Chapter 68 The council of three.

Lightning flashed in the clouds as rain poured down heavily against the windows of the small council room. The hour was getting late and darkness had set as Lili pushed open the doors and stepped in the room.

Before her she could see 3 people sitting on chairs made of stone that were situated evenly around a round stone table. And on the table there appeared to be a large map of Albion with small wooden figures on it.

But despite her entering the room and looking upon the scene before her, none seemed to take note of her presence. The three seemed locked in a heated argument with one another.

Looking at them Lili saw a young man stand up. He was maybe 20 years old, with short blonde hair that was pulled back, blue eyes, a short nicely trimmed beard, a mustache to go along with the beard and a kind looking face.

Although despite his face he seemed offly serious as he stood there and spoke to the Queen. "My Queen, this is madness. We cannot allow the King and Prince to continue moving the army to the Northeast. They must be called back now, or else the few remaining grain reserves we have will be lost. The dukedom of Westfield simply cannot go on like this. If things are not resolved come next spring we will be forced to rely upon our seed grain for sustenance. The army must be recalled Immediately back to secure the border."

Hearing this the Queen merely shook her head, as a young boy of maybe 13 years of age stood up on his chair as he was too short to stand otherwise and see the man. The boy looked kind of cute to Lilis eyes, but maybe a bit bratty. He surprisingly had the same deep blue eyes as she had, his hair was short and blonde, face cute, but also well defined and sharp.

The young boy laughed as he said. "Hahaha, you what, you coward! The war in the Northeast is coming to an end soon, so why back down now? And besides your only facing a few small raiding bands, I don't see what's the big deal? Why don't you just cut those dogs down already and be done with it? Or are you Westfield's perhaps just such cowards that you dare not fight without having overwhelming numbers on your side, hahaha?"

Seemingly angered by this the man turned to the boy and shouted back.

"Hahaha, the war in the northeast is coming to an end you say? Don't make me laugh, if this continues it will still go on for years. The Lycan's are Illusive beasts, they are not that easy to beat. And besides, what the fuck do you know of war anyway, or life for that matter! Your but a kid who probably still drinks his mother's milk."

The boy seemed taken a back by this as he then stuttered out a response. "O o o o, oh yeah, I dare you to say that to my father. His gonna beat your ass, yo yo you land loving farmer."

In response the man merely smirked back, as the Queen then struck her fist on the table and yelled. "Enough of your shit, you too! I can't listen to you no more! The army is going to go wherever my husband, the King says its going to go and that's that. And if its the seed grain you must eat to survive, then so be it. We can always try to turn further South for help, surely either the kingdom of Aragon or Andalusia still have surpluses of grain to give. Which we will buy with the finances of the dukedom of the Lionheart's, isn't that right Edgar?"

Hearing this the boy seemed alarmed as he looked to the Queen and said. "What, but Queen haven't we already given more than enough. Our iron and copper mines are already at their limits as it is, as are the smiths. If we increase production now, then my father will really not be happy. We've already given most of our savings to the war effort, isn't that enough? Last year I couldn't even hold a proper birthday party for myself thanks to the tight situation."

Hearing this the Queen merely gave the boy a fierce glare which made him immediately shut up and sit down. To this the kind looking man merely smirked and said. "To think the Lionheart's have none other to send here but a child as their representative, what a shame."

Seemingly frustrated the Queen said. "Its fine, will just send word to his father and see what he has to say to this idea. If anything I'm sure that my husband can convince him that this is the only way for now. And as for you Wilfred, I'm truly sorry, but these are hard times and as the Lionheart's are the heart of our industry and iron resources we simply must protect them first. And with the weather affecting such a large area of the continent we simply must weather this harsh storm ourselves for now and hope for the best."

After saying this the atmosphere in the room became offly depressing. A moment of silence had come and before they could continue Lili silently ordered the dishes to be served, as they were still hot.

The guards standing outside the open door, seemed visibly nervous as they bit their lips and sweated profusely as they saw this scene.

And as the first dish was pushed in front of the Queen by the old maid, the Queen seemed extremely confused as she looked to the maid and questioned.

"What's this? We didn't order anything to eat, drinks are just fine thank you."

Stepping in close, Lili pulled on the Queens sleeve, gained her attention like so and then explained. "Don't be so hasty Wilda, for this food is something that you will not want to pass up on. Just trust me and try it."

The Queen as well as the two others seemed confused by this, but as the dishes were revealed, all were stunned into silence. Lili could only guess, but most likely her almost golden looking chips were most likely quite a sight to be seen for these people.

And indeed as the three looked upon the chips with wide eyes, they all then said in unison. "What's this?"

The boy named Edgar seemed to have stars in his deep blue eyes as he said. "Wow, what sort of food is this? It looks so golden."

The man named Wilfred on the other hand seemed quite intrigued as he carefully smelled the food and asked. "What sort of ingredients is this made of, I've never seen anything quite like it?"

But the Queen on the other hand seemed a bit suspicious as she asked. "Lili, what is this? Please explain."

After the Queen said this, all eyes in the room turned to her, she felt pressured all of a sudden and then without thought fell into a long rambling monologue of things that just came to her head. "Well this I call, or well it's called. Or well I don't mean that I came up with the name. But then again I don't think it has a name here. Well anyway I just call this fish and chips. Its something I was thinking of introducing as a dish at my Inn when we open next week. And so I was thinking if maybe you could try it now and then maybe of you like it you could come have some more at the Inn when it's open. I just think it would be really cool for you all to come and eat there. It would really help people get more accustomed to the place, you know. I mean you don't have to, it's just that I thought it could really help. You see I think my Inn could really help the people out, as my food is going to be quite cheap compared to everything else that is so expensive right now. I mean how is it that a person needs to pay like almost a small silver coins worth to get a bag of apples. That's just wrong, you know. I mean a small silver coin is like some people's entire pay for the day. Like how is a person supposed to survive in this weather with just that, like no way I say. That just cannot be allowed here, not when I'm around. Or well you know, whatever."

Listening to Lilis words everyone seemed confused and unsure as what to say, when suddenly the boy Edgar stood up once more in his large chair and angrily said. "How dare you, how dare you walk in here uninvited and speak so long and without properly addressing anyone of us. Who do you think you are, you stupid girl? Get out, get out right now or I'll have you dragged out and punished!"

Now Lili was alarmed and unsure as to what she ought to say. These people after all were the top dogs of this Kingdom and she had basically just walked in here without greeting them first. Well then again she did at least wait for her turn, so like whatever, right.

While Lili was lost in thought, Queen Wilda spoke and said. "Silence Edgar, Lili is the Princes bed maid and a good girl, I will not allow you to speak to her like that. Although I do agree that she has spoken out of turn and is clearly in need of more etiquette training."

While talking Lili noticed the man named Wilfred use his two pointed fork to grab a bite out of the chips. And as the man did this, his eyes immediately lighted up with joy as he said. "Amazing, its so, so tasty. Such flavour, such balance and quality. Ohh God, you all need to try this its surprisingly good and packed with flavour that I, not any of you have ever tasted before."

Hearing this everyone turned to the food, even the boy seemed to lose interest on her and instead he looked to the food and one by one they began trying it out. And as they did, they too were amazed by it.

Indeed Lili had added a small amount of something special into it that you should not be able to find here in the north. So it was no wonder to Lili that the taste was like nothing they had ever tasted before, plus this food was grown partially by her magic, so there was that as well.

Seeing them all falling into silent nodding and humming praises Lili felt relieved. Truly fish and chips were even good enough for nobility and royalty.

But as she thought of this the young man Wilfred them spoke up and said. "A good name chips truly are, as they do look kind of like the wooden chips of wood, hahaha."

Hearing this Lili was amazed, she had never thought of it that way, but it did kind of make sense.

Then the Queen spoke up and said. "Mmm, indeed. But do tell us Lili, what is such a fine meal made out of. Where did you come by this food."

While the Queen said this Lili noticed the lack of use of the ketchup and was quick to point it out as she said. "Well the main ingredients are potatoes, tomatoes and the fish of course. The tomatoes being in those bottles of ketchup that you were supposed to use to eat with the chips. Here let me show you."

Hearing this the Queen helped Lili upon her lap where Lili then proceeded to open the ketchup bottle and mix it in with the chips. Luckily she had already coated the fish with the lemon so she didn't need to do it now.

Seeing this the other two began to do the same, as Wilfred then commented. "Hmm, interesting I've never heard of potatoes before or even seen tomatoes in such a dense liquid form? How did you come up with all of these things Miss Lili?"

Confused by the man's words, Lili didn't know what to say. How hadn't he ever heard of potatoes before, ketchup she could understand, but potatoes she couldn't. Weren't potatoes like really famously known for being grown in Europe, but then again she hadn't surprisingly enough never seen them being sold here or eaten. Didn't these people know of potatoes?

Lost in thought once more, Wilda spoke up first. She placed a gentle hand on Lilis head who was sitting on her lap and said. "Lili here might not look like it, but she's crazy about plants and growing things. She's always reading that book about agriculture. That thing is like always on her bed, she just can't seem to be capable of ever putting that thing back into the bookshelf. But not only does she read about those things, she even does them. She's always returning back to her room either soaked wet or with her dress and hands stained with dirt. She's like a wild little cat, always going around doing her own things without caring of others questioning looks. But that's just one of those things why I like her so much."

While saying this Wilda had started lovingly massaging Lilis head, which she really appreciated. She also really appreciated the fact that she didn't even have to explain herself too much as the Queen seemed more than happy to do it for her.

Seeing the scene turn into some form of harmony, Chad, Jack and the old maid exited the room leaving the 4 to speak amongst themselves. And like so the time passed as they talked and ate.