Standing Steady in the Storms: Ch. 5

Notes: So. It's been longer than I'd like since I posted the cliffhanger. That wasn't very nice of me. I'm sorry, I've had a lot of schoolwork and then I was trying to totally change the climax of this fic before it went out so that's taken a while...anyway 😅

Choclate Gooey Bread is essentially brownies. The section where they make it is based on my and my sister's attempt to make brownies. What happens in this chapter is pretty much verbatim what happened to us.

Making Chocolate Gooey Bread

A few hours before,  Leeli and Thorn were spying on the two couples as they boarded The Shining Beauty. 

“Where do you think they’re goin’?” Thorn whispered loudly, to the point at which he was really just talking. 

“I don’t know,” Leeli replied softly. “But if you talk that loudly, they’ll hear you! Personally, I’d like to keep watching them.”

“Technically we’re spyin’ on ‘em. We’re spyin’ on ‘em really good.” A proud smile crossed Thorn’s face. 

Leeli knew it had taken ages to convince him that real was reserved for describing places or things or ideas, and really was used to describe an action. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was actually, “really well,” not “really good.” At least he was trying. Though, she reflected. We’re not spying on them really well, either. We’re being kind of obvious. 

“Why’re they takin’ so long on deck? Why haven’t they left yet? What’re Janner and Kal talkin’ about?” Thorn fired his questions at Leeli rapidly.  

She groaned. “Thorn, I don’t know!” Leeli hissed. “I can see just as well as you can!”

“But you know your brothers better ‘n I do. What’d’ya think they’re talkin’ about?” Thorn looked at her with those adorable, brown puppy eyes that he made so well. 

Leeli sighed and gave in. She simply couldn’t resist his charms, even when she knew they were just theatrics. Leeli stared intently at her brothers but couldn’t see much from where they were hiding behind a couple of crates. “I’m going to move over there,” Leeli whispered quietly in Thorn’s ear. “Stay here.”

Thorn nodded intently as Leeli crept over to the other crates. She smiled with satisfaction once she settled in. Here, she had a much better view of Janner and Kal’s faces. Leeli peered at them. Janner was moving his hands around like he did when he was nervous or stressed. Kal rested his hand on Janner’s shoulder, and then walked away. Janner stood still for a few moments, and then got back to working.

“So what’re they doin’?” A loud voice asked right behind her. 

Leeli squealed and jumped up, falling over on her backside in the process. “Thorn,” she said irritably as she stood up, brushing herself off. “I thought I told you to stay put.”

“Why, Leeli-bird, Thorn,  what are you doing here?” 

Leeli jumped again and spun around and saw Artham standing behind her, his mouth and wings twitching in amusement. “Uncle Artham,” she stammered. “We’re just, uh, just,” she glanced over at Thorn for any help, but Thorn was staring at Artham, his mouth gaping open. Leeli sighed. Thorn had seen Artham’s wings plenty, enough to where he shouldn’t go all gaga-eyed every single time. It was getting somewhat frustrating. “Thorn,” she hissed. “Stop staring at Uncle Artham like that. It’s not good manners.”

Thorn responded by closing his mouth, but otherwise failed to listen to Leeli’s instruction. 

“Sorry, Uncle Artham,” Leeli glanced around and giggled nervously. “Thorn and I were just…” then she saw little Asteria racing towards her father, her face smeared with chocolate. “We were looking for chocolate to make chocolate gooey bread!” She blurted out. “We thought there might be a new shipment in from the ship but then we figured out that it’s just Janner, Kal, Sara, and Galya going on a pleasure trip.”

Artham, who had since caught little Asteria up in his arms and was holding her close to his chest, raised an eyebrow. “You were looking for chocolate behind the crates that have been sitting on the dock for months?”

Asteria giggled at the look on Artham’s face and put her hand in her mouth, saying: “Choc’ate!”

Leeli looked at Thorn. Thorn shrugged, offering no assistance. “Okay, fine. We weren’t looking for chocolate to make chocolate gooey bread. Though that is a good idea,” she turned back towards Thorn, whose eyes lit up at the prospect of making something sweet. “We were watching them.” Leeli gestured towards the ship that was now leaving the port. 

“Well, why didn’t you ask to go with them?” Artham said. “You could’ve avoided your unsuccessful spying.”

“We should’ve done that!” Thorn exclaimed. “Mister Artham, that’s a real good idea. Too bad they’re gone for now. Instead, let’s go make us some chocolate gooey bread!” Thorn whooped, setting out for the kitchen. 

Leeli shook her head. Nia would kick them out soon enough. “I’m going to go with him before he destroys something. Thanks for the advice, Uncle Artham!” Leeli called out as she ran after Thorn. “Oh, and can you not tell Janner and Kal what Thorn and I were doing when they get back?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Artham responded, laughing.

*****

Leeli and Thorn’s attempt at making chocolate gooey bread could be described as a natural disaster. Not in the sense that the gooey bread turned out poorly. Nia was particularly pleased with the way they came out of the oven and even asked if Leeli and Thorn were willing to bake them a second time. 

What turned into a natural disaster was the state of the kitchen. 

Thorn insisted on making the bread portion of the chocolate gooey bread. Leeli agreed, as long as he let her make the frosting. Things went downhill from there. 

First, when Thorn was combining the wet ingredients, he forgot to use the melted butter that Leeli had already warmed over the stove. He ended up covering solid butter in cocoa and leaving it on the counter to ooze into a drippy blob. 

When he was cracking the eggs into the bowl, the first egg slipped out of his hand and onto the floor, where it landed in a messy splat. The second egg sent egg shells scattering everywhere, including inside the bowl with all the other ingredients. Leeli pushed her way in and began fishing out the shell bits, while Thorn tried — and failed — to clean up the egg on the floor. 

Then, when he poured the flour into the mixture, it sent up a great cloud of white, coating half the kitchen, Thorn, and Leeli in flour dust. Leeli sneezed and glared at Thorn as he grinned at her sheepishly, pouring the flour in more carefully the second time. 

Finally after all that, Thorn poured the mixed batter into a pan to bake it, slid it into the oven, and shut the door. He dusted his hands off and looked at Leeli proudly. “See? That didn’t go so terrible, did it?”

Leeli blinked at him. “Terribly,” she said flatly. “And, yes, it did. There are few ways it could have gone worse.” She surveyed the kitchen. Flour was everywhere. Eggs were  smeared all over the floor, chocolate was strewn across every counter, and butter was slowly melting on the wooden platter. Then Leeli’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, no!” she gasped. “Thorn! Did you remember to butter the pan so the gooey bread won’t stick?”

Thorn glanced at Leeli, then at the oven, then back at Leeli again.”No,” he said slowly. 

“Well get that out, pour the mixture back into the bowl, and butter the pan!” Leeli shouted. Thorn jumped to attention, raced to the oven, pulled out the pan of gooey bread, and began fixing his mistake. He didn’t relax — and neither did Leeli — until the bread was safely back in the oven in a buttered pan. 

Leeli sighed with relief and leaned against the wall. “We did it,” she rejoiced quietly, raising her arms a bit in triumph. “Yay.”

Thorn looked at her. “Um, Leeli?”

“Yeah?” Leeli’s eyes were closed, and she didn’t look at him. 

“Dontcha still hafta make the icin’?”

Leeli groaned and hit the back of her head against the wall.

*****

Just an hour after the sun had set, Leeli and Thorn came out of the kitchen, proudly bearing the chocolate gooey bread on a platter. They found Nia in the sitting room with Artham, Arundelle, and Asteria, who was happily playing with her doll on the floor. 

“Mama! Thorn and I made chocolate gooey bread!” Leeli displayed the bread with a flourish. 

Nia’s eyes widened. “It smells delicious!”

Thorn nodded. “It tastes delicious, too.” Thorn’s eyes were very serious, a humorous contrast to the chocolate icing that was smeared around his mouth. Leeli had made one batch of icing, but Thorn had eaten half of it. After and while scolding him she made another, watching his every move and not letting him anywhere near the new icing.

Leeli offered them all a piece. Arundelle broke off a small chunk and handed it to Asteria, who put it in her mouth and clapped her hands happily. 

Everyone warmly approved of Leeli and Thorn’s success. After Nia had swallowed a bite and declared the gooey bread, “phenomenal,” she turned towards Leeli and Thorn, looking them straight in the eyes. “Now,” she said, folding her arms. “How much of a mess did you make in the kitchen?”

Leeli and Thorn glanced at each other. “Well,” Leeli began. “The mess is gone now, and I’d say that’s really all that matters.”

Nia raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “And how did the mess disappear?”

Leeli silently willed Thorn not to tell Nia that he had let the stable dogs in and that they had licked every sweet and sticky spot in sight, which happened to be the entire kitchen. Leeli had forced Thorn to re-clean the tables and counters that were covered in dog slobber while she washed the dishes free of their drool. 

“We got it all cleaned up, Ma’am!” Thorn declared. “I tell you, that there kitchen is spotless. Perfectly clean.”

“Well,” Nia replied, a smile on her face. “I suppose I’ll have to be the judge of that. Either way, this chocolate gooey bread is fantastic.” Leeli breathed a sigh of relief. With luck, Nia would never know what had actually happened in the kitchen.

“Oh! We should save the rest of this for Janner, Sara, Kalmar, and Galya  when they come back from their sail. They should be here soon.” Arundelle’s eyes twinkled. 

“That’s an excellent idea!” Artham gasped. “Then, we can trap them and learn about everything they discussed at Sea.”

Thorn glanced at Leeli. “An’ ya thought I was relentless.”

 *****

The little group stayed up, waiting for The Shining Beauty to return. Artham stepped outside after a while and walked over to the docks, hoping to fly out and see if he could spot them. He came back a half hour after he left. When they looked at him expectantly, he shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line. 

“A storm is blowing in. It’s a strong one, bringing the cold air from the Ice Prairies. Our summer might be delayed a bit.”

“What about the children?” Nia asked, her voice trembling.

”Theoretically, it should have blown them back here. No matter where they are out on the Sea, a driving wind is coming from the west. It’s possible that they’re waiting it out in a cove along the coast. I checked with Greston, but he said Kal didn’t tell him where they were going. ‘Out’ is apparently all he said.”

Nia wrung her hands nervously. “It’ll be okay, Mama,” Leeli said softly, placing her hands over her mother's in comfort.

Thorn had long since gone to bed in the guest room where he stayed when he was in Anniera. Arundelle had taken Asteria to bed when she started fussing. Leeli didn’t plan to sleep. She was going to wait up with Artham and Nia until her brothers, sister, and friend came back. I won’t sleep until they’re back here safely, she resolved. 

When Leeli woke to the dawn light shining in the window, her head on Nia’s lap, she scowled, knowing she had failed. Nia and Artham were both still there, and Artham was pacing the room, hands clasped behind his back. His wings were twitching nervously, and Leeli knew her siblings had not returned. 

Arundelle made breakfast for those who wanted it. Leeli and Thorn both ate, but Nia and Artham refused. Arundelle sighed and met Leeli’s eyes. Leeli saw more worry there. It was the same worry, the same fear that was in everyone’s eyes.

Leeli didn’t like to see the worry. It scared her.

“The Shining Beauty is back!” A man ran through the door unexpectedly, breathing hard. “She’s back, I tell ye!”

Nia stood up abruptly. “Maker, please let them be alright,” she whispered under her breath. Leeli thought she saw a tear sneak out of the corner of her eye, but it was gone in a second. 

In the orange and pink light of the chilly spring morning, they all ran to the docks, hearts thudding in relief.

When they reached The Shining Beauty, Leeli’s mouth gaped open in surprise and she nearly stopped in her tracks. Against the peachy light, the bent and beaten ship rocked gently in the water. The mainmast was black and broken against the dawn, and the topsail had disappeared entirely. 

She and Nia both raced up the gangplank someone had  put down. They stood on deck, panting. No one was there. It was like a ghost ship. Leeli felt chills all over her body. Where was Janner? And Kalmar and Sara and Galya?

“Oh, Maker,” Nia whispered as she covered her mouth, looking at the ship that had been battered by the fierce storm. 

Suddenly, they heard a banging. Leeli’s head jerked in surprise. It was coming from below deck. 

The hatch. Leeli ran over, struggling to pull up the heavy wood. Artham, who had joined them, came and lifted it with ease. 

There was a scraping from below. Leeli’s heart leapt with hope. Thank the Maker they had sheltered in the hold. The storm must have been bad indeed for them to —

Then her heart stopped. Only two shaking girls emerged from below. Sara and Galya. Neither Janner nor Kalmar was with them. 

Leeli desperately wanted and needed to ask what had happened, but her words died in her throat. She heard Artham say them instead.

“Sara, Galya, do you know where Janner and Kalmar are?”

They looked at each other and then at Artham in stunned silence. “Y-you mean, they didn’t steer us into the harbor?” Sara’s voice shook with fear. 

Leeli saw her sister-in-law’s gaze slipping from Artham, to her, to Nia wordlessly. “Janner’s not here?” She whispered, her voice breaking. Artham shook his head. Then Sara looked around wildly. “Janner!” She yelled, struggling to scramble onto the deck. Artham helped her up to keep her from hurting herself in her haste and franticness. “Janner, where are you? Janner!” Sara shrieked again, her blue eyes wild with terror. “Janner,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “Janner, where did you go?”

Leeli watched as Nia walked over to Sara and kneeled on the deck of the ship, gathering her daughter-in-law in her arms. “Shhh,” she whispered, stroking Sara’s hair. “Sara, darling, it’ll be alright.” She rested her chin on Sara’s head, closing her eyes. Leeli saw tears flowing out, and Nia didn’t bother to hide them this time. 

“Mama,” Sara cried, pressing her face into Nia’s chest. “Mama, what are we going to do?”

Notes: 😭😭😭