The cook at the inn was a little put out when Victoria asked for the use of part of the kitchen for a short while, then she was upset when I used several of her pots to boil the rest of the snake meat. I couldn't keep it raw any longer and there was no way it would last for the boat trip home for another day without being cooked first.

I treated the pots with potion first, because I didn't want the cook to be angry and claim that they were ruined or smelled bad afterwards. The cook stood off to the side to supervise, as in making sure that I didn't steal or break anything while I cooked.

Victoria had the bright idea to go to the mayor of the village to report what we had found out about the supposed guardians of the sacred flower. The only real difference she had to inform him about was the threat level the snakes posed, their size, and their number. She came back a few minutes later with a sad and disappointed look on her face.

“Let me guess. They aren't going to do anything.” I said as she leaned against the counter.

“Oh, it's better than that. They are going to put up signs to warn everyone of the giant man-eating snakes that are deep inside the Barkilan Forest.”

I had to chuckle at that. “They are going to get a lot more people killed with an invitation like that.”

“I tried to tell them that.” Victoria said and then shrugged. “I did what I could for now, until I report my findings to the mages guild.” She looked at the pots on the stove. “How is it coming along?”

I took the lids off of the three pots I was using and the smell wafted out. Victoria had to wipe the drool off of her mouth, so I didn't have to answer her question. The smell of the meat wasn't very pervasive until I transferred the three large pieces of snake meat onto the grilling rack in the oven and added the spices to it. The pan underneath the rack caught the drippings.

“Oh, god.” Victoria moaned and clamped her mouth shut to stem the flow of drool. “Why does it smell so good when you cook it like that?”

“Magic.” I said and she looked surprised for a second, then she laughed softly.

“I didn't feel you cast anything the last time you cooked it, you teaser.” Victoria said and lightly tapped my arm twice, as if she was admonishing me and didn't want to disturb me at the same time. “Are you really this good of a cook?”

“I told you before that I've had a lot of experience making bad food taste good.” I said and she nodded.

After fifteen minutes, I checked the oven and opened the door. A blast of very delicious smelling air blew through the kitchen almost instantly and even the cook looked surprised as she took in a big sniff.

“Are you sure that's snake meat?” The cook asked, disbelief in her voice.

“Ohhh.” Victoria covered her mouth and nose to try and block the smell. “S-stop teasing me.”

I chuckled and closed the oven. “Another ten minutes I think.”

Victoria sat down on a nearby stool and took shallow breaths, I assumed to try and build up anticipation, so I sat down next to her. The cook seemed to give me a stern look for a moment, then she went back to her own cooking. She had supper to prepare for the people staying there and a thick stew for any people just coming to the inn to eat.

When the ten minutes were up, I stood to retrieve the meat from the oven. Victoria jumped up and held onto my waist to stop herself from grabbing the meat from me. I ignored her antics and took all three pieces of roasted meat from the large oven and put them on the nearby counter on a cookie sheet.

“Uhhhhh.” Victoria moaned and had to make a sucking noise to catch her drool. “Hurry! Hurry!”

I took out two of our own plates from my pack and quickly diced up one of the meat pieces. It filled both plates and Victoria let my waist go, now that she didn't have to restrain herself. She used a fork this time and made several appreciative sounds as she dug into the snake meat.

“Is it really that tasty?” The cook asked as she came over to us.

“Only for mages.” I whispered back, even though Victoria wasn't listening. “I wasn't lying when I said there was magic involved. The snake grew up in a saturated area.”

“Ah, I see.” The cook observed Victoria and nodded. “Do you mind if I try it?”

“You'll get sick if you have no magic propensity.” I told her.

“How do you tell?” The cook asked. “The mages guild stopped using the testing crystals.”

“It's a simple test.” I said as I turned to her, then quickly kissed her and tried to make her lips tingle. I remembered the XO of the basic training base telling me that was the new quick test.

The cook jerked slightly and then moaned a little. She jerked again and broke the kiss as she stepped back with a hand over her mouth. “Wh-what was that for?!?”

“That was the test. You have some magic; but, it's very weak.” I said, because my lips tingled in response. I picked up a fork and speared a piece of the meat. “You can safely eat it.”

The cook's stern look was back. “I'm a married woman, sir.”

“I'm betrothed as well.” I said and handed her the fork. “Go ahead.”

The cook didn't lose the stern look until she took a bite. Her reaction was nearly identical to Victoria's first time tasting it and drool rolled down her chin as she chewed on the tasty meat.

I waved at my plate and stepped back to watch both women gorge themselves on what they previously believed to be 'disgusting' snake meat. I smelled something crisping, so I walked over to the cook's area and tended to the food that she had forgotten about. I added some spices to the large pot of stew and to the frying meat in the pans on the other stove.

Sometime later, the cook looked a bit ashamed as she tugged on my sleeve. “S-sir, I... I'm sorry. I ate all of your meal.”

I flipped over the steaks and turned to her. “I left it there for you, so it's okay. I have two other pieces to eat before getting back to the capital.”

The cook looked relieved. “Thank you for not being angry.” She reached for my hand and then changed her mind. “It was delicious and I'm sorry that I doubted your cooking ability.”

“You hadn't seen me cooking before.” I said and stepped away from the stove. “They're almost done and the stew is simmering on low heat.”

The cook looked around and saw that her work had been tended to while she was busy. “Sir, I... I don't know what to say.”

“I forgive you for the kiss.” I said and her face went a little red.

“I forgive you for the kiss, even if my husband won't.” The cook said, a bit sheepishly.

“I better go before you tell him.” I said, quickly understanding what she meant. I used some of the wrappings the kitchen had for things and bundled up the two large remaining pieces of snake meat. I packed the two plates and the silverware into my pack with the meat and took Victoria's hand.

“I think I ate too much.” Victoria groaned as I pulled her out of the kitchen through the back door. She stumbled, as if she was weak, and I couldn't move very fast with her like that. We were halfway down the street when the back door of the inn banged open.

“HOW DARE YOU KISS MY WIFE!” A very angry man yelled.

“We're running.” I said and turned Victoria around. I picked her up in a princess carry, with my arm under her knees and my other arm between her back and the pack she wore. I expected her to scream or yell at me for doing it and she was completely quiet, so I ran as hard as I could.

We quickly left him far behind and I took several detours and corners to confuse him, in case he did manage to catch up somehow. I eventually slowed down when we made it to one of the roads to take us to the dock.

“How are you feeling? Is your belly still sore?” I asked.

Victoria didn't say anything as she looked into my eyes.

I couldn't tell what she was thinking, even when I wondered what it was. That was a first, since I had heard her words before. “I better keep carrying you.”

We eventually made it to the dock and sat down as we waited there. It was about half an hour later that a sleek ship appeared at the edge of the harbour and swiftly moved through the water. Its sails furled and were tucked away as we watched and the boat still had enough momentum to cross the rest of the harbour and slowed down several hundred feet away from the dock. Different sails were deployed and the ship slowed to a crawl.

Victoria waved enthusiastically and two quick horn bursts soon followed. A dinghy, barely a four person boat, was lowered off the side. One person sat in it with two oars and he slowly stroked them and came towards the dock. He deftly manoeuvred it around when he was just about to hit the end of the dock and the back of the boat lightly bumped it.

“Hop on. We're a bit behind.” The man said.

Victoria climbed in and carefully stepped around him to sit at the front of the boat. I climbed in and sat right on the back.

“Give me a hand.” The man said to me, as if he knew I wouldn't refuse.

“You control them and I'll push.” I said and he smiled.

The pace we set with me doing the hardest part of the work was surprising to him and the people on the ship. When we were close enough, I saw the Gulf Kingdom emblem was on the prow of the ship as was the name of the ship, Sprint.

“Ho, the ship!” Victoria said happily as we approached it.

“Miss, they can clearly see we're here.” The man said with a chuckle and held the oars still to slow our speed through the water.

“I always say it.” Victoria said with a grin and a rope ladder was lowered over the side as the little boat bumped the ship. She grabbed on when the rope ladder was close enough and she climbed up without taking her pack off.

Two ropes were lowered and instead of stepping around the man, I grabbed one and tied it onto the end of the boat I was on. The man nodded and tied off the one he had on the front of the dinghy, then we climbed up the ladder. The little boat was hauled up right behind us, the rope ladder was pulled up as well, and two more of the sails on the ship were deployed.

“Clear to starboard!” Someone yelled and the ropes were pulled on the rigging to tilt the sails. The boat caught the wind and swung around to starboard, picked up speed, and then the other sails were deployed and tied off. We were going with the wind now, so the little clipper ship practically zoomed across the water.

We were almost out of the harbour before the main cabin door opened and one of the prettiest ladies I had ever seen came out. She had short and straight black hair, an almost round face, pouting red lips, eyes that were slightly tilted upwards, a dainty nose, and high cheekbones. She was also only five feet tall.

“Cynthia!” Victoria exclaimed and ran to her, wrapped her arms around her, and almost picked her up as she kissed her cheek.

“T-T-Tori! S-stop!” Cynthia said in a sing-song voice. “I told you not to do that in front of the crew!”

Victoria and the crewmen around us laughed at the smaller woman's near shout. She let the woman out of the hug and put her hands on her shoulders. “It's very nice to see you after so long.”

Cynthia's face flushed red. “It hasn't been that long.”

“I was there when you were deployed into the navy on this ship a year and a half ago.” Victoria said and slid her arms back around her to give her a warm and gentle hug. “I've missed you.”

Cynthia let out a sigh and tried to hug her back. “Tori, you still have your pack on.”

Victoria laughed softly. “I'm sorry, just a second.” She said and undid the straps and put the pack down. Their hug resumed and Cynthia let out a satisfied sigh this time as she completed the hug.

I was tempted to take my own pack off, just so I could hug the cute little woman myself. That was an odd thought for me to have, so I closed my eyes for a second to gather my thoughts and used Sense Magic. I opened my eyes and I was surprised that Cynthia glowed a tiny little bit. It wasn't a spell as far as I could tell. I cast Dispel and nothing happened, which confirmed my guess.

Maybe it's an enchantment? I asked myself and the urge to hug her receded slightly. Maybe if I'm concentrating on something besides her, she's not so alluring?

Victoria let Cynthia go with one arm and brought her over to me with an arm around her waist. “This is my assistant, David. David, this is Cynthia Wing, captain of the navy clipper ship, Sprint.”

“What? You only have one student this year?” Cynthia asked, surprised.

“Most of the students laughed when I told them that I was taking the Botany course. None of them understand how important retrieving and rescuing plants is.” I said and held a hand out to her.

She took the cue and gave me her hand, so I bent over it and lightly brushed my lips over her knuckles. I couldn't sense any enchantments, now that I was this close, and her magic didn't jump to me.

“Like I told David, we're a dying breed.” Victoria said, her voice momentarily sad, then she smiled. “At least I've got one more chance to influence a young mind.”

Cynthia smiled back and gave my hand a squeeze.

I nodded and let her hand go. “It's very nice to meet a friend of Mage King's.”

“David, it's all right. You can call me by my name. Cynthia and I are old friends.” Victoria said and put a hand on my shoulder. “Let's get our things stowed and then settle in for the trip home.”

“Don't you want to spend time with your friend?” I asked.

“I am. She's showing us where we're sleeping tonight.” Victoria said and let my shoulder go.

“Right this way.” Cynthia said and waved at the door she just came out of. “We're too small of a ship to have a porter.”

“Or an executive officer.” Victoria said sternly as we walked over to the door.

“You're mistaking that with no one wanting to work under me.” Cynthia said with a grimace. “There's a huge difference.”

It seems the navy has occasional personnel problems like the army does when a woman is put in charge. I thought and picked up Victoria's pack before I followed them inside the ship. Maybe that happens everywhere and not just in the military? I asked myself as the door shut behind us.