a Queen of Butterflies

chapter 06: I made cookies for y'all.

I walk downstairs and see Thanatos is already cooking. Or well... cooking, I'm pretty sure willing pots and pans to fly around whilst you're reading a book, doesn't count as cooking.

"You're up early."

"So are you", Thanatos shoots back not even looking up from his book, "and I'm making breakfast so I have an excuse. Generally, only Matt is up this early."

"Why?"

"I don't care, probably some plant stuff or whatever. I think he gets up early so he can water his plants right when the sun comes up. Ah, speak of the devil"

Right when Thanatos says it the slender boy walks through the doors, his hair still tussled as if he just came out of bed. 

"Hey bro", Matt lifts his hand to give Thanatos a high five.

"Don't ever say that again", Thanatos sighs, "By the way, have a cookie I baked."

A grin full of malicious intent spreads across his face but Matt doesn't seem to notice.

"They're fortune cookies."

Matt grabs one of the cookies and takes a bite.

"But", Thanatos continues, "All of the fortunes are insulting."

"Ah I see", Matt says as he unfolds the paper that was inside the cookie.

"You look like a beanstalk."

"They're enchanted to insult just the things you feel uncomfortable about", Thanatos smiles, "And the jar never empties. Have fun with them."

He flicks his hand and the pans fly towards the table, accompanied by plates, knives, forks and glasses. Then he quickly turns around on his heels and walks out of the room.

The smell of the food appears to wake everybody up and soon I can hear people stumbling down the staircase.

The twins, Alex and Peter, come down first and it looks like they've already showered and changed. They only stand out because it doesn't look as if any of the other kids bothered to change out off  their pajamas.

Everybody sits down at the table and I notice it is slightly smaller than yesterday evening. I stop mid step and Giulia looks over at me. 

"Is there something wrong?" She frowns.

"The table is smaller than it was yesterday", I mumble.

"Oh yeah, that's normal. The table gets bigger or smaller based on how many people need a seat. It's just like with some of the rooms, they only appear whenever they are needed."

"And that's... normal?" I laugh.

"Not yet but it will get normal", Cal promises. Which surprises me because he still seemed very insecure about the whole 'we're all halfgods!' thing yesterday.

"So my room, the one I'm currently staying in, wasn't there two days ago."

"Nope", Ada chimes as she sits down at the table.

I choose to sit down as well and scoop some scrambled eggs onto my plate.

"Usually breakfast isn't quite like this", Lucas says, "We generally just run to the kitchens and beg the nymphs to give us some bread and stuff."

"And most nymphs just give it to us", Matt adds, "We just need to run really far down to get it."

"Wait what? Down? Are there more floors?"

"Yeah, the biggest part of the palace is actually underground", Ada clarifies, "But I wouldn't go there just yet, the place is a real maze down there."

"Actually", Cal joins in, "This whole place is a maze. It seems simple enough, an entry, a central garden with a court room inside of it, opposite of the entry another small room with staircases that lead down towards the lower floors and up to the tower, which is out of bounds by the way, and then two central walkways, one in the east and one in the west with rooms on either side."

"But it isn't at all that simple", Matt joins in, "Because behind the rooms that are attached to the main walkways in the east and west wings, there are more rooms and smaller walkways and I'm also pretty sure some of the doors are enchanted to lead you to entirely different locations because this one time I was walking through the grand library, trying to find a different section of it and all of the sudden, BAM, I was inside of the stables."

"That's just 'cause you can't navigate properly", This is the first time I hear Peter say something and I'm surprised by how his voice sounds, sly, like one of those people that ring your doorbell trying to sell you something useless, "you probably weren't even in the grand library to begin with."

Cal snorts but he doesn't contradict the blonde guy.

I laugh and eat some of my eggs, "So what is going to happen next? Can I call my parents because if the boarding school told them I was gone they're probably panicking their heads off at the moment."

"No they aren't", Lucas says, "We always make sure you are no longer needed in the mortal world when we take you here."

"Which means...?"

"Nobody up there will even remember you existed", Ada clarifies.

"Ow"

"And as for what we are going to do today", Lucas continues, "Thanatos expects us in the small library at around ten in the morning and after that it kind off just varies."

"Because he doesn't like us enough to teach us for a whole day", Matt smiles, "either way, Peter, have a cookie Thanatos baked."

Peter looks a tad suspicious but when Matt shakes the jar again he reluctantly takes out one of the cookies, "'Yóu cant navigate properly!' Seriously Matt", he sighs, "you did something to this cookie so that it would insult me?"

"No", I giggle, "Thanatos was a little angry and so all of the cookies from that never-emptying jar will insult whoever eats them."

"That's kind off clever", Giulia adds with a smile.

"Give me one", Cal shouts. 

"Here you go", Matt replies as he hands a cookie to Cal.

"Your forehead makes your nose look small", he reads.

At those words both Matt and Ada start laughing like crazy and thanks to Ada it sounded as if a flock of geese had just entered the room.

"Oh dear", Giulia mocks, not quite able to suppress a small giggle, "You really have to fix that laugh of yours Ada."

However, nobody replies because we are all to busy laughing.