Determined, I opened the door, peeked out. The hallway, with the chandeliers and glittering embellishments on the walls, practically sparkled. But it was deserted. Grabbing a flowing pale pink robe, I slipped it on over my matching simple nightdress. They were completely unadorned, but no embellishment was necessary. The fabric was gossamer soft and slightly transparent, as if made by… hummingbirds or unicorns.
I stepped out, quietly shut my door behind me. Looking left, then right, I didn’t know which way to go. I chose right since I knew left led to the entry of this huge-ass alien mansion.
The sound of my footsteps was swallowed by the rugs. There was a back stairwell, less grand than the front curved one, but still something to be proud of.
“How many people clean this place?” I whispered, making my way down one floor, then the next. Once I went below ground level, the stairs lost the carpet and became more serviceable. I recognized the shift between family and servant areas. I felt confident the kitchen would be on this lower level. I couldn’t imagine Addan’s mom getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or making beef stew. Ever.
Meandering through the serpentine hallways, I found the kitchen. It was expansive with not one, but two, center islands. Stainless steel appliances were all over, although I doubted Insuri had stainless steel, and I didn’t know if they cooked like I did.
Opening and closing doors, I finally found the fridge. Pulled out a pitcher with a pink liquid inside. Sniffed.
“Fruity.”
I might rule the planet–ha!–but I didn’t dare drink from the pitcher, so I set it on the counter to grab a glass.
I inspected and sniffed various food items until I found what seemed like cheese. “Yes, cheese.”
A collection of rolls was under a small glass dome on one of the islands. It took a few minutes, but I found a knife, a pan and figured out how to turn on the stove, which didn’t have a flame, but the surface glowed a bright blue. It grew hot as I held my hand over it.
I prepared the cheese and bread, then set it in the pan. While letting it start to crisp up, I returned to the fridge and found leftover… salad from dinner. Something else that was red and yellow and smelled good. I set my snack on the island, then flipped my sandwich. It sizzled and the scent of melting goodness filled the air.
It made me smile. I wasn’t the type to complain. My mother had taught me that lesson, the hard way. When I was young, I either ate what we had in the house, or I starved. The day I moved out and got my first job, I swore I would never go hungry again. No reason to break that promise to myself just because I was on another planet.
Going down the line of cabinets, I found the drinking cups. They looked like fancy crystal that would cost a fortune to replace if my clumsy-ass dropped one, but I was going to pretend they were regular, cheap glasses. I poured the pink liquid into the bottom of one and took a sip.
Oh, yes. Perfect. Like strawberry lemonade but sweeter. I downed every drop and reached for the pitcher.
“What are you doing?”
Addan’s voice had me jumping and fumbling my crystal glass. I nearly dropped it, caught it against my stomach with my forearm, and thanked god the glass was empty.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I said, setting my hand over my heart. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my out-of-control pulse. The scent of him mingled with the aroma of melting cheese–or I hoped it was cheese.
He bowed ever so slightly. “I apologize, but why are you in the kitchen?” His eyes flicked over the room as if he’d never been here before. Maybe he hadn’t.
I went to the stove and checked my sandwich. Seemingly done, I pushed a few buttons, and the blue light went off.
“I’m making a snack.”
“We have cooks for that,” he replied matter-of-factly.
“I can cook my own grilled cheese.”
“What is cheese?” he asked, his brow forming a deep V.
“It’s, um… milk from an animal that’s been processed and fermented and made melty and gooey.”
His head cocked as if he didn’t know those adjectives.
Grabbing the pan, I tilted it so the sandwich slid onto the bare, clean counter. Picking up the sandwich, I tore it in two.
I smiled. “See? Melty and gooey.”
“That is not milk from an animal. It is craver, a–”
I held up my hand and half a sandwich. “I don’t want to know what it is. It smells good and I’m hungry.” I took a bite and closed my eyes. Whatever craver was, it was good. Better than cheese.
Addan’s growl had my eyes opening. “Do not make such sounds while eating,” he demanded. “Else I will think you have more needs than just slaking your hunger.”
