The Royal Contract

"Oh, yeah. It looks yummy." But nothing on her plate looked anything resembling the food she loved to eat. The vegetables looked overcooked and saggy. The meat seemed to be burnt on some parts. 

She could already guess that the taste would not be farm from its appearance. But, she took her fork and knife, slicing through the meat, refusing to admit defeat. As she suspected, it was hard and overcooked inside.

"Hey, Cassie, I am almost a third of my food, and you barely touch yours," Jacob complained, but he already knew why. He did not mind the taste since he had eaten a hundred of this kind of meal. He doubted that she had. Even if she had in the past, it might have been a long time ago. Her association with his brother would have taught her to enjoy only the finer things in life.

He watched her put the piece of steak in her mouth, chewing it gently. But judging from her facial expression, it was not mouthwatering or tender. In fact, he would bet that it was chewy and had a bitter taste.

"Hmmm. That was good." She announced after finally swallowing her first bite. "What about yours, Jacob?"

She was forced to swallow the big piece, which almost caused her to choke. But fortunately, the water she drank pushed it down her esophagus.

However, she believed nothing in that experience was anything but good. Her teeth barely cut the meat into pieces, and the taste was like putting charcoal in her mouth.

"Are you ok? Did the water come down on the wrong pipe?" He questioned, but he knew what truly happened. He was just making fun of her.

He believed this experience would teach her a valuable lesson. He would wait till she was the one begging that they leave this place and eat at home instead.

"Maybe you would like to try a piece." She offered before he could make a quick remark and make further fun of her. "I don't want you to miss all this delicious meat."

She could see that he was clearly enjoying himself with her discomfort. But she was not letting her get away with it without doing something about it.

She quickly cut a large portion and put it up before his lips. Smiling too sweetly at him to take a bite. She was not taking no for an answer.

"That was clearly one of the best steaks in town." He jokingly said to her. Of course, after chewing the meat thoroughly and swallowing it without any hardship.

He wondered how she would finish all that food on her plate, but that was not his problem as he continued to eat his own food, which was a plain sausage, some corn kernels, and mashed potato.

"If you want more, I am willing to share." She offered, hoping that he would take the bite, but the smirk on his face told her that he could see through her lie.

She decided to try the vegetables on the side of her dish. It was overcooked, judging from its appearance. But she was hoping it would at least taste better. 

Alas, she was again proven right with her first assumption. It was bland and did not taste anything appealing at all. She wanted to complain to the manager or the owner, but that would create attention that she could not afford.

"Just admit it. You did not like the food." Jacob placed his cutleries down and faced her.

Jacob could see that she was having difficulty chewing and swallowing her food. Tried as she might, she was not fooling him, not one bit.

"What is not to like?" She still refused to concede as she cut another piece.

When she was about to put the piece of steak on her mouth, she stopped in midair. She could continue with her charade and suffer due to her stubbornness. Or, she could opt to accept defeat.

"Really? Then, go ahead and enjoy your meal." He dared her as he continued to eat on his side of the table, but his eyes never left her.

He would wait until she finally gave up. Until then, he would enjoy her distress. He did offer her a way out. It was now her turn to make the next move.

"Fine. I made a mistake." She dropped the fork back to her plate and sulked on her seat, crossing her arms along her chest.

She never liked it when she was wrong about something or if her ideas did not exactly go according to her plans. She would try to find a way to get around it if she could.

The smirk on his face was a sign of triumph that she wanted to wipe out with the use of her fist. But she would not do that since it was not his fault she was in this situation.

"It was not that hard." He also halted on his meal. He faced her with his elbows on the table and his hands entwined in front of him. "You should do it more often. It looks good on you."

He could not help make a little jive at her. It was rare that he would get an opportunity like this. She was not exactly easy to deal with when she was in her mood.

"That is funny, Jacob. I am not that bad." She complained to him, but she knew he was just riling her up. "But you are right. This is."

Instead of getting angry at him, she started laughing, finding the humor with her own doing. If there was someone she should blame for all of this, it was her.

He did offer to cook for her. He was no culinary chef, but he could create some delicious dishes. Compared to what she was forcing on her throat.

"It is not. You are just not used to this kind of food." He defended, knowing to some with less money, this was more than good enough. "Let us go. We are done here." 

He pulled some bills and dropped them on the table as he asked her to leave. Then, he stood up and stretched his hands to her, ready to assist her out of that place.

"Will you still cook for me?" She hoped so. She had barely eaten anything, and her stomach was still not satisfied.

She took his hand and allowed him to guide her outside the door. She had enough of her day out. It was time to call it a night and go home.

It had been quite an experience for her. Compared to her previous dates, this seemed to be the most memorable one. Not that she was calling this a date, as in a date of a couple.

"Of..." Before he could finish his words, a commotion just outside the door caught his attention. 

He halted on his step, causing her to stop too. He pulled her to the side, unsure if the chaos outside involved the two of them. He did not want them to be caught in the situation.

He thought he had seen someone familiar. The light outside was not that bright, and he only caught a whiff of his feature.. It could just be his overly active imagination playing tricks on him, and he hoped he was wrong.