The Vampire & Her Witch

While Ashlynn wasn’t entirely comfortable with Isabell’s rejection of fire, there was little to be gained from pressing her concerns now. Isabell still had much to learn in order to safely harness the extraordinary strength she’d gained in the power of wood, and she had enough ability in the remaining elements to use them as a sort of wading pool where she couldn’t make significant waves while she learned about the duality of each of the elements.

Hopefully, by the time Isabell was ready to step forward as a powerful witch, standing on her own two feet, she would be more open to the nuances of her gifts.

”This is, mmm, this is very good,” Isabell said as she nibbled on the piping hot fish that had barely had time to cool after Ashlynn set it on a plate for her. The Hemlock Witch wasn’t shy about digging in as soon as Ashlynn presented the dish, and the sounds of her smooth, methodical movements as she disassembled the tender, flaky fish into bite-sized morsels filled the air in between bites as she devoured the first filet on her plate with barely a pause.

”I thought it would have been spicier from the aroma when it was cooking,” the engineer said, retrieving a folded napkin from the table to wipe away a trace of orange colored juices from her chin. ”There’s plenty of heat and warmth to it, but it isn’t like any of the spiced fish dishes back home,” she said.

”Heila doesn’t like spicy things,” Ashlynn said with an affectionate-looking smile. ”So we asked Jacques to modify the recipe for us to use a different ground pepper that isn’t as hot as the red bonnet peppers that he usually uses in a dish like this. There’s enough heat to be pleasant, but not enough to leave you gulping at the tea or lemonade.”

”Do you think that, one day, I could go to the Briar to meet these friends of yours?” Isabell asked. ”It seems like you learned so much from them and... I’d like to at least visit. All of the places you’ve gone beyond the mountains, really,” she added after taking another bite of fish. ”I want to see the world that has been closed to us for so long.”

”But more than that, I want to meet the people who helped you when none of the rest of us even knew what had happened to you,” the silver-haired engineer added, setting down her knife and fork as her tone grew more solemn. ”I’m sure your parents would want to thank them too.”

”I’m sure that Amahle would welcome you into the Briar,” Ashlynn said. ”She’s always intended for it to be a safe haven for witches who need one. Unless you do something to betray her trust, I can’t imagine her turning you away.”

”As to my parents, I still don’t know about how they’ll feel about my new world and the friends I’ve made or the person I’ve pledged my life to,” Ashlynn said with a heavy sigh. ”I think, if my parents could say anything to Amahle or Nyri, they would ask them both to take me far away from the frontier where the wars will be fought.”

”Why?” Isabell asked in open-mouthed shock. ”If I’d thought I’d lost one of my little ones, and then I found out they were still alive, and that there were people in the world who helped to keep them safe,” she said, shuddering in mild horror at the notion of either of her children enduring what Ashlynn had.

”I don’t think I’d ever let go of my children again,” Isabell said. ”And I’d do everything I could to thank the people who kept them safe.”

Already, she was wrestling with whether or not she should leave Issandra to her apprenticeship with the Shipwrights, or if she should summon her here along with Casquas and Lassian. As much as she hated the idea of tearing her daughter away from the position she’d studied so hard to earn and fought so hard to prove she could handle, the Kingdom of Gaal wasn’t likely to remain a safe place for the family of a witch.

After what she had experienced since coming to the frontier, Isabell felt increasingly certain that it had been a mistake to leave her children behind, and even though she hadn’t faced anything half as tragic as what Ashlynn had endured, she still couldn’t wait to be reunited with her little ones.

So when she tried to imagine the idea of sending her children far away from her in order to keep them safe... It was a little hard for her to imagine. And after everything Ashlynn’s parents had done to keep their daughter close to them in a warm, loving home, she had a hard time seeing them as the sort of parents who would push their daughter away, even if it was ’for her own good.’

”If my parents were just common people, I’m sure they’d be the same,” Ashlynn agreed, poking at the remnants of fish on her plate as her appetite faded away. ”But they aren’t just people. Father would want to send me far away because he’d realize that one day, he might have to raise an army for the next Crusade, to lead an army against me or risk the Church declaring him and everyone who is loyal to him a heretic.”

”And Mother,” Ashlynn said with a heavy sigh. ”Hiding me away for so long must have been hard on her. She did everything she could to keep me safe. I’m sure that, when the Church brings their Holy War, she’d prefer that I was far away from it instead of facing the danger directly.”

”You’ve always been very smart, Ashlynn,” Isabell said, reaching across the table to hold Ashlynn’s hands. The way Ashlynn was speaking, laying things out so methodically, reminded her for a moment of Jocelynn. Once the younger sister was able to set aside her infatuation, her mind was keen and quick, and she had the same knack that Ashlynn did for putting herself in someone else’s shoes and thinking about what they would do.

”But sometimes, you let that cleverness get in the way,” she added, giving the younger woman’s hands a gentle squeeze. ”They’re your parents. They love you. They’ll want to see you again, I’m sure of it. So, don’t make any decisions for them until you’ve had a chance to speak to them, all right?”