Alternate Dream

11. Curiosity

"So where are we headed today?" Nina asked Fulton as they began walking down the hall, away from her door. He had escorted her to various sites around the palace a few times over the past week, the other two days a female guard had escorted her around for an hour or so.

"I think it would be best to simply show you."

"A surprise?" She smirked at him.

"Yes, it would seem so." He smiled at her. "Do you like surprises?"

"Yes! They're so exciting!"

He raised a brow at her enthusiasm. "I hope I don't disappoint you."

"Oh, even the smallest of surprises can be wonderful. It doesn't have to be anything grand or elaborate. Like when my Dad would surprise us with Chinese food for supper." She felt her mouth watering at the memory, then her smile faded and she slowed her pace.

"What's wrong?" Fulton matched her pace and turned to face her.

"I just realized you likely don't have any food like that here. Man am I going to miss sweet and sour chicken.... General Tso's... fried rice... and oh my gosh, dumplings!" She grabbed his arm and fully stopped walking now. "Do you have anything at all similar to a dumpling?! It's like carrots and onion and cabbage and shrimp or pork inside of this thin dough, I think it's boiled, I'm not even sure." She furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought before she gasped. "Do you even have seafood here?! Shrimp? Crab legs? How far are we from the ocean? The sea?"

He chuckled at her. "There is a sea east of here, almost six days of travel."

"Oh no, you'd never get fresh seafood here then without refrigeration." She frowned.

"We do have fish that we catch in lakes and rivers that are closer."

"Oh!" She perked up. "Well at least there's that."

He motioned for her to continue walking. "As for the rest of the items you mentioned, I will have to introduce you to one of the cooks."

Nina let out a chuckle. "I can try to describe it to them. But if it's not something they already know how to make, it'd be a lost cause. I'm a terrible cook, I wouldn't be able to help them figure out how to make anything. It's too bad my sister isn't here, she's an amazing cook." She smiled sadly.

"I'm sure you miss her."

"That's an understatement." Nina chuckled. "We've never been apart for more than a couple days, and even then, we checked in over the phone." She glanced at Fulton, realizing he wouldn't have a clue what she was talking about. "We have phones that let us communicate with people from great distances. I would even be able to call Xander, all the way back at his station."

"That is quite the invention. Your home seems to be very different from ours."

"Oh, it is now. Here it's like I stepped back into our history books from a few hundred years ago."

"Interesting." Fulton stated as he continued leading them through the palace. After several moments of silence he opened a door and motioned for her to enter. "Here we are."

Nina smiled at Fulton and then paused before she entered. "The surprise is in there?" He nodded. "Should I close my eyes?"

"Close your eyes?"

"Yeah, close my eyes so I can be inside when I open them for the big reveal."

Fulton's lips turned up in a smile as he simply looked at her. "Very different cultures indeed. Very well, close your eyes if you wish."

Nina closed her eyes and held out her hands. "Now, guide me in and when I'm in position, let me know when to open them."

Fulton did as told and guided her inside. "Wait here." He said and let go of her. She heard large curtains being opened and after a few moments Fulton's voice came from further away. "You can open your eyes."