Chapter 87: A Plate
Rhydian;
"You look happier." I hear one of the palace maids speak in the distance as I round a bend, and I’m about to take the next step when an elderly woman’s voice stops me.
"We’re finally getting the prince we prayed for. Why won’t I be happy?"
My brows crease, and I cautiously move towards one of the pillars. Peeking behind it, I see two women who are working on a tray of something.
One looks relatively young, and the other looks much older.
"You know... my daughter gave birth to an omega last month. I was planning on sending them away from here. Even though I don’t have the money, I was going to sell almost everything I have to make sure they get a better life." The elderly woman adds, and I listen in silence. Sticking to the shadows so I won’t be spotted.
"Where were you going to send them?" The young girl questions, and the elderly woman sighs.
"BeastHeaven. I heard King Wilhelm is a kind and just man. I know if my daughter and grandson are there, they’ll live fairly good lives. Here, I’d constantly have to worry about my grandson being found out by Alpha Liandria or what those disgusting Betas could do to him." She replies, and I swallow.
This kingdom... is such a terror to its people.
"You’re not going to send them away anymore?" The young girl questions, and I look over at the elder woman, who has bright black hair and our tribal tattoo on her cheek.
"Not anymore. I think there’s hope. Alpha Thydian seems like he’s going to usher in a new dawn for us. It’s such a relief." She replies, and my heart skips a beat.
"True. I must confess, it feels like I can finally breathe. That there just might be hope for us after all. He’s finally speaking up. That’s a good thing, is it not?" The young lady replies, and I listen in silence.
"Though I think this change is only because of that Omega of his. Before his omega, he never cared what happened to us." The lady adds, and her accusation pierces right through me.
"Ah! It’s not that he didn’t care. He just wasn’t brave enough to speak up. We are all victims of Alpha Liandria’s cruelty and tyranny, but let’s not forget that Alpha Rhydian always got direct burns from her heat. Her grip on him was always the tightest." The elderly woman speaks, defending me.
And although I do not know her... I feel grateful for it. At least some of my people don’t hate me.
"And we must thank that omega of his. It must take a very special boy to thaw Rhydian’s frozen heart and give him the courage to stand up to his mother. I must admit, I never thought I’d see such intriguing times." The woman adds, and a small smile splits my face.
"The power of love!" She exclaims with her hands in the air, and as she lifts her head, her face falls.
She’s seen me.
"Alpha!" She suddenly greets me as she rushes to her feet to bow at me, and the young lady does the same.
I smile at their clumsiness and simply wave a hand at them before folding my hands behind me and continuing my journey to the kitchen.
"It must take a very special type of boy to thaw Rhydian’s frozen heart and give him the courage to stand up to his mother."
The words replay in my mind, and for some reason, I can not stop my smile.
Special boy... He is a truly special boy.
A special little chaos of colours.
♡☆♡
"Alpha!"
"Good afternoon, Alpha!"
The greeting chorus with bows as I walk into the massive kitchen.
I take a deep breath as the aroma of freshly cooked meals fills my lungs.
A stout elderly man rushes over to me and bows so low I fear his back might break. Aldo, the head chef.
"Alpha Rhydian. It’s quite a shock seeing you here." He says, and I smile at him as he stands straight.
"You haven’t been here since you were a little boy coming in here to steal cookies against your mother’s wishes." He adds, and I chuckle lightly.
"And you always indulged me," I reply, and he grins at me.
"What brings you here?" He questions, and I sigh.
Tucking my hair behind my ear, I walk further into the kitchen.
"I need a plate," I reply, and he nods in confusion.
"Of?" He questions, and I shake my head.
"Just a plate. An empty one. I’ll make it myself." I reply, and he blinks at me in silence.
"You... You’ll make it yourself?!" He repeats, and I stare at him.
"Yeah?"
"Do... No disrespect, Alpha. But... Why do you? I mean, do you know how to...?" He begins, and I cut him off before walking over to the massive pot in the corner hanging over the fire.
"It’s just one plate, Aldo. I can make it. Now get me one, and hurry." I reply, and he sighs before rushing off.
He comes back with a massive silver plate and gives it to me.
I take it from him, and pause as I start replaying images of probably every meal I’ve ever eaten.
Now, how exactly were those plated??
There’s a bowl for... soup.
I look into the pot behind me, and the aroma of fresh Hearthboar stew makes my mouth water.
I grab the spoon and.
"Careful, Alpha. That’s hot!" Aldo warns, but it’s too late.
I pour the soup into the silver bowl, and the heat licks my skin in vicious mockery.
I lose my grip and the soup ends up pouring on the back of my hand before falling to the ground.
"Goodness!!" Aldo exclaims before rushing up to me as well as the other cooks in the kitchen, but I raise a hand to stop them.
"I’m fine", I lie as I vigorously shake my hand as if hoping to dust the biting pain off.
One of the cooks brings me a bowl of water for me to dip my hand in, and another starts cleaning the mess on the floor, and as they work, even I do not believe the words that leave my mouth.
"Bring me another plate."
******
Elián;
My stomach growls again, and I hold on to it in annoyance.
"Will you shut up, you act like we haven’t eaten in years!" I scold my stomach as if it were an independent entity, and as if it understands me, it grumbles in response.
I let my head roll back in exhaustion.
"Where is Rhydian??" I whimper with hunger biting away at my patience, and suddenly, the door to my room opens.
I sit up, and I feel my eyes come alive as I see Rhydian in the doorway with a tray in his arms.
I fold my legs in front of me as I stare at him excitedly.
He walks in and shuts the door behind him. However, as he walks in, my smile drops.
He looks like he just returned from a gruesome 9-5 job.
I watch as he walks over to the bed, sits in front of me and sets the tray of covered food in front of me; however, I can’t put my focus on the tray right now.
"Are you alright?" I question as I reach forward and feel his forehead with the back of my hand.
"Yeah. I’m fine... the kitchen was just too hot." He replies, and I blink at him curiously as I slowly sit back down.
"Come on. You should eat before the food gets cold." He says as he uncovers the food, and I freeze at the MESS in front of me.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the cardiac arrest Gordon Ramsay would have if he saw this plate.
I look up at him through my lashes in disbelief. Even a five-year-old would plate better than this.
He truly has no domestic knowledge, does he??
His hopeful expression falls, and I’m forced to fix my face.
"It’s that bad?" He whispers, and from just that line, I can tell the effort he put into making this for me.
I stare back down at the bowl of messily poured soup, the plate of roughly cut up and disastrously garnished grilled fish, two messy mounds of rice and some sort of vegetable salad with another small bowl of berries as well as a cup of milk and another of water.
"I...I tried to make it as neat as I could. It’s just..." He begins, and a smile I can not fight splits my face.
"Thank you," I whisper, and he blinks at me with his mouth agape.
It is a mess, I’ll admit. A Disastrous one at that... but then again... it reminds me of when I was eight and tried to make pasta for my mom for Mother’s Day.
I spent hours on that meal, and she didn’t even so much as look at it.
I watched the plate spend hours on the dining table till it went as cold as a dog’s snout. I know how it feels to put so much effort into something and not get appreciated for it. I won’t do that to him.
"Who cares if it’s neat or not? Food is food." I say with a shrug as I reach for one of the fish and tear a piece off it with my hands.
I place the piece of fish in my mouth and as the flavour explodes on my tongue, I almost orgasm.
"It tastes so good!" I exclaim as I chew, and Rhydian just smiles at me.
"Here, try some!" I say as I hold out the piece in my other hand to him, and he blinks at me.
"Go on!" I urge, and he stares at my hand for a few seconds before opening his mouth.
His warm tongue brushes my fingers as he takes the fish, and a shiver runs down my spine, freezing me in place as I stare at him.
"Mmm. It tastes better from your hands." He says, and I swallow the food in my mouth as I stare at the man before me.
A warm, fuzzy feeling erupts in my chest and stomach, and I look away from him.
Why does he say things like that!?
Why is he acting so differently?
Is something wrong with him?
What’s wrong with him??