"Hm, I wonder what the right ratio of nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom is? Shoot, too bad all the kitchen staff left this morning." I mutter to myself staring at the cluttered countertop in front of me. It's littered with an array of spices, ranging from the mild and common to the intense and rare variety. "What do you two think? Any suggestions?" I ask the girls. The only response I get back is a gurgle or two and a small stuffed lion thrown at me. Sighing I wipe my hands on my apron and bend over to pick up the toy. "I'll take that as a 'no' from you Mira." I gently give the toy back to my youngest, who starts to wave the soft plushie in the air. "How about you Alexa? Any thoughts on what mommy try next to help mask my potion's flavor? Hm? What's that?" I lean in closer to listen to Alexa's coos. "You say the recipe to the ultimate potion is... I have to poop? Come on Alexa! Focus, these are important matters!" I tell the young Vermillion, but she finds my scolding amusing and continues to giggle. I can't help but smile at the two cheerful 25 week old babies.
I start to tickle both of the girls, which causes them to start giggling uncontrollably. Their laughter always has a way of making me forget what problem I'm stuck on. The sound of the kitchen's double set doors causes me to look up from the twins. Turning to my right I see Fuegoleon, dressed in his usual Crimson Lion's attire, just coming home from work. He spots me playing with the girls and smiles before fully entering the kitchen. He then comes up to me and greets me with a passionate kiss. As he pulls away to greet our daughters, he looks around the kitchen. I follow his gaze. Every cabinet is open to display the empty space where things used to be. The countertops are all covered with a variety of gadgets, spices and finished dishes, crafted by my marvelous hand. But it does look like a war zone. Flour dusts every surface, while random splatters decorate the side of the cabinets. What's most troubling is the blackened scorch marks near the oven.
"What happened this time?" He inquires, picking up Mira and Alexa before walking the expanse of the kitchen to see the damage I've done. "I thought you knew how to cook."
"I do! But I was trying to bake some of my potions into cookies to mask the taste. But I was using some powerful herbs and the whole thing caught on fire when I was distilling the koroko extract. But the pharrey phenol I made last week worked just fine! Here! I need someone to try it!" I push a plate of light green cookies his way. Fuegoleon looks at the burnt stove, down to the cookies then back at my smiling face, eyes glistening.
"I'd love to, but I got my hands full." He says indicating to the two girls in his arms. My smile disappears and is replaced with a pout.
"They aren't bad this time. I swear! I think I got this whole "medicinal cooking" stuff down."
"Then why are they green?"
"Well, they're matcha flavored cause I knew you didn't want to try another chocolate chunk cookie. Although I think you're insane for turning down any form of chocolate." I mutter, slightly heart broken that my lion isn't ready to face another one of my concoctions. In his defense I have made quite a few variations over the last few weeks. Each time I got better and better at discerning which potion would pair with what ingredients. I found that cookies were the easiest place to start with for masking my potions. They traveled well, could be made into a variety of sizes for dosing and in general people would be much more willing to take their medication if it was in the form of a cookie rather than a straight up vile liquid. Plus I'd be lying if I said tasting the batter wasn't a prime objective in all of this. But with the kitchen staff scared away with my antics, that meant Fuegoleon was usually left to be the taste tester. Last week I heard him sigh heavily as I left him with several new cookies to try. This prompted me to suggest taking my creations over to the Crimson Lion base when he went to work every day so the knights could try it. But Fuegoleon vetoed the idea, saying he needed every knight in tip top shape, not hindered by an upset stomach. I can't help but think he was speaking from personal experience.
"Perhaps later today. I'm surprised you're not ready. Did you forget what time it was?" I look around the kitchen for the clock. It's not where it's usually posted due to the fact the explosion the herb extracts made caused it to fall off the wall and break.
"Uhhhhh.... Time for cookies and tea?" Fuegoleon closes his eyes and sighs at me.
"The musician for the wedding will be here soon." He looks at me up and down, causing me to glance at myself as well. I'm coved in flower and splatters. And although my hair is pulled up into a bun, loose hair still stick out in a frizzled mess. "Please clean up. I've got a meeting with Nozel afterwards."
"Right, right. I'm on it. The girls' playmats are still out, so you can put them down for tummy time if you want. Oh, you should of seen it today, Mira's almost rolled all the way over today! It was the cutest thing ever."
"Then it's only a matter of time before you two are mobile." Fuegoleon tells the girls as he bounces them in his arm. "We should check that everything is still childproof. I'll talk to the staff to put it on their schedule. Now go get ready," Fuegoleon instructs me. I lean over the counter and give him a quick peck on the lips before bouncing out of the kitchen on my way to the bathroom.
It doesn't take me long to get cleaned up and ready for our appointment. News of our engagement spread like wildfire after we told Leo and Leona. I remember like it was yesterday. All the Vermillions were waiting for us in the main living room when we came home from training that day. Leona, Leo, Mimosa and even Kirsch were patiently awaiting the good news. I was actually quite surprised they all managed to sit in the same room without starting an argument or burning down the house. Though Mimosa did look utterly exhausted, but I couldn't tell if it was from watching the twins or if it was having to deal with her exuberant brother.
Leo practically jumped on us as soon as we entered the room. I distinctly remember him saying something about getting a "loving sister" which only got him a fiery fist to the face from Leona. After nearly killing Leo, Leona brought out the celebratory sake which I sadly had to turn down due to it being close to the girls' final feeding for the night. Mimosa gently congratulated me with a hug and her verbal admiration for us, all while Kirsch, being Kirsch, rambled on about how he was going to make sure the wedding was the most beautiful affair the capital has ever seen. The longer he went on about it, the more drained Mimosa became and the more terror was installed in me. When I said yes, it didn't quite click that our wedding, despite my many protests, would be a public affair and highly anticipated by the kingdom. Which brought us to today. Most of the wedding planning was done by the royal event planners, but Fuegoleon and I still had to make many choices that were presented to us. Different color schemes, time of year, flowers, music, and most importantly cake were all narrowed down to a few choices as to not overwhelm us. But even with the narrowed selection choice, decisions were still hard to make when everyone seemed to have an opinion.
I was expecting more help from my bridal party on the decisions, but apparently I was presuming too much. Mimosa was of course elated to be a part of the bridal party. And I was grateful that she had actually taken care of the flowers for us. I was impressed she was able to secure a supply of my favorite medicinal blooming plants I used in many of my potions. They were hard for even me to get a hold of, but I had a feeling she had been cultivating them herself with the help of her magic. I had also asked Noelle to be a bridesmaid as I felt like I was someone she looked up to. And because she didn't have a mother, I felt like this would be a unique bonding experience for her as well. I actually had to go to the Black Bulls' base with the twins to go ask her. She had gotten very nervous when she found out the reason for my visit was to ask her to be apart of my big day.
"What do you mean you want me in your wedding? I don't have any experience with that sort of thing, not that I couldn't do it. I am royalty after all." She tells me, blushing and flipping one of her pigtails over her shoulder. I gently smile at her, knowing her response was merely a defense mechanism for her.
"It's entirely up to you. Though I would feel more comfortable knowing there was someone I could trust to help me make the big decisions like the dress." I say taking a sip of my drink at the hideout's bar. I watch Asta play with my two daughters, showing the rest of the squad all his secret techniques. "Mimosa's in it, so you'll have someone your own age. Plus, if you're in then you'll get a plus one to escort you. They'd have to dress up though." Noelle's gaze follows mine to Asta. I can tell from the corner of my eye she's blushing like mad. Probably at the thought of Asta in a suit, asking her to dance or something. The girl was getting easy to read.
"Well if you're so insistent, I suppose I could be there." She tells me, hiding behind her drink.
"Oh thank the gods!" I let out a sigh of relief, knowing I'll have at least two level-headed females to help me make decisions.
"Were you really that worried about help with the dresses? Shouldn't your maid of honor be the biggest help?" Yami asks from across the hall. He's sitting at the sofa smoking a cigarette, reading today's newspaper.
"Yeah, well, Leona agreed to be my maid of honor, but she left town after I mentioned dress shopping. I'm sure she'll be back though.... I hope..." I mumble.
"Yikes. You sure you want to let a wild animal loose at your wedding? Might destroy the whole place." Yami replies, flipping to a new page in the newspaper. I sigh before sadly nodding at the captain's response. Despite knowing the Leona would be the head bridesmaid, Noelle still agreed to be a part of the party. Though I couldn't ask her to do too much, due to the fact her missions with the Black Bulls ate up much of her time. I thought the same would be true with Rill. Maybe more so because he was a captain of a squad, however as soon as I had asked for his assistance with the wedding it seemed like it was the only thing he wanted to do. He had taken it upon himself to decide our color scheme. I swear, it seemed like he would send me new color combination every few hours, each only slightly different than the other. I finally had to lock in my answer with him when Fuegoleon came home from a captains' meeting where Rill pestered him with a new palette of choices.
Humming to myself, I finished changing into a new pair of clean clothes and made my way back to the main room where we would be meeting the last musicians for our wedding. Walking through the hallways I look through the large wedding binder in my hands. Everything had almost been finalized, as the wedding would be in about three months time, near the beginning of spring. Colors had been picked out, a vocalist had been chosen thanks to Noelle's connections with the underwater temple; flowers were decided by Mimosa while the bar's contents were taken care of by Leona and surprisingly Nozel. The only main things left were the dresses and of course the thing I was most excited about, the cake.
"Again, my apologies. Ember should be here soon," Fuegoleon's baritone voice travels through the hallways causing me to close my binder and pick up my pace.
"Ah~ There's no need to apologize Lord Vermillion. It is an honor to be allowed to even play for you. Besides, the young ladies are just the sweetest things!" A light female voice says in return. I turn the corner into the room's entry. There I see Fuegoleon holding both girls in his arms, while an unknown female stands up from the ground, holding one of the small stuffed lions Mira's apparently chucked on the ground. The woman smiles while rattling the tiny lion in front of my daughter, who in turn giggles and grabs at the stuffed animal. Alexa watches her sister, contently sucking on the tiny silver eagle plush in her hands. My footsteps echo as I enter the room and both adults turn to meet me. "Oh! Lady Ember! It's an honor to meet someone of your stature! What you've done for the kingdom is just truly amazing. I can't thank you enough! My father was in the capital the day it was attacked. You saved him that day and I am eternally grateful for your help!" The woman quickly bows deeply at the waist as I stand there a tad flabbergasted.
"Ember, this is the violinist Celesta Vespertain." Fuegoleon introduces me. The woman finally comes out of her bow and I get a good look at her. She's tall, probably as tall as Leona, but extraordinarily thin. Her light pale blond hair is pull intricately into a braid that goes down to her lower back. Soft bangs frame her face but don't distract from her icy blue eyes. The way she carries herself, I can tell she's from noble descent. She's poised, and each movement she makes appears to be elegantly calculated almost like she's a fairy. Her attire also tells me she's from nobility. The dress she wears is far too fancy for a commoner to wear. The dark blue garment shows off her slender build. She doesn't have much in the way of womanly curves, but her appearance is stunning to say the least.
"Yes! I remember now, I'm sorry. You'll have to excuse me for the memory lag. The girls have made it difficult to get a full night's sleep. Please call me Ember, I'm not a lady." The woman genuinely smiles at me while Fuegoleon merely sighs and shakes his head. We've had a few discussions about my various titles I would have to get used to.
"Of course Lady Ember." I sigh exasperated at her refusal to break social etiquette. "I was just talking with Lord Vermillion about how beautiful your daughters are. They've grown up so quickly since their announcement. It was a lovely event." She tells me.
"You were there?" I'm quite surprised as only the top nobles were allowed to physically attend the event.
"Oh yes! My family has been the sole provider of his majesty's musical enjoyment." She says clasping her hands in front of her.
"I'm sorry." I tell her. She looks at me confused as to why I would apologize for her family having to deal with King Kira Clover XIII
"Please ignore her." Fuegoleon instructs her. She slowly nods, not used to such sarcasm. "Now that Ember is here, can you please play something for us?"
"Of course! It would be my pleasure, please sit!" She exclaims, indicating for us to take a place on the sofa as she picks up her violin. We take our place on the comfortable seat and listen to her begin a tune. Its melody is like butter, smooth and rich. And she plays it with such fervor, getting lost in the notes. Her body gently sways as she continuously draws the bow across the strings. There's no doubt in my mind that she's spent a lifetime mastering this difficult art. It takes a lot of discipline to conquer such an instrument. When she finishes I clap as Fuegoleon gives a nod of approval.
"It was lovely Celesta. I see you carry your family's legacy quite well." Fuegoleon says.
"Oh, thank you Lord Vermillion. Though I wish some of the other musicians were here to accompany me. I believe the violin's sound is best when joined with other instruments such as the piano. Plus it won't be only me that's playing for you." She says looking down at her instrument. My stomach drops a bit as I feel Fuegoleon turn his head to stare at me, but I refuse to meet his eye. I already know what he's thinking.
"No, I'm not doing it. Don't even suggest it Fuegoleon."
"Excuse me?" Celesta hesitantly asks, worried that she may have upset me.
"It's not you Celesta. Ember plays the piano, and quite well. But she's a bit hesitant to play in front of strangers." He enlightens her. She perks right up though as soon as she finds out that I can play.
"Really Lady Ember?! Oh, please would you let me accompany you? I think you would get a fuller appreciation of what to expect to hear on your big day! You can pick anything to play, I can accompany just about any song! Please?!" She begs, clutching her violin to her chest. Her eyes shine so brightly, like a little kid in a candy shop. Saying no to her would feel like kicking a puppy. I can't do it.
"Fine." I grumble, getting up from the couch and making my way across the room to the piano. Fuegoleon leans back in his seat, looking pleased with himself as he bounces the girls up and down. "Don't think we aren't having a discussion about this later jerk." I pull out the piano bench and sit down, taking a moment to stretch.
"Oh thank you Lady Ember. You won't be disappointed! Hearing your music will also help me better tailor a sound best fit for your wedding!" She says, coming up to the piano. "I'm ready when ever you would like to begin." Inhaling I close my eyes and let my fingers dance across the ivory keys. It only takes a few bars for Celesta to fully join in, creating a unique sound.
Whenever I sang my songs,
On the stage, on my own.
Whenever I said my words,
Wishing they would be heard.
I saw you smiling at me,
Was it real or just my fantasy?
You'd always be there in the corner, of this tiny little bar.
My last night here for you,
Same old songs just once more.
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
I kind of liked it your way,
How you shyly placed your eyes on me.
Did you ever know that I had mine on you?
Darling so there you are!
With that look on your face.
As if your never hurt
As if your never down.
Shall I be the one for you?
Who pinches you softly but sure?
If frown is shown then, I will know that you are no dreamer.
So let me come to you,
Close as I want to be.
Close enough for me to feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know that I had mine on you?
The room is full of electricity. The way she plays is just absolutely amazing. She's a true genius at her craft. She compliments my tune in every way the first time; it's as if we've known each other for years, practicing and honing this skill. Slowly I open my eyes to stare at the black and white keys in front of me. Goosebumps cover my skin as a result of our duet.
"That was.... I don't know how to put it. It's –"
"-Enthralling." I turn around as a newcomer finishes my sentence. There in the doorway stands Nozel, and I'm surprised by the look on his face. Instead of his usual resting bitch face, his eyes are slightly glazed over, like he's in a trance. But it can't be from my music. He's heard it before and told me it's appalling, so it must be Celesta's strings that put him in such a relaxed state.
"Nozel, you're here early. Ember and I were just finishing up with Celesta Vespertain here as the final member for our wedding's orchestral accompaniment. Please take a seat, we're almost done here." Fuegoleon says. Nozel 'hmphs' and takes a seat in an ornate chair next to the couch Fuegoleon is sitting on with the girls. As he passes by us, I notice how the poised Celesta, seems a little nervous. The energy she's giving off reminds me a giddy high school girl. I glance at her from the corner of my eye. She stands as tall as possible, shoulders back, but the grip she has on her bow is not as firm as what it was before.
"Vespertain.... Of the noble house Vespertain? Your family has procured a strong hold on the royal family's musical needs has it not?" Nozel asks, taking a cup of tea from one of the nearby servants. A platter is placed between the two men, and I can't help but notice my cookies are elegantly displayed on the sliver dish. Maybe if I'm lucky an unsuspecting eagle will taste them.
"Yes Lord Silva. It has been our pleasure to ensure that only the royal family should hear only the finest of melodies." The woman says, clutching her violin in front of her ever so slightly.
"They say your instruments have been handed down for generations and are as essential to your craft as your grimoire is it not?" Fuegoleon asks. He's trying to handle both girls at once. They've gotten a bit squirmy as soon as they saw their godfather. Alexa always seemed to be the worse when it comes to Nozel. Every time she sees him, she starts to squirm like crazy and if the mercury mage doesn't hold her she usually starts to cry until he did. So it isn't a surprise to me when Fuegoleon hands her off to him once he sits down. Nozel accepts the young cub, without batting an eye. He was slowly getting used to handling her. Alexa giggles happily as she sits in her godfather's lap. There she continues to wave around the small silver eagle toy given to her by Julius. Both of the girls had received a full custom plush set of the Magic Knights mascots from the Wizard King himself. Alexa's favorite was the silver eagle while Mira's was the crimson lion.
"Yes. This violin was my great great grandfather's. Would you care to have a look?" Celesta asks.
"I wouldn't mind." I reply. The violinist hands over the instrument and I take a careful look at how it's constructed.
"Your mastery over the piano is quite lovely Lady Ember. Do you happen to play the violin as well?" Celesta asks. I shake my head as I continue to examine the exquisite instrument.
"Nope. Didn't have the time. Tried it once though. It takes a lot of discipline to practice it everyday and play as well as you Celesta." I say walking by her to where Fuegoleon and Nozel sits. She blushes lightly at my compliment and follows my lead to sit with us. I hand back the violin when I sit down next to Fuegoleon. Celesta takes a seat of her own across from me and Fuegoleon but near Nozel. I notice she's hesitant at first to sit near him, but it's the only open chair left. She's still got that nervous high school girl energy about her. "Mmmm, isn't that something you like Nozel?"
"What are you babbling on about woman?" he quips at me.
"Discipline. Leona told me when we were out drinking one time that you had a thing for roasted duck as well as a discipline fetish." I calmly reply, taking a sip of my drink and taking one of my cookies into my hand. Celesta becomes even redder now at my comment. I notice Nozel's eyes dart to her for a moment before his cheeks become ever so slightly pink.
"Wha- How preposterous." Nozel stammers ever so slightly. But it's so out of character for him that I easily catch it. Fuegoleon gives me a look, apparently observing the same thing. Nozel is snapped out of it though when Alexa throws her toy at his face, causing him to blink. She laughs loudly at the shocked expression he makes.
"Alright, alright. The fetish part I made up. Shesh, it's almost like you're embarrassed or something..." I mutter leaning back in my seat as I take another sip of my drink. Alexa starts to get fussy in her godfather's arms. She open and closes her fists, clearly wanting her toy back. Celesta recognizes the jester and picks the toy up that's near her feet.
"Oh, here you go~" Celesta says. She delicately places the stuffed eagle into Nozel's open palm. Her long delicate fingers brush against his skin before letting go of the toy. The woman adverts her gaze clearly embarrassed at touching him. A devilish grin graces my lips. Fuegoleon looks at me from the corner of his eye, eyebrow slightly arched. We're both thinking the same thing. It's obvious the captain of the Silver Eagles and the violinist are crushing on each other.... hard.
Fuegoleon's gaze changes focus however, when Mira joins her sister in being squirmy. We all look at the two girls as they flail their arms about and make random gurgling noises. It's clear to me that no toy is going to appease them. Only their next meal will satisfy these hungry cubs. Putting my tea down on the coffee table I reach my arms out to take both girls from the captains before standing up.
"Come on you two. Lets go find you some tasty veggies. How does that sound? Hm? Celesta, if you wouldn't mind joining me, we can talk about the terms of your contract while the men what ever the heck they do in their meetings." I say making my way out the room. I hear Celesta stand up quickly behind me.
"Of course Lady Ember. Lord Vermillion, it was a pleasure to play for you. Lord Silva.... Uh... it was nice to meet you." She says hurriedly before gracefully appearing right behind me. Fuegoleon's chuckle can be heard although we're already half way down the hall to the kitchen. Once there, I get the girls settled in their seats, before placing a bib around their neck. Celesta takes at the table next to them. I can sense her unsteady energy start to level out to the poised calmness it was when I first met her.
"You know the duck and the discipline thing is true right?" I tell her as I rummage through the refrigerator looking for the girls' pureed veggies the chefs made fresh this morning. I find one of the multiple jars prepared for them, each labeled with one of the girl's name.
"What?"
"Face braid. He likes duck and discipline, but I'm pretty sure not together, cause I don't know how you'd discipline ducks...That would surely be a fetish then" My nose scrunches up at the thought. Dolling out the girl's dinner, I gently warm it up for them before joining Celesta at the table.
"Face braid? Excuse me Lady Ember but I don't think you should call someone of his stature 'face braid'. His hair is too magnificent to be used as an insult." She mutters before staring off lovingly into space. I laugh lightly at her reaction before I feed the girls their melody of veggies. "I'm sorry, but may I ask what you find is so funny?" She inquires.
"You're like a teenager with their head in the clouds for a guy that's got a stick up his rear majority of the time." I bluntly tell her. She shakes her head profusely, causing her blond locks to sway behind her.
"N-no! You've got it all wrong! Sure, I will admit he's not bad looking, and the dignity and poise he has brings a certain coolness that few men have. But I'm not royalty, he'd never give me the time of day." She stammers. My chuckles return from the young woman's explanation.
"I don't think you have to worry about that my dear. I'm pretty sure that eagle has already scouted you from above."