Page 9 of The Tea Witch’s Secret

That made me chuckle. "Ah, I know what you mean. I'll figure something out. Are you all right?"

She winced when one of my tins clattered on the floor. "Yes, you're just making a lot of noise."

"Sorry." I paused, taking a deep breath to centre myself. "I've just created a bit of a mess."

"I can see that."

"I'm trying to find a spice, and I could swear I had some spare, but I just can't find it. I need it because the spice trader won't be here for another two weeks, and that's way too late." I stopped myself, not wanting to impose on Lian. This had nothing to do with her and she was a stranger. It was best not to show her the chaos I sometimes caused.

"What spice?" Lian asked, leaning down to pick up a pan that had somehow ended up on the floor. I should have been paying more attention to what I was doing, because this wasn't a good look for me.

"Cinnamon. I've run out somehow," I said, patting the pockets of my apron as if for some bizarre reason the cinnamon would be in there. It was one of the only places I hadn't looked.

Lian moved some of the metal tins on the table next to her, putting them in line. "I have cinnamon. You can have some of mine."

"Really?" I didn't want to let my hopes get up yet, but I could feel them rising already. "You're sure?"

She nodded and gestured upwards. "I have some in my room. I carry all sorts of medicinal ingredients and cures for Eva and Max."

"And you're sure you can miss some?" I hesitated, knowing that what I was going to say next might ruin my chances of getting my hands on some. "Just to be clear, I need the cinnamon for personal use. It's not for work." The last thing I wanted was for her to feel as if I'd tricked her. I would never be able to forgive myself if the weather witches moved on from Purple Oak because I'd insulted them.

"It can be for what you want it to be for," she said. "I'll get it and you can have what you need." She left before I could thank her, which wasn't hugely surprising. She could be quite abrupt in her departures and arrivals. That seemed to just be the way that Lian was.

I took advantage of her being gone to clear away more of the mess I'd created. I had definitely gotten a bit carried away looking for my spices, and I needed to clean this up so I could actually do some baking and cooking.

A confused meow came from the window, and I turned towards Snowie, finding her perched on the windowsill and pretending she couldn't climb down because there were things on the workbench under it. She swatted the metal tin instead, jumping when it clattered to the floor.

"Silly cat," I said, moving over towards her to clear those tins and containers first. Snowie didn't seem impressed with all the clattering and bolted out through the window.

So much for that. It seemed like I was scaring everyone today. It was fine, Snowie had witnessed worse, and I'd make it up to her later with some delicious scraps.

I tidied a little bit more before there was knocking on the doorframe again. I already knew it would be Lian because of the way it sounded, and I was right. She was back, but this time, she had brought a leather case with her.

"That's a lot of cinnamon," I said, curious what she'd brought with her. I also wondered why, but despite the snippets of conversation we'd shared, I didn't feel like I knew her all that well.

She gave me a serious look. "It's not all cinnamon. That would be strange."

"No, I figured. I was joking," I clarified, though maybe I needed to think through my jokes a little bit more when it seemed as if most of them were passing her by. I stepped back from the workbench so that she could put her case down.

From the clattering and the medicinal smell, I could tell it was going to be a collection. I wasn't sure why it surprised me, but it did.

Lian opened the case, revealing all sorts within it, all labelled in a script that was beautiful but unreadable to me, no doubt it was in her native tongue. Something about her collection reminded me of my own pantry, just contained in a case instead of all around us. Pouches, tins, small boxes, drawstring bags. There was a whole lot, but it was a lot more organised than my cupboards, that was for sure.

"Wow, you've got a bunch of things," I said, moving closer towards her to get a better look. It was an eclectic mix but not as foreign as expected. I recognised a lot of things I might cook with, like slices of dried ginger, shrivelled up mushrooms, dried berries, and all sorts.

I pointed out a small glass jar with what looked like tiny purple flowers. "Lavender?"

She nodded. "It helps to soothe nerves and anxiety. It was recommended to me by an apothecary in our last town. It works really well, and the smell is quite nice too."

"Yeah, there's fresh lavender in the herb garden sometimes, and it always fills the air with a nice aroma," I said. I picked up a bundle of thin, gnarly dried roots, my curiosity making me forget that I probably shouldn't be touching her things without asking her permission first. "What are those?"

"Valerian root. It's for if you have trouble sleeping. It's best steeped in hot water or made into a tincture. The taste is unpleasant though," she said, pulling a face.

It was adorable, and I liked how she was talking about the things in her case. Her voice was so smooth and pleasant to listen to, something I had thought many times since we met. I wanted to ask about more of the things, it was a true treasure trove, but she picked out a thin pouch and pulled two sticks of cinnamon out of it.

"Here, is that enough?"

"That's more than enough. That's too much. I only need one. Half of one. Let me grab my coin pouch. How much should I pay you for this?" I said quickly, trying not to think about the cost of everything in the case. I'd always known that weather witches were wealthy. They had relatively rare magic and were highly sought after because of it. They could live like nobility no matter where they went.