14 Dinner with Dani

Tyler examines the diamond in his hand: a transparent, jagged rock four inches around with irregular edges. Light reflects off of the gleaming ball and into Marci's wide sapphire eyes.

"That's awesome!" Tyler exclaims. "I wish that I could do this back home, I'd be rich!"

"Beautiful," Marci gasps without taking her eyes off the diamond. "This can make you rich here as well; however, you promised that one to me and my people."

"Right, right, here you go." Tyler hands her the shimmering disco-ball. "It seems like I can make a lot of that when you need it."

"Great, but we shouldn't push it for now."

"Yeah. Besides, this is all you earned this afternoon."

"What do you mean this is all I earned?"

Tyler pulls out his phone, opens the Destiny Dating app, clears his throat, and reads out loud, "The captain of the guard dyes his hair. That wasn't even something I saw with my powers, he just does a terrible job."

"Tyler!" Marci reaches for the phone, but Tyler pulls it across his body and out of her reach. "You promised that would be private!"

"No one else is here but us." Tyler gestures to the large, empty lab room. "Anyway, that little tidbit is worth the largest diamond I've ever seen... I guess."

Marci blushes. "I didn't know you held my honest opinion in such high regard."

"Well, now you do. Still, that diamond was surprisingly easy to make."

"Of course it was," Dani snaps from behind them. Tyler and Marci jump into the air; the diamond almost falls from Marci's hands, and Tyler instinctively puts his arms around Marci.

"You didn't actually make anything! That is just a raw material you modified the atomic structure of so that someone else could make the final product. What's the point of that?" Dani continues, narrowing her eyes at the pair embracing in front of her.

Marci's face turns a deeper shade of red as Tyler removes his arm. Clearing her throat, Marci answers, "The point is to revive our economy. Tyler promised to help as part of an agreement we made over lunch."

"So he makes you diamonds, and you tell him what guards dye their hair? That sounds like a fair trade." Dani rolls her eyes as Marci's whole body tenses. "Either way, you two have been missing all day."

"After lunch, we decided to-"

"I don't care what you did, blondie. Tyler, would you like to have dinner with me?" Dani ignores the fuming princess of Flayria and locks eyes with Tyler. Rather than showing anger, her eyes are pleading with him.

"Sure, just let me-" Tyler starts.

Dani cuts him off with an excited shriek. She grabs his hand and shouts, "Let's go!"

Tyler looks back at Marci's bewildered face as he is led out of the lab by the hand. "What's the rush?" he asks the red headed princess.

"Rush? We aren't in a hurry; why is there something you want to do before we eat?"

"No, I was just wondering why you literally dragged me out of there."

"If you kept up I wouldn't have to drag you!"

"It's an expression, Dani." Tyler frees his hand and glares at her. "Seriously, you have been more relaxed when we are about to die. What's up?"

Dani stop and sighs. She looks at Tyler with a pained expression and whines, "Tyler, I'm bored! There's nothing to do here while you are being tricked into making gemstones for the princess of flattery!"

"Oh, I'm sorry you are bored. Why didn't you just join us?"

"Do you really think she wanted me there?"

"Well, you two should probably learn to get along at some point..." Dani glares at Tyler. Her eyes burn like two tiny suns focusing their heat on him. "Never mind, why don't we just head to the kitchen?"

"That would be wonderful! Let's see..." Dani turns are looks down the hallway in both directions. "Umm... it was this way?" she mumbles heading down a corridor.

"You are lost, aren't you?"

"No! I just don't know where we are."

"Hold on, I think that I can help." Tyler pulls out his phone and opens the Flayria Castle app. "Should be... this way, follow me!"

"There is a map of this place on your phone?" Dani asks, following Tyler.

"It's an app Marci gave me to use while we are in the castle."

"She didn't send me a map!"

"That's probably because you would rather burn the castle down than live in it."

"Does that app show you the most flammable locations?"

"What? No, why would that be a feature?"

"Tyler, you shouldn't get a girls hopes up like that."

"I can't tell if you are joking or not..."

"Of course I'm joking! Breaking the armistice would mean that Qaplurg attacked every nation in the alliance due to the intergalactic treaty." Dani puts her hands on her hips and blocks Tyler's path. "Sometimes you treat me like I'm a moron... why are you so cruel to me?"

"Sorry, I'm not trying to be mean; you often act recklessly though."

"Decisive action is not the same as recklessness. We can't all think about things without doing anything."

"Are you referring to Marci or me?"

"Both, I guess. You two are similar in that way."

"I'm not going to apologize for thinking."

"Well, you won't hear me apologize for taking action. Actually, this is a good thing to disagree on."

"What do you mean 'a good thing to disagree on'?"

"If you want to think too much, and I want to 'act recklessly,' then we balance each other out well."

"That's... a good point, I suppose." The pair walks into a large, empty dining hall.

"Finally!" Dani shouts as she looks around the room. "Where do we order? Do they not have attendants?"

Remembering his personal attendant, Tyler produces his phone again. "I'll call one," he announces, pressing a button under the attendant tab.

"Good evening, Tyler, how may I be of service?" Darnell asks after the phone rings once.

"Umm... we were hoping to get some dinner."

"Certainly! What would you like? I'll have it delivered wherever you are eating."

"I'll take-" Tyler starts, but Dani takes the phone from his hand.

"Yes, we will have some Viridi Gelnoid and scrambled humforid eggs!" She yells into Tyler's phone.

"Hey! I want-"

"Oh, and some biscuits and jelly! I love biscuits and jelly! Thank you." Dani hangs up the phone and squeals in excitement

"What did you even order?"

"My favorite foods! They have them all!"

"Can I order something?"

"You can share with me!"

"Gee, thanks..."

"Tyler." Dani grows serious, locking eyes with Tyler. "Have you even tried any new foods since coming here?"

"Not really, but I-"

"Did you know that the chicken you ate earlier was four-months salary for the servants here?"

"How do you know that?"

Dani shrugs. "There was nothing to do all day today, so I was talking with the attendant outside my room. She complained that a picky eater from another realm ordered an exotic bird from his home for lunch."

"Then why did Marci-"

"Because she just wants to give you whatever you want. If you are going to live here for at least a few months, shouldn't you learn to like some foods?"

"Probably..."

"You May think I'm reckless or thoughtless, but I've never done anything without your best interest at heart." Dani walks away and slumps into a large wooden chair on the far end of the long, marble table. Crossing her arms, she scowls at the ground.

Dazed, Tyler stares at her. After a minute, he approaches her with trepidation. Sitting in the chair next to her, he whispers, "I never considered that, thank you."

"Ha!" Dani cries, turning to hide the tears running down her cheek. "I'm surprised you aren't running to miss perfect to hear exactly what you want to hear, again."

"Actually, my deal with Marci is that she tells me her honest opinion, rather than what I want to hear."

"Oh, so you even like brutal honestly when she does it, just not when I do!"

"No, I-" Tyler sighs and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but you also put me in an impossible situation!"

"Me? What did I do?"

"Dani, would I even have to learn about these weird new foods if you didn't drag me into this mess?"

"I guess not..."

"You are right though: now that I'm here, I need to adapt."

Looking up, Dani forces a huge smile. "Don't you know that I'm always right!"

"Yeah, one day I'll catch on."

Suddenly, two men in tuxedos burst through a set of double doors carrying two covered treys of food each. They place both in front of the talking couple and remove the lids. Steam carries the smell of roasted meat throughout the room.

"It's here!" Dani shouts, seeming to cheer up in a hurry. "I'm starving!" She lunges for the food; a plate is covered in green meat and eggs, biscuits, and jelly in a mere moment.

"Hey, why don't we make a deal as well?" Tyler asks, watching her shovel green eggs into her mouth.

"What kind of deal?" Dani mumbles with her mouth half full.

"I don't know; how about I try any new thing you want me to do, but in return, you tell me about yourself."

"Forcing me to explain myself?" Dani pauses to consider Tyler's offer. "How come Marci gets diamonds and I don't?"

"Would you rather have a diamond?"

"No, I have diamonds back home, it just seems unfair."

"What else do you want?"

"I'll trade you information about me for the same about you, and I'll make you try new things anyway." Dani holds out her hand and grins. "Deal?"

"Fine, deal." Tyler shakes her out stretched hand. "You have to start right now though."

"What do you want to know?"

Tyler thinks for a moment. "Why do you hate Marci so much?"

"Ah, an easy one! She is annoying."

"That doesn't count!"

"Kidding, calm down. I guess she just represents everything that I don't want to be."

"What do you mean?"

"She swallows her feelings and placates everyone in the name of serving her country. I love my country, but I don't want to force myself to be someone I'm not just to satisfy the ego of some foreign official... Does that count?"

"Yeah, I think I understand where you are coming from." Tyler looks over at the platters and cringes. "We had a big lunch, so I don't know if-"

"Nope, you cant do that. We had a deal!"

"Okay, okay..."

Tyler scoops slimy green meat onto his plate; immediately, Dani piles eggs next to it. With a grimace, Tyler shoves a bit into his mouth.

"Wow, that tastes like ham!" he exclaims.

"See, isn't it good?" Dani says with a grin. "Also, what is 'ham'?"

"Food that you will have to try whenever we get back to my realm."