A princess who had not been exposed to the life of menial jobs such as working in the kitchen would look weird doing kitchen duties however, Halona was not that sort of a princess.
Having spent the majority of her years couped up in the Mansion, she took up cooking to busy herself and to spice up her boring life.
Halona had always been a lover of food and just to try out more delicacies, she spent her time searching for recipes that she would practice.
Of course, she only entered the kitchen in the absence of her parents. It was her nanny who taught her the basics of cooking while she learned the rest on her own.
She could proudly say that her culinary skills were on par with top chefs around the continent. She was well versed in most traditional, Western, and Eastern delicacies.
It was no wonder that she was slightly chubbier than the other ladies in her social circle but she did not care about this. Most have ladies would rather be her friend because of their parent's wealth and influence rather than be her enemy. A fleshy skin does not matter at all.
Halona watched her hands under the rushing water and wore a pink apron she just bought. She picked a knife and skillfully diced the carrots first.
She took the onions that had been soaked in water and sliced them into a ring shape. Picking up the cabbage, she watched the vegetable and cut it. Her speed was not one that a novice could imitate.
She put all the vegetables in separate bowls and picked the chicken breast. She placed it on the cutting board. She cut out a small portion of the meat and diced it in cube shapes.
She put the chicken in a bowl and added seasoning to it. She prepared a simple pot of beef soup before she began stir-frying the vegetables.
She flipped the vegetables in the pot in midair in a perfect motion. Slowly, the kitchen was covered in a mouth-watering aroma. The smell spread into the other parts of the small house.
Halona peeled the bananas, cut the apples and pineapples. She dumped the fruits into a juicer squeezing out all its fruity liquid.
The combination of the three fruits gave a sharp fruity smell of mild color. She poured the juice into a jug, added a few drops of lemon juice and mint flavor before putting it away in the refrigerator to cool.
Her hands moved fast as she walked and now, her forehead was covered in perspiration. Thankfully, she was used to working in the kitchen for so long.
For dessert, she baked a chocolate cake with almond toppings. Finally, she scooped out rice from the rice cooker. Everything was steaming and it was time to set the table.
Actually, the small house only had a small sitting room, a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and a small bedroom. There was no space allocated for dining.
Halona noted this before and already made preparations for that. She created a small area close to the kitchen and set up her dining. A wooden round table with three dining chairs of its kind. That was enough for her and her dearest roommate.
She set the table herself placing the dishes side by side. She placed a plate for herself and Camry with a new set of cutlery by the side.
"Phew!" She pats her lap like a tired woman. Her work was half done. She walked away from the dining table and headed to the room.
Seeing that Camry was still asleep, she raised her brows. She had worked for almost two hours so she was rather shocked to still see Camry sleeping peacefully without a sign of waking up.
She stared at Camry's glowing face that was covered halfway with her hair, she felt a strong urge to run her fingers across the delicate face.
Looking at Camry's face made her think of the intricate flower vases made of high-grade Jade that were in different corners of the Mansion she lived.
So smooth and fragile, pleasing to the eyes. Such was Camry face. It was pleasing to the eyes. Halona was envious of such a face that was like a porcelain doll, it even pained her more that she could not touch it.
She wondered what Camry's cheek would feel like. Probably a steamed bun, right? Because she could only guess and not feel the real thing, Halona harrumphed and walked to the side of the room.
She removed the clothes she wore and threw them in a laundry basket. She was not the neatest lady but she also could not stand the sight of dirt. The smell of perspiration on the clothes she wore to cook already made them dirty.
She took a pink towel from the cloth hanger and tied it around her body. She walked into the bathroom. The bathroom was not as it used to be, the previous bathroom was just plain with an old bathtub.
It was decorated with some nameless bathing soap bottles and shampoo. She had everything changed. She brought in a new set of her rare bathing soap and body treatment materials. A new tub was installed, a mirror that covered half of the wall of the bathroom was fixed.
With so much work that was done in the house that day, it was such an unbelievable feat that Camry did not show signs of waking. Halona could not just believe the sort of heavy sleeper her roommate was. How easy it would be to abduct her.
Halona stepped into the tub and soaked her body in the bath that was filled with the alluring smell of rose-scented liquid soap. She washed her hair, her fingers soothingly massaging her scalp.
She reminiscences when she was in the mansion, the ladies who waited on her in the bath would always give her a head massage. Who knew there was a day she would do that for herself. She chuckled in delight.
Feeling refreshed once again, she climbed out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her body. She returned to the room. Dearest Camry was still fast asleep. At this point, Halona panicked.
But when she noticed the movement of Camry's chest as it heaved up and down which was a sign of her breathing, Halona relaxed. The sleepyhead was still alive.
She dried her hair first before finding a simple cloth to wear. Dressed in a yellow free gown, she walked to Camry's side.
It was high time the sleeping lady woke up, she thought.
On reaching Camry's side, Halona realized she had no idea how to wake a sleeping person, especially when the person was Camry!
She gently sat on the bed and poked Camry's face before withdrawing her finger in a fast movement.
No response. There were no signs of waking up.
Halona tried again, this time, she poked harder but still no response, there was not even a movement whatsoever in Camry's body. She just lay on the bed like a log of wood.
A second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh time! Still, the lady was asleep. Halona became furious. How could anyone sleep carelessly like that!
She jabbed Camry by the side twice. But the lady was still sleeping. This time, Halona could not hold it in anymore.
"Hey you!" she snapped while she poked Camry's face. The fair skin had slightly turned red from Halona's continuous poking.
"Wake up! Do you not hear me? Are you a wood? A block of wood is even better than you are! Are you even listening to me? No, I see that you are still sleeping and won't answer me! You— is this how you behave as a host?!
Hey, wake up! You have been asleep for five hours, are you sure you ain't dead yet? Do you realize I prepared a seven-star rated meal for you? You know you are supposed to treat me since I am the visitor... Camry! How can you treat a princess so poorly?!
Argghhhh! You are terrible, so.. so annoying! I—I just can't hate you but if you don't wake up now, I promise you that I'll—I'll..."
"Noisy" a cold voice sounded, immediately the voice was heard, the atmosphere of the room dropped.
"Arrgghhh! You— you're awake! Why do you have to give me a scare like that? I almost died just now!" Halona who had almost jumped out of the bed when she heard the voice regained her momentum when she realized it was Camry who spoke.
"..." Camry looked down at the person sitting on her bed with a raised brow. She had no word to waste so she sat up without saying anything.
Halona pouted with a wronged expression. She looked at Camry who had already looked away from her. She noticed how Camry looked down on her a moment ago.
Camry who was just waking up and sitting on the bed in her underwear eluded a superior aura. Halona did not know why but she had always felt inferior to Camry even though it had only been a few hours, she still felt that way.
If she had not seen how Camry lived, she would have thought the latter was royalty...
Halona shook her head and waved off the troublesome thoughts. She scoots closer to Camry. Camry noticed her drawing closer and threw her a questioning look.
"Hurry and get up! I made dinner.... wait, it isn't evening yet. Whatever, I prepared a meal for us and it will grow cold if we stay here longer! Take a bath and let's go!" Halona remembered the main reason she wanted to wake Camry and voiced.
Camry initially wanted to push the clingy girl away from her because she hated people getting close to her. However, when she heard the happiness in Halona's voice and the smile on her face, she changed her mind. She was about to give a response when...
"hehe... moved eh?" a sarcastic voice rang in her head causing her expressionless face to morph into a slight frown.
"Shut up!" Camry coldly remarked.
Unknowingly, she rebuked the nosy voice in her head loudly. Halona thought it was her that was being rebuked. She shivered and appeared tensed. Then she stood up and maintained a distance.
"Sorry, I— I will just wait in the living room then!" She uttered and without waiting for a response, she ran out of the room.
Camry watched the disappearing figure without any expression. She looked distracted at that moment until she heard the voice again.
"Ah... this is going to be fun now... hehe"
Camry pinched the space between her brows, she ignored the voice and looked around, she saw the change in her room. She only raised a brow and did not show much surprise. It was as if she already expected the change.
She climbed out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She saw the changes in the bathroom also. Her fingers pinched the knot on her towel.
"Tsk... troublesome"