Forgive the intrusion. I arrived early to complete some urgent correspondence and noticed your presence in the kitchen.
Beneath this, in the notebook’s distinctive script, another message began to take form:
How fascinating. A message from Lord Brooding himself, and so early in the day. One wonders what urgent matter prompts such uncharacteristic civility.
Iris coughed, then quickly reached for a new teapot and the first of the ingredients she needed for her next attempt, trying to appear focused while her mind raced. How to respond to Lord Jasvian without Rosavyn noticing? And why was he inquiring after her wellbeing so … politely? Their relationship consisted primarily of arguing and then avoiding each other.
Several replies ran through her head:I wasn’t aware my recovery was of any concern to you, my lord.Or maybe …Your sudden interest in my welfare is as unexpected as it is suspicious, Lord Jasvian.Or perhaps she should not reply at all.
She cleared her throat and said, “This time I’m trying starlight crystal honey to balance the bitterness. Hand me that jar, would you?” As Rosavyn reached for the honey, Iris quickly tore a small piece of paper from one of Rivenna’s loose notes. She had to reply. She couldn’t leave his note unanswered. But, she decided with a deep breath, she would keep things civil.
“Just, uh … making note of this addition,” she mumbled as she scribbled her response.
Lord Jasvian, I am quite well, thank you. Your concern is unexpected but appreciated.
“Could you open that for me and measure out a single spoonful?” she added out loud.
As Rosavyn followed Iris’s instructions, Iris sent her magic through the paper with a subtle flick of her fingers. The paper folded itself into a perfect envelope and quietly slipped behind the stack of books, waiting until Rosavyn was sniffing the spoonful of honey before it fluttered up toward the ceiling and out the kitchen door.
The notebook’s script appeared again:Am I to understand you are once again conducting a correspondence outside my pages? How terribly inconvenient for those attempting to follow the conversation.
She grabbed her quill again and wrote,Don’t be petulant, before turning her attention back to the current blend.
“This one smells much better,” Rosavyn observed, leaning over the teapot after Iris stirred the honey into it. Steam rose in delicate spirals, a sweet scent overlaying the slight earthiness.
“The honey makes all the difference,” Iris agreed, though her attention was partly focused on watching for an enchanted reply.
After waiting the required amount of time, Iris poured another two cups and took a cautious sip. This blend was certainly more palatable, with the honey softening the sharp edges of the other ingredients. Still, there was an unexpected coldness that spread through her chest, despite the warmth of the tea itself.
“What do you think?” she asked, watching as Rosavyn sampled her cup.
“Less offensive than the last, but still not something I’d choose to drink,” Rosavyn declared. “It’s like licking a frozen windowpane. Strangely clean but fundamentally unpleasant.”
“How … descriptive.” Iris glanced again at her notebook, where new words were forming:
I would not precisely call it concern. Professional courtesy seems more accurate. We are, after all, obliged to share a workspace.
“Could you, uh, pour some of that into one of those little vials and label it?” Iris asked. “There’s another quill over there.”
“Certainly.”
As Rosavyn lifted a quill to one of the vials and sounded out ‘fro-zen win-dow-pane’ as she wrote, Iris penned her reply on a fresh sheet:
Professional courtesy typically doesn’t involve magical communications at sunrise, my lord. One might almost suspect you of harboring actual emotions beneath that impeccably tailored exterior.
The paper envelope performed a small loop before diving beneath the table and heading for the door.
Iris carefully measured solbloom flower petals into the crystal teapot with the lumyrite inlay, which, according to Lady Rivenna’s notes, enhanced the magical properties of floral ingredients. She added golden sunrise tea leaves and five drops of starlight crystal honey, then gestured to a nearby hearth sprite to heat water to exactly the right temperature. Not too hot, which would scorch the delicate petals, but warm enough to release their magical properties. All while pretending not to be distracted by thoughts of?—
Ah, there it was. Lord Jasvian’s reply appeared in the notebook:
I assure you any emotions I harbor are kept in perfect order, unlike the workspace I glimpsed through the open kitchen door, which I can only describe as resembling a battlefield after a particularly enthusiastic skirmish. What brings you to the tea house at this unconscionable hour?
How delightfully judgmental, the notebook commented beneath.He seems in fine form today.
Iris pressed her lips together to keep her smile from showing while she swirled the teapot and considered her response. She wasn’t prepared to share Lady Rivenna’s insights about her magic, especially not with Lord Jasvian. She poured her latest blend into another tasting cup and handed it to Rosavyn before bending over the notebook once more:
Tea blending experiments.
