Ellody And Elliot

Chapter 1.10

Chapter 1.10 – Baking Contest

It's been just about a week since the twins got released from the infirmary and started to get healthier. The royal family celebrated the good news and even invited us to join them. Everyone seemed relaxed and letting loose. It was like we all forgot why we were even here in the first place. That is until they told us another contest was happening.

They told us that we would be cooking dishes to serve for lunch on the last day of the celebration. We had the week to decide on a dish of our choosing and gather the ingredients. The servants showed us to their garden where fruits and vegetables grow as well as the barn where the livestock was kept. If we choose to use livestock, they would be taken to the butchers to get our cut of meat.

I was a little disturbed by this, and so were some of the other Ladies. We had to choose something and that would slim down our options to choose from. The rest of them seemed a little stuck on what they wanted, but I had an idea. An iron rich meal was something I wanted to do, and I always cooked fish for my family back in Sector 17. I had spotted a stream when riding horses with Prince Elliot and decided to fish there.

I was still unsatisfied. Don't get me wrong; I caught plenty of fish. It's just that I wanted the best to cook with. Every morning I would wake up before Aimee and go out to fish for the past three days. I have some fish saved for me to us incase I don't find any better ones. Today was the day of the contest though, and my time was running out.

My feet were already planted firmly in the ground as I peered over the stream to look for the fish. I had borrowed some pants and a loose shirt from a servant because I wasn't going to fish in my nightgown or one of Aimee's creations. Besides, this was the first time that I've really felt at peace since coming here. This was something that I was used to.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see a ripple a little ways down the stream. I creep over slowly as to not make any noise and alert the fish to my presence. The rippling keeps appearing, and I know that it's toying with me. I can feel that this fish will be the one I've been looking for. I sit on my heels ready to pounce as I watch it's movement to time when I should reach for it.

"What are you doing?" a voice calls out to me. I'm startled and slip into the water, scaring my fish away.

"You made me lose my fish!" I shout back standing up in the stream and turning around. It was Prince Clark. He had his eyebrows raised and was looking at me as water dripped down.

"Why are you trying to catch a fish?" he asks coming closer and looking in my woven basket where the other fish were.

"I'm going to cook fish for the contest. It's rich in iron, and I thought it would be good for the twins."

"Well I think you've got plenty."

"That's not the point. I want to get the best one, and you made me lose it!"

"You don't even know if it would've been good or not."

"I could feel it okay," I tell him. I see the ripple again and pray to the Savior that it's my fish. "Pass me that fallen tree branch."

"Why?" he asks handing it over.

"Because." I stab downward with the branch and grin. "I found my fish." I grab the fish and pull it up to loot at. It was a beautiful fish. "Now I'm satisfied."

"Good for you, but I think you better get going. Y'all are supposed to start in a few minutes."

"I'll make it." I put my fish in the basket, close the lid, and put the straps on my shoulders. "I just have to make a run for it."