Chapter Forty-Three

Life, Now

How long had it been since she'd felt so comfortable in her own skin?

Juliet walked down the halls of Vampire Mountain with her head held high, unable to contain the feelings of pride she felt. Absently she rubbed her freshly healed forearm, grateful to the Vampire medics that had taken the time to surgically set the bones, even if she had to be super drunk rather than knocked out to numb her to the pain. The Vampires she passed along her way to the hall of Khledon Lurt nodded at her respectfully- many believed that for her to be tutoring a Vampire Prince made her pretty damn close to a 'royal advisor' or something. Juliet rolled her eyes. She was a glorified babysitter for the young Prince. Between sessions in the Hall of Princes, apparently preparing for war, he was dumped with her in the Hall of sport, or as Juliet called it 'The Vampire Coliseum'.

Today, however, she was saved from his incessant energy, something she'd learned all Vampires had- spades of energy! Instead she was today's baker in the kitchens. Upon reaching the mess hall, Juliet walked towards the back, where the Vampire Princes sat. Mika and Arrow were there now, meaning Darren and Paris were back in the hall of Princes, probably practicing Vampire etiquette or something. She nodded to the two as she passed. Arrow smiled broadly at her- he hadn't hid his appreciation for the woman even though she'd begged him to stop thanking her for her actions months ago. Mika looked up from his food and watched her with sharp eyes that Juliet struggled not to meet. They hadn't spoken much since the Vampaneze brawl. Things weren't tense between the former lovers, but it wasn't roses either. Juliet may have forgiven him for leaving her, and apologized for her actions, but she wasn't ready to try to start any new relationship with the raven-haired Vampire either. Friendship or otherwise.

Back in the kitchens Juliet was greeted warmly by the staff. There were only a handful of Vampire women compared to men, and it showed in the kitchens. There was one female Vampire working the stoves, keeping the wood fires burning. Juliet was happy for that- she had half expected to find nothing but women working to cook for the male Vampires, but had learned quickly that if anyone did find a woman strong enough to live as a Vampire it was because she was as strong, if not more, than any of the males around her.

Juliet wasted no time, she donned a faded apron and washed her hands in the scalding water of the basin next to the stoves. Since she'd started working in the kitchens, the head chef had said, more and more Vampires would come to eat during her shift. Juliet wasn't surprised by that. The spread at Vampire mountain had been… sparse. Broth and bread, broth and bread, ooh look hunks of meat! Broth and bread. She'd grown tired of it quickly enough, and when she'd started in the kitchens she'd started complaining. "Don't you have any other recipes?"

No they didn't.

Turns out, Vampires aren't big on fancy meals, and not a single worker in the kitchens was a chef or had much prior cooking experience. They eat for sustenance, not for enjoyment. Juliet had balked at the idea. Food was life. Well, that's what her body felt whenever her monthly visitor came, anyhow (of which she had stories for- getting your period in Vampire Mountain- she could write a book!), and that's why she had drafted Seba into her war on taste. She worked with the Quartermaster a few times a week, helping him keep the stores organized. When she was there after her first work in the kitchens she'd asked for his help developing new foods for the Vampires.

"That is not necessary, Juliet." He said smiling. "We have no preference for foods."

"Maybe you don't, but that doesn't mean I don't want to cook something more than just boiled bats and crusty bread." She'd huffed, surveying the casks of ale and wine. "Please just help me. If I don't get real food soon I'm going to rampage, and it will be even more terrifying than last time." She looked at him pointedly.

Seba laughed, eyes twinkling. "Alright, alright, my dear. What do you need?"

And that is how Juliet's menu showed up on the Vampire Mountain tables. It wasn't as hard as she thought it'd be. Juliet's specialty was home-style country favorites, so she cooked plenty stews and meat pies, things that made the Vampires of the mountain walk into the kitchens to find her and personally thank her. The kitchen staff had become eager to help her as well, once they'd tasted her food and realized it wasn't much harder to cook than bat broth. Today was "chicken" and dumplings. Most things were actually bat meat, but Juliet still wanted to call it what it should be.

Her sous chef during her tours in the kitchen was a young looking Vampire named Scottie. He smiled easily and always smelled like rosemary, his favorite spice. Scottie had already diced the vegetables for the broth and had them sweating in the large pots on over the fires. Juliet began making and rolling the dough for the dumplings, using the same dough that was made in large batches for the crusty bread.

"Scottie what kind of dessert are we making today?" She asked. Scottie turned to her, his eyes shining in the firelight.

"We've got pears."

"Pear tarts! Prepare the dough!" She nodded at him and he set to work. Dessert had been non-existent at Vampire Mountain before Juliet. Now it was a staple. Juliet did so love her sweets.

"We also have some oranges." Scottie called from across the room as he pulled a large bag of flour down from a shelf.

"I'll have to think on that." Juliet mumbled as she finished slicing her dumplings. She ran to the cooler at the entrance of the kitchen and pulled out the milk. Climbers went out once a week to pull large chunks of ice down the peak of the Mountain so that the stores could keep fresh vegetables and fruit. Even working in Seba's stores, Juleit had no idea what kind of milk they found, though, and she preferred not to ask. She poured the milk and some flour into the large pots on the fires, adding the bat meat once she felt they were full enough.

'Let that cook then I'll add my dumplings…' Juliet thought. She walked over to Scottie as he rolled dough. Another kitchen worker pointed at the simmering pots in question and Juliet nodded, indicating that he should keep an eye on them.

"Have you ever had pears with an orange glaze?" Juliet asked. Scottie's brow furrowed, sweat pooling between his eyes. He was always there from dusk till dawn, one of the main workers in the kitchen. Juliet believed he had always wanted to cook, but never had the courage to try.

"No."

"Want to try some?" She began helping him roll the dough out. They weren't going to be real tartlets, more like hand-pies, since the Mountain lacked the proper cookware. But Juliet was such a stickler for names.

"Orange glazed pear tartlets. You're fancy." Scottie laughed. "You'll have us growing soft for the coming war."

"Or I'll give you all something to look forward to when you return. Food can do that." She smirked and Scottie laughed again. Juliet watched as his strong arms kneaded and rolled the dough out. Every Vampire was muscular, like cut from marble muscular, and Juliet couldn't help but admire the young ones.

"Ma'am. Your stews." Called a vampire. Juliet turned back to the boiling pots.

"Whoops!" she sighed, running to her dumplings. Arms full of dough, she began dropping them into the pots, watching as they began to expand. Once her arms were emptied she reached for a wooden spoon and began stirring.

"Fifteen minutes." She said to the vampire next to her. He nodded and took the spoon from her. She'd made this stew before, they knew how to cook it, but she liked pretending she owned this kitchen. Juliet had worked as a chef once before, in the seventies. That was an experience she never thought she'd enjoy doing again, and yet working in the kitchens at Vampire Mountain was fulfilling in some way.

Scottie was now peeling the pears at the cutting table with lightning speed, using only his nails. Juliet questioned how sanitary that was but shook it off muttering 'Vampires'. She grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet from the wall and began heating it over the fire. Scottie came to her with peeled and sliced pears.

"Toss them in." She instructed, he complied. "Now wait for their natural syrup to form and then we'll squeeze the oranges over them." Juliet turned from him back to the cutting table and found the basket of oranges, slicing them into quarters for easier squeezing. She handed them to Scottie and he began squeezing, a delectable aroma filling the air.

"How will this taste?" He asked

"I have no idea. Good I hope." Juliet smiled bashfully.

As the pears continued to simmer, Juliet couldn't help thinking that something was missing.

"Brandy?" She asked, not remembering where the liquors were kept. Scottie ran to the wall and returned with a bottle. Juliet motioned to the pan and Scottie opened the bottle. Before he could sprinkle the liquid on the fruit, Juliet stopped him.

"Give me that." She said, taking it from the Vampire's hands. Scottie watched her closely as she brought the bottle to her nose and sniffed the fragrance. "Damn." She said. "It'd be sad to waste this all on fruit tarts…" She winked at Scottie and took a swig before handing it back to him. Scottie smiled broadly and took a swig himself before pouring some liquid on the pears. Fire immediately sprang up, caramelizing the fruit and Juliet directed him to move it off the heat. She ran back to the dough they had rolled and shaped. They began scooping the fruit into the dough, closing it like a pocket. After they had filled roughly twenty small pies, Juliet instructed Scottie on how to bake them.

"Just until their brown, okay? Don't take your eyes off of them." She had to be serious since the only oven in Vampire Mountain had a habit for burning bread. Scottie stood by the oven the entire time and the pies came out a deep brown color. Juliet took one into her small hand and smiled. "Today we are real chefs, Scottie. How's it feel?"

"It will feel better once I've eaten it." He nodded smiling. "I'm desperate to see how we've done."

"We'll save this one-"Juliet said, setting the pie she was holding onto an empty counter. "And split it later." The call came for food to go out, and all the workers Sprang to action. In addition to cooking the food, it was up to most of them to also take it out. Juliet had realized that was why most of the male servers in the hall had been shirtless. It was stuffy in the kitchens.

Most of the Vampires and Juliet loaded up trays with bowls of her "chicken" and dumplings and hand pies, loaves of bread and jugs of water, blood, ale and wine. As much as they could carry. Juliet knew she'd be serving the Princes, the kitchen staff had made sure she knew that since she first began making changes to what was cooked. Her tray consisted of three bowls of stew, two loaves of bread three glasses and three hand pies. She managed to balance that on one hand, and in the other she grabbed a pitcher of ale. Arrow and Mika had never told her what to bring to drink, so she grabbed something different for the two every time. They weren't picky about much. She knew there was a chance a third had come to sit with the two princes, and made sure to account for that before she left the kitchen.

Juliet and the kitchen staff exited to begin dispensing the night's dinner. Arrow beamed up expectantly as the smell of cream-broth reached him. Mika looked the smallest bit excited too, but she noted that a third Prince had not come to join them. The hall was reasonably full of Vampires, most of whom skipped their mid-day meal to train and make sure they were there for Juliet's dinner. It was the talk of the Mountain some nights, much to the woman's chagrin.

"Gentlemen." She said, smiling politely. "Tonight we have chicken and dumplings with carrots, onions and I want to say kale because we have no celery, and an orange glazed pear pie." She set the bowl in front of the Princes, who already had cutlery and began pouring drinks before giving them their pies.

"Another work of art, Juliet?" Arrow asked, eyeing the pie. "You must enjoy sweets."

"Baking was a passion of mine for a few years. Had a small patisserie in Paris once. Didn't last long. Rent was terrible. Cooking here is like a challenge I'm ready to face… Baking here… well," she shrugged. "I like to see your faces when you eat what I come up with."

Juliet saw the other staff returning to the kitchen and moved to leave but Mika stopped her. "Please, you brought enough for yourself. Eat with us."

This wasn't the first time a Prince had asked her to eat at their table, but it always caused a ripple of conversation in the hall while people ate. At this point, Juliet was conflicted. Mika was looking at her with pleading eyes, something she knew wasn't easy for the Prince. The other day he had confronted her in her room with some troubling news.

"I must leave the Mountain." He'd said somberly. Juliet looked up from where she was ruffling through her new clothes, all hand-picked from the Quartermaster's stores. Currently she sported a deep blue, strapless tube top and a pair of black leather pants (finally returned to her from her own belongings.)

"What? Why?" she snapped. "For how long?"

Mika ran a black-gloved hand over his lips, clearly torn. "I must try and track down the Lord of the Vampaneze." He replied. "I don't know how long I will be gone."

Juliet bristled at the reference to the Vampaneze Lord. She recalled the laughter of the Vampaneze that night, gurgling against her booted foot. She ran a barely shaking hand over her bare shoulders, wishing for a less fashionable top to hide her distress. "How do you know where to find him?"

"I don't. But I am the most qualified to lead the hunt." He responded. The argument between himself and Arrow over who should stay or go had been heated, the elder Vampire always seeking revenge against their purple-skinned cousins for the death of his beloved. "I wish I could stay."

"You promised me you would be helping me-" Juliet snapped, standing abruptly and striding over to him, her booted feet clicking on the hard stone floor. "Now you're ditching me in this mountain for god-knows-how-long?" She looked up at him, eyes hard, then scoffed. "I should expect no less from you." She growled.

"Juliet, I wish I could take you with me- but there will be no time to investigate your heritage! I have a duty to my people." He was growling now, desperate to make her understand.

"I don't want to hear it Mika!" she snapped, running her fingers through her thick, black hair. "You made me a promise and now you're abandoning me. This is just like a rerun of fifty years ago." She threw her hands up in the air, sighing loudly. "At least this time you had the balls to come tell me first." She spat.

"Juliet…" he sighed. "This is bigger than you and I."

"Take me with you." She demanded. Stomping her foot for emphasis, she crossed her arms.

"I cannot." He stated.

"You can, but you refuse."

"I cannot because you are needed here. You are training our young Prince."

"Darren can find another babysitter. I am going with you. When are you leaving?"

"I won't tell you that." He pinched his nose. "You're being unreasonable."

"Am i?" she shouted. "You promised me Mika! You promised and you lied to my face and now you're leaving. You could die! Then who will I have to help me?"

"I have made sure that my fellow Princes will take up your cause should I fall in battle." He stated simply.

"You son-of-a-bitch." She ground out, clenching her fists erratically. Her eyes were glistening, Mika couldn't tell if it was tears or fury. "How long have you known about this? Long enough to make plans in case you die, apparently. By the fucking gods, Mika!"

He didn't speak, just watched as she backed into a wall and slowly sank. "You really know how to betray a girl's trust… after she just decided to give it to you."

Mika didn't' say anything else, he simply turned and left. Juliet would not hear his excuses, as he knew that's what she believed them to be. All he could do was hope that she would forgive him, because the moment he returned he would focus on his promise to her, regardless of if the war still raged.

Juliet eyed Mika at his request that she dine with him. She hadn't spoken to him other than the occasional nod in the hallways when they passed, but her anger had cooled. Interacting with 'his people' had given her perspective into all that he was trying to protect, and she knew he counted her among them. Inwardly she sighed, knowing how petty she had been.

"I am hungry." She said, and swore she felt Mika's shoulders relax. "But I promised to split a pie with one of the workers, so don't let me eat this." She pointed to the pie as she set her tray down.

Arrow devoured his meal with gusto, making appreciative sounds the entire time, whilst Mika savored his. "It is impressive how you can take what we have in our stores and make such delicious food." The black-clad Prince remarked.

"It's surprising that nobody did it before." Juliet commented, enjoying her own meal. It wasn't perfect, but it was much better than bat broth.

"We are warriors not cooks." Arrow scoffed.

"You can be both, you know." Juliet rolled her eyes. "I am."

"You're one in a million, Juliet Andères." Arrow laughed. The bald Prince broke his pie in half and inspected the insides. Juliet could smell the caramelized orange and brandy sauce mingled with the sweet pears. What a flavor gamble!

Arrow took his time on the pie, seeming to savor each bite. He looked hard at Juliet once he had finished as she collected their bowls on her tray to return. Mika had begun eating his pie.

"Juliet," Arrow grumbled. "I want to order you to remain in the kitchens. Would you do that for me? I don't know if I can live without your cooking." He smiled broadly at her wide eyes. "I have a secret love for sweets, and this one… words escape me."

Juliet passed him the remaining pie on the tray. He devoured it with gusto.

"I don't know about only being in the kitchen…." She thought to the shirtless forms of all the male staff. "I don't think I could handle that." Juliet chuckled. "But I'd be happy to bake more sweets for you anytime I can."

Mika nodded at her as Arrow frowned. "He is right, Juliet. This pie is… one of a kind. You're talented."

"I've had time to perfect a craft." She corrected him. "Anything else is just… dumb luck. It sounded good in my head." She laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed them. I've got to get back. Let me know if I need to take dinner to the other Princes!" She turned from them and walked off, tray in both hands.

Arrow turned to Mika who was still finishing his pie. "Promise me that the first chance you get you will marry that woman." He said, voice stony.

Mika nearly choked on his pie. This was a subject not lightly broached with the tattooed Prince. "What brought this on?" he coughed.

Arrow stroked his chin thoughtfully, eyeing Mika. "That woman… reminds me of my wife." He sighed and shook his head. "Perhaps it's just the pie talking."

Mika looked at Arrow seriously. The man never spoke of his wife unless distressed. This was the second time Mika had heard him speak of her in their entire relationship. "Perhaps the pie."

"But I will say this, Mika, you can tell that woman's feelings by the way she cooks. She's happy here." Arrow nodded. "We made the right decision."

Mika nodded as well. "I never doubted that. I'm happy to see her adjusting so well."

"She's helped everywhere in the Mountain, and improved much. Perhaps it is not such a bad thing to have outsiders in the Mountain." Arrow chuckled.

"This is a special case." Mika reminded him.

He simply looked down at the remainder of his pie, debating how to finish it. He put it to his mouth, biting through the flaky crust into the soft core as the sweet and tangy filling spilled into his mouth. Contentment set into him.

"She is special." Arrow corrected.

Mika could only nod in agreement.