Not all the princesses were down in the courtyard. So chose to stay indoors, detesting the sll of the smoke. However, when they saw King Alistair there, they relented and went down to take a closer look. So even dressed up for the occasion, hoping the King would look at them a little more.
Princess Cassandra remained in her room, overlooking the courtyard and all that was happening. She gritted her teeth in anger. To her, Sierra curried favor with what she got from her. That favor belonged to her.
But being saved by Sierra also put her in turmoil. She hated Sierra, she was jealous of her for the favor she had been shown. But Cassandra could not deny the fact that in the ti of her greatest need, she was the only one who ca to her aid.
Even her most loyal maids and servants stood there and did nothing while she could have been injured.
A knock on the door drew her out of her thoughts. It was Ida, Sierra’s maid. In her hands was a plate of ats.
"Princess Cassandra, Princess Sierra wanted to thank you for giving her the wild boar. She also apologizes for the sll of smoke from the grills. She hopes you’ll enjoy the ats here." Ida said with a smile as she placed the plate before her.
The aromatic fragrance that filled the courtyard was now in her room. She could not deny it. It slled delicious and her stomach was beginning to growl.
"Are you sure your princess is not trying to poison ?" Cassandra asked coldly as she looked down at the plate before her, not even looking at Ida as she spoke.
Ida did her best to maintain her expression, "Her Highness did suspect that you might say that. She also..."
The maid bit her lip, uncertain if she should say the next part. When she stopped mid-sentence, Cassandra shot her a glare.
"She also what?"
"She also knows there’s a possibility that you may turn the situation against her," indicating that Cassandra could turn around and poison herself and claim Sierra poisoned her," She’s willing to take the risk."
With that, Ida curtsied and left the room. Cassandra could not help but chuckle. Sierra had indeed thought of everything. She could not deny the fact that the idea had indeed crossed her mind.
For safety, Cassandra still had her maid test the food before she began to eat. But the princess did not use any of her tricks. A bite of the food was enough to make her realize how delicious it was. Who would want to poison such a delicious plate of food?
"Bring the usual bottle of wine," Cassandra instructed her maid.
"As you wish, Your Highness," the maid responded.
Just before she turned to get what her princess wanted, the maid glanced up. She was stunned by the sight she saw. For just a second, she caught a glimpse of Princess Cassandra, smiling.
As day soon turned into night, the chefs were all still hard at work preparing all the grilled ats. Feeling bad for giving them so much more work, Sierra stayed to help as long as she could. But the chefs and servants pushed her to enjoy herself.
"It’s alright, princess, we can handle things from here," one of the chefs said to her politely.
"I can help, just a bit more. We still have so much to go through," Sierra said as she continued to turn the sausages on the grill.
Ida ca over and placed her hand on Sierra’s shoulder. She gently guided Sierra away from the grill, towards the only open table available so that she could enjoy the fruits of her labor.
"I was wondering when you might co and join for dinner."
Sierra jolted in her seat as she glanced up to et Alistair’s eyes. She looked all-around at the other tables, all of which were filled with people.
Sierra looked over at Ida who had a wide smile on her face as she put down a plate of ats just for her. A glass of wine was poured for her too.
It did not take long for her to realize that there were only the two of them at the table.
No one dared to sit with Alistair since he was the King. Naturally, that was one of the only empty tables left. Alistair had been watching Sierra closely since he stepped foot in the courtyard. He watched as she tried her best to avoid his gaze while preparing all the food for everyone.
Sierra looked down at the plate before her, salivating. She was eager to pick up the ats with her fingers to eat, but she knew she couldn’t do so now. Especially not in front of Alistair and the other princesses.
What she had not expected to see, was Alistair doing as she had wanted to. He had taken off his usual royal coat and folded up the sleeves of his shirt. His long fingers picked up a piece of sausage, dipped it in so sauce, and brought it to his mouth.
Realizing she was watching him, unblinking, Alistair t her gaze.
"What’s wrong?" He asked as he furrowed his eyebrows in mild confusion, "Why aren’t you eating?"
Sierra shook her head as she ca to her senses in the present. She didn’t realize she had been staring at him and was a little embarrassed.
"I just.. Didn’t expect to see you eating with your fingers," she muse as she rolled up her sleeves to do the sa.
Alistair chuckled a little, "Is this not the best way to eat barbecue?"
She smiled, "It is indeed."
One bite into the tender juicy marinated at was enough to bring a wide smile to Sierra’s face. It’s been so long since she had tasted such a delicacy. While the food in Vargos Castle was made from the freshest ingredients, it often tasted a little too bland for Sierra’s taste buds.
She had always favored heavily spiced and salted foods, savoring their flavors with every bite. These grilled ats were as close as she could get to what she was used to. From ti to ti, Sierra glanced at Alistair. To see him enjoying the food she liked to eat brought a smile to her face.
If only they could share more monts like the one in the present.
It did not take long for all the food to be finished by everyone in attendance. When Alistair heard that Sierra had wanted to feed the castle staff too, he imdiately called for more ingredients to be sent and prepared.
Everyone was astounded by the King’s generosity.
"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Sierra asked nervously, "I wouldn’t want to-"
"You need not worry about anything, sweetling. It’s all taken care of," Alistair reassured her before she left.
After Alistair left the Celestial Lodge upon finishing his al, most of the crowd made up of princesses and their attendants disappeared too. Sierra stayed on to help prepare the rest of the food.
"Princess, you’ve already done so much and more! Please, we can take care of things from here," the head chef pleaded with Sierra when she insisted on helping.
The other servants and maids ca forward to dissuade her too. But Sierra was persistent.
"You’ve all worked hard and gone out of your ans to fulfill my request. This is the least I can do to express my gratitude," Sierra said.
It wasn’t until Ida ca forward to pull her away, did Sierra finally give in. Her maid pulled her back to the lodge to take a much-needed bath before turning in for the night.
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