As Elijah pushed open the door to the storage room, a sense of awe washed over him. He had never before encountered the Princess, let alone on two consecutive days. While he had heard whispers of her infamous temper, he hoped that today would be different, that fortune smiled upon him. He thought of the maid who hurriedly knocked on his door after he spent the night hunting for truffles.
Carefully slicing off a slab of butter from the roll, Elijah's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open behind him. A sense of authority filled the air as he looked down to see a manicured hand reaching gracefully for the spinach below him. With a mixture of surprise and deference, Elijah watched as the Princess herself stood before him, her delicate fingers delicately grasping the spinach from the lower shelves. Silently, he observed as she gathered two large peppers from another shelf and turned to him.
"Mushrooms?" Her voice reverberated gently in the confines of the storage room, each syllable carrying a sense of curiosity and grace. Elijah, mindful not to meet her gaze directly, lowered his eyes and silently pointed to another shelf where the mushrooms were kept. Sensing his reluctance to engage, she lifted her arms laden with vegetables. “A little help.”
"Of course, Princess," Elijah responded respectfully, nodding as he reached past her to retrieve a few small mushrooms. In the small room the scent of citrus hit his nose. He took shallow breaths avoiding her purple skirt. As he pulled back he grabbed a small handful of the brown fungus.
“Grab 6 eggs as well and lets go,” Elijah nodded, feeling confused, he moved to the back closer to the freezing ritual. He grabbed a wooden tray filled with the right amount of eggs and brought it back. Together, they made their way out of the storage room, placing the gathered ingredients on the kitchen island. Elijah observed in quiet admiration as the Princess deftly wielded the knife, slicing through the vegetables with a precision and fluidity that conflicted with Lettie’s previous assumptions.
He couldn't help but think of Lettie, the older woman who might be fretting over their unexpected collaboration. She was always worried about him ever since the day they met. The wings on his back twinged in their sheath. However, as he stole glances towards the Princess, she was fully engrossed in her culinary task, meticulously preparing each vegetable with practiced precision. Something he never expected the princess to have.
"Start the fire and butter the pan," her command came over her shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. Elijah's attention shifted to the large cast iron pan resting off to the side of the stove. With careful movements, he placed the iron on the metal slab at the center of the fire circle. He pressed his finger to the edge of the circle and it pulsated red heating up. Using a scoop of butter, he expertly coated the heating pan, marveling at the novel idea of infusing vegetables with butter. The enticing aroma that began to waft from the pan only heightened his anticipation for this new creation.
"Crack the eggs," her voice, tinged with enthusiasm, prompting him to grab a wooden bowl off to the side underneath a shelf. He deftly cracked them and the golden hue reflected the light. As he moved to the side the butter sizzled and suddenly the princess threw in the mushrooms. He watched her grab a wooden spoon off the wall and began to stir. What were her thoughts, who would cook the mushrooms like that?
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"Princess?" Elijah's whisper cut through the quiet of the kitchen. His gaze drifted towards her, finding her with lips pressed into a thin line, fixated on the sizzling pan before her. Clearing his throat, he dared to catch her attention. But as her eyes flickered towards him, he found himself ensnared by the intensity of her gaze, her one eye a mesmerizing swirl of purple and red that seemed to pierce through his very being, ransacking his soul for secrets. Memories of childhood tales flooded his mind, stories of aristocrats with red eyes and their greed for fairy wings. Elijah instinctively lowered his head, unable to withstand the weight of her scrutiny.
"Do you have a question?" Her voice, tinged with annoyance, shattered the uneasy silence, and Elijah felt himself shrinking under her piercing gaze. “Reading minds isn’t a forte of mine,” The warmth creeping into his ears betrayed his discomfort as he realized she was baiting him into conversation.
“Why are you frying the mushrooms without the spinach shouldn’t you put it all together?” He looked at the ingredients off to the side then to the princess.
“Because the spinach will wilt faster than the mushrooms and the eggs will cook faster than them all together with the cast iron,” She motioned all around and stirred the fungus. He leaned back thinking of all the times he cooked, she was right on the rare moments when he fried spinach it would shrink much faster than the peppers or tomatoes. His eyes widened as he watched her pinch a bit of the salt used around the edge of the butter and mixed it in with the spinach. Without thinking he followed suit with a quick finger around the edge and to his mouth.
"Salty," he remarked, scrunching up his face in distaste, prompting a deep, infectious laugh from the princess. His own lips couldn't help but curve upwards at the sound of her laughter.
"It'll enhance the flavors of the food. Do we have any black pepper?" she inquired between giggles, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.
"Yes, it's over here," he replied, moving to a bag hanging on the rack by the storage door. Gathering a handful of corn, he prepared to add them to the pan. However, before he could do so, she reached out and grabbed his wrist, her eyes widening in alarm.
"No, no. Fetch the mortar and pestle from over there," she instructed, motioning towards a nearby counter. Following her guidance, he retrieved the utensils and watched as she deftly combined the spinach with the crisped mushrooms. Dropping the peppercorns into the mortar, he began to grind the spice. After a few moments, he brought the bowl of freshly ground pepper over to her.
"Grab two bowls," she directed, and he nodded, turning to comply as he heard the sound of liquid sizzling in the pan.
In mere seconds, the princess had expertly portioned off the mushrooms and spinach and folded them into two large egg circles. As he brought the bowls over, she lifted the heavy cast iron pan, scooping the omelets onto the plates with a satisfying plop. Setting the pan aside, she moved to sprinkle the freshly ground pepper over the dish.
With a sense of anticipation bubbling inside him, he turned off the stove, the tantalizing aroma of the omelet filling the kitchen air. Hunger gnawed at his stomach and he stood off to the side.
“A few more things we need.” The Princess grinned.