Once we made it to the kitchen the chef already knew what to do. I did the routine every day. I never ate with the others in the private dining room, so the chef always held my food separately. I stepped towards the counter where a tray lay with a plate on it. I examined it not really knowing what it was except for the vegetables that were beside the main dish. There was a beige sauce covering the entire dish that didn’t look very appealing. I eyed the dish warily before lifting my eyes to meet chef’s, who stood behind the counter.
“Is... this edible?” She frowned at me as if I asked a silly question.
“I wouldn’t feed you something that wasn’t.” She picked up the plate and pushed it into my hands. “You’ll like if you try it. Hurry up and leave now. I have plates to fill.” She was trying to run me out? Did she think I was going to ask her to make me something else? I might have done that in the past, but that was only because it looked like someone had just thrown it up. Of course, she assured me that wasn’t the case. Still, I didn’t take her word for it. I made her try some first to make sure she wasn’t deliberately trying to kill me. I waited about 10 minutes to see if she passed out or worst died. When that didn’t happen, I decided I still didn’t want it. In my defense I…well I don’t really have a defense, but that’s not the point. No one would want to eat food that looks like it had just been upchucked.
“I’m not going to have you remake it if that’s what you were thinking,” I bitterly said. “I was going to ask if you would fix another plate for him,” I pointed to Samuel as I asked her. She hadn't seemed to notice he was here until I mentioned him.
“Who is this?”
“Why does that matter? Do you want me to ask someone else to do it?”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. And don’t think because your daddy put you in charge you can talk to me any type of way now. I've known you since you were a child.”
“Stop talking as if you’re old,” I said scrunching up my face as her words. “You’re a year younger than Luke.”
“What’s that have to do with anything? I’m still your elder.” I rolled my eyes at her words and was already dodging her hand that I knew was making its way to me for a good slap on my head. She never actually hit me hard, and it was only for show, so I allowed it. She never did it in front public, though, just as sign of respect.
“And you still missed like always.” As I continued to joke around, she was finished filling Samuel’s plate with the slop. From that moment, I knew I’d have him try it first. It was decided. “See you later.”
As we walked through the same hall, I felt Samuel’s stare on me. It was burning a hole in back. When I opened the door to my office, I was tempted to leave him outside because of it. I, unfortunately, didn’t pick that option, which I’m sure I was going to regret.
“So, you two seem close….” Goodness, he was already asking questions. I continued stabbing my fork through the questionable piece of meat while trying hard to ignore him. I did watch him to see when he ate it, though, just as a precaution. I think he liked it; he wasn’t complaining at least. “You’re pretty close to Luke too. By the way, I don’t think he likes me too much. It’s not a glare, but he doesn’t smile at me either.” He’s been here for a day. How much contact could he have with Luke for him to think he doesn’t like him? “Oh, and…”
“Stop! I didn’t bring you in here to talk me to death. I just want to eat peacefully.”
“I don’t like eating in silence. It feels awkward.”
“Fine! Just give five seconds of not hearing your voice.” About two seconds passed before he opened his mouth to say something else. So, I asked “Why is it you don’t seem surprised when you learned who I actually was? I know Luke must've told you.” He leaned back in the seat across from me and replied, “I don’t know. It’s not that huge of a deal. It’s been nice so far anyway, I got the best night’s sleep in my life last night, so I can’t complain.”
“I suppose you’re right.” He did know and he was still treating me as if I was...the girl he'd met at the celebration. In hindsight it was a privilege, but there was obviously someone who wanted me dead. On the flipside it might be best to keep a distance because of that. The boy sitting across from me was content with knowing there was a downside to being here, yet it didn’t look as if he was leaving any time soon. That’s if I didn’t make him, of course. Only time would tell if he would be a useful addition. He was alright for now; he did save my life back at there. That reminded that I needed to send guards there to check on the people there. And for the disturbances and injuries I needed to give them a gift or token of my gratitude. I’d tell one of the council members to handle it.
“Are you trying to figure out who was trying to kill you?” I raised an eyebrow as he shoveled food into his mouth after he asked. His etiquette was as poor as his sensitivity on choosing an appropriate topic to talk about. He had completely no shame when asking, “Have you found any leads yet?”
“Yes, I am working on finding out who it was. No, I do not have any leads.” That was a lie. I did have a lead, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. He didn’t need to know. Luke was hesitant on letting him stay. Therefore, I told him I wouldn’t let Samuel take part in helping us. Though, I probably wouldn’t have regardless, still considering we only met a couple of days ago. Luke’s faith in me was extremely low at this point. It slightly stung that he thought I couldn’t judge people accurately, but I did internally smile at that too. I might have even laughed if Samuel wasn’t across from me.
“Alright.” He continued shoveling food into his mouth without a care in the world. Hm, at least it was quiet now. 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNP0OKOFGG2
