The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts

"Okay," Isabella said, crouching down beside the low sunstone slab where their ingredients were laid out in neat little piles, each glowing faintly in the afternoon light. Ophelia immediately followed, her knees thudding softly against the packed earth floor as she leaned in close.

Isabella extended a steady hand, her finger hovering just above a tiny leaf-carved dish. Nestled inside it were two crystalline droplets, pale blue with iridescent swirls that shimmered like the sky after rain.

"For the liquid soap, we’ll need two drops of Essence of Skydew Lotus—rare flower," she said, her voice taking on that calm, teacherly rhythm she slipped into when things mattered. She paused, and a grin bloomed on her face as she turned to Ophelia, eyes glinting. "This one boosts skin vitality, baby."

Ophelia beamed right back, cheeks puffed with delight as she traced Isabella’s finger to the delicate vial. The scent of the lotus was barely there, like mist after dawn. It felt sacred. Watching Isabella’s eyes light up, the way her fingers hovered reverently near the dropper, Ophelia realized something.

Isabella was always the happiest when she made things like this—when her world could be measured in petals, drops, and strange, glowing powders that somehow made people feel better.

"Alright," Isabella continued, voice steady as she dipped her fingers into a small stone bowl. "Next—one tablespoon of Molten Ash Resin."

The thick amber sap shimmered in the sunlight, its surface catching flickers of firelight from the hearth.

"It’s drawn from the Emberbark trees," Isabella explained, carefully spooning it out. The resin stretched like warm honey. "This stuff can scrub the dirt off a beast’s hide—cleansing, purifying, real stubborn. But gentle too, if you treat it right."

She flicked the spoon into the mixing trough with a little flourish.

Ophelia gasped softly, entranced. "It smells spicy."

"Because it is," Isabella grinned. "Spicy-clean."