"Iysinfyr!" Nal said as she jumped into the girl's bed.

Nal normally didn't do something like this, but when she entered the room and saw that she was sitting up and looking outside, glance at her as she entered, and look back outside, she couldn't help herself. A part of her wasn't sure if her improvement the day before was a dream, so seeing her like this filled her with happiness.

Iysinfyr looked at her again but turned to look back out the window.

Nal looked around Iysinfyr to see what she was staring at and saw a gardener working in a nearby flowerbed, "Do you enjoy gardening or the flowers?"

Iysinfyr didn't look at her, so Nal watched her and the gardener to see if she could find out what was interesting enough to ignore her, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“Want to go into the garden?” Nal wondered what would happen if she took Iysinfyr to the gardener.

“Not until after you eat breakfast,” Syl put her hand on Nal’s shoulder.

Nal jumped at the touch. She had completely forgotten there were others in the room and turned to look at Syl and finally Deko, “Oh, yes. Let us do that.”

The thought of food made her realize how hungry she was.

Syl smiled and gave her a nod, “Maybe we can get Lady Iysinfyr to react to some good food. I have even asked the chef to prepare some special treats that might make her react.”

Nal’s eyes widened in expectation and she nearly licked her lips but didn’t to maintain her image in front of the servants and Iysinfyr. The long hours of etiquette training Syl had drilled into her head flashed through her mind. No, she didn’t want to get a scolding from Syl tonight so she would have to be extra careful.

Nal slid off the bed but held onto Iysinfyr’s hand and gave her a tub to see if she would follow. Iysinfyr looked from the window, and to Nal, then slid off the bed too.

Nal’s jaw nearly dropped. She had always had to rely on Deko to move Iysinfyr, so her moving on her own had taken her by surprise. She didn’t hold a grin back, “Are you ready for breakfast, Iysinfyr?” Iysinfyr didn’t reply, so Nal looked at Syl and Deko, “I wonder what we will have for breakfast today?”

Syl gave Nal a mischievous grin that told her she might not like something that would happen later, “The chef didn’t have time to prepare anything too fancy today given the short notice, so expect better things starting tomorrow.”

Nal had to fight back tears of happiness. Her family usually had simple breakfasts to not appear too… haughty, so an extravagant meal was a special treat to her.

Nal looked back to Iysinfyr. She didn’t show any reaction and was only staring at their connected hands.

“Come on, Iysinfyr!” Nal pulled her out of the room, down the hallway, down the stairs, through the front room, into the large dining chamber.

The dining chamber wasn’t as large as the one at Nal’s place, but still of a respectable size. There were many plants decorating the room much like the rest of the house and a large window on the far side of the room let in plenty of light when the large green curtains were open, which they were at the moment. The long, rectangular table that dominated the middle of the room was of a fine polish dark wood that Nal didn’t know the name of and had many carvings that gave the feel of nature. To the right was a small door that led to the kitchens.

There were two maids that Nal recognized but hadn’t talked to. One was an older woman, perhaps late thirties, and had a gentle face framed by long dark hair in the front and a bun in the back. The younger maid looked much like the older maid and looked to be in her mid to late teens and had long hair tied in the back that was a shade lighter than the older woman. Both women had round faces with short chins. If they weren’t mother and daughter, it would surprise Nal.

The dining chamber itself was still not ready for breakfast, but the two maids appeared to be nearly finishing the setup. When they saw Nal and Iysinfyr enter the room, they both bowed and waited to see if Nal would give them any orders. It wasn’t obvious, but the looks they were giving Iysinfyr were of surprise.

Nal nodded to them and took Nal to a chair and sat next to her. Deko usually fed Iysinfyr in her room, so this was the first time they would eat together.

Syl took her usual spot behind Nal, “To make breakfast more enjoyable I thought up of a nice challenge to help motivate you.”

Nal turned to look at Syl, but Syl pushed her back towards the table.

“Remember, someone of you standing should not look towards the servants during meals.” Syl said, and Nal stopped trying to turn around.

Nal puffed out her lower lip in irritation, “What kind of challenge?”

“Appearance.”

Nal straightened herself and held back a scowl. She would never understand etiquette.

“Before my Lady Nalulthyn gets to partake of the delicacies the chef is preparing, she must get Lady Iysinfyr to eat first.”

This time Nal shot around to look at Syl, then looked to Iysinfyr. She knew Syl well enough to see the smile she was barely suppressing, “This should not take long then, I am sure that Iysinfyr loves sweets just as much as any girl her age.”

Nal looked at Iysinfyr again. At least she hoped she did.

Nal’s stomach growled.

“Do not worry, Lady Nalulthyn. The chef has prepared your usual breakfast in case you cannot get Lady Iysinfyr to partake of anything. Oh, and shoving it in her mouth does not count as she seems to eat most food you feed her that way. She has to take it and eat it on her own.”

Syl took Nal by the shoulders and turned her back to the proper sitting position.

Nal looked to Iysinfyr. She wanted to believe that she could help her improve even farther; she had shown a lot of progress after yesterday, but she couldn’t get rid of the doubt in her heart.

Nal took Iysinfyr’s hand and forced herself to smile and sound cheerful, “You heard what Syl said, we get to eat lots of good food today.”

Iysinfyr slowly moved her eyes to Nal’s hand on hers before they drifted to look at something else.

Nal let go of Iysinfyr’s hand and straightened herself in the chair, “Sylvain, if I cannot get Iysinfyr to eat anything what will happen to the food?”

“Well, I imagine Duke Tallhill will eat some. Us servants will eat the rest to not waste food.”

Nal glanced at the two maids that had nearly finished their breakfast preparations and noted they were trying to hide their smiles at the news. Had Syl turned the maids against her just now?

The maids finished their preparation and the older of the two turned to Nal, bowed, and said, “I will see if the food is ready.”

The older maid then left the room through a door on the side of the room that led to the kitchen. The younger maid left through the main door. Nal knew through experience that she would get the Duke.

Nal sat impatiently for the next few minutes. The maids wouldn’t bring out the food until the Duke sat at his seat at the end of the long table.

A sigh of relief escaped Nal when the Duke, followed by the younger maid, entered the room and she stood up to greet him with a bow, “Good morning Duke Tallhill.”

The Duke had a large smile on his face, which grew even larger when he saw Iysinfyr, “Good morning, Nalulthyn. Good morning, Iysinfyr.”

Nal noticed movement next to her and looked over to see Iysinfyr looking at the Duke.

The Duke noticed this too, “I am happy you are joining me for breakfast. Is there anything you want?”

Iysinfyr merely looked at the Duke.

The Duke smiled lightly, “I guess you are not ready to talk yet.”

The Duke walked to his seat and waited for the younger maid to pull out his chair, which he then sat down in. Once he sat, the maid went into the kitchen where Nal soon heard various sounds as the food was being readied to bring out.

Moments later, the two maids and the chef came out holding platters of food.

“Forgive me for the presentation, my lord. This was on such short notice I hardly had time to prepare what Sylvain requested,” the chef, a somewhat plump man and balding man with a squashed face in his early forties said as he laid a plate full of honey bread on the table.

The older maid placed of plate of honey-glazed apples down and the younger maid place a plate of steaming sausage.

Nal gulped as she stared at the honey bread. She loved honey bread. The chef had even put a special glaze on top to add to the sweetness. Those apples looked delectable too. She didn’t eat sausage for breakfast much because Syl considered it a man’s food and she didn’t complain much because it was too rich for her.

She turned to look and see if Iysinfyr was reacting to the food, “Is there anything you see that you like?”

Iysinfyr wasn’t looking at the food and was staring at the chef.

The chef noticed and appeared to get nervous, “This isn’t everything but we should only need one more trip to bring the rest out.”

The chef and two maids reentered the kitchen.

“This was a great idea, Sylvain,” the duke gave Syl a warm smile, “It is nice to indulge once in a while.” He then looked to Iysinfyr, “Do you see anything you like? If you do not, then you can ask the chef for anything.”

Iysinfyr looked from the kitchen door to the Duke, then back to the door.

The Duke gave a weak smile, “Well, breakfast is just beginning.”

The chef and maids reentered the room, though the younger maid wasn’t carrying anything.

“Some assorted vegetables,” the chef put a plate full of various local vegetables down, Nal didn’t look at it long enough to see what kind, “and some omelettes with mushrooms and cheese inside.”

The older maid set down the plate of omelettes.

Nal grimaced at the word mushroom and didn’t care for the vegetables, so she turned back to the bread and fruit. If the chef did this on short notice, she wondered what he would prepare for dinner.

“Let us start by serving Iysinfyr,” the Duke leaned forward and looked like he was looking forward to seeing Iysinfyr’s reactions to the food.

The young maid picked up a plate and began loading with a small portion of each of the foods and placed the filled plate in front of Iysinfyr.

Iysinfyr was staring at the chef again.

The chef looked flustered, “I will be in the kitchen.”

The chef disappeared into the kitchen and the old maid went to stand behind the Duke while the young maid stood behind Iysinfyr and next to Deko. The young maid kept giving Deko several nervous looks.

Nal turned her attention back to Iysinfyr, who was staring at the door to the kitchen, “Anything you like?”

Iysinfyr looked at Nal.

Nal gestured to the food, but Iysinfyr turned her head back to the kitchen door.

Nal became frustrated and stood to move closer to Iysinfyr. If she couldn’t get Iysinfyr to eat the food on her own, then she was going to miss out on the delicious-looking bread and apples. Sure, she took honey cakes and honey bread on their outings all the time, but that was because she loved eating them and Syl rarely let her eat them.

Nal picked up a slice of honey bread and put it in front of Iysinfyr’s face. Iysinfyr looked at it for a moment before her attention moved elsewhere.

Nal used a spoon to pick up a slice of apple and held it in front of Iysinfyr and got the same reaction. The same thing happened with the rest of the food.

“Looks like we need to wait for lunch,” the Duke sighed.

Syl turned to the older maid, “Once you finish serving Duke Tallhill, take the leftovers to the servant’s dining chambers then bring Lady Nalulthyn her usual breakfast.”

Nal shot up from her seat, “Wait! Let me see if I can find anything in the kitchen.”

Everyone, including Iysinfyr, turned to look at her.

“Lady Nalulthyn,” Syl spoke in a voice that told Nal she wasn’t happy, “we can discuss such things after breakfast and we have kept the Duke waiting long enough.”

The Duke laughed, “You really want to eat this breakfast, Nalulthyn.” He turned to Syl, “How about this. We give her five minutes in the kitchen and see what she finds. I can eat while we are waiting so do not worry about that.”

Syl nodded, “If that is what the Duke wishes.”

The Duke turned back to Nal, “Ready?”

Nal grinned, she didn’t know what she could do in five minutes, but at least she had the chance.

Nal pushed her chair out of the way and dashed to the kitchen, Syl following her at a more dignified pace.

Nal rushed past the startled chef and headed straight for the pantry. She had never been in the kitchen before, but she knew a pantry when she saw one, as Syl could testify to finding her in one more than once.

She knew she didn’t have time to make anything so she would have to find something fresh or preserved, and she knew exactly what to look for.

It didn’t take her long to find out she couldn’t use anything fresh. The only fruit was apples, and most of the vegetables were what the chef had already used. This left preserved foods, and thankfully there were lots, though many were for the servants.

Nal found an empty sack and began loading it with crackers, some hard cheese, nuts, cured meats, and dried fruit. She knew as she was filling the bag that food like this wouldn’t make anyone drool at its sight unless they were starving, but maybe Iysinfyr had simple tastes?

“Time to go,” Syl opened the pantry door as Nal was stuffing some nuts into her mouth that should have gone into the bag.

Nal’s shoulders drooped as she imagined Iysinfyr ignoring all the food she collected and Syl’s smug smile as she and the servants ate honey bread and apples while she ate her usual bread, fish, and vegetables.

Nal set the bag on the table next to Iysinfyr, too distraught to notice anyone else in the room, and began setting food on a new plate in front of her at random. Cured meats? No luck. Cheese? Slight interest, but no luck.

Nal pulled out a sack filled with assorted dried fruit that was probably being saved for a long trip. She heard that the Duke liked to go hunting, so it was probably for that.

She pulled out the various fruits one at a time and found that many of them were exotic fruits she didn’t recognize. It was when she placed a yellow fruit that was probably citrus that Iysinfyr reacted.

The room went quiet as Iysinfyr reached down and picked up the piece of yellow dried fruit.

Iysinfyr sniffed the fruit and tentatively put it in her mouth. She smiled, shoved the fruit in her mouth and nearly swallowed it without chewing. She then looked at an astonished Nal, as if wanting more.

Nal awkwardly dug through the bag and pulled out what looked to be the last piece, only to have it snatched from her hands.

“Pineapple? Was that pineapple?” The Duke, who Nal finally noticed standing behind her, said with excitement. He turned to Syl, “See what you can do to get more pineapple. Fresh if possible.”

Nal grinned. All thoughts of breakfast receding from her mind. She didn’t know what pineapple was, but it was the best thing in the world right now.