Dawning Skye

429 A Taste Of Home

Peggy rushed about with a wide grin on her face. Although she wasn’t expecting the King to show up for lunch, she had anticipated that Skye would have more guests than just the two tiny Fae. The two had been missed by many, and Peggy knew that the next few weeks would be packed with people trying to get their voices heard..

Skye had not only her new career as a RMC member, but could lead any kind of life that she wanted. Her intelligence, manners, personal wealth, and powers afforded her the luxury, but she was never one to focus on a singular thing. From a bairn to now: Skye always had multiple endeavors happening all at once.

As Peggy shuffled about rotating trays, bowls, and pots of food, she watched as her bairn wiped a drop of drool from her mouth..

“Did ya give the kitchens yer recipes?!” Skye practically yelled as she was handed a bowl of Peggy’s Signature Salad.

The old servant smiled; “Not all of them, and they don’t know all of the spices I use, either. Remember when I went ta get tea while we were workin’ earlier? I added me own kinda magic then.”

Skye and most of the others laughed as the food was plated. Peggy had made many of Skye’s favorites, including Chicken à la King. She scarfed her serving of salad in record time, then moved on to baked sweet potatoes and squash. After a decent pile, Skye sat impatiently waiting for the main course..

After Peggy had handed her a plate with five pastry shells on it, Skye took the lion’s share of the Chicken à la King. Right as the empty pot reached Magnus, Peggy appeared at his side with a fresh one. He beamed at her, thanked her for the food, then leaned back to let her pour it over his two shells.

Everyone gushed over the creaminess of the sauce, and the flakiness of the pastries. Little, then loud noises of happiness escaped each person as they tried the dish. It was heavy, and usually a dinner meal, but Peggy wanted to spoil Skye since she had missed her so much, and food was the best way to do it.

“I have a special treat fer dessert: candied pecan ice cream. Homemade!” Peggy announced, nearly making Skye choke on her bite.

.....

She stood up and hugged Peggy without warning while saying; “THANK YOU! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Yer the Best, Peg!”

“Why is she so excited?” Magnus asked before shoving a bite of the à la king into his mouth.

“Because candied pecans are one of her favorite sweets,” Tidas answered with a slightly smug expression on his face.

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Seeing her husband’s clout, Skye smirked and asked; “If ya know they be me favorite, then why don’t cha buy ’em fer me on occasion?”

Tidas’ grin grew; “I have before, if you recall..”

Skye’s cheeks flushed prettily; “Aye, ya did...”

As the two made eyes at each other, Peggy cleared her throat, then stated; “I’ll go get the desserts since the foods nearly gone.”

As Skye, Tidas, Shasta, Lawrence, Magnus, and Maevis all sat at the tiny table, Peggy left the room to grab the dessert. When she pulled the door closed, Shasta saw the same smile that she’d had on her face since Skye had come home. It made her grin in turn, finally seeing Peggy in high spirits again.

Shasta looked at Skye while still grinning and said; “You know, she Really missed you. Her and Genie were driving everyone insane there for a bit.. Well, at least me.”

“No, it was everyone, dear. Not Peggy though, just Genie. He just pops up in the most random places sometimes. It’s...unnerving,” Lawrence added as he set his fork on top of his plate, then stacked it in the center with everyone else’s.

Skye chuckled; “Well, he is a ninja.. And he does like ta mess wit people, so he was probably doin’ it on purpose.”

“....Knew it,” Lawrence muttered, which made everyone at the table laugh.

As the group discussed random things, other servants came and cleared the dishes away. A young lass no more than twelve came into the room, set the bowls and spoons for the ice cream down, curtsied, then left without a word. Both Skye and Tidas wondered why she was working, but the lass was gone before they had a chance to ask.

As everyone got back to talking, the two made a mental note to find out from Peggy later what the girl’s story was..

As the conversation carried on, Tidas announced that while Lawrence’s son Victor may be his actual Best Man; Tidas still wanted to throw him a bachelor’s party. The two brothers exchanged a smirk that was unmistakable for anything else..

Shasta’s ears had instantly flattened, so Skye smirked before countering; “So long as yer good wit us havin’ a bachelorette party ta match.”

Lawrence’s quirked an eyebrow; “What do you mean?”

“Speakin’ plainly: if you men get strippers, then so do we,” Skye replied like it was a common conversation.

“That’s not a thing,” Lawrence stated with a furrowed brow.

“Oh, it’s a thing,” Skye replied.

“And how would you know it’s a thing?” Tidas asked with an equally interested expression.

“Because I know things,” Skye stated while not looking at her husband’s face.

Tidas’ face turned serious; “HOW do you know that?”

Skye’s face was red as she stammered; “What?! It said Magic Mike on the front! I thought it was an educational movie! I thought he was a mage-Wait, how do you know about it?!”

Tidas crossed his arms as he coughed a little; “I may or may not have thought simila-ya know what? Murdoc is an Asshole, and that’s all I’ll say about it..”

Skye’s eyes went wide as she tried not to laugh; “Oh, no, no, no husband.. Ya got a lot ta say-”

“Okay, you two! Save your squabbling for later,” Maevis squeaked out as she tried to look serious.

“What’s a Movie? Does this Mike fellow make them?” Magnus asked, not really following the conversation.

Skye and Tidas burst out in laughter, confusing everyone, but they all smiled. The two were infectious with their good mood, and the room was full of joviality when Peggy came back. She was smiling as well, but there was something forced about it that Skye immediately noticed.

As she came over, everyone saw Nicolas fluttering in behind her. He had the same kind of forced smile that Peggy had, which automatically made Skye ask if they were okay. Nic looked at Maevis and nodded, then flew over to the tiny table that she was sitting at.

As he sat down, Nic looked up at everyone with an apologetic expression; “I’m sorry for ruining the mood, but I just met with a contact, and I don’t think that this information can wait.. Sync had formed an alliance with Meccano. The Crowned Princess’ brother announced it two days ago.”

Magnus shot up out of his chair; “How Dare He! Victor is supposed to be family! How dare he betray us! If he wants a war, he’ll get one!”

Lawrence and Tidas jumped to their feet as Lawrence tried to reason with him; “Calm down, Father. We can’t just declare war without knowing the terms of their partnership. We have to have absolute cause to attack them, not just our pride.”

Magnus was about to snap at his son, but Tidas backed him by asking Nicolas; “Do you know if there’s a War Pact within the treaty? Or any of the terms?”

Nicolas sighed; “I was told that the way it’s worded is very broad, and that the only specifics pertained to their trade agreement. There is, however, a clause stating that they can basically ban together if their mutual interests are threatened. Which means if Alcon goes to war with either Meccano or Sync..”

“The other joins in,” Tidas finished for him; “Which means that Ital will get involved as well.. This could turn Very bad if we handle this poorly, Father. We need to have an emergency meeting with the nobles, and inform the Highlanders of the situation as well-”

“Do we want to give them a chance to rethink the treaty?” Lawrence asked with a sarcastic tone.

Skye barked a sharp laugh; “Are ya kiddin’? Danglin’ the chance fer a war in front of them is incentive ta sign.”

Lawrence blinked several times at Skye in astonishment before the MacArthur men collected their ice cream, and left Skye and Tidas’ quarters. Shasta, Skye, Maevis, Nicolas, and Peggy all got their scoops, then sat together a few moments absorbing what had just happened. The first thing that broke the heavy silence was Skye’s reaction to tasting the ice cream.

She knew that they were in the middle of a serious moment, but it was practically sacrilege to waste such deliciousness. As Skye savored the buttery undertone and sweetness of the treat, Skye asked Nic; “How did ya know that Meccano announced the treaty?”

Nic flashed a small grin; “we Fae are everywhere.”

“Oh, shut it, Nic,” Maevis stated with irritation and worry in her voice; “Give a real answer.”

“Fine! Take all the fun out of it,” Nicolas complained before explaining; “The Empress has spies in every human kingdom, in every human palace. Not much happens that Titania doesn’t know about.”

“And that be Celestia’s mother, correct?” Peggy asked as she took a bite of her creation.

“Aye,” Maevis answered; “She’s the actual ruler of all Fae, whereas Celestia just controls Warrick Forest. The only place that we Fae have issues getting into is the Sync Kingdom.. That king is a selfish, arrogant man, but he knows how to use what he’s got..”

Shasta perked up her ears; “What’s he got?”

Skye handed Peggy her empty bowl, thanked her, then replied; “The Celestial Key. It’s also called the Northern Star.”

Shasta looked at Nicolas; “Like the one from those Santa stories that you told Skye?”

Skye nodded; “Aye, that one.. Which ya never told me how ya lost it. Twas after yer fight wit Lord Herod, right?”

Nicolas and Maevis both looked down at the table beneath their feet as Nicolas replied; “Aye, it was, but a few decades after. Do you remember me telling you about the jewel he had? That was imbued with Dark magic?”

Skye nodded in the positive before Nicolas continued; “After he helped me beat Herod and save Yuletide, Krampus disappeared. I didn’t see him but once a year to retrieve the Star from him. A wee bit over hundred years ago, he refused to give me the Star.. Saying that humans didn’t deserve Yuletide, and that he would stop me from ever delivering presents again..”

“What happened?” Shasta asked as she propped herself up on her elbows on the table, and listened intently.

Nicolas sighed; “I’ll tell you, but I will warn you right now: there is no happy ending..”