That night, Hope and I borrowed a small section of the palace's kitchen.
Gleaming orange crystals were hung at the ceiling, while the walls were painted in orange. There, about a dozen servants were busy preparing dinner at that time. Supposedly, it was for Gheele's meeting with his military officers that would be held in his throne room.
Hope brought the ingredients he needed beforehand and had placed it on the wooden counter. Tabetha was also there with us, monitoring our activities and helping the kitchen staffs at the same time.
"Hope, dear . . ." Jennifer touched Hope's right hand and he shivered from it.
"What the--Where do you come from?!" He pulled his hand away, slowly putting up a good distance from that woman.
"I just want to make sure you're doing fine." She flashed a thin smile at him, her eyes were gleaming with happiness.
"You must've put a spell on her, Hope," I said.
I picked up a spatula in a wok and tossed it in the air. Then, I caught it with one hand. I played with it as my eyes glanced at Hope and Jennifer.
He gulped. "D-Darling."
She gasped. "Yes, Dear?"
"Okay, this is not working. I thought it'll be easier, but it's harder right now than when I roleplayed the first time." He then let out a sigh, admitting his defeat.
Jennifer twirled a strand of her dark hair. "Don't worry. No matter how hard your life is, I'll never leave you."
"Great. Now, can you please leave me alone?" Hope gestured at the kitchen's exit.
She cupped Hope's face in her hands. "I'll come back for you."
He pushed her away and glared at her. "Enough is enough, Get away from me woman."
She lowered her head as she exited the kitchen, probably disappointed that Hope didn't want her.
"You think she's acting?" I finally said.
Hope caressed his forehead and sighed. "I don't know. It's just . . . Weird? Having someone so obsessed with you doesn't feel right, in any way."
"Maybe it's just for today. She's probably stressed out and took advantage of you."
He shrugged. "Could be. We will see if she's pretending or not."
"But I got this feeling . . ."
"Hmm." Hope rummaged through the bag of ingredients on the counter. "You think she's not pretending? I hope that's not the case. Would be bad to have someone like her to follow you everywhere. It could just be a short-term love that she's feeling towards me."
"Short-term?" I grabbed a large sealed packet of peanuts from the bag. Slowly, I poured its content into a bowl on the counter.
"Wait . . . Why are you putting those peanuts in that bowl?" Hope asked with a frown.
"Because it's tasty? I mean, we can just mix it inside the stir-fry," I replied.
"Uh-huh . . . Though, I'll prepare the ingredients first." He proceeded to pull out a few ingredients from the bag. Swiftly, he cut the veggies and chicken into smaller portion. He then placed a wok over a medium heat before setting it to high.
"Here you go, Ava. Just toss those chopped vegetables and chicken into the wok."
"Okay." I did as he said and threw the ingredients into the wok. After frying it over a few minutes, Hope helped me divide the servings into two bowls.
"That should be enough right?" I asked him.
"Yup."
We carried our own servings and sat down at a long, wooden table. I stabbed the chicken with my fork and ate it.
"Delicishious," I said as I shoved a handful of veggies into my mouth.
"Ava." Tabetha walked over to us and cast a worried look at me. "Don't eat all of it at once."
"Don't worry," I said after I swallowed the food. "Yeah . . . I'm fine."
She giggled. "Oh Ava . . . You're so cute."
"Of course she is," said Hope.
"I-I'm not. Hmph," I glanced at them as I continued to savor my serving of stir-fry.
After we had dinner, I quickly packed the leftover stir-fry into a polystyrene container. Hope and Tabetha looked at each other, confused by my hastiness in doing so.
"Where are you going Ava?" she asked.
"Ah . . . I'm going out for a few minutes." Without looking back, I went outside the kitchen. I held the container in my hands as I walked outside the palace.
"They should be around here somewhere," I mumbled. My legs took me into an alley not far from there and then an old couple came into view.
They wore tattered clothes, as they held out their hands for anyone wanting to donate money to them.
My heart was wrenched when I saw those two. I found them a few days ago when I strolled around the city by myself. At first, I was reluctant to donate to them, but I did.
And on that night, with the polystyrene container in my hands, I approached the old couple.
"U-Um, here you go. You can have this." I handed it to the old woman and she thanked me, followed by her husband.
I breathed a sigh of relief and then walked out of the alley.
"So that's why . . ." said Tabetha.
"Aaah!" I covered my mouth when she and Hope came into view.
Hope grinned. "Good job Ava."
Tabetha nodded. "I never doubt your kindness, lady Ava."
I rubbed my head, trying to come up with something to say. "Er, thanks. I just felt like it." I looked at Hope. "You're the one who inspired me to do it, Hope."
"I did?"
"Remember when you donated to that poor old lady back in Sweden?"
He shook his head. "I . . . Honestly don't remember that . . . Sorry."
Tabetha and I then laughed at him. Tabetha even hit him in the back hard, and he stumbled.
"That part of you never changes, Hope. Don't blame yourself if you can't remember it," I said.
"Anyway, let's head back . . . I don't feel well, actually," he said, with his hands on his stomach. "That sandwich . . . Must be the cause of this."
Tabetha and I laughed at him again before we went back to the palace.