Not in the kitchen this time. On the couch. Head back. One arm across his face. Boots still on because he was too tired to bend down and take them off. She remembered being fifteen and standing there in the small dark living room with a plastic grocery bag in her hand thinking okay he is not going to cook tonight he is not going to eat unless I make him eat

She remembered standing by the stove with borrowed courage and boiling broth and trying not to cry when he finally sat up and ate and said in a rough voice You did good kid. That was all. You did good

You did good

That was the first time she felt like food could save someone

That same feeling was in her hands now

It was in the slow simmer in the pan

It was in the way the kitchen around her moved like a living thing and she was now part of its body

She did not belong to this world but the work felt like hers

That thought scared her almost as much as Consort Lian did

Lin nudged her again “Hey. You are drifting. Stop drifting. We have news”

Mia blinked back to now “News”

Lin leaned closer and kept her voice low “There is talk in the courtyard that one of the high advisors from the council tried to get a private bowl from Head Chef already. He sent a servant to request Rain Comfort for his stomach because his nerves were delicate. Chef said no”

Mia frowned “He said no to a high advisor. Can he do that”

Lin smiled wide “He did not say no. He said The dish is owned by His Majesty. I cannot prepare it without his order. He said it word for word exactly how he taught you. The servant looked angry but he left. In the palace leaving angry is good. Leaving pleased is dangerous”

Mia let that sink in. “So now it is not just Consort Lian. It is the council too”

“It was always the council” Lin said. “You just did not know yet”

Mia stared at the pan. “All this over soup”

Lin gave her a look “Do not call it soup in front of Chef. He calls it a sovereign restorative. He says if you call it soup he will throw a spoon at your head”

Mia almost laughed. “Okay. I will not call it soup”

Lin made a tiny motion with her chin. “Also. Look at your wrist”

Mia glanced down

The golden ribbon around her wrist

It was subtle. Thin. Not metal. Not a bangle. Just silk tied in a soft loop

But it marked her

She knew that now. She knew every person in the palace would see it and know You are not normal staff

And she knew what Lin had warned her about on the first night Your hands are now marked. Anything you touch becomes political

Mia whispered “I want to cut it off”

Lin shook her head fast “Do not. Do not touch it. People saw you with it. If it disappears they ask why. If they ask why then they say maybe you refused an honor. If they say you refused an honor then they say you insulted His Majesty. You do not insult His Majesty. You would not live long enough to understand what you did wrong. Leave the ribbon alone”

“Great” Mia muttered “So I carry a target on my arm and I am not allowed to take it off”

“Yes” Lin said cheerfully “Now you are starting to understand palace logic”

Mia snorted and kept stirring

Head Chef Zhu came back to check the pan. He nodded once. “Good color. Not too soft. Sweet but not heavy. Plate in shallow bowls. Send six to the south wing. Tell the runner to say This was prepared with respect for the council’s health. Nothing else. No stories no names no My hands or Her hands. The dish came from the kitchen. The kitchen is a thing not a person. They cannot punish a room”

Mia nodded “Yes Chef”

He hesitated then leaned in closer and dropped his voice “Later. When the noon bell hits. You and I are going to walk a fast round through the herb garden near the back wall”

Mia blinked “The palace has a garden”

“Of course the palace has a garden” he said “Do you think all this flavor grows out of stone. We grow some of our own. Special leaves. Calming roots. Things other courts try to copy and fail. We keep them behind the kitchen wall”

Lin nodded fast “Garden is nice. It smells better than boiled bone and smoke. You will like it”

Zhu shook his head. “This is not a tour. We need to talk where the walls are not listening”

Mia felt a chill slide down her spine. “Listening”

Zhu gave her a steady look. “You still think words only belong to the people who say them. Let me teach you something. Words here belong to whoever hears them. And some people in this palace sell words. You understand me”

Mia swallowed “Yes Chef”

“Good” he said. “So we will talk in the garden. Not here. Too many ears. Too many mouths”

He moved away again to yell at two boys who were arguing over the correct amount of salt for rice and Mia watched him for a moment. He was strict. He was sharp. He did not pretend to be kind. He shouted. He snapped. He threatened to throw spoons. But underneath all that fire she could see the way he moved for them. He blocked. He covered. He positioned. He lied to protect her. He lied to protect Lin. He lied to protect the entire kitchen from Consort Lian and from the council

He was more than a boss

He was a shield

Her chest felt tight for a moment and she did not know what to do with that feeling

Lin leaned on the counter with her chin in her hands “You are making the face again”

“What face”

“The I might care about people face” Lin said

Mia tried to glare at her. It failed. “I care about you. I am allowed to care about you”

Lin grinned “Good. Keep doing that. It makes me feel important”

Mia shook her head and turned off the heat under the pan

They plated the braised roots in shallow bowls. Light glaze. Thin slices laid in a slow circle. Nothing messy. Nothing rude. In this palace even soft food had to look controlled. She wiped the rim of one bowl with a cloth before sending it off and she realized in that small motion that she was starting to move like them. She was adapting without thinking about it

That scared her too

Because if she adapted enough would she still remember who she used to be

Would she still remember Los Angeles smell of rain on asphalt parking lot noodles after midnight posters taped to cracked walls laughter in Spanish through thin doors sit down eat you look tired kid you did good

Would she lose all of that here

Or would it live inside her like the broth she built from bones no one else here knew how to use

The noon bell sounded

Low and steady like a heartbeat

Zhu looked up then gave a small flick of his hand. “Lin cover her station. Mia. With me”

Mia wiped her hands on a clean cloth and followed him out the back arch

They passed through a narrow corridor where the stone turned warmer and rougher less polished. At the end of the corridor was a wooden door with a metal latch. Zhu pushed it open and sunlight slipped in like warm water

The air outside felt different

Open

Alive

The garden behind the kitchen wall was not huge but it felt full. Raised beds lined with smooth dark soil. Vines climbing thin wood frames. Low trees with pale green leaves. Clay pots holding herbs she did not recognize and some she did. She smelled citrus peel. Pepper leaf. Ginger in young shoots. Sweet onion greens. Something like mint but not exactly. The air hummed with quiet insect life. She could hear distant sounds of the palace on the other side of the wall but not see them. It felt hidden

For the first time since she woke here Mia felt like she could really breathe

Zhu let the door close behind them and walked forward between two beds of low plants with narrow rounded leaves. He crouched and ran his hand lightly over them. “Lemon balm” he said “We boil it into tea for nerves. Sometimes we grind the leaves and press them under the tongue of someone shaking too hard to speak. It slows the heart”

Mia knelt across from him “You make that for the Emperor”

Zhu gave her a look. “I did. Before you”

Her breath caught “Before me”

“Yes” he said simply “We have always tried to keep him steady. He was not born into calm. Calm is something we build for him and hope no one else destroys. That was my work. Now part of that work is yours”

Mia sat back on her heels. The dirt smelled clean and warm in the sun. “Chef. Why are you telling me this out here”

“Because” Zhu said “I need you to understand what you are actually inside now”

He looked up at her. His eyes were tired but sharp. “You think this is about soup. You think this is about comfort. You think this is about Consort Lian being jealous and the council being petty. It is not. It is bigger. The palace is not a home. It is a battlefield made of silk. His Majesty stands in the middle of it every day. They all want something from him. They want to pull him in their direction. They want him angry at their enemies and kind to their friends. They want him awake when they need him and quiet when they do not. You gave him something that did not come from any of them. Do you see the problem now”

Mia listened. Felt her heartbeat in her throat. “I gave him something that did not belong to them”

“Yes” Zhu said. “And that is why they will come for you”

The sun felt less warm now

Mia swallowed “So what do I do. Tell me what to do and I will do it. I cannot fight these people but I can listen”

Zhu nodded once. “Good. First rule. You stay inside the kitchen ring unless I or Lin is with you. You do not wander the halls. You do not explore. You do not get curious. Curiosity looks like ambition and ambition is illegal for anyone who is not already powerful”

“Stay in the kitchen ring” Mia repeated

“Second rule” Zhu said “You repeat after me. I am only kitchen”

Mia felt her jaw clench. She hated that line. She hated it like poison. But she said it anyway

“I am only kitchen”

“Louder” Zhu said

“I am only kitchen”

“Good” he said. “You will say that until people begin to believe it. You will make them believe you are not a threat. You will not say I want. You will not say I deserve. You will not say I should. You will not say I know him. You will not say He trusts me. You will not say He needs me. Even if those things feel true in the moment you will not say them. Because they do not hear the words the way you mean them. They hear I am climbing. And climbing without permission gets you cut down”

Mia nodded. “I understand”

“Third rule” Zhu said “Do not lie to His Majesty”

That surprised her. She looked up fast

Zhu held her gaze “You can dodge with the consorts. You can redirect with the council. You can play dumb with attendants. You can even pretend to be weaker than you are with guards. But with him. Do not lie. If he asks you something answer it. Simple. Plain. If you try to play palace games with him and he finds out he will not protect you. He does not need more games. He already drowns in them. If you become another game piece he will step over you like he steps over the rest”

Mia felt that land in her chest like a small stone falling into water. It sank deep

“Okay” she said “I will not lie to him”

Zhu nodded. “Good. You will live longer this way”

Mia let out a slow breath. She looked around the garden again. The green. The sun. The soft buzz of tiny wings floating over leaves. It felt almost normal. She could almost pretend this was some restaurant garden behind a kitchen in the city. She could almost pretend she was just on break after a long prep block. She could almost pretend the rest of the palace did not exist

Then Zhu said quietly “There is one more thing”

Her chest tightened. “What”

He studied her face. “You asked me yesterday if you were safe now that His Majesty spoke your name. You are not. But there is something close to safety. Something I have not seen in years. Something I thought I would never see again. I saw it last night”

He paused

Mia waited

“He looked at you like a person” Zhu said softly. “Not like a tool. Not like a servant. Not like an enemy. Not like a burden to be managed. He looked at you like a person. That is rare. That is dangerous. Do you understand”

Mia felt heat rise in her face. “I do not know what that means”

“It means” Zhu said “that you matter now. And when someone matters in a palace everything around them starts moving”

Her stomach turned at that

“I do not want to matter” she whispered

“That does not matter” Zhu said

A small bitter laugh slipped out of Mia before she could stop it. “That sounds like palace logic”

He huffed “Now you are getting it”

She leaned her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands for a moment. The bandage on her finger pressed against her cheek. She could still smell the kitchen on her skin. Ginger. Citrus. Heat. Smoke. She could still feel Consort Lian’s gaze like cold silk. She could still hear Lin’s voice in her head Stay alive. Protect my blanket. Do not fall down the stairs

She lowered her hands and looked at Zhu again

“Chef” she said quietly

“Yes”

“Do you think I can do this”

He looked at her for a long moment. Sunlight moved across his face. In that light he looked older than she had first thought. Tired in the way of someone who had been holding up a wall for years without rest

Then he nodded once

“Yes Mia” he said. “I think you can. You have the hands for it. You have the eyes for it. And you have the heart for it. Heart matters here more than people like to admit”

Her throat was tight again “Thank you”

“Do not thank me yet” he muttered and stood “Come on. We cannot stay out here long. If we stay long people will wonder what private talk we needed and then they will invent lies to fill the space. Back to work. Work keeps you alive. Standing still gets you watched”

They walked back toward the door

Mia stopped just before he opened it

“Chef”

He glanced back “What now”

“If someone tries to use me to hurt you or Lin” she said softly “what do I do”

His mouth twitched like that answer made something in him relax “You scream for me as loud as you can” he said “That is my job. I am the shield. Let me be the shield”

She nodded

He opened the door

The kitchen heat rolled over them again along with the voices the clatter the scent of boiling stock and searing pans and citrus peel and cut ginger

Mia stepped back inside and felt it

The mark on her wrist the gold ribbon the new uniform the way people looked at her the way word moved faster than she could control

Her old life felt far now

Too far

But she was still here

She was still breathing

She could still cook

For now that was enough

She tied her sleeves tighter

She washed her hands

She went back to work