Fiona had the team meet in the back office, while Kali, Tami, and Lex ran the front to close up for the day. Fiona figured if anything were to go wrong, it would probably be right now.

Liam laid out the details while also pulling Rikkard onto his relay, projecting straight from the palace. Based on the fact that he was not in the meeting hall, he must be done with the normal activities. And he looked somewhat happier. "So, Fiona, Liam, what's the verdict?"

Liam looked at his datapad. "Mathematically, we can accommodate the guests. This is not an upscale establishment, mind you, so we'll need caterers. Much as I would believe Miss Brightstone could cook for two hundred, that's a bit of a stretch. We'll also need security upgrades, which should be easy. Seating, valet, some decor…it's quite doable."

"I concur. We want this place to look sparkling," Fiona said, casting a skeptical glance at Rikkard. "So, I need to know who's going to be on the invite list, get familiar with them, and for once in my life, not wing it."

[Hey, I heard that]. She suppressed a smirk as Wingding flapped in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Rikkard took notes on his datapad, looking confident. "I'll send an itinerary and an invite list. Remember, this is only part of the delegations. I'll be lining them up for weeks. I'll also have one at the palace in due time. I'll schedule it so that your event coincides with the holidays. Most shops close up or have reduced hours for the duration of the festivities, and I'll ensure minimal disruption to your business."

"Glad to see you're listening. Now, on that note, will you be coming?" she asked politely.

"Me, the missus, and the family. Except Barry," he growled. "It's pretty embarrassing when your youngest son almost drove your kingdom to the brink and almost let a potential spy loose. He won't be attending."

"No dunkings in the lake. Shame," Doug muttered. Fiona gave him a tap on the horns to keep him polite, though he let out that growl of protest again. "You know, Rikkard, this is an opportunity. We do have several high-end paintings and other displays that we could…hmm…"

"Private auction?" Fiona proposed. "We've been wise to not put price tags on them. I think aside from the collection we leased to the museum, we haven't moved as much of that. However, foreign leaders do sometimes bring friends with deep pockets. And these are works of art that are primarily from Fiefdala and the Bar'dathi region."

"And Arkentine," Doug chimed in. Rikkard looked amused at that.

"Oh, so you are trying to take advantage of this," Rikkard mused. "I'll be sure to pass on the word that there will be a separate private event. We should have Fiefdala's finest in attendance, as I'm not sure the higher-ups in the northern quarter have visited much."

"I have concerns. Bonnie is good at enchanting our shop against thieves and intruders, but…King Greybeard, given what happened at the prison? You think Aegortin won't try to disrupt a high-end event like this?" Greg asked. Fiona had to admit, he had a good point.

The king let out a grunt. "I've had Jake's guild interrogating the aggressors from that debacle and pressing them for information, along with my intelligence agents. We've gotten little out of them, and it's worrisome when more ships hailing from Aegortin or their islands are parking off the coast of Vale. Just waiting. Either they're running routine military exercises, or it's a precursor to an invasion. Security will be airtight for this; Perrier Way will be cordoned off for a full block. Plus I'll be there, too."

"Oh, so I won't be the only one with a black tie and ready to crack skulls?" Fiona smirked.

"Girl, you speak so nonchalantly about fighting monsters and beating up dragons, I sometimes worry you took a head wound," Bianca sighed. "Well, your highness, anything else goes topsy turvy, I could liven up the–"

"No, please no," Rikkard added with disgust. "I hope you are taking your accommodations seriously. I bent every law to the brink of failure to help Fiona."

"No raging egomaniac on the invite list, got it." Fiona shot her a scowl as Bianca wore a small smile.

"Ahem." Liam detailed more items, including the timing. "We'll have to install some other arcanist security devices. I'd rather do it soon, given that Karlin has also recently added some impromptu renovations to the place." He gazed irritably at one char mark on the ceiling that they hadn't cleaned up.

Fiona had previously proposed they keep it there and explain that was all that was left of one of the hooligans, as a warning sign. She couldn't believe she'd actually won that 'shop image improvement' vote.

"Hold up a tick. What else are we missing? A dinner, a private auction…we need something enchanting!" Bonnie suggested, eyes lighting up. "You need dinner and a show, Your Highness! Something with pomp and swagger!"

"Oh? Got any ideas? Unfortunately, state affairs tend to be boring, and my lively days are behind me."

"I know a few people from the mage academy who could lend a hand or a claw or a paw," she added. "Anything else you need from us?"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"No. I appreciate everything you have all done so far. A lot of the responsibility will fall to me to rustle up some trade deals. And gold. Doug, I hope you don't mind that I personally descale your brother for how much gold he stole, do you?" he added with a growl.

"Nah. Just stick him in a gold mine to dig it up as a working probation in a twist of irony," Doug added with a shrug of his wings. "I'll forward the details of the works we have on display. I'm sure that event alone will be worth the trouble of this endeavor if we get them bidding."

"Will do. Liam, continue to coordinate with the Guild and the palace special service." Rikkard gave a friendly wave before the relay clicked off.

"One on one with two kings. Fi, you really do end up in interesting places, don't you?" Bianca teased.

She let out a contented sigh. "The story of the second act of my life. Alright, guys, let's get back out there and wrap up for the day. I'm sure we'll be anything but idle for the next few weeks."

Later in the evening, Fiona and Doug took turns in the kitchen cooking, while Bonnie, Greg, and Bianca chatted in the living room. To say it was getting a touch crowded in here was an understatement. She hoped Gemma didn't mind the extra foot traffic, though they were rarely loud.

"Doug, hit me up with those poultry things." It wasn't quite a chicken, and she had a particular hatred of what they were. She'd been attacked en masse by the pecking, screeching little monsters during a monster nest removal mission one time.

The guild had never had a better supply of fried tenders for the following few days. And Fiona definitely capitalized on learning the recipe.

"Orniraptor breasts, sliced and coated," he reported happily, handing them to her as she placed them in a pan with hot oil. She had to be careful since having a fire elemental as a heat source was like having a gas oven: it burned hot. Within minutes, the frying meat sizzled in the pan.

Fiona winced as a bead of oil splattered and hit her hand, and she winced. "Owie. no matter how often I do pan fry, I never avoid that." Doug tapped his scaled hand for emphasis, looking smug. "Uh huh, boast about it. You're fire resistant."

"One of the perks, I suppose." He grabbed a ladle to turn them over, not even bothered by the heat coming from the oven. "You know, I've noticed you cooking more. On account of me?"

"Eh…half and half? I used to cook with my mom, too. And my dad, when he wasn't being a piece of work," she added with a huff. "That was probably one of the few times he and I got along, you know." She peered into the oven and noted the customized mold she'd had ordered was almost ready. "Take a guess what my favorite food was."

"If it's not Jarl's noodles, I'd say…hmm…a grilled chicken sandwich over greens."

"Good guess!" Bianca called out. "But that girl had a soft spot for pizza. At least once a week! Oh and it had to be all dead animals, and no greens. Except spinach. I don't get that one."

Fiona let out a tsk as she pulled the pan out of the oven, and set it on a cooling rack. "And you would put mushrooms and peppers and onions on your half! Then the veggies would migrate to my half! It contaminated the whole experience!"

Bianca turned from the table, resting her chin on the chair's back and grinning. "My pizza half was superior."

"Was not. Even the cat wouldn't eat your half," she added with a playful growl.

"I sense a cooking throwdown," Greg mused.

"Better get Darla. We get any more earth recipes, and she'll corner the market on a whole food culture," Bonnie said with a laugh.

A short while later, they dug into the meal, with Greg looking questionably at it. "You put…sweetened bread batter, and fried orniraptor together? This makes no sense."

He was undercut by Bonnie grabbing a bite and munching obnoxiously, wearing a smirk. "Sweet and savory, Greg. The best of both worlds."

"I thought I already had that," he added with a faint smile, with Bonnie leaning in and grabbing him in a hug.

"They called this chicken and waffles back on Earth. And yep, Bonnie has it right, you combine two separate tastes, add in some guilt trip salad greens on the side, and a meal for anyone is up for grabs!" Bianca took a bite of it and let out a contented sigh. "Fi was okay at cooking. I burned water one time."

"It smoldered," Fiona proposed. "You learned a few things."

"Fi, I was terrible at cooking," she replied with an eye roll. "It's okay to be honest about it."

"And I was a mild shopaholic. Now I run a magical emporium and…deal with kingdom political intrigue. I could do with less of that, though," she muttered.

"Then I'd have a bored elf. And that's the most dangerous thing of all," Doug said with a dreaded expression.

She laughed at that softly. "You know what? You're not wrong when you say that."

"Oh, gods," Bonnie groaned. "You just reminded me. One time at the Adventurer's guild, she got bored and 'borrowed' some of the tamed slimes, threw them at the ceiling with just the right amount of force, and they'd stick for a while until they fell on unsuspecting people walking by."

"Or the time you challenged her that she couldn't possibly pilfer all the sweet rolls offered one day at the mess hall," Greg added, twirling his fork in the air for emphasis. "Vanished without a trace."

"Nah, that one wasn't me," she countered. "That was Felix."

"I opened your locker, Fiona, and an avalanche of pastries nearly crushed me," Bonnie said with a leering grin. "Even Felix isn't that bold with the borrowing."

"I was totally framed! I admit to nothing!" She swore she only took a few from the cafeteria that particular day. Six…eight, maybe?

It began to occur to her that she might, indeed, have a sweets problem. Only held at bay by elven metabolism and having constant flings with danger, despite her status as a merchant. Or, luxuriously red kitsunes who were calling her out on it.

"Uh huh. Sure, Fiona," Bonnie laughed, and she wasn't the only one. Fiona's response was to flip back her hair and give them all the elven glare of doom.

…Which did absolutely nothing. They must have built up an immunity to it. "Alright, have your laughs, I like sweets. There, I said it. It's one of the few things I'll indulge in."

Bianca leaned in, smiling evilly. "Oh, I could think of a few other things–"

"Oh, don't you dare. Some stuff is still not cool to share," she huffed. "Now, if you guys are all done having fun with dinner and a comedy act, I think we have a few things to handle. Chiefly, bringing our shop online to super premium status."

"I mean, what are we missing?" Greg asked. "We're getting steady imports from Arkantine and elsewhere."

"Imports are good. But we need to show what makes Fiefdala shine. The stuff that makes the country great. And we have local talent. I mean right before us, we have prime examples of historical curation, culinary delights, decent trade negotiation, a man who got us balanced on the books...and a source of local art." She leaned on her elbows, resting her chin on her palm, and glanced at Bianca with an amused face.

All eyes fell on Bianca, who pouted her lip, and wagged a finger.. "Oh, hell no. I know where this manic elf is going with this."

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