“Napoleon! Summon the Grande Armee! We’re overthrowing the nobility tonight!”

  The Marquis of Lafayette, Gilbert, gave his order!

  General Napoleon stood up!

  Lily looked around, nervous.

  Sophie was practicing her poker face!

  Her parents were giving her tips, not reacting to what was happening!

  The Queen’s face was flat and expressionless!

  Mimi and Mr. Cat…

  Merely watched!

  Lily’s Mama…

  Had her hand on her cheek!

  “Oh dear…” she muttered.

  Ghostly Ray Croc was freaking out!

  “Nooo! If they have a big civil war, they won’t be able to harvest the wheat in time! The franchises! The franchises!”

  Ghostly Mac and Rich didn’t know what to do!

  “This is way over our paygrade…”

  Ghostly Duke…

  Frowned!

  “This looks bad…”

  Was war about to break out?

  The stakes had never been higher!

  General Napoleon stood up!

  “Je suis… Napoleon!” he declared!

  He stood up, and walked around the table, and took a seat next to Queen Marie!

  “Le gasp!” said the Marquis, and everyone else gasped too!

  “Napoleon…” Napoleon said, adjusting his uniform and hat.

  And the Queen…

  Smirked!

  She smirked like the cat that got the cream!

  “This is why you’re just a Marquis, Gilbert, and I’m the Queen!” she said, smugly!

  She was super smug!

  Smug overwhelming!

  “Napoleon!” Napoleon said.

  “It’s true, we need to update the laws of France,” Marie said. “Especially the regulations around baker training, and bakeries. A cake deficit can never be allowed to happen again! And, I will concede, bread is important as well!”

  The Queen turned to look at Lily, who was totally left behind!

  “The buns on the Lilyburgers were magnificent!”

  Lionel the Baker couldn’t help but smile a little!

  “And, the General here and I got to talking a little at the party! Napoleon has quite a lot of good ideas about updating the laws of France!”

  “Napoleon!”

  “Indeed!” Marie said. “And we don’t currently have laws on franchising on the books yet, either!”

  The Queen, of course, had not actually read those books, herself…

  That was what advisors were for!

  “So if we wanted to allow Lilyburgers to start opening up restaurants within our Glorious Sun Kingdom of France, we would need to make some new laws and regulations! We have decided that General Napoleon will be our advisor for these legal revisions!”

  Ghostly Mac plopped a fist into his hand. “Ah! I remember now! The Napoleonic Code!”

  Ghostly Rich tilted his head. “That does sound familiar…”

  “Shh!” Ghostly Ray shushed them. He was listening super carefully!

  Franchises!

  “Je suis Napoleon!” the General said eloquently, and looked proud and smug, too!

  He had betrayed the Revolution and was taking the Queen’s side!

  The Army was now on the Queen’s side!

  “And, as Advisor Napoleon has pointed out…”

  “Oui!”

  “We will need an advisor for enforcing the new regulations, as well!”

  All eyes fell on Max Robesy-P!

  Head of Police for the Revolution!

  He was the guy who made sure everyone stuck to the revolutionary principles!

  Gilbert turned to look at him, with an expression of horror and betrayal…

  And Max…

  “I… I was going to leave the Revolution, too, Gilbert.”

  He admitted it!

  “But, Gilbert, the Lilyburgers! They’re too good! My French passions for cuisine have been roused! A grilled beef patty, a slice of cheese, ketchup, and a pickle, all between two delicious buns made with French wheat… And I’ve heard there are other variations on the recipe! We could make our own, even more French versions of the Lilyburger!”

  “Max Robesy-P.”

  The Queen addressed him directly!

  “You are hereby appointed out chief enforcement officer for matters of franchising!”

  With an embarrassed look on his face, Max moved over to sit next to Napoleon!

  He had the good grace to look ashamed while Napoleon just looked like he always did!

  And then, Lionel stood up!

  “Well, I’m out.”

  He quit!

  Just like that!

  “Lionel, no!” Gilbert cried.

  But the baker just shook his head.

  “My job is baking bread… and cake… and now, Lilyburger buns… And the farmers need to get back to the fields and harvest the wheat, or there won’t be any flour for baking anyway.”

  He turned away from the Marquis, and looked at Queen Marie.

  “Queen Marie… You really need that many cakes?”

  “Yes! It’s vital for France!”

  Lionel sighed.

  “Wait!”

  Lily yelled!

  Everyone turned back to the hose of the party.

  Lily couldn’t let that go!

  “Queen Marie, you have to be Friendlier!”

  And…

  Lily’s Mama nodded her head!

  “Yes, you have to give the bakers at least a little more advance notice that you need cake…”

  But the Queen scoffed!

  “They should just keep an adequate supply of cake at all times!”

  Sally’s eye twitched.

  “I’ve been up since super early this morning baking the cake for this party! It was a lot of work! Cake doesn’t just happen, you know!”

  “Huh?”

  “Huh?”

  The Queen made an expression of confusion, and then so did Lily!

  “Queen Marie, what was that?”

  Marie tilted her head.

  “Baking cake is a lot of work? What do you mean?”

  “Huh?”

  Now Sally tilted her head, too!

  “Uh, Queen Marie…” Lily said. “Do you know how to bake a cake?”

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  “Of course not! I’m the Queen!” she declared. “My job is eating cake! And dancing!”

  “Mrow…” Mimi meowed.

  Lily…

  Frowned!

  “That’s not Friendly!” she declared. “My Mama worked really hard making all the cakes today! And the bakers work hard every day, too!”

  Lily knew all about hard work!

  She had done all those chores!

  She had seen the miners, and the stone quarry workers!

  She had set up her restaurants, and worked in them!

  She had helped her Mama cook before!

  “You can’t just tell people to do things that are a lot of work like that! They get tired! They reach their limits!”

  Lily had hit her limits, too!

  The night before her first ghosts appeared!

  And…

  Queen Marie was about to retort!

  She was a Queen!

  Working was for everyone else!

  But…

  Mimi put a paw on her arm!

  Instantly, Marie focused on Mimi!

  “Marie… Lily’s right.”

  Shock!

  “It’s not nice to tell people what to do all the time if you don’t know what you’re asking… And…”

  Marie held her breath, focused intently on Mimi.

  Her precious kitty-cat!

  “I want you to make me some cake, next time…”

  Marie was brought to tears!

  “Of, of course, my dear, precious Mimi! How could I have been so blind!”

  She had a change of heart!

  So easy!

  “...and make me some fries…”

  Mimi added more to her request!

  “Of course!” Marie agreed instantly!

  So easy!

  The Queen was a pushover for her kitty-cat!

  “And…”

  But Marie was moving too fast to continue listening to Mimi’s requests!

  “Lionel!” she half-shouted, over Mimi’s lazy muttering! “I must insist that you teach me how to make cake for my darling Mimi! And fries!”

  Lionel…

  Nodded!

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I guess this is as good as I’ll get… At least the Queen will learn something.”

  He moved over to the other side of the table!

  Mimi started bathing herself, done making requests, and the Queen now looked at the Marquis.

  There was nobody left on his side!

  “Gilbert,” the Queen said. “Go back to literature and philosophy. Leave the ruling to the real party peeps.”

  And so, the French Revolution was ended, at Duchess Sophie’s ninth birthday party at which were served Lilyburgers and fries!

  Lily wiped a hand across her forehead.

  Phew!

  She did it!

  Things worked out!

  She had underestimated the Queen, to be honest…

  But Lily had done her part, too!

  The party and her Lilyburgers and fries had put a lot of pressure on both sides to end things quickly!

  Gilbert got up and left the room, to return to his books…

  “Now, Lily of Appalashia.”

  The Queen spoke, and the room filled with tension.

  On one side of the table, there was the Queen, her cat Mimi, Sophie, her parents, General Napoleon, Max Robesy-P, and Lionel the Baker.

  On the other side of the table, there was Lily, her cat Mr. Cat, her Mama, and her ghosts!

  Queen Marie continued. “We have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss regarding your Lilyburgers and restaurant plans…”

  Lily gulped.

  “Even more important than the French Revolution?” she asked.

  “Far more important!” Marie smacked her fan into her hand.

  Gulp!

  What could be more important than that…?

  But everyone on that side of the table had a serious look on their face!

  Well, except Sophie, who was still learning…

  Queen Marie opened her mouth, and spoke…

  “Lilyburger with cheese is just too much of a mouthful!”

  Lily and her Mama’s mouths fell open in shock.

  That was it!?

  Mr. Cat yawned.

  “And we can rename the Friendly Fries, right? We can’t copy the Wisconsinites!”

  “Napoleon!” Napoleon agreed.

  “Nor can we copy the Texans,” Max Robesy-P said.

  “Right, we can’t call them Freedom Fries, either.” Lionel added.

  “Uh…” Lily said.

  She didn’t know what to say!

  She had a bit of conversational whiplash!

  “Now, the question is, what to call them instead?” Marie said.

  The agenda for the meeting was set!

  Round two was beginning!

  “We shall henceforth call a Lilyburger with cheese as a ‘Lilyburger Royale.’”

  She declared it!

  Queen Marie made the decision for everybody!

  “Oh, oh!”

  Sophie raised her hand eagerly.

  “Yes, Duchess Sophie?” Marie graciously allowed the birthday girl to speak.

  “Let’s call the fries, ‘French Fries!’”

  The Queen gasped.

  “Duchess Sophie, that’s a wonderful idea!”

  She was on board!

  “Henceforth, the Friendly Fries will be called ‘French Fries!’”

  Lily was stunned speechless.

  The meeting was basically already over!

  Round two was an instant knockout!

  And the name had come full circle!

  From French Fries, to Freedom Fries, to Friendly Fries, now back to French Fries…

  Mimi mewed. “I agree, French Fries is a much better name.”

  “Meow,” said Mr. Cat.

  “So… can I have permission to open franchises here in the Glorious Sun Kingdom of France?” Lily asked.

  Ghostly Ray held his ghostly breath!

  “Yes, of course! Open as many as you like! Always ensure there is a supply of French fries for my beloved Mimi!”

  Lionel’s hand shot into the air.

  “I want to open a franchise!”

  “You need a regional franchise manager, no? I believe that Duchess Sophie would be a good choice,” Queen Marie recommended. Sophie’s parents nodded.

  “Yes, it would be good business practice for her, since the structure is fairly simple…”

  “It’s a good oversight position for a young Duchess,” her mother added.

  “Lily, can I?” Sophie asked cutely.

  Lily…

  “Of course!” she said.

  It was a no-brainer!

  Sophie was her friend, and she had lots of support!

  “Yay!” Sophie cheered.

  “Napoleon!”

  “Congratulations, Duchess Sophie.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Good luck, Duchess.”

  Everyone congratulated Sophie on her first real Duchess business!

  And so they left the backroom, and returned to the party.

  “I have an announcement!” the Queen said, and everyone fell silent.

  “We are renaming the dishes! A Lilyburger with cheese is now to be called a Lilyburger Royale, and the Friendly Fries will now be called French Fries!”

  Everybody cheered!

  “Oh, and also the Revolution is over. Now, let’s dance!”

  Everybody continued cheering!

  Queen Marie turned out to be a great dancer!

  Her generation wasn’t big on reading or talking normal, but they were really creative with dances!

  And, Lily…

  Also turned out to be an exceptional dancer!

  She had been blessed by Uzume, the heavenly persuader!

  The Goddess who once danced the Sun God out of hiding!

  Lily kept up with the Queen move for move!

  Fueled by cake and Lilyburgers and French Fries, they danced and danced.

  Sophie smiled as she whirled across the dance floor with her friend Lily.

  This was the best birthday ever!

  Eventually, everyone had to leave to go deal with starting the government back up again, now that the Revolution was over, so Lily and Sophie got to hang out and play!

  Well, playing for a Duchess and a businesslady was more talking about how to set up Lilyburger franchises… Sophie’s parents and butlers and maids paid attention too, to help her out later!

  The next morning they woke up early, met up with Lionel, and invaded the Queen’s Palace.

  Sally had a firm grin on her face.

  They were gonna teach the Queen how hard it was to make cakes!

  It wasn’t that hard, but…

  Queen Marie was a teenager, after all!

  Getting her out of bed early in the morning was like pulling teeth!

  Only Mimi’s chiding got her moving, in the end.

  “Ugh, my arms are tired…” she whined, having to stir the cake batter.

  “Keep it up!” Sally demanded.

  “Faster!” Lionel said. “We have more cakes to make!”

  “Do your best, Queen Marie!” Lily encouraged her.

  “Wehh…” Queen Marie whined incoherently, but she sped up her stirring!

  Mimi and Mr. Cat giggled behind their paws.

  And so the Queen of France learned just how much work went into making cake, and she was more reasonable with her cake orders from then on…

  Lionel purchased a franchise and hired more apprentices to become bakers, not just for regular bread and cakes, but also for Lilyburger buns…

  The Queen also purchased several franchises, and hired lesser nobility to manage them on her behalf.

  Napoleon rewrote the laws to make them more sensible, and he did a really good job…

  Max Robesy-P wound up as Chief Food Inspector for all of France!

  It was a really important job!

  Gilbert apologized for starting the Revolution, and returned to political theorizing…

  Lily was promoted to Countess in France!

  She needed a noble rank to be a businesslady there, after all.

  And the farmers returned to their wheat fields!

  The harvest was saved!

  Wheat exports resumed!

  Wheat was sent to the Friendly Commonwealth of Wisconsin, and the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas, and the Kingdom of Appalashia!

  And with that, the ingredient price increases had been dealt with!

  Lilyburgers was saved!

  Lily had plenty of money from finishing her super chores in each other country, and opening up new franchises!

  All that was left was to return home, oversee the company, and let the profits roll in…

  Lily, her Mama, and Mr. Cat found Dale, and they drove home.

  It was a day’s drive back to Bessie’s Landing, where they returned the borrowed diplomat’s clothing, and then another day’s drive back over the Appal mountains and back to Three Creeks village.

  The sun was just about to set when Dale dropped them off in front of their home.

  “Oh dear, your Papa still hasn’t turned the lights on,” Lily’s Mama said as they unloaded their luggage.

  They’d been gone almost two weeks!

  They said goodbye to Dale, and opened the door and stepped inside.

  The house was empty, and a letter was sitting on the dining room table.