Maaria was sitting comfortably on the ground, the sweet nostalgic aroma of flowers surrounding her, so totally engrossed in her book that she’d barely looked up from it, She couldn’t remember the last time she was able to semi-peacefully read a book before when suddenly her focus is interrupted, Her ears perk up and she hears the hab door open.

“Maaria darling, where are you?” Maaria hears the voice of her captor, hoping to not encourage her Maaria decides that staying quiet might be better, She hears the frantic sound of vines in the hab until the door to the garden near her is opened and her captor rushed over pulling her into an embrace of vines. “Oh there you are dear, you had me frightened for a second”

“Let go of me… Owner” Maaria slowly said feeling somewhat embarrassed following her captor's orders but deciding that it was preferable to being hugged by them. 

Praemorsa slowly released her vines and Maaria quickly took a few steps away, “Such a good girl addressing me properly” Maaria felt oddly warm hearing the praise from her but quickly brushed it off “You should have told me that you like reading pet, I could have had plenty of books prepared for you” 

“I can make them myself” Maaria sternly replied.

“If you really want to dear” Praemorsa responded condescendingly.

“Why do you have a garden?” Maaria decided to ask, she was even more mystified by the fact that it seemed to have several Terran flowers.

“Why wouldn’t I want to have some wonderful examples of Terran plant life? You seemed to enjoy it too dear and I’m so glad that you do”

“Mhm,” Maaria replied, she found the response unsatisfying but maybe these aliens really did just like Terran plants “Can I go back to reading?” She asked hoping her captor would leave her alone, “Well, of course, you can dear but you haven’t eaten in a while, Wouldn’t you rather have something to eat first?” 

Maaria’s instinct was to say no but when she thought about it she had been feeling hungry but having lived off rations for a while she’d grown adept at ignoring it so maybe having some food wouldn’t be that bad.

“I suppose so… Owner” 

“Do you have any preferences dear? I could make you anything you want”

“Couldn’t I just have a synthecube?” Maaria asked, She didn’t really like living off synthecube’s but it was a familiar choice and who knows what these Praemorsa could have put in other foods, A synthecube seemed like a much safer option to have while kept captive.

“Maaria dear why would you ever want something tasteless like that? We have so many better options”

“It’s just…familiar and… I remember hearing that the Affini had drugs and poison in all of their food”

“That’s awful dear, We’d never dream of hurting a Terran with poison, I can assure you my darling pet that all of those terrible rumours you heard about us are completely false”

“What about the Affini putting drugs into food” Maaria pushed further.

Praemorsa was quiet for a second before slowly and calmly responding “Some Florets do find it comforting to have xenodrugs laced in their food but I can promise you dear that there won’t be any in yours unless you’d want that of course.”

“I don’t” Maaria responded firmly.

“I’ve got a good idea actually pet, What if we baked something from scratch, You’d be able to see yourself then that your food is free of xenodrugs” Praemorsa offered.

Maaria considered the proposal for a moment, It actually sounded quite good, Maaria hadn’t made anything from scratch for a long time and it sounded quite relaxing, maybe it could help take her mind off of her predicament and it did seem like a good way to ensure the Affini weren’t drugging her.

“That… Sounds nice” She eventually uncertainly said.

“I’m so happy to hear you say that my dear pet, Any preferences on what we bake?” Praemorsa asked.

Maaria thought for a second, There was one thing she’d missed eating while with the rebels that sprung to her mind the strongest.

“Could… Could we make some cookies?” Maaria asked nervously.

“That sounds like an excellent idea pet, Cookies are often a favourite among our pets. Maybe we could bake some extra to give out to some of the other Florets If you’d be ok with that dear.” 

“I suppose so,” Maaria responded, she didn’t feel too happy to be helping them feed their slaves, She supposed that it wouldn’t cause any harm but something about it just seemed wrong.

“Would… you like me to carry you to the kitchen dear?” Praemorsa asked, An odd mix of enthusiasm and apprehensiveness in her voice, It almost made Maaria feel a bit guilty about being so resistive until she reminded herself that she was an unwilling captive here. 

“I’ll walk” Maaria replied tersely. 

Maaria walked in silence shortly across the hab until she arrived upon what seemed like a copy of a traditional Terran kitchen, It seemed surprisingly well stocked with shelves all full of random ingredients many of which Maaria had never even heard of.

“Why do you have so many ingredients?” Maaria eventually decided to ask whilst Praemorsa seemed to be looking for and grabbing specific items and laying them upon a Terran-sized counter which seemed comically small for her.

“Well to cook for you dear Maaria, Many Terrans and Affini too like making and eating homecooked food”

“But why?” Maaria pushed further.

“Because I care about you, I want you to live the best life you can, An Affini’s pet is the most important thing in the world to them dear” Praemorsa offered but it didn’t seem to make any sense, Why would the Affini place such value on enemy captives of all things? 

“Could we just start baking?” Maaria asked eventually.

“Of course… We’ll start with some butter and sugar dear” Praemorsa began whilst placing both within a bowl, “Could you mix those together pet?” She asked.

“Sure” Maaria replied beginning to break the butter up and soon stirring them together.

“Good job pet” Maaria heard over her shoulder as she felt a vine lightly pet her head, Part of her wanted to jump away but seeing her progress she decided to endure it. “We’ll add an egg now” Praemorsa added whilst expertly cracking one and adding it to the bowl.

“Next we’ll need some flour, Would you like to do it pet?” She offered, whilst placing a small bag of flour next to her, Maaria silently picked it up and began to cautiously pour some in. “Small amount of salt too” Praemorsa added and Maaria saw her add a minor amount with a vine. 

“Keep mixing that together dearest, We just have one more ingredient to add” Praemorsa explained.

“What is it?” Maaria asked, hoping that it wasn’t going to be some alien addition. 

“Chocolate dear, A Florets favourite” Praemorsa disclosed much to Maaria’s internal excitement, It had been such a long time since she’d eaten anything with taste and the mere thought of chocolate cookies was enough to animate and delight her. 

Praemorsa delectably dropped chocolate chips into the mixture and Maaria followed up by stirring even more thoroughly whilst Praemorsa seemed to grab a tray. 

After some more seconds of firm mixing Maaria stopped and Praemorsa rapidly took dollops of the mixture and distributed them among the tray with her vines before taking the tray and placing it in what seemed to be an oven.

"It'll just be a few minutes pet and then they'll be ready" Praemorsa explained.

Seeing them bake Maaria was filled with determination, It seemed like her captor was determined to make her time with the Affini as nice as possible and Maaria had to admit that… It was working, It didn’t seem that bad here, Although escape with Magnus was still an aim maybe It wouldn’t be that bad to hang around for a while.