His expression grew devilish. “Oh, I just knew it.”
“Knew what?” Maggie’s brow shot up.
“I just knew that you’d enjoy it,” Peter teased.
Maggie felt the heat rush to her face the moment the words left his mouth.
“You know,” Peter continued, one arm snaking around her waist and pulling her close to his side, “wedidcome for the statue, but that doesn’t have to be the reason why we hang around for longer.”
She glanced up at him, eyes wide. “Hang around longer?” she repeated.
“Selina told us to serve lunch, Maggie. What happens when it’s done?”
“We’ll have to go to the Treasure Room,” she murmured, ashamed by her own sense of growing disappointment.
Peter pulled away to face her, hands firmly planted on her shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with liking what you’re doing, Maggie,” he murmured. “You are an outrageously talented chef who is bound to be connected to whatever you put your heart and soul into. In this case, it just happened to be King Neptune’s birthday lunch. So you pulled it off – like you always do – and now you want to know whether or not he enjoyed the meal. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“We’re here for Hook’s statue,” Maggie blurted. “To save the Everything Plant.”
Peter sighed as his hands slipped down the length of her arms, a sadness she couldn’t quite understand beginning to overtake his handsome face. He lifted his head with a dejected smile, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “There are more things in life than just doing what is expected of you. Having fun is the joy of living, isn’t it?”
Once again, Maggie felt as though she had slammed into a brick wall while sprinting on a high-speed chase. The impact of his words sank into her skin the moment silence passed between them. Happiness did not come with responsibility, and responsibility did not come with happiness. They were separate entities with a few overlapping moments. How could Maggie act as though they came together, hand-in-hand? She knew that there were more important things at hand, but all she could think about was what the King thought about his lunch.
Maggie looked up at Peter, readying herself to argue, when the kitchen doors snapped open. The Princesses stood in the threshold, scanning the room before their colorful eyes landed on them. Coralyn excitedly waved her hand, careful not to catchthe attention of the rest of the kitchen staff. Peter snatched Maggie’s hand and pulled her through the kitchen, until they were slipping out into the quiet palace hallway. The Princesses began to lead the way back to the Treasure Room without a moment to lose.
“I gotta say,” Selina said, her chin just barely grazing her shoulder, “I was expecting you two to crash and burn in the kitchen when I had to leave you there.”
Peter sped up to her. “Youdorealize that Maggie Hart is a brilliant chef, right?”
A bright red blush burnt across Maggie’s cheeks. Has she ever been defended before? Her mind came up blank, the answer obvious just from her reaction alone. Maggie lowered her face, only to catch a smirk from Coralyn’s suspecting expression.
Selina shrugged. “Being underwater could’ve changed that, Peter. Anyways,” she paused and whipped around to face Maggie, “I’m sorry for underestimating you. You did a superb job. Better than superb, according to our Father.”
“Really?” Maggie felt as though a hand had tightened over her heart. “I-If you’re just saying that –”
Coralyn jolted forward and snatched Maggie’s hands excitedly. They whipped through the water, turning around a sharp corner and continuing their path. “She’s honestly understating it,” Coralyn teased. “Our Father talked of nothing other than the food in front of him, which – if you knew him – you’d know that it was a big deal. Not once did he talk about our unsavory neighbors or whatever new stolen treasure he happened to stumble across.”
Maggie swam alongside Coralyn with as much reservation as she could gather. “So he liked it, then?”
Selina guffawed, the blaring sound echoing through the hall as the walls took on a shade of gold. “Likeis an incredible understatement,” she replied. “Father talked about the food andthe food alone. He was practically raging for another helping after each course. Don’t even get me started on the dessert.” Selina whipped around, one sleek pink brow raising skeptically toward her hairline. “Tell us, Maggie Hart. How did you know our Father’s favorite fruit is pears? I assume one of the cooks remembered to tell you?”
The heat swarmed back to Maggie’s face in the same instance. “N-No one told me a thing,” she replied. “I remembered seeing pears ready for picking during Peter and I’s flight over the island, but that is all.”
Selina nodded slowly. “Well I wasn’t going to admit it before,” she said, “But I might just be as impressed as my father is.”
“It’ll be known as King Neptune’sfavoritebirthday,” Coralyn added.
“Is it really his birthday?” Peter asked. “I thought that was a part of the lie to get us in the kitchen.”
Coralyn shook her head. “We planned a great celebration for this evening, but I doubt anything can top the lunch he just had. He was more impressed than he was when we commissioned a statue to be made in his image – and the thing was madeentirelyfrom gold!”
“It isn’t often that something can make our Father happy shamelessly,” Selina added. “It’s nice to know that there’s something other than treasure to make him pleased with us.”
Pride inflated Maggie’s chest. It looked as though King Neptune wasn’t the only one to benefit from her time in the kitchens. If anything, the Princesses beamed more than she had ever seen them do before. To know that she could be appreciated and needed in more places than one only lit Maggie’s soul on fire. If there was any doubt before on whether or not her raw talents lied in homemade cooking, then it was made certain now. Even the old, impatient, and stubborn King of Atlantis couldfind a smile when there is a plate of food blessed with love placed in front of him.
Peter’s hand snaked around her own, giving her a firm squeeze. “You see?” he teased, his smile only growing. “Something tells me that you had nothing to worry about after all.”
“Come on,” she whispered out the corner of her mouth as the Princesses sped up ahead of them. “We can’t lose our guides.”
