IVRET
I stopped outside the guard's room in the westernmost tower, eavesdropping.
"I'd love to know that, Zorge," I heard Arika's voice. Something about how she'd said Zorge's name sent a bolt of jealousy through my body. I clenched my jaw, fuming.
"Well, that'd come at a cost," Zorge returned. The suggestive tone of his voice was unmistakable. I wanted to storm inside the room and drag Zorge out for the duel we constantly postponed.
I wanted to defeat him and claim my rights to the female, but Zorge was doing what he was best at— trickery and manipulation. It fuelled my anger.
"What cost?" Arika asked, her voice softer than ever. I clenched the tray and turned around the corner to finally enter the room. I spotted Zorge sitting on the cot while Arika was leaning close to him. Seeing the two so close made the jealousy burn more intensely in my chest, which surprised me.
Zorge had nothing worth being jealous of, yet here I was... plotting to kill him for being close to that female. I didn't want him anywhere near her.
It was because of the female. I... was fascinated by her. It felt odd admitting this to myself.
"I want to see your—"
"I've brought your supper, Arika," I interrupted before things could progress further between them.
"Thank you!" Arika tore her gaze from Zorge and focused on me, instantly dampening my jealousy. Zorge's frustrated growl made me feel even better.
I went to the cot and set the tray in front of Arika. She was beaming at me, and it almost made me want to smile back at her. She hadn't beamed like this for Zorge, which made me feel smug about it.
However, as soon as she looked at the food, the colour from her face drained. She covered her mouth and nose.
"What's that?" She asked, looking somewhat disgusted by the food. I frowned at her.
"It's fresh seal meat. I carved it just a few moments ago, and that's seaweed soup. You should try that. It's great," I told her, pushing the plate closer to her.
"Why isn't the meat cooked? Heck! There's blood all over it!" She shrieked, moving further away. I looked at Zorge, confused. He was equally confused by her reaction.
"Blood means fresh, so why would you cook the seal meat? It's best fresh and uncooked. Cooking will destroy half the nutrients," I told her, and she shook her head.
"I get the whole eating raw for the nutrients thing, but there's enough mercury in the seal meat to kill me," Arika said, covering her nose. "And it smells so bad. How do you even eat it?"
"Like this," Zorge tossed a piece in his mouth, chewed it effortlessly, and I shrugged at her.
"You've never eaten seal meat before?" I asked her. "It's the best,"
"No, it's not!" She snapped. "I'm a sailor by profession. I've tried a lot of raw ocean creatures, and by far, the seal has been the worst! I almost got mercury poisoning. I'm not eating that!"
"So you belong to Sailor Class," Zorge commented, but I shook my head and ignored him. I was more concerned about Arika's qualms with food.
"You've got to try this one. One of our men caught it this morning. The seals taste better here," I offered her, but she looked obstinate.
"Even if it was, I'll die. I'm not a dragon. I'm a human," She said pointedly, fanning my irritation.
"What would you prefer to have then?" I asked her.
"Do you have something that will not kill me?" She asked.
"Will swordfish work for you?" I asked, mentally going through our food inventory. "We have some bear meat, too? Wait, is that what you were asking for?" I asked her, brightening up at the prospect of providing her what she wanted.
"That was beer. It's a drink, not an animal," she answered. "I prefer the swordfish but grilled."
"Why would you destroy a perfect fish by grilling it?" Zorge asked, sounding as baffled as I was.
"Have you ever tasted a grilled fish before? Do you even grill?" She asked, glancing at the two of us as if we were talking nonsense.
"Yes, we grill roots, but that's done strictly for medicinal purposes. Do you grill your food?" I asked. She fell silent and looked between the two of us.
"Where's the kitchen?" She asked after a pause. "Just hand me my fish, and I'll cook it myself. That'd do,"
"Are you sure you'll be able to cook after waking up after days?" I asked just to be sure. She looked ghostly and weak. I wasn't sure this would be a good decision, just like grilling a fresh fish.
"I need to do it, or else my stomach will digest itself," she said, and Zorge snorted. I crossed my arms on my chest and glared at her. I was in the kitchen carving the seal when I saw its stomach and realized that she didn't literally mean it. It was metaphorical, and I was too caught up with everything to think straight.
"I'll show you to the kitchen then," I said to Arika before hissing at Zorge, "And you're not going there,"
"Like you can stop me?" Zorge challenged. I'd have punched him in the face if there wasn't a human woman hawkishly watching every interaction of ours. I sneered at him and turned to her.
"Come," I said, extending my hand to her. She eyed it hesitantly for a moment and briefly glanced at Zorge. Meanwhile, I waited with my breath held. I wanted her to hold my hold. A touch would be enough for me to examine her vitals.
I was expecting her to draw her hand away, but she placed it in mine, and I felt the muscles on my neck loosen. Zorge ground his teeth audibly as I gently got her off the cot and led her out of the guard's room, feeling triumphant. Having Zorge follow us grudgingly made it feel like I was on a walk of victory.
"You're cold," I noted, leading her to the kitchen. I extended my focus on the touch and maintained it there, assessing her health. I frowned to myself when I didn't get much from her. "Why are you cold?" I asked, stopping abruptly and holding her wrist to check for her pulse. It was slightly lower than it should've been.
"I'm not a dragon," She shrugged, trying to take her hand off mine, but I held it firmly.
"I can't sense you," I muttered under my breath, feeling unsatisfied for not being able to get much from her. Maybe it had something to do with her being human. Or maybe she was good at shielding herself because there seemed to be something like a veil keeping me from tapping into her aura. "Are you... nothing," I decided not to ask her anything about it. She cast me a questioning look but said nothing more.
"This is the kitchen," I announced as we stepped into the giant kitchen in the northwestern wing. She stood beside me and looked around. Zorge stepped on the tail of my coat to make me trip and fall, but I was too used to his games to evade them.
"Wow, this place is big—what are those!" she asked, pointing to the fresh bear meat hanging on the wall.
"Bear meat. We caught it last night. We've hung it dry. It's best like that. Do you want that?" I offered.
"No, I'll stick with the swordfish," She said, "Can you let go of my hand?"
"No," I replied firmly. "It's for your safety," And I liked how it was pissing Zorge off. "That's the swordfish. You can eat it raw. It's good like that," I told her, nodding at the huge carcass hanging in the corner. The blood was still dripping from it, and it was fresh. I'd have helped myself to a fillet if I were alone in the kitchen.
"Err... Can I please grill it?" She asked.
"We don't have a grill in the kitchen," I told her. "You can put it on the fire,"
"No, that'd destroy the fish. Grilling is the way to go. If you have some metal rods or so, I can use them—"
"Didn't you have a grill in your study, Ivret?" Zorge said abruptly.
"Wait, you have a grill? But why is it in the study?" She asked me. Zorge was testing me this way.
"It's strictly for preparing medicine," I declared sharply.
"Well, food is medicine for hunger," Arika said.
"She's right. Let her grill the fish. It won't kill you," Zorge nudged.
"Please, Ivret. Can I use the grill in your study?" Arika asked, speaking the way she'd been speaking Zorge earlier. It ignited something inside me, and I decided that I liked it.
"Yes, let her have it. She needs to eat soon. Look how pale she looks," Zorge continued to press. He knew that I didn't like anyone fiddling with my stuff, and having a human woman cook a damn fish in my study on my most prized and enchanted grill was nothing less than blasphemy to me. Yet he continued to insist because he was looking for trouble, and I decided to give him some.
"Alright. You can use my grill, Arika," I told her, and she gave me a wide smile. It took Zorge a few seconds to realize this was working against him. "But you'd have to go to my study. Which means..." I turned to Zorge and spat in his face, "You can't be there."
~
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