Cake Buffet
It was one of Zel's favorite days of the year.
Every year, to celebrate the Admiral's birthday, the Bismark would host a sweets buffet. The admission price included tea, coffee, and all the desserts you could fit in your tummy. And it wasn't just La Noscean recipes, or even just Eorzean recipes! There were cakes and confections from all over the world, from rich Gridanian nut breads to barely sweet Hingan wagashi. Zel slowly made her way down the serving table, loading her plate with two or three pieces of sweets before returning to her seat to have her cake with some tea. She repeated the process until she had tried nearly all the things on offer.
There was but one cake she hadn't tried yet. Sitting on the buffet table was one single piece of authentic Ishgardian red velvet cake, with yak cream cheese icing. She practically drooled. The miqo'te rarely found real red velvet, made with only the sweetest, reddest magma beets, outside of Coerthas. And here was one last piece, as if it were just for her.
She reached for the slice, only to knock serving tongs with someone else who coveted the cake. An older man with brown hair, impossibly tall and not unkind looking, glanced down at her, a surprised expression behind his glasses.
Zel looked at the man, then the cake. He clearly wanted it too, maybe even as much as her, and who was she to stand between a man and his cake? But on other hand, one shouldn't get between a miqo'te and her cake either.
He apologized and offered to let the small woman have the dessert, but Zel had other plans. She reached over and cut the slice in half, then cheerfully placed one half on the tall man's plate.
"We should split it, that way we both get cake."
Written 2018/12/10
Posted 2024/03/07