From Slave To Ruler

"Wake up. Food's ready." Heard Dalerus a delicate tone whispering in his ear. Feeling his shoulders being gently shaken for him to wake up. Isn't this what a lot of people aim for in life? To wake up in front of someone whose presence they treasure? Life is a true win if you are one of the lucky.

But as you might know yourself, be it from experience or from basic common logic. It isn't easy to wake up after pulling an all nighter, especially trying to wake up after less than an hour. You would be stiff as if you took sleeping pills and disoriented as if you spiraled down a gallon of Ale.

She had to shake him and gently ask for him to wake up, 4 times before he kind off heard her sweet delicate voice. Odd but not odd enough for him, he was dreaming about eating, inside his travelling Wagon when he heard "food" uttering from her. The dream just shifted to an eating scene and since he spent a lot of time in his Wagon, it feels like his home more than his actual home does. So it isn't a surprise for him to have this sort of dream in that specific place.

At her 7th call, her shakes got a little bit stronger of course. But none of which can be considered violent, none could cause damage. He was finally half awake but considerably conscious enough to notice his own surroundings, to notice who woke him up if not more.

Because even though he literally spend almost 24 hours with Z, you can't really be sure who is around you until you have some consciousness. Even when you do, you will need a few seconds for your brain to catch up. In the meanwhile, your brain will give you terrible ideas which you will forget about in mere seconds after you start working with more logic. "Ugh. Do we have to go there this early? How about after mid day?"

"We want to look professional if we are too convince Arthur. Rumour has it, his level of professionalism is on a high standard. We can't risk going there at the end of the school day!" Although she was right, that's not why she wanted to go there this early. Reasons behind her d.e.s.i.r.e to leave this place as soon as possible were numerous.

Well for one, she doesn't want to be in this shop anymore. Every second here is mostly filled with bad memories. An honorable woman wouldn't have a blast with a perverted fool running after her. Apart from that, other perverts visited this shop more because of her, giving here those l.u.s.tful looks, some even trying their luck.

Second, she wants to be around people who won't glance at her with l.u.s.t, have the capability to walk freely without trying to seem less attractive. And finally, she wanted to sleep without worrying about her own safety and sanity. She didn't want to admit that she preferred to show no weakness to anyone, even Dalerus! 

Who is your friend now, can be your enemy later. At least that's what she thinks. So she doesn't want to risk showing any weaknesses to anyone in general. If they don't know it, they can't use it against her.

Although, Dalerus has been performing perfectly both in the main task, showing her and her boundaries  respect in a wonderful extra mile, last but not least, looking and smelling nice. He sounds too good not to like really. But she still wants to take no further risks. She is already deep in it. Although, we can't say that her feelings towards Sir Dalerus are blank. Even if those feelings could be compared to nothing but a drop of water. 

Noticing how persistent Z was being about being there at 9 a.m. sharp, he decided to stop arguing about that topic since he clearly doesn't have the energy needed to do so. And decided to eat whatever food was giving this nose kissing aroma. "Alright alright. Where is the food? Maybe it will give me some energy."

"Oh it will!" She replied with confidence and pulled up a tray of food which she placed on the small chair, so she can wake up Dalerus. Afterwards she of course had to remove the cloth from the table so she can put the tray of food there. It isn't wise to put a tray on lumpy cloth after all.

When she lifted the tray, several meals were to be seen, each looking more delicious than the last, each having its own characteristic and uniqueness. Each as if prepared by a professional. But although not so known for her cooking, she is a professional!

Boiled Corn giving out a strong aroma and catching his attention first, shining golden yellow and seemingly still steaming. Little fried pieces of Venison(Deer meat) put in a small clay bowl. This little meat meal seemed like a side dish. They were bitesize after all, and they wouldn't be so filling. But without doubt they would stimulate your taste buds.

Thankfully, they didn't have small bones hidden in the meat either. That wouldn't mix well with a strongly sleepy man, plus the appetite could be slowed down if he had to pull a small bone out of his mouth with food he didn't swallow yet, still being inside. It wouldn't be so elegant either and can be Z's biggest trauma yet! These pieces of meat were easy to prepare, because they were small. Which allowed them to be cooked considerably well in the inside as well, enough to not be red and chewy.

Hawk meat however, was sliced into thin slender pieces. Not as thin as a single hair. But thinner than 1/5 of a finger's width, yes. It was clear that she used her extraordinarily sharp knife to achieve such slices. Nothing in the shop would be sharp enough to cut the slices this thinely. The slices although thin, they were a few inches long. Commonly around 3 inches. That would taste even better if rolled with fried Venison inside. Meat in meat. Two great tastes that taste great together.

A couple half a foot long slices of bread were on the tray as well, but since they took too much space from the 2 foot long and 1 foot wide tray, they were put a bit away from the main meals, but still on that same table. Although there were luxurious meals on the table, bread would still fill the belly. It's the cheapest ready food option you would find in any Domain. Bread is universal.

Several boiled eggs who were already peeled were on the tray too. Put in a small little wooden bowl, since it isn't the best idea to put them on a clay bowl considering that they are a little wet because of the time spent in boiling water. There were boiled potatoes on the tray too, they were also already peeled. Although a small act of kindness, the fact that she didn't want him to waste his few nerves peeling potatoes or eggs, shows her softer side. Although it might seem a little bit irrelevant, she is showing her gratitude.

Being shocked at the many choices of food in front of him, he couldn't help but asking. "You cooked all of these in an hour?"

Giving out a little smirk before she answered, "Half an hour actually, barely half an hour." And glanced on Dalerus' reactions. He desperately wanted to know how she cooked everything this fast, because just getting a Fire Going would take half of her claimed time, if she was lucky.

"I gotta hand it to you. You are overqualified at everything you do." Answered Dalerus giving a sleepy smile to both at her and the food. Two priorities in front of him.

Irresistible to not react to such genuine compliment, she swiftly gave out a little smile to that compliment and proceeded to sit down on the small chair. Considering that she was a bit shorter than Dalerus, her head is all he could see from his point of view. And he couldn't hold his laughter in because of it, luckily he didn't take a bite of food yet. Or he could either choke laughing or accidentally shower her with the food in his mouth. But apart from that, she looked really cute.

"Go ahead laugh it up." She knew that it was funny, and she didn't want to get offended over something so small. So she didn't. Dalerus did too many selfless things already for her to burst in anger over something so little and mood raising.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Not so loud you moron. Do you want to attract half of the Kingdom here?" Along with her little scolding, she wanted to smack Dalerus' head. But considering that she sat on that small chair, her hand couldn't reach his head at all. That made him laugh even harder. He laughed so hard that his face became red and he had trouble breathing.

While Z just sat with her arms crossed, feeling a little bit shy and embarrassed. But she still did enjoy his life full laugh. After a couple minutes, finally being able to stop laughing, he proceeded to say. "Relax, we can't be arrested for laughing."

"You have a point. I suppose it's an assassin's instinct." She answered as she grabbed a slice of Hawk Meat and gently bit it. She had so much class when she ate, that you would think she raises her pinky finger when she took a bite of meat. Instead of chewing like a wild boar, Which is common in these times where dental health is not a thing!

"I hope your cooking is as good as your speed." Afterwards he took a bite of fried hawk meat. Upon biting, he raised his head towards the ceiling and sighed in deep satisfaction.

The meat wasn't over fried, underfried, it wasn't too plump and a small crunchy taste was on the edges. Not crunchy enough to ruin the taste with overburdened feature though. It was like taking a bite of heaven. And since Hawk Meat tastes a little bit salty naturally, it made it taste even better.

"By the 3 Gods. This is heaven on a tray." Shouted Dalerus after he swallowed the bite. It is fair to say, the taste woke him up a little bit if not much.

Giving out a large delicate smile to his genuine compliment, and with a small little blush developing around her freckles, she proceeded to say. "Thank you!"