Status: Working on it...
In a Wizard's Shoes
Dinner With the Queen
Conjuring up the biggest, brightest smile I could make, I strode to the table and whipped out a pen and clipboard. "Good evening, Your Majest-"
The Queen jolted upwards with a face boiling with fury. "Poor manners, girl, such disrespect!"
The entire building ceased their chattering and turned to the raging Queen. The Queen's megaphone vocals continued to boom.
"Who are- how- dare you-"
"With highest respect, Your Majesty. What have I done to offend you?"
The Queen grabbed the collar of my waiter-shirt. Krakens! This woman... was a giantess! Sausage fingers, mountainous body, rolls of fat on her neck...and gosh, those piercing blue eyes of hers...She threw me to the ground.
"You, Miss Lytiry, bow! BOW!!"
Face burning with shame, I threw myself to the floor. A long shadow cast across the crimson carpet.
In a calmer voice, the Queen spoke. "Now you may rise."
Still throbbing from impact, I slowly rose. The restaurant returned to it's usual hubbub. I flipped to a new piece of paper. "Good evening, Your Majesty, Prince of Avalon and guests. How may I serve you?"
Dish after dish after dish... Their choices filled over two pages, ending in a total that trailed in so many zeros... Sheesh, they'd better be off using a truck to haul all this food!
***
The Kitchen was actually a large hall full of cooking equipment, computer screens and flashy-modern tech benches with hundreds of chefs and waiters darting around. Ducking and weaving through the sea of people, I raced to a wall aligned with computer screens.
These computer screens were like one of those touch-screen check in's you saw in airports. These ones though, were the Grand Swan's way of sending the food requested to the chefs. As I tapped my way through the list, Lizzie joined the screen next to mine. "So we meet again, Moon-girl. How's Queen Humungofrog?"
"Queen Humungofrog?" I laughed, "is that what you call her- I mean Her Majesty?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes and grinned. "Well, she is a human version of one." Her eyebrows dipped for a moment as she tapped the 'Shells Pasta' option on her screen. Then she returned to her bright, bubbly self. "Nice to see you, Luna! Later!"
***
Beep! Beep! Beep! The little 'phone' in my hand started buzzing. The words "MEAL A- SPRING SALAD is ready" popped up. I grabbed a trolley and wheeled towards a bench with chefs dicing ingredients at the speed of light. There was a long queue at the end of the bench, where food came rolling in on small conveyor belts.
In record time, I collected all the dishes requested, carefully squeezed them into place and wheeled out into the Grand Room. Out of all the trolleys pushed, this one was by far, the heaviest! Think of pushing a grand piano, uphill. The dishes wobbled unsteadily with every movement of the cart. Please don't drop this, I thought, or the Queen will...
"Faster, girl! We haven't got all day!" Her Majesty bellowed.
The anger in me started to bubble. Oh how I wish I could cast a spell to shut that woman's mouth up! As soon as their food were placed on the table, the entire group leapt up and attacked away. Well, everyone except one.
Talisha appeared to be scraping bits of her food into a container. Then she coughed. "Excuse me, Your Majesty. I have to go to the bathroom."
"Sure, sweetie. Go right ahead."
As she passed, I felt something being thrusted into my hand. Facing her with an open mouth and raised eyebrows, she returned a smile. Keep it, she mouthed. My eyes slid from her smile towards the feasting mob, then back again. Stormzilla, I couldn't believe it!
An Aristocrat, out of all people, had just given me, a Peasant, something to eat! Surely this was forbidden.
I turned to thank her, but she had vanished. Perhaps I should thank her later.
A tall, slender girl with glossy black hair and amethyst eyes came strolling over. She was Alura Wildheart, a 16yr old Myth wizard. Even with her work-clothes on, she always proudly displayed herself with sapphire and peridot jewellery.
"Hellllloooo, Lunara. Just wondered if your friends Elizabeth Dragonwhisper, Dylan Sandcloud or any other wizard's told you about the Birthday prank next week."
The Queen's Birthday was also next week.
"Prank?" I whispered back, "for the Queen's Birthday?"
"Yes. Look's like Elizabeth or Dylan haven't told you about it yet. What a shame that I'll have to burst the surprise. Lunara, dear, we are going to literally give the Queen a cake she'll definitely remember!"
The Queen jolted upwards with a face boiling with fury. "Poor manners, girl, such disrespect!"
The entire building ceased their chattering and turned to the raging Queen. The Queen's megaphone vocals continued to boom.
"Who are- how- dare you-"
"With highest respect, Your Majesty. What have I done to offend you?"
The Queen grabbed the collar of my waiter-shirt. Krakens! This woman... was a giantess! Sausage fingers, mountainous body, rolls of fat on her neck...and gosh, those piercing blue eyes of hers...She threw me to the ground.
"You, Miss Lytiry, bow! BOW!!"
Face burning with shame, I threw myself to the floor. A long shadow cast across the crimson carpet.
In a calmer voice, the Queen spoke. "Now you may rise."
Still throbbing from impact, I slowly rose. The restaurant returned to it's usual hubbub. I flipped to a new piece of paper. "Good evening, Your Majesty, Prince of Avalon and guests. How may I serve you?"
Dish after dish after dish... Their choices filled over two pages, ending in a total that trailed in so many zeros... Sheesh, they'd better be off using a truck to haul all this food!
***
The Kitchen was actually a large hall full of cooking equipment, computer screens and flashy-modern tech benches with hundreds of chefs and waiters darting around. Ducking and weaving through the sea of people, I raced to a wall aligned with computer screens.
These computer screens were like one of those touch-screen check in's you saw in airports. These ones though, were the Grand Swan's way of sending the food requested to the chefs. As I tapped my way through the list, Lizzie joined the screen next to mine. "So we meet again, Moon-girl. How's Queen Humungofrog?"
"Queen Humungofrog?" I laughed, "is that what you call her- I mean Her Majesty?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes and grinned. "Well, she is a human version of one." Her eyebrows dipped for a moment as she tapped the 'Shells Pasta' option on her screen. Then she returned to her bright, bubbly self. "Nice to see you, Luna! Later!"
***
Beep! Beep! Beep! The little 'phone' in my hand started buzzing. The words "MEAL A- SPRING SALAD is ready" popped up. I grabbed a trolley and wheeled towards a bench with chefs dicing ingredients at the speed of light. There was a long queue at the end of the bench, where food came rolling in on small conveyor belts.
In record time, I collected all the dishes requested, carefully squeezed them into place and wheeled out into the Grand Room. Out of all the trolleys pushed, this one was by far, the heaviest! Think of pushing a grand piano, uphill. The dishes wobbled unsteadily with every movement of the cart. Please don't drop this, I thought, or the Queen will...
"Faster, girl! We haven't got all day!" Her Majesty bellowed.
The anger in me started to bubble. Oh how I wish I could cast a spell to shut that woman's mouth up! As soon as their food were placed on the table, the entire group leapt up and attacked away. Well, everyone except one.
Talisha appeared to be scraping bits of her food into a container. Then she coughed. "Excuse me, Your Majesty. I have to go to the bathroom."
"Sure, sweetie. Go right ahead."
As she passed, I felt something being thrusted into my hand. Facing her with an open mouth and raised eyebrows, she returned a smile. Keep it, she mouthed. My eyes slid from her smile towards the feasting mob, then back again. Stormzilla, I couldn't believe it!
An Aristocrat, out of all people, had just given me, a Peasant, something to eat! Surely this was forbidden.
I turned to thank her, but she had vanished. Perhaps I should thank her later.
A tall, slender girl with glossy black hair and amethyst eyes came strolling over. She was Alura Wildheart, a 16yr old Myth wizard. Even with her work-clothes on, she always proudly displayed herself with sapphire and peridot jewellery.
"Hellllloooo, Lunara. Just wondered if your friends Elizabeth Dragonwhisper, Dylan Sandcloud or any other wizard's told you about the Birthday prank next week."
The Queen's Birthday was also next week.
"Prank?" I whispered back, "for the Queen's Birthday?"
"Yes. Look's like Elizabeth or Dylan haven't told you about it yet. What a shame that I'll have to burst the surprise. Lunara, dear, we are going to literally give the Queen a cake she'll definitely remember!"