11. Bon Appetit

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"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
-Hippocrates
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Song: Meditation in a Candles Glow by The O'Neill Brothers
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Ophelia changed for the second time that evening. Zeus had a pretty dress laid out for her on the bed while she got all of the remaining flour off along with the crusty dough pieces that stuck between her fingers.

Once dressed, the two started to make their way down to the formal dining room where Poseiden, his men, both Zeus' head warriors and council members all waited. The group made small talk and a harpist played faintly in the background.

"Are you ready?" Zeus whispered to his little mate. They stood right outside of the closed door.

This was Ophelia's informal first dinner with royal business. Ophelia felt the underlying importance even though no one told her. She wanted to impress Zeus, but he did ask a good question. Was she ready?

It was now or never. With Zeus' hand in hers she looked up to him and said,

"Yes."

With that Zeus looked to the guards who stood to the sides of the doors and nodded. They quickly moved and they swung wide open.

Ophelia didn't even notice the people at first. She was focused on the transformation of the room. Once empty and clean it now had giant flower bouquets in each corner. They had to be at least nine feet tall. The chandelier was dimmed but the crystals still sparkled. In the middle of the room was the long table that was decorated to perfection. Greenery was placed all the way down the center of the table. Candles were lit down the center as well.

Then Ophelia noticed people staring at them and she could hear her own heart stutter. She recognized some of Zeus' council members from the mating ball, but the rest were unfamiliar to her.

"This is my Queen, Ophelia." Zeus introduced her to the group.

Poseidon stood immediately. He was just as large as Zeus and towered over her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Ophelia." He grabbed her hand and his lips met the back gently. "Zeus has been looking for you for a very long time." Poseidon jokes causing Ophelia to blush.

"It's n-nice to m-meet you K-king Poseidon." Ophelia blushed harder at her stutter.

Zeus introduced her to the Poseidon's people as well but the greetings were short. He led her to the front of the table. He pulled out the seat next to the end and next to Ajax, who smiled at her.

"Sit, my star." Quickly she did as she was told. Zeus took his place at the end of the table. One side was Ophelia and the other was Poseidon.

The dinner commenced. Eunice would come and introduce the dish, explaining the flavors, well other maids came and placed them on the table. The servings were not small and Ophelia was almost exploding by the fourth course. She didn't think she could even eat the next to come. Plus she really wanted a dessert. Ophelia has always had a sweet tooth.

Zeus mostly spoke to Poseidon but checked up on her every so often. Ajax was doing a marvelous job of keeping her entertained and she had become comfortable despite the amount of strangers.

"While your main course is being prepared we have Prosecco and water with lemon for you all." Eunice announced.

A maid set both in front of Ophelia and everyone else. Everyone seemed to be making small talk amongst themselves and sipping on the fancy wine. Ophelia had never had wine before so she decided to just do what everyone else was doing and took a sip.

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