The next morning, Adi was up bright and early, earlier than even the staff. He got dressed and headed down to the kitchen.
"It's been so long since we've both had a noble's breakfast."
He grabbed an apron hanging on the wall and started looking through the kitchen ingredients to see what he could prepare, gathering sole fish, eggs, leeks, an assortment of fruits and cheeses, and a few other ingredients, and started preparing breakfast for Damia and himself.
He started by dressing the sole fish, as it would take the longest. He dressed it with vinegar, white wine, salt, a bit of cinnamon, some cloves and sweet herbs. Then he prepared two omelets with herbs, followed by preparing a drink of white wine, honey, and sage, and adorning the plate with the fruits and cheeses.
"It still needs something sweet to wrap it all up."
He looked around and found a currant cake.
"Perfect! That's Damia's favorite!"
He took two slices and then put all the food together on a serving tray. Walking with care, he took the tray to Damia's room, and prompted the guard standing just outside to get the door for him.
Damia was still asleep so he set the food down on the dresser next to her bed. Being a sound sleeper, Damia was not disturbed by any of the sound he made coming in, so he had to verbally wake her up.
"Damia, I don't care if you want to sleep in for the rest of the day, but I'm starving and I'm not going to wait for you to start eating. And don't get mad if I eat both servings of currant cake."
"Don't you dare touch my cake!" Damia finally woke up, groggy, but now her only thought was to eat the food that Adi brought for her.
"Adi... Did you make all this? It looks amazing! As maid and servant, we weren't allowed to have the nobles' food. Only during royal events, and even then, we avoided it out of fear for how the King would react." Her mouth started watering as she looked at all the food. "And we definitely were not allowed to eat sole."
"I had a feeling you would like this. Hurry and wash up so we can eat. I was kidding, I'll wait for you, but not long."
Damia grinned and got up from the bed to wash up.
When she returned, Adi had set out his portions on the dresser and had hers still on the tray.
"Why are you just standing at the door, hurry up and sit back down on the bed to eat. I'm hungry!"
"Alright, alright, don't need to rush me."
She sat back in the bed and he placed the tray in front of her. The first thing she wanted to eat was the fish so she took a piece.
The juices of the sole filled her mouth and she could hardly contain her excitement as the taste of the spices mixed with the fish and danced on her tongue, making her sigh in satisfaction. The dates in the assortment of fruits caught her eye next, its sweetness pairing well against the salty, bitterness of the fish.
"Try the omelet next. I left its flavor more mellow to balance the other dishes and act as a reprieve for your tongue, resetting your taste buds so that each subsequent bite of the other dishes is enhanced."
Damia tried the omelet as Adi suggested and was not disappointed. The eggs had been prepared with spinach, oregano, fennel, parsley, and a little fresh cheese, all coming together and creating a magical aroma. The smell alone was intoxicating; the taste took Damia to paradise.
Adi had always cooked their meals, but they were limited to the foods of the lower class. If they ate fruits, it was apples. If they ate fish, it would be whale since the nobles found its meat to be indigestable, no matter how long it cooked. And pastries of any kind did not exist for them. If someone had asked them what it was like to eat like a noble, any explanation they gave would not have done this moment justice as they simply couldn't remember. It had been far too long and their situations wouldn't allow a reminder.
Even if they would have to give this up again after the Marquis' departure, Damia planned on enjoying every savory bite of this moment because she had no guarantee that it would last. But with each morsel she ate, she was meticulous in engraving each unique flavor to memory so that this meal could be immortalized.
Adi and Damia continued through their meal, discussing the flavors, and fond memories of eating together like this when they were younger. The meal they shared had been more than just a meal. It was a flag, symbolizing a change in their fate, and an opportunity to reconnect as princess and companion, leaving behind responsibility and manual labor, all for the sake of a king that did not want them.
Finishing the last bite of the fish, Adi had cleaned his plate, leaving only the slice of cake. He looked at the tray on Damia's lap and noticed that she had done the same.
"Leaving the best for last?" he questioned her, with a smile that warmed his face, and her heart.
"Don't I always?"
He took the cake off the tray, handing it to her. Then he put the empty dishes on the tray and rested it all on the dresser, picking up his own cake to eat it next.
"I didn't make this one, so don't blame me if it's not perfect."
"If you didn't bake it, the head chef probably did and his currant cake is always scrumptious."
"Or it could have been made by Paulina and she always skimps on the sugar and butter, leaving it dry and sour."
Damia scrunched her face remembering the time she first tried Paulina's currant cake.
"Then you take a bite first."
Adi laughed, but he didn't hesitate in taking the first bite. Damia waited patiently for a response to know if it was safe to eat hers as well, but never received one.
"Well?"
"I don't really know. I think maybe you should try it. Your taste buds are better than mine when it comes to cake," he teased.
"Oh, you're absolutely horrid. Fine, I'll try it."
Damia took a bite and found she couldn't really place it either. It wasn't the full body cake that the head chef prepares, but it wasn't Paulina's cake either. She took another bite.
"I thought you were just playing with me, now I see you were half telling the truth," she said in all seriousness.
Adi laughed, "Of course I was telling the truth. How could you doubt your companion?"
They both finished eating their cakes and washed it down with the remainder of their wine.
"Alright, I think that's enough sustenance to get us through the grueling training we'll have to endure with the grandmaster. You still have the livery he provided to you before, right?"
"Yes, I still have it. I'll change while you take the dishes back to the kitchen to be washed."
"Alright, I'll meet you here when I'm done and we can meet with the grandmaster together."