By so miracle, the shattered dessert tower hadn’t derailed the rest of the banquet preparations.
Within the hour, the ruined sweets were cleared away, the floor polished to a shine, and new trays already arriving from the castle kitchens.
If anything, the little disaster had energized the staff. The story of Kaelith’s first birthday "dress rehearsal" (with live fire and a spectacular pastry avalanche) was already spreading like wildfire.
Elysia could hear laughter echoing down the halls as she guided Kaelith—still sticky with rogue icing—toward the castle’s smaller, sun-drenched dining room.
It was late afternoon, and the golden light slanted across the table, which now groaned beneath an even more extravagant array of cakes.
Apparently, the head baker, upon hearing of the destruction, had taken it as a personal challenge.
No fewer than eight cakes now waited for judgnt: a towering black velvet with gold-dusted roses, a triple-layered vanilla sponge oozing berry jam, a scarlet-hued confection with crystallized fruit.
A caral masterpiece swirled with spiced cream, and four more too elaborate for Elysia to na at first glance.
"Why do we have so many?" Lara asked, appearing in the doorway with Sarisa and Aliyah in tow. "Are we opening a bakery?"
Veylira laughed, already settling herself at the table. "You can thank our little queen for her appetite for chaos. The bakers insisted on sending every flavor they had."
Malvoria arrived just then, Kaelith on her hip, and set her down ceremoniously at the head of the table. "The guest of honor," she announced with mock gravity. "Ready for your most important royal duty yet?"
Kaelith blinked, eyes huge at the sight of so much sugar, and nodded with a solemnity that made everyone laugh.
Elysia could have sworn her daughter had never looked more regal—or more mischievous.
Aliyah, just a few months old, was content to gurgle in Sarisa’s arms, utterly enthralled by the colors and the laughter swirling around her. Even the castle’s sternest staff mbers had relaxed, drawn in by the absurdity and warmth of the occasion.
Elysia slipped into a seat beside Kaelith, Malvoria on her other side, with Lara and Sarisa across from them and Veylira taking her place at the end.
Plates and silver forks appeared as if by magic, followed by a small army of kitchen helpers, each carefully carrying a different cake.
The head baker, a stoic demon with flour still dusting his horns, stepped forward. "Your Majesties. I present your options. Please, take your ti—and don’t hesitate to be honest."
Elysia exchanged a glance with Malvoria. "Honesty, with this family? You’re braver than you look."
The baker only smiled, clearly used to their brand of chaos. "We aim to please."
The tasting began. The first slice—a black velvet cake with a gleaming layer of dark chocolate and gold-dusted sugar roses—was rich, decadent, with a hint of cinnamon that lingered on the tongue.
Elysia closed her eyes in bliss. "I might elope with this cake."
Malvoria, ever the skeptic, chewed thoughtfully. "It’s good. Maybe a bit heavy for Kaelith?"
Kaelith, anwhile, was trying to fit the entire slice in her mouth at once, saring chocolate from nose to chin. She grinned, clearly satisfied, and held out her sticky hand for more.
Lara raised an eyebrow. "We’ll need a bath after this, and we haven’t even finished the first cake."
Veylira, slicing into the second: a towering vanilla sponge with cloud-like layers of cream and berry jam offered Elysia a plate. "Try this one. It looks like a cloud."
Elysia took a bite, savoring the lightness, the tart punch of berry. It tasted like sumr, like sun and laughter.
She fed a forkful to Kaelith, who clapped her hands and squealed in delight, demanding "More!"
Malvoria leaned close, licking a stray bit of jam from Elysia’s thumb. "This one’s good. Lighter. Not as likely to put everyone to sleep."
Sarisa sampled a bite, nodding in agreent. "Aliyah’s first cake should be sothing like this—gentle. Not too sweet. Easy for little teeth."
Lara snorted. "As if Kaelith has ever let anything stop her."
They continued, slice after slice. The scarlet cake, spiked with currant and dusted with sugar crystals, was a favorite for color but maybe too tart for the youngest guests.
The caral creation had everyone moaning in pleasure—rich, gooey, with a salty-sweet finish that lingered long after the last bite.
Kaelith adored them all. Each new slice was greeted with fresh enthusiasm, and soon her tray was a landscape of crumbs, frosting, and finger marks.
Her cheeks glowed with excitent (and sugar), her eyes sparkling as she attempted to taste everything at once.
"Slow down, little one," Elysia chided gently, wiping a sar of cream from Kaelith’s chin. "You’ll explode."
Kaelith giggled, undeterred, and reached for more.
Veylira sampled a delicate white chocolate and passionfruit cake next, humming in approval. "This is...unexpected. Bright. Maybe too sophisticated for a first birthday, but I’d eat it all the sa."
Lara, for her part, loved the triple-nut praline with layers of hazelnut and pistachio—though Malvoria wrinkled her nose, declaring it "too busy" for her taste.
At one point, a staff mber brought out a cake shaped like a sleeping dragon, scales painted in iridescent shades of green and gold.
Kaelith’s eyes went round, and she pointed, demanding "Dragon!" with a decisiveness that made everyone laugh. She tried to bite the dragon’s tail first, only to end up with frosting on her nose.
The room grew louder, laughter bouncing off stone walls as forks clinked and crumbs flew.
Even Aliyah, too young for cake, was caught up in the excitent, waving her fists as if cheering her cousin on.
Elysia found herself lost in the mont, overwheld by gratitude. This, she thought, was everything she’d ever hoped for—family, laughter, the simple pleasure of being together.
As the final cake—a classic chocolate sponge with a molten center—was passed around, Malvoria leaned back in her chair, eyeing the chaos with a fond, resigned smile. "If we let her, she’ll pick every cake and eat them all."
Sarisa, ever the voice of reason, dabbed Aliyah’s chin with a cloth. "We do need to choose one, though. Otherwise the banquet will just be dessert and mayhem."
Lara leaned over, eyes twinkling. "Isn’t that what we want? One big, ssy, sugar-fueled party?"
Veylira nodded with regal seriousness. "That is the demon way."
Elysia laughed, taking Kaelith’s hand and squeezing it gently. "Well, little star? Which one do you want? You get to choose."
Kaelith looked at the cakes all glorious, all half-destroyed by her eager sampling. For a mont she seed genuinely perplexed, lips pursed as she considered.
She pointed at the black velvet, then the vanilla, then the dragon cake. Her eyes flickered to the caral, the white chocolate, and back to the chocolate sponge.
Elysia tried to prompt her. "Just one, Kaelith. Which is your favorite?"
But Kaelith, stubborn and certain, puffed out her cheeks, then pointed at all of them with both hands. "All!"
The room fell silent, then erupted in laughter. Malvoria clapped a hand over her mouth, shaking with mirth. Lara nearly fell out of her chair, and even the baker—waiting by the door, nerves on edge—started to laugh.
"Ambitious," Veylira declared, raising her glass. "A girl after my own heart."
Elysia gathered Kaelith into her lap, kissing the top of her head. "All it is, then. Or maybe a little bit of each."
Malvoria leaned over, nuzzling Kaelith’s cheek. "You really are your mother’s daughter."
The baker stepped forward, clearly relieved. "If it pleases Her Highness, we can prepare a ’tasting tower’—a small layer of each cake, stacked together. It would be...unorthodox, but fitting."
Elysia’s eyes sparkled. "That sounds perfect. Let Kaelith have a little of everything."
Kaelith grinned, her face sared with chocolate and jam, and clapped her hands. "All!"
Laughter rippled around the table. Sarisa pressed a hand to her heart, smiling at Aliyah. "Let it be known—Kaelith’s first word in diplomacy is ’all.’"
Malvoria wrapped an arm around Elysia and Kaelith, holding them close. "We’re making new traditions, aren’t we?"
Elysia nodded, a lump in her throat, overwheld by the simplicity and perfection of the mont. "The best kind. The ones you want to rember forever."
Outside, the sky was deepening into twilight. The scent of baking drifted in from the kitchens, warm and sweet, as preparations for the grand banquet continued.
For a mont, Elysia simply watched her family ssy, noisy, unpredictable, perfect.
Kaelith leaned into her, tired now but radiant, and murmured again, soft and satisfied, "All."
Elysia barely had ti to smile before Kaelith’s small, sticky fingers found another sar of icing on the plate this ti a vivid swirl of berry jam and cream.
Before Elysia could protest, her daughter pressed her palm, now loaded with sweet, colorful frosting, directly onto Elysia’s cheek.
"Kaelith!" Elysia laughed, feigning outrage, though her heart felt light as air. The cold shock of jam and cream was quickly overwheld by the warmth of her daughter’s giggles.
Kaelith seed delighted by her masterpiece, clapping her hands and leaving sars of sugar along Elysia’s sleeve.
Across the table, Malvoria let out a low, amused groan. "That’s what you get for sitting too close to the source of the chaos."
Sarisa, struggling not to laugh as she dabbed Aliyah’s mouth, shot Elysia a look of pure sympathy—but there was amusent in her eyes too.
Even Lara, not usually one for sweets, was grinning wide, her gaze darting between the mother-daughter duo and the ever-mounting ss.
Veylira, ever the matriarch, shook her head in mock dismay. "This is the truest sign of affection in the demon realm: being anointed with cake by your child. You should be honored, Elysia."
Elysia made a show of sighing dramatically, but her eyes danced as she turned to Kaelith, pretending to inspect the sticky, jam-stained handprints on her cheek. "You’re lucky you’re cute, little star."
Kaelith only grinned wider, clearly in love with the chaos she’d created.
Malvoria reached over and brushed a thumb along Elysia’s jaw, collecting a bit of jam and popping it into her mouth with a wicked grin.
"Delicious," she declared, eyes bright with laughter.
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