The Queen of Night had a dream. She had the strange desire to try couscous just one time. It was a long sought after item from a story of her childhood, so she decided that it was time to brave such a delicacy. This night would be the night.
Not asking anyone for their opinion, she set to work preparing the Chicken with Couscous and Orange. It was a strange dish. It called for a whole orange and pistachios chopped up. Not having ever ate pistachios before, the Queen had no clue what to expect. However it wasn't until she reached the mint leaves that she really began to question her choice. Mint was not something she liked to eat in anything other than desserts. She continued anyway having already prepped the chicken earlier in the day.
The "Spare" prince demanded sustenance before the normal feasting time and so the Dragon King allowed for the Queen of Night prepare the feast before his arrival. The High Prince had boasted earlier in the day to the King Mother that he had learned the lesson of eating the Queen of Night's food. He would no longer fight tasting the food for it does indeed sometimes taste good. This night he would taste it without even being told to do so. The Princess of Dragons determined that she follow her beloved brother's lead and also try it without any complaint.
The meal was prepared and the Queen of Night seriously believed this would be a battle that would go down in history. It didn't look like anything she had made before. It smelled very different as well, but without letting anyone see her doubts, it was scooped into bowls because the couscous would prove a challenge for the children to keep on a fork or to get off of a plate. Bowls were placed on the table. The "Spare" Prince begged and pleaded for his first bite. The High Prince and Princess of Dragons were allowed to continue watching the evenings entertainment until the Dragon King came home and demanded silence with his meal. They did not see the look on the Queen's face as she took her first bite.
The Queen scooped a bite into the "Spare" Prince's mouth only to have it promptly returned right into her lap. He was not pleased. A second bite was given to him with less of the "extra" stuff and that too fell into her lap and onto the floor. The High Prince witnessed this and exclaimed, "Well I guess he doesn't like it!" He laughed at his brother's antics and watched him run away. "Oh well. I'm told food tastes better warm. Here goes nothing," proclaimed the High Prince. Without any more pomp than that, he took his first bite. The Queen of Night watched as he struggled to chew the food. He struggled more to swallow even a tiny bit of it. Grabbing his goblet, he swallowed as much as would fit in his mouth with the food in order to make it go down. A look of utter disgust on his face. He said nothing.
Calmly, the Queen scooped more of the food into her own mouth. Chewing slowly and swallowing. The strangeness of the dish left her wondering how she could have possibly thought the royal family would like it, but she was determined to follow the Dragon King's own rules for taking at least three bites of the meal before deciding if it was inedible. The Princess of Dragons followed everyone else's lead taking a smaller bite but showing no emotion to indicate her like or dislike of the meal.
The Queen again took another heaping bite, a third to determine how the rest of the feast would go. It was awful. She struggled to keep it down. Only one other time her life as Queen had she made a dish this horrible and that one was thrown out instantly. This one was going to go the same way, but her children would follow the rules of the kingdom and take two more bites. It was the King's Law. "You need to try another bite, my eldest," she told the High Prince. The Princess heard this and immediately took her second bite. watching her brother struggle to do the same.
Two bites down. You could see the High Prince silently voicing that he must do it one more time. "Mother, why are you not eating more of the meal?" he asked. "I'm waiting for you two to take another bite," she said slowly. The Princess again took another bite without complaint. It was clear that she did not like it, but was not willing to argue this evening. The High Prince took her lead for once but stopped to ask, "Does this count for a bite?" He had scooped up only the couscous and the spoon was half full. "Yes, that can be a bite." Overjoyed, he ate it, choking it down dangerously.
"Well what do you think of it?" the Queen asked, expecting an onslaught of complaints. The High Prince held his tongue, fear showing that he hated it but was not willing to say so. "Mommy," he said trying to soften the blow, "it's not very good. I'm really sorry to upset you. I know you really wanted to try this, but it's weird."
"It's mommy's dinner. I will eat mommy's dinner and she will be happy," said the Princess of Dragons noting the tears trying to form in the Queen's eyes. She ate a fourth bite and continued to struggle to chew it. They did not know that the Queen was not upset that they didn't like it. Not at all. She was upset that she picked out a terrible meal and that the Dragon King would have nothing to feast on upon his return.
"I'm really sorry, mommy. I didn't want to upset you," the High Prince said showing his much softer side. "It's fine my darlings. I am not upset with you at all. It is awful. I cannot even make myself eat it, but you saw that I took three bites to make sure that it was not good. We will get rid of ours and wait for the King to return to decide our fate."
The High Prince left the banquet hall worrying about what the Dragon King might decide. He did not have to wait long though. The Dragon King came home and the High Prince told him that he tried the food. He did as he was told he had to and how proud he was of himself for not fighting or bargaining at all. The Dragon King took his portion of the meal to determine if it was truly as awful as the Queen had proclaimed. One bite...Two Bites...The High Prince watched as the Dragon King showed that he followed his own rules taking the third and final bite. "It is bland. I cannot say it is bad or good because it tastes like nothing." The entire royal family waited for his decree as he gave the remaining to the peasants of another kingdom. "We will all find our own meals this night. Take you pick as long as the Queen is happy with your choice."
The kingdom rejoiced that they would not all go to bed hungry or go to bed early. Each picked something and had their fill. It was a lesson the royal children had never witnessed before and probably would forever remember. A new rule was established - If the Queen of Night and Dragon King deemed the meal unfit, no one would suffer. However if they felt it was worthy, the children would have to adhere to the three bite rule.
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