Chocolate cake

*POV* Cassy Iris Aleera

After 4 days of bed rest and a lot of soups and talks with Vivian, I was finally able to leave my bed.

I moved down the hall heading for the kitchen, Vivian had already left me for the evening. I entered the sparkling room and slowly made my way over to the stove.

It was made of metal and was fueled by wood, with a fire under the top. A tea kettle sat on the warm stove, I took a mug from the smooth wooden counter and with a thick cloth poured the tea slowly.

Steam rose from the mug and I could smell the lemon and ginger, I mixed a spoonful of honey into it. It reminded me of my mother's kitchen at home.

I sat at the table and took a slow sip, I slipped in my head as I stared at the white wall not really looking at anything. A light-clicking sound came from the door.

The door to outside opened a crack and a small girl with black frizzy curls that framed her chocolate face slipped it. She crouched low and turned to shut the door behind her.

She then turned and rushed over to one of the cupboards and opened it before opening a container and stuck her dirty fingers in. She watched the entrance like a hawk.

She hadn't seemed to notice me. I watched her closely as she stuffed as many cookies as she could into her mouth before she started stuffing her pockets.

A loud sound from down the hall made her quick rush to shove the container back into the lower cupboard. She spun and our eyes met, hers widened.

A second passed before she ran for the door and my tea mug dumped into my lap all in the same second. I pushed the chair back as I tried to get away from the hot liquid.

"What happened?!" Vivian asked as she entered. I brushed tea onto the floor and the door hung wide open.

"It seems you had a cookie thief." She sighed, and she went to shut the door, and went to grab a cloth. "Jamia. I really wish that child would just come to ask for them."

So that was Jamia? I took the cloth from Vivian and cleaned the spilled tea. "Let's go find something to wear, now that you are up."

After an hour of searching, we found something that appealed to me. She also found me a nightgown. "Now you go to bed, you can go to town with me tomorrow." With a smile, I left with my arms full.

The next day I dressed in a loose baby blue blouse with a tan light leather corset with a shirt to match. When I walked out of the room Vivian smiled. "You are beautiful." I had to agree.

We walked down the mountain through a forest path with wildflowers on both sides of it. It was about noon when we walked into the village.

It reminded me of my home village, people young and old and in between walked down the streets. Vivian led me to the market in the heart of the village.

"Here look at these," Vivian said, I didn't miss her hand as she pocketed a couple of beaded bracelets and she pulled my attention to the flowing fabric before us. "Did you just steal those?"

Vivian smiled brightly at the man behind the stand before pulling me to a stand across the path. "The one thing this village does have is pretty things." She avoided the question.

She showed me necklaces and rings, bracelets, and crowns made from woven sticks. Everything was beautiful, each booth had new and interesting things to look at.

After about 3 hours of wandering around the market, Vivian pulled us towards a bakery and asked for two slices of chocolate cake. "You don't mind chocolate do you?"

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Not sure I have had chocolate cake before." She gave me a look before smiling. When the huge slices were handed to us, Vivian paid with a few coppers.

We sat up at a simple table to eat. "So do you have a home dear?" I took a bite before answering with a quick look at her. "Yes. In a village."

"What village?" Vivian asked. "To tell the truth I don't know its name. It's always just been home to me." Vivian nodded. "That makes sense. So am I allowed to ask why you were floating down the river in the first place?"

I told her a short version of my story. "Oh my." That was all she had to say about the matter. "Well, I am happy to have you at my place until you feel comfortable leaving to find your way back home."

I thanked her with a smile and finished the delicious cake. We headed back up to her house after we were done and our conversation turned to how to bake the perfect cake. It didn't take me long to realize Vivian was an avid baker.

Once we got back, we entered the kitchen and I watched as Vivian walked me through her take on a cake recipe. It was quite fascinating. I couldn't lie.

Once the lemon cake was done and cooled which Vivian had said was an important step. We were able to eat some of it. Vivian called it a lemon poppyseed cake.

"Hmm. This is better than I thought it would be." Vivian grinned at my compliment. "I have actually quite enjoyed today. But tomorrow we must meditate. I can teach you the proper way and then you can continue it."

She moved to clean up. "Each time you connect with your power you will become stronger." She said I watched her.

"If meditation is so great for becoming in tune with one's power, why doesn't everyone do it?"

Vivian smiled. "Because they aren't like me and you me. Dear, you and I can control power with our minds. Others use spells and words of command."

She started placing the ingredients back into the cupboards. "Chanting and learning a spell is only as good as one's memory but we can connect with it on a whole different level."

She smiled. "Okay enough information for today, go get cleaned up and go to bed." I bid her good night and entered the room I had been staying in.

'Okay. That explained it a little bit.' I thought as I got ready for bed. Slipping into the covers I thought about Mink and Maricela, I wondered if they missed me. It was a bittersweet thought because I definitely missed them.

An image entered my mind of the day I had met Monique and when Clay had come rushing into the clearing with half his men. His eyes settled in the back of my mind as I remembered the first time we met.

I wondered if we would ever see each other again. The thought sent a sharp pain through my heart and tears welled in my eyes, I wiped at them as sleep began to set in.