Anya had told her not to move.
Cassie, standing in front of the door, was rocking thoughtfully to her feet. It had been several minutes since Anya had disappeared behind the door with Lexa and a few other Wormanas. Cassie had no idea what they were talking about, but she understood one thing.
It was a test. A trust test from Anya. She left her alone for an hour or two, to see if she was going to run away at the first opportunity. Cassie had decided to make it a point to stay behind the door, like a good dog, to prove to her that she was perfectly trustworthy.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder if Anya was going to return someday or if she had definitely disappeared through a backdoor and abandoned her, got rid of her. Just when she was starting to have chemistry!
Raven would have laughed if she had seen her stomping outside the door like a good little poodle. Though Cassie would have pointed out to her that her lack of attention made her look more like a Labrador. Cassie thought she missed her little mechanist. They could have laughed together, sang anything, and most of all, made fun of Anya openly together. That was sure they would have made her no gift.
Cassie chuckled at the thought of the teasing she might have done to her jailer. Raven would have been proud of her. It was strange that you missed someone so much when you had chosen to leave. Why was she standing stupidly in front of the door again? Cassie couldn't remember.
The young woman suddenly noticed a group of people passing in the hallway speaking in the language of the Grounders, heading for the spiral stairs. Puzzled, Cassie hesitated a few seconds before deciding to follow them.
She quietly descended the flight of steps, half blind because the turret had no windows. Finally, she arrived in a darkened and noisy corridor, lost sight of the group she was following. Cassie decided to pick a door at random and walked in that direction, confused by the cacophony that reigned. She was pushed around by a woman and then found herself in the doorway.
The room was teeming with people bustling about on tables and stone and clay ovens. Smells of food hung in the air and Cassie stood still, stunned by the sudden set of noise, movement and smells.
A young woman standing in front of a table suddenly looked up at her and, seeing her, smiled in her direction. Cassie, surprised, turned her head to look behind her to see if anyone wasn't responding to her smile, causing the woman to chuckle. Realizing that she was talking to her, Cassie greeted her, before the woman motioned for her to approach. Cassie shyly walked into the room, joining her at the table.
The young woman, red hair floating around her head in frizzes, pointed at herself.
"Oksana," she declared.
"Oxana?" Cassie suggested.
The young woman gave a happy little laugh at her accent. Following her example, Cassie put a finger to her own chest.
"Cassie," she said.
"Kassy," repeated the young woman.
She then turned to look at the items on the table in front of her. Ingredients were organized, placed next to each other. Oxana gestured to them broadly.
"Adin," she told her.
Cassie took a few seconds to think.
"You mean 'ingredients'? Adin, okay, got it. "
Oxana then pointed to a terracotta container filled with white powder.
"Flauwa," she declared. "Flauwa."
"Flauwa," Cassie repeated. "Flour."
"Flour," the young woman repeated in her odd accent.
Oxana lifted a second small pot filled with tiny crisp white grins.
"Fleiva."
Cassie took some of it on her thumb and brought it to her lips, before immediately wincing, causing Oxana to laugh.
"Salt."
"Salt. Fleiva. "
Then Oxana opened the lid of another jar filled with amber liquid. Cassie gave a cry of surprise.
"That's honey! It's so rare! I only saw it once! "
"Honey," Oxana repeated. "Bishuga."
"Right. 'Bishuga'. Like 'bee-sugar'. "
Oxana continued to point out the ingredients, naming them one after the other. Cassie added them to her vocabulary as she listened intently, encouraged by the smiles of Oxana who seemed to be delighted to teach her new words.
"Right, okay, what are we making? Chit ste disha gon? "
"Kiba," Oxana replied.
"Uh…" Cassie whispered, figuring out what the word meant. "Kiba, kiba, kiba… Is it like' Keebler '? I saw a box once. Are we making cookies? Strik shoga? "
Oxana nodded enthusiastically, glad to see her guess. She shoved the jar of flour into Cassie's hands, who stood idly without knowing what to do.
Oxana showed her and assisted her in the preparation of the cookies, indifferent to the looks they received. It seemed like she didn't know who Cassie was, or didn't care. She worked quickly, with safe and flexible movements, with an ease that showed she probably did this every day. Cassie clumsily tried to imitate her, she who had hardly ever cooked in her life, contenting herself with the rations given on the Ark.
Oxana put the cookies into a clay oven and waited next to Cassie as they baked. Cassie found it difficult to sit still as the excitement overwhelmed her. Oxana remained silent, unfazed in the cacophony of the kitchen.
Finally, after a long wait, Oxana took the batch of cookies out of the oven and Cassie hopped around in front of the smoldering, golden heaps of dough. A sweet smell rose to her nostrils. Oxana waited a few seconds for the cookies to cool before taking a clean cloth and placing a cookie on it before handing it to Cassie.
"For me? Gon ai? "
Oxana nodded with a smile. Cassie, moved, bit her lip hesitantly.
"Can I have another one? Moun won? Gon ai lukot. For my friend. She's gonna cut my head off when she realizes I'm gone, "she muttered.
As if she understood it, Oxana added a cookie, trying to hide her mischievous smile. Cassie, who was heartwarmed, gave her her best smile.
"Chof, Oxana."
"Pro," the young woman replied.
With a last smile, Cassie turned on her heel and jogged away, half running down the hall. She found the turret stairs, hurried up the steps at full speed. She came out of breath in the hallway at the top of the tower, ran to where she left off.
The door was wide open and most of the Wormanas were already gone, Anya stood in the doorway, her arms folded furiously. She turned to Cassie, exasperated, when she saw her arrive.
"Natshana…" She started vociferating.
"I know, I know, you said I had to wait here and I disobeyed, I'm sorry. At some point, I forgot why I was even there and I couldn't focus on anything so I followed the first person I saw- "
"What ?!"
"Oh, don't worry, they didn't see me! Anyway, I ended up in the kitchens, don't know how exactly I got there, by the way, and I made friend, and she was really kind and she taught me how to make honey-cookies and then, I decided to come back, so here I am, "she said as she unfolded her package to present it to Anya. "So, uh… Peace offering?"
Anya looked at her for a long time, then let out a long sigh, Cassie bit her lip
"Do you hate me even more?" She asked, frowning.
Anya gave her a look.
"I don't care that you left. I know you'll end up back here because, let's face it, your sense of direction is the worst I have ever seen. I just want you to understant that I give you this rules for your safety. Leksa's protection can't follow you everywhere. "
"I know, I apologize for making you worry. I understand the lesson, and I wish I could promise you that it won't happen again, but let's be honest, I can't. I can't control it. "
Anya rolled her eyes and Cassie did her best to suppress her smile. Anya was not angry. Not too much, anyway. She held up the cookies under her jailer's nose.
"I learned so many things today! Oxana taught me so many new words, it's amazing. Can we go back tomorrow? " She asked as Anya led her down the hall.
"Don't push your luck," the latter growled.
Cassie resumed hopping behind her, delighted.