Fin stood in his kitchen that was eerily silent. Every staff member and member of regency remained in their personal quarters; the King was in conference with a leader of the Coven. Even the fire had spluttered out during the cook’s absence.

It was because of the quiet that Fin finally registered his pounding heart, the anxious flurry in his mind, and then the overwhelming sense of doom.

He didn’t know what kind of information the Coven released in his circumstances. He didn’t know if they released detailed documentation of his studies, or assessments of his mental well-being, or just the bare minimum information regarding his magic.

‘Oh Gods… what if the King learns about my father…’ Fin rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, which drew a small yelp from him.

During the adrenaline rush of confronting Hilda, he had failed to register the familiar stinging pain that came with burn marks on his back.

It had been two full decades since he’d felt them, and yet his hands began to shake. Not from the pain, but from the nauseating familiarity of the sensation.

Fin removed his shirt, and saw the burn marks along the back of his tunic. He threw the ruined garment into the cold hearth without a second thought. He could see about buying another one in Austice.

Focusing on guessing the approximate height of the straight burn mark across his back, the witch summoned the jar of burn ointment he kept on hand on the shelf beside the hearth. The mage’s fire ring had done more damage than he had initially realized.

Even with magic, Fin would occasionally forget to not grab the hot handle of his cast iron skillet, and would have to slather a cooling salve on a burn. He sincerely hoped that the ointment his mother had sent with him would be effective on larger burns.

He had just unscrewed the cap of the wide brimmed jar, when the castle door suddenly banged open.

Lady Annika Jenoure stood in the doorway looking a strange combination of angry, and terrified.

Fin had the sudden urge to cover himself, but weariness stopped him. It occurred to him then that he had somehow not fallen asleep already at the extensive use of his powers.

If anything, the weariness seemed to stem from more of an emotional and mental strain than from magic.

‘It has to be due to the larger space and more occupants of my home giving me more power…’ Fin reasoned to himself.

“Lady Jenoure, I apologize for my indecency. I need to tend to a wound. I will retire to my cottage if you prefer.” He bowed but winced at the movement. He missed the look of pain and tenderness cross Annika’s face.

“We can stop the nonsense of formality for now Fin. I saw you get burned earlier, let me help.”

He was too tired to put things delicately.

“I can use magic to apply this. I am indecent and you can be placed in a compromising position if you are seen-”

“Son of a mage just let me help you.” She snapped slamming the door behind her and striding forward. The black haired beauty snatched the jar from Fin’s hand and faced his back confidently.

“This is unnecessary Lady Jenoure. I-” Fin paused. “Did you just say ‘son of a mage’?”

“Yes. I heard you say it before during the drinking competition, and oddly enough it is really catching on- especially amongst the Knights. Though I don’t think Keith is helping slow the spread of it. Did you hear yesterday that he advised Ruby on how to fold sheets more efficiently?”

Fin laughed.

“How did that go?”

“A gallon of your ‘sedative’ tea couldn’t stop the unfortunate twitch in the right corner of her mouth. She is now muttering ‘son of a mage’ all day long.”

Both Fin and Lady Jenoure laughed.

Once she had settled back down, Annika dipped her fingers in the strange yellow paste in the jar. Scooping small blobs up, she gently touched the ugly burn that spanned a horizontal line across Fin’s back.

“This will scar.” She said far more somberly.

“It can join the others, it’s fine.”

It was then she noticed what the cook was referring to.

There was a messy scar the size of a man’s palm under his right rotator cuff, and one the size of a thumb near the top of his left shoulder.

“How did you get these?” She asked softly as her hand hovered above the fresh wound.

“No need to worry my Lady. If you are going to be stubborn about assisting me, I’d rather not also have to share personal details.”

“You helped save us all, I think this is the least I can do.” She muttered as she gently dabbed the wound.

Fin took a sharp intake of breath.

“Gods were your hands in an ice bath before this?!” He called out.

“No I- It’s the ointment!”

“Like Keith’s brain it is!”

Annika burst out laughing, and took a few minutes to compose herself. Fin was already grinning to himself. He was grateful she couldn’t see how happy he was at hearing her obnoxious laugh- it was far better than her pretty fake one.

“You should be nicer to him. He’s just a-”

“Mage?”

“If you weren’t injured I’d slap your back right now.” Annika warned, though her tone remained humorous.

“He’s just trying to live up to both of his parents. He’s been told his entire life what a prodigy he is, no one has told him that while he may be a skilled mage, he has no understanding of real life or people.”

Annika resumed dabbing the ointment across his back.

Fin grunted.

“I saw your fight with Captain Antonio.”

“Oh.”

The cook’s cheeks burned. He shouldn’t have cared that she’d seen… but he did all the same.

“You handled yourself surprisingly well. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“I… I knew a Zinferan once who instructed me. I’ve lost a lot of skill from lack of practice, but he taught me about control of movement and breath.”

“Did you know Captain Antonio’s wife was a Zinferan?”

Fin’s eyebrows shot up.

“I didn’t! Why haven’t I met or heard of her?”

“She died with their son during the birth.”

The cook fell silent. He didn’t know what to say regarding such a loss.

“His wife’s name was May. Her father was so against the union, that he said he would only agree to it if Antonio trained under him for seven years.”

“I’m guessing he did?”

“Absolutely. He was already a renowned fighter, but he became extremely deadly under his father-in-law’s instruction. As a result, Antonio became an even bigger asset to the Kingdom after studying with her father- a master of the Zinferan method. When May died in childbirth only two years after they were married, her father passed three months after from grief. The Captain hasn’t ever married again.”

The cook said nothing for a while as he allowed the ointment to ease some of the pain from the burn, while doing everything in his power to not think about Lady Jenoure touching him so intimately.

“I can’t imagine losing someone after all of that.” He said finally when he was relatively certain he had gotten his thoughts back under control.

“Huh? Oh. Yes.” The Lady sounded distracted by something.

“Was that what it was like when you lost your husband?”

She didn’t say anything, and Fin was worried he had crossed a line by asking something so personal. He was about to turn around to apologize when Annika finally spoke.

“I loved him, but it was… complicated. He is the one who showed me that there were good people, and that good people could rule a country. I never understood the blind trust in this country until I saw the intense loyalty they shared with one another. He was kinder to me than anyone ever had been. He became… my closest friend and ally.”

Taking Annika’s stillness to mean she was finished, Fin turned around to thank her. Only to find that she had been standing close, and she looked as though she were blushing. Instead of stepping away from Fin when he turned, she stayed put. This placed her mere inches from his body.

He stared down at the open expression on Lady Jenoure’s face, and immediately felt himself fall even deeper into the dreadfully wonderful space in his heart. The space that had somehow had been created for the woman in front of him.

Fin’s cheeks turned crimson when he realized her eyes remained fixed on his bare chest. His body was awash with tingling as he gently reached up and grasped her right wrist with barely any thought.

Annika’s warm intense brown eyes flew up to his slightly glossy bright blue ones. It took every remaining functioning cell in Fin’s mind to act reasonably in that moment.

He lifted his other hand and summoned a clean dishtowel, as well as the pitcher of clean water from the ledge.

Annika was distracted then, as Fin dipped the towel in the water without taking his eyes from the hand he was very nearly holding, and began to wipe the ointment off of her fingers.

“Thank you for helping me with my burn.” He was doing everything in his power not to pull her into himself. Every inch of him itched to do so…

Itched to hold her, and allow everything to turn right in the world.

“Like I said, you’re the unsung hero of the day. Mage Lee will probably take all the credit.”

“The Knights helped the citizens.” Fin reminded feeling the color rise even further in his face.

“True, but they didn’t conduct a ball of lightning that propelled enough water to sink the castle.”

“You exaggerate and flatter me beyond excess.” Fin shook his head hoping to alleviate some of the pounding blood in his face.

Annika gave a small exasperated sigh, and met his gaze while smiling.

The look of tender affection she saw in his gaze only made her want to melt into him, and forget about every silly thing that she had ever bothered with. She wanted to care for him and hold him and…

“Why have you never asked about my being a witch?” Fin’s voice was soft and it sent a shiver through her.

“I… I knew a witch back in Troivack.”

The interest was genuine on the cook’s face as he frowned and slowly lowered Annika’s wrist while still clasping it softly.

“She didn’t like people knowing, or asking about it, and seldom used any magic. She was… one of the few people that was kind to me while I was there.” There was a tight strain in her voice, and Fin barely registered that he was rubbing her wrist with his thumb soothingly.

“What happened to her?”

“One day she… used her magic. She did so to help me. I never saw her again when people found out what she was. Some people say she was banished, but in Troivack that means-”

“-Being sailed out to the perimeter of Daxarian and Troivackian borders and tossed overboard?”

“Yes! How did you-”

“A woman on our island named Nora was picked up by one of our fishermen after being banished from Troivack. They had twelve children together. All boys.”

“Nora?! When?”

Her shock and disbelief made Fin lean back slightly in surprise.

“Her two eldest boys were twins… they were a year or two older than myself. So… roughly thirty years ago? Why? Is it your former friend?”

“No not my former governess. I… uh.” Annika was clearly flabbergasted by the news. She had revealed the role the witch in her past had played in her life without a second thought.

“I think she may be the former princess of Troivack. The aunt of the current King.”

Fin’s jaw dropped.

“Why do you think that?” He managed after a second of incredulity.

“Princess Nora was banished after stating she wanted the throne to herself. Thirty years ago. Most people are simply executed in Troivack, and very few have the privilege of banishment. It offers the barest of possibilities that they could survive.”

Fin had only seen the dark haired sneering woman of the Corway brothers from afar. He had never wanted to draw closer to her and her permanent hatefulness, but even so it was hard to envision her as a royal.

Annika was clearly having a similar struggle with the new information, which was when Fin decided to try a different question while he had complete privacy with her.

“Do you even want to get married again?”

Annika blinked rapidly and the cook could’ve sworn there was a hint of tears in her eyes before she masked her expression.

“I… If it were to the right person.”

“I’m… sorry. I hope one of the suitors are to your liking.” Fin was staring at her while doing his best to remain composed, but didn’t realize he had grasped her hand in his own.

Annika moved forward, meaning a slight shift of her weight, and she would go crashing into him.

“You should,” Fin cleared his throat. “Should go back. Your reputation would be destroyed being here with me like this.” The croak in his voice betrayed him.

“Fin I… I just…” Annika tried to speak, then raised her left hand as though she were going to touch his chest. Fin pulled away. Releasing the hand he had clasped unknowingly, he took several steps to the side away from her.

“Lady Jenoure, thank you for your care.” He bowed. He barely noticed the pain in his back as he waited to hear her exit.

There were several long moments of pained silence, but sure enough he soon heard the soft sound of the handle unlatch and gently click shut again.

Once he was certain she had left the room, he straightened with a new weight in his chest. He turned to the door to the gardens, not wanting to think more about what had just transpired. Fin was intent on getting a fresh tunic from his cottage when he noticed Kraken was pawing the door aggressively.

“What in the world are you doing?” He wondered with a small chuckle.

Upon opening the garden door, the cook found himself staring down at a small sleek gray cat with bright yellow eyes. She sat on the garden pathway as though waiting expectantly.

He glanced at Kraken whose pupils had widened to the size of marbles.

“A friend of yours?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

He didn’t get an answer as the two cats dashed off together across the lawn.

Fin sighed.

The day had been far more exciting than he would’ve liked.