A beam of light passed through a crack in the window shutter, and fell on Lily’s face.

  With a cute little groan, she sat up!

  One, two, three, four…

  No new animal companions…

  “Huh? What gives?” she said, out loud.

  She turned to her ghosts!

  They were sipping tiny little mugs of ghost espresso!

  They all shared a look.

  “Yeah, we’re as stumped as you are. We figured Lord Hades was going to keep sending you ghosts to solve all the problems,” Mac said.

  “Although…” Rich trailed off.

  “The French Revolution… that’s a big one, ain’t it?” Ray said.

  Duke nodded grimly. “Yep, back in our world, it dragged on for a really long time, and even when it felt like it stopped for a while, it would start back up…”

  Lily gasped softly.

  (She didn’t want to wake up her Mama.)

  “But then, how did anyone have enough food to eat?”

  All the ghosts shared another look.

  “Well, let’s just say they didn’t. It’s not something eight-year-olds should really be learning about…” Mac said.

  “But, she is the mediator to stop this one…” Rich said.

  “Should I pray for Lord Hades to send me a meaty tater ghost?” Lily asked.

  Duke tilted his head back, looking at the heavens!

  “Er, no… Oh, Hades is on time out.”

  “Time out?!” Lily cried!

  Then, she clapped her hands over her mouth.

  Too loud!

  Her Mama and Mr. Cat started stirring.

  “Yeah,” Duke continued. “The other Gods and Goddesses put him on time out. Oh man, there’s a lot of drama up there, actually.”

  “Really?”

  Lily’s eyes sparkled!

  She was getting to that age where she was starting to like drama!

  Bill and Sally’s little girl was growing up…

  “Mrrrrrow…” Mr. Cat woke up and stretched and yawned. “Lily, do you really need even more blessings?”

  “But… I don’t know what to do…” Lily said softly.

  The Queen insisted everyone eat cake.

  The Revolutionaries wanted to overthrow her.

  And she already said she refused to let that happen!

  Now the Revolutionaries were name-calling, saying she was a tyrant…

  And she was being pretty bossy!

  “And, there’s no time! I promised Sophie that I would solve everything before her birthday, so we could throw a party…”

  “Meow, you shouldn’t have done that!” Mr. Cat scolded her.

  But then, Mr. Cat paused!

  He had an idea!

  A tricksy idea!

  “Heheheh, meow,” he chuckled!

  “Mr. Cat, what is it?” Lily asked.

  “I just had a good idea,” he said.

  Sally’s eyes shot open!

  She had been dozing, listening to her daughter talk to herself (and her ghosts?) and her pet cat…

  But now the cat was having ideas.

  She rocketed to a sitting position in bed.

  “Agh!” cried Lily and Mr. Cat.

  They were startled!

  “Oh no, Mr. Cat is not having good ideas first thing in the morning, in the middle of the French Revolution!”

  She put her foot down!

  “You can have ‘good’ ideas after we’ve had breakfast!”

  She made air quotes with her fingers as she said the word ‘good!’

  But then, Sally paused.

  “Well, if they have any food for breakfast…”

  Lily gulped.

  Did France have any food left?

  And Mr. Cat felt a little nervous!

  Maybe he’d have to go hunting…

  That sounded like a drag…

  Especially when he could be giving good cat ideas to little Lily!

  But that wasn’t something he would do on an empty stomach!

  The room they were in was bare save for the beds and a nightstand, so they quickly dressed and stepped outside…

  The hallway was empty. Just rows and rows of doors…

  It was like a hotel!

  Lily sniffed the air.

  Sniff sniff

  “Something smells yummy!” Lily cried. “That way!”

  Mr. Cat set off immediately, mewing all the way.

  Lily followed after him, and, sighing, Sally followed them both.

  They turned a corner, and…

  It was a breakfast buffet!

  A young woman wearing a chef’s apron and hat was standing in the doorway to the buffet dining room.

  “Ah, you must be the mediators,” she said, seeing the medals on their chests.

  “That’s right!” Lily said proudly.

  “Come right in, the buffet is self-serve…”

  There was croissants!

  Omelettes!

  Coffee!

  Butter and jam!

  And…

  That was it!

  “What’s this?”

  Lily pointed at the weirdly shaped bread crescents on a tray.

  The whole room came to a stop!

  All the other guests gasped, and the chefs poked their heads out of the kitchen!

  “Zat is a croissant!” one of the chefs cried.

  “Ze croissant is the best kind of bread there is!” another shouted.

  “It iz the height of French cuisine!” a man who appeared to be a baker declared.

  And then, everyone started arguing!

  “No it’s not, it’s ratatouille!”

  “No, it’s B?uf Bourguignon!”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Everyone had a different idea about what the best French cuisine is!

  “Meow, let’s just get our food,” Mr. Cat said.

  His Piety Points were going up, because of all the chaos!

  It was just what Tricksy the God of Tricks and Trials liked!

  Lily, her Mama, and Mr. Cat all got their food and found an empty table. Lily took a big bite of her croissant! It was airy and flakey, just the way the French liked it!

  Everyone stopped to watch her chew…

  “Yummy!”

  A great cheer went up!

  “Honhonhon, French cuisine proves ze best once again!” someone said.

  And then…

  Lily tilted her head.

  “Hmm… But the danish in Wisconsin was more yummy…”

  “Le gasp!” someone yelled.

  “Ze eggs! Try ze eggs!” someone screamed.

  The French were losing it!

  Lily took a bite of her omelette!

  Everyone nervously watched her eat…

  “Hmm, it’s yummy, but the Texans made it with bacon and sausage which were really yummy too… I wish I had some of those…”

  “Heavy meat, so early in ze morning? Unthinkable!”

  “Are you from Texas?” the young French woman at the door asked.

  “The Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas,” Lily corrected.

  “That explains it…” someone muttered.

  “No, I’m not from there! I’m from Three Creeks Village, in Appalashia!” Lily protested.

  “Well, what did you eat for breakfast there?!”

  The French people were on the ropes, here!

  They were losing it!

  Their national ego was on the line!

  “Oh!” Lily’s eyes sparkled. “Mama would make porridge, it was super yummy every morning!”

  Sally beamed and puffed out her chest.

  The porridge may have been cheap, commoner fare…

  But she made it full of a mother’s love!

  And that made three strikes!

  “Mama’s porridge is my favorite!” Lily declared.

  “No… zis cannot be happening…”

  “Non… non…”

  All the French people became depressed!

  Lily’s Piety Points went up with Tricksy!

  Mr. Cat’s ear flicked as he heard the sound of foxy laughter!

  And, just at that moment, Jacques the messenger entered the buffet dining room!

  “Bonjour!” he said, and then he paused and looked around. “What happened here?”

  “Jacques…” the young French woman said. “It’s over… it’s never been more over…”

  “Huh?! What’s over?! Is the Revolution in trouble?!”

  He looked around wildly.

  “No, worse… France… is over…”

  He stopped looking around, and then gave the young French woman a look.

  “Zat is impossible,” he declared with his French accent. “France is eternal! We are ze best country with ze best cuisine and ze best culture, everyone knows zis!”

  “Non, non, Jacques… Ze little girl, she said she didn’t like our food…”

  “Hey, that’s not what I said!” Lily interrupted!

  “She said she likes her mother’s porridge the best…”

  “Eh? Porridge?” Jacques was confused! “Did she try the croissant?”

  “She said a Wisconsin danish was better…”

  “Le gasp!” Jacques cried.

  Lily’s Piety Points continued to rise!

  Mr. Cat giggled.

  And Lily’s Mama rolled her eyes.

  “Isn’t this getting a bit silly?” she asked.

  She wasn’t even finished with breakfast yet!

  “Ze coffee!” someone cried!

  “It is our last hope! Ze espresso!”

  The head chef came out of the kitchen with a tiny cup of espresso on a giant silver platter! He set it down before Sally with the utmost care.

  “Please, tell us, is this not ze best coffee you have ever had?”

  Sally…

  Had had coffee before!

  One time, Bill had taken her on a date into Charleston, and there had been a cafe there!

  They had tried several kinds of coffee…

  Appalashian style coffee!

  It had come in full sized mugs, not this tiny little thing…

  But, Sally gamely gave it a try.

  An elegant sip!

  And…

  “Hm… it tastes a bit burnt, actually. And it’s really strong. It’s good, but I think I like Appalashian coffee with cream and sugar better…”

  “Le gasp!”

  The head chef barely managed to express his shock before he fainted and fell to the floor!

  All the French people lost their minds.

  Sally’s Piety Points went up!

  “Mama, can I try?” Lily asked.

  “No, you’re too young,” Sally said.

  “Aww, okay…” Lily said.

  “And none for Mr. Cat, either.”

  “Hey! Meow!”

  “I don’t want you up all night with the zoomies…”

  Mr. Cat grumbled and finished eating his omelette and saucer of cream.

  All around them, the French people were panicking!

  It was like they were in the eye of the storm!

  Eventually, they all ran out of energy and lethargically moved to corners of the room to discuss depressing philosophy and literature…

  Jacques joined them at their table.

  “Mister Jacques, are you okay?” Lily asked.

  She was concerned!

  “To be honest, I’m shook,” he said. His hands trembled as he picked up his croissant and took a bite.

  And then, his French levels were restored!

  “Non… Non, ze croissant is still ze best…”

  Munch munch…

  He felt much better after eating his croissant!

  Lily felt better now that Jacques was feeling better, so she turned to Mr. Cat.

  “So, what was your good idea?”

  Mr. Cat smiled, and his tail whipped back and forth.

  “Nyahaha, what if we just ignore the Revolution and throw a party anyway?”

  “Huh?”

  Lily tilted her head.

  “But how can we do that?”

  But, Lily’s Mama…

  Nodded and agreed!

  “Actually, that is a good idea! Good thinking, Mr. Cat.”

  She pet him on the head!

  Purr purr.

  “Lily, do you know what you need to celebrate someone’s birthday?”

  “Uh, a cake?”

  “Well, usually there is a cake, but you don’t need a cake to celebrate a birthday. All you really need, is friends who are happy for you!”

  “What about presents?”

  Lily always got a present on her birthday!

  Sophie needed a present!

  “Well, a present doesn’t have to be a toy or clothes or a thing.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, it can also be something you do for someone. Sophie liked your Lilyburgers, right?”

  The French people all perked up, just a little.

  Lilyburgers?

  That sounded like… cuisine!

  “Yeah, she said they were super yummy!”

  Super yummy?

  Sophie?

  Hey, isn’t Sophie the name of a Duchess?

  Of all the French people, the nobility and the royals have the most refined palates…

  Even though the Queen had gone nuts and ordered everyone to eat cake, they still respected her taste in cuisine!

  “So why don’t you make her and her family some Lilyburgers and fries? And even if the French bakers don’t want to make cake, I’m sure I can whip something up, if we can get ingredients.”

  “Wow, that’s a good idea!” Lily joined in petting Mr. Cat!

  “Well, that’s quite a bit more wholesome than what I was thinking…” he grumbled while purring.

  “Hey, Mister Jacques? Is there somewhere we can go shopping for ingredients?” Lily asked.

  He was almost fully recovered now, and highly intrigued by this new cuisine!

  It, well, probably wasn’t as good as French cuisine, of course…

  But it was new!

  He had to try it, to confirm that French cuisine was better…

  Not that he doubted it or anything…

  “Er, but you are scheduled for a meeting with ze Revolutionary Council…” he said.

  Lily had to make a choice!

  Which was more important?

  Ending the Revolution, or throwing a birthday party for her new friend?

  She thought about it for a second, stroking her chin!

  Her Ghostly advisors chimed in.

  “If you end the Revolution, the price of buns will go down!” Mac said.

  “Yeah, and if you can get a source of coffee, it’ll be super popular at all your restaurants!” Rich added.

  “Plus, once the Revolution is over, you can spread more franchises…” Ray said.

  But it was Ghostly Duke…

  Who was not really a cowboy…

  He was an actor, and grumbly sometimes…

  He looked down at little Lily and said…

  “Pilgrim, these other ghosts are talking to you about money and business. These Frenchies are talking about Revolutions and bossing people around. You gotta decide for yourself what’s important to you, and then you gotta do what you gotta do.”

  Lily’s eyes grew wide.

  What was important to Lily?

  What was she doing all this for?

  Why had she gone on this journey, first to the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas, then to the Friendly Commonwealth of Wisconsin, and now the Glorious Sun Kingdom of France…?

  And before that, starting up her restaurants?

  It was…

  To pay for her parent’s retirement!

  To make the debt payments!

  And that was because she loved her Papa and her Mama!

  And she loved her friends, too!

  Mr. Cat, and Annie Elmly, and Flo, and now Sophie…

  And right now, she had to choose!

  The Revolution, or her new friend.

  “Hngg…” Lily groaned, then…

  She held up a hand, with her fingers spread out!

  “Five!” she declared. “Five minutes! Then I have to go plan Sophie’s birthday party!”

  Everyone heard it!

  The devastating food critic from Appalashia was going to tell the Revolutionary Council what was what!

  And so, Jacques led Lily and her Mama and her semi-pet cat to the Council meeting room.

  And rumors of new cuisine and a party started to spread among the French people…

  Just what was a Lilyburger and fries?