First Meal Together

The foreign Queen came to find out very soon from her new keepers, how much they were threatened by the King in the weeks leading up to her arrival. It annoyed Asora deeply because she knew the possibility of people hating and fearing her now was high, and all because of his unreasonableness.

Unreasonableness, She thought. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

"So is he always in a bad mood?" The Queen asked as she followed her new keepers, Narae, Mi-Hi, and Hana down the hallway.

Always, they simultaneously thought in their heads, but Mi-Hi was the one to answer, "The King is a great protector and leader, so he is bound to have many emotions. Also, we, girls, are new to the palace so we don't know his temperament really."

Asora's original keepers Kimora, Jasmine, and Shanise looked at each other unamused by her answer before looking ahead. Asora frowned, "I guess I'm going to have to earn your trust."

All 3 of the native ladies froze, causing everyone else to stop behind them, slowly the ladies in front turned to the Queen, "We didn't mean to offend you." Mi-Hi squeaked.

"What offense did you commit? If you told the truth I do not see an issue," The Queen spoke, unknowingly the girl's shoulder dropped with relief. "However, half-truths are still lies, King Tae-Han may be a great leader and protector, but judging by his few moments of anger and impatience, he is not that much of a kind man. Is he?"

None of the ladies spoke rather they all looked like they were about to cry, "Is he really that bad?" The Queen asked.

Kimora swiftly stepped forward and brought her lips closer to her Queens's ear, "If they are this scared it's for a reason, it may be wise to ease off the topic. Yes, I am just as suspicious and concerned about their fear of this King as you are, but they look as if they are about to faint."

Asora nodded in understanding before giving her full attention back to them, "My apologies for asking such questions, I think I have overstepped and made you uncomfortable." The native ladies were about to object, but Asora put her hand up. "How about you all walk with these ladies behind me? You can talk more and I'll head to the dining hall. I fear I am rather late, and don't want to upset anyone else. Also maybe you will feel more comfortable."

"But the King expects us to help you," Na-rae said.

"That is correct, but my keepers help me with things like gossiping, helping me decide what to wear, and so on. I think you guys taking me to a dining hall is a little much, I mean, are you eating with the King and I?"

"No," The three of them said swiftly.

Asora laughed, "So why waste your steps and time? Go and enjoy yourself, all come get you if I need you."

The ladies still look hesitant causing Jasmine and Shanise to sigh, "Let's go." They said as they grabbed the native girl's hand and began to pull them away from Queen.

"But," Hana rebutted.

"No more buts, come on and show us around this palace." Jasmine smiled.

"And maybe we could even see some of the soldiers too," Shanise giggled earning a small smile from Mi-Hi.

"Now don't go causing mischief," The Queen playfully scolded.

Kimora nodded her head, "I'll watch them." And with that, the new keepers were dragged away from her, but as they turned the corner Asora forgot to ask where was the dining hall.

Asora chuckled. "I guess I have my own adventure to complete."

For a while, she took many lefts and rights down hallways, but right as she was about to walk back to her room, she got a whiff of something delicious. With her button nose slightly in the air, she began to follow the smell down the hallways until she came to 2 large doors.

She put her ear against the door and heard no one talking. Confused she looked down both sides of the hallway and saw no one either. Well, the smell is coming from here, she thought. So...

She gave a small knock on the door, and suddenly the doors opened, what she saw in front of her was unbelievable.

A long, dark rich wood table, sat in the middle of the room with large light brown seats around it, they almost looked like little thrones. And when her eyes landed on the table her stomach gurgled, dishes of bread, meat, fruits, and foods she had never seen before took up almost half the table. And two large vases of flowers sat on the table too, it was quite beautiful, almost romantic.

Her eyes searched the room, and all she saw were the two guards, who were leaving the room and shutting the doors behind them. Okayy... She thought.

The Queen walked further into the room, she looked at each plate of food, and then she would look at the vase of flowers, each was full of cherry blossoms like she saw in the books Tae-Joong and Kimora gave her.

As she neared the other end of the table, she realized someone was sitting at the end of the table. Slowly she stuck her head out to see around the cherry blossoms, and she was met with two sharp eyes staring back.

"Hello."

Asora smiled and walked closer to the King, "Hello to you as well."

The King gave a small smile before standing up and walking closer to Asora who faltered a little bit back. He pulled the seat to his right from underneath the table and gestured for her to sit. With a quick thank you, she sat and waited for him to sit as well.

"So, how do you like the castle so far despite this morning which I sincerely apologize about and am looking further into as well." The King said.

Asora shook her head, "It's okay, I was naive to feel that I could relax. When you are on an island, even though we do have criminals like any other country, you don't always feel like you're going to be hurt."

Tae-Han's face slightly scrunched up, he actually looked offended, "You don't feel safe?"

The Foreign Queen inwardly wailed, she was a very blunt person, but she didn't feel she had said anything offensive. And seeing how this King was very moody, she needed to control her tongue. "I felt safe until I knew that someone was outside my door. But with my new keepers and familiarizing myself with some of these palace walls a little, I feel better."

"That's good, that's good," Tae-Han said. "As a King and your future husband, it is my duty to make sure you are well taken care of, so I promise to make sure you are safe and so as your people."

"I'm glad to hear that, and I hope that I can be a good wife, ally, and Queen," Asora said.

The King knew Asora was standing her ground, reminding him who she was. "Well, let's not let the food go cold."

Asora grinned, "Yes, I agree." She looked out to the food and kind of felt overwhelmed, it seemed like a lot more now than when she stood. "Um, let's start off with what's the, oh how do I say, um, the strangest thing on this table? At least to a foreigner like me."

A husky but smooth laugh left the King's lips, and Asora's body without her approval shivered. What in the world was that she thought, don't be acting up now, she warned herself.

The King smirked, he saw her shiver, "The weirdest delicacy we probably have on this table is chicken feet and octopus."

"Okay," Asora said. "That's not bad at all, we also eat chicken feet in stews, soups, and curries back home. Now as for the octopus, never had it, but I'm willing to try it."

"Really?" He said slightly impressed. "You would."

"Of course," Asora smiled. "But you have to eat our delicacies too."

"What are those?"

"Goat, Oxtail, and ackee and saltfish." She finished her sentence in English when she got to the last dish, unsure of how to translate it.

"Ahkee aduel soultehfish?" The King said, earning a laugh from Asora.

On any other day, the King would be annoyed at someone laughing at him, but today was different. Her laugh was in between a wheeze and a cackle, and he couldn't keep a straight face, as he watched her laugh at him.

"Whatever," He chuckled. "Take this plate, it has the stir fry octopus." Asora giggled as she reached to take the plate from him, but it came to a halting stop when she felt his finger brush against the back of her hand as she took the plate.

The room which was once light and airy went still, when both the King and Queens's eyes met, they immediately broke eye contact and stared at their plates, both of their cheeks dusted with blush.

Did he feel that?

Did she feel that?

The Queen's hands got sweaty as she handed back the plate to Tae-Han, but when his fingers brushed her hand for the second time, she almost gasped. While her hand was warm, his hand was cold, it feel so cool against her skin.

Again, her thoughts began to wander, I wonder if his whole body is that cool.

"What are you thinking about?" The King said as he took a spoon full of rice and cut up vegetables into his plate. He watched in the corner of his eye to see her response.

It's like he read my mind, Asora whined. Aww, my face is probably really red. And that it was. Immediately, she reached for the pitcher, but he beat her to it. "I'll do it for you."

The Queen looked to the King who stared back as he poured the water, Asora felt like she was put in the field of Jamaica on the hottest days of the summer. "Is it hot to you?" The Queen said avoiding all eye contact with the King.

"No, not really." The King smirked.

On seeing his cocky attitude Asora side-eyed him, annoyed that he found this funny. This man is weird, one minute he is flirting, and the next he's a total ass. I need to ask Kimora or maybe Lydia why my body feels like this. But until then, Asora please get yourself together!