You Lie

"You are lying.."

Even as Flaris made this accusation, she was wondering if what he said was really true. Could he really read thoughts. This would be terrible. Was it not enough that she was stuck here on this strange planer with a stranger and now he had to even hear her thoughts.

Prince Wu Long stared at her adorable confused face which was set in a pout and nodded agreeable,"Of course. I cannot hear your thoughts. You wee actually muttering hem under your breath. I have really good hearing."

As Flaris felt relief course through her, she kissed the emphasis on the words *your* that Wu Long had given.

Bit once again the relief changed to a frown. What was this contradiction? Did General Jin Teng not say that the Prince was older than him and also that older people do not eat? Then why was he looking for a chef? And what kind of danger was his Wu Long putting her in? Shouldn't he be hiding her from the authorities so that they would not take her way to conduct experiments on her? It was better to ask. So she did. And then waited and waited as Wu Long continued to stare back at her.

Finally, he heaved a sigh and elsaid,"Jin Teng has given you only half explanations. Dragons and even humans on this planet, live a long life. By long, if we were to consider it in human terms we would be called immortals. We can die of course but not easily. However, just like older people on Earth go into depression, male dragons who have lived and experienced things over the centuries start to lose interest in the world around them. As a result, their emotions enter a state of numbness and all enjoyment started to deplete. This was done by the fates to ensure that only the strong would survive. Similarly, there is a reward for the strong. And that is their mate. Once the men are mated, every feeling and every emotion starts to return with strength. And so does hunger and the muted senses of taste touch and smell. They will slowly start to return to the way they used to be.."

As Flaris heard the explanation, her first thought was that this was really twisted! Who wants to wait for a mate so that they could experience the joys of eating? But then again, General Jin Teng did imply that the Fates were cruel. She softly patted Wu Long's hand and said," Fine fine! I will make tasty food for you before your senses go dull and you go into depression. But I won't go work for the prince. He sounds gross from what General Jin Teng described."

The absent General Jin Teng felt shivers as he readied to work in the mine. If he had known that Flaris would think the opposite of what he was implying and think poorly of the Prince, he would have kept his mouth shut. Before Wu Long could think of a more severe punishment for his errant General, Flaris distracted him as she asked," What do you like to eat the most? I'll see if I can help you with it.."

"I have heard that there is a Fried Chicken Pot Pie on Earth that is very tasty. Can you make that for me?"

Flaris' eyes widened in horror! Who had told Wu Long about that KF.. fried chicken! That was the worst sort of food! The oils, the salts they used and the maltodextrins...Yuck"

"Who even told you about that?"

" A friend. His mate is also from Earth and she always talks about that so I wondered.."

In his excitement, Wu Long slipped up and mentioned another person from Earth," There are other women from Earth here? And what was it that you said, She is mated?"

Folding her arms in front of her, Flaris glared at her benefactor and asked, "Why don't we discuss the results of your investigation in detail before we talk about your unhealthy food cravings?"

But Wu Long was not to be distracted from his mission as he said," Not before you agree to make the food for me."