While Adabelle had wanted to take the tunnels to get out of the castle, Trevor was immediately against it. After last night, the only thing he wanted was to spend time amongst the people. While his date hesitated, she was also quick to give in, happy to see the look on his face.

Crossing over the two bridges was slow going as they moved amongst the traffic, but the sights were marvelous. The vast majority of the people were dressed up in fancy outfits ranging from kimonos to suits and dresses to loose robes not unlike what Trevor had worn. To his relief, he saw both men and women of all races wearing minotauran garb, and Adabelle explained that it became popular during King Eskretet V’s reign.

Feeling a lot more confident with his life choices and his physique, Trevor stood up a little straighter as he walked arm in arm with Adabelle. He found that every little thing grabbed his attention. It didn’t matter whether it was someone’s outfit or a floating light or something mundane decorated for the festival, mentally he was getting pulled everywhere.

“Everyone’s first time is hectic,” Adabelle said, patting him on the arm.

“There’s so much to see,” Trevor replied happily. “Everything is so bright, and the people are so happy. Everything seems perfect.”

“The Festival of Golden Lights is a national holiday that everyone agrees on,” she explained. “It does so much for the city. The cleanup is terrible, but everyone who’s able pitches in. It’s Eskretet’s favorite way to bring its people together.”

“Mine, too,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t mind coming here every year, so long as I’m not working or something.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re staying.”

“Yeah, it’s a really good thing,” he said, grinning.

Thankfully, Matteo’s wasn’t too far away from the second bridge they had to traverse, and Trevor’s attention span had a chance to rest as they stepped inside.

The restaurant was a tall building with high windows allowing natural light to come in. The entrance was a wide hallway leading to a counter with a gnome standing behind it and two doorways beyond. The gnome had slicked back hair and wore a fancy suit, and his eyes twinkled as the two approached.

“Ah, you are exactly as the merchant prince described, Mister Trevor Anderson,” he said, bowing deeply. “I have been expecting you and Lady Adabelle. Shall I escort you to your room?”

“Room?” Adabelle asked, glancing from the gnome to Trevor.

When Trevor gestured to their server, they bowed again. “Klarkartar has given Mr. Anderson leave to use his private dining room overlooking the park,” the gnome explained. “For lunch, of course, as the merchant prince will be here for dinner.”

“And that’s that,” Trevor said, grinning at his date. He could tell that she was trying to act like a noble, but the way she squeezed his arm conveyed her true feelings. “Please, lead the way.”

“Of course, sir,” the gnome said before jumping down from his step ladder and leading them towards the door on the right side of the hallway. He opened it and led them upstairs.

Their dining room was on the third floor and came with a stunning view of the park and river. The water was clean with several colorful fish swimming around it, which had surprised Trevor as he had thought it was a moat at first. After traveling through the city on Klar’s quest, he had come to learn that they were proper rivers though they had been directed to flow where the officials wanted, leaving the impression of two moats around the castle.

A table for two was set near the window, which took up the entire wall. Tall candelabras sat across from it, unlit as the light from outside was more than enough to illuminate the room. Pulling out Adabelle’s chair, he gestured for her to sit. She did, her tail slipping between the slats on the back, before Trevor sat across from her.

The only objects on the table were two small, blue pillows with what appeared to be a red breath mint strip. Adabelle had mentioned something similar, and Trevor eyed it before looking over at the gnome.

With a gracious nod, the gnome spoke. “This is one of the merchant princes’ favorite places in the entire city. The window is one way, so do not be concerned with the people watching you as you have total privacy here. We will knock thrice before entering, and will only do so when instructed. I will be leaving you now to return to my post, but all you need to do is place these strips on your tongue and Chef Matteo will whip you up something marvelous.”

“Thank you,” Trevor said before looking at Adabelle. “Anything we should be asking?”

“No. Thank you for your service,” she said, bowing slightly towards the gnome.

“It is my pleasure, sir, my lady,” the gnome replied before bowing deeply and exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

“Klar really wants to get on your good side,” Adabelle remarked as she looked at the strip on the table to the window. “I thought you might have been embellishing, but you don’t really do that, do you?”

“I have been known to embellish, but not about things that matter,” Trevor said. “Shall we?”

“Oh, yes, let’s,” she said as they both picked up their strips and did as instructed.

As much as it looked like it was meant to freshen his breath, Trevor was surprised when it was tasteless and dissolved almost instantly. There was no other sensation, no leftover residue in his mouth, it was just gone. “Is that it?”

“That’s it,” Adabelle confirmed. “It’s the same experience I had when I first came here.”

“Huh, neat,” he said as something caught his eye outside. The young man leaned towards it. “Oh, man, is that a gondola? I didn’t see those when I was running around the city!”

Adabelle laughed and leaned forward, putting her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm. “Really? Impressed by a gondola?”

“What? I’m a simple man with simple tastes, I’m not going to rein in my excitement,” he said with a chuckle.

“They bring them out on special occasions,” Adabelle explained, looking down into the river. “It’s really just a tour around the castle, but we can go if you like.”

“You won’t mind?” he asked.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I won’t. I also enjoy being out in the water, and it’ll be nice to be with someone who won’t want to jump off the boat immediately.”

Trevor laughed. “I can see how that might dampen the mood.”

Adabelle tried not to be amused by his pun, but ended up snorting a quick laugh. “Dampen the mood, really?”

“Yes, really,” he said, grinning at her before looking back down towards the water. “I was pretty landlocked on Earth. There were lakes and rivers, but not a lot of people were boating on them, so there weren’t a lot of chances for me to go.”

A trio of knocks came from the door, grabbing their attention. “Come in,” Adabelle instructed.

The door opened, revealing a human waiter in dark clothes. He carried a tray with six glasses on it, and set three of them in front of Adabelle and three in front of Trevor before taking the small pillows the strips had been on. “Your food is now cooking, but please enjoy your refreshments until then.” With another bow, the man left.

“This is pretty exciting, I only received two glasses when I ate down below last time,” Adabelle said happily.

“I’m assuming they’re catering to our tastes specifically?” Trevor asked as he looked over the glasses.

“That is correct,” she said before leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially. “In the main dining room, there’s rules against sharing. Do you mind if we both test everything we want to try?”

“Lady Adabelle, that’s simply scandalous!” Trevor responded, bringing his hand to his mouth. When she looked ready to walk it back, he shook his head. “Of course I’m willing to try everything. And whatever we don’t eat, we’ll take. I cleared out my inventory for this, lady.”

Reaching across the table, Adabelle playfully hit him. “Don’t do that to me, Trevor!” she said, laughing. “Oh, this is going to be good. Are we testing drinks, too?”

“As long as you don’t mind drinking after me, then I don’t mind drinking after you.”

“Then let’s do it,” she said with a decisive nod.

Trevor didn’t think about it, but grabbed the first glass. It was warm to the touch, though not hot, and he sipped at the brown liquid inside. Chocolate mixed with chai and cinnamon delighted him in a way that he didn’t realize he would enjoy. As he swished it around his mouth, he found himself nodding at the taste.

Leaving that, he picked up the next one. It was a similarly dark drink, though darker than the chocolate. Bringing it up to his lips, he gave it a sniff before partaking. It bubbled and fizzed in his mouth with a sweet taste he couldn’t completely place, though it was without a doubt just as good as the chocolate.

The last glass was filled with a swirling mixture of pink and yellow liquid. A strawberry floated on the ice inside, and he was surprised to see that it was actually the color it was supposed to be on Earth. Setting it aside on a napkin, he took a drink and immediately started nodding.

“You really can’t go wrong with strawberry lemonade,” he sighed before looking up to see that Adabelle had already finished her tests, and was smiling at him. “What?”

“Just enjoying your reactions,” she said. “Would you like to swap?”

“Yeah, have at it, lady,” he said, lining up his drinks for her as she did the same.

He immediately went for what he assumed was her version of hot chocolate. Adabelle had apparently thought the same, because she grabbed his. They clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. Chocolate flavor did explode in his mouth, but it mingled with something similar to salted caramel and vanilla. It was good, though not as good as his.

Her second glass was filled with a thick, green liquid that looked a lot like a vegetable smoothie. Never liking them but feeling adventurous, he pulled it to his mouth and took a quick sip. It was more bitter than he expected, but not entirely unpleasant. If Trevor had received this in his original lineup then he would have called this place a sham, but Adabelle seemed to really enjoy it so he didn’t have a leg to stand on.

The last drink was light red and fizzed, popped, and bubbled as he stared at it. Clearly seeing Adabelle’s lips printed on the edge of the glass, he figured it was at least safe to drink, and quickly took his sip. It tickled his nose, and he realized immediately that it had alcohol in it, something he didn’t normally care for.

“Yours are so much more varied than mine,” Trevor noted as he returned Adabelle’s glasses.

“And yours are all so sweet,” she said. “Not that it's a bad thing, of course. As for my drinks, as a noblewoman growing up I had to travel a lot and get used to many types of cuisines. My palate is very diverse because of my experiences.”

A question popped up in Trevor’s mind, and he knew it was a private one. “Do you mind if I ask you about something you might not like?” he asked slowly.

“Of course, Trevor,” she replied.

“When you came here and got changed into a demonkin, did you find that your tastes changed?”

Adabelle blinked before offering him a gentle smile. “You’re concerned about my feelings regarding this?”

“Well, yeah. It’s a big change.”

Reaching out, she took Trevor’s hand. “First, thank you for being concerned,” she said. “The fact that you are so sensitive about how other people feel is one of the things that initially drew me to you.”

“Oh, uh, thank you,” Trevor said, smiling at the unexpected praise.

“Second, I am at peace with my circumstances,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Are they ideal? No, but it’s far better than the alternative, and I lived for years thinking it wasn’t. I’ve gotten over it, and even come to love myself again. It also helps that, to answer your question, no, my tastes didn’t change with me. I still like and dislike everything I did before.”

“You’re inspiring, you know that?” Trevor said as he squeezed back. “Just, everything about you. Your drive, your empathy, your resilience. I know you’d be able to thrive anywhere.”

Adabelle smiled, and the young man could hear her tail swishing before she got it under control. “Thank you, Trevor,” she said. “It took me a long time to get to where I am today, but I also like who I’ve become, even if I can be a little full of pride and wrath at times.”

“Well, let the record show that I completely forgive you for being rude to me when we first met,” Trevor said lightly. “It’s water under the bridge, lady.”

“And yet you still call me lady, Son of Ander,” she playfully challenged with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s kind of our thing now, isn’t it? One of the founding pillars of our friendship?”

Adabelle opened her mouth to say something against it, but found that the words wouldn’t come. With a light laugh, she shook her head. “I want to say that’s wrong, but I’m afraid it’s completely accurate.”

“Aww, don’t be afraid. It all worked out, didn’t it?” he asked, waving his free hand to gesture at the room.

“Not actually afraid,” she laughed. “You’re just trying to push my buttons. Well, it’s not going to work. I’m in too good a mood.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for,” Trevor said. Three more knocks came from the door, and this time he called out. “Come in.”

The door opened to allow the same man from before into the room carrying a large tray of food. Behind him was a halfling woman who was doing the same. They set up small tables and put the platters down before she bowed and left. “Will there be anything else?” the man asked.

“No, we’re good,” Trevor said absently as he stared at the food.

“Very good, sir. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out,” he said before bowing and leaving.

“This is glorious,” Trevor stated.

“I told you that it was a transcendent experience,” Adabelle reminded.

“Next time you say that, I’m going to believe you for sure.”

Sitting beside them was a veritable buffet of foods ranging from meats to vegetables to desserts. Steaks next to roast, soup next to salad, pie next to ice cream, Trevor saw everything he knew he liked and more. The scents mingled with each other as the room filled, and his stomach growled.

“There’s no way we can eat all of this,” he said as he started pulling food off of the platter and onto the table. “I’ve never been so happy to pick up a time locked inventory before. This is going to last us for days.”

Adabelle happily nodded as they began to dig in.