“Marie! Watch what you're doin' honey!” Katherine didn't often shout but her voice was one that when she did shout everyone turned to look at who had incurred the wrath of the house mother. Marie looked at the flame and where her hands had been, another few centimetres and she'd have been burned, pulling her hands away from the pots on the stove she backed away to the table. Katherine was making chutney from the fallen fruit of the grounds, they'd been stored until now and the amount of guests and parties that were being planned they needed something to cut through the fat they'd be eating.
“Where's your head girl? You could've been burned, badly. If your heads not in stirring, then do some cutting.” Katherine moved her to the large wooden table and put a small sharp knife in her fingers. Marie for her part could still feel the iron band on her ring finger, it was strange to have it there. She'd never been a ring person, especially with her mutation she felt it was stupid to wear something no one would ever see. But she'd been sitting just spinning the damn thing for hours, staring out of the windows to the snow covered playground outside. She knew she should be dong something, anything but just waiting but she couldn't, she needed answers and the one person she needed to ask wasn't around to talk to. Katherine broke her reverie, “Come on, spill it. Just spit it out or we'll be here all day and nothing but burned onions and apples to show for it.”
Marie finally aired the thoughts that had been plaguing her since she'd found the ring on the tree with her name on it. “Why now? I mean why has he decided that this is the perfect moment to act on his feelings...whatever they might be.” Katherine had her back to her but she saw the older woman nodding and she turned her face to her own.
“Well, there's one answer in your room. Do you still have the box the ring came in?” Marie nodded quickly, the small wooden box was a piece of art itself. “Good, go get it.” Marie looked a little uncertain but she went anyway.
When she returned the chutney was being spiced, the softer fruits were being added to the jars to be cooked by the still piping hot apple and onion. Katherine saw her return to the little kitchen and smiled as she saw the tiny box in her grip. “Have a good look at it Marie, I mean a really good 'look'.”
Curious Marie did as she was bade, the surface was worn, there were several places where the varnish had been dulled by wear, turning it over she could see the tiny scuffs and scratches that her eye had missed before. There was even a repair to the hinge that was so small she'd missed it entirely, lifting the lid of the small box she could see where the velvet interior had been worn by the ring moving around loose inside it. There was a ring shaped dip on one side as if it had been carried for a long time in one position, her fingers stroked the place where it had been. Katherine's voice wove over the scented air to her ears, “Do you remember when I first got here? When the old farrier came?” Marie nodded and slowly closed the box holding it tight in her hand. “That was what, nearly six years ago now?” Marie seated herself as Katherine began to screw on the lids of the chutney jars.
“Ever wondered where Logan went that week?” She looked pointedly at her left hand where the ring sat on her finger, “A blacksmith won't sell his secrets, but if a man offers to work for him, do some hard labour, he'll make him treasures beyond worth.”
Marie scanned back in her memory, that year had been so difficult for her, too many voices in her head, too many people to be aware of. She'd only found peace with Logan, it had been him who'd pushed her toward Katherine one night, knowing she needed someone who'd be there for her all the time. Sometimes he had to go where the fight took him, places she couldn't go safely. But he had gone for a while, no more than a week but he had left and when he'd come back they'd started their usual beer and pizza night. Their own little 'catch-up' session. Marie looked at the box and then at Katherine's smiling face and eyes, “Did you really think he was coming home to see me Marie? He didn't leave me a ring behind, all he left me was a knife.” She held up the small forged blade in her hand, the edge wickedly sharp and simple, “Friends you want to keep you give a knife to, someone you love, you give your ring. You've had your answer all along Marie.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Marie and Katherine have a natter in the kitchen.