As Bessie walked into the courtyard she squinted her eyes. The sun was high in the sky and it was beating down with a ferocious heat. The courtyard itself had plenty of places to be cool in the shade, but with the stone walls of the castle absorbing and reflecting so much of the sun's rays, if one was standing out in the open it felt like the entire courtyard existed to cook its occupants.
The maid walked out with some lunch. Bowls of refreshing chilled noodles, skewers of barbecued chicken, and pitchers of iced water and tea were all brought out and it was enough to feed six instead of the three that would be eating. Nonetheless, Bessie knew that if she brought more, even that would be eaten as it turned out her mistress had a voracious appetite, especially while training. And Dahlia certainly was training.
