The Vampire & Her Witch

Ashlynn’s gesture of purchasing a fine tapestry for each member of her coven subtly transformed the dynamics within the group as her companions reevaluated their goals for this shopping excursion.

"Mother Ashlynn," Ollie said as he watched the shopkeeper rolling up the tapestries, carefully tying them with thick cords and promising that they would be sent to the witch’s tower by the end of the evening. "You said that you wanted us to cook together for at least one meal a day in the tower, didn’t you?"

"I do," Ashlynn said. "It’s something I learned from Big Sister Amahle. Everyone cooks a dish of their choosing and brings it to share with the coven. I also learned about eating at tables that are low to the ground from the Mother of Thorns. She says it stops gatherings of the coven from ever feeling stiff, formal, and hierarchical."

"If we need to meet to plan a war or govern the Vale," Ashlynn added. "Then, Mistress Nyrielle has places that function far better for those purposes. The coven gathers as a family, and sitting on cushions on the floor helps us remember that. Why? What brought that to mind?"

"Will you let me take charge of equipping our kitchen?" Ollie asked before he turned to the others in the group to explain his idea. "Some things in a kitchen are common. We’ll want hooks for hanging roasting meat, pots for stewing, pans for searing, and all of those things. But some dishes may need tools that are less common. If everyone can tell me the sort of food you want to cook, I’ll make sure we have the tools for it. That way, everyone has what they need in order to make the dishes they want to share with the coven."

"You don’t need to spend your festival money on this," Ashlynn pointed out. "I had planned to let Georg make recommendations for our supplies once we have a proper hearth built in the room atop the tower..."

"I’m sure Georg would be happy to help," Ollie said, smiling at the notion of the unexpectedly wise friend he’d made in the castle’s kitchens helping them to set up a kitchen of their own at the top of the tower. "But I’ve learned recently that good tools can make cooking... joyous, I guess. Or at least less of a chore. Georg has tools for stuffing sausages that I wish we’d had when we were in the Summer Villa...."

"Ugh, don’t remind me," Ashlynn said, rubbing her fingers together as if to rid them of the memory of handling the slimy venison while the fat seemed to melt all over her fingers as she tried to stuff the minced meat into a length of freshly washed intestine. "I couldn’t eat sausage for a week after that."

"I want a short table," Heila said, stepping up next to Ollie and looking at him with shining eyes. "I don’t like using sharp knives when I have to stand on a stool so I want a table I can cut and prepare things on that’s my height. And I want some of the rolling pins that put patterns on your dough when you roll it out so my pastries can look as pretty as Georg’s do," she said firmly.

"All right," Ollie said, reaching out to ruffle Heila’s curly hair. "A short table and some carved rolling pins. What else?"