The Empty Kitchen Discovery

Princess Serenity bounced down the marble hallway toward the palace kitchen. Tomorrow's celebration would be the biggest party of the year! She wanted to check on the special rainbow cupcakes.

"Good morning, Chef Henri!" she called as she pushed open the kitchen doors.

Silence.

The enormous kitchen stood completely empty. Shiny pots hung unused on their hooks. The massive ovens sat cold and dark.

"Hello?" Serenity's voice echoed off the stone walls.

A folded piece of paper lay on the wooden counter. She picked it up and read the messy handwriting: "We quit! Too much work! Good luck with your party! -The Kitchen Staff"

Serenity's blue eyes grew wide. No cooks meant no food. No food meant no celebration party.

The Empty Cookbook

Serenity stared at the note. Her heart pounded. Queen Serenity would be so disappointed if there was no celebration feast.

"Maybe I can cook something myself," she whispered.

She grabbed a cookbook from the shelf. The pages showed fancy dishes with ingredients she'd never heard of. Truffle oil? Dragon fruit? What was saffron?

The palace doors burst open. All five Sailor Guardians rushed in, their colorful uniforms bright against the gray stone walls.

"Princess! We heard shouting from the courtyard," Mercury said, her blue ponytails bouncing as she ran.

"The kitchen staff quit!" Serenity held up the crumpled note. "Tomorrow's feast is ruined!"

Mars crossed her arms. "We'll just order pizza."

"This is the Moon Kingdom's biggest celebration ever," Venus protested. "We need royal food!"

Jupiter studied the empty ovens. "How hard can cooking be?"