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**Note from Author**
Hello! I'm on vacation this week and don't have time to write a full chapter. So instead, I'm going to write a cute little side story between Azul and Altan! I hope you enjoy!
Setting: Altan and Azul are choosing the food for their wedding. (Before they fought and before she left the Palace)
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I blinked at the oddly colored food in front of me then peaked over my plate at Altan who was watching me with expectant eyes. "Is this meat?" I asked.
Altan chuckled at my question like it was silly.
~But It's a real question!!~
I was told that we would be choosing the food for our wedding ceremony today. At first I was excited ~I'm a bit of a foodie~ in my past life, I knew where all the best restaurants in Seattle were. But in this life.... Maybe I'm not.... Because the first dish that was sat in front of me was a steaming pile of slightly-green slimy mush.
"uuuhhh, I'm not sure if I want this dish at the wedding." I finally said and pushed the plate away from me before eating any of it.
Altan's eyebrows pinched together, "But this is a traditional wedding food in Pani Rastra."
~But I'm not from Pani Rastra!~ I wanted to scream! ~I'm from Seattle! Where we eat cake at our weddings!~
"Well at least tell me what it is, then." I tried to sound composed but when Altan pushed the steaming food back in front of me I wanted to gag. The smell wafted to my nose and it was... ~what is a nice way to describe it? like poop.~
"It's fermented sheep's colon." Altan answered, and I waited for him to say he was joking... but he didn't.
"Oh." I responded and looked back at the food, attempting to not pinch up my face in disgust.
~Colon?! COLON?! like where the sheep stores it's poop!? NO WAY AM I EATING THAT!~
"So are you going to try some?" he asked.
~Why don't YOU try some?! Why am I the only one with cooked sheep-poop-holders on my plate?!~
I blinked and I swear I could see some crusty brown on one of the pieces of meat.
~NOPE!~
"No." I answered honestly and tried to seem calm.
Altan seemed to chuckle then, and he waved for one of the servants to take the food away. "What would you like to eat then?"
I sighed with relief as the sheep colon was removed from my sight then thought about Altan's question.
~What do I want to eat?~
My mind rushed to the food I often thought about in the middle of the night.
~I want to eat Pho, indomie, xiaolongbao, chicken wings, bagels, croissants, butter chicken, KBBQ, Tacos, Mac and Cheese. I want to eat everything that they don't have here. and everything I'll probably never eat again.~
I sighed audibly.
"What's wrong?" Altan asked.
~How can I tell him I want to eat something that probably doesn't exist on this earth?~
~Unless...~
"Could I use the kitchen?" I asked.
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They didn't have a lot to work with. Not nearly as much as I had hoped for. But they did have flour and that meant that I could make noodles and bread and pasta if I tried hard enough.
And after two hours of toiling away, Altan watching me with curiosity, and the kitchen staff staring at me wide-eyed cause someone of nobility even knew how to cook... I had made a cake.
I had no idea if it was good, it was probably only the second time in my life I had made a cake from scratch instead of using a box and I had a feeling that I might have forgotten a few important ingredients.
But at least it looked legit!
It was a plain yellow cake and I made icing out of figs that we seemed to have an abundance of in the kitchen.
"Where did you learn to make something like this?" Altan examined the cake with astonishment.
~From a Betty Crocker cookbook that my mom never used.~
"Erm, I don't know. It just seemed like it would be yummy." I shrugged.
Altan gave me a suspicious side-eye, "It looks more like food of the Air Mages than from Pani Rasta." He spoke as if thinking to himself.
"Well...." I tried to change the subject, "Why don't you try some!"
Altan looked at the cake again, "You spent a long time making this." He said.
"Yeah." I agreed, "And it's probably delicious!"
He chuckled, "You know, usually when someone puts this much effort into food, they offer it to the higher-ups."
I blinked at his words.
~The Higher-ups? Like people above me? wouldn't that be like Altan, his advisor, and other people like that?~
I nodded my head. It was probably a cultural thing. I knew in a certain countries in my past life it was important to serve the elders at the table before yourself, maybe this was a similar tradition... "Well, we should do that then." I told him.
"You want to offer it to the Higher-ups?" Altan seemed surprised.
"Yeah." I shrugged. "Why not?"
"Alright." Altan stood, "I will have Amah prepare the ceremony then."
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~I can't believe there is going to be a whole ceremony to let people eat my cake.... I sure hope it tastes good... I probably should have tried some before I committed to this. Well, it's too late now.~
Altan and I walked through the Palace and Dilera was beside me holding my cake. Altan seemed oddly proud of me since the moment I said I would offer my cake to the higher-ups. He held my hand tightly and guided me through the castle like I was the most talented women he had ever met.
~Maybe he's just excited to eat it. I sure hope there is enough left over for me to eat some...~
We entered a room of the Palace that I hadn't been to before, It was near to the dinning hall and the only noticeable feature of the room was a large fireplace in the middle. When we entered there were quite a few people in the room already waiting on us. I recognized Altan's advisor, Amah, and a few other faces, but most of the people were unfamiliar.
"My fiancé wishes to offer a sacrifice to the Higher-ups!" Altan announced when we entered the room. A bit of applause followed his words and people smiled at me widely.
~Sacrifice?~
My wide eyes met Dilera's, and I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, but she spoke first. "Everyone is very pleased that you've chosen to do this M'lady." She said, "It is a sign that you are truly faithful to our Duke and Ot Ulut."
I blinked.
~What does that mean? I thought I was just sharing some cake that I baked...~
Altan placed his warm hand on the small of my back, "Vohan will be very pleased." He spoke to me lowly, "And perhaps afterwards, we can sacrifice to Jala and have both of their blessings on our wedding."
~Vohan? Jala? like the gods? Wait...I'm giving my cake to the gods?~
"Wait-" I stopped myself short. Wouldn't it be rude to say I didn't want to do this all of a sudden? especially with all the people that gathered to watch?
So I kept my mouth shut and watched as Altan and I approached the giant fire pit in the middle of the room. He waved his hand over it and his eyes glowed as a fire lit in the center and burst to life.
"Here you go, M'lady." Dilera handed me the cake and I suddenly realized what I had to do with it.
I had to throw it in the fire.
~No! My cake! I worked so hard on it! I just wanted to eat something yummy that wasn't sheep's colon! Why did I agree to do this!?~
I looked over to Altan considering not throwing the cake in the fire, but when I looked at him he looked so freaking proud of me.
~ARRGGHH! fine!~
I closed my eyes and tossed the cake in. Immediately after, I smelled it burning, and when I opened my eyes I saw the icing melting off and the cake turning black.
~No!! my work of art!!~
I had at least hoped that the cake would magically disappear and I could believe that some fire god in the sky was enjoying eating it. Instead, I had to watch it go to waste in front of me.
"Azul." Altan took my hand, and I looked at him. "Are you crying?"
~YES! Cause you made me waste my beautiful cake!~