Chapter 18 #2
“I don’t think I’d come out unscathed. Or alive.”
“You do understand, good.” Gunter looked fierce for a moment, a dragon looking after his own. His smile still had an edge of ferocity to it. “Be good to him, Sora. And I hope things work out well for both of you.”
He hadn’t been looking for any sort of recognition or approval. But now, having been freely given both, Sora was surprised by the warmth he felt. “Thank you, Gunter.”
Sora found Ravi in the kitchen.
To be precise, he heard Ravi’s name being yelled before he even made it to the kitchen doors.
“RAVI!”
“What?” Ravi responded, sounding defensive. “It’ll taste good!”
“Don’t you dare put a banana into the curry!”
“But it tastes good that way!”
Sora rounded the doorway and took in the scene.
The two people on staff were in the middle of a large meal-prep, obviously ready to serve lunch to the entire castle soon.
There were pots of curry on multiple stove eyes, with large, industrial-sized rice cookers lined up on another counter.
Ravi had a peeled banana over his head, looking rather like a monkey getting up to mischief.
Which, all things considered, probably wasn’t too far off.
Ravi heard him enter and turned, then pointed to Sora as if he were the answer to all questions. “He’ll tell you! Being both Japanese and living near India, he’ll be the master of curry. The banana will work!”
Sora was hardly an expert in culinary matters.
But he could try and salvage Ravi’s point before it got tossed.
“The reason why chopped apples go into curry is because the sweetness counters the spiciness. I’ve never tried it with a banana, but I think the combination of the sweetness and the texture will add a thick consistency to the roux. ”
The staff members respectfully shared doubtful looks before regarding Sora with open misgiving.
“We can dish up a single bowl and mix in a bit of banana, try it on a smaller scale, if you wish?” Sora offered. “There’s no harm in testing it, is there?”
“No, I suppose not.” The woman with short blonde hair fetched a bowl and ladled some curry into it.
Ravi promptly cut off a bite of banana with a spoon and blended it into the curry. He offered it to her, eyebrows waggling in challenge. Rolling her eyes, she accepted the bite, then chewed. Then chewed some more, expression turning thoughtful.
“Gris, come try this.”
Gris obediently came over and dipped a spoon in, his expression also turning thoughtful. “That’s…oddly good?”
Proud of himself, Ravi’s chest puffed out. “See? Just one banana in each pot, that’s all I’m asking.”
“Pfft, okay, fine.”
When their backs were turned, Ravi gave Sora a high five.
Sora played along with a grin on his face, enjoying being in on the joke with Ravi.
And look at him, sparkling with delight and smugness, practically bouncing.
One of the things Sora most liked about Ravi was that he radiated joy.
He was drawn to the man like a moth to flame.
“Ravi, stop flirting,” the woman ordered. “You’re still on lunch duty.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I can help?” Sora offered.
Ravi gave him a quick kiss, light but full of promise. “Dish up the rice? And I will reward you later.”
Reward? Sora’s libido perked up at the word. “I’ll take that promise. Leave the rice to me.”
There were large bowls to put the rice into, and Sora filled them up before putting them onto the buffet table.
He passed the others back and forth as they brought the pots of curry out, and the dishes, setting it up for the lunch crowd.
On his nth trip out of the kitchen with rice, he spied King Alric and Cameron with plates in hand, helping themselves.
It was still rather odd to him, to see a king so willing to meet his own needs.
But in a way, it made sense. With such a small clan, having a staff to see to the king would take too much manpower away from other tasks that needed to be done.
It said something about King Alric’s character that he chose to do things himself and put his clan’s needs first.
They were among the first to arrive in the dining hall, and it gave a small window of privacy that Sora belatedly realized he might not easily achieve again.
A flash of mischief took him over and, on impulse, he gave in to it.
Ravi had, after all, requested it. And he could hear Ravi coming out of the kitchen, even now, so he was sure to catch this moment.
Sora put himself directly across the serving table from King Alric, in line of view with him, before clearing his throat. “King Alric? A question, if I may.”
The man paused, ladle in hand. “Yes?”
Gesturing to the Ravi in question, Sora asked in as serious a tone as he could muster, “May I lick this dragon?”
King Alric’s eyes flew wide, jaw steadily dropping. His expression was the height of both surprise and bemusement, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just been asked.
Sora’s lips twitched with the urge to laugh.
Don’t laugh. Hold it. Hold it. If you laugh, you’ll give the game away.
Ravi lost it. He hastily put the spoons in his hands on the table and then hit the floor, crying with laughter. Cameron was right behind him, doubled over with it.
King Alric’s eyes cut to the pair as if he knew one of them had put Sora up to this. But he played along, putting his jaw back in its socket and responding with all due dignity, “Permission granted. In fact, please do so, maybe it’ll keep him from pranking the rest of us for a while.”
“Thank you.” Sora grinned at him, delighted that King Alric had enough of a sense of humor to both take it and dish it out. Then, he looked at the man wheezing on the floor. “You did tell me to ask.”
“I lo-love,” Ravi gasped out, “so love that you did. Although, dammit, I wish that had been recorded.”
“I somehow had a feeling you put him up to it.” King Alric shook his head and picked up his curry ladle again. “Sora, I take it that you and Ravi are now officially courting?”
“With your blessing, yes.”
“I’m very glad to hear it.” King Alric looked him sternly in the eye. “Do not get sucked into his pace. I have enough troublemakers as it is.”
Cameron finally got his breath back, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. “That was priceless. No, do get sucked into his pace. It’s so much more fun on the dark side.”
King Alric leaned over to smack a kiss on his lips. “You behave, too.”
“That sounds less fun.” His consort waggled his eyebrows back in challenge. “And you like it when I’m fun.”
King Alric gave him an arch look and refused to be baited before continuing on down the buffet.
Seizing his wrist, Ravi towed Sora away from the table, speaking rapidly as he went. “You are so getting rewarded. Right now. As soon as I can find a good make-out spot. Ooh, there would be good. You’re not hungry, right?”
Sora tingled with anticipation. “Not for curry. Not right now.”
Ravi gave him a smoldering look over his shoulder and purred, “Good answer.”