The Bastard's Bride Book II Knight

CHAPTER 13

Ysabella quickly fixes herself not wanting Hades to wait for her. She hurriedly ran to the bathroom and washed her face and tied her messy hair. It is at least something she can do to look formal. She chooses a simple dress among the clothes hanging in the cabinet, she will not again dress such a heavy material upon dining. After she had dressed and looked at the mirror for her final touch she took a deep breath and exhaled the negative thoughts she had been thinking earlier and her heart was now beating at a normal pace.

She slowly closes her room and walks down the stairs, she could smell the scented candle lingering the whole room, she couldn't believe that there is a scented candle in this room and of course who is she kidding this is a palace after all.

Dinner sounded at last--at eight o'clock, or something after. She had to learn to expect the meals always forty minutes late. Down she went, down the long, dark, lonely corridors and staircases. 

'Shut your thoughts Ysabella after all you are the one who started dinner so late, remember when you first came here?' she thought as she slowly walked down the stairs, as if afraid to dirt the red carpet on it.

It was a grand space, to say the least. The huge mahogany table took up most of the vast space, the dark, it was beautifully polished and varnished, and the candles even looked more elegant. The curtains are only opaque because of the dark area but she must admit it was beautiful because of the moon shining on it. Fabric that thin should be letting the light pass as if it isn't even there but instead they cast a misty shadow over the room. A smile spreads over her face. It isn't the fragrance of those blooms she detects, but rose perfume on the drapes. How like Flora it is to bring something of nature into her home, home oh how she misses home. But the real star is the food, she must admit it to herself that the food they lay on the table had her eyes and mouth on it, she was mouth-watering. Everything you can think of, and things you have never dreamed of, lie in wait. Whole roasted cows and pigs and goats still turning on spits. Huge platters of fowl stuffed with savory fruit and nuts. Ocean creatures drizzled in sauces or begging to be dipped in spicy concoctions. Countless cheeses, loaves of bread, vegetables, sweets, waterfalls of wine, and streams of spirits that flicker with flames. Mushroom soup, bitter greens with tomatoes the size of peas, rare roast beef slices as thin as paper, noodles in a green sauce, cheese that melts on your tongue served with sweet blue grapes. Her mouth watered the moment she spotted the strawberries with a drip of honey. Fresh crimson berries covered with a mountain of tangy-sweet whipped cream. Rich grainy brown sugar covering the sweet airy perfection.

"Come take your seat," Hades' deep voice commanded her and she slowly followed her order that it was he was hypnotizing her or something.

The moment she slides into her chair she is served an enormous platter of food and thinking about how she eats all of this it was again like a feast of the whole kingdom, and there are only two of them.

"Are we all going to eat this?" she asked, eyeing all of the food was served.

"Well, again I don't know what you like so I ordered them to cook anything," he answered taking a sip of his wine and she had observed that his plate was just a juicy steak and roast potatoes.

"Actually what caught my attention is the strawberries with honey," she innocently stated looking at the strawberries and Hades can't help but stare at her for a while and smile.

"About the letter, yes you may write a letter to your family and let me send it to them, just tell me when," he stated while slicing the steak on his plate.

"Thank you for your kindness, I'll write it as soon as possible so you could send it then," she answered and placed a strawberry in her second plate and took it on her mouth, she just can't wait to taste it.

"It was at least something I can do for you."

They both fell into silence and just endeavored the food in their plates until Ysabella broke the stillness.

"Are you and King Helios, brothers?" she asked which makes Hades stop from eating.

There was a long silence before Hades decided to speak, Ysabella was about to withdraw her question because of the silence, she was nervous yes. Silence gnawed at her insides. Silence hung in the air like the suspended moment. The silence was like a gaping void, needing to be filled with sounds, words, anything. 

"I and Helios are brothers in our father, his mother was different than mine. Helios' mother was a queen, he was the second son and I was the first son. I am the son of a concubine, she was killed by an unknown assailant and until now her death was still a mystery and even though years had passed I am still searching for the person who had killed her," he stated which makes Ysabella do cross a line.

"I am sorry for asking those to you and I'm sorry for what happened to your mother," she apologizes while Hades waved his left hand.

"It's not your fault and why did you ask by the way? If you won't mind asking."

"You and he were the contrast of each other I have observed," she stated and took a big gulp of cold water near her, she was thirsty because of the sweetness of the honeycomb.

"Tell me about yourself Ysabella," he asked suddenly, which makes her gulp another glass of water. 

"About me? There's no interesting part of me, trust me," she said as she looked down at her hands there was sadness in her eyes or something he can't understand.

"Every person has an interesting part Ysabella even crazy people have, too, the interesting part of you is you can make a fire in a quick of time, you can read my nails wow that was an interesting part I must say," he laughs, that was the first time Ysabella have heard him laugh and it was gorgeous or somehow magical to her ears.

'Prince Hades laughed musically,' she thought.

"Do you have a man in your life?" he asked, which caused Ysabella to spit out what she was eating.

"Uhm I don't know if I called him my man but I was just a kid that time and I don't know much about love and I don't even know the definition of it. I met a boy in the market stealing someone's purse so I had to catch him, he was fast but I somehow caught him at the end. I was struck by the color of his eyes, and I was sure at that time that he was not a thief because of his eyes, the color of his skin, and the fabric of his cloth. He was something but I couldn't ask him all about that. That day I found out that he was doing that because he was hungry and had not eaten yet so I offered him my home but he refuses but day by day I searched for him and give him food what my mama cook and spare him a little and that is when we became friends and as we grow older for a year I was starting to have a crush on him and so is he too, he had confessed his feelings for me but when another day comes I was not able to see him anymore," she stated looking at him, there at the corner of his would-be dreary lips was a crease of amusement.

"And now?" he asked.

"No, I don't have a man."

"Well, that's perfect."