"Remind me again, why is baking cookies needed for the plan?" Jia asked grumbling as she mixed the dough.
"To bribe the guards, duh!" Zarah said, matter of factly.
Iris rolled her eyes, "It's not like we are making you do the baking - you're just mixing the dough," she said with a sigh.
"I have never done that till today," Jia said dryly. It was true - she had never worked while she was at home.
After all she was the child of a Duke!
Zarah chuckled as she put the oven tray on the counter, Iris put the parchment paper on the tray and buttered the paper.
"Well that means we better get you out of the brothel before you get kitchen duty," Zarah teased.
Jia rolled her eyes with fake irritation, the corner of her lips lifted up in a small smile.
Iris laughed shaking her head, before she looked at Zarah and asked seriously, "Did you get it?"
Zarah smiled holding up dried passionflowers and chamomile, "Yep right here," she said, bringing the mortar and pestle over and putting the flowers in the mortar.
"You're going to add flowers in cookies?" Jia asked, her voice skeptical.
Iris and Zarah exchanged a knowing glance.
Iris smirked.
"You're brilliant at swordsmanship, archery and combat, Jia," Iris teased, "but herbalism? That seems to have escaped your notice."
Jia gave Iris the stinky eyes.
Zarah sighed at their antics.
"The white ones are chamomiles," Zarah said putting the last two flowers into the mortar, "The purple ones are passionflowers, I got them from the garden."
She said as she used the pestle to grind the flowers.
"I dried them, now after grinding I will add them to the batter," Zarah explained, "Chamomile and passionflower are both good sleep inducers, so grinding them together and adding into the cookies is to ensure the guards are fast asleep when we enter Miss Jennifer's room."
Jia nodded her head listening, "Oh," she said understanding why Iris had called out her lack of skills in herbalism.
Iris grinned widely, "See what I meant, Jia?" she asked, her voice filled with a teasing lilt.
Jia exhaled, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, you were right just once," she answered grumbling.
The other two girls laughed.
Zarah added the ground flowers into the cookie dough and mixed it in.
Iris put the dough on the tray as Zarah set the oven.
Iris then put the tray in the oven and closed it.
Jia wanted to help, but she didn't want to burn the kitchen down, so it was better watching.
The girls decided to clean up while the cookies baked.
Most of the brothel was preparing to head to bed.
Zarah held the tray of baked cookies in her hand, the aroma of the chocolate cookies spreading in the surroundings as she walked towards the guards in front of Jennifer's room.
She had given the sleep-inducing cookies to every guard who was on the hallway of Jennifer's room.
She had insisted on giving the cookies herself - incase they got caught, Iris and Jia wouldn't be suspected, as Zarah was the one who gave the cookies out.
She stood in front of Jennifer's room and looked at the two guards before her.
Her heart hammered as she extended the tray, forcing her lips into a smile she didn't feel.
"I made cookies for all guards, you guys always help us so much," Zarah said with an innocent look.
A lie. A very blatant one at that.
The guards never helped with anything much, except taking the weapons away and that too was to make sure none of the girls in the brothel got to keep a weapon which they could later use to escape.
But the guards didn't sense the lie in it and ate the flattery all up along with the cookies.
After Zarah returned into the kitchen, she placed the tray in the sink and washed it immediately to get rid of the remaining evidence that the cookies were drugged.
She then washed her own hands with soap and wiped them on the towel.
Zarah looked at the clock.
It was getting late, she planned to go into Jennifer's room at midnight.
Iris was drying the washed utensils.
Jia was helping stack them.
"I will go to Miss Jennifer's room alone," Zarah declared suddenly.
Jia and Iris's gazes snapped to Zarah immediately.
"Absolutely not," Iris said sternly, "You're not going anywhere alone Zar."
"But-" Zarah protested.
"No buts, Zarah," Iris cut Zarah off before she could finish, "You're not going alone, that's the end of this discussion" Iris said with an air of finality.
Jia watched quietly, those two were really like sisters, she thought.
"Is she always this self-sacrificial?" Jia asked teasingly, trying to lighten the sudden intense atmosphere.
Iris sighed wiping her hands on a towel, "No, it's a recent development," she said with a dry tone.
"Which, if she doesn't get rid of, I will beat the shit out of her," Iris said warningly as she glared at Zarah.
Zarah sighed before going over to Iris and hugging her.
"I am sorry, Iree, I won't say things like that again" Zarah said while making puppy eyes at Iris.
Iris sighed in fond exasperation.
She couldn't be angry at Zarah for long, that girl was her sister.
Iris grumbled under her breath before flicking Zarah's forehead, "You better not, brat."
Jia chuckled, looking at those two was entertainment in it's own light for her.
Zarah smiled before letting Iris go.
"Let's go then?" She asked looking over at her friends, "The guards must be asleep by now."
Iris rolled her eyes, "Yeah, let's go, wanna-be hero," she teased Zarah walking beside her.
Jia came along following them, "So, do we have any idea where exactly the blueprint map is supposed to be?" she asked looking over at Iris and Zarah.
"That-" Zarah began, before stopping herself, "I have absolutely no idea about," she said sheepishly.
Jia gave a 'you have got to be kidding me' expression.
Iris said thoughtfully, "Let's start with her bookshelf, Lyra said she keeps her important documents there."
The three of them discussed which places to search in hushed tones as they walked towards Jennifer's room.
When they reached, all the guards in that hallway were knocked out deep in slumber.
As they entered Jennifer's room, Zarah entered first.
They had to find the map tonight, this was their only chance.