Chapter 56: Feast(2)

    ''''Must we really wait for the prick to call us?''''Laedio asked as he pursued his lips in a sneer. His eyes moved to the decorations in the halls.

    ''''Yes it is custom for these people for the host to call upon guest'''' Jarza answered as he tried to stand as still as possible. He did not know for how long the jacket would hold his frame .

    ''''Yes but they are not OUR custom.Me must have been waiting ten minutes ... I say we just enter without a care '''' Laedio proposed as he sighed

    ''''For these people appearances are everything, else how can they say that they are better than us if they don''t have a way to distinguish them from the common rabbles they rule over?Man must always hold something to justify an action, else it would go crazy''''

    Suddendly as Laedio was to give his point to Jarza, the door opened, the guards on the other side giving way for the group to enter .Ahead of them a new world appeared.Wherever they looked at they were either staring at food, or on beautiful decorations.The people inside were all silent as they observed the men at the door . They were silent , but the singers kept doing their job.While the mummers and jugglers, continued to exhibit their works upon a crowd that was ignoring their life''s work.

    A man as upright as a wooden pole in an arse, stood at the right of the king.He could see that white mane from twenty kilometers away and he would still recognize , it as that of Robert. At the left was instead the prince consort, who instead just looked bored as her eyes moved to that of the jugglers. While the youngest was there the eldes daughter was nowhere on sight .

    ''''The guest of his grace is entering the feast.They may now walk forward and express their gratitude to their host'''' Robert shouted as if he was reading from a script

    ''Just like Jarza said '' customs are everything'' '' Alpheo thought, as he walked forward approaching the king , his wife and their two daughters.When he was at an adequate distance he dropped on one knee. ''''This man thanks his grace for his generosity, may he live to be one hundred''''

    The prince looked down at Alpheo, and then with a graceful smile waved his hand for them to rise ''''Your gratitude is accepted, you may eat my food and share warmth within the fire. From now on you are my guest, and as per sacred laws , you shall not me harmed, you shall not be deprived of your possession and no slight will come to you from me. May the gods witness my words''''

    And just like that the room went from chaos to silence, one again after the words of the prince the guests resumed on their activities. Ladies went back at laughing, man once again between themselves boasting of their achievements. While others instead marveled at the play of the mummers and jugglers, whose mastery of tricks let the guest at a loss of words.

    Alpheo walked amidst a sea of opulence, surrounded by people who had known nothing but luxury their entire lives. While he had toiled as a slave, they had slept in comfortable beds and dined on fine foods. Yet, even the supposedly exquisite fare of this society tasted like shit to Alpheo.

    As he brought a piece of meat to his mouth, the overpowering pepper assaulted his tongue, he never liked hot food. And it seemed that there was more condiment than actual food on the table. Alpheo glanced around at his companions, hoping to share some bad words about the cuisine .

    But they were too busy stuffing their mouths with food to notice. Even Jarza, typically reserved, was enthusiastically tearing flesh from bones with his teeth.Apparently such strange taste, was seen as delicious by them.

    Disappointed, Alpheo scanned the table in search of potatoes, his favorite dish. Surely, they couldn''t mess up potatoes, was it even possible to do that? Yet, to his dismay, they were nowhere to be found as potatoes were seens as the food for pigs .

    "Oi, come here," Alpheo called out to a passing servant carrying trays of wine. As the servant approached, Alpheo snatched a cup ''''Point me where the potatoes are ''''.The question caused the servant to give small smirk.After all no-one would dare to think of finding such low food on the tables of the nobles.

    That smile took Alpheo by surprise, which then quickly morphed in anger. He could let the princes and nobles pass off few comments directed at him, they were at an higher position than him , but there was no way he would allow a servant to make fun of him.

    He restrained himself from lashing out physically but leaned in close, his voice low and dangerous.

    "You have exactly three seconds to point me in the direction of what I requested," Alpheo whispered, his grip tightening on the servant''s arm. "Remember, I could just as easily disembowel you after this feast, and your prince wouldn''t bat an eye. The next time I catch you smirking at me, I''ll cut your mouth ear to ear so you''ll never be able to stop smiling. Understand?"

    Realizing something was wrong , the servant lowered his head in submission. He tried to inform him of their absence , trying to explain the reason as less humiliating as possible.

    He failed.

    She chuckled, finding his reaction amusing. "Wanna know how it is done?"

    Alpheo raised a curious eyebrow, glancing between the princess and the jugglers.

    The princess smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "That one has no tongue."

    Alpheo''s expression shifted to one of disbelief. "What?"

    "You heard me. He has no tongue; it was cut off from him. And the one you see him displaying is a pig''s tongue sewed to the uncut part."

    Alpheo blinked, trying to process the information. "Your grace, if that is a jest, I must say it is a bad one."

    "It is no such thing," she insisted, her tone serious. "If you don''t believe me, you can observe it yourself. It''s not hard to notice once you know it.See how he only shows a small portion of it? He is hiding the sewing."

    He felt a shiver run down his spine, uncertain whether to feel repulsed or simply disturbed by the show . The princess''s laughter, however, drew his attention, her amusement at his reaction evident.

    "The interest disappears once you know, right?By nature, we find what we do not know to be exotic... " she remarked, her eyes fixed on him, perhaps mistaking his reaction for disinterest rather than disgust.

    Alpheo tore his gaze away from the juggler to meet her eyes. "I have never presented myself, did I?" she asked ''''My name is Jasmine ''''

    ''''This one''s name is Alpheo, your grace''''

    "Yes, I know. Robert talked a lot about you," she said with a hint of mischief.

    "I suppose nothing good came out of him ," Alpheo remarked dryly.

    "Certainly not things that are to be said in public,"

    "Good to know, then, that our first meeting left an impression on both of us," Alpheo quipped, his lips curling into a small smile.He too hardly had good thinks to share about the old bastard.

    Her laughter filled the air, and Alpheo found himself momentarily captivated by the musical sound of it . "How are you finding the feast?" she inquired, her tone shifting to a more casual one.

    "Quite a spec—" Alpheo began, but she interrupted him before he could finish.

    "Boring, right?" she interjected, her expression reflecting her own disinterest . "I''m actually fighting off my yawns."

    Alpheo remained silent, unsure how to respond to her candid remark. Was it not an insult to his father, the host of the feast?

    "Wanna do something fun?" she suddenly proposed, her smile taking on a mischievous edge that Alpheo found strangely charming.After all the thorns in a rose could be considered to enhance its beauty