CHAPTER 23: THE LIST

"Why do you defend me that much?"

That was the first thing Lumina asked the moment they got to their chambers and the doors closed behind them.

Ashen said nothing but simply walked past her, where he left her standing with his steps silent, his presence colder than before.

Lumina turned, trying to get where he was standing but before she could move, she felt the floor beneath her shift ever so slightly. Her brows furrowed, she had noticed how soft it was, it wasn’t this way when she came the previous day.

"Stella," she called softly and Stella rushed to her side, her face pale, her hands trembling as she clutched Lumina’s fingers.

"My lady... I was so scared today. I thought I would be sent to the dungeons. I thought..."

"You should know by now," Lumina said gently, cupping her hands, "that no one is allowed to harm you as long as I am here. You belong to me, and I always protect what’s mine. So don’t be afraid. You don’t need to listen to anyone else. Just me, Stella."

Stella’s eyes brimmed with tears, and a soft smile curved her lips. "Yes, my lady."

But even as Lumina comforted her, her thoughts wandered back to the strange feeling under her feet.

"Why does the ground feel soft?" she asked aloud.

Stella’s face twitched, the whole chamber had been covered with a living moss, and also redecorated. It was this way this morning but Stella didn’t have the chance to tell her lady until now.

She opened her mouth, clearly about to explain what had caused the shift in the floor but before she could utter a word, Ashen’s presence stepped between them.

Lumina didn’t need to see his face to know. She could feel him. "My lord," Stella whispered, startled. "I didn’t know you were back."

Ashen gave her a small look and rested his hand on Stella’s shoulder, giving a silent command not to say a word to her lady.

Stella bowed quickly. "Thank you for saving me today," she said sincerely, at first when they were coming to the Drakonia realm, Stella had thought things would be hard but with Ashen taking care of her lady just the second day of being here she was so pleased to come here.

Ashen didn’t look at her but nodded. "I didn’t save you. I did what was right. If you had been punished, how would your lady go on living?"

His words made Lumina frown. That cold tone again. She had wanted to thank him but once again, he was turning it into something else.

She scoffed, her steps heavy as she stormed toward him but Ashen’s sharp eyes caught the small wooden stool in her path. If she wasn’t careful, she would trip.

Without thinking, he moved so fast and reached her just in time, grabbing her arm and pulling her close before she could fall.

His hands around her waist she stared into her blindfold, he so badly wanted to see her eyes but he couldn’t ask that knowing she would disagree immediately since this was among her adornments.

Lumina, obviously still annoyed, slapped his hand away. "Let me go!"

Ashen blinked. "You should have your maid walk with you if you are going to stomp around angrily," he muttered.

She glared. "And you should stop acting like you care." She pushed him away.

Ashen stepped back, mumbling under his breath, "Such an ungrateful lady..."

"Stella," Lumina called out again, brushing past him.

Ashen noticed she was about to leave and quickly gestured for Stella to remain still. Then he stepped toward Lumina once more.

"You haven’t eaten," he said quietly. "I can send dough from the kitchens."

She paused, glancing at him. "Wait... your chambers have a kitchen?"

He shook his head. "No. I don’t keep maids here. Ier will ask them to send food from the royal kitchen."

Stella tilted her head at this whole Lumina saw a good opportunity still getting food from the royal kitchen.

"Fine," Lumina muttered. But when he turned to call for Ero, she held up her hand to stop him.

"But I don’t eat meat," she announced, causing a pause from Ashen.

"You don’t eat what?" Ashen’s voice came slower now, like he wasn’t sure he heard right.

"I don’t eat meat," she repeated. "Not darkboard, nor rooters. Nothing that once had breath or blood."

Silence followed and Lumina could feel it like a weight in the room.

Stella beside her tensed, and Lumina could hear her swallow quietly. She doesn’t get meals when in the Celestial realm huts because she is a picky eater so she has gotten used to not eating much. This was what Stella had wanted to tell Ashen at the royal table. She was sure that if Ashen didn’t agree her lady wouldn’t complain and would find other means to survive.

Ero, just a few steps away, gave a low cough that she knew wasn’t from illness.

Lumina proceeded, seizing the silence as an opportunity. "And I don’t eat fire roots," she continued, "or red oil, or those spiced grains that burn the tongue. I won’t drink sourmilk, fermented tea, or that thick seaweed."

Her tone had grown sharper now, she could almost feel Stella inching away, uncertain of what Ashen’s reaction would be.

"I only drink snowleaf water, or golden dew when it’s cold. Sometimes crystalflower brew... and also some vegetables, more fruits, and eggs that’s all."

There she heard a quiet scrape and something small, light, placed gently on a table.

The sound of ink being uncorked quill dipped into liquid. Then scratching lightly and steadily writing.

Her head turned slightly. "What are you doing?" she asked, so curious now.

"Writing it down," came his calm voice. "So I don’t forget," he added leaving her speechless.

"You’re... taking notes?" she asked again.

"Yes," Ashen said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "You have given me a list. I don’t see the point in asking again later."

"You are serious?" He didn’t answer right away but his quill kept moving.

"No meat," he repeated under his breath. "No fire roots. No red oil. No sourmilk. No fermented anything. Snowleaf water. Golden dew. Cold only..."

Lumina lowered her head, a smile pulling at her lips despite herself. No one had ever written down her food preferences. They either forced her to eat what they thought was proper or teased her for her choice of food.

But this man... her future husband simply listened without an argument and even listed them out.

The scratching stopped. A soft snap told her he had closed the notebook.

"Ero," he called quietly. "Get what she asked for. Nothing that bleeds."

"Yes, my lord," Ero replied with a nod and surprise in his voice.