Charlotte

I followed Mama to the kitchen, practically skipping the entire way.

“Must you be so… bouncy?” Mikaela asked, kneading her forehead. “You’re drawing stares from the servants…”

“Pretty sure it’s the humans in our party that are pulling the stares, sis,” I pointed out, waving to a horned maid who was peeking at us from around a corner. She squeaked upon realizing she’d been spotted and fled in a hurry.

“Leave your sister be, Mikaela,” Mama scolded - gently, of course, with a smile on her lips. “She’s just excited to be home. Though that said, I do wish you wouldn’t tease the maids, Charlotte. They have a hard enough job working for me to begin with.”

“I bet they do,” Singh muttered, glaring at Mama. “They’re probably terrified of displeasing you.”

“Probably,” Mama confirmed, letting out a sad sigh. “Though, in truth, it’s Abigail whose displeasure they should fear. She can actually be quite critical of the maids if she catches them slacking… Personally, I’d like it if they were a touch more comfortable around me… Alas, it seems my reputation as an unreasonable brat has yet to fade.”

“I think it’s perfectly normal for the help to be a little nervous around the literal queen of their entire species,” Mikaela remarked. Always quick to leap to Mama’s defense - though all it got her was a soft, sad smile.

“I suppose so… really though, it’d be more accurate to call Abigail the ruler these days. All I do is putter around making a mess of things…”

“That’s not true, Mama!” I protested. “You do lots of good stuff to support Mom and Dam in the background! Like prepping their lunches, and warming the bath for them before they get home, and making sure their favorite dishes are available when they’re in a bad mood, and all sorts of other things!”

“Thank you, Charlotte,” Mama said with a faint smile on her face, “but we both know the servants could do all that and more without me. Of course I know it makes a difference that it’s me - to them, at least - but I still can’t help but feel like I’m just getting in the way, sometimes…”

“Only because you’re way too hard on yourself,” Mikaela said, frowning.

“Yes, well… it seems we’ve arrived at the kitchen, haven’t we?” Saying so, she gestured to a door, hurrying on in without even waiting for an answer.

Mikaela and I shared a glance, before shaking our heads and following close behind.

“It’s pretty empty,” Singh remarked, glancing around. “I’m surprised you don’t have servants slaving away in here at all times of day.”

“Well, there’s usually someone here,” Mama admitted. “I suspect one of the maids heard we were coming, and got the room cleared for us. Hopefully out of thoughtfulness, over fear, but…” She shrugged. “Well, regardless, I suppose it’s time I got cooking. Who wants fries?”

My hand shot up immediately. “With melted cheddar cheese and brown gravy please!”

“Ugh…” Mikaela faked gagging. “Can’t you just eat them with ketchup like a normal person?!”

“Says the girl who salts her ketchup,” I teased back, sticking my tongue out at her.

“It’s the only way to ensure that every bite of fries has the right amount of salt!” she protested. “It’s not that weird… is it?”

“I’m not even sure what fries are,” Singh snarked. “Or ketchup. Still gonna go out on a limb and say it’s weird, though.”

“Not that weird,” Reckt volunteered. “I’ve had fries and ketchup at food festivals before. It’s a condiment made with tomatoes, right? Pretty sure it originated in the Tower, too.”

“More or less,” Mama confirmed. “Though its true origin lies in another world altogether… but I wouldn’t want to dismiss Lenora’s struggle in recreating it here in Solla, either.”

“Other world?” Singh asked. “What do you mean by other world?”

“A place called Earth,” Mama replied. “I have past life memories of living there…”

“Past life memories?” Singh pressed. “That’s… possible?”

“Not usually…” Mama said. “But with a goddess on your side and a brain built for eternity as an angel I suppose anything is possible. Regardless, it seems we’ve set our first course - fries! To be followed by… Hmm… how about protein? Burgers would likely suffice…”

“That sounds great, Mama!” I replied, backing up a few steps. Not because I didn’t wanna eat her cooking - Mama’s burgers were simple, but filling and good - but just because I sorta had an ulterior motive for agreeing to come back to the tower. “Um… I’m gonna go grab something from my room, okay?”

“If you’d like,” Mama replied, turning to me with a small smile on her lips. “Just be quick if you don’t want the food to get cold.”

“Of course, Mama!” I replied, turning and practically sprinting out of the room. Not because I was afraid of the food getting cold, mind you - more like afraid of the food not having time to get cold before everyone else ate it all!”

***

Mikaela

***

I watched Charlotte scuttle off with a frown. I could guess what she was going after, though why she hadn’t brought it with her when we’d first set out I had no clue.

“Everything alright, honey?” Mama asked, turning her attention fully towards me.

“It’s fine,” I replied, forcing myself to smile at her. “Just mildly worried about Charlotte.”

“She isn’t getting herself into trouble out there, is she?” Mama asked before shaking her head. “No, don’t tell me. I’m sure I’ll just end up wanting to interfere… this is meant to be your journey.”

“So does that mean you won’t help us if we mess it up?” I asked hesitantly.

“Of course I will,” Mama replied instantly. “But only if you ask. I think it’s important for you to take on the world yourself.”

“Do you think it’s important, or does Dam?” I all but accused her, narrowing my eyes.

“Both of us,” she replied, meeting my gaze. “And your Mom, besides. Though I’ll admit, your dam would have me be a bit tougher about it… Still, in the end we all agree - so long as nothing in this world can actually harm you, there’s no reason for me not to let you solve your own problems.”

“What if we cause trouble?” I asked, unable to help myself. “Like big, diplomatic trouble?”

“Well, I trust you not to do that,” Mama replied, a small smile on her lips. “I also trust you’d get it under control should the worst come to pass. If it is needed, know that your Mom is always willing to help with diplomacy.”

“What about you?” I asked, the words again slipping out before I could stop them. I knew what Mama would say even before she said it. I could see it in the way her lips twisted, and her eyes moved down.

“I can’t see any way I could really help you,” she confessed. “It’s true that I have access to divine magic, for all that I don’t want to use it and risk speeding up my apotheosis, but if it’s a problem that can be resolved through sheer power, I suspect you already have more than enough to use without me. Your Mom and Dam would be better for any situation I can imagine.”

“But what if I wanted your help in particular?” I asked, not quite knowing why. “What if I wanted you to be there for me?”

“I’ll always be there for you,” she replied, her voice soft. “Even once I’m no longer able to remain on the mortal plane, I’ll make an avatar if I must. What brings this on? …You’re not doubting my love for you, are you?”

I shook my head quickly, wanting to dispose of that notion before it could take root. “No, I just… I know you’d call Mom and Dam more accomplished, but you’re the one who’s always been there for us all our lives!”

“Only because I have less to do than the other two. It’s not as if Lucy or Abigail love you less, or wish to spend less time with you.”

“I know,” I hurriedly confirmed. “I know they love us. And always made time for us. But… I guess I’m something of a Mama’s girl in the end…?”

“Is that so?” Mama asked with a smile. I could see the warmth in her gaze as she looked at me. “You know, your friends might tease you for that.”

“I cast a privacy barrier,” I admitted, glancing over to Reckt and Singh. The latter was glaring at us, clearly trying to make out what we were saying, while the former was looking around uncomfortably. “I suppose that doesn’t make me the best host…”

“No,” Mama confirmed with a faint smile, “but I can forgive it just this once. Do take it down, though, won’t you? I want to enlist the aid of your friends.”

“Enlist their aid?” I parroted back at her. “What could they possibly do that you can’t?”

“Nothing. But what’s the point in us all being in the kitchen together if we’re not all going to contribute to it, hmm? It’ll make the food much tastier, too, I promise you.”

“Is that… some sort of metaphor?” I asked, frowning at Mama.

“If you want it to be, but I was meaning more literally. I find that making one’s own food leads to a better meal in the end rather than leaving it to a chef to guess what you want. Especially since I learned that the maids and cooks don’t share my eidetic memory… Did you know I used to give orders like ‘the exact same size as the steak you served last Tuesday, but at the doneness of the one served three months ago, and with the same amount of salt as the one you first made me’? And then I’d get all upset when the servants delivered me something ‘completely different.’ As if they could be expected to remember my orders well enough to even convey it to the poor chef I asked to make it.”

“Dam told me,” I admitted. She’d also told me that Mama had broken down and wept when she realized that no one else had her eidetic memory and that the servants hadn’t been trying to slight at all… Somehow I didn’t think Mama would appreciate me bringing that up right now, though.

“You know, I’m still not sure how long Abigail actually served as a maid, before I noticed her,” Mama admitted. “I can look back through my memories, of course, but I never paid enough attention to anyone else back then…”

“You’ve changed a lot, Mama.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Mama murmured before shaking her head. “Let’s stop getting side tracked. Drop the barrier and we’ll go collect your friends - we can hardly make the meal without them, after all.”

I nodded, letting the spell I’d surreptitiously cast drop as I turned  towards my… friends? “Who’s ready for burgers?”

“I’m more interested in that private conversation you were having,” Singh replied, narrowing her eyes. “Plotting to cook and eat us or something?”

“As if,” I said, glaring right back at her.

“Your meat would be far too gamey,” Mama said while looking at Singh with a critical eye.

Even Reckt flinched at that and I had to fight the urge not to roll my eyes. “Not helping, Mama!”

“No, I imagine not,” she admitted, “but I don’t think yelling at your companion will make me seem like less of a monster in her eyes.”

“Then… what do I do instead?” I asked pleadingly.

Mama blinked at me, likely not having expected me to take it so seriously. I hadn’t expected myself to take it so seriously. 

I just absolutely hated the way people treated her.

“Well…” Mama said, seeming to think for a long moment. “I suppose the best start is the one I already planned on - let’s get busy making dinner.”

I wanted to complain, to say that wasn’t enough and that we needed to do more to change people’s minds, both amongst demons and humans, but… Well, it was at that moment that Reckt’s stomach let out a rumble.

“Fine,” I muttered. “Let’s get this over with...”

~~~Author's Notes

Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for helping with the editing on this one!

We're taking the weekend off - only even did the editing today so I could put it out of my mind, and might not have even been up to that if I hadn't taken yesterday off as well - so we'll hopefully see you on Monday with something new! (Or... new-ish, I guess? Since it'll probably be another chapter of the Hatching a Heroine reboot)