Inky scents filled my nose as I stepped into the room. 

I lowered myself into a bow, fingers forming a soft cushion for my forehead. “Your Majesty, my Queen.” The greeting was unfamiliar on my tongue, but it sent a quiver of excitement through me. Normally, the head palace lady handled the formal salutations, but I was meeting with the Queen without her. I was meeting with the Queen alone. 

There was a gentle tap on the table before an equally gentle voice said, “You’re here. Great.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Do you know why I called for you?”

I gulped. The curiosity had been eating me up for the past hour. “N- No, Your Majesty.” 

The brief silence that ensued was long enough to gnaw further into me.

“Because you’re interesting,” was the Queen’s unexpected response. I did not have time to dwell on the meaning before she added, “Look up.”

My heart exploded into flutters at the request. I lifted my head as slowly as I could manage. But when my eyes laid on her again, my jaw dropped. 

The Queen had become more beautiful—a feat I had never thought possible. She had freshened up since getting out of her bedchamber, wearing a blue and silver outer robe fastened with a bright red ribbon. A white skirt billowed out from her waist, the puffy fabric concealing her lower body. Light powder tinted her face while her hair was pulled into a braided bun at the nape of her neck. A large, golden hairpin held the hair in place, adorned with ornaments that matched the Queen’s beauty.

She was stunning.

I slammed my distasteful mouth shut when the Queen spoke.

“See?” she said with an amused tone. “You’re interesting.”

My cheeks burned. “I- I apologize for- for being so disrespectful, Your Majesty…”

The Queen shifted in her seat. I dropped my gaze and finally noticed the tables surrounding her. To her left, a roll of paper laid next to a brush atop a jade phoenix. She had been writing. I did not understand the words, but they looked as exquisite as she was. The table in front of her—in front of me—had two bowls of rice decorated with an assortment of meat and vegetables.

Oh. Why were there two bowls?

“I finished the food Sanggung brought for me,” the Queen said as she settled in front of the food. “Sneaky woman, always trying so hard to get me to eat something. But it worked this time.” Her lips tilted up into a small, wistful smile. “Peaches used to be my favorite, you know? Sanggung was kind enough to remember it.”

I frowned. “Used to, Your Majesty?”

The Queen glanced down, her smile disappearing as quickly as a wisp of smoke. “What do you like to eat?”

“Everything.” The graceless answer slipped out before I had a chance to rethink it. 

Thankfully, the Queen did not take offense. “Good.” She nudged one of the bowls towards me. “So you’ll like this, then. I requested two portions of my dinner so you can eat with me.”

Her words seemed to slap me across the face. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I managed to utter the most coherent sentence I could form, “Huh? W- With… you?”

A lowly servant like me, eating with the Queen? Heaven must be colliding with the earth today.

“Yes,” the Queen confirmed calmly. “My appetite has been better since the morning so I figured I’ll bring you back in for my next meal.”

The butterflies erupted in my stomach while my head spun. Was I… Was I somehow needed for her appetite? The Queen had called me interesting—was I… a form of mealtime entertainment to her? If so, I was not trained properly for this. I did not know how to dance or play the zither. I could sing but Seul-Na had once described my voice as a “screeching alarm that drove all the men away”. What should I do? What was I supposed to do?

“Go on.” The Queen gestured at the bowl. “Don’t be shy. Eat.”

“T- Thank you, Your Majesty,” I muttered.

As I reached out for the bowl with my trembling hands, the Queen did not move. She sat there and watched me with her dark, alluring eyes.

I really was the mealtime entertainment.

I lifted the bowl and took the spoon. Digging into the meat first, I stuffed a full spoonful into my mouth. Marinated stir-fried beef. A soft moan escaped my throat as I chewed. It had been months since I had eaten fresh, warm meat that were not scraps along the bones in a stew.

Then, my eyes flickered back upwards. The Queen was still looking at me, observing me, her bowl of food untouched. I felt as if my body was combusting in flames. I had taken such an unseemly large bite, and she had watched it all.

I chewed faster as my thrashing heart quickened. In my rush, I swallowed before I was ready, and I spent a good ten seconds coughing into my elbow.

The Queen brought her sleeve to her lips and chuckled.

Her laugh was as soft as her voice, and it was so… light. Like it could wrap around me and bring me afloat in the air. And the way her eyes squinted into crescent moons, the way a tiny dimple appeared on her left cheek, made me yearn to see her smile—really smile—more.

My spoon clattered onto the floor. Jolting in surprise, I lost even more grip and dropped the bowl as well. A chunk of rice and meat splattered onto my skirt, and some bits of cabbage flew to a spot on the table mere inches away from the Queen.  

Oh no, oh no, oh no!

I ignored the mess on myself and quickly climbed across the table to wipe that cursed cabbage away. 

The Queen grabbed my wrist. I froze in place, while my hand ignited in flames.

“I’m- I’m- I’m sorry, Your- Your Majesty, I- I…” 

I lifted my head to meet hers. She was so close—too close—that the warmness of her breath tickled my cheeks. Peaches. Her breath smelled like peaches.

“Don’t worry about me.” Her voice was the usual whisper, but it was almost deafening in this proximity. As she spoke, I could see the flicker of her tongue in her mouth, the small bob in her throat, the slight part of her lips. I could feel her hand on mine sliding upwards; her fingers were cool but they burned my skin.

She jerked her head towards my skirt. “Take care of yourself first.”

Gasping, I scrambled back to my position. “R- Right, you- you are right, Your Majesty, I’m- I’m so sorry, I- I do not know what I’m thinking…” Looking around, I realized that I had made an even bigger mess of myself now. The bowl was cast to the side, while food scattered all over me and the floor. Frantic, I grabbed my handkerchief and began wiping everything clean. 

My heart thumped against my ear, but I could hear the light, delicate laughter again. This time, I was too embarrassed to be enchanted by the sound.

After clearing the area to the best of my ability, I knelt and brought my head to the ground. “I s- sincerely apologize for my clumsiness, Your Majesty.”

“Rise,” the Queen ordered.

I complied.

The Queen was finally holding her spoon. She nodded at me, a small smirk on her lips. “Shall we continue our meal?”

“Y- Yes, Your Majesty.”