Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Three – Methods of Brewing

After I’d had my coffee, I spent my morning drawing up schematics for a moka pot. I’d promised Otrea an espresso corretto, which was impossible to make without such a device. Actually even a moka pot couldn’t quite make what modern people on Earth considered espresso, but it would be close enough.

As close as I could get it at least. Once the schematics were finished I showed them to Libelle, Harriette, and Eurycelia. “Okay, so I really need something like this. And it needs to be made out of metal. Are one of you capable of creating it with magic?”

“I can’t,” Eurycelia frowned, “I’m just not strong enough with [Earth Magic].”

“You’d be better served asking Lady Otrea for such a thing,” Harriette replied shaking her head. “Highly detailed instruments like this take a lot of finesse.”

“That’s what I was worried about,” I sighed. “I really want to surprise her with it. Just show up with everything I need and treat her. How about you Libelle? Could you make it?”

“Hmm,” Libelle gazed up from the schematics, “I have questions, Mor-Master.”

To my surprise Libelle began to ask highly detailed questions about every little piece of my sketch. How tightly each of the pieces needed to be together. Questioning each and every little dot I’d made.

“I could probably do it,” Libelle nodded after she finished grilling me.

“Really?!” I nearly pounced Libelle and hugged her neck. Stopping myself only because I didn’t want her to misunderstand my actions as forgiveness. She’d still tried to kill us, and I wasn’t going to get over that so easily.

Standing up from where we were seated Libelle made her way to the door. “I’ll be right outside the caverns, Master. I’m sure your host would not like me to tear up the floors pulling metal from the ground.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you Libelle, thank you.”

Libelle gazed at me for a moment then left without another word.

“While you’re waiting on her to make your item,” Harriette began after Libelle left. “Would you like to go see Lulu with me? So that we can get your cutting planted.”

“Absolutely!”

Despite the fact that I’d heard Lulu’s name mentioned a lot. As both the seamstress who made most of our clothing and one of Otrea’s pets, I’d never met the dryad. So I giddily followed behind Harriette as she collected the cutting and made her way out of the caverns.

As we walked along a well-worn forest trail I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person Lulu was. All of the women in Otrea’s sphere of influence were quite different from one another. Ultimately my mind decided she would be an aloof beauty as it fit the stereotypes I had in my head about Dryads.

“Here we are,” Harriette announced, stopping before a massive tree in the forest. The tree’s bark glittered like crystals in various shades of purple. While it’s leaves were a swirling pastel mess of yellows, pinks, and oranges.

“Lulu, are you home?” Harriette called. Seconds after she finished speaking vines sprung up from the ground beneath us. Quickly chanting a spell Harriette flew up into the air, dodging out of the way. While I got snatched up.

“Harriette! What’s happening?!” I squealed as the vines wrapping around me lifted me into the air. Wrapping me from my ankles to my shoulders.

“You’ll be fine.” Harriette replied. Landing on a distant tree limb. Watching me intently, but making no move to come to my aid.

“Hello Bernice!” A giggling child-like voice echoed from the vibrant tree. Before my eyes, the bark split and a small child with violet skin skipped out. Her body had a human silhouette, similar to the other races I’d met. Only she had a massive orange flower growing atop her head. Its leaves and petals blending into a messy mop of hair atop her head.

Gazing at me with black eyes accented by a small ring of violet at their center, Lulu grinned. Her body growing up before me as soon as she was free of the tree. Her once short and child-like body becoming tall and womanly in seconds. Suddenly looking as if she’d aged a decade in the blink of an eye.

“Hello Lulu, thank you for the dresses you made me before. They were very comfortable, and fit perfectly.”

Lulu smiled and stepped forward to embrace me, or at least the vines wrapped around me. “Thank you for the flattery. Though I am sad. It’s been months since Otrea took you in, and yet you never visited me. Then Otrea stopped visiting too! Have you been keeping her away from me?”

“Sorry, a lot has been happening. But I haven’t been keeping Lady Otrea from you.”

“I’m sure you have,” Lulu whispered, reaching up to pet my ears. I wanted to wiggle and squirm at her touch, but the ensnaring vines around me wouldn’t allow it. Instead I just had to endure the warm tickly feeling.

“Umm, my ears are very sensitive,” I noted as my cheeks heated.

“Oh,” Lulu purred, giving my ear a few more rough pets before stepping back. “So cute. I like you Bernice. But I’m sure you want to be freed. So I’ll take my treat now.”

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“Your treat?”

Raising an eyebrow at me Lulu giggled. “Neither Otrea nor Harriette told you huh? Naughty women. They sent a poor little ignorant bun to me.” Lulu gazed up at Harriette and shook her head. “Did you bring it?”

“I brought nothing but the cutting you see clutched in my arms.”

Syrupy-brown tears appeared at the corners of Lulu’s eyes. “You’re kidding?! It’s been months! Has Otrea decided to abandon me? I was willing to make due with Bernice because she’s cute and we still needed to meet anyway. But this is ridiculous!”

I watched as the now-busty Dryad stomped her foot. Tears freely flowing from her eyes. “I’ll wreck her. I swear I’ll make Otrea regret this.”

“What kind of treat is it you want?” I asked. The vines around me growing loose during Lulu’s tantrum.

Lulu gazed at me. The purple rings in her eyes glowing for a second, then she shook her head. “You’re not strong enough to make it.”

With a sigh Lulu released me, her vines descending back into the earth. “Tell Otrea she has three days to come to me. If she decides to neglect me any longer I’ll make her my toy. I refuse to submit to a woman who can’t make time for me.”

“I’ll relay it,” Harriette replied, dropping from her limp and walking over to us. “Now, do you think you could plant this for Bernice? She’s especially fond of the fruit that grows on the mature tree.”

“Oh absolutely,” Lulu replied, her tears vanishing into her skin. Suddenly it didn’t look as if she’d been crying at all. “How quickly do you need it to mature?”

“Within a week if possible would be amazing,” I answered. “I’d take a whole grove of these trees if you could do it.”

“Hmm,” Lulu inspected the cutting. “I could do one tree in a week’s time. Any more than that would require Otrea’s crystals. I spend a great deal of my magic maintaining our forest. Not to mention the flowers in her gardens back at her old manor. They’re so far from here, it takes a considerable amount of power for me to influence them.”

“You’re the reason the lawns and gardens in the manor were so perfect?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. The flowers there are so beautiful. Thank you for your hard work.”

Lulu’s purple cheeks took on a pinkish wisteria color. “You’re welcome Bernice.”

“So these crystals? If you get some, you could make a whole grove in a week?”

“Yes of course. But we’re only talking about additional crystals! I’m not going to give up my treat for you. If you want a grove so quickly, Otrea needs to bring additional crystals. I refuse to accept a reduction in my usual amount!”

“I’ll try to secure them for you!” I smiled.

Lulu beamed, “Thank you Bernice. Now, I’ll go find a safe place to plant this child. She’s in need of some tender care after spending so long free of the soil. Thank you for visiting me. I would love to invite you inside my tree next time Bernice.”

I nearly replied that sounded fun. Going inside a Dryad’s tree had to be crazy. But Harriette covered my mouth with her hand. Shaking her head, her eyes desperately trying to relay a silent warning to keep quiet.

“Do not consent to something you don’t understand,” Harriette berated me as we walked back to the caverns.

“Is going inside her tree a bad thing?”

“That was an invitation to have sex, Bernice.”

“Oh,” Suddenly my face felt really hot.