Liam was surprised when he came out to a silent empty courtyard. At first, he thought they were playing a prank on him but after five minutes of silent waiting, he searched the entire top floor.
The servants weren't sure where they'd gone off to either and he left the palace. He'd already gotten to the garden when he heard some noise coming from the kitchen which was a bit far from here, " Maybe they've got some new chefs ".
Liam kept walking, expecting to hear arguing or laughing but noting could be heard for a while when he heard some servants gossiping as they watered the plants.
" I don't think the empress is right in the head ".
" Why would you say that "?
" I heard from the dish washer who heard from the guards that the empress is making a mess of the royal kitchen as we speak ".
" What if she's just trying to make something "?
" For who "?
" The emperor of course ".
" Why bother? His majesty won't eat it. We all know his Majesty's true love is lady's Athena ".
" That doesn't mean he hates our empress ".
" You're so naive. I even heard from the horse groomer that his majesty sent her back home because he was sick of her ".
" Maybe she just got tired ".
" PSH..you're no fun to talk too. You take the fun out of everything ".
With that they stormed off, chattering among themselves. Liam sighed as he looked at the path he'd just taken, " I really can't take my eyes off of her ". With that, he walked back towards the kitchen praying she didn't burn the place down.
~ ~ ~
Eros was a bit surprised to find out Nectar had already left the harbor. Just because he told her to, he didn't expect her to. Any other woman would have shamelessly waited for him to finish whatever he was doing.
The ships had been unloaded and the taken to a private harbor near the palace so they went by carriage that had been prepared for each country.
The welcoming gala would hopefully be held tonight if the other two countries showed up before then. Eros was giving his foreign diplomats a tour of the palace when he heard a ruckus on the south wing where Nectar's palace was.
At first he wanted to ignore it but it didn't wish to be ignored. Passing Nectar's palace, he was surprised by the empty courtyard [ I guess she's not causing me trouble today ]
" Is something wrong your highness "? Eros shook his head calmly, responding to Luscious. " Nothing of the sort, we should continue our tour ". He was confused when he saw Liam taking another path that led to the kitchen building.
He seemed worried about something as he walked towards the kitchen building, increasing Eros' sinking feeling [ Isn't he always by her side? Like five and six, where's his five? ]
Eros sighed and spoke to Dodwen, " Go after him and make sure they're not causing any trouble ". Dodwen didn't know who " they "were but he followed after Liam anyway.
When he got there, Liam and Nectar were arguing. There seemed to be snow people? No, people covered in white, blending perfectly with the floor.
Nectar glanced at Dodwen before continuing are argument with Liam. Just as quickly she stared at him again but this time she had a smile on her face that made Dodwen want to run for his life.
Unfortunately, Nectar was faster than his feet. Face palming Liam and somehow winning their argument, she held Dodwen by the wrist just as he was about to run out dragging him in.
" Your majesty, please let go. We shouldn't make unnecessary contact ". Nectar nodded and instead pushed him in front of the cut out cookie dough [ This woman is quite strange and a little lost in the head ]
Nectar intertwined her hands, speaking sweetly as she looked up at him, " Could you help us bake these Duke Holmes. Pretty please ". Dodwen nearly fainted from shock as he pointed at himself, " Me, you're asking me "?
Nectar nodded eagerly leaving Dodwen even more confused [ Is this the same overbearing empress who humiliated me in her courtyard? ] " What do you need me to do "?
Nectar's smile widened as she waved at the baking trays filled with unbaked cookies, " We just need you to use a little fire to bake them. Remember to not burn them ". Dodwen nodded slightly [ That takes the pressure off ]
Dodwen wasn't entirely sure why he'd agreed to help and use his powers for something so basic and ridiculous but his fear of her outweighed logic one to a thousand.
The others resumed cleaning up as the kids explained their little experiment to Liam. Liam wasn't to happy about it when Jewlica stuffed a wooden spoon covered in Nectar's chocolate sauce in his mouth.
Liam's expression changed drastically from a disapproving scowl to childish pleasure. Bringing the spoon out of his mouth, he nodded " So maybe I can let it go this once since no one got hurt. Where's the rest of this stuff "?
Dodwen finished baking ten minutes later and it seemed like he was the one in an oven from all his sweating. There were a dozen per tray and Nectar had being watching closely telling him which were done and which were not.
She breathed in the fresh cookie smell and pulled Liam forward, " If you could help cool these off ". Liam nodded and sent a cool breeze over the cookies, warming them instantly and the steam almost gone.
The smell had attracted all of them to the counter as they basked in the fresh delicious smell. Nectar picked a musical note shaped cookie and gave it Cookie, " You should be the first to taste it since you are named after it ".
Cookie took a hesitant bite as the others watched her eat it. She suddenly opened her eyes, surprised by the sweet salty flavor and spoke loudly, " This is delicious, it's an honour to be named after such a thing. Thank you my empress ".
Nectar smiled happily and turned to Nathaniel, " We need a big glass jar, no we need two ". Nathaniel nodded, ransacking the cabinets for any sort of jars. They all took one cookie and were surprised by the taste.
" Liam come on, have a taste. I made them specially for you ". Liam moved his head from side to side, refusing to let Nectar feed him the cookie " Then you eat them, only God knows what's in it ".
Nectar stuffed it in his mouth as he spoke the words. He seemed like he was going to throw it up but instead found himself enjoying it [ It's surprisingly good ] and swallowed it. He patted Nectar's head who was pleasantly waiting for a compliment, " It tastes good, I'll have another one ".
Dodwen felt so out of place and was about to leave when Nectar pulled him back by the collar. She held out a star shaped cookie to him and smile, " You can't leave without having some, you did help us bake them after all ".
Dodwen was surprised by her actions and didn't know whether to accept her kind gesture or simply run while he still could but he was certain of one thing. [ I shouldn't have come here in the first place ]