A Katarina Interlude
Everyone was here! All the cousins, all the aunties and uncles…
"Everyone!" Katarina tried again, holding her arms wide as she tried for hugs again.
"Katarina!" everyone chorused, and ahhh there were her hugs! She was almost pushed over before everyone was able to get all around her and then it was hugs all around and this felt so nice…
Off to the side, mother was sighing, not participating in the group hug, but now that Katarina knew she was a tsundere type, that made total sense. Everyone knew that tsunderes needed to be pulled into a group hug. Speaking of which…
"Mother's not participating!" Katarina cried, pointing at her mother. "Get her!"
"Get her!" Auntie Leona and Auntie Sheryl agreed.
Mother's eyes went wide, and she barely managed to cry out, "Don't you dare—!" before she was engulfed. "Ack! Too tight, too tight! Luigi! Save me!"
"Coming, my love," Father said with a wide smile and he leapt into the fray, pushing his way in to mother until… "Oh dear. Unfortunately it seems I'm trapped. I can't get out. Sorry, Mili," he said from his position behind mother, his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him.
Mother was blushing as the laughing group hug made do with cuddling her from the front as Father continued to press up against her from the back… oh, ew! Mother, Father, don't have that sort of public play in a group hug with your kids, that's really lewd! Ah, Keith! Where was Keith?-! As the responsible big sister, she had to distract him so he didn't realize their parents were being lewd and get scarred for life!
Fortunately, the family group hug ended without Keith realizing anything. Mother did scold everyone, but it was a normal tsundere scolding that everyone was able to just shrug off. Ah, if Katarina had known all those lectures had been tsundere motivated, they wouldn't have nearly been so traumatizing. They'd still have been traumatizing, because mother could be really scary when she was mad, but that was perfectly normal too.
But with the group hug over, it was time to sit around in the parlor over tea and snack and talk about how the trip was, what had they been doing since Katarina and Mother had visited, catching up on what they'd talked about in their letters—
"Let's make ice-cream!" Katarina declared. "Anne, can you go and get my ice-cream magic tool?"
"Ooh, yes!" Aunt Sheryl said, eyes glittering. "We haven't had ice-cream in weeks! There was never time when we stopped for the night and the other Ice-Cream Maker Magic Tool Leona made it was too big to use in the carriage."
"I know, I know, it was too big, I got it already!" Auntie Leona pouted. "I heard it the first thousand times."
Mother rolled her eyes, but waved her hand. "Get my daughter what she needs," she told… ooh, Janice had gotten a new haircut since Katarina had left the house! It suited her. Katarina wondered if she was still seeing that candlemaker in town…
"Yes, my lady," Janice said with a bow, and left the room with Anne.
"Yay!" Katarina cheered, and she wasn't the only one. Ah, she missed this…
Mother sat, and that was everyone's cue to start sitting as well. Auntie Leona pulled Cousin Mashu to sit next to her, apparently not wanting to let her go for now, meaning Katarina was able to sit next to Cousins Olga and Marie!
"So," Mother said as tea was poured. "How was your trip here?"
"Absolutely horrible," Uncle Henryk said. "I now understand why you never visited all these years."
"I don't want to go back," Aunt Sheryl agreed. "Can we live here from now on? Ryk's the Duke, he's the only one who needs to go back. The rest of us can just live here with you."
Mother looked up at the ceiling. "We'll see."
"That's means no, right?" Aunt Leona whispered to Aunt Sheryl.
"That means no," the smaller aunt sighed.
"I said 'we'll see'," Mother said.
"Definitely a 'no'," Uncle Henryk said.
The two aunties sighed.
Mother rolled her eyes. "I'm not making you leave now, but I'm not letting you stay here the whole two years Olga is in the Academy."
Aunt Leona blinked. "Argh! I didn't even think of that!" A beat. "Can I stay for the first year?"
"We'll see," Mother said.
"Six months?"
"We'll see…"
"Three months! And I'll find a place to rent after!"
Mother sighed. "Fine… "
"Yes! Oh, darling, I'm going to be renting a place when Olga starts school."
"Can I stay with you, mother?" Marie asked.
"Of course! Like I was going to be letting my daughters out of my sight," Leona said cheerfully.
Mashu glanced at Mother. "Auntie, I can still stay here, right?"
"Of course you may dear," Mother said, taking a sip from her tea.
"Eh? Wait, why can Mashu stay but I have to move out?"
"She never made a hundred and fifty foot long ladder on the side of a cliff and made me climb it for years."
"Fair point," Uncle Henryk agreed.
"You brought this on yourself, Leona," Sheryl said with the grin of a short person, for whom long ladders were much longer.
"So… I'm going home by myself?" Uncle Saloman sighed.
"I told you Leona, Katarina's ice-cream is better," Auntie Sheryl said as Katarain scooped ice-cream out of her Magic Tool. "What flavor is this, Katarina? It's familiar but I can't quite place it…"
"Chocolate hazelnut nutbutter," Katarina said as she handed a bowl to Aunt Henriette, who smiled at her in thanks. "A friend gave me some as a gift a while back, and I've been saving it for a special occasion."
"Ooh, so this is chocolate hazelnut nutbutter," Aunt Viola said. "We need to find some to bring back with us while we're at the capital, it's always so expensive to have it shipped out to us."
"I wish you luck," Mother said as she delicately ate from her own bowl. Mother, you need to eat bigger spoonfuls or else it will melt! "It's in great demand. You'll practically never see it."
"Eh? Then how did Katarina get some, auntie?" Cousin Iosekfa asked, pulling her bowl back from her sister, who was too impatient to wait for her own bowl.
"I told you, a friend gave it to me," Katarina said, giving Cousin Iosefka her own bowl before she did something terrible. Cousin, you should NEVER steal ice-cream! Share, not steal! "I don't know where he got it from, though…"
"He must be a good friend if he's getting you hard-to-get nutbutters," Auntie Henriette said.
"Oh yeah, we've been friends for forever," Katarina said cheerfully. Hmm… actually, come to think of it, wouldn't the blackhearted prince be the friend she'd known the longest? Practically since she'd been born… well 'born' in this world. He was actually the first person she'd ever seen… "He's really busy right now because of the International Assembly though…"
"Everyone is, sister," Keith said. He was well on his way to finishing his bowl, since as her little brother he'd gotten the third one. "Even you're busy, aren't you?"
Katarina sighed, careful not to breathe on the ice-cream. That was how very infectious viruses got passed around, after all! Food safety first! Food off the ground didn't count, the five-second rule was there for a reason! "Yeah, learning etiquette is hard. Mother, that book you wrote has too many rules!"
Auntie Leona choked. "I KNEW that etiquette book seemed familiar! That was you, Mili?-!"
"The author of 'The Noble's Proper Etiquette Reference and Manual of Propriety and Action' is unknown," Mother said loftily.
"Mother, I've known since forever it's you," Katarina said.
"I don't see why you think it have anything to do with that wonderfully concise and educational book, Katarina," Mother said.
"Mother, lying is bad," Katarina scolded. "It teaches your children it's all right to lie to get out of trouble. Besides, it has a section on climbing trees, farming, fishing and taking baths with your younger brother. Who else would write it but you?"
"The author of that highly respected and influential text is a complete mystery," Mother said, focusing on eating her ice-cream.
Katarina frowned. "I feel like I've had this conversation before… But I know it's you, mother! It's perfectly obvious!"
"It definitely is, now that Katarina pointed it out," Aunt Leona agreed. "It's definitely the sort of book Mili would write!"
"Leona, I'm a very busy woman. Where would I even find the time to write such a thing?" Mother said, still focusing on eating her ice-cream.
Katarina had to give her that. When she wasn't lecturing Katarina, Mother was busy doing… doing… uh, what was it exactly that mother did? She tried to remember as she finished handing out bowls of ice-cream to everyone and could finally scoop up a bowl for herself. She should know, right…?
…
Huh, she had absolutely no idea what her mother did most of the day.
"Sister?" Keith said, and Katarina blinked, turning towards her brother. "Aren't you going to eat? You've been staring into space for a while now."
Ah! Her ice-cream was melting, her ice-cream was melting…!-!-!
"Well, this is my farm!" Katarina said proudly. "Ah, it looks great Keith! You've really been taking good care of it! Best little brother ever!"
"Matthew's been helping too," Keith said.
"Ah! Thank you Mashu!" Katarina said, giving her cousin a hug. "You too Keith!" She hugged him too.
Ah! Keith's face was reddening! Was he coming down with heatstroke? Well, no wonder, he wasn't wearing a hat, like Maria always told Katarina to do.
"LADY KATARINA!"
Ah! Katarina perked up, letting go of Keith as she turned towards the voice. She knew that voice. "Mary!"
There was the sound of running as Keith sighed and muttered under his breath. Something about… Mary's pies working quick? Ah, did he mean Mary had bought pies? That would be so great!
Mary skidded into view, holding her skirts up so she could run. Ah, Mary had never mastered the skill of running without having to lift up her skirt, not the way Katarina had. Still, Katarina was glad to see her. "Lady Katarina!" Mary greeted, then faltered, blinking in confusion.
"Hi Mary!" Katarina greeted. "Come meet all my cousins!"
Mary blinked some more. "Cousins…?"
Huh? Was Mary coming down with sunstroke too? Already? Maybe she should take all her cousins inside and get them hats so they don't come down with sunstroke as well…
