The Kings Mistress Chapter 67

[ … words ]

Alistair glanced over to her, the smug smile on his face was undeniable. But he did not say a word, he did not give her any signs or clues. However, Queen Roxine was not a fool either.

“Would it perhaps have something to do with my King’s secret rendezvous, earlier today?”

Alistair chuckled, “Nothing can escape you, my Queen.”

“Well, it was about time the two of you had some time together. Did anyone see you?” She asked carefully.

“I made sure there weren’t,” he said without skipping a beat.

“I wouldn’t be so certain, if I were you,” Roxine warned, “There’ve been more watchful eyes as of late.”

“Don’t worry, Roxine,” he reassured her, “In any case, I took all the preventive measures. No one would have been able to recognize that it was me.”

“But she did, didn’t she?” Roxine pressed further.

He was taken aback. How did she find out about this? But then again, there was nothing too surprising, especially since everyone had eyes everywhere. Or perhaps, she was simply inferring based on the information she had gathered about the events.

Alistair’s thoughts traveled to Sierra. He could not help but smile as he recalled the events of that day. He got to spend some quality time with her and even got to know her a little better.

As he recalled their tender moment over ice cream, he could not help but chuckle.

As the day of the culinary test arrived, everyone was anxious. All princesses were summoned to one of the grandest halls in the castle. For the contest, the hall had been transformed to host multiple cooking stations, one for each princess and their maid.

“Princesses, please take your places,” Miss Marionne declared.

Everyone did as they were told and walked toward their assigned stations. Each princess was allowed to have two maids or servants to assist them. Sierra only had Ida, but she wasn’t flustered.

Next to their cooking stations, there was a table piled with ingredients of every kind. Everyone had the same amount and type of ingredients available.

Sierra looked over, only to find that Myra was at the table next to her. She gave her a smile and a wave, while Myra reciprocated with a few words of encouragement. Across from Sierra’s station, however, was Princess Cassandra.

Sierra glanced over at her, not saying a word. Princess Cassandra barely even gave her a glance.

“Princesses, there are three challenges for our culinary test today…”

Miss Marionne explained what the three challenges entailed. The first challenge, was to prepare enough food that would feed fifty children. Children, who were refugees of war.

Upon hearing the first challenge, Sierra was stunned. She could not help but wonder if this had something to do with her little excursion with Alistair beyond the castle walls. She glanced over to where the King and Queen, along with some ministers of the court, were seated.

To her surprise, she locked eyes with Alistair who happened to be looking in her direction too. Queen Roxine, at his side, was speaking to him. After a moment, she glanced up and waved at Sierra too.

Neither of them seemed like they had anything to do with it, so Sierra pushed back the thought and concentrated on listening to what the next challenge would be. The gears in her mind started to churn as she came up with something suitable for the children to eat.

“For the second challenge, a specialty dish from your home Kingdom to present to the King and Queen for tasting. As for the last challenge, you are allowed to present a dish of your choosing.

As all three challenges have varying difficulties, you are only required to complete a minimum of two challenges. However, if you accomplish all three, additional points will be awarded.”

Sierra turned to look at the table brimming with ingredients. The gears of her mind turned as she began to piece together the recipes she would be working on. She bit her lip.

“Princess, there isn’t much time. We should focus on two out of the three,” Ida suggested.

Sierra shook her head, “All three are fine. But I’ll need more ingredients.”

Sierra raised her hand.

“Princess Sierra,” Marionne noticed her immediately, “What is your question?”

“Are we allowed to trade ingredients?” She asked.

Miss Marionne turned back to the Queen.

“Yes, you are allowed to trade ingredients amongst yourselves. However, you’re not allowed to bring any ingredients of your own, you are only allowed to use the ingredients on the table before you.

If there are no more questions, you may begin.”

Everyone got to work. A huge hourglass in the center of the room began the countdown. A quick glance at all the ingredients got Sierra’s mind churning. She needed more. Potatoes and flour for what she was about to do.

“Sierra, do you have some salmon I could trade with you?” Myra asked as she ran over to her.

“Yes, I do. Here you go,” she handed all of them to her, “Do you have flour, potatoes, and carrots? Oh and minced meat if you have.”

“Sure, I’ll bring them over right away.”

Despite that trade, Sierra knew she had nowhere near enough. She put Ida to work peeling and dicing potatoes.

“Your Highness, why do you need so many potatoes for?”

“If we’re going to feed fifty people, we’re going to need that many,” Sierra smiled.

Without waiting for Ida to respond, Sierra ran off with a basket full of ingredients to trade with others. Ida looked on with a worried expression, she noticed that Sierra had taken some of their best ingredients away to trade.

“What is she thinking? How will she impress the King like this?” She could not help but mutter with worry beneath her breath.

Sierra went on to trade with a few other princesses. Some refused to trade with her and even brushed her off. But she was determined to get what she needed, even if she had to ask Agnes or Cassandra.