be out and about in a minute. Just let me stretch right quick."

Sarima left her father's room as he began grunting from the strain of the exercises.

Just gotta finish making food, then I can head over to Doro's place.

Sarima took out a stone bowl and put it on top of the small clay oven in her kitchen. After filling it partway with water, she added some lentils and let the bowl sit on the small opening at the top of the oven. She then retrieved a thick piece of pork belly, scored it, and massaged some oil and dried herbs into it.

"I finished the prep! Can you come light the oven?"

Sarima's father entered the kitchen a few seconds later and proceeded to use an Ability to ignite the coals that were sitting below the raised grill. He prodded the coals with a metal poker and spent the next minute stoking the fire.

"Alright, That looks like it's good to go. I'll go wash up while you finish."

Sarima placed the pork belly onto the grill and the dripping oil hitting the fire, instantly started filling the room with a hunger-inducing aroma. She waited a few minutes to let the bottom get a good sear before flipping the meat over. While she waited for the other side to get nice and crusty, she diced two onions into little pieces and added them into the bowl.

The meat should be about done. Careful with the fire and sputtering fat...There! Dad likes it a bit chewy so let's cut thick pieces.

After cutting up the pork belly into small rectangles, she went ahead and added them to the other ingredients in the bowl.

Alright, now I close up the front of the oven to turn off the fire and let the heat from the coals finish boiling off the water. I've got a bit of time now so I should look over the homework Doro gave me. I made enough for lunch so I don't have to worry about getting home early if they let me stay.

***

"That was great. Your mother would have been proud. You might remember her cooking fondly, but when I first met her when we were teens, she could barely boil an egg. The first time she tried to cook food for me, she tried to make some biscuits-"

"-but not only did she burn them, they also all exploded into little pieces while they baked. You ate them without a complaint and helped her learn how to manage a fire. Then the two of you started dating soon after. You tell me this story all the time..."

"Yeah, sorry. You just remind me of her more and more every day. I know these last three years must have been hard on you, and you've done your best to fill the void she left. Honestly, I would still be a wreck if you hadn't been around. I am happy that you started making friends and are spending more time having fun these last few days. You may not have noticed it yourself, but you've been looking a lot happier, back like before your idiot brother ran out on us..."

Well done Dad, way to ruin the mood by bringing him up... It's true I've been bored since that idiot went off on his adventure... But my life has gotten more interesting than I could have ever hoped for since Choice Day. Gotta make sure I try my best during lessons and keep Doro's secret.

"You are in a good mood so let's not speak about him. Thanks though. I made friends with Doro, Khetep's and Suyum's son, and we have been taking lessons from his father every morning. I've been learning more complicated math, how to keep ledgers, and other useful things so that I can help around with the shop and work on my Choice."

"I don't know Khetep well, but Suyum is one of my drinking buddies. Don't let her mess with you too much, she can be a bit evil at times, but she's a nice lady overall. Don't think I ever spoke with their son though. What kind of boy is he?"

"Doro is more like his dad than his mom. He is serious, focused, and easily messed with. It's fun to tease him. By the way, I promised him that I would show you the items he makes and sell them in the shop as long as you approve of them. He became a Meister and can control metals so he has been practicing hard these last few days outside of our lessons. He even made me this so that I could keep notes."

Sarima showed her father the ring binder Doro had made and he put on a puzzled expression after inspecting it for a few moments.

"You say a nine-year-old made this? The steel hinges and rings are really smooth, and I don't see any fractures or dents in the metal. It looks cast due to how even it is but I don't see any of the marks or imperfections a mold would leave behind. Hell, it seems smooth and uniform, but I can tell it hasn't even been sanded. Also, isn't the metal a little high quality for something like this?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I didn't quite catch all of that but Doro seems to have impressed Dad. Or at least confused him.

"It seems I must definitely go and visit soon. Maybe I can get him to become my apprentice...then if he is good enough I can get him to marry Sarima and be my successor...hehehe."

Sarima smacked her palm on her forehead and let out a large sigh.

"You are saying your thoughts aloud again...You really need to start spending more time around people. You are starting to take on bad habits. Also, not only is Doro not interested, he isn't my type. He is too polite and serious. If I ever get together with someone, I want them to truly love me, like how you felt for Mom. I don't think Doro is the kind of guy who can feel that way."

"Well, it seems you also share your mother's tastes. Not sure I should take that as a compliment, or be happy about it though. Any fool can fall head over heels in love with someone, please don't go for the first idiot who professes his undying love. Also, I can be refined and polite too, watch me!"

Sarima's father picked up his glass while extending his pinky finger and sipped some water quietly while trying to keep a composed expression. He then flexed the muscles of the arm he was lifting the glass with and gave her an exaggerated wink.

Hehe! That's bad...

"Be careful your majesty, your silk shirt might rip from your oversized muscles. Alright, I'm heading off to Doro's place, I'll be back later. Have a good morning Dad."

Sarima stood up and gave her father a peck on the cheek before picking up her binder and heading out the front door.

***

"Mornin' Sarima! How are you doing today? We are runnin' a bit late and are still eatin' breakfast, come sit down with us. "

Sarima took a seat at the table and waited for the three to finish their bowls of spiced oatmeal.

"By the way, mind stayin' behind for a minute, I'd like to speak with you privately for a bit."

Suyum's unexpected request seemed to surprise her husband and son as they took a break from eating and looked up at her.

Privately? What does she want with me?

"Sure, I don't mind. What do you want miss Suyum?"

"Let the boys finish eatin'. I'll clean up today Doro, so you can head off with your dad when you two are done."

Khetep and Doro shared a worried look before shifting their gazes to Sarima.

Why do they look so worried?

Her father's description of Suyum was brought back to her surface thoughts for an instant, and she started feeling a bit worried. She met Doro's gaze questioningly, but he looked away as if he was too ashamed to meet her gaze.

Ok, seems like the guys are not going to be any help. Miss Suyum is one scary lady though, she's even got my dad intimidated...let alone these two.

Doro and Khetep finished their meals and quickly left the room, giving Sarima an apologetic nod as they left the room. Suyum started clearing the table as she began speaking.

"So. You and my son have become good friends I see. Happened so quickly it is a bit strange, isn't it? I wonder what could have formed such a bond between the two of you so quickly."

Wait, this is what this is about?

"Yeah, we became friends quickly, that's true. We'd seen each other before but we never spoke until our Choice Day. Doro is my first real friend, except for my stupid runaway brother, so I don't know if it's weird or not."

Sarima's posture softened a bit, but her line of questioning did not subside.

"Well, if the two of you had a crush on each other, it could make sense, but that isn't what is happenin' here, is it?"

"I don't think so. He said he wasn't interested in that type of thing, and I don't really see him that way anyway."

Suyum nodded along to Sarima's answer as if to show that this was the response she had expected.

"Look, Doro told me everything. As long as you keep his secret and don't try to blackmail him, we'll get along fine."

Sarima let out a deep sigh of relief as Suyum's goals finally became apparent.

"Oh great! they finally told you? Sorry for keeping it a secret but I promised Doro I wouldn't tell anyone. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about his second Choice, or about the hidden part of my Choice, unless he tells me it is ok."

An evil-looking grin materialized on Suyum's face as she listened to Sarima's response.

Huh? Why is she reacting that-

"So that was what these two were hiding from me! I did have my suspicions, but I thought I was just letting the stories I heard as a little girl get to me. So my son is a Blessed huh? Hahaha, if my family back home found out, they'd have a heart attack. To think that of all the Gal women, I was the one who ended up givin' birth to our family's second Blessed....Hahahahaha."

Sarima blinked a couple times before the truth hit her like a truck. It had barely been two decans and she had already failed Doro. He had only asked one thing from her in return for his help and friendship, and she had already messed it up. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she realized what she had done. A second later, it looked like the whole of Manzat River was running down the length of her face.

As Suyum saw the results of her interrogation, the expression on her face morphed into one of guilt as she no doubt realized that she had gone too far.

"Blease, don't tell him I f-ailed...I don't want- to be alone- again...I am sorry for keeping it segret - but it was *sniff* the only thing he asked from me!"

Snot started dribbling out of her nose as she spiraled into a panic. She hadn't fully realized how important her new friendship was to her. In truth, it had filled a hole that had been left in her heart when her brother had run off. She'd busied herself with her studies and making sure her father didn't let himself go, helping her hide her loneliness away into a corner of her subconscious, but the thought of losing Doro like she had her brother broke a dam and released all of her pent-up emotions.

Suyum could indeed have an evil streak, but the scene in front of her must have been completely different from what she'd hoped to achieve as she immediately knelt and hugged Sarima, using a cloth to wipe away the snot and tears from her face

"Sorry. I won't tell, I swear. It can be a secret between us girls. Please stop cryin'. I didn't mean to make you feel this way. I am not angry that you kept it a secret from me, I am annoyed at them, but it wasn't your decision to make."

Sarima's sobs became more spaced out as the river her tears slowly became naught but trickling stream over the next few minutes. Suyum's assurances and apologies did help calm her down, but the real clincher had been the hug. She hadn't known how much she had missed it, but being hugged by Suyum brought back warm feelings from the depths of her heart as memories of her mother resurfaced.

"Come now, it will all be fine. Let's go wash your face and then you can go see the boys. Please don't tell them I made you cry, it wasn't on purpose, and I don't think they'll let me hear the end of it."

Sarima nodded quietly as she did her best to get her emotions back under control.