A Scent of Chaos | ONC 2024

Chapter Ten

After a short break, basking in the victory and joy of our accomplishment, I focused my energy on adding in the fireflies to the illusion, extending the duration of the perfume, and mixing in the citrus rose scent I had perfected.

The first was much easier than I had realised as it was only a matter of carefully taking the threads of magic from the perfume Corvin had made — making sure not a single wisp or drop was left behind — and weaving it into the other. Extending the duration took a lot of attempts, some patient waiting, and some wasted perfume, but I managed to hit the desired length. The fragrance was simple enough as that didn't require any magic. A few drops of the scent mixed in with the liquid was the ideal amount.

Now, there were only some tests to run before we sent off a sample to get it approved.

Corvin was insistent that we couldn't be the ones to trial the perfume. We needed other people, fresh eyes to catch flaws we couldn't notice. Luckily for us, I had the perfect people.

I walked to the Client Gardens with Nalyn and Salris in tow with the plan to meet the Head Perfumer there, winding through the emporium to reach our destination. Corvin had picked the gardens because it was outside and the closest setting we had to the Miracles Festival — our closest hope to the real thing before it was too late to turn back.

Both of my workshop-mates were excited to discover what we had been working on, Nalyn even more so since Corvin was going to be there. She had been dying for a chance to see him up close again and she couldn't quite believe she was getting one.

"I'm a little surprised that you're working with him, Elvira," Salris began. "From your first meeting and the way you stormed into the workshop afterwards, I thought you were plotting a way to secretly kill him." Her eyes narrowed as she watched me.

"I thought I might have ended up killing him too, but things have changed now." Over the course of only a few days, I had learnt so much about him. From his royal blood to the way his hands could never keep still, every part of him made Corvin both insufferable and a joy to be around.

"Does it matter?" Nalyn turned around and placed her hands on Salris' shoulders, shaking them mercilessly. "We're about to see and talk to a tall body of hotness for a possible hour or two. I don't know how I'm going to focus on the perfume while he's there!"

I shook my head with a laugh. "If you can't focus then you can go back to the workshop. There won't be any Corvin there."

Her mouth hung open for a split second before she closed it again and returned to walking. "Yes, ma'am."

With a few bursts of electrified chatter, we made our way to the centre of the Client Gardens and found the Head Perfumer there with a small, round table and a pair of matching perfume bottles. While it had been my turn to focus on the magic that went into it, Corvin had pushed his remaining focus into designing a bottle shape for the festival. The glass was shaped like a detailed firefly — the wings and legs angled precisely so that not a single drop of perfume would get trapped. The top struck true to the real illusion with a sparkling, blue atomiser. He knew it might not have been possible to get it made ready in time for the night, but he still wanted to try. If not, he had a fun idea for a keepsake bottle once everything was over.

All around us, hedges were neatly trimmed into giant rectangles, giving us the privacy we needed from any passers-by. Flowerbeds were dug just in front of them which held breath-taking ivory and azure buds. Some were about to bloom, their petals about to stretch open at any moment, and others had already blossomed into painting-worthy flora. Underneath us was a carpet of luscious, green grass that had been tended to by the gardeners. Even with the droughts the Kingdom of Yuris received in the middle of the year, it was still thick and vibrant.