Annika stared at Mr. Howard and Captain Antonio with a dry expression.

The trio stood just inside the doors of her Austice estate, and to say she was annoyed would be putting it far too lightly.

“What do you mean there wasn’t ‘anything much’, in his letter?” the Viscountess demanded with her hands folded in front of her skirts. The pair had come to deliver the news- or lack thereof to her after the dining hour, and the pair did their best to keep their facial expressions composed.

“All he said was that he was doing fine. Nothing of real import,” Mr. Howard clarified primly.

“I see… So the entire contents of his message were four words, and that was it?” Annika asked while taking a slow step closer.

Captain Antonio was far harder to intimidate, and so he held his ground.

“He said he was fine, and that they had set a Northwest course.”

“And?” Annika’s tone was gaining a certain sharpness that neither of the men had heard from her before.

“He made friends,” Mr. Howard announced suddenly, earning a dark side glance from the Captain.

“Friends, on the Troivackian ship with his father?” the Viscountess countered again, as she slowly folded her arms over her chest.

“Yes. He said the men were fine, and he was fine. There really was-” Mr. Howard tried once again to placate the Lady, but was cut off swiftly.

“Each time I ask you something, I learn that there was more that was said. So am I going to have to keep at this all night, or will you just tell me?” There was an iciness in the woman’s gaze that made Mr. Howard shiver, and Captain Antonio stiffen.

“Viscountess, we understand you are worried for your husband, but there are some matters we cannot discuss.” The Captain was proving to be the more formidable of the two men.

“I see. Shall I call for Katelyn Ashowan to see if she thinks that is a fair judgment?”

The Captain openly glared. “I will tell my betrothed myself, Lady Jeno-Ashowan.”

After a moment of stalemate between the trio staring at each other but no one uttering a word, Annika finally broke off.

“Very well. If his majesty doesn’t see reason to apprise me of my husband’s well-being, I suppose I cannot argue with the messengers.” Turning away slowly, she could see out of the corner of her eye both men visibly breathe in relief.

“We are certain he is fine. We will take our leave so as not to disturb you any more this evening,” Mr. Howard rushed on to say as he gave a low bow, then turned to exit the estate.

Captain Antonio stared at the Viscountess’ back a few moments before doing the same, though there was clearly something on his mind…

*

Annika seated herself down in the office, her expression cold and murderous as she debated what her next move should be.

They were hiding something… but what? Was Fin in danger? Was he already dead? Did he have information about the war?

Clara’s soft knock at the door brought her attention back to reality as the maid brought with her a cup of tea and sliced peaches. “I take it the news wasn’t good?”

“They are hiding whatever news they’ve received,” Annika replied coolly.

Clara quirked one of her eyebrows upwards. “So how are you intending to find out what the letter said?”

“I could break into the castle and read it, but that’d be treason, and I don’t much like the idea of giving birth in a cell. My next option is attacking the weakest link of the circle.” Leaning back with her hands folding atop her swollen belly the Viscountess frowned slightly.

“So… mage Lee, right?” Clara asked with a small smile beginning in the corners of her mouth.

“Yes, mage Lee. He is the one who has the strongest impression of me being a delicate woman of grace. We also happen to know more than a few of his weaknesses.” Annika turned with a wry grin of her own to Clara. Though unlike her usual radiant smile, this one was one of mischievous calculation.

“You mean that he and his wife enjoy… Madame Mathilda’s establishment together?” the maid asked nervously.

“Not only that, but… he has a certain affinity for weddings.”

Clara’s gaze sharpened. “Absolutely not. I am not going to pretend to get married to get information out of him!”

Annika sighed playfully, then shook her head dismissing the idea. “Don’t you remember that I already conveniently have a mother-in-law who is betrothed to a beloved Captain?”

Clara’s face relaxed immediately before nodding intently, her hand moving to gently touch her chin as the rest of the plan formed in her head.

“A mother-in-law who I bet is just as frustrated as you are that we aren’t hearing everything…”

The two women stood at the same time, and headed straight for the door, their plan abundantly clear.

*

Aidan watched his son flip the flattened mashed potatoes skeptically, though he couldn’t hide his watering mouth as the aromas continued to fill the cramped space.

“I’m surprised you asked for my help. I would’ve thought you’d avoid me at every turn. So I find myself rather... intrigued,” the fire witch announced in hopes of distracting himself from the mesmerizing show of the food being prepared.

“I’m an adult. When I need to get a job done, I see to it. Even if you making me work while aboard this ship when you already have a cook, was something you enforced on a whim.” Fin answered casually as he then procured a block of cheese and began cutting meticulously thin slices before slicing them thinly- almost as though trying to make it grated…

"You are adequately better than our ship's military cook. Why not? Besides, your guards watching you should stop any creative ideas you may suddenly spout." Aidan replied as he watched as his son sprinkled the cheese atop each of the golden creations, then rested a pot lid over the pan before turning to the cabbage.

“It’s a good thing I found some vinegar for this cabbage dish, but it’d be better if there were some honey I could use to sweeten it," the redhead murmured more to himself than his father.

“I have some in my quarters,” Aidan blurted out before realizing he had said anything. There was something strangely hypnotic about the way his son cooked. The food looked appetizing and satisfying and… smelled like heaven… Yet, it was all simple, poor food…

“Might I use some? I really only require a bit despite it being for everyone. Just a bit of flavor.”

Standing from the barrel he had been seated upon, Aidan called out to the nearest soldier outside the galley doorway to retrieve the jar as well as its whereabouts before returning.

“Do you drink?” Aidan asked after another quiet moment of watching his son, the lap of waves around them and the gentle rocking of the boat, somehow adding to the comforting atmosphere.

“More recently it has become quite often, yes,” Fin answered as he then lifted the lid off of the potato pancakes, and proceeded to slide them onto plates.

He handed one to his father with a fork before picking up his own and taking a bite. Nodding to himself, the redhead then proceeded to cut a cabbage into quarters, cut off the stem, then sliced the vegetable incredibly thinly.

Aidan picked up the fork and took a tentative bite of the flattened potato concoction, then proceeded to forget any previous thoughts he had as the flavors shook the world around him. It was a bit crispy, but filling, and… even though the seasonings were basic, it still created the most complimentary taste paired with the cheese…

It wasn’t until the plate was clear that Aidan even realized more than a few moments of silence had passed.

“That was… why didn’t the food at the castle taste nearly as delicious?” the Troivackian Chief of Military speculated curiously.

“Because I didn’t want it to taste that good to you. I wanted you to take as little interest in me as possible,” Fin replied matter of factly as he began placing the sliced cabbage into a large bowl.

“So now you want me to be interested?”

“Now I’m just doing what I enjoy. Cooking for a group that hasn’t had a proper meal in, I’m guessing, close to three weeks?” Fin rested the tops of his fists against the table surface and fixed his father with a complex expression.

“I see. So this has nothing to do with the offer I made to you this morning?” Aidan asked wryly as he set the empty plate on the barrel beside him.

“No, it doesn’t. Why spend my last days angry and frustrated when I can cook and make new friends...” Fin shrugged before picking up another cabbage and setting to work.

“So you feel nothing about my attacking you? Just like that, you accept it all?” A cold smile spread across the elder’s face.

Fin shot him a dry eyebrow raise that immediately threw the fire witch off guard.

“Tell me, Aidan. You win the war, become the head of two Covens, and then what? You just let the humans rule themselves but expect witches to be superior? That makes very little sense. You create a new hierarchy in the Coven pertaining to deviated and pure elemental witches, when there is already that system in existence- just not on paper. What am I missing here?” Fin resumed cutting the cabbage, his tone light, but curious.

“I intend to merge all the Covens of the world. We will put ink to paper and set civilisation right as it should be,” Aidan explained patiently, an out of character serene expression settling over his features.

“What makes you think it’s wrong now?” Fin asked with a small shrug.

“There are a great deal of useless people in power who do more harm than good. When there are beings such as ourselves who should be leading the world in order to maintain balance, we should be the ones to step forward and make change happen.” Aidan’s eyes glimmered.

“Why not work with the existing system to form something better? Why resort to the slaughter of thousands of people?” Fin was doing his utmost to keep his tone light and casual, but the mention of the carnage that was sure to come in a war created a pit of dread in his stomach.

“I tried already. Very few people agreed with me.” A dark shadow crossed over Aidan’s handsome features as his eyes stared off into memories Fin hadn’t the faintest idea about.

“You mentioned useless people in power doing more harm than good. Isn’t an unnecessary war more harm than good? There is always going to be someone in power whose position is entirely inadequate for them, no matter how great a kingdom of hierarchy.”

“War is like fire… it burns away the old to make way for the new.” Aidan shrugged while folding his arms over his chest. “Alright, if you think the world is fine as it is now, tell me… why aren’t there any witches who are nobility? I’ll tell you. It’s because even if there is one of us amongst them? They hide themselves out of fear. They are not out amongst the people trying to bring them closer to the nature of the Goddess’ creation.”

‘Wait… am I the first witch to be a noble? That can’t be right…’ Fin hesitated for a moment in his chopping to ponder this potential discovery. Shaking his head free from the thoughts in order to stay present in the conversation, he responded with:

“Change takes time. Besides, there could be noble witches that have declared themselves, but prefer privacy from the King. It doesn’t always have to do with fear. Aren’t you yourself set to be given a title soon?”

Aidan folded his arms and let out a world weary sigh. “I have worked years to earn my current position. I had to become a formidable force to be reckoned with if I wanted any kind of title. Yet the nobles are still skeptical of me. I doubt I will ever be truly accepted until they see for themselves, the power of the pure witches.”

“What is it that makes you believe that you are the best one to lead the Covens? Or better yet, why is your plan… your vision the absolute truth? Others feel the same as you do about many of their ideas.”

“Yet, none have come as far as I have,” Aidan remarked, a strangely prideful note entering his voice. “One day… if you’re lucky… you will see what it means for a pure witch. You’ll see what it is when they embrace their pure element. The power behind it. The Goddess did not give us such power in order to hide… they gave it to us to make advancements. To rule...”

“They have never once decreed to the witches that they are meant to rule. The opposite in fact. We are supposed to be the ones upholding the balance of the world, not forcing it to become what we deem fit.”

“Isn’t what we deem fit, the balanced version of this world?”

“Not if it is only one of us set on burning away a significant portion of both witches and mankind alike.” Fin stopped what he was doing then. There was a question he had longed to ask the man who sired him… and he figured this was the best time to do so.

“Why… do you like hurting people? You always toyed and bullied myself and mother, and it wasn’t to make us stronger. Mum could never fight back against you, and you knew that.” The redhead kept the rage from his voice… kept the pain, the memories… all in order to appear as receptive as possible in hopes of getting an honest answer.

Aidan stared at Fin for a long moment without saying a word.

“There are different kinds of strength to be grown in the face of adversity. Even if to you, I am the villain of your past, and coincidentally your present. I did make the both of you stronger. Right now it is unfortunate because you just happen to be in my way, and I can still beat you without ever coming close to drawing from my own life source.”

The fire witch stood then, his hands pressed into his pockets as he squared himself off with his son.

“Now. I believe I’ve answered a great deal of your questions. Would you care to tell me about that ring around your neck?”