Lemonade on a Hot Day

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Summer was in full swing in Clover Kingdom. The Sun burned brighter in skies that were cleared of spring rainstorms.

One person who was enjoying the sunny days was Solara. She had gone out to the garden of House Vermillion and sat herself down at a table, shaded by a wide umbrella. Lush leaves of green and vibrantly colored blooms decorated her surroundings. Solara leaned back in her chair a bit and had an elbow rested on the table top as she propped up a book in her hands.

Solara turned the page and greedily took in the words that presented themselves. It was a peculiar genre of story where at certain points in the book, the characters would be divided between two choices and the reader could read the result of either choice by flipping to a specified page. There were branching paths and dozens of endings, making the book dense. And Solara was fascinated by it. She’d read four endings already and was impressed by the consistency of the character personalities despite the varied paths.

In her periphery, she noticed one of the palace staff approaching her with a serving trolley. Solara turned her head to get a better look. Laid out on the top shelf of the trolley was a glass pitcher filled with a pale yellow drink, a metal box that likely carried ice inside, some stacked cups, and coasters for those cups.

“Afternoon,” Solara greeted with a smile. “I don’t think I asked for anything to be brought to me.”

“No, you didn’t make any requests,” the maid replied with a grin of her own. “But the kitchen just finished preparing a large batch of lemonade and we thought that everyone should get a taste of it.” She plucked ice chunks from the icebox then poured the lemonade into the cup for Solara. “Have a taste, m’lady.”

“Why thank you.” Solara bookmarked her place in her book and accepted the lemonade.

The cup already had condensation on it from the cold drink inside and the warm summer air outside. The little droplets against Solara’s fingers felt nice, making Solara realize just how hot it was that day.

Solara sipped the lemonade and immediately let out a surprised hum. It tasted different from lemonade she’d had before. Something about it was more refreshing. The acidity from the main ingredient was there but it tasted like it’d been mellowed out, though not from sugar.

Are Cloverian lemons not as acidic as ones grown in Thea? Solara wondered while taking another gulp. She picked up a crispness that was familiar but not enough for her to place what the flavor was. Is it the sweetener? Is it not sugar?

“Is the drink to your liking?” the maid spoke up, tilting her head to the side as she inquired. “You look a little perplexed…”

“I do like it. It’s welcome after having spent a while out here. I’m merely curious about the flavor of the lemonade,” Solara readily admitted. She drank more of the lemonade to be sure that her taste buds weren’t lying to her. Focusing more, there was a faint melon-like flavor to it. Like the taste equivalent of a whisper. “It’s different from lemonade I’ve had before. Is there anything special about the preparation?”

“Why yes there is,” answered the maid. Her smile stretched across her face. She seemed quite pleased, even eager, to hear Solara’s question. “The head chef for House Vermillion uses cucumber water as the base of her lemonade. She uses lemon zest to flavor the water too, making the lemonade even lemon-y-er!”

“Ah, that explains the flavor.” Solara glanced at her cup which was already half empty.

“I should also mention that the cucumbers come from the chef’s own home garden, watered by her own magic,” the maid went on. Her eyes sparkled as she talked and Solara watched with endeared rapture. “The residents of House Vermillion have been enjoying the recipe for well over sixty years. And even if other people used cucumber water in their lemonade, it’ll never be as refreshing as what we serve here at House Vermillion!” The maid was gushing at that point.

“I didn’t think lemonade would be a point of pride for a royal house,” Solara giggled. She took another gulp of the lemonade and let the sweet-sour lemon and delicate cucumber flavors dance across her palate. “But I’m glad that it’s the case here.”

Pink flooded the maid’s face, now aware of her rambling. “A-ah… Sor— I didn’t mean to—”

“No need to apologize,” Solara assured. “I’m not a chef myself so what you told me was fascinating actually. It’s amazing how culinary experts can come up with such lovely flavors. Give my compliments to the chef for her recipe.”

“Of course!”

“Oh, and…” Solara downed the rest of her cup then held it out to the maid. “Could I get a refill, please?”

“How about I leave the rest of this pitcher for you?” offered the maid.

“That’s not necessary. Don’t you need to bring the lemonade to oth—”

“I can just get a new pitcher from the kitchen.” The maid set a cloth mat on the garden table, placed the lemonade pitcher on the mat, and finally handed one of the coasters to Solara for her cup. “Do enjoy yourself, Lady Solara.”

“Thank you. And I hope you can take some time for yourself as well,” replied Solara.

The maid left, humming a melody Solara didn’t recognize as she did. Once the other woman was out of sight, Solara refilled her cup then opened her book back up.

A cold drink on a warm day with an engaging read to while away the time. It was nothing special but Solara would certainly enjoy herself that way.

THANK YOU!!!!

I am convinced that the maid was the chef!! I was giggling while reading through the interaction ^^ The enthusiasm of the maid was contagious!!!