Tea in the Tree

When Luna said this realm was colourful, she wasn't kidding. There were rainbows of colour moving all through the sky. They were like watery waves, dancing to the sway of a jetstream high above.

Everyone was mesmerized by it. It was relaxing to watch. Just behind those dancing colours in the sky was a giant rounded shape with swirls of clouds across its surface.

"Luna, what exactly are we looking at?"

"The colours in the sky are known as an aurora borealis. They usually happen at the north and south poles of your world. I've never seen one so pretty before. I used to watch them from my room."

I've heard of legends from northern travelers who talk about these so-called sky gods who appear at nighttime. They're supposed to be like snake dragons with colour trailing behind them. I wonder if this is what they were seeing?

"Then the disk in the sky beyond is your world as seen from the rings that circle it."

"Why couldn't we see our planet before?" Charlie asked.

"Likely because we were in a spot where it was less visible."

I noticed Zumi whip out her journal and start jotting things down.

I really felt like words alone couldn't describe the beauty of what we were seeing. If only others could see how spectacular of a view this was…

Maybe I could draw it? What would I use for that?

"Zumi, do you have some extra paper?"

She didn't have any extra loose paper, but she had an extra notebook.

"Why would you need something as mundane as paper?" Charlie raised his brow.

"Maybe I'd like to sketch the view out? People need to see this."

I regretted not doing it in the last ring realm, so now was the time to make up for it. In my defense, I was pretty shocked at being in such a strange place.

"Pfft…" he waved his hand. "Finally, someone becomes useful. Took you long enough."

This man really had no filter. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have even been on this journey in the first place.

Before an argument broke out, Zumi managed to calm us both with a suggestion.

"Why don't we take a break for the day? We've done a lot, I'm tired. We also need to eat something."

If we wanted to take a break, we'd probably want to find shelter too. Conveniently, this place was littered with old ruins and stone buildings. There were also a few massive trees that could work for shelter too. We picked something that looked vaguely reminiscent of a house.

Zumi used her magic to start a little fire in the courtyard. I had some cooking utensils that I used to cut up and cook the giant bird we just defeated.

Luna had been missing for a little while, but returned with about two pounds of what looked like grass and flowers. She got to work grinding them up in a mortar and pestle.

I shouldn’t be surprised by what she did next, but she opened up her bag and pulled out a tea set and kettle, putting it over the fire, and using the grounded weeds for tea.

“Are those plants safe to drink?” I asked.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I’ve seen these before in my herb garden.”

She was the expert on this, after all.

While she was brewing up some tea for all of us, we all munched on the meat we cooked over the fire. It was dry stuff, but filling.

It was getting late, the sun was setting behind the planet. Everyone spread out around our shelter and set up spots to sleep. Thanks to Zumi bringing some repellent charms, all the rodents and bugs scurried away, giving us a nice place to rest without pests.

***

I couldn't help but wake up a few times. After the third time, I sat up and took a look at everyone in their sleeping bags. Luna was missing again.

It didn’t worry me, because there was a fire going outside in the courtyard.

Luna was sitting there, brewing more tea. The fire wasn’t very strong, but somehow the water was boiling well enough.

“Walden.” She smiled, rubbing her eyes. “Good morning.” She yawned.”

“We just went to sleep about two hours ago. I think what you mean to say is, good night.”

She shook her head. “Good night makes it sound like we're going back to sleep. I’m clearly waking up for the day.”

When I tried to ask why she was up so early, she told me she just couldn’t sleep. Something we had in common.

Her tea was about to finish, and she suggested that we go enjoy it together. Courtesy of our monster repellent, we were pretty safe out here.

She and I climbed up a tree to get a nice elevated seat. They were so big that you could climb up the stones ruins and sit up in the branches.

These trees gave us a great view, even at night. With those auroras over our heads, everything was constantly lit up.

I took a sip of the tea Luna made, it was excellent, calming, carrying a smooth flavour. Slightly different from what she’d made earlier.

Honestly, this was the life. Sipping tea with a moon princess, sketching exotic lands in a little notebook, and enjoying the view. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end this weird day.

Luna peaked at my drawing.

"That looks amazing," she gasped. "No wonder Charles is jealous."

Jealous? Where'd she get that idea?

I conveyed my confusion with a questioning look. She just took a confident sip of tea.

"Care to explain that?"

"Could you not tell? He called you a waste of potential before, and complimented you when you requested paper to draw on."

She calls that a compliment? He said I was finally making myself useful.

"Don't you understand what that means?” She asked. “He respects your artistic skills."

In a pig's eye. Like Charlie would ever have respect for me.

Luna was giving me a snooty smirk, like I was the one in the wrong. She’s silly if she believes he could have any respect for me.

I had to get the subject off the Cougar Killer. He was just so aggravating to think about that my blood pressure was shooting through the roof.

"Hey, thanks for helping me get down from the platform ruins," I said in a somber town.

"I should thank you for being my ears. That bird was awfully dangerous looking. Delicious too."

I had a strange feeling at that moment, looking at her sparkly silver eyes. I felt like I'd known her my whole life, like an old friend, connected by fate.

But the reality was that I didn't know her very well at all. What kind of things did she like to do? What was her favourite food? Has she ever had a dream she wanted to follow? Those are pretty normal things to ask about in a relationship.

"Luna, I have a few questions to ask."

"Hmm?" Her head tilted, curiously.

I posed my questions, and she had some weird answers.

"I like to spend time making tea." She said that as if it was supposed to be a huge revelation. "My favourite food is broiled Barthoc legs with extra turmeric spice. I love it with tea, and a side of nini apples. I've always wanted to get married and have a family, and my favourite colours are red and silver."

I guess she added that favourite colour part on her own. Now it was my turn.

"Gardening is my hobby. I like keeping food simple, personally. Eggs are great. My dream is to become a halfway decent mage. And I like the colour blue."

I always made sure to plant one blue flower in my garden each year. They were hard to mix with the aesthetic I usually went for, but personal taste out ways that sort of thing in my book.

Luna nodded along as I explained that, but then she frowned.

"Are you sure your dream is to be a mage?" She asked. “You talk so much about artistic things. I really do believe you should consider that."

“Of course it’s my dream.” I answered. “How else will I make a living for myself?”

Her face curved down with disappointment. “You’ll be marrying me. A princess. Have you not once considered the immense wealth I’ll inherit?” She smiled. “Perhaps it's a good thing that you didn’t think about it like that.”

Wow. That statement hit me like a brick. That was a nice point in the marriage court.

“Still, I don’t want to use you for money and power. I want to make a living for myself too.”

“Then do what you love.” She put her hand on mine.

Doing what I loved wasn’t necessarily going to pay the bills.

“Let me put it like this,” she started, “if Charles is impressed with your skills, perhaps you’re decent enough to turn it into a profession.”

“Maybe.”

“Think about it.”

I thought talking about this was going to make me anxious, but I didn’t exactly hate what she was saying. Maybe she was onto something. Or, maybe not. When all this was said and done, I’d have to give it some thought.