Bab 16: Numbing Bittersweetness
Seeing Zen smile so delightfully just from hearing her laugh is sending some sort of weird tingles throughout her body.
He has been nothing but kind and generous to her. Although he'd make her blood run cold at times, especially when talks about her leaving the castle were brought up, he's still far from those looming, malevolent figures of the past that used to haunt her dream every night.
He never tried to harm her nor display any sign of ire. He's always sweet and gentle with her, not forcing her to do anything that's against her will.
"And just why am I thinking about these of all things?" Anastasia deadpanned in silence, puzzled as to where her train of thoughts was heading.
This is probably the first time she considers evaluating her captor thoroughly. With that in mind, she then takes a moment to glance at Zen who decided to busy himself in preparing the cookie cutters.
"Hmm... I don't know about his true colors yet, though I must say that the outside isn't so bad..." she mused with a hand propped over her chin, letting her eyes wander over his entire build.
Unaware of the attention he's presently hogging from Anastasia, he just continues to make himself useful by bringing out the trays and other items needed for the finishing touch. He could no longer afford to let himself appear like some kind of a slacker in front of her, though in reality, all she truly thought of him at this very second was how much of an eye candy he could be to the ladies.
"Woah... Are those his biceps?! I can even make out its shape just from the traces on his shirt!" Anastasia exasperatedly exclaimed in her head, gawking at his well-developed physique.
That's until Zen finally notices her intense gaze. As soon as he turns to Anastasia, he's a bit taken aback to find her practically drooling at whatever she's staring at that moment.
He only blinks in bafflement before jumping to the conclusion that she's just probably very hungry right now.
"Are the cookies that mouth-watering, Sia? We should hurry up and finish, then. Let's dig in right after this, alright?" Zen voiced out with a smile, unknowingly mistaking his own body part for sweets.
"Huh? What?" she blurted out in surprise, snapping out of her bubble of fascination.
"You've been goggling at the cookies for a while now. You're really eager to taste them, huh?"
"O-Oh, yeah...! Yeah, right, of course...! It's the cookies."
After being caught red-handed, a fierce blush instantly lights up her frame. Anastasia didn't realize that she'd been staring too much.
It's a good thing that Zen also didn't realize that he's the one she's looking at, though.
"So we'll have to take the no-bake route, huh? Just like last time," he continued, leaning against the sink.
"Well, obviously... But don't worry, I assure you that the outcome will be just as delicious."
While Anastasia refocuses her attention on the sweets, readying the chocolate chips and other toppings, Zen also goes back to watching her.
They see through the whole process together - from start to finish. It takes more than an hour for them to settle down since they still had to clean up the oven.
From the point on, things are going very smoothly between them, and he honestly can't ask for anything more. But that's until she suddenly opens up a topic that he fails to consider after being too caught up in this moment.
"You know, I've been wondering, if you're not a good cook, then who made all those meals we had? They're quite delicious, to be honest," Anastasia questioned all of the sudden, making him halt on his tracks.
Zen comes to a standstill for a few seconds. Going by the meaningful quietude that starts to spread in their midst, she can already tell that it's another subject she's not allowed to touch.
Even then, however, she isn't too frustrated by his lack of response.
"If anything, his silence only adds to the probability that we're not the only residents in this castle. It's alright not to receive any confirmation for now. I'll uncover the truth by myself," she thought firmly, still scrutinizing his ambiguous reaction.
With that, Anastasia decided to let Zen off the hook for the meantime and went back to being congenial.
The two begin eating when there's no longer any lingering dead air between them. It just happened that he did a good job in dodging her previous inquiry.
She then simply supposes that he's an affable host who's quite experienced in dealing with that kind of situation.
"Is it that good?" Anastasia asked incredulously, lifting an eyebrow at his zestful expression as he kept munching on a cookie.
"Yep! It's heavenly!" Zen blithely chimed in, making her smile a little.
With that, she finally decided to take a bite on the finished product.
But then, as soon as she did so, Anastasia quickly banishes the thoughts that they're indeed divinely delicious, especially with how chewy and fudgy they are. What comes rushing the moment it melts in her mouth is the bittersweet feeling of deja vu.
"E-Eh...? This sensation..."
Obscure images of her parents pop up in her head out of nowhere.
She suddenly recalls their warm smiles, the smell of flour and bread, her mother's voice that seems to flow through her ears like a soothing melody, and that proud gaze her father used to make whenever she did something commendable.
She also remembers how they'd eat meals together in their small yet cozy living room that's just a mere step away from their kitchen.
They only lived in a cramped up place with a humble bakery, but even then, it was a happy home.
"Mama, Papa..."
No longer able to take in this painful surge of emotions that comes along with her newly-retrieved memories, Anastasia begins to have a breakdown and bursts into tears, catching Zen off guard.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Aciee_GelaTin
Aciee_GelaTin New volume 'cause this is the starting point of how everything got here ( /^ω^)/♪♪ Their true identities shall be revealed soon enough. You guys may comment what you think about the story so far (~‾▿‾)~
Also, thank you for continuing to follow through the series!
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone