All her life, Celeste never thought life as an easy quest but these days, it has become specifically tough with her. She was at the point where she had zero idea what was real and what was her imagination.

After her dramatic struggle in Egypt, she, with her fickle humanlike mind, thought that everything will either be over, or, she'll be able to live quietly and peacefully in this dreamlike place, surrounded by occasional enchantments. How wrong....

Someone in the town leaked her information. Better, sold her identity to Roman soldiers. What for? Few tetradrachms (bronze coins used in Egypt during Cleopatra's rule)?

At first, Queen tried to intervene and help Celeste flee, but, things got too complicated at the time and she had no choice than to step back. Celeste doesn't blame her, she never could. Celeste, of all people knew all too well that Queen had tried.

Now, she was being taken to Rome. They had already identified as a pirate and she'll most probably be sentenced to death unless she'd tell her captors where she had hidden her treasure. But what is she even going to tell. There was no treasure she knows of, inside her memories.

If she wants to stay alive, she'll have to do something quick. They've already arrived in Rome and she was thrown inside a cold prison. The guards told her that her trial will be held tommorow in the palace, where her fate will be sealed. Her head hurt with all the thinking of possible outcomes.

"You look troubled, my child." A voice as alluring as the fleeting fragments of inspiration may be, they were subordinate to the purpose of the great, big, perfected, enduring and impossible.

"Who..." For now, Celeste could hear only the voice. Suddenly, two large tigers appeared before her, taking breathtakingly slow steps. Fear crept inside Celeste' chest.

"They won't harm... I'm a Sorceress. I can help you, if you want." A magician? Surely the help won't be free. One thing, Celeste was sure of was not to take free help.

"I can't... It won't be right." She forced the words out.

"I still want to help bu..."

"If that's the case, just present me with an opportunity. It can be anything. I want to do this on my own." Celeste said desperately, forgetting her choice of words.

"Anything?" Celeste gulped.

"Normally, I like creating animals out of humans but, that'd make things too easy for you. How about becoming a cook? It sounds fun enough. Now it's up to you, how you'll escape. I'll make it so they let you make their feast tonight. All the best." The voice disappeared, along with the tigers.

Then, it ticked. A magician who loves to turn humans into animals. It must of Circe. But, what now?

Before her trial was held, the Sorceress Circe appeared before Celeste and offered an opportunity to escape from the cold prison.

"What will I do now?" Celeste thought. With Circe' magic, the guards agreed to let her make tonight's dinner and she was being escorted to the kitchen now. On her way, she passed through the garden, where a pink flower caught her attention. Oleanders (Nerium oleander) are distinctive and beautiful, large, flowering shrubs that thrive with little care. Why were they growing it?

Though commonly grown as a hedge and ornamental, all parts of the oleander plant are deadly and contain lethal cardiac glycosides known as oleandrin and neriine. If eaten, oleander can cause vomiting, diarrhea, erratic pulse, seizures, coma, and even, death.

Whatever purpose they could grow it for, it was going to be used differently now. Celeste already had a plan. Indeed, the toxins in oleander were so strong that people had become ill after eating honey made by bees that visited the flowers!

'Create a dish with a forbidden ingredient to immobilize your captors and quickly make a dash.' That was her plan.

Since, Oleanders were bitter, she'd use only bitter ingredients so that there's a lowest chance of them finding out. Broccoli, dandelion greens, etc. Everything have to be bitter but, nice enough.

The very first thing she'd make was 'Cheesy Mushroom and Broccoli Casserole', a modern recipe.

There was something close to oven there which she already started to preheat while preparing other things. She buttered the casserole dish. In a large pot, she melted 3 tablespoons butter and flour over medium heat until golden in color to make a quick roux, which resembled the color of peanut butter. Adding mushrooms, onion, garlic, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, heavy cream and chicken stock, she added her important ingredient, broccoli, 1 cup of the cheese and rice. After seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste, she poured it into buttered dish and topped with remaining shredded Cheddar. Bake it and done!

Now, time for 'Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls with Crispy Chickpeas and Chopped Pesto'.

She preheated another container beforehand. She heated 1 teaspoon of the oil in a saucepan over medium-high until shimmering. Adding the quinoa and cooking, stirring, until any water has evaporated and quinoa is toasted, she stirred it in the water or broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and brought it to a boil.

Meanwhile, she placed the sweet potatoes and chickpeas side-by-side on a baking sheet. Drizzled with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper, and toss to coat, it was ready to be roasted, flipping the sweet potatoes halfway through, until the sweet potatoes were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and chickpeas were browned in spots.

To make the pestro, she finely chopped the basil, almonds, and garlic; transferred to a small bowl and added the oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and several grinds pepper, and stirred to combine. She stirred the pesto into the cooked quinoa and stirred in the olives and feta. Done!

Time for dessert. She'd make use of the naturally bitter Cocoa and cranberries now.

To make 'Chocolate Zucchini Bread', she preheated, and buttered a loaf pan and dusted it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess powder. In a bowl, she combined flour, cocoa powder,  baking soda, baking powder, and salt; and set it aside. In another bowl, she combined sugar, zucchini, melted butter, egg, and sour cream, mixed together then added the vanilla extract. Stirring again to combine, she added dry ingredients to zucchini mixture; stirred just until combined. Finally, she folded in the chocolate chips, cleaning down the sides of the pan, spooned batter into the greased bread pan. Baking time!

She was going to prepare a non-alcoholic Cranberry Orange Mocktail drink. It was easy and simple. The ratios for this cranberry orange mocktail were about 1:1:1. One part cranberry juice, one part orange juice, and one part soda. She mixed the (chilled) juices together first, then poured in the cold soda. A pebble ice when serving and everything was ready.

She crushed little parts of oleanders in everything, hoping that nobody would be killed. The dinner was served and everyone was overwhelmed with her efforts. Some even looked apologetic now. Looks of pity were exchanged between the soldiers, who couldn't decide whether they wanted the trial or not. With heavy hearts, they started eating their food.

It took some time to show the signs but her plan worked out perfectly, giving her a good opportunity to flee. The only thoughts she had while fleeing were...

'Please don't die.'
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Number of words : 1250
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Used 1 Silver Lunette and two cotton balls
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1500 -> first island
500 -> second island
1500 -> third island
2500 -> fourth island
4500 -> fifth island
2500 -> sixth island

Total after 3 islands = 3500
Total after 6 islands = 13000

Island 3 and island 5 -> (scurvy) 500 + 500 (lime + orange) = 1000

2 compass (50+50 words) = 1600

Total = 2600

Remaining = 900 (after 3 islands)
New total = 10400

Island 7 -> Siren's Curse
Two cotton balls -> 800 (to cure it)

2 silver lunette -> 3200 × 2 = 6400
1 Cutlass -> 1600

New Total = 10400 - 8800 = 1600