Elias tried to take Ali from Sienna immediately, but she dodged his hands. She kept a firm hold on the five year old whose limbs were flopping like a dying fish, eyes fluttering shut.

"Ahhh...no food...life is meaningless. Kill me now." she whispered faintly.

Chuckles came from the group. Students who were standing around, eager to get a look at the queen giggled. Some took pictures, others recorded. Soren and the other teens were certain that they would be the most famous at the academy at this rate.

Principal Adams nearly fainted himself. His jaw dropped, his spectacles slid down his nose, and he clutched his cloak as though it were a shield. "Oh heavens above! What sort of household raises a cub like this?" He muttered softly. "Hitting people, theatrics, fake fainting, food obsession...will this follow her into the classroom? Will she collapse during arithmetic? Pretend to die when told to read loudly?"

Sienna sighed. "Stop it Ali."

The girl remained limp. "I now know what grandma Cadelaria when she said she saw the light. I can see it. It looks like a giant crab ball, golden and fried."

Elias muttered darkly. "She takes after you, not me."

Sienna glared. "I do not faint for crab balls."

Queen Serenya, however, like everyone else, was delighted. She swept towards Sienna, cloak trailing like waves, and scooped the child into her arms. "Such a pretty and clever cub! From now on, I shall carry her myself. Let us move to the dining area. No pretty cub shall go hungry on my watch."

The principal panicked. They had not prepared food worthy of a queen. "Your Highness! To the dining hall? Oh no...we are not ready, I mean if we had been informed...the food may not be worthy of you."

Ali, however, resurrected. She perked up instantly, eyes snapping open. "Food? Did someone say we are going to eat?"

The queen chuckled. "As expected of someone with the appetite of two lions. Yes, little one. We are going to eat."

The principal whimpered. If the queen choked on a bone, it would be the end of the academy. Not just the academy but him. That video of the king teaching the former eagle lord a lesson was still trending on the BeastNet. But, he was left with no choice as Wesley started leading the group to the dining hall.

The dining hall was grand, with long tables occupied by some students and their families. The serving point was lined with twenty cooks, each dressed in clean white clothes, working tirelessly to serve the delicacies.

The varieties were wide from boiled foods, steamed ones, roasted ones and fried ones.

After being served, they found a table in the corner, near the exit. Ali wriggled free from the queen’s arms, climbed onto a chair and folded her arms like a miniature queen. "Mama, I can’t reach the plate."

The queen lifted her, putting her back on her lap. "Which is why I didn’t put you in a chair. Just sit with me."

Sienna sat next to the queen. Mija literally shoved Elias out of the way to sit next to Sienna. This left Eli and Elias to sit together. The rest of the group spread out, choosing where to sit around the table as they wished

The head cook and other kitchen stuff were brought over by the principal, to be on stand by.

Before anyone could take a bite, Eli picked up a dumpling and sniffed it. "It smells salty." He declared, "Did you cook this with tears?"

The head cook turned purple.

Elias cleared his throat. "You are not home Eli. Nobody has asked for a food critic."

The cook sighed in relief.

Everyone started eating, smiling secretly.

Eli sipped the broth. "Hmmm. Acceptable. It is called dragon breath broth, but this is clearly lazy beef broth. Whoever named it had too much ambition."

The cooks nearly cursed him.

Sienna glared at the boy. "Eli, take a break."

The boy smiled. "Mama, I will be attending this academy soon. Better to critique now and return to a more efficient kitchen than suffer through bad meals for the rest of my academic life. I am sure Principal Adams and the cooks agrees with me."

They didn’t.

They were looking at him like they were dreading his arrival and hoping to bury his head in the soup.

Sienna buried her face in her hands. "Why me?"

Lord Marius chuckled. "You have to give him credit for being a food critic at the age of five. The cub has talent."

Principal Adams muttered, "Talent for trouble."

Meanwhile, the queen was amused. She was laughing merrily, sipping the broth with pleasure. "Marvelous! He could tell that it was beef before I did. And he is honest. The royal kitchen could use someone like him. My cooks are also ambitious in naming their dishes. But sadly, some are not worthy of those names."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "Come on, who here knows that real taste of dragon breath? Why would someone even eat something that smells like the breath of a dragon. I don’t even think dragons brush their teeth."

There was some gasping from a nearby table.

Sienna twisted her face. "Oh no!! Damn it, damn it, damn it." She looked at her husband. "This is going on BeastNet, isn’t it?"

Principal Adams looked at the children and parents around with phones and drones that were livestreaming or recording. It wasn’t simply going on the BeastNet, it was probably on the BeastNet already.

The combined fame of the influential people at the table would have it trending within a minute.

The queen cleared her throat and raised her voice. "You mean wild dragons that have no human shape or wisdom. Right?" She asked a question but her voice said ’say yes quickly.’

Sienna nodded. "YES. YES. Dragon beast men actually smell really nice. I met one in the market a while ago and he was so sweet. His breath smelled like sugar flowers."

While it was an exaggeration, her answer was enough to calm the tide.

Until--Ali raised her head. With oil all over her mouth, the little girl said, "That’s not what you said mama. You said his breath smelled like a dead cat!"