Chapter 417

417 Made With Love

Skye was finally sleeping soundly when she was awoken to Peggy’s shrill voice yelling; “Fer Gods’ sakes! Is it too much to ask that ye cover yer selves?! I dinna need to see someone else’s arse first thing in the mornin’!”

Tidas smirked as he grabbed the sheet from the bed, wrapped himself in it, then said; “Just because mine is perkier than yours-OUCH! What the Hell!”

Peggy had just put their clothes out, and Tidas’ belt was sitting right on top of his pile. She didn’t hit him hard, but the way she had tweaked her wrist made the tip snap back, giving it a bit of a sting. As the two started to yell at each other, Skye crawled out of bed, and used her Shaman trait to wake herself up.

She didn’t want them to see the bags under her eyes that were most definitely there from her tossing and turning for most of the night. Skye had been so worried about Tidas getting enough sleep that she hadn’t considered it to be an issue for herself. She hadn’t had any issues with sleeping lately, so she thought that her problems had passed.

Towards the end of their stay in the Highlands, Skye had been waking up in the middle of the night. She never remembered the dream that had caused it, and always fell back asleep after. It wasn’t until last night that it had gotten bad. Every time she drifted off, something woke her up again..

‘The only time this happens is when I have really bad dreams.. Ones I Don’t wanna remember. Ones like I had on our honeymoon.. But why canna I recall the dreams? Are they that bad?’

Before Skye could continue with her thoughts, Peggy asked if they were interested in eating before they set out for the day. She knew that they had a ridiculous amount of running around to do before the feast tonight, and didn’t want them starting the day off on empty stomachs..

“I had the chefs whip up some special pancakes that are extra-tasty with the Dragonhorn apple butter, plus omelettes, and a plate of bacon..”

Tidas looked at Skye pleadingly; “Well, if Peggy already went through the trouble..”

.....

Skye grinned at him; “You just want the bacon.”

“...I will not deny that,” Tidas said with a smile, then grabbed his clothes, and dashed into the bathroom as he added; “But what I said sounded better!”

Skye and Peggy both chuckled as they set out her clothes, then separated. Skye went and joined Tidas for a semi-quick shower, while Peggy headed down to the kitchens to get their food. She was excited to see Skye’s face when she tried the pancakes..

Peggy had helped in the kitchens in both the palace, and at Moonstone Castle while the two were away. She had preoccupied herself with a variety of projects, but coming up with new recipes for Skye and Tidas to taste was her favorite. Only a few had gained her approval, and the pancake batter was one of them.

Magnus had been Peggy’s guinea pig for them, and he had instantly loved them. He was ecstatic to be the first to try them, and ate an entire stack to himself. As she was cleaning up, Peggy had nearly fainted when Prince Marco came into his quarters; supposedly lured by the smell.

When he saw the few left on Peggy’s tray, Marco walked over, grabbed one with his hand, then took a bite of it without a word. He wolfed it down, then asked if the kitchen had any more. Magnus explained that they were Peggy’s test batch, and that he would have to ask her for more.

It was shortly after that day that Peggy went to Moonshire. Marco had attempted to be friendly towards her twice, which set off warning bells for the veteran servant. She knew what kind of man he was without Skye telling her anything: servants saw everything, and warned each other in turn.

As soon as Peggy had realized that she was on his radar, she wanted to be as far away from Marco as she could get.. ‘ Last thing I need is fer that bastard to try and use me against me bairn.. I’ve never been alone with him, so I dinna think he’s used his magic on me, but Ima not gonna tempt fate by stickin’ around..’

After that, she traveled to Moonshire with Skye’s parents, and only went to the capital when requested by Magnus. He had grown fond of her cooking and company while Skye was away, especially since she was one of the few people that knew Sorcha...

Peggy shook the thoughts from her head as she and two other servants approached Skye and Tidas’ quarters. She had purposely taken her time, knowing that the two actually took longer to bathe together than apart. It made her happy to see her bairn loved so dearly, but.. ‘They Still need to learn that there’s a time and place fer that!’

Telling the two with her to wait a moment, Peggy went in to make sure that Skye and Tidas were dressed. They were chatting about the plans for their day as they tightened the straps on their boots together. Peggy had set out one of Skye’s riding outfits, since she knew she’d be running around.

It was just hitting six in the morning when Peggy opened the door for the other servants to bring the food in. Skye and Tidas were instantly sitting in their seats, waiting for their food to be brought over..

The omelettes were plump, and the bacon crispy; just the way Tidas liked them. When he cut into the omelette; cheese, mushrooms, onions, chicken, and chopped green peppers spilled out. He dipped the bacon into the filling, then made happy noises as he crunched down.

Skye had immediately gone for the pancakes. She could clearly see chunks of apples and raisins in the batter, and spread the apple butter generously on top. As she bit down, the she realized that little pockets of brown sugar were mixed into the pancake batter, too.

The cinnamon flavor from the apple butter blended perfectly with the sweetness from the fruit and brown sugar. Skye literally squealed with delight as she devoured a sizable stack of eight. Once Tidas tasted them, he ate about six on top of two omelettes, and over half of the pile of bacon.

They were so delicious that Skye insisted that the other two servants try them as well. They hesitated at first, but Peggy assured them that Skye and Tidas were nothing like other nobles and lords they may have met. They were two younger lassies, and had only been at the palace a few months, so ‘kind nobles’ weren’t something that they were used to.

After everyone had finished eating, the two happily took the plates away while Skye, Tidas, and Peggy headed out of the room. Peggy had planned on accompanying them up to the Medical Ward, but Magnus had apparently smelled Peggy’s pancakes, and was requesting some for himself. After she bid the two farewell until the late afternoon, Peggy took off to answer the King’s request.

“She should’ve just gave the recipe to the chefs to begin with,” Tidas commented as the trudged up the stairs.

Skye chuckled lightly; “If she did that, then everyone would’ve tasted them before we did.”

“My father did,” Tidas said with a touch of jealousy to his voice.

Skye chuckled again as they climbed; “Ya ken that she was technically usin’ the King as a test rat, right? Ta see if We would like it?”

Tidas scoffed; “You mean to see if You would like it. She tolerates me, but she loves you.”

As they reached the top of the stairs, Skye replied; “She loves me more, aye, but she loves ya too, husband. If she didn’t, then there wouldna been any bacon at breakfast this mornin’. Now, come along dearest. Ima sure Doctor Gohan Tis around here somewhere.”

Tidas grinned to himself as he followed after his wife..

As they rounded the corner to the top floor of the palace, Skye nearly ran right into Doctor Stein. When she touched his chest, a cold, dark aura pushed back at hers; almost as if it were instinct. He stepped back several steps, apologizing profusely as he went around them, then down the stairs.

Tidas coughed, unable to hold back his disgust; “Was that Doctor Stein?! He looked almost as bad as he smelled.. What the hell happened to him?”

Skye shook her head with a dismayed expression; “I dinna know, but I just got a really weird feelin’ from him.. A dark feelin’..”

Tidas glanced at Skye, then looked towards the way that the doctor had gone; “Are you serious?! But how?! He’s not a Dark mage: he’s a Shaman! How can he-”

“Have both?” Skye asked for him; “I don’t know.. How do I have more than one trait? How does the King of the Sync Kingdom? Maybe tis not as uncommon as we thought?”

“Oh, it is rare,” Doctor Gohan answered from inside the room closest to them; “Who do you think has more than one trait?”

Skye shook her head; “Never ya mind that! How are ya Doc?!”

Doctor Gohan grinned broadly at Skye as they hugged, and he replied; “I’m doing well, thank you Skye. How are you two? I hear a congratulations in in order. I heard that you have brought peace to the north.”

Skye smiled and told the good doctor a short version of their time in the Highlands. She focused on things that would interest Tien like their technological and medical advancements. By the time she had finished her rounds, Tidas had to practically drag Skye away from Doctor Gohan.

She promised to come see him in a couple of days to talk ‘off the clock’, as she put it. The Medical Ward wasn’t full often, so her rounds there usually only took around twenty minutes to half an hour. Once they had left the ward, they saw Shasta and Lawrence on their way outside..

Shasta practically jumped on Skye as Tidas and Lawrence shook each other’s hands firmly. As Tidas turned to say hello to Shasta, she smacked the side of his head, then went in for a hug. Lawrence crinkled his noise in annoyance, but knew the connection that his brother had with his future wife was platonic..

‘Still, it annoys me..’

As the two parted, Lawrence linked his arm with Shasta’s, making Skye giggle. She had caught his surly expression from before, and knew all too well his irrational feelings. She nodded knowingly at him, which prompted Lawrence to clear his throat and ask; “Where are you two off to so early?”