Chapter 6
Pepper
The stool wobbled slightly beneath me as I searched through the metal tins that were previously neatly lined up on the shelf. Once I'd found the cinnamon, I would need to rearrange everything so that it was properly positioned.
But that didn't answer the major question I had right now.
Where was the cinnamon?
I checked the metal containers all over again just in case I was missing something. But there was no cinnamon.
How frustrating.
I let out a sigh and pushed the tins back into the right spot. I'd sort them out properly later. A loud clatter sounded as something on the other end of the shelf fell onto the floor.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Today was not my day.
With a groan, I hopped off the stool and examined the boxes, bags, and pouches on the bottom row again.
I found the pot that usually held my cinnamon sticks, but just as I had confirmed earlier, it was empty.
Now did I really not have any cinnamon in the kitchen?
Any at all? How had I not noticed that I'd gone through it all?
I was so certain I bought more from the trader last time he was here.
Or was I getting confused, and did I purchase those from him two months ago?
This was very unlike me. I always checked to make sure that I had the right amount of spices.
It was my job to feed the guests who stayed at the Town Hall, and they were invariably going to be important people.
I couldn't just go running out of spices, or I wasn't going to be any good at my job.
The only saving grace was that I didn't need it for the Ju Fengs. Cinnamon hadn't appeared anywhere on Lian's list of things that they liked.
A knock pulled me from my search, and I looked over at the door to find Lian standing there with a horrified expression on her face.
It took a moment for me to realise she was shocked at the state of the kitchen, which was probably fair, I doubted she'd ever seen it in this state before.
The cupboards were all open, and every surface was covered with a pot, container, or tin.
It looked like I was ransacking the kitchen.
Which I supposed wasn't entirely inaccurate.
"I can come back," Lian said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"Ummm. No." I wiped my hands on my apron, not sure exactly what I had touched that made them both sticky and dry. I had gotten a bit carried away on my search, clearly. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to see if you had anything I could take to Eva. She needs some emotional food."
"I can make something happen. What's emotional food?" I checked while I cleared the counter by shoving everything on it in the cupboards underneath. It was creating a huge mess but I was simply going to have to organise that later.
Lian's face pulled into somewhat of a pained grimace. "Food that's good for the mood and has no other health benefits."
That made me chuckle. "Ah, I know what you mean. I'll figure something out. Are you all right?"
She winced when one of my tins clattered on the floor. "Yes, you're just making a lot of noise."
"Sorry." I paused, taking a deep breath to centre myself. "I've just created a bit of a mess."
"I can see that."
"I'm trying to find a spice, and I could swear I had some spare, but I just can't find it.
I need it because the spice trader won't be here for another two weeks, and that's way too late.
" I stopped myself, not wanting to impose on Lian.
This had nothing to do with her and she was a stranger.
It was best not to show her the chaos I sometimes caused.
"What spice?" Lian asked, leaning down to pick up a pan that had somehow ended up on the floor. I should have been paying more attention to what I was doing, because this wasn't a good look for me.
"Cinnamon. I've run out somehow," I said, patting the pockets of my apron as if for some bizarre reason the cinnamon would be in there. It was one of the only places I hadn't looked.
Lian moved some of the metal tins on the table next to her, putting them in line. "I have cinnamon. You can have some of mine."
"Really?" I didn't want to let my hopes get up yet, but I could feel them rising already. "You're sure?"
She nodded and gestured upwards. "I have some in my room. I carry all sorts of medicinal ingredients and cures for Eva and Max."
"And you're sure you can miss some?" I hesitated, knowing that what I was going to say next might ruin my chances of getting my hands on some.
"Just to be clear, I need the cinnamon for personal use.
It's not for work." The last thing I wanted was for her to feel as if I'd tricked her.
I would never be able to forgive myself if the weather witches moved on from Purple Oak because I'd insulted them.
"It can be for what you want it to be for," she said. "I'll get it and you can have what you need." She left before I could thank her, which wasn't hugely surprising. She could be quite abrupt in her departures and arrivals. That seemed to just be the way that Lian was.
I took advantage of her being gone to clear away more of the mess I'd created. I had definitely gotten a bit carried away looking for my spices, and I needed to clean this up so I could actually do some baking and cooking.
A confused meow came from the window, and I turned towards Snowie, finding her perched on the windowsill and pretending she couldn't climb down because there were things on the workbench under it. She swatted the metal tin instead, jumping when it clattered to the floor.
"Silly cat," I said, moving over towards her to clear those tins and containers first. Snowie didn't seem impressed with all the clattering and bolted out through the window.
So much for that. It seemed like I was scaring everyone today. It was fine, Snowie had witnessed worse, and I'd make it up to her later with some delicious scraps.
I tidied a little bit more before there was knocking on the doorframe again. I already knew it would be Lian because of the way it sounded, and I was right. She was back, but this time, she had brought a leather case with her.
"That's a lot of cinnamon," I said, curious what she'd brought with her. I also wondered why, but despite the snippets of conversation we'd shared, I didn't feel like I knew her all that well.
She gave me a serious look. "It's not all cinnamon. That would be strange."
"No, I figured. I was joking," I clarified, though maybe I needed to think through my jokes a little bit more when it seemed as if most of them were passing her by. I stepped back from the workbench so that she could put her case down.
From the clattering and the medicinal smell, I could tell it was going to be a collection. I wasn't sure why it surprised me, but it did.
Lian opened the case, revealing all sorts within it, all labelled in a script that was beautiful but unreadable to me, no doubt it was in her native tongue.
Something about her collection reminded me of my own pantry, just contained in a case instead of all around us.
Pouches, tins, small boxes, drawstring bags.
There was a whole lot, but it was a lot more organised than my cupboards, that was for sure.
"Wow, you've got a bunch of things," I said, moving closer towards her to get a better look. It was an eclectic mix but not as foreign as expected. I recognised a lot of things I might cook with, like slices of dried ginger, shrivelled up mushrooms, dried berries, and all sorts.
I pointed out a small glass jar with what looked like tiny purple flowers. "Lavender?"
She nodded. "It helps to soothe nerves and anxiety. It was recommended to me by an apothecary in our last town. It works really well, and the smell is quite nice too."
"Yeah, there's fresh lavender in the herb garden sometimes, and it always fills the air with a nice aroma," I said. I picked up a bundle of thin, gnarly dried roots, my curiosity making me forget that I probably shouldn't be touching her things without asking her permission first. "What are those?"
"Valerian root. It's for if you have trouble sleeping. It's best steeped in hot water or made into a tincture. The taste is unpleasant though," she said, pulling a face.
It was adorable, and I liked how she was talking about the things in her case.
Her voice was so smooth and pleasant to listen to, something I had thought many times since we met.
I wanted to ask about more of the things, it was a true treasure trove, but she picked out a thin pouch and pulled two sticks of cinnamon out of it.
"Here, is that enough?"
"That's more than enough. That's too much.
I only need one. Half of one. Let me grab my coin pouch.
How much should I pay you for this?" I said quickly, trying not to think about the cost of everything in the case.
I'd always known that weather witches were wealthy.
They had relatively rare magic and were highly sought after because of it.
They could live like nobility no matter where they went.
Lian looked confused. "I don't need payment. I'm not selling it. I'm not a merchant."
"I know how expensive cinnamon is. I can't just take it," I protested, holding off on accepting the cinnamon until we had come to an agreement. I couldn't take this from her, not when I knew how expensive it was from buying my own.
"You should, you're cooking for Eva and Max after all," Lian said as if that was a good enough reason why she was gifting me something so valuable.
"It's my job to look after them," I pointed out. I loved my job, but that didn't mean that it wasn't part of my job.
"Looking after people is my job," Lian returned stubbornly. "Take it."
I wanted to point out that looking after me was not part of her job, but I had a feeling that we would keep going round and round. There was something about the way she was speaking and holding out the cinnamon that made it clear she meant to give this to me.
I accepted the cinnamon stick, holding it carefully so I didn't accidentally drop it. "Thank you. Seriously. You're making a small boy very happy."
Lian frowned. "You're not a small boy, though?"
"No, I meant my little brother. His eighth birthday is coming up, and I always bake him cinnamon rolls. It's a family tradition, and he's been looking forward to it. He'll be thrilled."
"Oh, that's nice."
I nodded, very glad that I would be able to keep my promise to him. I put the cinnamon in an empty tin so I didn't lose it in the chaos. "Thank you, Lian. Really. Are you sure I can't give you anything for it?"
She held up her hands. "I'm sure. It's a gift."
She sounded so resolute, it would be rude to keep arguing and offer her money. Luckily, there were other ways to show my gratitude, and I knew just what to do.