Jacob and Maria walked through the crowded streets of the kingdom together. As they walked, passersby looked at the pair and whispered amongst themselves.
"It's the Crimson Prince."
"Who is that woman he's with?"
"She's scary. She hardly has any emotion in that expression."
"She's quite the sight though! Do you think her and the prince..."
"What? No way anyone would want to date someone with such an unattractive personality... right?"
"I heard from someone that she was able to take down a man three times her size."
"Now we're just making things up. That woman wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"But look at her eyes... they remind me of a reptile."
Jacob heard this last remark.
"Which one of you said that?!"
The crowd went silent.
"If you have anything to say about my servant, say it to me!"
Maria walked up to Jacob.
"Pardon me my lord, but what exactly are we looking for out here?"
Jacob sighed and turned away from the crowd to face her.
"We're looking for a certain enchantress. There are a few in the kingdom, but they move around quite a lot. Something about feeling an 'evil presence' which always just ends up being a critter stuck in a part of their building."
"Interesting. But you said a certain enchantress. Does she move a lot as well?"
"She's moved once, but that was because her other shop exploded when she tried to make a powerful enchantment one time."
"What was the enchantment?"
Jacob rubbed his head embarrassingly.
"A self-destruct charm. Don't try to ask me which client paid her enough to even attempt that."
"I see. Do you know her well? You seem to know a lot about her."
"I guess you could say my dad is something of an enchantment fanatic. He contracts them quite a lot, but this particular one we are visiting is by far his favorite. In terms of quality, she's in a class of her own."
Continuing their walk, Jacob's nose caught scent of something. Something... delicious. He realized that neither he nor Maria had anything to eat since they've been up. Turning around to ask her if she was hungry, Jacob noticed Maria glaring at the direction in which the scent came.
There was a butcher shop roasting seasoned meat over a fire with an impressive display for any who dared look in its direction.
"What's wrong? Are you hungry?"
Maria shakes her head, but he could tell it wasn't sincere.
"I just... I've never had that kind of meat before."
Jacob felt a bit shocked to hear this. He thought that even palace nobodies got to indulge in meats at least on holidays.
"Which meat have you not tried yet? The ham? The turkey? How about the beef?"
Maria went silent for a moment.
"...All of it."
"Then today's your lucky day. The whole point of us coming out here was to strengthen ourselves before we start our training, so let's enjoy the delicious meat. We can't be at our strongest with a poor diet."
Maria remained emotionless walking up to the stand. When the Prince turned around to ask her which meat she would like to try, he noticed her staring right at a stick of beef larger than her head. Whether she knew it or not, her mouth was hung open, allowing drool to drip down her chin.
Weirdly, her face remained completely emotionless... until he handed her the stick. She pounced on it like a wild tiger, her eyes ignited with avarice, her teeth tore the meat to shreds, drops of grease flew around her and painted her face.
Jacob and the woman behind the counter took a step back, fearing that getting close meant losing a finger... or an entire arm.
"Well, it seems like you are enjoying it quite a bit."
Even though he was a bit intimidated, Jacob couldn't help but laugh at the sight of this. He had never seen Maria act like this before and watching her made him feel warm. His mind drifted back to when they were laying on the ground together, locking eyes.
'Woah... Why am I think of that right now?'
When Maria finished stripping the stick from all its meat, she started gnawing on it like a bone before taking a bite and consuming the stick as well.
'What the hell?! Can people even do that?'
As she walked back over to Jacob, an innocent smile painted her face.
'Seriously? I've never seen her so happy in my life! Not even when she found her suit of armor!'
"Did you like it?"
Maria let out a loud burp and rubbed her mouth.
"Yes, my lord. It was quite tasty! Thank you for buying it for me. I am forever grateful."
After saying this she got on one knee and bowed.
"Woah woah stop doing that, there's no need. You saved my life remember? I can't look down on you until I pay you back. Deal?"
Maria stood up and nodded her head.
"Deal."
Jacob walked over to the counter and handed the woman a large pouch of gold coins. Her face lit up with shock.
"M-my lord, this is far too much! I can't possibly take this!"
The prince sighed.
"Just keep it. I need you to stay in business for a bit longer, so I hope you weren't planning on retiring soon. My servant here has taken a liking to your store, so I have a feeling this won't be the first time we will be here."
He looked over at Maria who was now staring at the assortments of pork laid out. Her mouth was open and drooling again.
'What the hell? Is she hungry again or just greedy? Ugh, at least she seems to be enjoying herself.'
The woman behind the counter bowed her head.
"Of course, I will stay open for as long as you need my lord."
"What's your name by the way?"
The woman looked even more shocked.
"It's Sarah, my lord. Sarah Frost."
"Thank you for the meats, Sarah. Please try to widen your selection, if possible, with the gold I just gave you. We will be back."
With that, the prince and his servant left the meat stand. Sarah started racking through her mind.
'Is it just me, or is the prince... different? This might be the first interaction I've had with him without fearing for my life. I wonder what's happened to the young man to make him change in such a short time.'