Chapter 10
Lian
Eva's laughter snapped me from my thoughts, making me realise I hadn't heard a single thing of what she or Max had said in the past few minutes.
Luckily, the twins didn't really need me to keep a conversation going.
If anything, I should be grateful they no longer spoke their twin language between them.
That phase of living with them had been truly exhausting, and while I knew they hadn't meant to do it, it had always made me feel like an outsider.
I pushed the thoughts aside. They grew out of that phase at least fifteen years ago, probably more.
It wasn't something to bother myself with any more.
Instead, I focused on drawing the wooden comb through Eva's waist-length black hair.
It fell like a waterfall behind her, ethereal and perfect, just like she was.
"What do you think, Lian?" Eva asked, meeting my gaze in the mirror.
"About what?" I asked.
"About our new house," she responded. "Max went to inspect it yesterday, and he says it's not too far from done. We might be able to move into it in a few weeks."
My throat got tight, and I accidentally stopped brushing. "So we wouldn't be here anymore?" I started again, hoping she wouldn't notice the pause and question what happened.
"No, this was always temporary," she said.
"I know," I said. And I did know, they weren't called the guest quarters for no reason.
I just hadn't considered that would mean no more mornings with Pepper.
I'd come to enjoy having her company while I had my breakfast. It was going to be strange to not share them with her any more and I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that.
Max nodded and handed me a hair tie. I took it from him so that I could use it in Eva's hair.
I personally preferred to use a pin to put my hair up, but Eva liked more elaborate hair accessories, so this was more secure.
I wound it around her hair high on her head so that I could style the rest of it.
"The house looks really nice," Max said. "There are nice rooms for all three of us and a small dormitory for our attendants. They even accounted for space where we can hold meetings and receive guests."
"That sounds very good," I replied, wondering why Max was the one who went to inspect the house.
That was the sort of thing I was supposed to take care of, so did that mean I wasn't doing my job properly?
I'd been a couple of times and talked to the people in charge, but I hadn't gone on a full tour.
Eva let out a sigh, and if I hadn't been in the middle of doing her hair, she'd have nodded.
She'd always been thoughtful and aware of people, even if she could sometimes be forgetful.
"Yes, but they want to know how big to make the kitchen," she said.
"Since Max and I don't prepare food much, I figured we should ask you.
You know better how big a kitchen should be and what a cook might need. "
"Umm..." I paused in my hair styling, my brain taking a moment to catch up with the conversation. "Big enough that I can make my breakfasts and not get in the way of the cook. I'll go over to the house tomorrow and give instructions to the builders."
"If you're sure," Max said. "I can talk to them. You've had a lot on your plate since we've arrived here."
"Settling in a new place is very intense," I said, picking up one of Eva's hair pieces and carefully sliding it into place in front of her bun.
"It is. But I don't have anything going on tomorrow, I can do it," Max assured me.
Eva looked at her brother through the window. "Any chance that there's a handsome hare ward working on the project?"
Max spluttered, his cheeks turning red. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't," Eva responded. She picked up one of her decorative hairpins and held it up to me so that I could insert it into her bun.
I carefully positioned the dangling flowers so that they were best displayed, and put a matching one on the other side. It was a lot more ornate than I could deal with myself, but I knew she liked it.
A knock sounded on the door, and a familiar voice drifted through. "Hello? It's Pepper."
Panic spiked in my stomach, but before I could do something about it, Eva was already calling her to come in.
I remained frozen in my spot, not sure how to deal with Pepper's presence.
Not after the confusing moment we shared.
I hadn't even had a chance to talk to Eva about it, and now Pepper was about to walk into the room with both of my cousins in it.
"Hi." Pepper's gaze lingered on me for a little longer than everyone else. Her lips were red again, like when we were at the bonfire. "I'm glad you're all here. I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming Moon Tea Festival. Are you familiar with it?"
Eva nodded. "Yes, we grew up celebrating it because of our dad. He's a tea witch, like Lian."
"I know, Lian told me about him," Pepper said, looking at me again before turning her attention back to Eva, but that seemed like a struggle.
My cheeks got very hot, and I didn't know why.
"What's going on with the festival?" Max asked, shuffling to the side on the bed so that he could see Pepper better.
"Well, I wanted to check if there are specific ways you like celebrating this festival, like dishes from the regions you've lived in that I could create," she said. "Purple Oak wants you to feel at home, and I do too. So this is important to us."
Eva and Max shared a look before nodding to each other.
"Mooncakes," Eva responded.
"Mooncakes," Pepper repeated, sucking in the air between her teeth. "I don't think I'm familiar with what those are."
"They're small baked goods stamped with intricate patterns on the top and special celebratory fillings inside," I said, pulling Pepper's attention back to me. "You need special moulds to make them."
"You have some with you, don't you?" Eva said, a grin appearing on her face. I recognised that look. She was up to something.
I cleared my throat. "Yes, I brought some with me from home."
"That's perfect," Eva said, the gleam in her eyes only getting stronger. "Why don't you teach Pepper how to make them?"
I felt my stomach tighten, not because I didn't want to, but because I wasn't sure it was a good idea to spend more time alone with Pepper. Especially after what happened last night.
Pepper was still staring at me. "I would love to learn how to make them."
My stomach felt ticklish from the way she was looking at me. I swallowed hard. "I can show you. I have some dried lotus seeds too."
"Do we need those?" Pepper asked.
"For the filling. They'll need to be soaked overnight."
"We can do that. Why don't you bring them down when you get a moment and we can sort it?"
"I will." I stared at her, not really sure what was happening, only knowing that I was standing in the middle of the room holding a wooden comb and talking about spending more time alone with the confusing woman in front of me.
"That sounds great. I look forward to it," Pepper said, a slight smile tugging her mouth up.
"All right," I replied.
A silence hung in the room, and I wasn't sure why nobody else was saying anything. It was never quiet when Eva and Max were together.
Pepper wiped her hands on her apron. "All right. We'll figure out the details when you bring the lotus seeds down later, but let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you enjoy the festival."
"We will, thank you," Eva said.
Pepper said goodbye and headed out of the door, only pausing so that she could look back at me, making my stomach flutter in that strange way once again.
The moment the door clicked, Eva was on her feet and taking the comb from me. "Sit and I'll do your hair," she said.
"There's really no need..."
"We have this conversation every time. You did mine, I'll do yours."
There was really no arguing with her, especially when she got an idea in her head. I sat down and let her pull out the pin holding my hair in place and setting it on the dresser so that she could brush my hair.
I had to admit that it was soothing when she pulled the comb through it. I would never tell her because I didn't want to make her feel like she had to do it, but I loved the way Eva brushed my hair.
"So, what was that about?" she asked, her question directed at me.
"What was what about?" I replied, not trying to be obtuse. I just had no idea what she looked so excited and sparkly about.
"That tension! I thought there was something between you and Pepper when I saw you at the bonfire, but I wasn't sure. I am now," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "You and Pepper, huh? I'm impressed. I thought Max was going to be the first to succumb to romance."
"Oi!" Max protested, but he was quickly stopped in his tracks by a look from Eva. And for good reason, he was definitely making eyes at Hugo the hare ward, even I'd noticed it.
"I've not succumbed to anything," I said, wondering what made her say this. Was she making it up, or did she pick up on something I simply hadn't? That did tend to happen, especially when it came to reading other people and their intentions.
Eva cackled and looked pleased with herself. "Sure, sure. You can deny it all you want, but I saw a sparkle between the two of you. That woman is interested in you."
"She is?"
"Definitely. There's no mistaking the way she looked at you," Eva said.
"Oh." I looked into the mirror, not entirely sure what to do with that information.
Eva must have noticed something on my face, because she smiled in a different way. "Which hairpin do you want today?" she asked.
"This one is fine," I said, picking up my carved wooden hairpin and handing it to her.
She looked like she might want to say something else, but didn't, and twisted my hair up into my preferred style instead. But none of that erased what she'd said to me, or the fact that I needed to decide what to do about it.