The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After the encounter with the ghost, Pranee didn't mind flying on the staff as much anymore.

Before they had left, the farmer insisted that they took a bag of oysters as thanks. His sister apparently came by early that morning and she had given him too much. At first, Shashi attempted to refuse his offer but Pranee took them anyways.

"I still don't understand why you took them. We have plenty of food." Shashi glanced at the bag Pranee had slung over her shoulder.

The air whipped through her hair violently that she had to keep one hand on her head at all times to stop the strands from going into her eyes.

"It would be rude to not accept it. Anyways, it's been a while since I've had oysters."

"Aren't they hard to open?"

"Not really, not unless you hold it the right way." Pranee looked at them with confusion until a thought entered her mind. "You never tried oyster, have you?"

"I haven't."

"How come?"

"Not sure if you noticed but cooking and eating are difficult enough."

Pranee promptly shut her mouth the moment she realized her blunder. Now that she thought about it, she never had seen Shashi eat in front of her. She wondered if they even ate at all yesterday.

"When we get back, I can crack some open for you."

Shashi didn't respond to her offer and they arrived at the tower in silence. She carefully stepped off the staff only to find her foot in something soft. She quickly looked down to see that the floor was littered with banana leaf packages. There seemed to be enough food to feed a family of five for an entire week from Pranee could estimate.

"What happened here?"

Shashi's question was only met with silence. Pranee could only gawk at the scene and stare at the seal on the door transforming into a portal. It quickly plopped out more packages of food before it went back into its original state.

"Why is there so much food? I know you're rich but this seems excessive." Shashi had put away their staff and had placed the bags next to the window.

"I don't think my... position would earn me preferential treatment as well."

Shashi scanned the room and their eyes became fixated on a specific area. Pranee followed their gaze to see that there was actually a note laying on top of the pile of packaged food.

"Was that always there?"

"I don't think so. I'll go retrieve it."

Pranee carefully walked across the room, trying not to step on any more packages. After some careful maneuvering, she was able to pick up the piece of paper and read its contents. She could feel the blood drain from her face the moment she read the words.

"So? What does it say?" Shashi asked as they carefully pushed some food to the side of the room.

"Make sure to eat well. You'll need it. From your beloved brother."

"Family can send you things while you're imprisoned?"

"No, they... shouldn't be. At least not like this."

If it was the king... then she had a bad feeling that he had something planned for her. The only thing that puzzled her was what exactly it was that he wanted.

"Should we eat first? We can deal with this later." Shashi sighed as they sat on the bed.

"Do you have a small knife somewhere?"

"Somewhere on the bookshelf, why?"

"I'm going to open the oysters."

"Don't you need to cook them?"

"They're perfectly fine to eat raw."

The disgusted look on Shashi's face only amused Pranee as she remembered that they hadn't tried it before.

She grabbed the knife and walked back to Shashi before plopping the bag beside her. Shashi was startled as they had already peeled off a layer of banana leaves off a small packet.

"Why are you sitting so close?"

"I want you to try an oyster."

Pranee had already wedged the knife into a small opening of the oyster and had cracked it open. Luckily, she had remembered how the maids would prep seafood for her whenever she felt like eating it. Shashi just stared at her in silence and she continued to prep the oyster.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Just try it, it's not going to kill you." Pranee held out the oyster shell in front of their face.

"But it's raw." They only stared at it with uncertainty and Pranee frowned.

"Just try one a least. You don't know if you'll like it."

"...fine."

Shashi couldn't look Pranee in the eye but she just ignored it and held her hand closer to their face.

"How do I eat it?"

"You just eat it all at once. It's like eating a spoonful of soup."

"Okay..."

Shashi quickly ate the oyster from Pranee's hand and looked away from her as they finished eating it. Pranee realized what had just happened and she could feel her cheeks warm up slightly. She tossed the empty shell into one side of the bag and cracked open another one. That was when Shashi let out a quiet mumble.

"Hm?" Pranee looked at them in confusion. "What did you say?"

"It was good."

Pranee couldn't help but smile after seeing their bashful face and held out the opened shell towards them.

"Want some more?"

"Only if you're alright with it."

"Yeah... I don't mind."

Right after she said it, they eat from her palm again. She couldn't help but feel it was more intimate than most meals she had. She quickly pushed the thoughts away, reminding herself of what they said the other night. What was intimate to her might not be intimate for them.

"Anyways, we should finish the oysters today. They can spoil really fast." Pranee tossed the empty shell into the bag and picked up another unopened oyster.

"What should we do with... all this then?"

"Eat what we can I suppose," Pranee remarked.

She gulped an oyster and looked around the room, eyeing the piles of food on the ground. If her father were still alive, they would have already given this much food to the temples for karmic merit.

She cracked open another oyster and an idea popped into her mind. She quickly fed it to Shashi and they stared at her in surprise.

"Are there any temples near here?" She asked excitedly.

They carefully swallowed and cleared their throat. "I guess, why?"

"I know what we can do with it."