The Prince fell silent and began to eat . He was a tad bit baffled by the tastes that crossed his tongue . Spices that he never thought he had before, and warm nutty flavors of the meats that were prepared in a way he was unaccustomed . Smokey hints and fruity tangs that the palace never really served caught his attention . He quickly came to recognize the foods that he enjoyed and partook in them with a sense of elation . When a guess went right his eyes would light up, but if a guess went sour he ate the piece a bit dejectedly and went to unting the next guess .
After paying attention to his likes, Kyera ate the dishes she did not expect him to enjoy . She knew all these dishes and liked most of them quite well . A few she didn't have a particular taste for, but she ate them anyway . He seemed to have quite a similar pallet to her own . Once they finished she smiled and drank her dew .
Advertisement"This is very good food . What is most of it made of?" He asked curiously noticing she was finished eating .
"Oh most of it is wild game to be honest . Hare, Dove, i think that one was deer . " Kyera replied and he was a bit unimpressed . Most of those meats he had had before, multiple times . He almost called her a liar .
"Then why does it taste so different than the palace versions?" He asked curiously, he was honestly perplexed . Kyera just smiled at him and waved over the waitress . She handed her several coins and Clovis frowned . "No, I asked you to dinner My dear . I will pay . " He stopped her paying for the meal himself . The Waitress raised an eyebrow and looked to Kyera uncertainty .
"It is fine, Mavi . Thank you for the meal . " Kyera replied and the girl walked away putting the money in the days earnings . "As for why the food tastes so different, My Prince, I am afraid the preparation is the answer . We often dry our meets in a smokehouse before we store them away . After a while we rehydrate and recook to order . Just depends on what we have in store that day . I hope you don't mind, I know your Palace only cooks fresh but i figured you could enjoy the difference between our Peasant food and your Palace Fare . " Kyera explained with a soft chuckle . "Some of the spices might be foreign to you as well . " she added as a bit of a afterthought . He smiled .
"What does the smokehouse do?" He asked curiously as the stood to walk toward the gate .
"It is just a hot warm house where meat is hung to dry . It allows us to have good food prepared long into the winter without it being just rice and grains . " Kyera explained "Its very similar to drying fruits and leaves in the summer to enjoy come winter . "
"Ahh, so this can be done for any meat?" He asked seeing potential in this thought "I have always found meats dried to be tasteless . "
"That's because they were treated in order to preserve, not to infuse flavor . We often eat meats as they were dried, without cooking them so we tend to use smoke and spices on the meat before we cure them . " Kyera continued as they headed back to their horses . He nodded and chuckled at her, his eyes appraising her in the moonlight .
The horses were brought round and he turned to her "Let me help you into the saddle . " He offered but didn't wait for a response . He picked her up and set her on the horse . At first Kyera expected to fall, he didn't look strong enough to lift her and yet in the next session she was comfortable inplace . A warm blush tinted her cheeks as she looked away covering her mouth instinctively . Clovis smiled warmly at her . "Thank you . " She whispered and he nodded, swinging himself into his own saddle .
"You are a curious thing, Lady Kyera . A curious thing indeed . " Clovis told her with a fleeting glance before urging his horse down the path home . Kyera kept close on his trail, her eyes searching the trees for signs of trouble, after all this was her territory and not necessarily safe for the prince at night .
Chapter end
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