Midnight Baking

A week before the Grisett Function, the kitchens of Castle Manhesto were inordinately busy, with its fridges and freezers being stuffed to the gills, in anticipation of the hundreds of guests that would be occupying the castle grounds for the night and the days afterwards. Dozens of servants, chefs, couriers, and maids were scrambling throughout the castle, to the point where even the ever-present Talons kept their distance and hugged the walls, lest they be struck by a hand truck or run down by a servant rushing to fulfill their orders.
In the late evening, one of these kitchens was seemingly unused, until one placed their ear against the door. Inside, a few of the royal ladies decided that they wanted to make themselves a cake, and under Amelia's direction, began in earnest - their husbands, children, and the rest of the castle unaware of their endeavor.
"I did not take you for a master of the kitchen, Amelia," Isana admitted, even as her apron was slowly picking up flour dust. In truth, she did see the traces of Amelia's "time" and her history, but did not want to make it known that her Gift was permanently active.
"Before I met Marcus, running a bakery was something I was always good at. As natural as breathing!" Amelia exclaimed, even as she slid some eggs down the counter towards Juliet. The Elven Queen caught said eggs and balanced them on the tips of her fingers for a moment, before cracking them and adding them to the giant mixing bowl that almost dominated the counter.
"Wait - you're not a noble in your own right?" Katherine Caxwen-Bellamy asked. "With the way you conduct yourself, I would've mistaken you for someone of the ancient nobility!"
"Then again, my grandfather taught me that nobility wasn't just of blood and heritage, but also in composure and deportment," Amelia replied, even as she began to manually mix the ingredients in the giant mixing bowl. Passing a few utensils down the counter, Isana and Juliet began their own mixing, even as the oven's bell dinged - indicating it was of the correct temperature.
"Your grandfather speaks wisdom," Isana coolly noted, as she took a breather from blending. "There are surely a dozen upstart nobles that were present in today's meeting that could learn from your grandfather." She paused, and then a flicker of a smile appeared on her face. "On another note - how did you and Marcus meet to begin with? I have known him for a significant period of time, and he is... not the best when it comes to being social."
This admission caught Amelia off guard, with her dropping a mixing spoon into the bowl. "Really? When we first met, he seemed like an outgoing and handsome young man. He even took the time to ask for my name, and left me a generous tip."
Juliet snorted, even as she began pouring the cake mix into a baking in. "Leave it to Marcus to try to be subtle in letting his attractions be known."
"You also speak of Marcus as if you have known him for a while," Amelia noted. It was slowly dawning on her that, in the kitchen as of yet, only she was someone not of noble birth. The others claimed royal heritage, or were of the peerage and married into the royal family of their kingdom; she alone was a commoner who ascended to queen.
"Aside from Katherine, the two of us are close friends with Marcus and Clarisse," Isana clarified. "We all met together as a Grisett like this a few decades ago? Time has flown for all of us, and we have remained close over the years." She turned and nodded to Juliet, who smiled back.
"As for me, my introductions to this lovely circle were done fairly recently, as Pehamber's nobility tends to not get involved in the international sphere often," Katherine noted. "Then again, seeing that you are all lovely ladies, I am dismayed that I haven't been introduced earlier. I wasn't even expecting to be invited to tonight's sudden baking," she admitted, before a knock on the heavy kitchen door distracted all of them.
"Come in," Amelia chimed, not even having looked towards the door as she began pulling out icing sugar and heavy cream from their respective places. The kitchen doors were opened, with Talon Mabel Sanders escorting June Wisteria and Clarisse Mitfield-Cross into the kitchen. "Lady Amelia," greeted the Talon, "Miss Wisteria and Princess Clarisse said that you invited them into the kitchen?"
"Indeed," Amelia responded, even as she passed the heavy cream to Katherine to begin whipping. "Thank you, Mabel~"
"You are most welcome," Mabel replied, even as she respectfully bowed out, closing the door behind her. June, for her part, threw on her apron, and immediately took a bowl for herself and joined in the culinary effort, whereas Clarisse stifled a yawn, and began making herself a coffee.
"Oh? This is your eldest's fiancée, no?" Juliet asked, and all attention immediately moved towards June, who was flustered in the light of such scrutiny. "She appears to be cute, and answers readily when requested. Dutiful, perhaps? Would make for an excellent Queen in the future," the elf noted, even as she flashed June a bright smile.
"You flatter me," June replied, even as she passed Clarisse some milk for her coffee. "Though, if a queen I must be, I have all the great examples to learn from in this kitchen, no?"
"Your children possess excellent taste," Isana complimented, even as she pulled sprinkles from a cupboard. "May you grow up to be an excellent peer and queen to your people, June." The timer rang once, indicating the cakes were now complete, and Juliet pulled them out of the oven with gloved hands, placing them on a cooling rack.
As the other ladies began decorating the cake, Amelia sat beside Clarisse, who slowly sipped at her coffee. "You look exhausted," she commented to the Croxwie, who merely nodded in return.
"I am always tired these days," Clarisse noted, even as she shook her head to try to inject some life into herself. "But that is the price of being busy, especially when moving in these circles." She offered Amelia some coffee of her own, who accepted it in turn.
"I can only hope you gain some of your energy back before the Function begins," Amelia aired, even as Katherine accidentally squeezed the icing tube too hard and splattered herself with the sugary treat, eliciting laughter from the others. "If you need to retire and lay low for the next few days, just ask - I can have Mabel direct some attendants to you and yours," Amelia offered.
"Normally my pride would say no," Clarisse started, "but with the stress of my work these days, I may very well take you up on that offer." She smiled at her queen, before downing the rest of her coffee. "What kind of cake did you guys end up making?"
"Chocolate. Something simple but delectable, all the same," Amelia noted, even as she pulled out glazed cherries from yet another cupboard. "Besides, it's not like our husbands or children know~"
"To that, I'll agree and raise my empty coffee as a toast," Clarisse quipped, as she sneakily ate a cherry, before the two got back up to head towards the counter. There was a cake to decorate and eat, and it was not going to complete itself.