#baronyofthesilverwolf

"I... she's ... fine.. it's a movie reference, a sttory I heard..."

"I've seen it. David Bowie."

"Yeah, that was the one."

Arthur looks blank.

But... disappointed. "No Labyrinth?" A sigh.

"Okay, both of you follow me, you need to meet Marigold"

And she leads them to the Kitchen "Mom? "

Somehow, between the hallway and the kitchen, Thistle's "entourage" picks up a dust bunny and another Never.

Gwen cranes her neck in to see if Marigold is in

Marigold is in, and is stirring a large pot of something that smells rich and garlicky. She looks up and smiles, but then gets a stern expression.

“Oh no, none of that.” She shakes a finger towards the nevers, one of which was already heading towards a sugar bowl.

“No critters in the kitchen! That means no kittens, no dogs that are unaware of just how big they are, and no chimera!”

Apparently she is still a bit miffed about Binky.

"Binky didn't mean to cause trouble!" Dander up to defend!

"He was almost killed by a stuffed-shirt overweening asshole!"

"I'm not surre how she keeps gathering them... but I wanted you to meet Thistle? I think you've met Arty and..." A look at Thistle "HEY? Don't yell at my mom, please"

"I'm not yelling, you would hear it way up there if I were."

The trolls at Rivervale never have to put up with this she concludes but keeps a stoic face on

Marigold picks up quickly on the tension, and she opens a window. “Come now, kitten, you don’t need to bristle at me. Let your friends go visit with Binky in the garden. They’ll find raspberries still in fruit.”

"They're not mine. They just... follow me? I think they like bright colors."

"They like sugar, too. They're not that different from my kid brother."

“And here, miss, come give this a taste. With that fire in your belly, let me know if my sauce needs a touch more pepper.”

Gwen knows that Marigold has made countless gallons of sauces and needs no help with seasoning, but…

The woman offers a spoon to Katrina.

Arthur is watching with some interest.

Her plumed eyebrows quirk, as she is set on a new kilter by the offer. "Um. Okay." She tries it!

Gwen smiles quietly.

She swallows. "It's Katrina. Or Thistle, maybe."

“And I'm Marigold. What you're called will come from who you are inside, and I can’t wait to learn all about you.

And you, young man, don’t be shy.”

Arthur move forward, he has been peering into a drawer. “I am called Arthur, for now, of unknown House.” A small frown at that.

"He was Arty, but that name doesn't really fit anymore."

The sauce is delicious. that is, if you like rich, garlicky, sausage laden tomato sauce of the kind called “Sunday gravy” as it cooks all day and gets better with time.

"The sauce isn't bad! Tastes like tv-italian-grandma food."

"Arthur, you okay with Arthur or still looking?"

"And Thistle, Marigold is the best cook in the Duchy" Proud "She learned in places like France"

"I'm not sure France has automatically better food."

"But this ain't drek."

"Well, it used to, then Marigold came back to the states " Smugly

Snerk!

Pleased by that, she adds "You guys are going to eat well here. "

"This seriously isn't fairy food, right? It tastes like real food."

She makes a face at the pot, squinting - yes, kenning the sauce.

She senses… a hint of butter!! Added to enhance the richness. The fairy grandma might entrap her if Katrina steals her secrets?

"I think it's real. I bet fairy cows would have butterfly wings or green milk or something weird..."

An eye roll "of course it's real. Trust me, I don't burn calories around here I'd get thick as a redwood"

"But is there fairy food? The glowy gang, regular people don't see them..."

"Well, you can put glamour in food to enchant people, but yeah there's probably purely chimerical food too"

"But I can't enchant people without checking first."

"And they'll forget it after."

Arthur has his head in the freezer, peering through there. "Herds of fae cows, herded by Corgi." He calls over.

Marigold glances at Gwen and says in an undertone, "Curious one, isn't he?"

"Maybe he'd prefer Florent to Arthur... " Gwen muses thenn whispers back "He's tryinn to adapt"

"Oh, yes. I've seen enough young lords and ladies through it. He'll catch on soon. You just keep him away from that nasty teacher, you hear? And that goes for you too, Miss." Nodding to Thistle.

She scowls. Spirals dim but don't grey.

"I'm not taking art anymore."

"You're still into art, just self educated for a bit" Gwen tells her

The fridge closes, and Arthur straightens up. "Steward, can you direct us to the library?"

Marigold blinks. "Well, m'lord has some books in his study, but they're largely related to his work. Horse breeds, hound conformation over the ages, dietary and health treatises..." She flaps a hand a bit.