Lucy had a point, and that was with the crap they liked to call food in the compound.
She distracted my retaliation by handing me a bowl. It was filled to the brim with a dark, thick stew that sloshed a little over the edges. I picked up the utensil, which Lucy had dumped to the side, and my mouth watered in anticipation. I sank the rough spoon-shaped device into the bowl and lifted the first steaming scoop to my mouth. A variety of colored vegetables and a dark meat filled my mouth. I couldn’t savor that first bite long enough.
“Holy mother...” My eyes closed in pure love. “I want to marry this food.”
There was no reply and, looking over, I did a double take. I couldn’t see Lucy’s face. It was half submerged in the huge bowl as she slurped down the stew.
I watched fascinated for a few moments. It was like an animal documentary, where the lions hacked into a zebra.
Shaking my head, I went back to my delicious stew, letting the freshness tantalize my tongue. The flavors were strong, full-bodied. I had no idea food could be seasoned with anything other than salt, but there was so much more going on here. There were small floating green pieces which, had we been back in the compound, would have been greatly concerning, but here might actually be–
“Luce, I think these green floaters are herbs.” A sense of reverence coated my words.
Lucy pulled her face from the bowl to examine the contents. She nudged the surface of the bowl.
“I’ve heard of these so called ‘herbs’ from the older rebels’ fairy tales. You know the ones that start with ‘Back in the good old days.’” She shrugged. “I think they may have been right, though. This is a whole other level of tastiness.”
I shoveled repeated spoonfuls until my initial hunger subsided. At that stage I had no choice but to slow and catch my breath. Lucy handed me a chunk of roughly textured grain bread, the source of the delicious scent. Using this, I soaked up the last of the liquid. I took the first bite. It was gritty, but delicious.
Chewing, I looked around. I was fascinated to see Bady padding silently into the room. Against the white walls, he appeared even larger and more bizarre than he had outside. Stretching out on the blue woolen rug, he went straight to sleep.
Blondie shifted in the chair. We locked eyes. It was time to speak up.
“Sorry, I’m a little disoriented from face-planting into your ... force-field.” Can’t beat the brain-injury excuse. “We’re trying to make it to town ... I’m guessing we didn’t quite reach our destination.”
There had to be a town nearby. How else would he get supplies?
He raised his eyebrows. “No, you didn’t make it to ... which town were you heading to?”
I shrugged my answer.
He continued anyways. “You’re at the eastern castle outpost. I’m Deralick, custodian.” He glanced between us. “Where are you from? I don’t recognize your accent.”
Lucy dropped her now empty bowl back onto the tray. I’d just shoved the last of my soaked bread into my mouth, so she answered for me.
“We live really far in the north, but we aren’t welcome back there. Nothing too crazy, just problems with our parentals.”
Her words were awkward. I don’t know why we hadn’t practiced a cover story before we found ourselves in this position.
Deralick looked dubious. “You don’t look much like sisters.”
I swallowed my bread. My throat felt irritated, scraped by the rough texture. “Different fathers,” I rasped out.
He looked confused.
Come on, what planet was so perfect that there was no divorce or death? That was a family staple on Earth.
“I’m sorry to hear of this break in your family unit.” His mouth lifted in a half-smile. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve ended up here. Since the emperor’s illness, the three sides of the surrounding forest have guarded fields. It was announced via satellite uplink that anyone guilty of unauthorized trespassing could face the maximum penalty.”
I guessed we didn’t want to know what the maximum penalty was. Thanks, Quarn – straight into the fiery pit. Although, having been on Earth for seventeen years, he probably didn’t know about these new ‘laws’.
I looked at Lucy. She shrugged. She’s always so helpful.
Well, we needed information. Time to play dumb.
“Honestly, we had no idea we were even in the royal forest. I don’t know where we went wrong.”
I should have left the dumb-blonde routine to Lucy. She played it perfectly. Hair curling and everything. Although, in its current disarray...
Sighing, I continued. “We, uh, like, don’t even know where we are right now.”
He raised his eyebrows, expression suspicious. Pushing the feeling of dread away, I wondered how much more trouble we could get into. We were already facing this unknown ‘maximum penalty’.
“You’re in the land of the emperor, the Isle of Itowa, which is part of the Jana province.”