The Royal Scullery was in chaos.
"No!" Ren barked, slamming her hand down on the stone prep table. "I said thin slices! Translucent! That looks like a doorstop! Do you want the king to choke on a chunk of radish?"
The Albino Snake flinched, dropping her flint knife. "It is hard! The vegetable fights back!"
"It's a tuber, not a warrior," Ren snapped. She looked around the kitchen. It was a disaster.
The Harem was in full rebellion mode. The Coral Snake was deliberately dropping the clean eels onto the dirty floor. Lyssa was sitting on a barrel, buffing her nails on a rough stone, looking bored and smug.
"Why do we labor?" Lyssa yawned. "The King does not care about the shape of his food. He swallows whole. You are wasting time, Mammal."
"I am wasting patience," Ren corrected, her eyes narrowing.
She watched Coral pick up a dirty eel and move to put it in the bowl without rinsing it.
Something inside Ren snapped. The tired prisoner vanished. The Head Chef emerged.
"STOP!"
