Bismarck's (attempts at) Dailies

The morning light pierced through the clouds at last, the rains finally clearing up. Maja sat up and yawned, running a hand through her loose hair. She rose from bed and went to push the window open, the scent of freshly fallen rain drifting in on a cool breeze. She smiled and went to don something to wear; today, it was a loose shawl, a gift Serena had given her, a reminder of home. It was black with a tessellating pattern of red and grey diamonds woven on the back and along the bottom edge. Next was the tea; the castle had imported jasmine recently, and she was eager to try it. Maja went to the balcony to fetch the cauldron she'd left there. The servants here would have gladly made her tea, but she liked to brew it herself, and with how rainy it was she'd taken to setting a cauldron out on the balcony to collect rainwater - another tradition from home. She paused on the balcony, feeling the cool, wet stones beneath her bare feet and letting the morning air clear her head. She wrapped the shawl around herself with a contented sigh, admiring the sunset in quiet reverie.

After a few minutes she took the cauldron and went back inside. She'd requested a small burner to make the tea with; a contraption containing a singular fire crystal for heat, difficult to manufacture and maintain. She filled the kettle and started the burner, taking a moment to draw her hair up into its usual loose ponytail as the water warmed. Preparing the tea had become something of a morning ritual for her in her time in Faeros; the long journeys on the road left little time for it. A man had come with the shipment of jasmine, a Far Eastern human who spoke a little Common, and Maja had managed to learn his personal ritual for making tea in the morning. The Far East was a place she'd like to see some day. Maybe she would ask him about it when she saw him again.

The tea didn't take long to make, the scent of jasmine filling the room. It reminded Maja of a plant that grew in the Twilight Forest back home; the Ahn Twilii also used it to make tea, and it was a favourite of hers. Maybe she'd have to bring jasmine the next time she went home to compare them. With her teacup in hand, Maja went to curl up in one of the two large armchairs before the fireplace with a contented sigh. To travel was one thing; it was her favourite thing in the world, in all worlds, to be honest. But some days it was nice to sit down with a nice cup of tea and let dreams be dreams a while longer.