The King's Mistress

Chapter 69: Helping Hands

Looking at the stovetop she was working on, Sierra came up with an idea.

"We’ll steam the remaining bread, that should do the trick."

She took over the trays from Ida and transferred all of the bread into a multi-tiered steamer. Once it was in place, she sighed in relief. Then, she turned her attention back to the other two dishes.

All the other princesses were hard at work, preparing their dishes too. As Sierra had predicted, most of them focused on two of the challenges instead of all three. They prepared exquisite dishes for the King and Queen to taste. Few attempted the first challenge and of those who did, one princess could barely keep up due to the sheer amount of ingredients needed.

Princess Taita was her name. Since it was possible to trade ingredients, she went up to the others, in hopes of getting the final ingredients she needed. However, those she went up to either refused to trade with her or did not have what she needed.

Sierra noticed this immediately and called her over.

"Princess Taita, what do you need?" She asked as she continued cooking.

"I... I need some eggs and tomatoes if you have any to spare," she asked anxiously.

"Ida, bring her all of what we’re left with," Sierra instructed.

"Yes, Princess."

"Thank you, Princess Sierra. You’re a lifesaver! What would you like in return?" Taita offered everything she had in her basket.

Sierra shook her head, "No need, Your Highness. I have everything I need. Best of luck to your dishes."

Princess Taita was insistent that Sierra took something from her basket as thanks, promising that she would not forget her kindness. Unable to turn her down, Sierra simply picked a random item from her basket.

Soon, the contest was about to come to a close. It was the final hour. Most of the princesses had already finished most of their cooking. Only less than three were still in the midst of finishing the final touches of their dishes.

Sierra had just finished plating her final dish. She took a step back to admire it. Ida looked over her shoulder, amazed by how good it looked.

"Do you think it’s enough to impress them?" She asked her maid, a little worried.

Ida looked over to her, "If it tastes even a fraction of how good it looks, I’m sure it will."

The two dishes that fulfilled the last two challenges were great. But what Sierra was most proud of was her accomplishment of the first challenge. She looked over to the trays of piping hot bread. She could already see the faces of the refugees who would receive the food.

She picked one of them up and handed it to Ida.

"Here, try one," she said.

Myra walked over to her station, having finished her dishes too.

"Myra, here! Try one too," Sierra said as she handed her a bread bun.

Sierra also proceeded to share it with the maids who were helping Myra.

"Sierra, that’s too kind of you. Are you sure you have enough?" Myra asked worriedly.

"Don’t worry. There’s more than enough," Sierra chuckled as she picked one up too.

She carefully broke the bread apart. Its soft fluffy texture surprised everyone. It was unlike any bread they had eaten before. Most of the bread eaten in Drakin was sourdough bread, which had a hard exterior and a spongy interior.

Sierra’s bread was different. It had a slightly sweet flavor to it and to everyone’s surprise, the bread was filled with a mixture of spiced meats, diced potatoes, and carrots.

"This... this is amazing, Sierra!" Myra exclaimed.

One bite of the bread and its filling was enough to put a smile on Sierra’s face. To hear compliments for her cooking brought her even greater joy. This dish was close to her heart. It was a common dish served on the streets of Cair.

When Sierra was roaming the streets in her youth, this bread saved her life on many occasions. Sometimes, she had to steal it. Other times, a kind stranger offered it to her. Each time she was close to collapsing from hunger, this bread would save her life.

Just then, a loud crash caught all of their attention.

"Princess Taita! Are you alright?" Someone yelled.

Sierra dropped what she was doing and went over to see what was going on. The other princesses and their servants had gathered around to see what the commotion was about too.

As it turned out, Princess Taita was preparing the last of her dishes when the tray she was holding slipped out of her hands and crashed onto the ground. The food she had painstakingly prepared now painted the floors of the hall.

Sierra crouched down to check on Princess Taita, who had scalded her hand.

"Are you alright, Princess Taita?" Sierra asked.

"I... I’m fine but..." she looked over to the food that was splattered across the floor.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she could no longer speak in full sentences, shocked by what had happened.

"Hey, hey, it’s alright. We can still make something," Sierra consoled her, "But first, your hand needs to be treated."

Myra rushed over to see what was going on. Upon seeing Princess Taita’s hand, she volunteered her skills immediately. Sierra already had her running cold water over the wound, in hopes of reducing the redness and lowering the temperature.

"This should help. It’s a spell I just learned," Myra explained as she touched the water that was coming out of the pipe.

The water began to glow pale white as it touches Taita’s skin. In a matter of seconds, the wound was healed.

"Myra, those are some impressive healing skills," Sierra commended.

"You flatter me, Sierra. I’m just glad it worked," she replied with a smile.

Sierra turned her attention back to Princess Taita, "Your Highness, how are you feeling?"

"I don’t feel anything at all. Thank you, Princess Myra. I owe you my life."

"Oh no no. It was nothing! I’m just glad you’re alright." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Glancing over to the hourglass, Sierra knew they were left with less than an hour. Looking over at the stovetop and oven that Taita had running, Sierra knew exactly what dish she was attempting to make.

"You were trying to make a beef pie, right?"

"Yes... how did you-"

"Just a good guess. There’s still time to make it work. We can change it to mashed potatoes which should cut down on the time you need."

Sierra continued to explain her plan to help.