Strawberries and Cream

Chapter one: Golden Syrup

Echo sighed as she shifted her position on the silk pillow she rested on. Her mother-of-pearl wings glistened in the spring sunrise, her head full of morning cobwebs.

She sat up and stretched her legs, and looked over at Princess Ligh. The princess had fallen asleep last night while looking at the book titled A Brief History of Sewing. A bit of drool fell onto her brown hair that spread out on the pillows.

Echo looked up at the window that spilled its light onto the floor below her window seat. It reminded her of golden syrup or honey.

Feeling her stomach gurgle, Echo shook herself and spread her small wings as she glided off of the window seat.

Time to see the kitchens.

Echo nudged the door open with her snout. Princess Ligh always left it a bit open for Echo to exit easily.

Echo jogged down the hall hearing her talons tap against the stone floor of the Crystal Kingdom castle.

A few maids where about their business as well, carrying sheets, mops and many other types of cleaning supplies that Echo could not name.

Echo tried her best to dodge them, remembering the last time she had tripped one of the maids. That was an eventful day.

She headed down some stairs almost falling down the steep steps.

Nearing the kitchen a wonderful smell wafted into the hall: strawberry shortcake.

Echo loved strawberry shortcake—the tart berries, the sweet cream and the thick honey-sweet pastry. Just thinking about it made the little white dragon start to drool.

She trotted into the warm kitchen to be immediately pushed out the door by the round, red-headed cook, Belenda.

“There will be no such thing as a dragon in my kitchen,” said the thickly accented voice of Belenda.

Echo turned around just before being shoved roughly out, as the door slammed behind her.

Sitting there in puzzlement, questions lighted into her head like little fairy lights.

How could she be so easily be pushed out? She was like part of the royal family! Plus, how could she get any strawberry shortcake if she wasn’t allowed in the kitchen?

Echo looked up at the ceiling. A vent. A vent into the kitchen!

Her heart thumped excitedly as she saw her doorway into the kitchen.

Slowly she climbed up the old brick wall and looked at the vent.

For only being a dragonet, Echo couldn’t fly very well yet, she had gotten good a gliding and a bit of hovering, but for now she would have to climb.

Strange, the vent was blocked. Carefully Echo removed the blocking stuff, which turned out to be dirt.

As Echo dug into the vent she smelled something potent. It was smoke!

Then something clicked in Echo’s memory. Before the castle had the kitchen indoors, the kitchen was a small house beside the castle. But when a servant accidentally slipped when he was outside in a storm carrying the king’s favorite dish, the King decided to build over the house and add it to the castle.

The smoke’s smell stung her nose as Echo quickly exited.

Once Echo was out, she shook her wings that were covered in dirt.

She was going to have to find a different way in. One not involving old chimneys. 

Chapter Two: Cherry Blossoms

Echo dragged a piece of parchment and a small bottle of blue ink from Ligh’s bedroom. Her poor princess was still asleep. But now she had moved almost all the way off the bed.

She must have had a late night studying. Echo silently exited the room hoping not to wake the princess.

Once Echo had arrived back at the kitchen, she dipped one of her black talons into the dark blue ink and tried to draw a map of the kitchen, like that maps she had seen in Princess Ligh’s geography books. She studied the parchment which displayed her array of squiggly lines. She really wasn’t much of a cartographer.

She had gathered the kitchen’s layout from memory. She had to find a way in, because there was no doubt Belenda was watching the door.

Then she looked at a window on her map that was positioned right in the kitchen. So she gathered up her map and went outside.

When she got there she looked at the window in disappointment The window was too high, and the wall was too slick to climb.

Echo gave a growl that sounded more like a squeak, and she looked over at a nearby cherry tree.

It was in a young stage but was still pretty tall. The best part, it was right next to the window.

So Echo climbed up the small cherry tree and swatted at the little bees that buzzed around her. As the tree was in full bloom the bees where looking for nectar. She did feel quite sorry for the bees since she was invading their space, yet she must carry on.

Echo balanced on a thin branch that was nearest the kitchen window. It bent a bit with her weight and swayed gently in the light spring breeze.

She stretched out her arm to hopefully reach the window. To Echo’s surprise the window opened and a lady shook out a dirty rag.

The branch shook wildly and Echo fell to the ground with a thud.

Echo growled again as the window closed and she was left with that despicable cherry tree.

Grabbing her map in her jaws she headed back to the door of the kitchen and was surprised to find it open--just before Belenda came, red curly locks and all.

“Make sure that strawberry shortcake is finished before I come back! The celebration starts in less than an hour!” Belenda walked out of the hallway and up the stairs.

Oh no! Echo’s heart sank. The Spring Celebration is today! How could she have forgotten that! And she only had less than an hour to get a single bite out of that delicious strawberry shortcake before it was taken away.

She thought as hard as her little dragonet brain could think. What should she do?

Suddenly Belenda was back and she walked into the kitchen and left the door wide open, without taking notice the little dragon behind her.

Echo leaped to her feet. This was her chance! She cautiously slipped into the kitchen before the door closed behind her. 

Chapter Three: Spoons and Saucers

Echo breathed in the rich smells of the kitchen. A couple of chickens roasted on a spit on the fireplace, a few ladies were chopping up veggies for salads and one girl was readying some edible flowers for garnishes.

And...there was the beautiful strawberry shortcake.

Mouth watering, Echo kept to the ground. Quietly, she crawled up the table’s leg. She was so close!

Then a maid came over and lifted the strawberry shortcake from the table and moved it farther away from the her, by the window.

Echo held in a growl and dropped herself on the ground. She looked around for the closest route to the strawberry shortcake. The cook Belenda stood right in the way.

Slowly, Echo crawled near the cook’s feet, carful not to make a peep. Then the cook shrieked.

Echo stood frozen, startled by the cook’s sudden outburst.

“What happened to that chicken?” Belenda asked in a horrified tone.

“I’m so sorry,” a lady said. “I went to go and use the restroom and I didn’t realize it would burn.”

“It’s alright.” Belenda said, as she walked over to the spit where the burned chicken was. “That’s why we cooked three.”

Echo let out a breath and scurried over to the strawberry shortcake.

“Just take it and throw it in the bin.” Belenda instructed a young woman in her firm voice, Echo heard over her shoulder.

Just as the woman walked over, Echo looked up to see the young woman staring at her. She and Echo screamed, and the woman dropped the burnt chicken onto Echo’s head.

Echo ran the other direction, frightened by the burnt chicken that would not get off her face.

She tripped over a bowl on the ground holding dead flowers, before the chicken finally fell off and she was booted out of the kitchen by Belenda.

Echo sat outside the kitchen door. A small tear rolled down her snout. She had run out of ideas. And she would never get a taste of the strawberry shortcake.

Slowly she wandered upstairs and into the princess’s room.

When Echo got there, Princess Ligh was getting ready for the night’s festivities. Half of her face was red, and she wore a blue silk dress with pearls and diamonds lining the fabric.

“Oh, hello Echo.” The princess exclaimed, and when she saw the sad dragon she stopped. “Is something wrong?”

Echo didn’t answer she just plopped to the ground.

“Did you know I fell off the bed today?” Ligh said rubbing the side of her face that was red. “I took a nap and woke up on the floor.” She giggled remembering the moment fondly.

The princess looked at the big grandfather clock in her bedroom. “I guess I should go. The party starts soon.” She kissed the white dragon’s snout.

Looking one last time in the mirror Princess Ligh headed out the bedroom door.

“I’ll make sure to bring you back something,” she promised.

But Echo wasn’t listening she headed back to her window seat and laid down on her silk pillow looking at the warm colors of the evening sunset.  

Chapter Four: Sugar and Spice

Echo woke up a short time later to the slam of the bedroom door. She lay there not opening her eyes.

“I’m back!” Princess Ligh said, in a sing-song voice.

Echo opened her eyes and saw that it was dark outside. The moonlight shone through the window and made her wings sparkle even more than in the sunlight.

“What a night.” The princess sighed as Echo heard her sit on a chair. “I thought I might explode from all the delicious food!” She slouched carelessly.

Trying hard to keep her thoughts away from the strawberry shortcake, Echo rolled over on her pillow and wrapped her wings around herself.

“You really should’ve come," Ligh said. “What amazing dessert. Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorites.”

“Well goodness me, what is this?” The princess was now sitting up and leaning over something on a table beside the chair. “You may want to see this.”

Echo reluctantly glided off the window seat and came over where the princess sat. Looking up she saw a large plate of delicious strawberry shortcake in its full glory.

Immediately Echo rushed up toward Ligh and the plate. Flapping her wings hard to get up the chair.

Echo sat on the table, taking in the beautiful decoration of the cake-- the bright red strawberries, the fluffy cream, the thick honey sweet cake.

She took a large bite. Tart, sweet, creamy, the wonderful flavors exploded in her mouth.

She kissed Echo’s head. “I made sure this piece was saved for just you.”

Ligh got up from her chair and walked over to a bookshelf, while Echo savored the one thing she'd been thinking about all day long.

“Let’s read something fun, because that Brief History of Sewing? Ugh. The only thing brief about it was me reading it.” Ligh laughed playfully.

Echo sighed as she licked the last of the cream off of the china plate. She hopped down from the table onto the arm of the chair where Princess Ligh settled down with a book.

“Cooking with Strawberries. I think this will be good.”

Echo climbed up onto Ligh’s shoulder and snuggled into her neck.

Echo couldn’t believe she got a piece of strawberry shortcake. She felt so content.

“By the way,” The princess turned her head to look at Echo. “Do you know where my blue ink went?”