Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 71

“Yes, it contains potion recipes. Right now, we are going to make a tranquility potion. The recipe is by Doctor Ano N. Ymous,” Ai began to explain to Astoria and Lara as she paged through the book to find the tranquility potion.

“Why are we making a tranquility potion?” Astoria asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It is used for a medicinal purpose in our infirmary,” Ai said, staring at the page with the tranquility potion recipe, “So we make our own for our injured soldiers, royal guards, and the sort. It is a very effective anesthesia.”

“Wow,” Lara exclaimed, staring at the different colourful-looking potions and ingredients stacked on the shelves.

Astoria and Ai turned their attention to the little fox who was hopping about and whose eyes were dazzling with a glint of curiosity and wonder at the variety of potions and ingredients.

“Make sure you do not touch anything,” Astoria told Lara.

“Yes, princess Nexi!” the little fox replied, nodding her head and clasping her hands together, continuing her potion and ingredients sightseeing.

“Let’s see,” Ai began, running her finger along the instructions written on the page in front of her, “It says here that to brew a tranquility potion, we need to gather the following ingredients and follow the steps closely, paying great attention to detail.”

She read the ingredients. These included two bits of Ember Moss, three tablespoons of Fade Chicory, five tablespoons of Arctic Creeper, two tablespoons of Blister Mallow, and three bits of Hybernation Tarragon.

“Oh!” Astoria exclaimed upon realising that she recognised the names of the ingredients, “So that was why you bought those plants from that owner? To make this tranquility potion?”

“Bingo!” Ai nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

Ai ran her index finger over the first instruction.

“So first, we have to crush the Ember Moss with whatever does the job for us and put the result in a cup,” Ai told Astoria.

Astoria nodded and read the instructions.

“Could you bring me that mortar and pestle over there?” Ai asked her, pointing at the mortar and pestle on the top shelf across from them.

Astoria smiled and walked to the shelf, stretching her hands and reaching for the mortar and pestle. The mortar and pestle were black in colour and made of granite. She held the two tools in her hands and walked back to Ai. The fox princess clapped her hands in delight and walked to the shelf behind her.

There she grabbed a jar labeled ‘Ember Moss’ and walked back to her workstation. She took out two pairs of blue safety gloves. She handed one pair to Astoria and opened the jar of Ember Moss. She put the plant in the mortar and handed Astoria the pestle.

“I need you to crush it,” Ai instructed, earning a nod from Astoria.

The fox princess watched as Astoria put on her safety gloves and began to carefully crush and grind the Ember Moss, its minty scent filling the entire room. Ai read the second instruction, which stated that she needed to add some water to turn it into a creamy emulsion.

“Lara?” Ai called the little fox who was staring at a pink potion that looked like a pink cloud stuck in a glass jar.

“Yes, princess Ai,” Lara replied, turning her attention away from the potion and at the fox princess.

Ai laughed and shook her head.

“We are family now, so call me sister Ai, alright?” Ai told her, to which she nodded.

“Now, please fill that cup with water and bring it to me,” Ai instructed the little fox, pointing at the tap next to her.

Lara nodded and saw a clean cup lying next to the tap. She grabbed it, put it under the tap, and turned the tap on, filling the cup with water. She held the cup with both hands and walked to the fox princess.

“Here you go, sister Ai,” Lara beamed, handing Ai the cup of water.

“Thank you,” Ai smiled and pat Lara’s head before grabbing the cup of water.

She tapped Astoria’s shoulder and pointed at the water.

“Grab that black bowl,” Ai pointed at the bowl next to Astoria.

Astoria grabbed it and placed it in front of Ai. The fox princess told her to put the crushed Ember Moss in the black bowl. When Astoria did as she was instructed, Ai poured the cup of water into the bowl and stirred with a spoon. As the recipe had stated, the Ember Moss turned into a creamy emulsion.

All the while, Lara found a chair next to an open window that overlooked the royal garden. She sat on the chair and stared at the beautiful scenery of the garden, occasionally turning her head to glance at Ai and Astoria. They were pacing back and forth as they continued to make the tranquility potion.

Ai added the Fade Chicory, one quarter at a time. She then filled a pan with liquified steam and added the crushed Ember Moss and Faded Chicory mixture. She placed the pan on the magical stove she had bought six years ago, which still, mind you, works like a charm to this day.

“Iceius Morbidoose,” the fox princess uttered, her palm hovering above the mixed ingredients.

A wobbly, blue coil of waves emerged from her palm and made their way into the mixed ingredients. Astoria stared in amusement, her eyebrows raised.

“The recipe says we need to cool it down,” Ai explained, giving her a smile, “before bringing the mixture to a boil.”

Astoria nodded and clasped her hands together, her eyes glued to what the fox princess was doing. She found potion-making fascinating and watched Ai diligently and closely. Ai let the mixture simmer until it darkened into a dark green colour before adding the Arctic Creeper and Blister Mallow plants which she just threw in there.

“Please stir this with that wooden spoon,” Ai instructed, pointing at the wooden spoon.

Astoria grabbed the spoon and stirred the contents in the pan. She watched as Ai walked to a cabinet and grabbed a jar. The fox princess placed the jar on the work table. It was labeled ‘Hibernation Tarragon.’

Slowly, very slowly, as the mixture began to simmer,  Ai opened the jar of Hibernation Tarragon. She mixed it in and told Astoria to stir the contents. After a minute of stirring, Ai let out a sigh and stretched her arms out in the air.

“Now we just let everything cool down, princess Nexi,” she told Astoria, who nodded and placed the wooden spoon aside.

Ai adjusted the magical stove’s heat. She grabbed a chair, faced it towards Lara, and sat down.

“Since our mixture is cooling down, we should probably do the same,” Ai said, removing the safety gloves and placing them on the work table.

Astoria nodded and removed hers as well, grabbing a chair and sitting next to the fox princess.

“We will go to the festival after this, Lara,” she heard Ai say to Lara, who turned and smiled.

Astoria stared at the wooden clock on the wall.

‘Wow,’ she stared in bewilderment, ‘We have been at it for an hour and a half. Potion-making is hard work. I admire Ai for doing this.’

Ai followed the direction of Astoria’s eyes and saw that she was looking at the wall clock.

“Potion making takes a great deal of time,” Lara and Astoria heard Ai say, “Especially because you have to be extra vigilant with your ingredients and process as one wrong move could result in you creating a completely different potion which could have severe side effects and endanger you.”

“I really admire your patience and love for making potions, Ai,” Astoria smiled genuinely.

Ai laughed, her laughter filling the room, which was filled with the sound of a simmering mixture.

“Thank you, princess Nexi,” the fox princess giggled, “My name will go down in history as one of the greatest potion makers in the world one day. Watch the space!”

Lara and Astoria nodded in unison.

“We will cheer you on, sister Ai,” Lara said, placing her hands in front of her chest and clenching her fists.

A look of support was plastered on her face, and this caused Ai to smile and wink at her.

“I am glad to hear that,” Ai stood up and turned off the heat of the magical stove.

She clenched her hands above her head and cheered triumphantly.

“And we are done. The tranquility potion is a great success!” she yelled, staring up at the ceiling.

She grabbed a few empty potion bottles and took another spoon to scoop the mixture and pour it into the potion bottles. Once all the potion bottles were filled to the core, she placed her palm above them.

“Locoricus Foclindo,” she uttered, causing a light, scarlet line of particles to snake their way down her hand and then attach themselves to the potion bottles.

“What spell is that, sister Ai?” Lara asked, staring with wide, fascinated eyes.