51 Follow The Leader

"Where are we going?" I asked Cecily.

After our little heart to heart conversation. Cecily had insisted that I follow her. Which had resulted in her dragging me out of my room and into the hallway to some unknown destination...

To be fair, I wasn't putting up much of a fight as she drags me down the hallways. I decided I was going to take her advice and just take it easy for a bit. I had plenty of time to sweat the small stuff later on. It was time that I took a nice little reprieve from my worries.

"You've got to wait," she says her little hand clenching my hand and I kept obediently following behind her.

Smiling, I try to guess where she's dragging me off too.

We'd passed a lot of room on our way to wherever she was taking us. As we went, I started to get a loose idea about where she was dragging me on our little adventure.

"Where's Ekon? He almost never leaves you alone," I say as we round a corner and head down the main staircase.

I was about ninety-nine percent sure I knew where she was taking me.

Turning to look at me, she gives a wry grin. "Cecily made him wait with Mime," she says as we near the door to the kitchen.

Well, it looks like I'd guessed right, she was taking me to the kitchen.

Stopping in front of the black glossy wooden doors. She turns to give me a wink and then she places her small hand onto the door and pushes. They swing open with relative ease.

The smell of food and sugar permeates the air with the doors open. Looking around the kitchen, I can see all the kitchen staff hard at work preparing for brunch.

"Where are the boys?" I ask her.

"Cecily had them wait at the back, so they wouldn't be in the way of everything," she grins.

Glancing towards the back of the kitchen area, I find them towards the back at an open station in the kitchen. A few maids and butlers stood around them making sure that nothing happened. There was also a number of Beast Kins in Kimono's standing near Mime with attentive looks.

Looks like they had brought some of his own staff along with them. It made sense if his dad was anything like mine then he'd need all the help that he could get.

A few of the kitchen staff look towards us and give us bright smiles, but then quickly continue with their task and head on their way.

"Come on," she says dragging me around all the kitchen staff.

The smell of blood and breakfast food lights up the air. I found myself water at the thought of having a blood spiced coffee. I'd have to ask someone to get me one when they weren't so busy.

"Good Morning Lil Miss," the staff said as I walked past them. I gave them all a small smile and quickly got out of their way. I wouldn't make their task harder than it already was.

"They're here," Ekon says pushing his elbow into Mime's arm.

The two of them are dressed completely different from one another.

Mime had a simple black kimono that had a scrawling red flower pattern on it. That highlighted his pretty features, he still was a cute lil pudgy child even with his elegant style of dress. His hair was drawn up into a ponytail atop his head, and his cute ears are twitching ever so slightly.

Ekon was dressed in a simple pair of pants that are a navy blue and a simple shirt that cuffs around his forearms showing off all the tattoos on his arms and chest. His unruly black hair in a messy pile on his head. He looked a lot like a punk, but he was a sweet kid at heart.

"Good morning Hollis," Mime says his sharp hazel eyes pulling up into crescent moons.

"Morning boys," I say pulling myself into a chair on the opposite of the workstation from them. Cecily sits right beside me a proud look covering her childish features.

"Cecily planned a morning of baking for all of us. She said that you needed to relax," Ekon says using air quotes.

I couldn't help but grin at him. They're a funny pair of siblings nothing was ever boring with the two of them around, that was for sure.

"I'm excited to make something with everyone. I brought out some of the sweets form my home. I hope that everyone will enjoy them," Mime says waving his hand.

One of his attendants' steps forward. It's a beautiful woman that has short black hair and pointy dog ears. Her eyes are sharp and black, but she's got a warm half-smile on her vermillion colored lips. In her hands, she's holding a black box that has a simple lotus flower design on the top of it.

Putting it down in front of him, she gives a small bow and steps backward.

"Here," he pushes the box forward, "everyone can try one."

He peels the lid of the box off and puts it on the table. Looking into the box everything has neat little dividers that separate all the treats from one another. Inside the box, I see all sorts of yummy looking treats.

There a golden-brown cracker that looks a lot like Taiyaki. Sadly, I never got to taste one in my last life.

Other than that, there's a soft white ball treat. A few crackers that are checkered and then other colored balls of sweet. The last item that I saw was a stack of warm brown pancakes that are fluffy.

My mouth waters just a little bit as I stare at the sweets lining the box.

"Cecily wants the white ball sweet," she says reaching out her hand to take one of the softballs from the confines of the box. After she removes the ball another appears in its place.

Oh, the box was magic! It would make sense that was the case, it probably kept the sweet all fresh and ready to be eaten. In this world, there's a lot of magic research and invention centered around 'lifestyle magic.'

As the name suggests it's to make life easier. It's the reason why there are so many magical tools that are similar to the appliance from my last life. However, there are certainly items that aren't anything like I'm used to.

"I'll try the pancake, thanks," Ekon says with a smile picking up a pancake.

It looks like it was my turn.

"I'll try the fish," I gingerly pick up the fish. It's firm and still warm in my hand. Once it comes away from the box, the smell wafts upwards and tickles my nose. It smells like sugar and cake.

"Try it, everyone," he says with a bright smile.

Without delay both Ekon and Cecily bit into their treats. I slowly bite the nose of the fish-shaped treat and the overflowing taste of chocolate hit my tongue. My eyes widen as I began to eat more and more of it.

"Mhm!"

"This is good!"

"Cecily loves it!"

All sorts of reactions swirl around the kitchen as we quickly devour our treats. I can't even help myself; I lick my fingers making sure to get every bit of the sweet possible.

"I'm glad that you all like them," Mime says a small blush tinting his face.

"If you want, we can make them, but if you've already got something planned Cecily I don't want to impose," he quickly says to her.

Her little golden eyes are twinkling at the mention of making sweets. I almost can't contain my laughter. It seems that she didn't mind in the least.

"No, let's make your sweets!" She slams her little hands on the table and looks expectantly towards Mime.

Ekon reaches a handout and slaps Mime in the back with a bright smile on his face. "You heard my little sister, she's all for it!"

"I'd like to make these as well," I say smiling at him.

His bright little hazel eyes glow and his tail swishes behind him faster. The attendants behind me all reveal a small smile at their little master's reaction.

"Okay, we can even add blood into your sweet for you Hollis!" He says clapping his hands together with joy.

I felt my mouth water, even more, anything infused with blood was great in my book.