"You\'re kidding."

Reynard kept a straight face. "I\'m not. Really. I think we\'ll do a grand job working the kitchens by ourselves. After all, you don\'t want to lose work, do you?"

Uncle Frank gaped at him.

"Are you crazy?" he cried. "I\'ve never cooked a single grain of rice in my life! We\'ll lose more customers than we\'ll get if I even touch the stoves."

"You might not have cooked in your life," Reynard smiled cockily, putting his elbow on the table, "but I have."

Uncle Franke sat back, horrified. "So are you implying you\'ll cook for all the fifty or so customers all by yourself?"

Reynard smiled. "As long as we have all the ingredients, I think I very well can."

"You\'re serious about this."

"I am."

"Are you, honestly?"

"Yes."

"Can you really cook?"

"I can."

Uncle Franke raised an uncertain eyebrow. "May I take your word for it, then?"

Reynard nodded, standing to his feet. "You may. Shall I get started?"

His uncle groaned and stuffed the rest of his toast down his throat.

"Alright," he mumbled with his mouth filled. "Meanwhile, I\'ll go wake the others. It usually takes them half an hour to gather for breakfast, so I\'ll be counting on you, okay?"

Reynard saluted. "Absolutely, sir."

Uncle Franke laughed as he slid out of his chair. "Alright, alright. Get lost, you."

Reynard felt relieved to see his uncle revert back to normal. A few moments ago, he had been deprived of all joy. Now he stood radiating hopefulness as he went to the stairs and pulled the rope that hung from a whole in the ceiling, which, upon pulling, rang a bell overhead to wake everyone up in time for breakfast.

Hastily, Reynard shuffled off to the kitchens. He tightened his head scarf and redonned his apron before turning to the overhead cabinets.

"Alright," he muttered, stretching his fingers. "Shall we start scavenging?"

After his swift hunt for ingredients, Reynard was able to uncover some of the following items: a ripped up packet of flour, sugar pots, eggs, oil, honey, bottles of brown, slime-like liquid which he was not keen to investigate further, jars filled with yet more beans and spices, something that looked like sand, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, a basket full of oranges and couple expired pastries hidden under a table.

Reynard sniffed all the things one by one to make sure if any of them were beyond use, and indeed the slime-like liquid did not pass the test. It smelled like puke and Reynard did not want to know what it was even doing in the kitchen.

Anyways, the rest of the ingredients were good to use for the meal. After thinking about a good course of action, Reynard got to work. So what if he needed to cater for 50 people? He knew what he needed to do.

People usually eat savory main courses before dessert afterwards. But what if Reynard turned the dessert into the actual main course? Then there would be no need to cook more than necessary and everyone will leave with their stomachs full. In his book, it\'s was easy as that.

Showing an immense level of efficiency, Reynard mixed the correct ratios of oil, flour, sugar and eggs in a bowl and prepared a sweet batter. He then turned the flame under the aga and let the stove heat up for a while before putting on a flat frying pan. Putting two large spoons of batter each time on the pan, Reynard soon prepared a sufficient amount of fluffy pancakes in no time. He was, in no way, a good cook, but his limited skills were enough to prepare edible food for hungry people.

Reynard took the stacks of white plates out of the cupboards and put them in neat rows over the longest counter before putting 2 warm pancakes over each one. He then took the honey and drizzled it lightly over the plates, giving the food an elegant look.

To say the least, Reynard was proud of his hard work. With the time he had left, Reynard prepared jugs full of fresh orange juice to go along with the pancakes, creating a perfect combo this way which was suited for both adults and children.

Soon enough, Uncle Franke burst through the kitchen door with a hopeless expression on his face. But then his face lit up as he caught sight of the rows and rows of pancake topped plates.

"It smells like rich goodness in here," he whispered, his eyes wide in incredulous surprise. "Did you make this all by yourself?"

Reynard wiped his hands over the apron, looking distracted as he stared at his creations. "Um, yeah… Though these may not be as good as what Marion and the others make, I did my best with the ingredients present. I hope it\'s up to your expectations, Uncle Franke."

"My boy, you\'ve worked wonders!" Uncle Franke came up to him and kissed him without notice on the forehead. "I can\'t believe it! You\'re like a hero ready to save the day."

Reynard laughed. "Thank you. But isn\'t it much later than 30 minutes?"

Uncle Franke nodded as he looked inside the jug of orange juice. "Well, I stalled you some time by making drinks for everyone. But they\'re all seated at the tables now."

"I\'m worried they won\'t like it," Reynard muttered, taking off his apron and hanging it behind the door. "They\'re used to eating savory as the main course."

Uncle Franke waved a dismissive hand. "It\'s fine, everything looks great. Help me carry the plates outside."

Uncle Franke balanced four plates over his arms (two on each) and carried them outside for the hungry customers. Reynard too followed his lead but managed to balance six. In and out, in and out they went, carrying more and more plates each time, until finally, everyone was served.

"I hope it tastes good," Reynard muttered worriedly as everyone dug into their pancakes.

"Aw, shucks." Uncle Franke reassured him with a friendly nudge. "If anybody doesn\'t like it, then they\'ll have to go hungry, won\'t they?"

Reynard bit his lips. "I don\'t know. Let\'s wait till they try it."

Reynard watched uncertainly as people but fork fulls of sweet, honey topped pancakes into their mouths. That\'s when all the chatter started. Indeed, there were mixed reactions.

"...Is this a sort of cake…?"

"...Momma, it tastes like eggs..."

"...It\'s so light and fluffy!..."

"...Is this a new menu item...?"

"...It\'s so oily..."

"...I love it!..."

There were a lot of mixed reactions from the crowd. Reynard waited by the kitchen door as plates were wiped clean and drinks were poured down throats.

"I think the majority likes it," Uncle Franke whispered beside him. "Most of them are smiling."

Reynard nodded proudly. "I think so, too." He was swelling with happiness as customers came up to the inn owner, displaying their interest towards today\'s mystery meal.

"...I must ask you for the recipe!..."

"...What a new idea for a cake. Was it fried…?"

"...I loved the sweet delight..."

"...May we have it for lunch again…?"

"...I\'d love to get seconds!..."

Reynard\'s self-esteem grew with every compliment.

"Thanks, my son," Uncle Franke whispered when everyone either returned to their rooms or headed out for work. "You saved the day. I owe you one."

Reynard smiled. "No need. It was a task to help me forget and move on, and dare I say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Think of it as a win-win."

Uncle Franke stroked his white beard and looked thoughtfully at his grandson through his fogged spectacles. "Your father would have been proud, because I know I am."

"Thank you. Thanks so much." Reynard was the happiest he had ever been in days. The response he received for his hard work was indeed the reward for all his efforts, and he was gratuitous to God for that.

"No," his uncle chuckled. "Thank you! I don\'t know what I would\'ve done without you."

Reynard laughed. "Shall I take my leave, then? Or do you want me around for a bit longer?"

Uncle Franke patted Reynard on the shoulder. "You\'ve done enough for today, son. Go take a rest or go shopping with your sister. She must be missing her brother."

Reynard grinned, his eyes turning into happy crescents. "Alright then. See you later, uncle." With that, the orphan boy walked away.

Late morning had arrived, and the day had gotten much warmer. People had set up stalls on each side of the main street and it seemed as if the weekly Market Day had resumed its place. It felt so nice to see everything revert back to normal again, and for a moment, Reynard almost let go of all his worries. The deaths of his parents, finding out about his adoption and knowing that he was a national criminal seemed like petty matters as he walked through the lively street, taking in the aromas of all the lovely food.

But Reynard couldn\'t let go of the distant turmoil that brewed at the back of his mind, a feeling that something bad was coming soon. It was equivalent to the calm before a violent storm, and he was yet to realize the intensity of that storm.

Not any mere storm. The Tempest.

But void of any agitation, Reynard bought fresh bread and a whole chicken before returning home, where yet another nodus awaited.

Reynard heard unmistakable, pain-filled sobbing as he stepped through the threshold.

"Rosa?" he called worriedly as he ran through the house, looking for his sister. There, she sat on the floor of the living room, curled into herself.

Reynard\'s eyes widened in a state of shock, and for a moment he stood rooted strictly to his spot.

"W-what happened?" he asked as he recovered, bending down to inspect her for injuries.

"I-I-I!" Rosa gasped, cowering in pain, her toes curling into themselves. "My stomach! It hurts so bad. I feel like I\'m dying, Reynard. I can\'t take it! I-I-I can\'t..." She wailed as she wriggled on the floor.

Reynard\'s breath quickened with worry. "Your stomach hurts? Did you eat something bad?"

"No!" she hissed.

"Uh...uh..." he muttered. "Shall I call a doctor?"

"Hurry-y-y-y!" she howled. "I can\'t take it, Reyn, I can\'t take the pain! I don\'t know what\'s happening to me!"

Reynard gulped. "I\'ll bring someone, okay?" he muttered distractedly, sweating profusely in distress as his sister cried her eyes out. "Don\'t worry. I\'ll bring someone. I\'ll bring someone to help you."

Quickly, he dashed out of the house and onto the street, looking for the nearest health centre. In a state of extreme tension, he jumbled up the directions and had to start all over again till he came to Gartran Health Centre and wasted no time in heading inside.

"Doctor!" he yelled. "I need a doctor!"

"Calm down, sir," the old receptionist muttered as he wrote something down on his register. "You need to wait like everyone else here." He gestured to the waiting areas where patients sat around, waiting for their turn.

"You don\'t understand," he cried. "My sister\'s stomach is hurting like hell, and she needs a doctor now! Right now!"

The receptionist, though, was not moved. "Mm, and where is the patent?"

"A-At home. Look, can I get a doc-"

The receptionist slapped shut his register with a slam and looked Reynard dead in the eye. "You\'ll have to bring her along to get her registered, sir, or else we can\'t help you."

Reynard bit his lips in worry. What was he to do? Oh God, what???

Then, as if an angel had ascended down from the heavens, a man amongst the waiting patients stood up upon noticing the great distress Reynard was in and initiated conversation.

"Hi," he said kindly. "I\'m a doctor in training and I\'ll be happy to come along if you\'d like. My turn is a couple hours later anyways, so I might as well help a fellow out."

"Will you? Will you really do that for me?" Reynard gulped.

The man, who seemed to be around Reynard\'s age, smiled. "Of course.. Just lead the way."