Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

1st PERSON: Pelomina Lorenzo-Capiz

He brought us to a tavern. It seems like a pretty famous one at that too, because even on the patio of the building, people were gathering, and dining, it looked like a very casual place.

‘Which is something I’m fond of. If this was in my world, this would’ve been a hit on college kids after a stressful term, moreover, if they offered alcohol,’

As usual, he helped me get off the horse and tied another man, took the horse somewhere—a valet, that’s what it is, it’s a medieval valet. He led the way, and I followed close behind as he opened the large, wooden double doors. The inside was well lit, and the place was filled with faint chatter and hushed conversation. They nodded and bowed slightly once the other customers saw me and Lykus.

A server rushed to us with a deep bow, “Please follow me,” he said as he lead us to a table, one that was separated from the others, surrounded by smaller lanterns hanging around, this would’ve been a sick photo, how beautiful. The chairs were cushioned and bigger, leaning on a more elegant design and with a beautiful flower arrangement as a centerpiece.

“What would the lord and lady order?” the server asked,

Lykus gestured to me but I froze at the question, shifting my gaze between him and the server. So I just say ‘mushroom soup’? Do I just—

“Mushroom soup, and the usual for me,” Lykus spoke up for both of us, the server nodded to both him and me with a wide smile before he left and Lykus scoffed as he turned to me,

“You got a little choked up, my lady,” he noted, and I sighed, I’m an adult who’s ordered meals from restaurants before, I was just wondering if I could just say whatever I wanted, do they not have a fixed recipe? Could

I just make a request and they’ll make it for me?

“I was just a bit startled… I got dazed, I’m sorry” I replied, and he tilted his head at me furrowing his brows,

“What is there to be sorry for?” he asked, leaning his elbows on the table, “If anything it’s normal for you to freeze, fumble, and stutter with her words after not speaking for so long,” he added and I breathed out with a smile,

“You’re correct, my lord,” I noted with a chuckle,

“Of course,” he agreed with a mischievous smirk, looking off to the side and resting his chin on his knuckles, the lights shined for him as they caught onto his eyes making them shine, his gold accessories that made it seem like it was glowing.

He looked so good at that moment that I had to physically hit my chest lightly just to remind it to calm down and not race a horse down a freaking hill with how fast it was beating. I need to distract myself uh—that, uh, his—his earrings!

‘Crap, I looked at his face again.’

It doesn’t matter; I need something to talk about. I cleared my throat as I gathered up the nerve to speak again, “Uh… m-my lord, you’re quite fond of those types of accessories, are you?” I began. He hummed with a nod.

A smile crossed his face as he touched one of his earrings with his index finger, “They are gifts, have I not told you about these before?” he asked, and I gulped. Should I just say no? Maybe I could say that I forgot, but wouldn’t that be rude?

He clicked his tongue as he looked away and hummed, “Maybe I haven’t, but these were gifts, I actually haven’t bought anything like such for myself,” he followed, and I nodded as I listened intently, looking at the beads and gold bands that wrapped around some of his braids,

He must’ve seen me staring at them so, he lifted a braided segment up, holding it by the golden band that wrapped around it, “I see your interest in my hair hasn’t changed at all either,” he noted and I raised my brows,

“Yes?” I replied on instinct, making him huff as I did.

“However, my answer still remains,” he began, having me tilt my head. What does he mean? “it’s still not the right time to tell you about them,” he finished,

I could see a millisecond of doubt and discomfort flash across his face. This must’ve been a touchy subject, so much so that he shifted in his seat and cleared his throat to somewhat keep the atmosphere light. He put on a small smile and shrugged, “One day perhaps, it’s great to finally speak to you like this,” he said, changing the subject,

“The letters before were just as well, but… having to hear your words without you, going out of your way to filter them before ink hits the paper is rather liberating,” he followed.

I hummed and nodded. That does sound like it takes a lot of time. Well, maybe Pelomina developed a new skill of being able to write just as fast as she spoke, but yeah. People do kind of proofread our sentences before writing them out.

Before I could add up on the conversation, the server came back with our meal—what is that? Is that A WHOLE HIND DEER LEG?! My eyes just widened at the sight as the server set down a significantly smaller tray for me and a try thrice the size of mine, apart from the humongous hind leg, was three other bowls and two other plates.

I could see a serving of mashed potatoes, a soup that looked more like broth with noodles and sliced vegetables, gravy, rice, bread, and sliced fruits.

I looked at my portion then to his.

‘That’s his usual?!’

He grabbed the napkin that was set on the table and tucked it over his collar and pulled a hair tie that I didn’t even notice he had, and wrapped the rest of his hair around the pre-existing bun on the top of his head so all of his hair is now up in a bun and out of the way as he ate, with a few stubborn braids drooping just over his ear, he grabbed the utensils and huffed as he gazed over his meal with wide eyes.

‘That’s so darn cute,’

He seemed more than eager to dig in but he glanced at me first and furrowed his brows, looking at my portion versus his, “Do you not like the soup?” he asked,

I shook my head, “I was just taken aback by… yours,” I replied and he tilted his head before his brows raised,

“Ah, yes, I don’t eat as much in one sitting at the castle because the cooks stress out about the portions, I just eat smaller portions frequently,” he explained, and I hummed with a small nod,

“How… considerate of you, my lord,” I replied as my gaze landed and glued on the meat on those hind legs. Is this deer meat? It looks small next to him, but it’s genuinely really big. He chuckled as he sliced a piece of meat and stabbed it with his fork, reaching it out for me.

I looked at him for a quick second, pointing at the piece of meat and just pointing at my open mouth, like the weirdo I am, he nodded at me and I gulped before just putting the whole thing in my mouth, glancing at him for some sort of affirmation,

He chuckled, “Let the fork go, Pelo,” he reminded, and I awkwardly slid away from the fork he reached out to feed me with.

Whew. I am sure setting new highs in terms of awkwardness and embarrassment.

‘END ME’

Anyone would lag a bit in such a situation, right? ‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?’ It’s not my first time being spoon-fed but this is kind of a romantic setting, ‘IT MAKES IT TEN TIMES WORSE’ It’s fine though, at least I offered Lykus some mild entertainment, ‘I MADE A FOOL OF MYSELF!’ and this is delicious, this must’ve been cooked with a lot of seasoning, ‘I COULDN’T EVEN TASTE IT!’

“Do you like it?” Lykus asked as I robotically chewed the meat. When he asked that, he snapped me back to reality and away from my internal anguish,

“Hm? Oh, yes, yes, it’s delicious,” I replied with a vigorous nod, in my defense, it is really delicious, it was just overwhelming and I couldn’t focus on the taste because the feeling of shame overpowered my ability to taste.

He smiled, “I’ll order some for you as well,” he began as he tried to catch the attention of one of the servers. I immediately gulped the food down and raised my hands at him.

“Ah, no, please I wouldn’t be able to eat much, I’m…” I trailed off, lifting my serving of mushroom soup, “I’ll be fine with just this,” I replied and he huffed as he nodded,

“then… I’ll just share some of mine,” he said with a shrug and I cleared my throat with a small nod.

Shakily reaching for the spoon, still trying to process what had just happened.

‘Oh, my gosh—THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER BEEN IN THIS KIND OF SITUATION.’ Naturally… I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO.

He just tried to feed me, right? Is that going to happen more frequently now that he said he’s going to share his meal with mine? Would it be rude to refuse? I think I’ll have a heart attack if this keeps on. I scooped a spoonful of my soup to try and calm the nerves down,

“Oh!” I exclaimed, clasping a hand to my mouth. This is delicious! Oh, my gosh. I must’ve been a bit too over dramatic because immediately Lykus's eyes darted to me with a worried expression.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” he asked,

I waved him off lightly, “Ah, no… I’m sorry, it’s just I was a bit taken aback, the soup was… delicious… is all,” I replied whispering the last parts as I realized just how stupid that was. I looked around and notice that even the server was surprised and so were the other tables that were close by.

‘… this is hopeless. Can’t the ground just swallow me whole?’

I buried my face in my hands and rested them on the table as I heard Lykus laughing, “Wife, you’re quite a funny one, aren’t you?” he said in between his chuckles.

‘What a kind way of saying “you’re a clown” because that’s exactly what I am,’