Flowers Broke

The day didn't offer much in the way of breaks, but with Ten working alongside her, Lilin managed to find a long enough break to try planting those seeds. She quickly gathered a bit of soil from outside and collected it in a small pot, flowing her mana through it to nourish it back to something livable as she took it to her room. Placing it on top of something, she hurriedly buried the seeds in it and dumped a cup of water over the whole thing. After that, she dashed back to work, knowing there wasn't any time to laze around.

The following day, Lilin couldn't see any progress with the seedlings, so she dumped some more water over them and checked the soil. The soil was still deprived of any serious nutrients, so she passed more Mana through it. She wished she could just grab some from the Lifebelt, but those areas were too far to just teleport or fly to without getting into some trouble. In the end, she just shrugged, this would have to do. She left her room to go wake up Ten.

Almost a week later without any progress, Lilin was starting to get frustrated. The soil was a little better, but not by much. No matter how much Mana she wasted on this little project, she couldn't get the damn things to grow. She started to even use more of her Core on it- not that her Core Mana was all that precious. Unlike humans, demons could regenerate their Core mana pretty quickly. She was glad she wasn't like Ten. Even for a human, Ten was really bad at regenerating her Core Mana. Must suck to live like that.

Lilin's voice was dry as stone as she threw open the door to wake up Ten.
"Wake up Ten."
That was all she wanted to say. She watched as Ten sat up and stretched, yawning and taking her sweet time getting up and getting dressed. Lilin kept thinking about those damn plants. Weren't they supposed to have grown by now? They definitely should have. Those seeds must have broken and rotted then. Lilin didn't feel the anger and frustration leaking onto her face, didn't notice her brows furrowing or her muscles tensing. She didn't notice how she was tapping her foot particularly impatiently. But Annie did.

Annie quickly got herself to work, knowing that Lilin was absolutely livid with something, but she couldn't guess as to what. It could be somebody annoying her, it could be a lack of sleep, it could be Tristan existing in the castle, Annie really didn't know. All Annie knew was that being quiet and quick with her work was usually the best way to handle things like this.
Today, however, it wasn't working. Annie didn't hum, didn't hesitate, didn't do anything that would typically annoy Lilin, yet she still stayed mad. She didn't want to poke a sleeping bear, but she couldn't let things sit. Maybe instead of trying to figure out what was wrong, Annie should just... Make small talk.

"So, dear, did you ever get a chance to plant those flower seeds?" She asked.

The dam broke.

"FUCK!" Lilin shouted, making Annie jolt. "The stupid seeds aren't working! I keep giving the dirt mana and dumping water on the stupid things and they're not doing ANYTHING! They just sit there, in the dirt, fucking off or something! I dunno what the hell I'm doing wrong, I pump so much damn Mana into it!"

Annie watched the outburst, taking note of what Lilin was saying. Just Mana and water, no talk of sunlight or fertilizer, no mentions of plant stakes or even making sure the pots were big enough for the roots.

"You know what? You're the flower girl," Lilin said, turning to face Annie now. "You're the one who wanted me to grow these things SO damn bad, why don't YOU try growing them? See how far you get without being able to use Mana!"

Annie shook her head. "Dear, I don't think I could grow them without having somebody like you to help me with the Mana."

This was a good compromise, and a good entry point for her in the conversation. Annie was being totally honest, but also making sure not to challenge Lilin's authority. Now, she just had to make the offer...

"But, dear, would you let me check up on the seedlings? Perhaps they're just not the type to grow quickly, and I'd like to see for myself."

"Ugh, fine, whatever," Lilin said. "Is 25 alright?"

"25?" Annie asked, blinking. "You mean, 25 of those pearls we get paid? Dear, I don't use those things anywhere. You don't need to give me anything."

Lilin looked at Annie, a look of utter confusion on her face.
"What?"

"I mean, you don't have to pay me. I'll just show you how to do it."

Lilin's eyes widened. Annie hadn't ever asked for money even when she clearly should have seen Lilin using her techniques, but Lilin always felt like she was getting away with it. Now, Annie was outright rejecting payment for a real exchange of skill.
"You're... Not gonna take payment?" Lilin said, her voice aghast with disbelief. "What kind of person does that?"

Annie couldn't ignore the tone in Lilin's voice. This wasn't teasing or mocking, this was pure and real shock. The same sort of reaction people had to seeing some crazy physics demonstration that defied common sense, or of a child who's seeing their parent break a household rule. Annie gave a smile and spoke softly, realizing this must be something drilled heavily into Lilin's mind.

"Of course I wouldn't take your money. You're my dear friend, and I want you to be able to grow flowers."

"No, seriously," Lilin said, waving a hand as if to shoo Annie away. "That's weird. You know this stuff, I shouldn't be getting it for free."

"Well, dear, didn't you teach me my maidly duties for free?"

"No, I didn't! I was forced to by the King and it was really damn weird! Also, I'm getting paid extra because I'm still teaching you!"

"What about flying me to the castle?"

"Wh- that wasn't even a good thing for you! You hated it!"

"What about with Tristan?" Annie asked. 

Lilin froze up, then scowled. "Like I said, that was just a reflex! Ugh, get over yourself, I'm not weird like you! Just... When we get our food, I'll let you take a look. Now drop it, and let's get back to work...."

Annie smiled to herself as she got back to work. She saw how Lilin's shoulders were sinking as the stress of trying to grow the flowers was lifted. Her movements were less forceful now, less tense. Annie felt satisfied knowing that Lilin was at ease, even if she didn't say it.