Bettina

When Mary woke the next day, the sun was up, and it looked to be a beautiful spring day outside. Mary stayed in bed for a while just trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened yesterday.

She finally decided she needed to get up. She dressed in the same dress as she had been wearing yesterday and quickly braided her hair and let the braid hang free down her back. She had gotten used to this hairstyle during her time on the road.

She went downstairs and felt a little out of place. She found both Kopa and Bettina in the kitchen. They were talking in Salamis, and both turned towards Mary as she entered the room and switched to common.

“Good morning” Mary said.

“Morning my dear” Bettina said.

“More like afternoon” Kopa chuckled.

“Oh hush with you. The poor girl needed her sleep” Bettina looked angerly in his direction.

“I slept all day?” Mary asked horrified.

“Don’t pay attention to him. It’s almost lunch. I would have come to wake you in a bit if you hadn’t come down. You need to get some food” she said to Mary with a gentle smile which Mary returned.

“You can go up with her luggage to her room” Bettina said looking at her husband.

“Yes ma’am” Kopa said, standing from the table. On his way out of the kitchen he did a detour over to the wooden counter to peck a kiss on Bettina’s cheek and then went over to Mary and placed a hand on her shoulder before exiting.

“Charmer” Bettina mumbled, still smiling.

“What can I do to help?” Mary asked.

“Nothing, I can manage”

“Please, I need to feel at least somewhat useful, and I have slept enough for me to be rested” Mary pleaded.

“You’re like me, you need to keep busy” Bettina nodded in approval. “Could you start chopping the onions?” Bettina said nodding toward two big onions that were placed next to a cutting board.

“No problem, where do you keep the knifes?” Mary asked and got directions. Soon the two women stood side by side working.

Once the onions were chopped, Mary got a new task and once everything was prepared Bettina started cooking. As she stirred in the pot, she asked Mary to get different things for her. Mary felt right at home and quickly slipped into the role as a chef’s assistant.

“For lunch we will have a soup. While it is boiling, we need to start dinner. I was thinking that we will make a curry stew and the longer those get to cook the better.” Bettina said to Mary indicating for her to follow.

Together they went into the pantry and Mary saw it was well stocked with all sorts of food. Bettina started picking things they would need, handing them to Mary that in the end had her arms full. Bettina then grabbed a large piece of salted meat as they went back into the kitchen.

“You are skilled with the knife, Kopa said that you worked in the kitchen, it shows” Bettina said.

“Thank you”

“Could you take the vegetables we picked out, peel them and then cut them in to pieces about this big” Bettina indicated the size between her index finger and thumb. It was the size of a dice.

“Sure, no problem”

The started working again. Whilst Mary started on the vegetables, Bettina went around the kitchen to different cupboard, pulling out spices and herbs. Mary realized that probably all of the cupboards contained herbs and spices. Bettina was a herbalist after all.

“Bettina, what is curry?” Mary asked, she had been wondering ever since Bettina mentions what they would be making. But it had taken Mary some time to work up the courage to ask.

“Curry is a spice mix, most households in Salmis have their own mix, so it never tastes exactly the same. Mine is, of course, the best” Bettina said winking at Mary. Mary smiled and watched as Bettina placed some spices in a mortar.

---

Kopa took Mary’s chest and carried it up to her room. He placed it at the foot of her bed and stood for a moment looking at the room.

He couldn’t describe the feeling he had. He felt, complete, happy and at rest. It was not something he was used to.

Since Bettina had come into his life, it had contained more joy then ever. He had never thought that he would find a woman to marry. He wasn’t a man that expressed his feelings and most women found him intimidating and were afraid of him.

But not Bettina, she was just this warm and happy person that treated everyone with kindness and trust. When she agreed to become his wife, he had a hard time believing it. To be honest, it had been her that had been the driving force in their relationship as he couldn’t fathom that she could be interested in him.

When he had returned home a couple of days ago to talk to her about Mary, he had been nervous. No, more than nervous, he had been scared. He knew that he needed Mary to live with them, but he also knew that it wasn’t his decision to make alone.

He feared that Bettina would say no. Kopa didn’t know what he would do if she had. He had been a nervous wreck as he sat her down and told her how they had found Mary. About how she had transformed from the confident girl to a woman that seemed so defeated.

Bettina had cried and before Kopa could ask her if he could bring Mary into their home, she had declared that he must bring Mary home with him. She said that the girl needed a family, and they would be that family to her.

Kopa had never loved his wife more than in that moment. She was truly a gift from the gods and now he had the two people he loved most in his home. They were a family.

He sighed contently and went downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, he was meet with a sight that put a big smile on his face.

His two girls stood side by side at the kitchen counter, talking and working together as if they had never done anything else. He was filled with pride and happiness.

“Do you need any help?” he asked cheerfully.

---

Mary looked up as she heard Kopa speak and gave him a smile.

“We got this under control, you can make sure we have enough firewood in all the rooms” Bettina smiled at him, and he nodded before disappearing.

Bettina was showing Mary how to cook the curry and Mary was mesmerized by the fragrant smell that filled the kitchen as the spice mix sizzled in the oil. Mary was exited to learn all these new recipience and ingrediencies.

She looked over to Bettina and felt enormous gratitude towards the woman for her patience with Mary. Mary knew she was asking a lot of questions and being a nuisance, but she couldn’t help herself. She made a mental note to do better and let Bettina work in peace.