Cinnamon Bun

Chapter Five Hundred and Fourteen - Golden Moment

"Alright!" Amaryllis said with great authority.

"Alright indeed," Desiree replied with a serious nod that broke out into a teasing smile when Amaryllis gave her an unamused look.

We were situated in our war room.

That's what Caprica had started calling it, and as we congregated in it day after day, the name had stuck. I think it was mostly because of the irony of calling Booksie's reading room a 'war room.' We had five big, floofy couches arranged in a semi-circle around an old wooden coffee table. A small fireplace sat across from us, made of local stones and with a lively fire crackling and spitting within. It filled the room with a nice smokey scent that mixed well with the lingering odour of hot cocoa and tea and the taste of pastries that stuck to my lips.

Caprica had scoured the city for good pastry shops and had come back with samples from half a dozen of them, so we had croissants, eclairs, donuts, and some strange squarish pastry with a sort of greenish paste inside that the local grenoil called "hoppers" ... it was enough to feed a small army.

It was night, though Port Royal was surprisingly well lit despite that. The room had the fireplace, of course, but also a pair of old magical lamps with glowing runes hanging from metal sconces on the walls. Booksie said that they were due to be changed because their light was dim and didn't carry far, but I kind of liked the cozy vibes I was getting.

Seeing my friends only in the soft oranges of firelight made them feel even warmer and cozier. The warm drinks and sweet food settled in my tummy and left me feeling all sleepy and yet too awake to actually snooze.

"Well," Amaryllis said. "It took over two weeks since Cholondee began her search, but..." she reached over the edge of the couch she was occupying and pulled out a package from a bag. She carefully unwrapped the box, then opened it on her lap to reveal a ring. A very large golden ring which she raised up with both hands.