Private Tales Magic and Baking Should Not Mix

[Bliss]

Seated in the dining hall, Bliss had been feigning her enthusiasm as her classmate was explaining his choices of ingredients.

A talent baker, particularly with pastries, Owen had decided to test potion filled custards and berry compote and make them into tarts. She had already braved the Laughing Lillies, biscuits piped with icing that depicted the flowers. Although, she had a bad batch, they all did, for Owen did not account for the mixing of fine sugar changing any effects from the potion.

"Shit... that's not a good look... Alright, how about the pumpkin tarts? I infused them with the Melody Delight potion." Owen suggested, uncovering the basket that concealed the tray.

Bliss laughed, nervously at first, but relief soon came when the laughter did not continue longer than she planned. "Remind me again, what does that potion do exactly?"

The others shared the same concern, wondering if any other sweet treat would turn sour.

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

Among those sitting in on the impromptu taste testing were the illustrious twins, Ely'Esha. Ever suckers for sweets of all sorts, the promise of free confections lured them in like moths to a flame.

Bliss, the studious girl that the twins had identified as something of a perfectionist, asked what the potion Owen had been baking with did, and the gears in the twins' minds began to turn.

"Oh! Oh! 'Mellow Deedee Lite?' That one produces minor calming effects, yes?" Eshara chimed in, raising her hand and waving it like she was answering a question in class.

"Mm, no no, 'Melody,' 'Delight,' sister. No break in the middle," Elyon pointed out helpfully.

"Oh! Then...um...ah! Melody of De-light is a song spell which gently puts out all the candles in a room!" Eshara recalled, giggling at the potential such an incantation could have with regards to practical jokes.

"No 'of,' sister, and it's a potion, not a spell!" Elyon reminded her.

"Ohhh...then it is...the lozenge elixir that makes your singing sound like you are performing in a concert hall?" Eshara came upon at last.

"Mmm, that might be it. Owen, did we get it right?" Elyon asked the confectionary caster, both twins looking from each other to the boy with bright smiles.

 

[Bliss]

Owen glanced between the two, a half smile of confusion and coherency at war. "Oh, well uh..."
"Oh..." Bliss exclaimed, her face showing her sudden realisation. "Melody Delight, otherwise known as the—"

"—Happy potion, or one of." Owen finished, clearing his throat pushing forward the trays to the students before him. "It's the one that makes you be at peace, happy, and see the delights of the world. It should last for merely an hour."

"But when infused like so...?" Bliss scrunched her nose, awaiting the lack of knowing from the baker. He smiled sheepishly, scratched the back of his neck. "I guess we truly are the guinea pigs." She picked out one pumpkin tart, inhaling the spices and the sweet cinnamon that wafted up to her. Bliss then slid the tray towards the twins. "Shall we try together?"

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

"Ooohhhh..."

The pair had been quite wrong in their assessment, but this did little to steal the wind from their sails. After all, there were pastries to be eaten. MAGIC pastries, no less.

"Pumpkin treats already make me feel happiness!" Eshara exclaimed, happy to join Bliss in their little adventure.

"Yes yes, let us try. What's the phrase? 'It's merrier when there are more?'" Elyon added, picking up a tart of his own.

"'The more the merrier,' brother," Eshara corrected him as she prepared to stuff her face with pastry.

"Yes, that one!"

Whatever magical effects were to follow as they consumed the treats surely would be worth it...right?

 

[Bliss]

She stared between the twins, slightly in awe how two siblings could be so... patient with one another.

In the Gradimir household, a mistake meant you would be ridiculed of it for the foreseeable future, and never made to forget such a moment.

"Gosh, I wish I had your trust in Owen."

"You're being fed, Gradimir. Be glad I am not experimenting with drinks today." Owen shot back.

Bliss gave him a wide eyed stared, brows furrowing at him. "Uh, you failed to disclose there would be side effects at the start to all of this, I think your taste testers have the right to complain as they help you... idiot." She grumbled the latter, to which Owen hugged at her as he stared back right at her.

"Well then, stuff your faces." He invited. Bliss pulled her face into an endearing grumpy face before viciously biting into her pumpkin tart. She could taste the swirl of caramel, for it held a different consistency to the pumpkin puree filling. Only after swallowing her first bite did Bliss start to feel giddy.

"Oh! That was really good!" She looked to Elyon and Eshara, nodding encouragingly.

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

Both twins devoured their treats with glee, and the effects that came after were quite immediate. They felt warmth and glee and energy. The two began to bounce erratically in their seats.

"Oh, oh! It was, it was!" Eshara agreed, beaming.

"Mm, mm! It was tasty, and it feels as though we've just drank a whoooole lot of black tea!" Elyon added.

The sensation was shared between them, but as both twins were experiencing it simultaneously, it felt amplified even further. The two looked like coiled springs, ready to fire off and begin ricocheting off of the walls at a moment's notice.

 

[Bliss]

Owen stared at them, apprehensive to even ask. "How... uh, how do you feel?" Hesitance made the end of his words go up an octave.

Bliss smiled at him, beamed even. He was struck in that moment by how lovely she looked in such a state.

"Brilliant! What else have you got?" She asked, already biting into more of her sweet pumpkin tart. Bliss groaned and closed her eyes, savouring her bite. "Cardamon."

Her eyes opened, turning to the twins and began to giggle in her mirth. "Am I tearing up?"

She was indeed tearing up, her eyes narrowing from laughter and causing the wells to break and drop down her cheeks.

Owen looked to the twins, hesitant again. "Ah... I think I see my, well... the problem." He ran his hand down his face and sighed. He watched his guests from between his fingers. "Too many of the same sort of effects may... amplify the emotions. Oh... this could be bad... the crash could be... fucking terrible to say the least." He theorised aloud.

All to death ears. Bliss was silent in her laughter, slapping the table and jostling the plates and cups.

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

"Yes!" the twins exclaimed, hugging each other as they too felt tears of laughter begin to pour freely down their faces. They were much less discreet in their joy, laughing with full gusto as thought hey were patrons at a comedy club. They had thoroughly destroyed their granted pastries much more quickly than she had, and were feeling the effects mirror between them.

"'Crash?'" Eshara barely managed to giggle out, some meagre corner of her brain signaling that she should probably be worried despite all of the mirth she was feeling. "What does...heheheAHAHAHA! What does this mean?? Are we to become...CARRIAGES?!"

This thought broke her, and she leaned back in her chair, away from Elyon, kicking her feet like she was attempting to swim.

"We don't know how this could possibly be--snrrrkk, AHAHAHAHA!--'terrible!' This is the best we have ever felt!" Elyon concluded, holding his stomach as the strain of laughing began to make his stomach muscles tighten.

 

[Bliss]

Bliss was all too consumed from her giggles and laughter, so intense that they were, she had been rendered silent as her body shook with unheard laughs.

The tears did not stop, and the effect of the twins further escalating her giggles certainly was no help.

Poor Owen stared at them, rethinking his entire menu.

"Oh Greats," he sighed, fetching for his book and reading over his notes. There was a remedy for this, and perhaps he ought to put those to desserts or sweet drinks to counter these such effects. "Right... there we go."

From his potions kit, he rifled through to find the necessary tinctures and ingredients. Within minutes, he was dropping the blue shimmering liquid into their cups. "Alright, find a moment to settle down and drink up." He may as well be herding cats at this point.

Bliss drew out her hand towards the cup, holding it, but did not lift it to her lips. She was still shaking, excessive mirth keeping her from the antidote. "I... I..." She struggled to speak her next words.

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

The incessant giggling was transcending into the realm of pain now, and both twins were becoming desperate for a release. Eshara let Elyon drink from the cup first, knowing that he was the more level headed half of their pair and would be able to help her better once he'd calmed down. The Yan'Katma boy clenched a fist and winced hard as he made to down the bitter, glowing drink.

"Haaaahhh...better," he breathed after a few moments, though his empathic bond with his sister meant that residual laughter was still worming its way into him. He did as the twins had planned and aided Eshara in drinking her share of medicine as well.

"Gah...thank...the spirits..." she panted, relieved and dabbing tears from her cheeks with one of her baggy sleeves.

"Okay...Blissy's turn, I think," Elyon said, noticing their companion's struggle.

"Yes...it is only fair."

Thus, in moments, Eshara was trying to lean Bliss's head back and pinch her nose shut while Elyon poured the blue liquid into her mouth. Helping!

 

[Bliss]

The twins, although a great team effort, were unsuccessful in their endeavour. The antidote barely made it down her throat as her laughter only made her spit it out, or the contents spilled on her cheek instead of into her mouth.

Owen ran a hand down his face."Greats, give me fucking strength."

He began to slowly make up another batch, all the while watching Bliss become even more lost in her laughter due to the efforts of the twins. He could see the mage turn red, her breathing becoming harder to maintain. Oh no... he had been wrong about all of this so far, and now he was about to be at fault for one of the College's best students to end up in the infirmary.

"Stand back, let me." Owen did not think of a better way to get Bliss to drink. His first thought had been to drink it first and then... get close enough to put it into her own... but Greats knew he would be eviscerated by Bliss once she was returned to normal.

Instead, he used magic. Owen casted a spell to render her still, but the inner effects of laughter still effected her. He didn't have a lot of time, and thus, tipped the entire thing down her throat. After a few seconds, he could see the struggling leave her eyes, and then he casted the counter spell.

Bliss coughed and choked on her breath, leaning forward at the table and wheezed her way into recovery.

"Oh shit... Bliss? Bliss, I am so sorry. You're right, I am so sorry, I was too excited to..." His apologies would mean nothing right now. Awkwardly, he patted her back before looking up at the twins as if to say Say something nice!

 

[Elyon and Eshara]

Ely'Esha met Owen's expectant look with the polite but vacant smiles of a pair of people who had no idea what was being expected of them. The silence was awkward though, and the twins were never the pair to leave a conversation hanging.

"Owen is not very good at this!" Eshara exclaimed merrily, with all the honesty of a child.

"That was fun, though. I think we may have died if the laughter did not stop?" Elyon pointed out, ever so helpfully.

"Ohh, yes, maybe. Thank you, Owen, for saving us all from the thing you made that almost killed us!" said Eshara, planting her hands on her hips and offering a big smile.

"All things are well if they are ending well, yes? Is that the saying?" Elyon agreed, giving a thumbs up.

 

[Bliss]

Bliss lifted her head, cheeks splotchy with red and her eyes shared a similar shade beneath the glistening tears.

She turned to Owen, quiet for a moment, but her frown spoke volumes.

"Yes. Thank you Owen for saving our lives."

Owen sighed, apologised again, but had begun to pack up his potion touched treats. She watched him a moment before taking a large intake of breath and loosed it slowly.

"I should have said no to taste testing. The lesson here, Elyon and Eshara, is to ask the necessary questions before making a decision." Bliss dropped her head into her hands, the fingers pressing at her temples.