We'd been riding for hours when the Duke and Duchess decided they needed a break. Not just any break, a break at a "suitable" establishment. I was thinking maybe they'd settle for a nice roadside tavern, something with decent food and a place to rest their pampered feet.
But no, they wanted a fancy restaurant, and not just any fancy restaurant the most expensive one in the entire damn region. I could practically hear the coins slipping out of my pocket.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I muttered under my breath as we pulled up to the place. The building was ostentatious, a towering structure with gilded doors and velvet ropes. The kind of place where a single meal could bankrupt a small kingdom.
Cassandra, who had been trailing along with that annoyingly charming smile of hers, looked at me with a mix of amusement and curiosity. "What's wrong, Ciara? Not your kind of place?" she teased, her voice dripping with mock innocence.
I shot her a glare that could have melted stone. "If it were up to me, I'd have us eating on the road with a campfire. This is just—" I threw up my hands, at a loss for words. "It's fucking ridiculous."
But of course, the Duke and Duchess insisted. They had already made up their minds, and I wasn't in the mood to argue not because I agreed with them, but because I was pretty sure I'd say something that would get me fired from this stupid mission.
I wasn't particularly attached to it, but I wasn't ready to face the consequences of abandoning it either.
The waiter greeted us with an exaggerated bow, his nose in the air as if he could smell the difference between money and... me. "Welcome to Le Château du Gourmet," he intoned, his voice dripping with the kind of pretension that made me want to punch him. "May I show you to your table?"
I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to tell him exactly where he could shove his table. Instead, I followed the Duke, Duchess, and Cassandra inside, grumbling under my breath the entire way.
The interior was even worse than the outside. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling like glowing stalactites, and the tables were covered in white linen, adorned with silver cutlery that looked like it hadn't been touched by human hands only by those of elves, perhaps.
Every corner of the room screamed wealth, from the polished marble floors to the delicate glass sculptures that lined the walls.
We were seated in the center of the room, of course, because nothing screams "I'm better than you" like taking up space in the middle of an already obnoxious establishment. I sat down, trying to hide my discomfort as I looked around at the other patrons. Rich people. Spoiled, entitled, insufferable.
The Duke and Duchess were in their element, chatting with the waitstaff like they were old friends. Cassandra, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying my discomfort far too much. She leaned in closer, her voice low and teasing. "Relax, Ciara. It's just a meal."
"Just a meal?" I shot back, barely able to keep the venom out of my voice. "This isn't a meal. This is a fucking robbery in progress. Who the hell needs chandeliers above their heads when they eat?"
"Some people enjoy the finer things in life," Cassandra replied, her tone maddeningly calm.
I rolled my eyes, fighting the urge to flip the table over. "Finer things, my ass. We're supposed to be escorting these people, not indulging in their every whim. This is a waste of time."
"It's just a break," Cassandra said, clearly amused by my growing frustration. "Besides, look at it this way, you get to enjoy the best food money can buy."
I snorted. "I'd rather eat dirt."
The waiter returned with a menu that was more like a book, each page filled with dishes that sounded more ridiculous than the last. "For your first course, may I suggest the foie gras with truffle-infused caviar?" he suggested, his tone as pretentious as the restaurant itself.
I stared at him, wondering if he was serious. "Foie what?"
"Foie gras," he repeated, clearly struggling not to roll his eyes. "It's a delicacy."
"I don't care if it's the last piece of food on earth," I snapped. "I'm not eating anything that sounds like it came from a science experiment."
The Duke cleared his throat, giving me a look that said, *Please don't embarrass us.* But I wasn't about to let this go. "You do realize we're supposed to be on a mission, right?" I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "Not sitting here stuffing our faces with overpriced crap."
"This is necessary," the Duchess replied, her tone condescending. "We need our strength for the journey ahead."
"Strength? From foie gras?" I threw my hands up in disbelief. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Cassandra, ever the diplomat, tried to defuse the situation. "Ciara, just relax and enjoy the meal. It won't kill you."
I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. "It might. Especially when I see the bill."
The meal was a nightmare. Every dish that was brought out looked more inedible than the last. Tiny portions of food were arranged on oversized plates like some sort of abstract art, and every bite felt like it was designed to make me angrier. The Duke and Duchess were in their element, of course, chatting away like this was their everyday life. Cassandra was clearly enjoying my discomfort, which only made me more irritated.
By the time we got to dessert—a concoction of chocolate and gold leaf that looked more like a sculpture than something edible—I was about ready to flip the table and walk out. The only thing stopping me was the thought of having to explain to Leora why I had abandoned the mission.
When the waiter finally brought the bill, I nearly choked. "A million gold coins?!" I shouted, slamming my hand on the table. "For this shit?"
The Duke and Duchess looked at me with disapproval, but I didn't care. Cassandra raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my outburst.
"Is there a problem, madam?" the waiter asked, his tone infuriatingly calm.
"Yeah, there's a problem," I snapped. "This is highway robbery. You're charging us a million gold coins for what, a few scraps of food and some overpriced wine?"
"It's not just the food, madam," the waiter replied, his voice dripping with condescension. "You're also paying for the experience."
"The experience?" I laughed, the sound harsh and humorless. "The only experience I've had here is getting ripped off."
The waiter's expression didn't change, but I could see the irritation in his eyes. "If you are dissatisfied with the service, you are welcome to take it up with management."
I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing. "You can bet I will. And if I ever see you again, it'll be too soon."
With that, I tossed a handful of gold coins on the table nowhere near enough to cover the bill, but I didn't care. Let them chase us down if they wanted more. I was done with this bullshit.
"Come on," I growled at the Duke and Duchess. "We're leaving. Now."
The Duke opened his mouth to protest, but one look at my face had him snapping it shut. The Duchess didn't look happy, but she followed without a word. Cassandra, on the other hand, was practically glowing with amusement.
"That was quite a performance, Ciara," she said as we walked out of the restaurant.
"Shut up," I muttered, not in the mood for her teasing.
Cassandra chuckled, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "I didn't know you had such strong feelings about fine dining."
"I have strong feelings about wasting time and money," I shot back. "And that was the biggest waste I've ever seen."
"Relax," Cassandra said, her tone annoyingly calm. "It's over now. Let's just focus on the mission."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger still simmering in my chest. She was right, of course. The mission was what mattered. I could deal with these spoiled nobles and their ridiculous demands later. For now, I needed to keep my head in the game.
But damn, if I didn't want to punch something. Preferably something expensive.
As we stormed out of that godforsaken place, I couldn't help but feel the anger bubbling up inside me. I mean, who in their right mind spends a million gold coins on a single meal? It was beyond absurd. My jaw was clenched so tight I thought my teeth might shatter, and every muscle in my body was coiled, ready to snap.
"I don't give a damn if I'm a princess," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "I'd never spend money like that. Not in a million fucking years." The thought of all the better ways that money could be used training soldiers, building defenses, hell, even feeding an entire village made me sick to my stomach.
Cassandra, walking beside me, shot me a sideways glance. "Still hung up on that bill, huh?"
I stopped in my tracks, turning to face her. "Damn right I am! I've seen entire battalions survive on less than that for months. Just because I'm royal doesn't mean I have to act like those spoiled bastards."
She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my outburst. "Well, at least you've got your priorities straight."
"Damn straight," I snapped, shaking my head as we continued onward. "Some people just don't know the value of gold."