Star-Cross Cookies: Part 3

#FanFiction #AscendanceOfABookworm
#Wss366 recreate/re-create

Armed with Carnelia’s name, Rozemyne headed to the library, much to the dismay of her chief maid, Lieseleta. Rihyarda could have handled it, but Lieseleta lacked the experience and gravitas to control Rozemyne when she was fired up.

"Lady Carnelia!" Rozemyne shouted, bursting into the reading room the girl was using.

Lieseleta said just loud enough for the Aub to hear, “At least give her a proper greeting.”

“Of course,” Rozemyne replied.

“May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the harsh judgment of Ewigeliebe, Lady Carnelia?” Rozemyne rushed through her greeting.

“You may.” The lady in question spoke barely loud enough to be heard and trembled like a winter leaf, which wasn’t surprising, given that the Aub had addressed her so suddenly.

“I need something red, romantic, and heart-shaped,” Rozemyne said.

“You might want to explain a bit,” Lieseleta said. She was overstepping herself, but the poor woman Rozemyne was addressing looked bewildered and on the verge of fainting in fright.

“Sorry, I want something to use with cookies for Star-Cross Day. Something other than those dreadful bugs! I don’t see how anyone could think coach beetles were romantic.”

Lady Carnelia stared, and then, as the word "romantic" sank in, she began to think. Her brows furrowed, and then a smile touched her lips. "There's the 'desert heart.' They have red, heart-shaped leaves and a mild, pleasant flavor. Perhaps you’ve had tea made from them.”

Rozemyne’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, that lovely mint tea. I think we export it. That would be wonderful.”

Lieseleta was used to Rozemyne’s use of strange words, but Lady Carnelia looked puzzled at the word “mint.”

Blissfully unaware, Rozemyne continued. “Mild, red, mint cookies with a heart-shaped leaf in their center. Perfect!”

Carried away, she rushed off to see the chef, leaving poor Lady Carnelia to recover in the now silent library.

[Sequel coming someday]

Tags: #SliceOfLife #AoaB #MicroFiction #TootFic #NMV366 #NMFic #Bookworm #Valentines

Star-Cross Cookies: Part 2

#FanFiction #AscendanceOfABookworm
#Wss366 recreate/re-create**

The thought of her subjects eating cockroaches wouldn't leave Rozemyne's mind. What a dreadful tradition! Star-Cross Day, a holiday similar to Tanabata and Valentine’s Day, deserved better. Giving chocolates or making wishes would make more sense than eating bugs!

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything similar to chocolate in this universe, but giving sweets to your love sounded just as nice. What could she create that women could give to their favorite person?

Mochi was the first thing she thought of. She’d just introduced that, but it was difficult to make, and the grain was expensive. Ferdinand said they should reserve it for nobles for the time being. Next, she thought of heart-shaped sugar candies. Clear, sparkly red hearts would be cute, but perfecting them would take time.

“Cookies!” she exclaimed as the idea came to her. Those were easy, and the recipe was widespread by now. It had to be different, though, and #re-create Valentine’s romance.

Red heart-shaped sugar cookies came to mind, but that would just be a different shape of an existing recipe. It had to be something special. Something that only bakers who bought the recipe could produce. Profits were important; there were so many books to buy.

Different. Romantic. Hard to duplicate.

“Humm…”

Nothing was coming to mind.

Help! “Who can I ask?”

She thought about the people she was close to, most of whom were in Ehrenfest or Dunkelfelger. Not only could she not talk to them, but it would also be unfair to ask them to work for the benefit of her duchy. As for her councilors, they were old folks without a romantic bone in their bodies. Nor could she speak to Ferdinand; she wanted to surprise him.

Wait, she knew! There was a woman who came to the library every day to read romances. What was her name?

“Carnelia!”

[Continued in next post]

Tags: #MicroFiction #TootFic #SliceOfLife #NMFic #Valentines