#fenixtj

"Please, Senoritas Rosa, Maria, you are so wise in the kitchen, I need you to help me to make this, please." Salma pleads in quick and earnest Spanish, early in the morning after carefully sneaking from the bedroom so as not to awaken the countess and Ariel's beauty rest.

"It doesn't look hard, and I swear, I will do extra chores for you all week if you just help me make this." Showing them a page from book of Mexican postres - desserts.

Maria looks over it

Rosa peeks

"I would try to make it myself, but I am afraid of deep frying because what if my ears fell into the oil?"

It is a relatively simple recipe for sopaipillas - pillowy fried dough pillows, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with honey.

"You see, there are these honey cakes that the Rivervale niño boasted of, but I told him, only the best for our Condesas, and OUR chefs could make a much finer honey dessert. Because they are the best cooks on the west coast." A smile at the chefs in question.

"This is a very interesting and important request..." Rosa says to Maria in Spanish

"If it is too complicated, I will tell the princesca, I am sorry, you cannot go to the Vale of Rivers and we cannot make a honey cake either. I hope that she will not cry too much, it is bad for her complexion..."

A forlorn and despondent look.

"Si," Maria responds, "A true challenge" Exagerated concern, "And yet, who are we to shy from a quest?"

"We must, as the knights say, gird our loins mmm?" Rosa replies "For the sake of the little ones"

"Once more, into the breach?" Maria says gravely

"Oh you should gird them extra well. You do not want to splash hot oil there."

A few soft laughs at that, then, each lady gives her a hug "Tonight, there will be honey cakes. "

"Si. If you wish to keep it as a surprise, do so," Maria adds "Or pass on the good news"

She hugs both in turn. "A surprise is the most terrible thing. And I will take care of breakfast in return. I think, some fresh fruit, and some of those muffins... a lovely picnic on the lawn." And she gathers the needed items, and rushes off to set up, saving the ladies from needing to prepare breakfast for the small folk.

....

There is not really a lawn, but a quilt laid over part of the paved courtyard does as well, and a few dandelions in a water glass make a decoration. "Okay, Princesca, breakfast is ready!"

"We're having a picnic?" She follows the pooka.

"Si, a lovely lovely picnic." She has set out some basic pastries and fresh fruit, and whatever else she may have been able to scrounge from the kitchen without being TOO underfoot...

"Ariel, hurry or it will get cold!" She calls, though it is all already room temp...

Ariel follows, and sighs "I just can't get my quarter to vanish right."

"The best way to vanish money is to turn it into tamales from the vendor on the corner." A grin. "That is a magic I know well, even if I do not have the money. Sometimes he will take a smile if he has leftovers at the end of the day."

"When Zane returns, we will make him teach us."

"Mmm, tamales..."

"When he returns with the purses!" She adds.

A somewhat smug look on how she had handled that.

"He better bring the purses." Ariel says "Or he'll be a big ole dirty liar"

"Oh, we can make them bolos for bolsos!" She looks thoughtful. "See, if we can find some leather strips, or cord, and something pretty to hang on it..." She mimes straightening a tie. "Sometimes they have cow skulls, but that's silly, he has horns of his own."

"I hope one of them is purple."

"Bolso is purse?"

She nods in approval, cutting a muffin to spread with butter and jam.

"Annndddd.... bolo is tie? We could ask Stewart Diego if there's anything."

"Hmmmm..." A thoughtful moment, chewing. "You are not mad at him, Princesca? He was very rude."

Ariel digs in "He's smart and got a way with words, sometimes we satyrs don't think things through "

A little crease between her eyebrows.

"But he is the Steward, and he found us crayons..."

She frowns. "He said mean things and made you cry."

"I should not have cried."

"He should not have said mean things!"

"I could ask Ahpuch to put la cucaracha under his pillow."

She frowns at her plate. "People will say mean things. A Countess does not let it show if she's upset."

"Or slip into his pants when he is at court and he will have to do a little dance."

"Aint' no shame in crying.. just means you're alive" Ariel says

She covers her mouth with her hands. "Salma, that's naughty!"

"It's gross... Ahpuch will probably love it"

"...he might.."

"Holger is trying harder on English. I seen him talking to Nancy and getting lessons" Ariel mentions the Wilder Satyr girl "He's So shy about it.. I think he's worried he sounds funny. We should encourage him" She suggests "And not laugh. I mean, I'm lucky, I'm Iowan so Idn't have an accent, but it ian't his fault he does"

"And we will work harder on our espanol."

"You are both doing very good on it. Soon you will pass as native latinas." A grin and she eats her muffin.

"Me llamo Ariel" Ariel nods. THAT she's got.

And she eats the muffin

"Is there a special treat they make at your rancho that you like to eat?" She eyes the muffins left, debating if she can have another.