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Chapter 6

Ardala got up, tucked her crutches under her arms and followed the retreating form of Patty. She emerged into a room with several strange machines and was promptly directed to a chair and handed a strange device. "Here, take the peels off of these potatoes." She slid a large bowl over and turned to one of the strange machines. Ardala looked into the bowl to see several oblong brown objects. She picked one up, it was heavy for its size and upon closer inspection the odd device in her other hand had a blade on it.

So, if it worked like she thought it would- She placed the device against the oblong thing and scraped it. The outer brown part came off in a long strip, revealing creamy flesh. She didn't cheer, but it was a near thing. She turned the thing and did it again and again until all the brown covering was gone. Then she picked up another brown thing and did it again and again until all of the objects were creamy rather than brown.

Patty came and got the bowl, looking down at the contents. "Good, you've never done this before have you?"

"Those are potatoes?" She asked, placing the bladed object down on the table. "Is there another way I might be of service?"

Patty thought for a moment. "You're a helpful little thing." She smiled at Ardala. "I have some other things that you can do sitting down."

Ardala spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen with Patty. She cut onions and surprised the woman with how adept she was at scaling and cleaning fish. Eventually the ingredients came together in a creamy base in the pot. Ardala sniffed the air appreciatively and was rewarded with another smile. "What is it, if you please?"

"It's fish curry." Patty was doing something with another machine, measuring small white granules into it. "It goes over this rice, and I think you'll like it."

"It smells very good." Ardala shifted in the chair. "Is there anything else I might do?"

"Go sit in the sun." Patty waved a hand at her. "I'll show you where the sunroom is so you can get some sun and stay out of the wind." Patty led her through the house and to a room that was entirely made of glass. There were plants everywhere in here, vines and trellises and small bushes. Patty led her to an odd chair and sat her down. The chair moved under her, making her squeak and clutch the arms. Patty chuckled and brought over a footstool. "Here, put your feet on this and try to relax for a bit. I'll send Gertie for you when dinner's ready."

Ardala watched Patty leave and tried to relax into the chair. It had blue padding and was decently comfortable, but it all felt wrong. She shouldn't be here, shouldn't be comfortable. She had been banished; she wasn't meant to be anything approaching happy. But here she was. Warm and fed and by humans no less. Perhaps the indoctrination she and all the other cows had undergone was incorrect? She curled up in the chair and tried to think.

She woke up when someone poked her, flailing and nearly falling out of the chair before she managed to get a grip on where she was. On who she was. She looked up to see Gertie's face who looked mildly horrified. "Sorry, I didn't know it would spook you that bad. Patty says it's time for dinner. Do you need help getting up?"

"I am alright, but I thank you." Ardala struggled out of the chair and grabbed the crutches before tucking them under her arms.

Gertie had slipped around her and was touching her sealskin. "This is gorgeous, where did it come from?"

Ardala couldn't say, frozen with fear until Gertie came back to stand in front of her. "It was given to me when I was cast out." She tried to breathe, Gertie had only touched it, she hadn't tried to take it. "It is quite old, it belonged to many before me."

"It looks warm." Gertie said, walking away from her and pausing at the door to the glass room. "C'mon, Patty's fish curry is really good. You don't want to miss it."

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