you about this beautiful dish?”
Akna delicately speared a chunk of chicken with her fork and placed it in her mouth, her lips caressing the tines of the silver utensil as she savoured the delectable morsel. Then she carefully set her fork down and once again met John’s eyes.
“Well, my lady?” John asked.
“Sir Frederick,” Akna replied, her melodic voice unwavering. “I find the taste very pleasing, indeed. However, it is not the ingredients that I find unnatural. It is the presentation.” She gestured to the strange meat sculptures. “Why is it important to make ducks look like dragons?”
“It is interesting to the eye, and it shows the skill of the cooks who made it,” John said, shrugging.
“Perhaps,” Akna said. “But can you honestly tell me that all this food is necessary?
“The king wants to show his generosity.”
“But,” Akna said, wrinkling her nose at the sight of nobles pushing mouthful after mouthful of juicy meat past their lips, “will we be able to consume all this food?”
“Well,” John said, slightly taken aback, “no.”
“Exactly, Sir Frederick,” Akna said with a nod. “In our village, we frown upon such waste.”
Despite his misgivings about the Inuit delegation, John could not deny the sense in her speech. It was true that he also viewed the excesses of court with disdain after he had lived a life of meagre rations in the navy. It was no doubt wasteful and perhaps foolish, but still, it showed off creativity and talent.
“True, the waste is a shameful practice,” John conceded. “But can you not appreciate the skill involved?”
“Perhaps other outlets for creativity would be more appropriate?” Akna quipped, taking another bite. “We frown upon the wasting of precious resources.”
“Such harsh criticism!” John exclaimed, bending as if wounded, but with a wry smile on his face. “However, you cannot deny the skill of the English! Waste has made us experiment. We have built castles and great ships and armies. We have explored the world and brought technology across the oceans. What has your tribe accomplished that can compare?”
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