Page 7 of Dragons & Dumplings

Chapter 4

I lean over the book Arthur gave me and try to make sense of the words on the page. If I have a book of recipes in front of me, or anything that talks about the history of cakes and pastries in the various kingdoms, I can find myself enthralled for hours. Anything else, and reading is just painful.

But I'm determined to learn about my egg. If the delegation from Shengda ever chooses to return, I want to be able to tell them that I did everything I could to ensure that the egg hatched and the dragon is healthy. I know it might not hatch even if I do everything right, but I certainly don't want to do anythingwrong.

A familiar knock sounds on the door to my chambers and I jump up to go answer it, completely ignoring the book. Nate stands on the other side with a piece of paper in his hand and a curious expression on his face.

"Where's your lady's maid?" he asks.

"I said she could start her break early," I respond. "She was breathing too loudly, and I know she was bored watching me attempt to read." I gesture for him to step inside.

"You know how to read."

"Not books about dragons, apparently," I mutter.

He laughs. "Where did you even get one?"

"From Arthur. It's actually been helpful, I just find it dreadfully boring." I wave for him to come and look at it. "I think this is my egg." I tap a drawing of a green egg with ridges a little like the one in the oven.

"It does look like it," he agrees. "It's a green oak dragon. What does that mean?"

"They make their nests in oak trees," I say, pointing to another drawing. "It isn't a species that's native to Shengda. But I don't know what that means in terms of them giving me it as a gift."

"I don't think it has to mean anything," Nate responds, stepping back and leaning against the wall so he could face me. "We have peacocks here," he points out.

I frown. "So?"

"They're not native, but there are so many of them, you'd think they were. Maybe it's the same for green oak dragons? They might not be native to Shengda, but lots of them live there."

"Huh, I never thought about that." I look back at the drawing in the book. "I suppose it does make sense. Shengda is known for its people's dragon keeping."

"They're known for a few other things too," Nate says.

"Oh?"

"Want a look?" He holds the paper he's holding up.

"What is it?" I ask, eagerly taking it from him. I know there's only one thing he's going to act like that about.

"It's a recipe," he responds. "It turns out that Lady An is quite particular and brought one of her chefs with her. It took a little bit of coaxing, but she gave me a recipe when I promised her that I'd give her mine for apple tarts. Apparently, Her Ladyship has taken quite a liking to them."

"What's it for?" I ask, scanning down the page and trying to work it out.

"It's called a bao. It's a kind of dumpling," he says.

"It's nothing like our dumplings," I respond.

Nate nods in agreement. "She told me some of the fillings they often use. There's a pork filling that's traditional, but can take a long time to make. We should be able to replicate it with some of the roast pork from yesterday though. Or you can make them sweet with a custard filling, but she hasn't given me the recipe for that one yet, I'm hoping I can ask her later. The choice is yours."

"Both."

He laughs. "I should have known you'd say that."

"Am I that predictable?"

"Predictable enough that Imighthave used your name to get Chef Martina to give me the ingredients we need to try it out," he admits.

"You are brilliant," I announce.

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