Chapter 9: The Dinner

Her footsteps echoed through the walls, and her voice carried along the runes. The glowing is enough for her to not light a candle.

Xiao switched from one poem to another as she made her way to the middle temple. She wished that she can explore it more, but it's kinda hard to do so when it's night time, and she can barely see anything.

"Loneliness is weapon," She knew the composer of this poem, and it's not the first time she's singing it. "But, being alone is a friend..."

"I thought you have better taste." His baritone voice greeted her as soon as her eyes could see the silhouette of a man.

At the entrance to the middle temple, the demon stood leaning on the door frame. His eyes glowed as red as the runes, and the chains tangled together since he crossed his arms. She rolled her eyes at him, and the moonlight made the chains around his wrists shiny.

"What's wrong with Revera Dawn?" Xiao asked back.

There's a playful sneer in his voice when he responded, "Last time you came, you sang Ode to The Fallen."

It took a moment of her squinting her eyes at him in annoyance, and then it clicked. The book "Ode to The Fallen" is a collection of poems, and on the first page, the composer's name wasn't written down.

She gave a kick to his calf, and he let out a roaring laugh when her boots hit him.

"You self-absorbed asshole!" Xiao looked up at his face; her neck already hurting from being so close to him since she's barely three-quarter of his height.

His laugh only got louder, and he stopped leaning on the door frame. His full height casted a shadow over her as his red eyes glazed down at her, but she's too angry to think that he's scary to other normal human beings.

Ode to The Fallen is a good collection of poems, but the composer standing in front of her isn't someone she would expect to write good poetry. And he's giving her a cheeky grin, sharp teeth and all.

"The insanity slowly undress," He recited the words she had read over a thousand times. "Masks ripped off their heads."

The runes didn't react to his voice, and Xiao traced her fingers over them. Why...? Is it because he's the one being trapped here?

"Never been so distressed," The demon finished the poem. "When the king lays to rest."

"The non-existent queen climbed his bed," As soon as her voice came out, the runes started glowing red again. "She kissed his crown as all fell down."

"My little witch, I'm so honored that you're a fan—"

Xiao gave him another kick, but this time she aimed for his knee. The demon snorted a chuckle, and he didn't buckle.

For a moment, the young witch forgot that he's a demon chained to the Silverin Temple, and that her physically hurt him is useless. She reminded herself that he was once human too, a born shadow wielder from the royal family.

She took a deep breath and walked passed him into the moonlight. Then, she took out a blanket from her messenger bag and laid it on the floor. The creamy white fabric contrasted the dark gray stone, and she sat down on it like she's at a picnic.

Metallic sounds rang through the space as the demon adjusted his chains so that he can sit down in front of her. Disappointment blossomed in her when he didn't join her on the blanket.

Instead of dwelling on it, Xiao began taking out items from her messenger bag. The first item is a candle, easily lit by a word of magic. The book she got from the library was taken out first and carefully laid down on the blanket, followed by a small notebook and a pencil.

"Getting right to work, I see." Another chuckle came from the demon as he rested his head on his hand, and his elbow dug into his thigh.

Beady black eyes followed his forearm to his thigh, and she bit her bottom lip. The young witch is using all her will to resist exploring the fabric in between those muscular thighs.

She quickly tore her eyes away from him and reached for the last item in her bag. A wooden fitted at the bottom of her bag, and Xiao let out a sigh of relief as she checked the box. Nothing spilled, but she's still cautious. Maybe she'll wrap it in leather, or put in a pouch next time.

"You better be grateful for this." She put the box down in front of him, out of the boundary of her blanket.

He raised his thick eyebrow elegantly, as if asking her what for. She pressed her lips into a hard line.

Dumbass. Who knows? Are lunch boxes different back then?

She reached out and opened the box with a click, and she lifted the lid. Inside showed a fried fish with brown sweet and savory sauce on one side. The other side laid some rice. It's what the cafeteria had cooked up for dinner today. She wanted to bring soup too, but she felt like she's asking too much from the chefs. They're already giving her some left overs for no good reason, they just happily filled her lunchbox when she asked without questioning her why she needed extra food.

The spoon and fork was taken out of the lid, and she gently placed them on the side of the rice.

"It's not warm though," She sighed. "It took me a while to figure out how to get here without suspicion."

It took her three nights to return to him since their initial meeting.

Red eyes looked up from the food to her face, bewilderment evident in those eyes. His lips parted slightly as he looked back down at the food, and then back at her. A smirk slowly formed on his face, and Xiao should've slapped it off right then and there.

"You're bribing me with food?"

"Why would I bribe you?" She asked back.

To be honest, she had silver carps for dinner, and it reminded her of the one thing he complained about most in the books he told her to get.

His clawed hands picked up the wooden lunch box with utmost care, and he balanced it on his thigh.

"It's silver carp." She couldn't help but giggled when the smirk was wiped off his face.

"They're edible?" He poked the fork at the fish, and she nodded in response. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Just had it for dinner. It's from the cafeteria."

The demon doesn't look convinced, so Xiao scooted closer to him. Close enough that she can see the veins running up his neck under the candle light, and at the same time, he's looking at her like she just poisoned his tea.

The young witch reached for the fork and spoon in his hands, and she dissect a good chunk of the fish. She made sure that he's watching her while her eyes focused on his face as she lifted the fork to her lips.

Xiao put the entire piece into her mouth and chewed. The fish smelled a little fishy now that it's cold, but the sauce always saved the day.

His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes stayed on her lips. It's easy to forget that he probably hasn't had any real food for two centuries, and she kind of felt bad for him, that's why she packed the lunch box in the first place. At the same time, she wanted to get him for the injustice done on silver carps.

"Do I have to feed you?" Now it's her turn to smirk at him, and he shook his head, a small smile on his lips, almost shy.

She handed him back the silverware, and he carefully picked apart the fish piece by piece.

After the first bite, he dug in.