A Katarina Vacation Arc Matthew Interlude
Even though Mili, Katarina, and now Matthew wouldn't be leaving for some weeks yet, Matthew decided to start getting packed for the journey immediately so they wouldn't have to rush. It was made difficult by how her mother kept dragging her off to conscript her to help in the lab, a job formerly conscripted to Olga. While Olga had sighed in relief and spent time with her aunt Mili in the hidden reading room in the library, Matthew found herself in the role of general gofer, lab assistant, thingy carrier and provider of daughterite, which is apparently something Leona needed to function and was absorbed through the skin.
Matthew began to realize why Olga wasn't as reluctant or nervous to leave for the Academy as her sister could have been.
Marie, the non-conscripted, voluntary lab assistant, was put on violin music and snack supply duty, why meant keeping an eye on the new large-sized ice-cream machine to make sure both the mixing engine and the ice-maker magic tool was functioning, and that the contents were the right consistency. Judging from the amount of cream around Marie's mouth, she was taking her duties very seriously.
Still, despite all this attempted diversions, Matthew did manage to get packed. She had her bucklers, her heater shields, her kite shields, her round shields, her towershields, her spiked shields, her crossbow shields, her door shields and all five of her greatshields out of her room and prepared for travel, as well as her full plate armor, with its non-onion-shaped-and/or-colored helmet. Plus all the lighter leather armors and casual dresses and day dresses and party dresses and formal dresses and, this was very, very important, ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THE HIGH-HEELED SHOES. She had nice new boots and was going to wear them almost exclusively.
Father had looked sad and hugged her and commissioned a specially reinforced wagon to carry all her shields (and armor, and mostly token weapons, but mostly the shields), because there was no way any of the wagons in Aunt Mili's train would be able to carry them. And of course she'd need her personal maid to accompany her, along with all her childhood servants who'd learned to help her maintain her armor. So yes, apparently she was getting her own logistical transport wagon for her armor, servants and luggage.
She'd had to keep her mother from sneaking in and sabotaging it to delay them from leaving. Mother could be really childish when she wanted to be, which was often.
Fortunately, Cousin Katarina was there to help distract her mother. Ever since the first prototype ice-cream maker had been finished, Katarina had been trying new flavors. Many had been made, mostly derived from pulpy, juicy fruits from their greenhouses and jams. A few samples had been offered to close family friends when they'd been invited to lunch or dinner, and after the initial suspicion of Leona inadvertently poisoning them, the desert had become a hit, with many begging for the recipe.
Naturally, Aunt Henriette, with assistance from Aunt Mili, was milking the social capital of it for all they were worth. Aunt Eileen's and Aunt Viola's skills at the social aspects of being duchesses weren't very strong, and so they'd always relied on Aunt Henriette's help in these matters. Aunt Mili, when she'd learned, had offered to help them and teach her some of what she'd learned, instantly winning their appreciation. Apparently they hadn't been all that close when they and Uncle Henry had first married, with Aunt Mili leaving soon after for her own marriage, and so they'd only known her as the distant, aloof sister. This reintroduction was helping them make up for lost time and delayed appreciation. The only thing stopping them from helping Leona sabotage Matthew's wagon to delay the departure themselves was just slightly more maturity on their parts.
Then of course once it was decided, she had to tell her close friends that she would be leaving. So she gathered her close friends Lady (Dame) Gareth, Lady (Dame) Moe, Lady Joan, Lady (Dame) Jeanne and Lady (squire) Lily. She also tried to contact Lady Not-Appearing-In-This-Fic, but sadly she was unavailable, as was Lady Robin, who was apparently on a journey with her minstrels. Typical of Lady Robin to just run off like that.
Matthew invited them for a private tea, got them full of ice-cream (honey and caramel) and gently broke the news.
The screams of betrayal, crying, more screams, more crying, attempts at throwing Fire Magic at her, and general mayhem and violence were much milder than she'd expected. Her friends were taking it rather well.
All the noise attracted Cousin Katarina however, and after a brief introduction and Joan discreetly putting out the fires her sister Jeanne had started in letting her displeasure at Matthew's leaving known, Katarina managed to distract their attention with her Adeth smile and the revelation she had invented ice-cream.
Matthew and her friends had then spent a distracting afternoon trying out Katarina's latest flavors. It was generally agreed that banana by itself was too bland and that pepper was a bad idea.
"Your friends seem very nice," Katarina said after everyone had finally left. It had taken a while, since there was a lot of crying and hugging and promises to spend the time until Matthew had to leave together.
"Yes, they are," Matthew said fondly, rubbing the spot on her back where Jeanne had mimed backstabbing her. "We were all squires together, even if Lily started late. Well, except for Joan. She's studying Medicinal Magic from Lord David, said someone had to keep us healthy."
"It's always good to have a healer," Katarina agreed(?). "How come I haven't seen them around before?"
"Oh, usually we come together to help Lily train in the afternoons," Matthew said. "She's squire to Lord Kay, who can sometimes be busy. Today was a day off for her."
"Huh," Katarina said, looking at the retreating backs of the carriages and, in Lily's case, horse. "Do any of them like girls?"
"I know Moe does, she's had a crush on Marie for years," Matthew said. "And… I'm not sure about Jeanne? She threatens me a lot in between hugging me."
"Oh, she definitely likes you," Katarina said with a firm nod, making Matthew blush. "She's just tsundere."
Matthew blinked a the unfamiliar word, even as she blushed as her cousin casually confirmed what she'd long suspected of her friend. "Ah, what's 'sunderay'?"
For some reason, Katarina twitched. "Tsundere," she repeated. "It's an Ashinago word. Um, from Ashina. It means a someone who likes you but is too proud to admit it, so she pretends she pities you or acts really annoyed, but then she does things like asking after you or taking care of you."
Matthew blushed some more. "I'm sure it's not that," she said. "Jeanne's just prickly."
"She's probably the rival character of the route…" Katarina muttered almost indistinctly. "And Moe is Marie's… "
"Pardon?" Matthew said.
"Ah, nothing, just talking to myself," Katarina said brightly. "Hey, have you been to the garden? The lilies are starting to bloom! Lots and lots of lilies everywhere… "
Katarina went on about lilies for a while as Matthew stared at her in bemusement. Her cousin could be really strange sometimes. But all the more reason she needed to be protected. She was so nice she probably didn't notice all the people saying mean things about her strangeness behind her back. People could be very mean about people who were only a little different, like her dear sister Olga.
For a moment, she wondered if the smile was an act, a shield to hide the pain inside. She'd know all about shields, after all.
Matthew firmed her determination. If it was, she would not trample on her cousin's dignity by looking beneath it. Instead, she'd do her part to protect her from her terrible circumstances and make that smile real.
And if it was real… then her shield would stand against anyone who'd try to mock it.
Ah, I wonder what other flavor of ice-cream I can make… Katarina thought.
…
…
…
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Topic: Ice-cream Research Thread 23 – Surpassing 31 Flavors!
In: Boards ► Fortune Lover ► Sorcier ► Hasard Duchy ► Katarina's Brain
KatarinaClaes (Original Poster) (Verified Reincarnated)
Posted On Jan 20th 2021:
Okay! We have basic vanilla ice-cream, now what kinds of flavors can we make with it? I want suggestions people!
(Showing page 86 of 86)
►ChairwomanKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Mod) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Look, we can't make blueberry cheesecake ice-cream because we don't even know how to make cheesecake!
►AdventurousKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
I want Bernaise-flavored ice-cream
►TimidKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
HELL NO! No more sauce-based ice-creams, gravy ice-cream sucked!
►StudiousKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Maybe we should try truffle oil?
►Happy Katarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Look we already know it works, can't we just have more strawberry?
►ChairwomanKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Mod) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Not all of us are a basic bitch.
►TimidKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Get your weak strawberry shit off my thread!
►ChairwomanKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Mod) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
What she said
►Happy Katarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
You're a terrible impartial moderator!
►StudiousKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Mod) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
So, while you were arguing, I had Katarina try truffle oil flavor.
►TimidKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
UGH, you pretentious wannabe!
►StudiousKatarina (Verified Braincell) (Verified Mod) (Verified Katarina)
Replied On Jan 24th 2021:
Hey, it tastes good on pasta.