Archie stood by Nori and watched from afar as his father said goodbye to Blanche. Arty had insisted Archie give them some space for a private word. For as often as Archie had been made uncomfortable by his father's suggestive comments, he was made even more uncomfortable by not being able to hear them. He imagined that the exchange consisted of embarrassing childhood stories, forward remarks, and a little dash of fatherly advice. Watching them was torture.

"You look terrible," Nori observed.

Archie chuckled and rubbed his tired eyes. "Didn't sleep much."

Nori frowned. "I'm sure Waldorf has forgotten about it already."

"It's been a day, Nori." Archie sighed. "You didn't see it happen."

"Well…" Nori's hand hovered over Archie's shoulder, then she rested it by her side. "I just don't want you laying awake in bed worrying. Things will be fine."

"Wasn't in bed." Archie squinted to try to read his father's lips. "I followed my dad to his inn."

"What?"

"From a distance. I watched the entrance until…" Archie's heavy eyelids went from squint to shut. It took a considerable effort to open them again. "Must have been halfway to dawn. I just wanted to make sure."

"You thought someone would come for him?"

Archie nodded.

"Archie, that's ridiculous," Nori chastised. "What would you have done if someone had?"

"It was just for a night!" Archie snapped, fatigue making him coarser than he meant to be. He rubbed his eyes again and waved an apology. "I just needed to know that he was okay. I wouldn't have slept anyway. Now he'll go home, and he'll be safe."

Nori's hand hovered over Archie's shoulder again, but this time, it planted and rubbed. "Okay, Archie."

Archie looked down the road at Arty and Blanche. It had been long enough. He walked toward them, catching the tail end of Arty's final words.

"...naive, but his heart's all there."

Archie cringed at the words and cringed even more at how understanding Blanche's nod was. They turned to him as he approached.

"One last goodbye," Arty said as he held out his arms for a hug.

Archie lifted his arms up for the embrace, but Arty swerved at the last second, catching Nori in a big sweeping hug. Archie shook his head as Blanche giggled.

"My favorite child," Arty joked. "Take care of little Archie, will ya?"

"Of course," Nori said as she gave Arty one last squeeze. "Give my love to Adeline."

"Give it yourself," Arty countered with mock anger. "I expect you to spend a lot of time in Sain next summer, you hear me? The rest of the world can wait."

"Okay, okay."

"At least two full weeks!"

"Okay!" Nori laughed.

Archie caught a little twitch in Blanche's face as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Alright," Arty said as he ushered Archie in. "Your turn, your turn."

Archie made his father pay for making him wait, launching himself into a tackle-hug that nearly took Arty off his feet.

"Ah, I'll miss ya, kiddo," Arty said. "It was so good getting to spend this week with you."

Archie let his hug do the talking, giving his father a tight squeeze. "You'll come visit?"

"As much as Petrichor will let me. Love you, Archie."

"Love you too, dad."

"So sweet," Nori interjected.

Arty waved her away as Archie pelted her with a conjured blueberry.

"Alright, I'm out of here," Arty said with one final wave. "I expect you to all have a good semester. Don't forget to misbehave."

Archie laughed. After the previous year, he had no plans of doing anything crazy. No near-death experiences, no black market cooking, no dealing with Gluttons. No lies, no revelations, no schemes. Just stress about a girl and learning how to fight. That sounded like a pretty ideal year.

"Oh, I'm gonna go wild," Nori called out as Arty stepped into the carriage.

"Attagirl," Arty cheered.

"I've had enough excitement for a while," Nori said as she pushed Oliver's drink away.

"More for me!" Hawthorn snatched the drink before anyone else could, still holding his half-finished drink in his other hand. "Oh, Shiso would love this."

Archie, Nori, and Blanche let out a chorus of annoyed sighs that filled the lounge. Shiso, Shiso, Shiso. Even though her mother had made her stay in Uroko, she was still very much in the room with them anytime Hawthorn opened his mouth. He could hardly go a minute without speculating how Shiso would be reacting to any given moment. The others knew not to encourage him.

But Oliver didn't. "Can't shake her from your mind, eh?" he asked.

"Not at all. I still see her just as clearly as the day she left."

"That was like, two weeks ago," Nori countered.

"And I see her like it was just a minute ago," Hawthorn cooed. "She's so pretty."

"Yeah?" Oliver asked.

"Oh yeah. Like, a different kind of pretty. Her beauty…it's…it's regal."

Oliver looked at Archie to confirm. Archie closed one eye and rocked his head side-to-side.

"When do you go home?" Nori asked Hawthorn.

"That ready to get rid of me, huh?" He shook his head with a disapproving tsk-tsk-tsk.

"I just want to make sure I say bye to Picea."

"Hm. We leave tomorrow morning."

"You could always stay at the Academy," Archie suggested. "It wouldn't be hard to get a Green Jacket a sponsorship."

"No way. I'm getting put on special assignment when I get back. Head Chef Picea's personal squad of monster hunters. A one-month rotation around the east coast." Hawthorn brushed off his shoulder with pride. "Everyone else on the squad is at least a Blue Jacket. But since I have experience with the tariaksuq and know the land, I got the assignment. Tracking down the things that go bump in the night."

"Scary," Blanche said.

"Cool," Archie said at the same time. For as excited as Archie was to get back to the Academy's kitchens, he couldn't help but feel like he'd rather be out surviving in the wild. He thought of his encounter with the licertes. How would he handle it now? Could he hunt them down? Did he remember the place?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He imagined stalking through the woods. Tracking the clawed footprints of the lizards. He needed to learn how to make a slick surface so that they couldn't charge him. He had heard of Chefs conjuring big puddles of grease. Or maybe he could throw blueberries on the ground like caltrops. Then he'd pick them off with his slingshot and use his noodles on anything that got too close. And Nori could…

Nori.

The thought of her in danger hit him with a sobering gust of realization. That was the kind of recklessness that had gotten them in trouble their first year. He needed to be careful. More deliberate.

At the very least, he should bring Barley too.

A hand reached over from behind Archie and snatched his cup.

"Alright, you promised me a story about your summer," Julienne said just before downing Archie's drink. He took a seat with Mindy. Archie was pleased that Yarrow wasn't with them for once.

Hawthorn's eyes lit up. "Are you Julienne?"

Julienne brushed his hair off his forehead. "One of them, yes."

"Oh my…" Hawthorn put his hands around the top of his head. "My mom had your grandma's cookbook. She always said that reading that while pregnant is why I became Chef."

Julienne smiled. "My great aunt's cookbook," he corrected. "Are you Khalyan? I wasn't aware any copies of her book made it that far east."

"Oh, everyone where I'm from dreams of eating at Cafe Julienne. It's…it's the pinnacle of western cuisine."

"Thank you for saying that."

Archie laughed at Hawthorn's starstruck smile and was impressed by the grace with which Julienne took praise. Julienne took everything well. Archie imagined Julienne's mind as a serene, tranquil ocean scene, free of worries.

"Why didn't you come to Khala with them?" Hawthorn asked.

"I was needed in Labrusca." Julienne grinned at Archie. "I spent my summer retrieving the Charmant truffle. Beat that."

Archie scoffed. "I don't even know what that is."

"It's only the most potent essence found in any ingredient. You know, easy work for a guy like me. What'd you do?"

Julienne's competitive fire burned bright, but Archie didn't need to seek shade. He looked directly into Julienne's eyes with a sly grin. "I spent a few weeks wrangling yaks."

Julienne licked his lips and nodded. "Well that's…I guess not every summer can be exciting."

"Yeah." Archie let the silence linger just long enough for Julienne to think he had won. "Of course, then I fought off a herd of tariaksuq. They're uh…big elk-creatures that walk upright and have antlers that glow in the dark. One of the most fearsome creatures in the world. So that was pretty cool."

Julienne's victorious smile faded.

"And then there was hiking through yeti country and avoiding these little demon children before meeting a thousand-year-old yeti…and Tamani."

"Tamani?" Julienne asked. "Like, Tamani Tamani?"

Archie nodded. "She lives on as a grove of trees. I spoke to her. She gave me one of her acorns to plant in Sain." Archie looked to Blanche expecting to see a smile, but her face was warped into some sort of disgust. "What's wrong?"

"The tariaksuq weren't cool," she said softly. "A lot of people died…"

The air rushed out of Archie's inflated ego. That was right. Dozens had died. Many more lived on in grief. The event was not something to celebrate. Especially since the tariaksuq had followed him to the village. His head spasmed to the side, an involuntary physical attempt to toss aside his guilt.

"You're right," Archie said as he stared down at the table. "I'm sorry."

Julienne breathed in through his nose, his demeanor sinking to match Archie's. "Not everything about the truffle hunt was great, either."

And then there was silence.

And then there was Oliver.

"Boooo," he monotoned. "Mood killers. I'm going to help Benny run lines."

"He got a speaking part?" Blanche asked.

"Nope. But he's practicing for it anyway." Oliver gripped the bottom of a pitcher and concentrated on it for a moment before putting it on the edge of the table. "My parting gift. Drink it in good health."

Archie snatched his cup back from Julienne and filled it with the honey mead. "What are you making in Cafe Julienne these days?"

Julienne usually met the question with enthusiasm. But this time, he raised his eyebrows and sighed. "Well, the only staple on the menu right now is Yarrow's lobster mac."

"Is it that good?"

Julienne sighed again. "Better than anything I'm making right now."

"We're working on other dishes," Mindy added. "I got to train with the sauceliers."

"Ooo!" Blanche said. "My aunt lives in Toral. When she came to visit, she'd bring these jars of brown butter hollandaise that were delicious. We ate it with every breakfast."

"They taught me that!" Mindy exclaimed, her voice pitched high.

"No way!" Blanche's voice was even higher, the girls feeding off each other's energy.

"Yes!" Even higher. Nearly a squeak.

"Ah! You have to make it for me!"

Archie leaned back from the shrill pitch of the two girls. "Rowan had us make this zucchini soup," he suggested to Julienne. "Parmesan, cream. Some croutons thrown in for texture. You could make that."

Julienne pursed his lips into a wide line and looked up through the corners of his eyes. "Well…that's…um, well, the richness of the lobster would be…too much after a cream soup. It'd be better suited with a—uh, a clear soup. Like a consommé."

Archie scratched his neck. It had been months since he had to pair dishes together, and the rust showed. He had improved as a Chef, but not as a cook. He had the sense that he'd never be any closer to Julienne's skill as he had been that first year.

"You could serve barnacles with lemon," Nori suggested. "They taste like lobster."

"Barnacles?" Julienne asked in disbelief.

"They're good. You could do a crustacean dinner. Maybe a spicy shrimp soup."

"And for dessert?"

Nori considered it for a moment, the freckles around her nose dancing as she scrunched up her face. "Crab brûlée."

"Crab…brûlée? You mean like a…" Julienne looked to be on the verge of laughter. But then his face settled and sunk into thoughtfulness. "Huh. That could be good. That's a good idea."

Nori smiled to herself, but that wasn't enough for her, so she extended her smugness to Archie with a proud look. Archie received it with a scowl, but felt a spark hit his competitive spirit.

"You guys and your food," Hawthorn scoffed. He stood with a grunt and patted Archie on the shoulder. "I gotta go pack. Same time and place next year?"

Archie slapped Hawthorn's back in return. "As long as you don't get yourself killed out there."

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. Seems like trouble always has a way of finding you."

The life of the conversation left with Hawthorn. Archie and Nori talked about The Gift for a while, but he kept his eye on Mindy, who spent the rest of her meal running through menu options with Julienne. Once she rose to leave, Archie followed, catching up with her as she reached the kitchen.

"Hey, Mindy? I was hoping to talk to you."

She spun, her long wavy blonde hair flinging around. As much as Archie's affections laid with Blanche, he couldn't deny that Mindy looked like a masterpiece painting come to life. "What's up?"

"Well, I—uh…"

"You going down?" Mindy motioned to the back door of the kitchen.

"Yeah."

"Good. I hate walking alone in the dark." They went out into the cool summer night. A couple of torches had blown out in the breeze, leaving sections of darkness that had Mindy grabbing Archie's arm as they descended the stairs. "So what is it?"

"It's—uh. I was wondering about—uh…"

Mindy stopped on a step and looked at Archie through her eyebrows. "Had the greenhouse on your mind, haven't you?"

Archie chuckled and nodded. "Something like that. How'd you know?"

"Us girls talk, you know."

"And uh…what does she say about me?"

Mindy went back into motion, yanking Archie's arm along. "You shouldn't ask girls to spill each other's secrets."

"Okay…how about asking girls for advice?"

Mindy looked at Archie with a sly smile. "That's acceptable."

"So…" Archie looked up at the stars, then down at the building below. He only had the anonymity of night for another fifty steps, but nerves made him drag out his words. "What do I do?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that. That's like asking how to cook."

Archie sighed. "Well, we've been—you know…"

"Intimate?" Mindy teased with a raised eyebrow.

Archie slipped on a step, this time with him holding Mindy for support. "Wh—what? No! I—uh—we haven't even—uh…we haven't even kissed. I was—I was going to say that we've been flirty. And obviously something is there. But I don't—I've never…I don't know what the next step is, you know?"

Mindy giggled. "Well, kissing would be a good start."

Archie's cheeks burned, and he couldn't contain his nervous smile. "So how do I go about doing that?"

"How would I know? I've never been kissed."

Archie tried to look into Mindy's eyes, but she looked up into the night sky. "I don't believe you."

She returned her gaze to him and grinned. "Yeah, I've been kissed plenty of times."

Archie shook his head. "So?"

"Honestly, Archie? She's probably alone in the greenhouse right now. Just go down and plant one."

"I can't just…do that. I have to like…earn it, you know?"

Mindy pursed her lips in a tight smile and nodded. "Maybe you have a better sense than you know. Take her out. Do something fun. Something different. You two are struggling because you've been friends for a year before this. You need something to shake things up."

"Something different," Archie said as he pondered possibilities.

"One-of-one." They walked into the lounge, and Mindy let her arm slip from Archie's as she headed toward her room. "And I say this with love, Archie. Have Barley give you a breath mint."

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