Chapter 967 Chapter 966: We Just Got A Letter
Kat PoV
"How much longer on that flower, Kat? We still have..."
Jahi counted the remaining flowers and handed one of them to Anput, who began to work on getting it reattached to the now glossy and emerald green steel stem that she had forged, the coloration coming from some of the herbs she had used for the bath and making this intricate ornament even more beautiful than it would be originally.
"Three more to go after that one. Though Anput is still waiting for the last sheet of metal to be forged, so there is that. Is it coming along well though? 'Cause this one looks really pretty. Almost the same color as Lakshmi's skin..."
"Yes... The runes needed aren't that complex, it's just awkward to enchant the inside of these flowers... and the runes need to be small too, so there is that. But again... not hard, just odd. It is refreshing to know I don't need to worry about the 'mana capacity' of the metal though, since these enchantments aren't that difficult or that draining."
The Magic Pen in my hands slowly and methodically traced out the runes required to make this bell flower all the more gorgeous and impressive to gaze upon, what with the ethereal, magical glow as well as the utility enchantments to keep it clean, sparkly and sturdy.
I had already finished the one for Lakshmi, which was - as Jahi had said - a pretty, soft purple color that really did match her skin tone, while the second one was still undecided, but it was a deep, vibrant red that glistened in a way that made it almost seem like it was going to be dripping blood...
"I think this one should be Kat's, for... reasons. And the pink one in your hand, I think that should be Alessandra's or Leone's. Both of you are far more 'girly' than the rest of us, and it suits you well."
The Vampire looked up briefly from the bowl she was concentrating on, the deep sapphire blue flower slowly turning brighter as she tried to match it to Jahi's skin, and briefly she frowned as she tried to determine if that was a slight against her or not... before just shrugging and returning to the bowl, rotating the flower carefully.
"So we have flowers that are red, pink, purple, blue, yellow and..?"
I ignored Jahi and instead looked towards Anput, who was multitasking as she gently folded the metal back into place after heating it, all while she kept an eye on the metal inside the forge that was getting up to a high temperature for her to work with and 'weld' with.
That would annoy me a little if this time felt wasted, but I wasn't going to try and guilt them into loving this either; I didn't really know them, and while I wanted to get to know them and wanted to start caring for them, at the moment...
I had no relation to these people outside of them being the parents of someone I considered a parent, and while that sounded heartless and selfish, it was the truth; I had no reason to care for them.
That didn't mean I didn't want to of course; Anput, Leone and I all wanted them to like us, since their flesh and blood Granddaughter was the woman we had decided we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with, so they were supposed to be in our lives as well...
The same way that Mother Ria, Mom, the Sultana, Lady Kio, the Empress, and all of the Empress' wives were supposed to be in our lives as well as extended family; that was what was supposed to happen when you married someone.
A merging of your family and theirs... except for Jahi and I, that seemed to have been taken too literally by Mother and Jahi's parents... not that I was complaining of course, despite it being a tad weird.
Before I could continue my musings though, someone knocked on the door and dragged us all out of our trances, surprising us before we watched the door open up, revealing the ever domineering figure of the Empress as she curiously looked around.
"One of the servants did say you were all together in a small room... and considering I didn't hear much, I took a risk. Sorry. But, I felt like it was needed. This came in."
She raised her hand and slowly waved around an envelope, which made us all blink before Leone softly cursed, the Vampire yanking the flower out of the mixture and heating it up to dry it off as quickly as she could.
"Did I interrupt something? Apologies."
"Nothing important, no. Grandma and Grandpa are asleep, so we wanted to get out of the room to let them rest. Decided to make something for them whilst we waited. Who's the letter from?"
Jahi glanced at the pocket watch before returning her gaze to the Empress, who nodded as she studied the singular dangling flower on the stem before looking at the others, which were waiting for final touches before they too would be hung on the stem.
"It's from Lilith. Sadly, it seems she is either very far away, or is currently in the midst of something. She informed me that she won't be arriving for at least a month now, and to ensure that when she does get here, you, your sister, and your Mom are all present at the Palace. She didn't give me an exact date, only a loose timeframe. Is that a lily of the valley? Suitable. I think you'll find that Alamar will quite like this gift. Minuvae as well, but Alamar in particular. He has a garden that he is quite proud of..."