Chapter 33
A za steps into an enormous pantry and freezes. She isn’t prepared for the sheer abundance.
“H–how?”
“Our growing season lasts nearly year-round, with only a few weeks unfit for planting. We’ve learned to preserve much of our food, and most of our diet consists of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
We eat meat occasionally, preferring to keep animals for their milk, which we use to create a wide variety of products. ”
“I’ve never seen this much food. Not even at our largest feasts.” Aza walks around looking at the shelves upon shelves of food.
“Can I ask you another question?” Zhou requests in a soft voice.
“I suppose.”
“If you’re getting low on food, how do you plan to host an entire ball?”
“If you must know, I helped my father secure a lucrative trade deal.”
“Oh, so you don’t need a husband anymore? Okay.” Zhou shrugs and begins to walk away, laughing as Aza grabs his arm to stop him from leaving.
“No. It is not a permanent fix. It is… temporary. To get us through for a little while.”
“What did you get?”
“Fish.”
“Hmm. Well, if you're nice to me, I might just have to go to this ball and bring some goodies with me.”
“What? You’d… do that?”
“I can’t just be eating fish. I am way too elegant for that.” He jests.
Aza shoves his arm gently.
“That doesn’t count as nice. Now I can’t send you home with supplies to help get you prepared either.”
“Stop it! Don’t mess with me.” She points her finger at him.
“Oh, but darling, I’m so good at it.”
She stares at him, slightly pursing her lips and gritting her teeth.
“I suppose I could give you one last chance. But you have to come back here later and pick out what you want to bring home.”
“Deal. Can I bring Jahar back to help me?” Aza regrets it the moment it leaves her lips.
“Mmm, yes, but best keep your clothes on. We need to keep our food supply as sanitary as possible.”
“Oh my! What are your suggestions?”
“Well… you see when two people?—”
“La la la! Stop it! I understood what you were referring to. I just can’t believe you suggested it.” She crosses her arms over her chest, a solemn look burned into her face, “He wouldn’t do it anyway.” Aza stills, shocked at her own words.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m… He… Nothing. We should not be discussing this. I am a visiting princess, and you are a potential suitor. This is improper.”
He raises his eyebrows, looking down at her, “It’s just gossiping, and there is no one else here. Come on. Let me live a little. I hardly ever get to have fun, and I think you need some too.”
“How do I know I can trust you? I only just met you, and I have said more than I should have already.”
“I could tell you you can trust me, but that doesn’t confirm anything. What does your heart and mind say?”
“I… don’t know for sure.”
“Then take the risk. Or would you rather continue to live in fear? Continue to be the puppet they tell us we need to be? Maybe together, we can learn to be our own puppetmasters.”
Although still hesitant, Aza resonates with his words and chooses to take the leap, trusting this man she has just met. Someone she hopes will be a friend.
“I’m… still a virgin. And I've never had a proper kiss. And despite practically giving myself to him, he still pushes me away. Says we can only be friends and nothing more.”
“What a fool.”
Aza chuckles. He flashes her a smile.
“Your turn. I saw the way you looked at the first advisor. What was his name again? Liao.”
“Li.”
“Li. So not just on a first-name basis… nicknames too. Must be serious.”
He leans in close to whisper in her ear, “Well, one of us is getting laid so I would say so.”
Aza’s eyes widen in surprise, a gap forming at her lips. Zhou winks and runs away. She chases after him. He stops in the middle of the kitchens, jumping up on a metal table to sit. He pats the space next to him. Aza scrunches her face at him, before she too climbs on the table to sit.
“Did Sir Li become the first advisor because of you?”
“He became the first advisor at a very young age. He is incredibly smart and persuasive. Sometimes I wonder if it was his persuasion that got me into his bed, not my love for him.” He chuckles, “I only jest.” Aza returns the chuckle.
“So, how long has that been going on?”
“About two years, but I had eyes for him years before that. Does this totally turn you off to potentially marrying me?”
“Not quite. It would really only be a marriage alliance for our fathers and kingdoms, right?”
“Right.”
“What about you? How long have you been in love with grumpy pants?”
Aza laughs, “He’s not always grumpy. In fact, he used to be really fun, kind of like you.”
“So I can fulfill some of the things he does not?”
Aza gently pushes him. A snicker escapes him.
“Three years.”
“You have more time on me but less time on him. Interesting.”
“You’re terrible.” She gently slaps his arm.
“I know.” He winks.
“Are you going to turn me in?”
“Not as long as you don’t turn me in for liking boys.”
“Are people not accepting here?”
“The people have grown more accepting, but my father is very stuck in his ways and is so set on me having a wife, that I don’t dare tell him.”
“I see. I love my father, but I don’t know how he would react if he knew the man he had hand-picked to be my personal guard was the one I was in love with and the reason I haven’t been able to settle on a suitor.”
“Oh, the lives and lies we live.”
“Yeah,” Aza sighs.
They sit in silence for a moment before Zhou asks, “Where would you like to go next?”
“Show me only the areas the royals shouldn’t go?”
“I knew I was right for liking you.” Zhou pushes off the table, standing in front of Aza with his hand outstretched.
She takes it and uses him to balance as she too slides off the table.
He interlaces their fingers, and they walk to the exit door.
When they enter the dining hall again, Jahar is there pacing back and forth.
Bennu is with him, but he stands at attention against the wall.
When he hears them walk in, he stops in his tracks and looks up at Aza.
“We would like to explore more of the castle,” Aza explains.
Jahar’s eyes glance down to their interlocked fingers. A fury flashes in his eyes. Aza starts to pull away, but Zhou’s grip tightens.
Zhou gently pulls Aza away from the dining hall. The guards follow in tow. They go down many hallways before reaching a staircase that brings them down into a cellar. In the back, there are rows and rows of wine.
“Choose whatever one your heart desires.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” her eyes searching each row.
She settles on a dark bottle containing a reddish liquid. She hands it to Zhou, who inspects it, then opens it.
“An excellent choice,” he affirms before taking a swig straight from the bottle.
Aza lets out a gasp. Zhou only grins and hands her the bottle.
Nodding to her to indulge. Aza is hesitant for a moment before she takes the bottle from his grip and takes a swig herself.
A bitter taste floods her senses before it smooths and tastes of berries.
She takes another sip and then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Zhou drinks straight from the bottle.
“Let’s go to the roof. We’re definitely not supposed to go up there.” He laughs, swigging again and passing back to Aza.
“Princess,” there’s a warning in Jahar’s voice.
“The King said I should get a tour of the castle. He did not say there were areas I could not see.”
Zhou smiles at Jahar before grabbing the bottle back from Aza and taking hold of her hand once more, leading her back the way they came. Aza shakes her head at Zhou. He only gives her a wicked grin back before beginning to sprint.
They run past servants and guards who look confused. Zhou calls apologies over his shoulder when he accidentally almost bumps into various people. They turn down corridors and climb up various sets of stairs. They finally find their way to a long hallway that ends with a ladder.
Zhou looks over at her, “It’s the only way up.”
“Okay.”
“Princess.”
“I’m capable of climbing a ladder.”
“Have you ever climbed a ladder?”
“No. But it can’t be that hard.”
Zhou laughs. Jahar does not look amused.
“You can wait down here. And if I fall, just catch me.”
Jahar’s face stays stone cold. Aza wants to say more. To tell him she’s just kidding and she’s sorry. But Zhou pulls her along.
“Watch how I do it, and copy me. I’ll help you at the top.”
Aza nods. Zhou begins climbing the ladder. Aza copies his movements. On the third step, Aza's dress catches under her foot, and she slips. She catches herself with her grip, but Jahar is there instantly, steadying her by the thigh. Although his hand is over her dress, heat seeps through the fabric.
“S-sorry. Accident.” Her brows knit in embarrassment, “Thank you, Jahar. I will be more careful.”
Aza moves more slowly this time and avoids any further incidents. When she reaches the top, Zhou is holding the trap door open and extends his free hand to help pull her up the rest of the way. Aza looks back down the hole, seeing Jahar ready to climb it.
“I will be alright. There is no one else up here. Please, don’t worry yourself. Take a load off. I will return shortly,” and with that, she backs away, and Zhou shuts the top. “He’s going to kill me.”
“No, he’s going to realize how much of a buffoon he is and how much he truly wants you,” Zhou assures as he helps her stand and begins walking them closer to the crenellation.
“But that doesn’t matter. We can’t be together.”
“That never stopped me.”
“It’s different, though. You’re not a princess. Your virginity, your virtue, will never be in question. Your worth is not tied to that.”
“I suppose you are right. I apologize if I have upset you; it was not my intention.”
“You are alright. I am not upset with you, just the situation I am in.”
“I can understand that, even if it differs from mine,” he offers her his hand, “Come.”
She takes it and continues to follow him. He walks them over to what appears to be a bench.