[41.2] Nightime Munchies

…A few hours later…

I awoke to the feeling of being strangled alive and a tail on my face.

I opened my eyes with a frown to discover Zephyr not only laying haphazardly on my bed, but Hazel sleeping beside me while holding me in a bear hug.

I heard a large snore coming from the couch in the room and pushed off Zephyr's tail to see Priscilla lying under a blanket snoring in an unattractive position on the couch.

…How did I manage to sleep through BOTH of these intruders coming in!?

And why are they even here!?!

*Groooowl*

Was that…

My stomach!?

I just realized I never got to eat dinner last night!

I fell asleep before I could eat anything!!!

Why didn't anyone wake me up!?

Ugh. I'm going to have to give them a punishment for that.

I tried to push Hazel off of me, but she tightened her grip on me. She whimpered in her sleep, "Mother-in-law…"

Well.

I don't like that.

How do I get these monster claws off of me!?

I'm hungry!

Hm…

I wonder.

I reached over and tickled her side.

She giggled in her sleep, "Hehe."

Her hands relaxed, allowing me to slip out of them.

I carefully crawled out of bed, trying to avoid waking up either. I heard movement and glanced back in a panic to see Hazel rolling over to grab Zephyr.

His lips curled into a smile as he snickered to himself in his sleep.

I shrugged and left the room, checking one more time to make sure they were all still asleep before shutting the door behind me quietly.

I walked down the eerie hallway and peered through the darkness. Suddenly, I heard a loud clap of thunder which made me jump.

Lightning erupted outside, illuminating a figure.

I saw what looked like Lene hanging upside down outside of the window staring in.

I rubbed my eyes in confusion, but when I looked, I saw no figure outside of the window.

I quickly opened the window up and looked around outside, but found no trace of the spider demon. I closed the window slowly, "Odd… I guess I was just seeing things."

I continued to walk down the hall, looking into each room.

Where is the kitchen!?

Ugh. It's so dark and spooky here at night.

I pulled my wand from my sock and illuminated the top.

I approached another room and heard the sound of two voices whispering.

"-It was just thunder. There's no need to be afraid."

"But why was there thunder?! There's no rain!"

"Maybe the gods are fighting."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better!? You know why thunder scares me so much!"

"Relax. I already have a headache from keeping everything together-"

Rather than two voices…

It sounds like the same person?

I poked my head into the room when I recognized the source of the two voices, "Felix?"

"AHH!"

Felix jumped with such a shrill scream, I winced in pain.

His face turned bright red, "H-How long were you listening!?!"

"Not long." I looked around the room, "Who were you talking to?"

He buried his face in his hands in embarrassment, "I was talking to myself!!!"

"Eh?"

Well… That would explain why both of the voices sounded like his.

"AHHH!" He started hitting his head against the wall, "I'M GOING TO DIE FROM EMBARRASSMENT!"

I walked over to soothe him, "Relax. We all talk to ourselves. There's no need to be so embarrassed."

He looked at me with a pitiful expression, "I-I just don't like thunder so I was trying to calm myself down."

I walked past him and stared through the window. The moon was surprisingly bright and lit up the woods surrounding the Villa. I hummed, "It is a bit spooky out."

Felix fidgeted uncomfortably, "W-Why are you up? Did the thunder-"

*Groooowl*

"AHH!" Felix jumped, "More thunder!?"

I forced a smile, "No… That was my stomach. I'm hungry."

He let out a sigh, "O-Oh… That makes sense. You didn't have a chance to eat dinner."

I frowned in irritation and put my hands on my hips, "And why didn't anyone wake me up!? Hm?"

He looked away awkwardly, "Well… We sent in Hazel to wake you up… Then she never returned."

"And Priscilla? Why was she in my room sleeping?"

He shrugged, "She said she was going in to investigate. I have no idea why she would fall asleep."

"So why didn't anyone else try to wake me up!?"

"We thought you were just tired from the trip, so we didn't want to wake you up."

I let out a sigh, "Ugh. Well thank you for your consideration, but now I'm hungry and I can't find the kitchen."

*BOOM*

Felix jumped and anxiously started pushing me out of the room, "I will show you to the kitchen."

Felix led me to the kitchen where he grabbed a few ingredients and bowls. I watched him curiously, "What are you doing?"

He rolled up his sleeves, "I'm making you something to eat."

"You won't have a servant do it?"

"We don't have any night staff here. They only come during the day."

I always watched my mother cook, but she rarely used her hands. Much like me, she preferred to do everything she could with her wand.

Felix, however, did everything by hand and was so skilled at it that I almost couldn't believe it.

Aren't privileged kids supposed to be terrible in the kitchen!?

I spoke up, "Why are you so good at this?"

He laughed, "You can say that after you try my food."

He handed me a bowl of soup and a few slices of bread. It looked so beautiful I felt as if it would be a tragedy to eat. As soon as the smell hit my nose, my mouth was already watering.

I raised a spoonful up to my lips.

My eyes watered as the overwhelming sensation of longing and nostalgia touched my tongue. My tastebuds erupted with cheers and I felt every pain I once held disappear.

Felix stared at me anxiously, "Well? How is it?"

I gently placed the spoon back down.

I nearly burst into tears, "It's the best thing I've ever tasted."

He let out a sigh of relief, "That's great to hear."

"How did you get so good at cooking? Didn't the servants make your food?"

"Ah, uh. Well, they did, but…" He flushed a deeper pink, "My mother was actually a chef and I wanted to be just like her. That's why I would always sneak into the kitchen at night to cook. It always made me feel closer to my mother…"

"Really? The Duchess is? She never speaks and is always expressionless so I assumed she lacked any sort of personality. I never thought she would have a secret talent."

He paused for a moment with a strange expression. Then he forced on a smile, "No… I meant my real mother."

"Oh… Sorry."

Crap! I completely forgot he was an illegitimate son.

Ugh… Now I feel bad.

He shook his head to comfort me, "It's okay. My stepmother treats me like her real son, so it's not painful."

"That's good…" I felt awkward so I cleared my throat, "And I bet your birth mother would be happy to know you try to cook in order to resemble her."

"Maybe. Although…" He looked at the food with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "In a weird way, I enjoyed cooking because it felt nice to have people rely on me. Everyone needs food… I think that's why I worked so hard to become a successful healer and create potions. People will always have a need for individuals with that skill."

Seeing the strange, foreign expression on his face, I suddenly lost the ability to speak.

Why do I feel like I caught a glimpse into the darker parts of Felix's mind?

He suddenly realized what he was saying and snapped out of his trance. He smiled at me, "And what about you? Why do you love art so much?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't put much thought into it."

He leaned toward me with an ominous smile, "Oh, I'm sure that's not it."

"I guess I just always wanted to make an impression so no one would forget me."

My expression stiffened.

Wait. Why did I just admit that!?

He leaned back and nodded in understanding, "I completely understand. We all want to leave a legacy in this world. Some people have families, others create art."

"And what about you?" I asked curiously, "How do you want to leave your mark on this world?"

He paused for a moment as if taken aback by my question. I could see his mind turning as he gave it thought. After a while, he just shrugged, "I guess I want to have my own family."

I smirked teasingly, "You don't want to become a famous artist?"

He laughed, "No, I don't think I am that invested in art. I enjoy it and would like to establish an art museum to share my love for it, but I don't think I'm particularly passionate about it."

"Then what are you passionate about?"

As he looked off into space with a strange smile, "Hmm… I wonder myself."

I downed the rest of the soup and rubbed my stomach, "You're still young. You have plenty of time to figure it out."

He laughed warmly, "Reika. I always envy how carefree you are."

"I'm not that carefree… I think."

"Aren't you at least nervous about the test tomorrow?"

I shook my head confidently, "Not at all. I'm a master magician, so what's there to be concerned about?"

Felix nodded in agreement, "I suppose you're right. Out of every contestant, no one is a stronger team than you and Prince Cyrus. You'll surely pass the test in the morning."

I rubbed my nose arrogantly, "You'd better believe it."

"Well… It looks like the thunder has stopped. I think I'm going to go to bed." He yawned and paused before leaving the room, "Don't stay up too late. You need to wake up early tomorrow in order to arrive at the competition on time."

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I hope you have a good sleep."

I followed him out to the hallway and walked back to my room. I opened the door and could already hear Priscilla snoring so loudly that the windows shook. I glanced at my bed to see that Hazel was still holding Zephyr in a death grip.

I let out a sigh.

There's no way I'd be able to fall back asleep in this room.

I silently closed the door and walked down the hall wondering whether I should just go into a different room.

However, before I realized it, I found myself standing in front of the room Cyrus was staying in.

Am I really going to do this?

I quietly opened the door and snuck inside trying to be as silent as possible.

I'm definitely doing this.

I peeked over at the bed and saw Cyrus sleeping on his back.

Ah. He hasn't changed.

He still sleeps fully dressed and in such a stiff position.

I chuckled.

It's kinda cute.

I gently pulled up the covers and climbed inside.

Cyrus's face pinched together and his eyes opened up groggily when he felt me join his side. He was clearly half-asleep as he mumbled, "Hm? What?"

I snuggled into his side, "Go back to sleep. I promise I won't try to take your shirt off… This time."

"Hm…" He allowed me to use his arm as a pillow and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

His embrace was so comfortable, I fell asleep quickly without ever getting the chance to do anything mischievous.