My Commander(51)

"Of course, dear." Adelaide was measuring the flour and chocolate chips.

"Was it hard living apart from Byron all those years?" Meryn sucked on her teaspoon. Adelaide paused for a moment and kept pouring.

"Yes. Yes, it was very hard. Some nights I would lie awake upstairs and wonder why we were so close but apart. I didn't like it, but, there were nights where Byron had to leave with his unit where they barely made it to the scene in time to save a life. Even the extra time to the barracks would have cost lives. I understood why we had to live that way, but no, I didn't like it."

"Why didn't you move into the barracks with him? From what I can remember the place is like a small mansion, there had to have been room." Meryn snuck another teaspoon of sugar.

Adelaide blinked at her. "It just isn't done."

"Hmm." Meryn poured the brown sugar into the bowl.

"You'll get used to it after a while and you'll have your squire to keep you company." Meryn watched in fascination as Adelaide easily stirred the wooden spoon through the chunky mixture. This was the part that she always had problems with, her scrawny arms could barely move the spoon. She kept forgetting that Adelaide was a shifter too.

"Okay, it's mixed. Do you just eat it?" Adelaide looked down at the bowl.

"Nope. Let's put it in the fridge for a while. Then we should be able to eat it. Chilling the dough makes the cookies better too." Meryn covered the bowl with a towel and placed it in the fridge.

"Let's have some tea while we wait." Adelaide put the kettle on the stove to boil.

Meryn sat down at the table and stacked the sugar cubes on a napkin. Without her laptop she felt exposed. She was working on the third row of her wall when Adelaide came over with two cups of tea. She sat down across from Meryn and sipped her tea.

"What was Aiden like as a kid?" Meryn asked, seizing this opportunity to get to know about her mate more. Adelaide smiled, but it was somewhat sad.

"He was a very serious, conscientious child. He always defended Ben and took time to show him things. He always made sure that I was comfortable before leaving a room. And of course he idolized his father. When he left the house to move into the academy as a trainee I missed him terribly. Byron had already become an Elder when Aiden left for training and Adam and Adair had already declined to inherit after Byron. I think that Aiden saw it as his duty to become a warrior and follow in Byron's footsteps. There are some days where I wonder if this is what Aiden really wanted and if maybe deep down, he resents his brothers for choosing other paths and forcing him to become a warrior." Adelaide twisted her tea cup on its saucer. Meryn thought about it for a moment and shook her head.

"He's too damn stubborn. He may have felt obligated at first, but he wouldn't have stuck with it unless it was something he wanted to do. When Adam and Adair introduced themselves I could see a hint of pride in Aiden's eyes. I don't think he resents them doing what they want with their lives."

"It's nice to be able to talk about this with someone." Adelaide admitted.

"Don't worry Adelaide I'll help you keep those boys on their toes." Meryn promised.

Adelaide's tinkling laughter lifted Meryn's spirits.

"I think you're doing that already. Let's go into the front drawing room and I'll teach you how to sew." Adelaide stood and Meryn moaned.

"Why? I thought you liked me?" Meryn finished her tea and stood.

"You don't want to give Daphane Bowers a chance to look down her nose at you, do you?" Adelaide lifted an elegant brow.

"No! I give her enough ammo as it is." Meryn admitted.

"Good. I'll start with something easy. First lesson; threading the needle." Adelaide walked with her to the front of the house.

Kill me now.





*****





For the rest of the afternoon Meryn discovered how Sisyphus must have felt pushing that bolder up the hill, almost reaching the top only to watch it roll back down again. After four hours she had yet to thread a needle. Every time she exhaled, she missed. Every time she inhaled she missed. So she tried holding her breath and almost fainted. By the time Marius returned with her packages Meryn was secretly planning to gather every needle in the house and melt them down in the backyard.

"I would think that you're playing a joke on me, but I can see how determined you are." Adelaide shook her head.

"I will thread this fucking needle if it kills me!" Meryn vowed shaking her fist.

"Why don't you take a break? I think Marius has something for you." Adelaide pointed to the doorway. Meryn saw a large box with the universally recognized Apple logo, and let out a loud shout. She jumped up and danced from foot to foot in front of Marius.