Ariana couldn"t help but smile brightly at lady Zula. She was so excited that she was being allowed to enter the kitchen with Rin. She jumped out of Roy"s arms, skipped around him, ducked under the counter and was standing in front of the double doors."Lady Zula I will make you a serving too!" she shouted with glee as she curtsied. Lady Zula eyed her mannerism "truly this child was not what she seemed" she thought to herself. "Roy you are not allowed to follow her inside. I will allow Rin to go inside and watch over her. If the child is lying she will be there to drag her out if she needs to but you on the other hand if she needed the help you would definitely step in."
Roy clutched the fabric on the side his pants and held back his protests. "As you wish Madam" he said solemnly as you bowed again to his mistress. Lady Zula gently tapped the side of his cheek and smiled at him then turned to Ariana and nodded her head showing her approval to go inside.
Ariana couldn"t help hide her excitement and blew Lady Zula a kiss before she moved past the double doors, while Rin followed in suite. Once the girls were well inside the kitchen Ariana turned to see Rin"s face.
"Well that was exciting." Ariana said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Rin shook her head from side to side and brought her hands up in defeat. "Honestly you look like a little angel but who knew you"re actually a little devil." she sighed.
Ariana raised an eyebrow, she looked Rin square in the eyes. "Oh please, I am a little angel. I just have little devil qualities, please do not misunderstand." she said boastfully. Rin leaned against the wall as rolled her eyes. She then watched Ariana look around the kitchen. Ariana saw a medium sized skillet drying in a tray.
The moment she grabbed the handle of the skillet the strange light appeared around her feet. Again the gentle gust of wind, rainbow fluff ball lights and shinning white eyes started. Rin took a couple of cautious steps forward and reached out her hand to try and touched one of the rainbow, fluff ball lights.
The instant she touched one a flood of information appeared before her eyes, she felt overwhelmed and fell backwards. She started to breathe erratically as giant drops of sweat rolled down her face. Ariana"s lights disappeared and she fluttered her eyelashes lazily. She looked down and smiled at Rin. "What is your level of skill in the kitchen?" she asked quietly.
Rin looked at her with confusion so Ariana asked her a different question. "Can you cook?" Rin wiped the sweat off her brow and tried to stand up but her legs were wobblier then a bowl of jelly. "Everything I cook turns to coal." she said bitterly as she finally found her balance.
Ariana smiled as she turned to fetch a pot. "Alright a baking lesson it is. First I will start prepping all I need then I will teach you a simple dessert that will wow everyone!" Rin looked at her like she was insane. "I just told you everything I touch turns to coal why would you have me bake instead?"
Ariana ran around the kitchen collecting all her ingredients. "Just trust me." she said as she cradled some tomatoes. "I will explain everything to you tonight."
...
There was an enchanting smell in the air that caused Roy to salivate. He couldn"t help it when his stomach growl in agony as he stared at the double doors. Soon Rin came out hold a tray with two big servings of what looked like golden mountains. While Ariana followed behid her with a smaller serving.
Rin and Ariana placed the food onto the counter and allowed everyone to awe over it. Lady Zula looked displeased as she poked the golden mound with her index finger. "Child what are playing at? You are serving egg." Ariana smiled brightly as she looked at Lady Zula. "Yes Lady Zula it is an egg dish and one that you can eat at anytime of the day."
Roy looked over the mound curiously as he tried to figure out how it was made. "Bid brother Roy let me feed you the first bite!" Ariana said excitedly and stared cutting into the mound with just a fork. "No it"s?!?!" he started to protest but Ariana shoved a good fork full of Omurice into his mouth.
Roy started to chew slowly and soon enough his shoulders sagged, his face became slightly flushed and his whole aura glowed with joy. "Mmmh!" he said as he tried to take the fork from Ariana"s hand. "You cooked the chicken so tenderly that you can easy cut it with a fork!" he exclaimed as he grabbed a fork laying on the counter and cut himself another piece.
"Chicken?!" Lady Zula said as she looked at the mound again. Ariana brought her elbows onto the counter, she cradled her small face as she held onto the fork. "That"s right. Egg, chicken, rice, carrots, onions, peas, cheese and a special sauce." she said happily as she stared at Lady Zula.
Lady Zula looked at Roy who had eaten half his mound already then back to Ariana"s face. "You want me to eat commoner"s food?" she questioned with disgust. Ariana looked at her with unwavering eyes. "Yes!" she said joyously. "If you like it Lady Zula we could add it to your menu." Lady Zula"s eyes became furious. A small vein was now visible above her left brow.
"What makes you think I would add this to MY menu?!" she said in a low, daunting voice. Ariana didn"t even bat an eye when she heard Lady Zula"s words. "You"re menu is very high end. The way your kitchen is stocked I believe you don"t get a lot of customers ordering meals. One, it"s too rich and could make them feel sluggish or cramped. Two, this one meal would be more cost efficient for you and you can mark up the sale price, no one would complain." she said matter of factly.
Lady Zula"s rage subsided as she looked at Ariana quizzically. "Tell me child why would someone pay more for commoner"s food when they can prepare at home?" Ariana batted her long eyelashes and reached into her ap.r.o.n"s pocket. "Because of this. It is a one of a kind sauce that no one will be able to replicate even if they know the ingredients." Ariana said as she unscrewed the jar.
Lady Zula eyed the red jar and dipped her pinky finger inside. She brought her pinky to her tongue and shivered in delight. "What is this?!" she asked excitedly. "Ketchup." Ariana said indifferently, she then looked at Roy who was almost done is meal and added a small heart she made with ketchup onto his Omurice. "You"ll like it more now." she said earnestly. Roy was already stuffed but looking into her eyes urged him to try one more fork full.
Tears were brought to his eyes and he grabbed the small jar of ketchup, placed it against his cheek and started to cuddle it. "You"re my treasure now." he said affectionately. Lady Zula couldn"t hold back anymore and tried a bite. She had the same reaction as Roy and sighed with pleasure. She then s.n.a.t.c.hed the jar away from Roy"s hands and was ready to pour the sauce all over but Ariana placed her hand onto of the jar. "Lady Zula too much can be over powering, here let me." she said sweetly.
Ariana took the jar back and started to draw a flower design on the egg. She then moved and drew a sun with clouds on the last Omurice. She screwed the lid back on the jar and placed it back in her ap.r.o.n"s pocket. She walked over to Rin and handed her a fork. She grabbed her hand and walked her over to the last Omurice. She brought her hands together into the shape of a heart and started to sing. "I shower this meal with my love so I hope you do say yum." then she looked at Rin with antic.i.p.ation.
The corner of Rin"s mouth twitched, she needed to act fast or else she would show everyone her smile. She cut a piece of Omurice with her fork and at the same time Lady Zula had gotten a fantastic idea. Both women took a bite and began to blush, they squirmed with giddiness as the "Mmmh" in sync. "I want that sauce!" Lady Zula yelled as she got up from her seat. Ariana looked at Lady Zula and blinked. "Ok." she said as she dug the jar out of her pocket and handed it to her.
"No I want the recipe! I want to have it as part of the menu along with this Omurice!" she yelled in fustration. Ariana scratched her head and looked at Rin. The young women nodded taking her que and disappeared behind the double doors. "Lady Zula I am honoured by your request and I will be more then happy to sell you the recipe and rights to the dishes." Ariana said coolly. Lady Zula dropped her fork in surprise.
"Sell?!" she exhaled as she narrowed her eyes. "Correct sell. I believe this will be one of the highlights to your business and will bring in all types of customers, with proper advertising of course.". Ariana said as she looked at Lady Zula with a cold demeanor. The air around her became frigid and unforgiving and Lady Zula remembered she was not dealing with a regular child. "How much do you want." she asked cautiously.
Ariana blinked and her innocent smile came back. "Can you make me a fair offer?" she asked politely. Lady Zula gulped she didn"t want to offended and thought about it seriously. Suddenly Rin walked in carrying a platter full of oddly shaped, tan coloured b.a.l.l.s with a white powdered layer sitting on the top. "Ahh she back! Before we start negotiating I want you to try this puff dessert. I will already tell you this is no commoner"s dessert and n.o.bles would kill to get their hands on these." she said as she pa.s.sed a puff pastry to Lady Zula.
"I will give you the recipe for the Omurice and ketchup for the opportunity to go to school regularly. I want my books, materials and uniform paid in full for 4 years." she said seriously. Lady Zula laughed. "That"s it child?! Done I will send you to the best school there is as long as I get the rights to these two items."
Ariana nodded "No need to send me away. I want to be close by to monitor the growth of your business but before we get into the details I want you to try the puff pastry. I will exchange the recipe for a say in your business plan, look over your financials and to reinvent your business." Lady Zula"s jaw dropped, she pursed her lips and dragged her nails across the counter. "No." she said sternly.
Ariana shrugged "You say that now but the moment you bite into that I will guarantee you that the angels from heaven will come down on you and whisper your hearts desires." she said nonchalantly. When Ariana saw that Lady Zula wouldn"t budge she let out a long sigh. "I am not taking over your business, far be it! Rin told me what goes on here and I believe your girls can sell their bodies in a different way where their lives are not at risk. B-u-t to make you feel more rea.s.sured if I can"t generate enough gold to cover the losses of the first 3 months I will give you 10 recipes. 5 meals, 5 desserts that you can sell to the highest bidder."
Lady Zula started to relax and reached for the puff pastry. "Do you seriously believe my girls will be able to bring in more profit from your plan then what they are currently doing?" she questioned with a tone of arrogance. Ariana let out a small giggle. "My good lady, they will all be able to pay off their debt to you in their first year and stay here by their own free will."
Lady Zula raised the puff pastry in cheers as she smiled at Ariana. "We have a deal." she said before she bit into the pastry. Lady Zula instantly flushed with pleasure and strated to fall backwards. The women rushed to catch a smiling Lady Zula as she gently hugged the puff pastry. "Madam are you ok?" Ariel asked as she fanned her mistress. "I see angels." she gasped before she took another bite.
Ariana had Rin place the platter on top of the counter and waved her hand across it. "Now who would like one?"