[Music Recommendation:Western Nights ~ Ethel Cain]
"The princess is still in the kitchen?" The maid who was in charge of cleaning the palace asked the chef.
The first rays of sun had just kissed the soil of Avon, bringing a warm morning. The maids were the first to wake up before other members of the royal family.
This particular morning was different because a memeber of the royal family was awake first. Oriana sat close to the cauldron that had heat emanating from it due to the open fire it was cooked on. Her head moved side by side as she tried to stop herself from falling asleep.
Louis had gone to check the only successfully made pudding, which was in the cold cellar, and he had asked her to watch the bacon until it turned crispy but not burnt.
As Oriana’s head moved forward, she was almost about to fall when her hand touched the hot cauldron and she jerked up wide awake. Her arm was now red with bruises both from last night and the new burn she had just gotten.
She took a wet rag, pushed the cover aside, and checked the bacon. At that same moment, Louis entered the kitchen.
"The pudding is chilling well, so far so good." He smiled, seeing just how tired the princess was, but she had refused to give up. "I’ll take over from here. Take the peaches and cut them. Let me have the celery and onion. Did you cut the carrots?"
Oriana nodded; it was when she received the cuts on all her fingers. She pushed the plates forward to Louis, and a small yawn escaped her lips.
"Princess, you should go and rest. I will take over from here. The beans stew won’t take long now that the bacon is ready," Louis suggested, seeing how exhausted the princess looked.
Oriana shook her head. "I’m fine. I’ll leave after the stew is ready. What else do you need? Let me get them all for you. And also the peaches, I’d love to cut them into shapes."
Louis sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Fine, let’s be fast then. Help me with the rosemary and bay leaf. Once we’re done here, we can cut the peaches together."
Maids stood outside the kitchen, watching the princess from the door hole. More of them gathered to see the princess who was actually cooking by herself.
Jasmine stopped in front of the kitchen door, pushing the maids aside. "What is she doing?" She muttered, before running towards her mother’s room.
"Mother, mother! Princess Oriana took the competition too personally. She’s cooking by herself inside the kitchen."
Gwen raised her eyebrows. "She is? That girl is something else."
Sophie stood up from her chair. "Why without maids?"
"I guess she took it literally when you said you knew how to cook," Jasmine shrugged, raising her hands.
Sophie chuckled. "I mean, I can give the maids orders on what to do. Not me cooking personally; I can’t have the stench of the fire on my dress. Ew!" She shook her head.
Gwen stood up from the couch. "Show me where she is." She walked to the kitchen to see what Jasmine was talking about.
On seeing the Queen, the maids bowed, dispersing quickly to their work posts.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, Princess Jasmine." They bowed before moving aside.
Gwen pushed the door open, moving her hand to the side to get rid of the smoke coming from the hearth.
"Why are you using the hearth?" Gwen sneezed. "There are better refined—" the queen rubbed her nose, leaving the kitchen so she wouldn’t choke.
Sophie entered. On seeing Oriana, she gasped. "You look like a mess, Oriana." She shook her head and left the kitchen.
Oriana raised her dress when her sister said this, trying to brush away the dirt on her hem, which she had gathered while walking around inside the kitchen.
"Louis, why are we using the hearth?" Oriana asked, worried that she was going to ruin everything.
Louis cleared his throat. "It gives a homely taste. Don’t worry, everything is good."
Oriana nodded. She was already feeling bad with the Queen and her sister coming to mock her hard work, but she didn’t want to back down anytime soon.
"Princess Oriana is really taking this seriously. What about you? What are you preparing today?" Jasmine asked after they had all left the kitchen.
Sophie pressed her lips. "I’m going to make, um... maybe a—"
"Ha!" Jasmine scoffed. "You haven’t even prepared anything. Well, at least you’re prepared to lose. That’s one thing. And you said everything last night, making it look like you’re ready."
Sophie nodded. "I’m ready. I will quickly get my maids ready. Bessie? Where is Bessie?" She turned in search of her maid.
"You all don’t need to fret," Adelaide arrived at the small meeting with her hands crossed over her chest. "Did you not see what she was making?"
Jasmine scowled. "Why do you always act like you know it all, Adelaide? You didn’t even enter the kitchen. How did you know what she was making?"
Adelaide smiled. "Idiots have too much to say, while the wise ones make hay at night." She was clearly insulting Jasmine, and before her sister could retort, she continued, "The princess worked hard throughout the night just to make pineapple pudding, beans stew, and that will be served with peaches."
"And how does that—" Jasmine paused. "Pineapple? Beans?? Peach!! Haha," she threw her head back and laughed so hard with her hand on her stomach.
Sophie was lost. She looked at the two princesses, wondering what was wrong. The dishes sounded great to her.
"Did you do that?" Gwen asked her daughter with a proud look on her face.
Adelaide didn’t reply to that; she blew off the dust on her nails. "I should prepare for my own competition then." She bowed to her mother before leaving.
Gwen smiled. "You should prepare too. We already know who is losing today," the queen remarked before leaving for her room.
Jasmine clapped her hands, shaking her head slightly. "My sister is the devil," she muttered.
"What happened? Please, what’s going on?" Sophie asked. She really wanted to know what had everyone relaxed because, by the look of things, Oriana was clearly working hard.
Jasmine exhaled softly. "Listen carefully. Every food your sister is making inside there right now, Brother Adric is allergic to it. All of it can even kill him. A killer combo."
"What?" Sophie gasped. "But how—"
Jasmine touched Sophie’s shoulder. "Now you know who you shouldn’t make an enemy in the palace. Adelaide is a dreadful predator that you should only avoid." She shook her head, feeling sorry for Oriana, who was working so hard at the moment before she left.
Sophie chuckled. "That serves you right, sister." She spoke under her breath.
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