Bonus Chapter 8: Sariya's Travels Limitless Future
After chatting all afternoon and until evening, Sariya brought up the Kayal family and asked about the restaurants in the square.
"Kayal? Good people. Hard for them to make a living selling food here, so they went to Weston. As for that store you talked about, not as good as the Kayal's craft," Kadriya answered.
Osmanir raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking?" she asked, sensing something interesting afoot.
Sariya smiled. "Let's go eat? Emir-erzka said that with enough money, there's no need for a reservation," she said.
Lamyal's eyes danced. "Are you planning to repay kindness with riches?" she asked.
Sariya nodded. "I'm considering it. Is there land for sale? We'll need to set up a sun house to grow certain types of vegetables if we can't find reasonable substitutes for them," she said. What she planned was not a purely selfless gift, but a partnership.
She wanted to spread the taste of the eastern food in Undirheim, but she didn't plan to cultivate it herself. She always planned to find a suitable partnership. The Kayal family was selflessly kind to her. Ayessa was a good woman. "We'll talk after dinner," Sariya said.
The aunts didn't argue. They led Sariya to a room that had always been meant for her so she could freshen up after days of camping out in the open. She looked around the room. It was nice, not hugely Dragonsized, but larger than the room she slept in on Terranthea. She went straight to the washroom.
About half an hour later, the aunts had gussied themselves up, wearing silks and furs with understated make-up and stately hairstyles. Sariya also dressed for the occasion, although she didn't put her hair up, and the dress she wore was the nice one she wore to Chrystianna and Elias' wedding ceremony.
They looked at her and sighed. They didn't scold her this time, but she really needed some jewels and furs. Sariya looked at them. "Are furs a status symbol?" she asked.
Kadriya sighed. "Of course. The more exotic, the better," she said. "Jewelry, too," she added.
Sariya nodded. She pulled four mantles out of her storage. She chose a white one. She handed the others to her aunts based on the color of their dresses.
The women's eyes lit up and they immediately dropped their other furs. "How delightful!" Kadriya draped a deep red fur that had a silky sheen and a black tipped tail. "What is it?" she asked.
Osmanir has a short haired, slinky deep purple fur and Lamyal had an almost brindled brown.
"My mother caught some of these. Desert firefox, Elusian mink, and banded sable. I don't know which worlds they came from," she said. "This one I caught on Thelessia. I have several of them. The population of Snowdrift wolves were getting out of control, and bounties were put out for them," she explained. "Shall we?" she asked.
Feeling quite proud, the aunts led her out. The gargoyles were waiting with a carriage. The women climbed up. The gargoyles grabbed the shafts and began running. They were short but strong and fast.
They arrived at the central plaza within ten minutes. Kadriya went up to the host of the restaurant arrogantly and patted her fancy fur. "A table for four," she commanded.
The host pursed his lips, torn. He recognized these women. They were richly dressed, but they weren't rich enough to jump the line here. Before he could say anything, the underdeveloped woman in the back, took out a heavy looking money bag and clinked it together as she looked through it. First she drew out a drakkoth, which made the hosts' eyes widen, but she put it back, searching around until she came up with a drakkon. She put the pouch away and passed it to her first aunt, who in turn held it, glancing at the host disdainfully.
When she finally set it on his host podium, he slipped it into his pocket. "Right this way, ladies," he said with a gracious smile. He took them to a table and seated them. He assured them a server would be with them soon.
"I can't vouch for the food, but at least the staff is tasty enough," Lamyal sighed. The other aunts shushed her but they were giggling. Sariya laughed at their antics. Soon enough the server came, then they ordered a sampling of food. Sariya chose some that would have flavor profiles similar to the ones she was thinking of. But it was...not great. At all. The aunts couldn't hide their expressions.
"My guess is no one comes here to eat. Only to be seen eating here," Lamyal sighed as she pushed food around on her plate.
"Don't force yourself to eat," Sariya said, putting her utensils down. The aunts didn't argue, immediately dropping their utensils with a clatter. Kadriya stood. "Just drop a drakkoth. We'll give you the difference," she whispered to her niece. She wanted to leave in a grand gesture but didn't want to take advantage of her niece.
"No need," Sariya said, dropping a drakkon with fanfare. She wrapped her fur around her shoulders and led her aunts out. The aunts followed with their noses in the air. The people who saw them were dumbfounded. What just happened? They ordered all that food, took two bites, made faces, dropped a drakkon of all things, and left just like that? Looked like they had a new story about the three cadiri of Umut.
When the aunts arrived home, Lamyal sat in a lounge with a pout. "That was even worse than I imagined. Now I'm starving," she complained.
Kadriya chuckled at her. "Take your fur off and return it to your niece," she scolded gently.
"Keep them as gifts," Sariya said with a smile. "Or just say they still belong to me and I'm loaning to you," she added.
The aunts didn't argue, gladly putting the furs away gleefully. "Little Third has a point. I'm famished," Osmanir complained.
"Come to the dining room. I'll unveil some of my plans," Sariya said and found the dining room. She began taking out dishes of piping hot take out food. There was also her beloved fermented cabbage. "Not all of this goes together, according to culture and norms, but I wanted everyone to try a bit. There are also these sauces, and condiments," she said as she put food out.
She provided utensils and even showed them how to use chopsticks. She also provided lemonade.
The aunts' eyes were practically sparkling. They tried the food, and raved over it. There were even fried insect pupae that they absolutely adored. "What is it made from?" Lamyal asked.
"A silkworm they have on Terranthea," Sariya answered.
"We could use night silk spinner pupae?" Kadriya asked.
Night silk spinners were an insect they cultivated in Undirheim they used for silk. It was a hot export and they often even sold raw silk to Patternweavers.
"What are these squiggly things? They make so many dishes," Osmanir said, referring to the noodles that many dishes were made with. Sariya answered all their questions patiently. That night they enjoyed a delightful feast.
The next day, Sariya and her three aunts traveled to Weston to meet with the Kayal family. Ayessa was so astounded and thankful for Sariya's proposal of a partnership. She'd be a fool to refuse, especially after tasting the food. She was only grateful for taking pity on a lost sister.
The Kayal family knew much more about food and ingredients and preparations than the Ildirim sisters and their niece. Once they began studying recipes and studying "videos" they were able to start reproducing some of the dishes and condiments they had on hand.
Sariya did eventually buy land to grow and raise other ingredients on. The Kayal family was more than just Ayessa and her men. That entire building housed the entire family. It was their building. They weren't rich, but combined all their money to buy the land to build the building when Umut was newly developing. For reasonable rates, different members of the Kayal family worked the fields, the sun houses, took care of livestock, even raised insects. Others researched suitable replacements for various ingredients. Ayessa oversaw it all.
While Sariya kept an eye on things, she mostly let the Kayal family do as they saw fit. She concentrated on getting ready to have her baby. Within six months, new "Umut" food was beginning to gain awareness in Undirheim and Weston. Sariya rented a shop for the Kayal family in a middle district of the city, so they sold food in both places, specializing in different recipes. In Weston, they mostly sold different types of noodles that were palatable to foreigners. In Undirheim, they sold a variety, and were still introducing new recipes as they managed to find the right ingredients.
At six months another shop was opened where they sold stable items like vinegar, bean sauce, chili oil, as well as snack foods.
And since the Kayal family was the only people with the recipes, they were the only shops to sell these dishes. A fourth shop specialized in Eoduun food. It was a surprising hit. Sariya figured once they became "famous" with the new foods she introduced, clout chasers would be more willing to eat the Kayal family's traditional food as well.
Sariya sat in the vip room of the Kayal family's fine dining restaurant, looking out over the bustling streets. She had come back from changing her identity token to a permanent one. She rubbed her bulging abdomen thoughtfully. In less than another six months, her daughter would be born. She sighed contentedly. She left the vip room, bid farewell to Emir, who managed the dining floor, and left.
When she returned home, she bid her aunts good-night and went to her room. She stopped suddenly. There was a cradle in her room. She approached the cradle cautiously and touched it. It rocked gently. She knew it was not her aunt's doing because there was a name carved into the end of it. She touched it. Lilara. It was the name of Qazim's mother.
Sariya smiled as tears filled her eyes. She rubbed her belly again. "Lilara, your father is still alive," she whispered shakily. She smiled as tears streamed down her face. Hope and contentedness filled her heart as she hummed a lullaby her mother used to sing to her and got ready for bed. Tomorrow was a new day and the future was limitless.
The End