Chapter 37: Lights And Wine
It was the time of evening, when the twilight hue spread over the small village and the warm air became a bit colder.
In the center of the village, there was a small gathering of people that cheered, doubted, and exclaimed at the notice board.
The old, worn down, wooden board had one sheet of white paper pasted in the middle, it was the imperial notice that overwrote the council's punishment .
"This...this is unbelievable," someone shook their head.
"Better days are finally coming, don't spout nonsense!"
"It's too good to be true! What if it's a prank?"
"Indeed! No imperial messenger came to the village after all,"
An old grumpy old man stopped behind two man and smacked them roughly.
"There is the imperial seal, you fools!"
A laughter erupted in the gathering as the crowd began to dissipate.
"So this is what Lady Hanbel meant from being freed..." Nesrin smiled and her eyes traced the beautiful cursive writings that Izekiel had made himself. Her eyes paused over the imperial seal.
It was a complete fake.
Izekiel wouldn't carry the royal seal with him of course, so he must have make do with something. The village had been in confinement from the time before Izekiel's enthronement so they didn't knew it was no genuine.
He must have planned to issue an official notice later on.
Nesrin's smile faded as she recalled the last time she had seen Izekiel. He seemed to be in a bad mood.
What did he talked with Malcolm?
What kept him busy all day?
Why did he avoided her...?
Her mind was restless as she hoped to see him soon, to ask him or to just be with him when he is feeling down.
Nesrin bit her lips and told herself that the only reason for her worry was because she didn't wanted him to rely on his darkness, that...that would risk Nesrin's life.
To celebrate the liberation, the villagers decided to hold a small festival. They humbly decorated an empty area near the beach, and prepared to cook a feast.
Nesrin offered to help and the women were surprisingly welcoming.
They pleaded her to not help them anymore after five minutes.
"You are our guest, we can't...have you help us," one of them smiled nervously, Nesrin knew they were just being because she almost burnt the giant iron pot.
"I just don't experience with that type of fire," Nesrin felt sorry, "How about I make up for that, by cooking a very delicious meal?"
The women exchanged glances.
"Don't worry! It's something I know very well!"
After a bit of reluctance they agreed, one of them showed Nesrin to a small cooking place.
Malcolm pursed his lips, furrowed his brows and stared at Nesrin while kneading the dough.
"Did you brought me here to make bread? Don't we have a lot of that??"
"It's not bread," Nesrin avoided his contemptful gaze and focused her attention on chopping vegetables, "It's something special,"
"Sister!" Jakes exclaimed, "The eggs are boiled!"
Nesrin was slowly forgetting her worries as her hands quickly worked. She enjoyed cooking very much, what made that day more special was the fact that she was not alone this time.
There was an enthusiastic helper and a scornful man, but she felt light hearted and couldn't wait to serve everyone!
Despite almost ruining the food that was being prepared by other ladies, they were very supportive of Nesrin and very curious because what she made was so different from the dishes of Merah.
Time went past quickly, as the glow of twilight was replaced by a black starry night. The sea rumbled and woods crackled by the time Nesrin was done topping her first serving.
"I am starving," Malcolm complained and reached out for the bowl,
Nesrin's heart skipped a beat when she saw Izekiel, standing alone near the shore. She took the bowl before Malcolm can take it and rushed towards him.
"Your majesty!"
Izekiel glanced at her, with his dark eyes that seemed as boundless as the sea that raged behind him.
"I..I made ramen," she lowered her cheery voice and gave him the bowl.
Her fingers clasped together as she anticipated how he will react.
Curious about the unusual dish their guest had made, many of the villagers served themselves and begin to eat.
Malcolm on the other hand was a little reluctant as he saw the noodles that seemed like white earthworms. He waited for Izekiel to take his first bite, before trying himself.
Izekiel sipped a spoonful of soup, some strange emotion flickered in his eyes before they looked at Nesrin.
"It's...good," he took another bite, bigger this time.
Nesrin's face warmed at his compliment.
Malcolm took a big bite of ramen as well, wondering how delicious something must be to move the heart of an emperor.
His face turned red, then green, then blue as he dropped on his knees and let out a choked sound.
"What was that?"
Nesrin was about to turn around when Izekiel's cold hand cupped her face, he was smiling and his eyes were oddly gentle that night as he asked,
"Would you make it for me in the palace?"
Malcolm coughed while clutching his chest tightly.
Izekiel smiled as he waited for her answer.
Nesrin nodded slowly.
A silence had spread across the gathering when they noticed Malcolm. One of the villager was about to say something when Izekiel's chilling gaze silenced any words that might form.
Nesrin followed his gaze of sight and turned around.
"What happened?"
Izekiel's gaze turned even darker.
Most of the villagers have seen that Izekiel was no ordinary human, they reluctantly smiled and enthusiastically begin to eat ramen.
They then complimented Nesrin with teary eyes and their words touched her heart as she thought about how sweet and supportive they were.
The villagers sang some folk song, they shared stories and laughed. It was as if the image of town was flipped in mere hours, some were still doubtful and still bitter towards the Willow household.
But no one wanted to ruin the pleasant night due to differences.
It was a joyous night full of golden lanterns, delicious delicacies and blissful wines. The food was plain compared what Nesrin had been used to, yet it made her feel fulfilled.
Nesrin and Izekiel were sitting together in front of a bonfire, half mindedly listening to a folk tale some narrated.
"Where was his majesty busy today?" she asked as her mind slowly started drift into sleep.
"I sent a letter, someone would come from the palace in the morning to escort us,"
"Oh,"
Someone gave them a blanket in the case the night gets colder
A sea breeze gushed past her, amidst the roaring of distant waves, there was a faint rumble of stormy clouds.
Nesrin's heart became uneasy as she thought about the several things that happened that day, her mind was slowly drifting off to sleep when she recalled how Izekiel had looked after hearing about the spiritual element.
He had looked at her immediately, then it must mean that the element was somehow related to her.
Something in his eyes had made her heart fill with dread.
"Are you cold?"
Nesrin looked up, at his deep onyx eyes. His usual indifferent gaze was warm and slightly worried. It was oddly comforting, and at the same time, there were hints of darkness that evoked an inexplicable desire inside her heart.
She wanted to deny being cold, because sharing a blanket with him, being that close to him would ignite her heart in a way she was not ready to handle.
It didn't seemed right.
Nesrin nodded slightly.
Izekiel smiles and wraps the blanket around her, she only had one small portion of it because of the distance between them, and because of the fact that the blanket was too small.
He pulled her against him with a hand on her waist.
"You will get cold,"
"Thanks," she avoided his eyes,
"You are very welcome," there was a mischievious tone to his voice that made Nesrin's heart flutter.
She closed her eyes to calm the racing beats of her heart, her mind was being muddled with the faintness of his scent, his hand around her waist and the smoke from the woods.
Izekiel...she thought, he was a villain, she expected him to be harsh and rough, it was understandable when he was rude to her or when he ignored her...but how was she supposed to feel when he treated her so tenderly?
Nesrin had never felt like this before.
A sudden unexpected silence brought Nesrin out of her sleep.
Her heart thumped against her chest as she sat up straight.
Enchanting The Cruel Prince
New Book Out! A tale of forbidden love, and courtly intrigues~
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