Fin had just finished the preparations for a simple dinner the night of Hilda’s invasion. The cook swayed on the spot as he blithely thought how the castle staff and nobility were going to have to deal with having a simple but heavy meal of shepherds pie- and the equally unfussy dessert of cookies.

He didn’t have the energy to care.

Typically Fin tried to avoid weighing down everyone in the summer, and deferred to lighter meals...

By the time his kitchen had cloaked the redhead’s shoulders in its loving quiet and order however, he was barely able to mix the batter for the cookies. Kasim had helped Fin develop his lemon cookie recipe by giving him the helpful tip that if he grated the peel of the fruit, it created a zest that was quite flavorful. He hadn’t had a chance to offer the fare to the higher nobility- and hoped it would be well received.

Normally the cook would be beside himself with aggravation at offering what was, in his opinion, a subpar meal. Yet after the day he had just survived, he felt himself wearily concede that it was impressive he had still managed to cook a full dinner.

As his eyes began fluttering, the batter bowl cradled loosely in his left arm, the castle door banged open, and in strolled Eloise Morozov.

The bowl nearly crashed to the floor at his being startled. Fin barely managed to get it back onto his cooking table in time to turn and bow to the woman who was watching him carefully.

“Mr. Ashowan, my business with the Daxarian King has been completed. I wanted to speak with you before taking my leave. I’ve received word of some concerning news that will affect you.”

Fin’s apprehension was written all over his face as he gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his table.

Eloise eyed the seat with narrowed eyes.

‘The Queen of the bloody continent didn’t have a problem with it. Get over yourself.’ Fin found himself grumbling silently. Any other day and he probably wouldn’t dare think such a thing, but seeing her interact with the King earlier had turned his opinion of her…

Slowly, she lowered herself into the chair after gingerly wiping off imaginary dust with an air of disdain. She then tugged off her black gloves, and laid them on his table.

Fin’s teeth ground together and a tic in his cheek appeared.

Eloise lifted an eyebrow at seeing this look of obvious stress, but continued speaking.

“Your King has just reported to me that there is a fire witch in the Troivackian court acting as their Chief of Military.”

Fin froze.

‘Shit. Shit. Shit. Son of a mage. Shit.’

“The King told me you had no idea who this was.” She continued slowly while watching the cook closely.

Feeling at a complete loss as to what to do, Fin rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, and tapped the cooking table with his other. Immediately, the batter began to mix itself, and pans began to float over as the redhead rounded the table to sit in the furthest chair from the Coven witch. Eloise eyed the cookery with vague interest as he did these things, but didn’t comment on it.

“I understand why you may not want to divulge your relationship with your father to his majesty, however Mr. Helmer is aiming to overtake the Coven of Wittica.”

Fin’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He knew his father had been ambitious, but to desire to overthrow the Daxarian Coven?!

“He has the support of the Troivackian Coven, the Coven of Agua, and I believe he is already leading them autocratically. This war is getting incredibly out of hand, so I wonder if it would be possible for you to share with me everything you know or remember about Aidan Helmer. It will help us strategize against him.”

Fin knew his mind was sluggish, but the shock of the news was too overwhelming.

“I will do whatever I can to help. My loyalty has never been to him.”

Eloise nodded respectfully before he dared to add on to his reply.

“If possible Ms. Morozov, could you please answer two questions for me?”

The witch tilted her head and straightened her shoulders, but gave the smallest jerk of her chin as consent. Her dark brown eyes were watching him carefully.

“Did you tell the Daxarian King that Mr.Helmer is my father?” Fin’s heart was pounding in his chest.

Ms. Morozov’s expression was blank when she answered.

“Yes I did. While I normally would respect your desire for privacy Mr. Ashowan, this threat affects his Kingdom. You could be an incredibly helpful ally for the king, and it could be what makes the difference in this war. You may have the chance to save thousands or millions of lives.”

Dread choked Fin. The King knew who his father was. Which meant the monarch also knew about the abuse the cook had experienced as a child. Then again, if they weren’t aware of why Fin rejected his father, they would want to test his loyalty to them…

“I shared this information in the presence of a select few men that his majesty deemed necessary to this information and-”

“Why in the world was I not called for?” Fin snapped before he was able to stop himself.

Eloise’s eyebrows shut up and her mouth pursed.

“Mr. Ashowan I-”

“I have a right to be given the chance to explain myself and my personal life. Even in dire circumstances, it would be better coming from me.” His cheeks burned in anger, and Eloise opened her mouth to retort, her tongue sharpened and ready. Instead she clamped her jaw shut, closed her eyes, and gently touched the space between her perfectly shaped eyebrows in an effort to calm herself.

“Mr. Ashowan… All I informed the King and his men of was your blood relationship to the Troivackian Chief of Military. His majesty had informed me of his name being Aidan Helmer, and I had naturally assumed they were aware of your familial tie. When it became apparent they had no idea, I directed them to speak with you further.”

Fin grew sheepish.

“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.” He bowed his head.

“What was your second question Mr. Ashowan?”

The oven door that had magically opened for the tray of cookie dough snapped shut with a loud bang. It was Eloise Morozov’s turn to give a small start at the noise. She tapped a perfectly manicured nail impatiently on his table, her expression conveying her displeasure.

“My second question,” the house witch’s voice was far more respectful for his next inquiry, “is how did my father become a Troivackian noble? What happened to him over the past two decades?”

Eloise let out a small sigh through her nose before continuing.

“There is much speculation on the exact details of the story, but the Coven has been able to garner that after you expelled him from Quildon, he returned to the mainland. With the information your King has just given me, I believe he then gathered his followers, and recruited a few more Daxarian witches before they all went overseas to directly attack the Troivackian Coven of Agua.”

Fin’s frown was so deep that it began to give him a headache. Eloise shook her head as she continued her story, while simultaneously folding her arms across her chest.

“Given that the Coven of Agua cowers under the Troivackian monarchy, it wasn’t a difficult undertaking. Once he gained control, he approached the King Matthais. Mr. Helmer offered the power of the Agua Coven witches to the war effort and swore the Coven’s fealty. In exchange, the military would help Mr. Helmer conquer our Coven. The Troivackian King agreed to the terms, and elected him as an honorary Chief of Military. Mr. Helmer is not titled at this time, but it is likely that should he succeed in the war and overtake the Coven of Wittica, that would come. As to the number of witches your father wields control over? Your King is awaiting to hear about that information.”

Fin’s insides were shaking. Hearing anything about his father was overwhelming and gut wrenching, and yet some dark part of the cook wanted to know every last detail about the man.

The house witch swallowed with great difficulty and nodded.

It was his turn to answer Ms. Morozov’s original question. His eyes were cast down at his beloved cooking table’s scratched surface. He gently reached out and touched the wood with his fingertips, silently willing the inanimate object to give him strength to delve into his memories.

After a moment of quiet, he finally spoke.

“My father is a purist. He believes that witches with abilities that are not centered in the pure elements are broken. The first witch was a child designed by the Gods to fully commune with nature, and be able to maintain balance between humans and Earth. Any power that does not serve that purpose, in his eyes, is wrong. He is violent, and he is angry. Nothing is more sacred than his alleged purpose.” Fin’s hands were slowly curling into fists as vivid flashes of his father’s face snapped into his mind. The dark eyes that burned sick fear into him time and time again still grotesquely alive in his memory…

“A deficient witch should only serve their betters- witches of the original elements, and no one else.” He finished his explanation and tried to ignore the white noise blaring in his head.

Eloise Morozov said nothing. Her face remained stony, but her eyes were sharp on his face while no other muscle in her body moved. Nothing needed to be said, the anguish and turmoil was abundantly clear in Fin’s eyes.

“I must confess Mr. Ashowan, I was humbled today.”

The cook’s gaze snapped up to the Coven witch.

“I did not believe the magnitude of power you faced from witch Hilda until your King had his Captain escort me into the city, and showed me the damages that were incurred. Our King thinks very highly of you.” She informed him casually.

Fin didn’t dare to breathe as the earth witch then continued.

“Admittedly, the notes your tutor submitted regarding your abilities left the entire Coven of Wittica disillusioned with your magical prowess. From what I have seen today however, I can say that you are in fact quite powerful. I don’t only mean by a deficient witch’s standard either- as you know they tend to be less powerful overall, but I would place you amongst a respectable level even amongst pure elemental witches.”

The redhead couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

He was too shocked to reply.

“In fairness, it sounds as though you and your tutor did not see eye to eye very often. There was the constant bickering and name calling that began when you were fourteen, then there was that incident when you were sixteen regarding a Zinferan that was staying with you and your mother-”

“Ms. Morozov thank you for your kind words.” Fin blurted out before he could think twice. He didn’t want to think about Mr. Goss after hearing praise he never thought he would by one of his own people.

“It is not kindness Mr. Ashowan. It is a fact.” With a gracefulness that was still somehow brisk, the woman stood.

“I am going to formally request the notes you have maintained regarding your observations of your powers. If you do not have them on hand, or would like to update them before sending them to the Coven, that is fine. However I would like to compare your findings with the Coven’s records regarding the only other house witch we know of in history.”

Fin blinked and jumped to his feet with far less elegance than his visitor.

“Our King will be sending for you soon. I suggest you rest before presenting yourself to him.” She began to pull on her gloves again in a businesslike manner, clearly uncomfortable at issuing praise.

“I will take my leave Mr. Ashowan.”

The cook straightened and nodded. Ms. Morozov turned to the garden door and strode over, her heels clacking on the stone floor as she went.

“Oh! Wait!”

Whirling around looking greatly annoyed at being delayed, Eloise froze when she saw that Fin was carefully wrapping up some of the warm cookies that he had summoned out of the oven in cheesecloth, and was tying it firmly shut with some twine.

He handed the carefully prepared snack to the witch, who looked a strange mix of embarrassed, pleased, and incredulous.

She turned back to the door far more hesitantly than before. Fin had just begun to rub the back of his neck again, when she turned and faced him once more.

“You know Mr. Ashowan… something you may need to consider, is what your powers mean to you. Some could see them as a military weapon to be used to fight and shield against enemies, but… that doesn’t really seem like the duty of a ‘home’. Take time to consider your abilities and what is right for them. It could aid your growth.”

Fin blinked and bowed again to hide his embarrassment, and by the time he straightened, she was gone.

He stared at the closed door for a long time, completely lost to his own thoughts. It was perhaps only a few minutes before the castle door behind him then opened. He turned around and saw the same maid that had retrieved him earlier before Hilda’s attack standing present.

“His majesty, Captain Antonio, Mr. Howard, mage Lee, and Lord Fuks are waiting for you in the counsel room.” She said her eyes a mix of curiosity and worry.

“Thank you. I will be there shortly.” He answered dazedly.

The serving girl began to leave when a thought occurred to Fin.

“Pardon me! Before you return to your duties, do you think you could help me carry some items up to them?”

“Oh sure. What is it you need to bring?”

Fin smiled as he glanced at the piping hot tray of shepherds pie and freshly baked cookies.

“I’m bringing them dinner.”