The Estate, After Lunch, (Morning Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

When Mallory had been asked by Queen Ilyse and Prince Audric to come tutor their young daughter, he had been honored and delighted. Several months later, the shiny had been rubbed off both the honor and delight, but he had become fond of enough Karla to continue to teach her for years, up until the tragic accident that had claimed her parents' lives and gotten her shipped off to live with the local Hourglass coven her aunt Kay had been a part of. When Hobart had announced Karla's 'death,' Mallory had spent a week mourning the spoiled, yes, but also sweet, imaginative, and precocious child he had taught.

In the years she'd been gone, time and nostalgia had blunted the worst of her childhood antics, helping him forget that classes were just as often characterized by biting, kicking, crying, and arguing as they were learning, studying, and behaving (Darkness bless behaving.) All that had come rushing back to him over the past four days, dealing with her much-younger self--and her much-younger friends. Even being the Steward to the headstrong and still impetuous Queen and her entire Court was easier than this.

Mallory couldn't help but reflect on these facts as he pulled Karla down the hall by her ear. He'd caught her in his office a few moments earlier "playing" some kind of game that had involved a jam sandwich and a great deal of ink all over his desk, his chair, and the floor. Coincidentally enough, those were the same places he could see much of his paperwork, also under the ink. Any last ideals he'd had about respecting the Queenly dignity she was due as an adult when flying out the window (possibly with more of his papers) as he'd grabbed her ear and began dragging Karla towards her room, a bath, and the tender mercies of anyone who was not him.

What neither of them had been expecting, however, was for the filthy, shrieking child was to suddenly return to being an equally-filthy-but-less-inclined-to-shriek adult halfway towards their destination. It was Mallory who ended up yelping when the ear he was pinching shot up two feet in the air.

"Karla!" he said, half-surprised and half-thrilled. "You're back!" Before she could respond, however, he was grasping her shoulders with a hissed, "Don't you move or I will throttle you," and running off to find Julian, Morton, and anyone else he could find. Their Queen was an adult again. They were going to get this bloody coronation over with before something else could happen, come Hell or high water.

[NFB, open for folks what are here, SP is gonna be a thing, pls to be waiting for OCD]

Comments

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "You were quite a handful as a child, I gather."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I was a terror," Karla admitted. "The unholy combination of curiosity, stubbornness, attention-seeking, and mischief."

And a fair bit of Mommy- and Daddy-issues, but Hannibal didn't want to know about all that, right?

She gave him her best unsure-but-game grin as they made their way to the kitchen. "I've matured past all of those, of course. Being all Queenly and stuff."

Really! Just ask...nobody. Ever.

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

Was she kidding? Hannibal was a psychiatrist; he loved hearing about mommy- and daddy-issues.

"Of course." He smiled back. "I couldn't help but notice there's a lot less honey on your dress today."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Well, he could always prod her in that direction, but Karla generally didn't volunteer her issues immediately.

Fighting down a blush, she sniffed and declared, "The dress knows what it did. Mine was a just and right punishment."

It had been pink.

As they grew closer to the kitchen, the hallway began getting perceptibly louder and warmer, even through the heavy wood double doors that guarded Cook's domain. Many, many fireplaces and Craft warming spells kept the estate at a comfortable temperature regardless of the weather outside, but even still, the temperature change was palpable.

Rather than sweeping through the doors as if she owned the place (which, technically, she did), Karla opened one of the doors and slipped inside, gesturing for Hannibal to follow behind her.

Re: The Coronation

[sadiablo-staff.livejournal.com]

Inside was a mad cacophony of movement and sound--or, at least it seemed at first glance. The room was massive, with multiple doors leading off to other various rooms: pantries, wine cellars, root cellars, additional kitchens should this one be overtaxed. There were people everywhere, scrubbing dishes at the sink; cutting up vegetables at one long table, meat at another, bread at a third; darting between other people on one mysterious errand or another. Cold boxes slammed shut, ovens were opened to baste roasting meats with juices, pots and pans where whisked from stovetops to counters and back again.

Within a few moments, however, it became apparent that what appeared to be chaos was actually a finely orchestrated dance, conducted by a large woman with a Summersky Jewel who stood in the center of it all, bawling out orders.

"Meegan! Watch how you dice them carrots! They may be going into a stew but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be uniform!" A thin blonde girl flushed and shouted, "Yes, Cook!" and adjusted her knife. "Karthur! Check your bread! Make sure it doesn't scorch!" An older gentleman saluted with a, "Yes, Cook!" and reached into an oven larger than he was, pulling out long rows of perfectly golden brown loaves. "Riva! Martin! Stop flirting and keep scrubbing! Ultar will be needing them pots and pans soon!" Behind her back, two teens ducked back over their respective sinks, muttering, "Yes, Cook," as they went back to scrubbing with a vigor.

Nor was she confined to shouting orders. Several plates were held out to her to review and she tasted and garnished appropriately. "Needs more pepper; hand me the grinder," she ordered, while waving over a small lad carrying a plate of flowers. Pepper ground to her satisfaction, she waved the dish away and reached for the flowers, using them to garnish yet a third dish, while giving instructions to keep it chilled until it was time to be served.

Only once the platters needing her immediate attention were dealt with did she deign to acknowledge her Queen and the male who'd entered with her. "Since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful," she told Karla. "Over there, cut up some herbs neatly, like you was doing it for one of your Black Widows."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Karla knew better than to argue, so she nodded, slipped on an apron that someone was already holding out to her, and went to the specified station.

She had barely picked up a knife when Cook blared, "No one let the Queen touch anything other than the herbs, hear me? We do not have the time to start something all over again!"

It was a very sulky Queen that began cutting up herbs. Very sulky.

Re: The Coronation

[sadiablo-staff.livejournal.com]

After a few more seconds of watching Karla with eagle eyes to make sure she was doing as she was bid, Cook turned back to Hannibal and gave him a small curtsy.

"And what can I do for you, my lord?" she asked.

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

"Nothing at present," Hannibal answered with a small bow. "Doctor Hannibal Lecter," he introduced himself. "You may remember me as the small boy this weekend who was polite enough to get some cookies. When you're not in the middle of a large meal, I should love to discuss cooking and recipes with you. It's rather a passion of mine."

Re: The Coronation

[sadiablo-staff.livejournal.com]

"Not being in the middle of preparation of something is a rare event around here, m'lord," Cook snorted, amused. "Even when we're not entertaining, there's a lot of folk who need feeding. And them with darker Jewels need more feeding than most. Especially when they're too skinny already."

Not that that comment was directed at anyone in particular. Really.

"But I can take a break for a few minutes," she added. "I'm interested in more of the foods from other worlds, but I can't trust any of the suggestions I get from the lady and her lot."

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "And I'm very curious about some of your recipes here. Particularly spices and foods we might not have where I'm from. I should be honored to exchange information with you." He glanced around the kitchen. "If you'd rather not leave, you may feel free to put me to work as well," he offered.

Re: The Coronation

[sadiablo-staff.livejournal.com]

Cook looked shocked at the suggestion. "Make you work, my lord?" she asked. "But you're a guest! I couldn't!"

Making her Queen work, that was one thing. But a guest? She wasn't sure if she dared.

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

"If it would be breaking the bounds of propriety, I understand and will defer to your judgement," he told her with a slight bow. "But I assure you, the culinary arts are something I greatly enjoy. And one does learn much better hands-on."

Re: The Coronation

[sadiablo-staff.livejournal.com]

"Well..." Cook looked around for something simple and easy to let him do, at least until she got a better idea of his level of skill. If he were anything like Lady Karla and her lot, she didn't want him near anything too delicate. "I have some more herbs that could use mincing," she said carefully. "I can fetch them for you, sir, while you find a knife."

Did that feel like a test, Hannibal? Because it was totally a test.

Re: The Coronation

[sharp_as_knives]

Fortunately, Hannibal was good at tests. "Of course." He set his jacket aside and neatly turned his cuffs back as he looked for a knife. It was a pity he didn't have his own here, really, but he looked over the possibilities and tested them until he had one the right size and sharp enough not to cut without bruising.