Demon's First Human Meal

The dining hall was similar in size to the entrance hall where Lilac and the other new students were formally welcomed into the academy. Long rectangular tables of wood filled one side of the room, while the other side was empty. Carved out of the wall was a space that connected the dining hall to the kitchen next door. A couple students Lilac recognized from the entrance ceremony but forgot the names of stood in front of the break in the wall and were handed a tray of food from someone on the other side. The two then departed, food in hand, to sit at one of the long tables.

“Here we are–the dining hall. The food here isn’t luxurious or anything, but boy is it good!” Vance announced. “C’mon, let’s get some food.” He made a beeline for the empty section of wall where the previous students received their lunch.

Lilac followed close behind him, admiring the intricate web of wood beams that filled the high ceiling above them.

“Ah, Vance! I was wondering when I’d see you,” a man slightly older than them greeted Vance as they approached. He wore a white apron that covered his torso, tied tight around his waist.

“Mason! How’s your wife doing?” Vance said in return.

“She’s doing better today. We didn’t expect pregnancy to be this hard on her.”

“It’ll all be worth it when it’s over, I’m sure. Anyway, what’s on the menu today?”

“Steamed egris root and chicken shred,” Mason answered.

Lilac blinked. “What are those?”

The two men looked at her with surprise. “You mean you’ve never heard of steamed egris root or chicken shred before?” Vance asked.

She shook her head. It was obvious egris was a plant, but it didn’t grow in the Darklands, so she never heard of it before. As for chicken shred… She knew what a chicken was, but she had a hard time imagining what chicken shred was. Could it be pieces of a chicken that was shredded by something like an ironwolf?

“Egris root is a vegetable that is known for its slightly sweet taste and its ability to cure sickness. People often steam it so it’s not uncomfortably tough. Chicken shred is a meal that mixes strips of chicken with a mix of vegetables and rice. It has a bittersweet sauce that is to die for,” he explained.

“Oh, that sounds interesting,” she said. There sure were a lot of vegetables in this meal. In her society, since very little vegetation actually grew in her homeland, they mainly consumed meat.

“There’s a reason it’s a popular dish,” he said. “I’ll get some for the two of you.” Mason disappeared from sight and reappeared a few seconds later with two trays of the food he had described. “I hope you two enjoy your meal,” he smiled as he handed them the trays.

Lilac grabbed a plate and stared at the food. A sharp, sweet smell rose with the steam. The root was chopped into slices that lined up to the side of a pile of the rice mixture called chicken shred. It didn’t look very appetizing to Lilac, but free food was free food. It was unfortunate it was mostly vegetables. She turned around to scout for a place to sit and eat.

Teenagers dotted the room, spread out amongst the many tables. There weren’t too many students; if Lilac had to guess, there were around twenty or thirty of them. In the far corner of the room sat a familiar redhaired girl with a plate of something before her.

“Oh, let’s go sit over there,” Lilac pointed toward Scarlett and made her way across the room. “Hi Scarlett! Mind if I join you?”

The girl nearly jumped out of her seat at her voice. She glanced up to see Lilac and relaxed. “Oh, L-lilac. I suppose you can…”

“This a friend of yours?” Vance asked as he took his place next to Lilac on the bench.

Scarlett’s eyes met Vance’s for a second and she shrunk in his presence. “W-who is t-this?” She managed to mutter.

“His name is Vance,” she introduced him. “Don’t worry, he’s a nice guy.”

Scarlett remained small, not daring to lift her face. “O-okay…”

Seeing Scarlett in her anxious state, she thought of what she could say to make her feel a little less shy. “He’s good friends with the prince.”

“Really?” Scarlett looked up with wide eyes.

Lilac nodded. “He can tell you a lot about him.”

Scarlett’s gaze shifted to Vance with pure interest. However, it was still clear that she was still nervous, and it took a lot of effort for her to voice her next question. “W-what is he like?”

Vance’s lips curled up in a knowing smile, but given what he had observed of her personality so far, he didn’t tease her. “Glenn is an interesting guy,” he started.

Scarlett leaned in, curious to hear about the man of her dreams. Behind her glasses, her eyes were wide with an interest that betrayed her usual bashfulness.

“He’s a hard worker. The man studied almost anything you can think of for most of his life to get ahead of his brothers. Though, that may have gone to his head a little…”

While she listened to Vance’s description of the prince, she scooped up a slob of food with a fork and stuck it in her mouth. The chunk of chicken she had caught tasted good, but the unfamiliar texture of the rest of the meal made her gag.

“...If it doesn’t involve increasing his knowledge or skills, or increasing his popularity, he won’t do it.” Vance continued.

“Lilai!” Emmalyn squealed from halfway across the room. She bounced over to the table where the group was sitting and set her tray of food beside Scarlett’s.

Scarlett scooted away from the newcomer and withdrew into her shell.

“Hi! I’m Lilai’s neighbor, Emmalyn,” she introduced herself to Scarlett and Vance. “You two must be her friends! It’s nice to meet you,” she grinned and sat down. “What are we discussing?”

“Prince Glenn,” Vance explained. “Scarlett here wanted to know more about him.”

Scarlett’s face exploded with red. She hung her head in silent embarrassment, wishing she could be anywhere else.

“Ooh, so we’re talking romance? How lovely!” Emmalyn clapped. “Are there any boys you find cute, Lilai?”

An image of the hero’s handsome face flashed into Lilac’s mind. “Me? Oh, I don’t know…”

“Oh, there is!” Emmalyn leaned forward. “Come on, you can tell me! Who is it?”

Lilac threw the dashing young man’s image out of her mind. “I’m not interested in anyone right now.”

“Aww,” Emmalyn melted onto the table. “Oh well… I’m sure I’ll find out later.” She bounced back up and turned to Vance. “How about you? Is there a girl you want to court?”

“Not at the moment,” he said calmly. “It’d be nice if there was, but the right girl has yet to show up.”

“Perhaps she will soon,” Emmalyn chuckled.

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug.

Lilac sighed and poked at a thick steamed slice of white root on her plate with her fork, trying to steel herself to eat the soft vegetable. Finally, she stabbed through its flesh with her fork and took a hesitant bite.

The flavor was weak; only a faint hint of sweetness hit her taste buds. Lilac grimaced as the slimy root slid down her throat in chewed pieces. Around her, the others ate as they talked, with no sign of discomfort. ‘How do humans eat stuff like this…?’ She shivered. For an introduction into human cuisine, this was a letdown.

“This chicken shred is delicious!” Emmalyn beamed.

“Right? The chefs never cease to amaze me with their cooking,” Vance agreed.

Lilac stood up. “That was filling. I’ll take my leave now. See you soon,” she said and hurried off.

“You’re done already? You barely ate anything,” Vance called after her, but she was already gone before he could get a response.

She felt bad leaving the humans she was hanging out with behind like that, but she was hungry and those icky vegetables weren’t going to cut it. The hallway she stood in was quiet, with only a couple passersby walking. Once there was nobody in sight, she sighed. “If only Jharis was here…”

As expected, a brief pillar of grey dust swirled into being, replaced in a flash by the fair vampire on one knee with his head bowed. “You called, Lady Lilac?”

“Jharis! You didn’t tell me humans ate such weird food!” She complained, to which Jharis chuckled.

“Did I not inform you that their diet is a bit different?”

“You did,” she admitted. “But I didn’t expect them to eat roots. Could you please prepare some meat for me?” Her stomach growled, letting Jharis know of her hunger.

“As you wish, Lady Lilac. I shall return shortly with your meal.” Her assigned servant disappeared in another spiral of dust, leaving no traces behind.

“Thank you,” she said to the empty space he left behind. She bowed her head in shame and whispered. “I’m sorry for being a picky eater, humans…”

“Ah, Lilac. We meet again,” the sound of Ella’s voice accompanied her footsteps.

Lilac jumped out of surprise and saw Ella stop a little out of arm’s reach. She hadn’t noticed before, but Ella must spend a significant amount of time on her hair; much more so than Lilac spends on her twin drills.

Ella’s hair curled into white twists to the sides of her face. A portion of a tranquil eye was covered by a portion of her hair that was swept behind the curls, and a couple thin hair loops were connected to a small golden tiara-shaped hair clip that matched the gold streaks in her dress.

“Oh, Ella. Greetings,” she said, forcing an awkward smile to cover up her scare.

She dipped her head to return the greeting. “I hope I didn’t frighten you.”

“Not at all,” Lilac turned the rest of her body toward her. “What brings you here?”

“Actually, I’m searching for Alan,” her gaze flitted around the hall. “Do you happen to know where he is?”

“Last time I saw him, he was by the pavilion near the boys’ housing. He said he was going to train, but I’m afraid I don’t know where. Sorry.”

Ella shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I appreciate what you’ve given me. Judging by where we are, I take it you came from the dining hall?”

“That’s right,” Lilac said.

“How was the food?”

Lilac shifted uncomfortably. “Well… I didn’t particularly like it.”

A slight smile appeared on Ella’s lips. “That’s alright. We humans all have different preferences.”

Alarm gripped Lilac’s body like a cold vice. ‘We humans? Does that mean she heard what I said?’ She responded with a smile. “I suppose we do.”

Their eyes met, and an awkward moment of silence passed over them until it was finally broken by Ella.

“Well, I’m going to continue searching for Alan. I do hope you remember my advice from last time,” she said.

“To stay away from the hero… Yes, I remember,” Lilac responded.

“Good,” Ella gave her a curtsy and stepped past her, only to pause a few steps behind her. “Oh, Lilac? Assuming we don’t run into each other again soon… I look forward to seeing you in class next week.” With that, she started down the hall, leaving Lilac alone once more.