* * * Here's my first story posted on this account! Enjoy! Press space for the next page. * * * 832 words Inspired by my scrambled eggs.
Story:------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRACK! The egg split neatly in half, dropping its golden insides into the bowl. Anna began danced around the kitchen, measuring ingredients and mixing them together. The cadence of the kitchen flowed through her. A teaspoon of vanilla, a half cup of sugar-Anna knew the recipe by heart. While she worked, her hands trembled with excitement, and a bit of nervousness, too. It was an honor to be preparing the queen's cake. The kitchen was the only place where Anna could be herself, away from her large and demanding family. She had an older brother and sister, who were both studying abroad in Carden. Then there was her older sister Rose, only a year older than her. And then there were her younger siblings, so many they were hard to keep track of. Mellie and David and Ian. The baby, Melissa. And the twin tornadoes, Devon and Blake. In such a crowded household, it was rare when Anna could find time to do what she wanted, to cook. Or even hear herself think. The kitchen door creaked open just as Anna was mixing the frosting. The noise startled her so that some of it splattered on her face. "What do you want, Ian?" said Anna, turning toward the sound. Ian made a face. "Don't be so rude. Mummy wouldn't like it," he said in a mocking tone. He walked over to the counter where Anna was working. "Tell me why you're here, or else go play with Mellie. I'm busy." "But I want to play with you," whined Ian. "Mellie's so boring! All she wants to do is play with her dolls." He looked around the kitchen, and his face lit up. "Are you cooking? What are you making? Smells good." Ian reached his index finger into the bowl of frosting. Anna swatted it away. "Don't touch that! It's for Queen Raina's cake!" "Sorry," Ian muttered. "I wasn't gonna actually eat it. It looks like clouds." He walked over to the table and sat down. "Can I stay here if I don't bother you?" "You better not bother me," said Anna, and she went back to work. The cake was the most important part of the ceremony. Everybody knew that. If you asked any stranger on the street about any queen's coronation, they'd say, "Oh, yes. It was a lovely day. The cake was delicious." And Queen Raina's coronation was going to be the best of them all, Anna vowed. The queen was loved by all the people, so her coronation deserved a wonderful cake. Anna realized that Ian had been quiet for a long time. Too long. She turned around to see that he had left his seat. But I haven't heard the door open. He must still be around somewhere. "Ian?" she called. "What are you up to?" Anna began searching all over, under the table, in the pantry. Giving up, she turned back to her cooking- -And saw Ian, hovering over the freshly baked cake, a jar of something in his left hand. "Ian, what are you doing?" Anna raced over and took the jar from her little brother's hand. "Sleeping Spice?" she said in disbelief. "How much did you put on?" "It smelled good, so I thought I'd put it on the cake," said Ian sleepily. "Don't worry-I tested it first, to make sure it was safe. It tasted great!" "Didn't you read the label before dumping it on?" Anna could barely contain her anger. "I can't read." He yawned. "Then you have no business being in the kitchen! Out! Out!" Anna made shooing motions at him until he backed out the door. She turned her attention to the ruined cake, but a moment later she heard a dull THUD outside the door. She opened it to find her brother sound asleep in the middle of the hallway. "This is just great," she muttered as she picked Ian up and began carrying him back to her family's cottage. There was no time to bake another cake in time for the coronation. Maybe she could still serve the ruined one. If she just skimmed off the top layer of frosting-that would probably get all the Sleeping Spice off. Of course, then the frosting would be messed up, and she'd have to redo the delicate frosting roses. Which would take time. Just then, Anna saw one of the coronation planners walking past her. Violet, her name was. She was wearing a pair of lavender oven mitts, carrying Anna's ruined cake! "Nice job on the cake," said Violet. "I love the frosting roses! The queen's going to love it!" She hurried along. "Wait! Violet!" Still cradling Ian, Anna ran after Violet. She couldn't serve this cake! Not with the Sleeping Spice! But Ian was slowing her down, and Violet was already out of earshot. "Spirits help me," said Anna. At noon, the cake would be served, and then everyone would be snoring away. It would be a coronation like no other.
