While the men repaired the houses and other workplaces, Aiko quietly decided to sneak in missing materials and food by secretly using her portal.
Faris joined her in her mini excursions just so she wouldn’t get into any kind of trouble while sneaking in and out through different markets and places.
Adrenaline pumped into his veins as she opened a portal into a rich vampire’s food storage and walked out as if she owned the place.
"Something tells me you frequented this place," Faris remarked seeing the glorious grin on her face.
"My favourite place to steal stuff. The man is rich beyond measure and has the best wine. Grab some so we can drink later." She winked at her mate and waltzed her way forward through the racks and racks of food stored and stacked carefully in this place.
"Brother would be furious if he knew I was letting you sneak and even accompanied you. He wanted me to help with the repairs." Faris trotted behind his mate while dragging food off the shelves and hoarding it into his satchel.
"Well, all of you have your roles and skills. All of them have magic, you have your axe and charms. But this," Aiko revolved on the ball of her heels and faced Faris before bringing her arms up and spreading them all around her. "This is my world and how I want to contribute. I don’t follow the morals when it comes to stealing from the rich bastards."
Faris merely shrugged his well-built shoulders.
"I don’t mind, you do you. I will never impose my beliefs on you but my brother is different. The morals and principles are important to him. Just giving you a heads up." Faris grabbed a bottle of red wine from the shelf and stuffed it in his brown leather bag so they could drink it later.
"I appreciate it. Let’s be quick before he discovers we are gone." Aiko quickly grabbed a basket full of exotic fruits and emptied it into her bag.
***
Lotus and Cassandra had decided to grow some crops, vegetables and fruit trees for the people. Since it was winter, it was almost like a wasteland there with soil hardened and mixed with snow.
"We will need to soften and warm the ground first," Lotus instructed her sister. Lotus’s affinity for nature enabled her to grow plants or let the vines sprout, but they withered quickly because of having no medium to grow in, if she didn’t grow them from the soil.
But if she provided them a proper medium to sprout, they would flourish, and that’s what she had decided to do there.
Some of the women who worked the fields in the lesser cold season were helping them. The place had no actual summers, just freezing cold winters and less cold ones when they didn’t get snow.
They ploughed the lands and prepared the fields, removing every trace of snow. Cassandra used her magic to warm the soil to the required temperature. She kneeled and felt the moist soil in her hands.
The women stood all around her with pitchforks and shovels. They watched her mesmerised, she was so beautiful and delicate looking and yet had this strength and resilience about her.
"It’s the correct temperature. Lotus, you can weave your magic now." Cassandra stood up and faced her older sister with a smile.
Lotus stepped forward, still pretty in her all-pink attire as if she had stepped out of some fairytale. She seemed so out of this place and women couldn’t help but admire her.
She raised her hands and called forth her magic, targeting it towards the square ground they had prepared. It shot out of her in waves and spread all across the field, spreading like an ethereal glow.
Hundreds of saplings began to sprout everywhere her magic invaded.
"Woah!" Women gasped seeing the plants coming to life as they began to shoot out of the soil and up they went.
Vegetables included potatoes, beetroots, peas, onions, garlic, leek, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers.
Fruit included apples, grape vines, strawberry bushes, oranges and lemons.
Crops included mainly rice, wheat and sugarcane.
Cassandra joined her sister, providing her eternal magic, which would ensure the plants wouldn’t wilt or freeze; they would continue to grow and provide them with crops, fruits and vegetables.
They would grow slowly as that process had to be natural and needed time, but the initial steps, which were the most crucial and difficult, had been performed by the sisters.
Every part of the soil which needed the specific kinds of minerals and conditions was provided by Cassandra’s magic.
"All done! Just regular watering and pruning will do. My magic will prevent the soil from freezing over or the plants from withering. I hope in the coming time it will be ample for you people," Cassandra addressed the women as she finished weaving her magic.
Luca’s mother, Halri stepped forward and emotionally hugged Cassandra.
"Thank you... we can’t explain how happy you have made us. We will never forget the kindness you people have bestowed on us."
Cassandra embraced the woman, filling her whole being with the love she had been bestowed with, calming her heart.
"We are glad we could help."
***
Razial and Siroos busied themselves with mending of the houses. While Razial occasionally used his magic, Siroos relied on his manpower.
Women watched them in awe, especially the younger ones who had just come of age.
Even covered in thick woollen coats, they could sense both men were jacked.
"Can we get you something else?" One of the girls shyly asked Razial, twirling a strand of hair which had come loose from her thick cap onto her finger.
"No, thank you," he politely declined but the crowd of girls kept thickening around them until Cassandra and Lotus arrived.
The sister duo couldn’t help but chuckle seeing the dreamy-eyed girls scurrying away, seeing them.
"Both of you got yourselves some admirers, it seems," Lotus teased, picking up the hot tea that had been served and taking a sip.
"Faris’s charms seemed to have rubbed on us too." Razial turned around and smirked after putting the final nail into the wooden board he was working on.