Ash awoke to delightful smells that morning. The entire village was busy cooking for the festival at noon on the mountain. With a yawn, he stretched his arms up high in the air. After four days of strict bed rest and a healthy diet of vegetables, he was feeling much better.
Stepping out of bed, he shuffled into the kitchen where his mother and sister were busy preparing their own entries. Pulling out a chair and sitting, he yawned again. "What's on the menu today?" He asked when neither of the two registered the fact that he was up.
Jessica jumped slightly, her hand at the base of her throat. She and Cheryl were so focused to not burn their recipe that neither had heard the male shuffle in. "Ash! You shouldn't frighten me so!" she scolded as she continued stirring the pot she was cooking in. She lifted the spoon and tasted the soup. Cringing, she added a little more salt to the bland disaster. What had she missed? Surely, she thought, one little step couldn't have made that much of a difference. She sighed.
"Sorry, mom," Ash said, standing to shuffle back into the big bedroom they all shared to get dressed. Although it was a festival, that didn't mean his work was taken care of today. He still had animals that needed fed and stock that needed sorted to be sold.
After he was dressed and set, he walked out into the pasture behind his house, surprised and also confused to see his animals already out. Had they escaped? He frowned as he heard a noise from the barn. Hurrying in, he grabbed a rake from the wall, raising it to beat whoever was the intruder was.
However, he dropped it immediately when he saw Lillian kneeling down, brushing one of his newer sheep, Snow. Snow was prone to escaping and the other livestock didn't seem to like her. When a new animal came in, they usually herded together. But for Snow, the other sheep just seemed to ignore her.
Lillian looked up to see Ash dropping the rake, a brow raised. "Good morning to you too," she laughed lightly. Snow bleated, a pleased look on her face as Lillian continued brushing her.
Ash grinned sheepishly, "Morning. Did you cook for today?" He picked up the rake, leaning it against the wall as he sat on one of the hay bells that sat in the corner.
Lillian stood, brushing off hay from her knees and shooing Snow out the barn. She yawned and stretched, her muscles aching from the extra work recently. "Yeah, Cam and Laney helped me earlier today."
Ash glanced at the clock on the wall, it was only eight. "Wow, what time did you get up?"
"Five..." Lillian said with another yawn.
Ash's brows shot up. "That's..."
"Way too early," Lillian said as she sat next to him on the hay bell. Ash moved over politely to give her room as she leaned back against the barn wall.
Ash nodded, imitating her and leaning back against the wall. He wondered if she even had time to eat breakfast. He asked her, and wasn't surprised when she shook her head.
"No time when I had to care for my animals and yours," she explained.
"Then I'm getting you a proper breakfast!" Ash declared, leaping from the hay bell and rushing out the barn. Lillian stood in surprise, unsure of whether to follow or not. Her question was answered when Ash poked his head back into the barn to say, "Well come on!"
With a sigh and slumped shoulders, she followed him out of the pasture and into his house where his mother was still busy with the cooking festival entry.
"Mom, I'm going to cook some breakfast, do you and Cheryl want some?" He asked while rummaging through their refrigerator. Lillian took a seat at the table.
Jessica hardly glanced up from her cooking to shake her head and say, "No, we ate. But thank you, Ash. Cheryl, honey, can you get momma that pepper next to you?" Jessica asked, thinking Cheryl was at the table. Lillian looked around, where was Cheryl? "Honey, I need you to hand me it, it's at the center of the table, please." Jessica asked again, but still, there was no Cheryl. Finally, Jessica grew aggravated and turned around to discipline her child. But she was taken by surprise when she saw Lillian at the table instead of her daughter. "Goddess! Lillian, what a surprise! I am sorry, I thought you were Cheryl," she laughed, grabbing the pepper from the table herself, "lovely to have you visiting today. I assume Ash is making you two some eggs?"
"And maybe some rice," Ash added, having finished his rummaging and moved with his ingredients to the counter where he would start preparing the meal. Lillian watched him fry the eggs and steam the five in no time. Within ten minutes, Lillian had a plateful of over-easy eggs on a bed of steamed rice with a slice of toast and apple jam. She gulped.
"Well?" Ash smiled, gesturing to the plate in front of her as he began digging into his own food. Lillian nodded, grabbing her fork and beginning to eat.
About an hour later, the town of Bluebell was making the trek up the mountain to the top where the cooking contest was being held. Leading the group was Ash, carrying his mother's bowl of soup with Cheryl tagging along, her bowl in hand as well. Cam and Lillian weren't far behind, plates and bowls in their hands as well. Jessica, Laney, Rutger, and Grady were in a bunch in the tail end of the group, but only one or two had played to enter today.
Lillian and Cam chatted absently about the flowers they saw, Cam occasionally stopping to observe one or another and making mental notes to come tomorrow and get it. Ash was too excited to be up and around, so he was practically jogging up the mountain as Cheryl struggled to keep up with her long-legged brother. Once in awhile she would exclaim, "Ashy, wait up!" and Ash would pause.
One the opposite side of the mountain, the trek for the Konohana villagers was more divided. Nori and her grandfather left earlier than most, so they led the team with their dishes. Mako, Yin, and Ina were in the center of the team, and Phillip, Reina, and Kana held up the rear.
"Your sister," Kana said as they were crossing a stone bridge, Ina's group far ahead of the trio. He paused, then said, "do you think she will compete?"
Phillip nodded, "she loves this kind of thing. I'd be surprised if she didn't."
Reina carried her dish of herb salad, nodding lightly, having no comments. Kana laughed, "she is good a cooking, yes?"
Phillip laughed too, "oh yes, she is the best at cooking in my opinion. She's been cooking since she was young. I remember her studying all night on cooking."
The three chatted away about Lillian as they neared the top of the mountain where the two villages would convene and contend. The two mayors neared each other and their chins raised towards each other.
Rutger stood before Ina, a look of pity in his eyes. "Such a shame, it looks like you have no hope at all of winning this week, poor Ina."
Ina's temper spiked, but she remained nonchalant. "I was just thinking the same for you, old man."
"Old man?!" Rutger roared. If it was anything he disliked most, was being called old. This old man could still work the farms as good as any new rancher Ina or he might acquire at any time.
There was a clapping sound as the gourmet tried to get everyone's attention. It was rather difficult, considering his short stature. From where Lillian stood, she couldn't see him at all, but she did see a purple hat. Could that be him?
Phillip was facing the same issue, however he was a bit taller, so he finally found the short gourmet, standing behind a long table with colored tiles. Phillip also was having trouble spotting his twin sister in the crowd. Lillian, on the other hand, was swept up in the excitement of the festival and the fact that her brother was competing completely left her mind. She placed her dish next to Jessica's on their side of the table and took a seat next to Cam in the front row of folded chairs.
"Does everyone have their dishes laid out?" Somebody, presumably the gourmet asked. Once everyone had said yes, the little man strolled up to Bluebell's table, fork in hand, and said, "Let's begin!"