A Parallel Dream

Chapter 6: An Interesting Dinner

The King had prepared a magnificent feast for us to enjoy. Servants lined the sides of the room with silver platters in their hands. Steam rolled from underneath the closed lids of a few of the containers.

"We would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome our guests, the Empress Grace Parencia, Grand Transmaculator Felicia von Bettinger, and the Empress's acquaintance Elijah Arrington."

Geez... did he really have to add in that I'm an acquaintance? It makes me sound like I just randomly showed up to the palace and just happened to be with them. They should remember, they are the ones who summoned me here. We sat around the elongated table positioned in the middle of the room. Servants brought forth a plethora of shining domed platters.

"Let the feast begin!" The king motioned to the servants to remove the domes from their respective dishes. The smell overtook me at first. Sweet, savory, salty. The aromas smacked my nose. I had forgotten just how hungry I had been. The dishes were a mixture of many different colors I didn't know could be mixed together.

"What is this?" I used my utensil to pull apart one of the dishes that had been set in front of me. It was a dark blue and green with white noodles adorned on top.

"This is a starter. Most starters are simple vegetables and fruits. They are used to soothe your stomach before the main course arrives."

"This is supposed to be vegetables and fruits?" None of the items on the plate in front of me resembled a vegetable from my home world. The blue rubbery items on the plate looked more like a jelly. The green leaf-like objects at first resembled lettuce but when touched by my utensils would shrink to an abnormal shape.

"Come to think of it... I'm not super hungry now." I began pushing the plate away from my body. Grace grabbed my arm.

"Don't be rude Eli. They were nice enough to allow us to seek refuge here. The least you could do is accept their gifts."

I glanced down at the monstrosity before me. Did I really have to eat these... things? I carefully picked up my utensils and began cutting the "vegetables" and "fruit" into bite-sized pieces. My fork pierced the blue jelly, and I attempted to consume what was in front of me. It... it isn't that bad. That's surprising. It tasted similar to cantaloupe but a little sweeter. I was pleasantly surprised. I finished my starter and began looking around for the main course. Felicia leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Now we will have about an hour of discussion before the main course arrives."

An hour! I'm starving here... I just want to eat. What could possibly be so important. I leaned back into my seat and glanced down defeated.

"So, Empress Grace, my daughter mentioned the unfortunate circumstances of why you are here but failed to elaborate on the details. You wouldn't mind explaining a bit more would you?"

"Well, unfortunately, I know about as much as you do. The Arthenian Kingdom attacked without provocation. We were even discussing a marriage alliance between his son and myself. I'm not sure what happened, but it is likely related to the outbreak."

"Sorry to interrupt but what outbreak?" I quietly spoke up.

"The outbreak is what we are calling it for right now until we discern what the real problem is. Many people throughout the world have been acting irrationally. Declaring wars, letting greed overtake them, committing genocide. All of these actions have been committed by individuals who, before, never would have done them."

"When did all of it start?"

"About a year ago. At that time, the Neerine Emperor began committing large amounts of genocide against the minorities under his rule. Many fled to neighboring countries and some even sought refuge within my own Empire. It was odd because the Neerine Emperor had always been a pleasant man. A bit blunt, yes, but he would never have had acted in such a way previously."