“What?”

“Your mom,” he said. “Ask her to teach you how to cook. She knows you better. You should stop trying to learn my sisters’ way, you should learn from your own mother. You’ve only gone home twice and not for long, Tessandra. Go and spend time with your family instead of trying to please mine. I’m sure your mother would be more than willing to teach you if you ask her, but you’re both too stubborn to take the first step. So go and ask her. Perhaps she never asked you because she didn’t think you were even interested in it.”

Tessandra remained quiet for a long minute, thinking. From what he had seen, the one time he had accompanied her home, he had probably hit the nail on the head. Tessandra was incredibly like her mother in terms of personality, yet he was sure that if she asked, her mother would actually help her in any way she could. Being a loudmouth didn’t mean she was always honest or forthcoming about her own wants. After a while, when she was calmer, he moved his hands from her wrists back to her waist, but Tessandra barely reacted to it.

“...You really think she would?” she muttered, her voice so shy like a child.

He smiled.

“I’m sure. If it was your daughter asking you to teach her how to wield a sword, would you help her out?”

She nodded.

“Of course I would.”

“Then I’m sure Lady Missandra will help you with cooking too. So just go.”

“You mean... now?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “If you borrow Dran or Cece, you could even be in the Dragon Empire shortly after nightfall. I can cover your morning shift, and I’m pretty sure no one will complain about you taking a day or two off to go home, you deserve it. I’ll let Cessilia know, if you’re worried.”

Tessandra hesitated. Obviously, she didn’t mind going home, and the dragon ride would be a breeze. She was only uncertain because it was so sudden, but there was no way her parents wouldn’t welcome her; her father had even asked her to visit more often multiple times. Sabael chuckled, and put a quick kiss on her lips.

“Come on, I’ll help you pack. Just consider it a little overdue vacation.”

“You don’t want to come?”

“No, my love, we can’t both suddenly go, one of us has to keep working. Plus, you need this alone time with your mom. I would have loved to visit them, but this is something you must do for you.”

“...Why do I have a feeling you’re pushing me out?” she pouted.

“Well, maybe I’m really tired of fish beignets,” he chuckled.

She slapped his shoulder, but he only laughed it off, and they both moved to gather a few of her things into a bag. She really didn’t need much to go home, her parents’ house still had her bedroom ready for her to visit anytime. He could feel Tessandra was still nervous while grabbing her few personal belongings, but he tried to comfort her.

“This will do you some good,” he insisted. “You know it’s not just about the cooking.”

She nodded, a bit more determined. This wasn’t the first time Tessandra had voiced her insecurities nor mentioned having children. Her cousin having her first baby had definitely triggered something in her mind, but for some reason, they had never really talked about it seriously, and she was always dodging the subject when he tried to scratch past the surface. He knew something was holding her back, and after a while, it had become clear it wasn’t something she could resolve here in the Eastern Kingdom. He didn’t need to pry too much into her relationship with her mother. He knew she could sort it out by herself, she only needed that small push.

They walked out of their house, and Tessandra glanced up at the sky. It was a perfect, clear night for a ride. She turned back to him, visibly nervous.

“I won’t be gone long,” she said. “I don’t want to let those idiot guards get relaxed just because I’m not around.”

“I don’t doubt that for a single second,” he smiled. “I’ll try to keep them in tight ranks until you come back, so just take the time you need, alright?”

She nodded, and he stepped forward, putting a quick kiss on her forehead.

“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “...I can be the one to improve my cooking if needed.”

She grimaced.

“No, I’ll do it. Alright... I’ll really come back soon.”

“Go.”

They exchanged another quick kiss, and Tessandra turned around, walking toward the south, past the bridge, where she’d probably call out Dran. Indeed, a few minutes later, he saw the dragon’s silhouette leaving the Capital’s sky.

Sabael sighed, and massaged his neck. At least now, he’d be a bit more free to do what the King had asked him to help with, without Tessandra prying into it... but first, he needed to go to the family house and have a serious talk with his sisters.

“You should have seen the look on Sab’s face!” Tessandra exulted. “I had never seen him like this, he ate the whole plate and didn’t even leave a single crumb! I could have won a hundred battles and not been prouder of myself. Mom’s recipe is dragon-proof, I swear.”

Cessilia smiled, happy for her cousin. Since Tessandra came back a couple of days before, she had been looking incredibly happy and energetic. She was now all too happy to tell Cessilia about every meal she had prepared, following her mother’s instructions, but seeing Sabael content was probably her biggest reward. For the first time, she was even following Cessilia to her herb garden, curious about which plants she would actually be able to use for cooking. It was quite a big change, and both Cessilia and Nana were happy to witness her happiness first hand.

“Did your mother teach you a lot of different recipes?” Nana asked, curious. “You only went back for a few days!”

“I felt bad leaving Sab alone any longer,” Tessandra grimaced. “Plus, my parents are always busy, even if they said otherwise while I was over... My mom still managed to teach me about a dozen though. Actually, she said it was the ones she learned the fastest, but she said it’s enough to begin with. They are surprisingly easy, and once I master them all, I’ll probably be good enough to cook anything and try new stuff. I think I’ll do better if I just try to improve by myself now. It’s always been the same with training too. Once I get the basic movements, I much prefer to train alone!”

“That’s good,” nodded Nana. “My mom is a good cook, but she has to cook for too many so she only does the simplest recipes. She always says it’s better to fill a stomach with a nourishing and simple meal rather than half-fill it with something too fancy! We always eat fish too, so I think she’s just mastered all the ways to cook it...”

“The recipes my mom gave me are more with meat, actually. I’ll probably need to do some hunting, but I do want to get better at cooking fish, it’s the main staple over here.”

“My mom would happily teach you!” said Nana. “She’s the best at cooking fish the simple and easy way!”

“With herbs, you can make it even better,” added Cessilia.

Tessandra nodded excitedly, and they walked a bit longer through Cessilia’s garden. It wasn’t as big as her mom’s herb garden back home, but Cessilia was a bit proud of the one she had grown from scratch over here. It was actually open to anyone who came to the castle, so any visitor could come and request some herbs. For now, she didn’t have enough that anyone could come and freely pick, but it was her goal to eventually. At the moment, Cessilia was more interested in growing as many herbs as she could, including the new ones she wasn’t familiar with before. Her cousins from the Hashat Family had been quite helpful with that. She had gotten much closer with Ishira, who was always happy to give her new herbs when their family got some, or to help her out when one flower was causing Cessilia trouble. It was just a couple of rooms in the castle that she had modified to use like a greenhouse, but there was a lot more Cessilia hoped to do to make everything there sustainable and abundant. Since she and Ashen had decided to open the lower floors of the castle to the public, she wanted to make sure everything there would be helpful in some way. So far, most citizens were too intimidated to come all the way here, but with time, she knew they would come.

“This one?” Tessandra asked, looking at a plant Cessilia had just described.

She nodded.

“The fresher, the better. It has a very faint sour taste and will go well with your fish or in any sauce. This plant is safe to use in any meal, and if you cut it very thinly, it makes a nice decoration.”

“I see...”

In her arms, Neridie suddenly made a little happy cry, her big green eyes attracted to one of the big and very colorful flowers in the greenhouse. Cessilia chuckled, and kissed her baby’s chubby cheek.

“Princess Neridie is so cute!” Nana exclaimed. “I can’t wait until she’s big enough to chat with us! Oh, I’ve found more children’s books to read to her!”

“She’s just three months old, Nana,” sighed Tessandra. “You’re lucky if she even recognizes your voice.”

“I really hope she does,” Nana frowned. “I just hope I will be a good godmother for her! I’m going to make sure she’s a very cultivated girl, and I’m confident I’ll be able to support her in any discipline!”

Tessandra rolled her eyes.

“Nana, Neridie won’t sit on the throne for at least a couple more decades. Let her breathe until then, you’re going to stun her with piles of books at this rate.”

“Oh my gods,” Nana panicked. “What do I do if she doesn’t like reading? What if she hates books because of me?”