Normally, when it was just a regular garden meeting, Gigi dropped off the treats, and left Canary to supervise and reassure the family, as they tested out the treats on him first before indulging. But the seed swap event would require Gigi to hang around and personally supervise. To answer questions about treats, or chat about ingredients and allergies. And keep the trays arranged so they always looked their best, even as the numbers of treats diminished. Abandoned - picked over - trays drove Gigi nuts.
Nuts! She grabbed a small sign with lovely calligraphy text declaring that the contents of this particular tray were nut free.
The oven timer and Gigi’s phone dinged at the same time. It was going to be that kind of day, Gigi could tell. But the important thing was that no one else would know, fixing a smile to her face and looking on the bright side. Her business was thriving. She was the go-to caterer for sweet treats in the Sanctuary. She had nothing to complain about.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Sweet Lady, give her strength to deal with her relatives.
***
Gigi could feel her smile slipping. Nico Yanez was here. Why was he here? Didn’t he have minions? She wasn’t the only one to notice his arrival. There was a distinct murmur of appreciation from several females present. It was probably just because that weird shaft of sunlight had spot lit him for a split second as he entered the Annexe, carrying several covered trays. Nothing but a trick of the light making his skin and hair gleam golden because as soon as he got closer, he looked his normal dark haired, olive skinned studly self.
And of course he looked disgruntled, because Goddess forbid the man look happy or at least blankly professional. Not her problem, Gigi determined to ignore him.
Easier said than done as he prepped the two long trestle tables reserved for his savoury goods. Arranging trays of sandwiches, smoked salmon rosti, cheese and chive roll ups, baby bruschetta loaded with assorted toppings and sun dried tomato tartlets. Smart of him to provide an array of tempting cold finger food.
Of course her trestle tables looked equally tempting, if not better. The purple and white striped trays lying on the crisp white linen tablecloth really popped. Plus the setting helped. TheLibrary Annexe built like a cathedral made of glass. With soaring ceilings and loads of space. So much so the small stream that ran through the middle of the Annexe looked completely normal.
Across the stream were all the bookcases, study desks and the admin desk. On this side, where today’s meeting would be held, all the small tables had been removed and rows upon rows of chairs had replaced them, all facing a mobile lectern.
Any other day library goers could retreat to this side of the stream and sip a beverage, read a book, do a puzzle, or just sit and contemplate one or all three of the metal sculptures that her cousin Erik had added to the stream. Each one functional, with parts that moved thanks to the slow flowing water. Peace personified on a normal day.
Today was different. There was a lot of international gossip to catch up on before the meeting officially started. And the buzz of the crowd was loud. Great-Aunt Annabeth, standing behind the lectern, her back to the stream, was looking about the space like a proud matriarch. This group was her legacy. And the seed swap annual meeting was their version of a Christmas event.
Politely Annabeth began to rap on the wooden lectern with a small gavel. Half a minute passed, the noise level didn’t drop. Coating the gavel in ice was a neat trick, and the sound it made as it cracked apart on the lectern had everyone present freeze in place. Silence falling abruptly.
“Time to start.”
There was a gratifying rush by everyone to take their allotted seat.
Gigi stepped back from fussing over her table. Annabeth hated distractions when she was giving her commencement speech. For that matter, she was known to send a chilly blast in the direction of anyone who showed any intention of marring her big day, or who failed to display proper respect to the featured speakers scheduled for the event.
An hour later Gigi was fighting the urge to fidget and trying to quell a yawn. She liked flowers, used them a lot in her creations and as inspiration. But she was no way a gardener. She didn’t care about propagation techniques. Or the proper way to stratify seeds. But at least she was attempting to feign interest. Unlike Nico Yanez, who’d promptly found a seat and immediately drifted off to sleep. So rude. How typical of the man.
Gigi just didn’t get why everyone was such a fan of his.
Other than his looks, which she was a big enough person to recognise were kind of studly. He was just so casual about everything, bordering on the constantly distracted, or was it that he was just disinterested? Perhaps now that both his siblings were settled down he was contemplating heading back out to sea to resume hunting down long lost treasures and civilisations.
Stifling another threatening yawn, Gigi shifted her attention to Canary, currently sitting on a crystal pedestal, residing above her treats like a little furry dark purple guard. He looked cute today, the gold tennis bracelet around his neck a nice lowkey touch. He twitched his nose and blinked twice. That still weirded her out sometimes.
The family forgot, but as a magical construct, Canary’s one and only job when he was created was to act as a poison tester and disposal unit. He hadn’t needed to sleep, drink, eat or thankfully poop.
The Greats who’d magic’d him up had created the bunny shell as camouflage. Basing it upon the pet rabbit one of their grandkids had at the time. Gigi thanked her lucky stars daily that her cousin hadn’t been into arachnids or snakes. Ick.
For the first few years, Canary had been nothing but a purple furry bunny shaped blob. Who just ate the food shoved in his mouth and changed colours to advise when something magically untoward was present. Or promptly expired or exploded when something really magically nasty was going on.
Reforming or reviving four or five minutes later. Good as new.
Only in the last two and a half years or so had Canary began to be Canary. First it had been the odd blink. Then a twitch of his ears or tail. Then the link between them began to form, fuzzy and blinking on and off at first, as Gigi began to get used to connecting with him. Seeing through his eyes. And over time the link grew stronger, clearer. Canary able to communicate verbally with her using a limited number of words. Such as good, bad, fire, intruder, and happy.
Whilst slowly, as time went by, he began displaying a personality. Moving about on his own. Sleeping sometimes, or at least feigning it. He even sought affection and had a distinct preference for where he liked to be rubbed or scratched. Thank Goddess he still didn’t poop though.
And then there was the inexplicable relationship he and her bridesmaid dress had formed. She prayed hard they were just best buds and nothing more. Although they were both magical constructs. No, don’t borrow trouble.
