Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Tasting time
Anaisa changed back into less ornate clothing in time for the doctor to pay his visit and declare her healthy enough to attend the ball, provided that she tolerated food well and didn’t overly tire herself before the event.

Sapphira eagerly ordered food from the kitchens in order to put some weight on Anaisa’s frame before the event.

“No one wants a scrawny princess,” She insisted as Anaisa protested the number of dishes that began arriving. Fine sweets, rich creams and cheeses and cakes. Succulent meats, and all manner of other foods.

“Why do we need all of this??” Anaisa exclaimed in consternation as yet more food was brought in.

“These are the dishes for the ball. We have to taste and approve of each one. Or rather, you do, Your Highness.” Sapphira smirked. “Please enjoy and give me feedback to relay to the kitchens.”

Anaisa tried to give Sapphira a stern look, but wound up giggling instead.

“It’s a wonderful thing I did lose weight; if I ate this on a normal day, I’d be as fat as a cow!” She cried, looking across the array of marvelous dishes.

“Allow me, Your Highness,” Sapphira threw herself into the role of doting servant as the kitchen staff looked on. “I recall this is one of your favorites.”

The younger woman quirked an eyebrow and snuck a small meat-filled pastry into her mouth as she offered the tray to Anaisa with a flourish.

The faux princess raised her chin regally and took one, examining it from all sides before popping it into her mouth. It was heavenly. The flaky crust seemed to melt on her tongue and the slightly spicy interior was glorious after days of bland broth and a little bread.

“This is… passable,” She tried to keep an air of aloofness to her tone. “But I had better try another to make certain.”

Sapphira hid a giggle underneath a sneeze, and Anaisa pinned her with a mock glare as she ate another one.

“Next!” She declared, and the princess jumped to serve her tray after tray of divine delicacies. The array of cheeses were of particular interest to Anaisa, until she found out that some of the other foods were stuffed with cheese.

The few parties Father had taken her and Katia to, he’d forbidden them from eating more than two bites of any dish, lest they be viewed as gluttons and undesirable as a potential mate. Most of the finer foods she’d tried were snuck to the girls from the kitchen staff either before or after.

Apparently the cook in their mansion couldn’t hold a candle to the chefs of the palace. Each new morsel was something she could stuff into her face until she burst, but she restrained herself with great effort.

She was through tasting about three-quarters of the dishes when a tentative knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!” She called around a mouthful of canape, immediately chagrined that she might make the princess look bad by speaking with her mouth full.

Anaisa knew better, but with such good food in a homey atmosphere, manners seemed less important. Hopefully the stress of the ball would make her pay much closer attention to her behavior.

“I’m back,” Trace’s voice preceded his tentative entrance. “I assume it’s safe to enter?”

His eyebrows rose as he observed trays of food sitting on every otherwise empty surface of the chamber. He blinked at Anaisa, who turned red when she realized she was holding delicate crackers topped with shellfish in both hands at once.

She put them down hurriedly and clapped as she addressed the kitchen servants.

“You’re all dismissed! You… may leave the dishes, and I will send down word if any further changes are needed for the menu!”

The staff curtsied and bowed, then left the ‘princess’ alone with her maid and bodyguard.

“What’s all this?” Trace seemed amused as well as perplexed. “Trying to put on all the lost weight in one single meal, I suppose?”

“Don’t be judgmental. Try that one,” Anaisa pointed to the tray nearest to him on the table. He looked at her skeptically, but reached down to pick up a small piece of wood speared through a combination of cured meat, cheese, and a brightly colored berry, drizzled with some sort of dark reduction that smelled faintly of vinegar.

He bit carefully, removing the tiny spear, and his eyes widened.

“That’s fantastic.” He said around the mouthful of food.

“Isn’t it??” Anaisa gushed. “Now that one.” She pointed across the room to a tray of tiny pastry cups filled with a purple cream and intricately decorated.

He strode over, and, more confidently this time, picked one up and tossed it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully and nodded to himself as he swallowed.

“I see.” He murmured.

“What do you see?” Even Sapphira was intrigued by his vague response.

“I never understood before why anyone would want to be royalty. It seemed like an abysmal job with too much responsibility. But now,” He gestured at the food all around the room. “I finally see the appeal.”

Both the ladies burst into giggles at his silly assertion, and he grinned.

“How did the fitting go? Does the dress look as lovely as you want it to?” He looked around, obviously noticing the absence of the dressmaker

“That’s a secret,” Anaisa’s words were a little more pointed than she meant them to come out. Instead of light and teasing, they held a little of the bitterness she felt on being denied access to the last of his secrets.

“Understandable,” He shrugged. “I suppose my garb will be a secret as well… mostly because I have no idea what it will look like.”

Trace gave them both a lopsided grin that succeeded in breaking the tension.

“The tailor didn’t tell you what he was planning?” Sapphira frowned. “Is that normal for the men?”

“How can I be expected to know?” Trace shook his head. “I’ll be content if he finishes in time, even if I wind up looking like a horse… so long as he gives me a mask large enough to hide my face so no one will know it’s me.”