Legends of Belariath

A Bard`s Memory of Empire

The 27th Year of The Ilfirian Empire

November 7
Sugar and Spice New Owners

No magic was used, but instead a broom and mop as Jinx cleaned the Sugar and Spice Shop. Tehya made note of –how- she was cleaning looking into the magical mirror, and wrote on the side of the journal, *she is not using magic* with a  tattletale  smile on her blue lips.

Naidra came in licking her lips smelling the sweet aroma coming from the inside of the shop. It was the perfect day, and she found the shop open, and fully stocked.

"Hi Jinx sweetie."

Naidra was there to work and she gave her friend a hug, and then reached for an apron. "Care to help me make some brownies?"

Jinx returned her hug and shook her head no.

"Nah, you know how bad I am at making sweets...You don't want them burned Naidra dear," and she continued to clean the counter.

 "I'll watch, and when the brownies are done I will sample the finished product," she said with a wink.  They continued to talk about an event coming up, while Naidra brought out some of the ingredients, bowls, and pans for the brownies.

Naidra poured the soft sifted sugar into the bowl and dropped a few egg yolks in that pooled over the sugar. A few ingredients were missing and she asked Jinx to get them in the midst of her cleaning.

 "Jinx dear would you get me the walnuts, butter, and milk please?"

She pulled out a vanilla bean from the jar on the counter and reached for a pot.

Meanwhile down the long twisted road by the river, Cynthiana began her journey back.

She had left the land of Valencia many years ago after giving her heart to a man who didn’t return her love. She headed along the river on her journey to her old shop, and expecting to find nothing but a dusty worn down stand.

Much to her surprise when she arrived, she seen someone move inside the shop. She walked closer, long blonde hair loosely bound against the small of her back, wearing a winter gown of soft velvet green. She approached the door and peeked through the window. Some things were different, but she had been gone for a long time.  The bittersweet scent of chocolate lured her inside, and she greeted Naidra, while Jinx was in the back storeroom getting the rest of the ingredients.

"Good Evening!"

 Naidra smiled and greeted her calling out to the back to Jinx.

"Jinx would you help this customer while I get these brownies going?"

She scraped the vanilla bean with a sharp knife and added it to the butter and sugar. Naidra was happy with her job, and while she mixed the ingredients her hips swayed while she hummed a tune.

Jinx came out with the ingredients in hand, and walked over to the woman.

"Hello ma'am, welcome to the Sugar and Spice, how might I help you this fine, but cold evening?"

She went behind the beautiful white marble counter, the front glass was completely flawless, and everything was very clean. In the display counter they had chocolate, brownies, candied apples, and marshmallows, and tiny individual cakes just made that morning.

Cynthiana stared into the display with her pretty blue eyes, and then looked up at Jinx.

 "Could you tell me who owns this lovely shop, please?"

Always polite, always poised, she ran her hand over the wood frame of the case while talking to her.

Naidra pulled the mix from the fire and placed it on the counter to cool for her to add the melted chocolate while she walked to the doorway of the kitchen with a smile. She had her long black hair pinned up, and her black silk dress covered with an apron, high black boots completed her outfit. Just like the shop’s appearance, Naidra was dressed to perfection.

Jinx looked a little puzzled, "Well it is owned by Lady Christine Daae. She is a noble in Nanthalion. My name is Jinx, and I'm the assistant manager here, and our manager is Naidra."

She motioned over towards the kitchen door so Cynthiana could see Naidra busy at work.

"Do you need to speak to her?"

Cynthiana drew her brows together for a moment at the mention of a 'Noble'. The only other noble she had dealt with almost destroyed her, however the expression quickly passed.

 "If you are both busy with the shop, I do understand, however when you have a moment I wish to speak with both of you concerning this shop."

Naidra walked into the room and offered a friendly smile to Cynthiana "I'm Naidra as Jinx here mentioned maybe I can help?"

She leaned against the counter "We have some time, I was just baking some brownies...why don’t you join us in the back, we have a little table there and we can have some tea and talk?

Jinx laughed and volunteered to make the tea.  "Now tea I can make! Please ma'am, come with us and we can discuss whatever you like."

Cynthiana smiled, they both seemed so polite, and they moved to the back room to have some tea.

While Jinx prepared the tea, Naidra sat down with Cynthia and called out to Jinx to bring in some of those little cakes she made in the morning along with the tea.

She asked Cynthiana, "Aren’t you the one who did all the work in this shop? It was owned by Chocolates to Cherish, and we dealt with her, and cleaned the shop up. We hope we didn’t upset you by taking it over without talking to you. We didn’t know you existed to be honest."

Jinx walked over setting tea and cakes on the table before sitting herself.

 "You're the owner? Like Naidra said, we happened upon the store. We were walking around Valencia one day and noticed it. We did a little poking around Nanthalion to find out about it, and began plans to reopen, when Lady Christine Daae came to us and told us she owned it. We spent a lot of time cleaning it, and restocking. We finally finished and have been open for awhile, and are becoming quite popular."

Jinx was quite excited, telling her about an upcoming event they were running with Adrienna that month, and they chatted for a short time.

Cynthiana shook her head listening.

"I must admit I left unexpected and quite honestly I didn’t have plans to return, but after years of being away, I thought to venture to this land once more. What you have done is very beautiful, but as for ownership, I do not recall giving it to Chocolates to Cherish. You both have more than have my blessing. I must admit I do not care greatly for the Nobles as only one has ever treated me with respect and kindness."

Naidra listened and smiled passing out the cakes she had just made in the morning.

"Thank you we love this little shop it’s so unique, and we tried to keep as much of the things we could salvage. Though I must admit it was quite damaged, and looked like no one had been here for some time when we found it."

It was a warm little chat, and the tea was laced with honey. They stirred their cups with the sound of spoon against china while filling Cynthiana in on the facts.

"So you say you never transferred ownership...then I guess that makes you our boss…that is if you still hold the deed to the place, and want to keep it. I don’t know what your plans are, but if you wouldn’t mind, Jinx and I have wanted to see about taking ownership of the store for some time and have grand plans for the place."

Jinx looked utterly shocked, but stood quiet hearing the fact the noblewoman Christine Dae had stretched the truth perhaps. Once she thought she may have killed the real owner, but she passed on that thought not sure at all.  She nibbled at her lips, and crossed her legs sipping her tea while listening.

Cynthiana sat there thinking the matter over and made a decision.

"As long as I might come and bake ever so often, then…yes… I will sign the deed over to you. This place was my salvation during a time I thought I might fade from this world."

It then hit her, "Oh my, where are my manners?" She extended her hand.

"I am Cynthiana, but most do call me Cyn. I would like to hear of these grand plans however, I commissioned this building from every nail and board, to even that swan." She motioned behind her, "I made that, and she pointed to the swan proudly.

Naidra extended her hand and smiled. "It’s a pleasure to meet you Cyn, and our kitchens are yours anytime you want to use them. This place was a salvation for us since we were both lost with no purpose. This place brought us together, and gave us a purpose in life."

She told her new friend with tears welling in her eyes. "It was that swan in the window that drew us to the shop, and it looked so lonely sitting there all alone."

Jinx stared at her before taking her hand and shaking it with excitement.

"Naidra's right...We had so much time on our hands, and so little to do. We saw the shop and the beauty beneath the dust. We wanted to see if we could bring it back, and we have. It's been a lot of fun and it brings many to Valencia now. Our event this month has already been approved by the viceroy, and we have people signing up."

 Jinx set her teacup down and continued. "Having the deed would help quite a bit with some ideas because, Lady Christine Daae did not approve of some of our ideas saying they were not appropriate. I wasn't sure what she meant, since this land is anything but prim and proper."

She said that with a wink to Cyn. "It is a pleasure and honor to meet you Miss Cyn. Like Naidra said feel free to use the kitchens at any time! Though, let me tell you before you get surprised… we have a shop slave and her name is Pink. She is the beautiful color of chocolate… a catgirl."

Cynthiana listened quietly to both of them speaking, and gave a nod, "I have not cooked in a very long time, but I must admit, I have missed it."

Her attention turned to Jinx, "Well, you don’t have to worry no more about that, for this is your shop." Without another moment lost she rose from her seat and began to move across the floor, counting the stones beneath her footing.

 "Actually, the deed has been very close."

A turn here, a pivot there, until she found herself towards the back corner of the shop, and eased into a crouch sliding her finger into a nook in the wall, easing something out.

She had a unique laugh, and she pulled the deed out holding it in her hand.

"Well …I will be" she said smiling brightly at Jinx. "It was here all along."

Jinx stared at what she did, not knowing that hidden portion of the shop existed and immediately made note of it.

"Wow, I never...Can I see it?" she asked, hoping to read it for a minute. She still couldn’t believe the fortune of the REAL owner coming out of nowhere, and liking the way they had been running the store.

Cynthiana nodded and offered it to Jinx, once the seal of the swan was broken it detailed the ownership of the bakery and at the bottom it was marked with Stormbringer's seal. The seal was a dragon with a lightning bolt going through it, definitely the seal of Stormbringer.

Cynthiana explained how the past began to haunt her and that is why she left, while both Naidra and Jinx looked at the deed. Neither one of them thought their dream actually was coming true and they sat back smiling at Cyn.

 "So...how do we do this? Should we send a notice to the Emperor? Or...do we simply sign our names? I’m not sure how something like this happens legally."

 Cynthiana explained while taking her seat.

"Well that is a legal document signed by the Emperor himself, and I being the legal owner of the shop, I would think it to be simple. I will sign the deed to you both fifty- fifty and from there, it is in your hands to decide. It has been far too long to recall what was agreed or not agreed upon with Chocolates to Cherish, and quite honestly if the Noble in question had not lifted a finger in aid and had spoken orders rather than assisting, well, then she does not deserve this place. This shop was to be a place that all can gather… a safe place."

She was not one for dramatics or politics.

"If she holds issue, you send her my way and I will be more than happy to explain my reasoning. Besides, I have always thought Nobles to have more than their share of things."

Naidra giggled, and left her chair to go over to Cynthiana and hug her tight "Oh thank you this means the world to us."

She had tears of happiness in her eyes their dream was becoming a reality. Jinx was a bit awestricken that their dream was right before them and just sat there trying to remain calm and bit her lip. Soon her eyes began to tear.

Jinx leaned over and gave Cynthiana a hug too offering her a pace to stay on cold nights, but Cynthiana allowed them to hug and kiss her even though she was usually restrained from showing outward affection.

She returned their affection with only a smile, and signed the deed over to them.

"I am happy to have made your dreams come true, for it is a good dream… one I knew well."

She handed the deed over to them to sign.

Jinx got up and went over to a drawer, taking out a bottle of ink and a quill making a silent vow to thank Gaea in the forest later.

Naidra pulled out her key ring and handed her a key. "This is the key so you can use the kitchens whenever you please" she offered.

Cynthiana accepted the key and placed it in the small pouch on her hip, before taking up ink and quill. Within a matter of a few ink strokes, she had signed the deed, placing the new names and the percentage to the women upon it.

"There you are. It's been wonderful meeting you both, but I think I shall retire. Do keep me abreast of the changes you plan to make. I will enjoy watching this place thrive as much as you."

Cynthiana got up and said her goodbyes to both women and left the shop, heading towards a familiar sleeping place within the lake. She was sure the swan found a home again.

Tehya peered into the mirror making sure that it was Stormbringer’s seal, and it was the same design as her pin. Within the circled seal there was the green dragon with the lightning bolt going through it.  She remembered that name Christine Dae, and made a mental note of what she just witnessed. If the noble did represent the shop as being hers, Tehya would begin her infamous investigating.

On the bottom of the page of the journal she wrote the numerical code she devised for the Emperor, and only he would be able to read it. In faint letters at the bottom of the journal was…

Numerical Code  C. Dae  1-8- and  then 9

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