Lemon Meringue Pie Ch.8

Liliana thought about that request… what dessert did she love the most? Well… she really adored lemon meringue pie above all other dessert… but how would Nisnieth respond the tart citrus pie?

Well… only one way to find out…

"Servitor, please add two slices of lemon meringue pie to our order" Liliana requested politely… sure, it was machine… but being respectful just felt better to her, after all, Nisnieth never told her whether or not the machines were sentient or not.

"Understood" The Servitor replied, making a low whirring sound before a golden dome of light shone out from beneath it onto the table… a moment later, everything requested appeared upon the table, neatly arranged in front of the correct individuals, beneath them were plates of what looked like dark purple crystal.

"What pretty plates!" Liliana exclaimed "What kind of material is this? It looks like a crystal of some kind"

"It's lhorod crystal… which translates in the human tongue to 'eternity' crystal, it is called thus for its color matching that of the eternally stretching infinite universe all around us" Nisnieth explained "The crystal is prized by my people, we use it in a great deal of our craftsmanship, such as the dishware you see here… now, my beautiful one… let us partake of our meal and then I shall sample this 'lemon meringue pie' you have selected for us…"

Throughout the majority of the main meal, Liliana observed as she ate… most of the Vuulians ate with pretty good table manners and no one chewed with their mouths open… but Nisnieth… even the way he ate was elegant and refined, his every move down to cutting his meat and bringing it to his mouth was filled with an otherworldly grace…

To be honest, it was a little bit intimidating… how was she ever supposed to stand equal to one such as he?

"Is something the matter, my darling? Is the food not quite right?" Nisnieth asked, pausing midway of bringing a bit of meat to his mouth "You may ask the Servitor for anything else you might like"

"Oh no, the food is fine…" Liliana reassured him, gesturing to her half eaten sandwich, the salad completely gone by now and her peppermint coffee nearly gone "I was just… thinking… that's all… I'm sure you can understand how I'd have a lot on my mind. My life is going to change in ways I never imagined before… it's a little bit terrifying… and at the same time, I'm kinda curious…"

"Curious is good" Nisnieth replied with a smile "And I do understand… I give you my word, I will be the best husband you could ask for, the sort of husband a goddess like you deserves… this transition from the life you once knew won't be so terribly hard a change to make, you need only let me show you all the positive things you have to look forward to…"

Liliana's face was hot as she bashfully cast her face down at the table… was it wrong of her to feel drawn to him? True, the guy just kidnapped her, was holding her here against her will and she barely knew him, she kept trying to tell herself to resist him and that doing so was simply the sensible and logical thing to do… one might think she was suffering from stockholm syndrome, but… this spark she felt whenever he touched her, whenever he smiled at her… the way his strong toned body felt so firm, the way his powerful muscles rippled beneath her hands when she touched his arm…

'Okay…' She admitted to herself 'So the man is sexy as all hell, I will confess to myself that I am without a shadow of doubt, horrendously attracted to this smug bastard… but does that mean I should just drop my defenses? I mean… I really honestly don't know this man, I know nothing beyond what he's told me… what if it's all just a clever manipulation?'

"You are distracted again… perhaps we should try this dessert that you have so highly recommended?" Nisnieth spoke up, pulling Liliana from her troubling thoughts as he picked up his fork and gestured at his slice of lemon meringue pie "You said it is made with a citrusy fruit, right? So… it will be tart, yes?"

"It will be a little bit tart, yeah, but it's got plenty of sweet added as well, plus the meringue on top" Liliana explained, grateful for the change in topic for the moment before she drove herself crazy with all the crap going on inside her head "Trust me, it will have plenty of sweet to balance the tartness of the lemon. Go ahead, take a bite of it. I'm eager to know what someone from another world thinks of my favorite dessert"

Nisnieth nodded and stabbed his fork into the pie, pulling away a small bite perfect for an experimental taste test, he gave it a brief two seconds of scrutinizing staring before he parted his lips and placed the bite into his mouth.

Liliana waited wide eyed on bated breath to see what his reaction might be… a couple second passed and his expression of deep analysis hadn't changed "Well, how is it? Do you like it?"

The prince looked at her with a smile and snaked the tip of his tongue sensuously across his bottom lip "It's delicious… though I much prefer the taste of your skin on my tongue if we're talking after dinner rewards…"

"Oh you!" Liliana scowled, stabbing her own fork into her dessert as she lightly shook her head "You are just incorrigible!"

"And you are just irresistible" Nisnieth replied with a playful wink as he stabbed his fork into his pie a second time "So it's not entirely my fault, is it?"

"You are so cheesy" Liliana found herself chuckling as she popped the bite of pie into her mouth.

"I am… cheesy?" Nisnieth replied, confusion upon his face "Like the dairy byproduct you humans consume? I do not comprehend what you mean by that?"

Liliana looked over at him like a deer caught in headlights… how was she supposed to explain this to him "Uh… I suppose the best way to explain that is like… well… cheesy means cliche or overdone in a silly light, like it's been heard so many times before, it's hard to take it seriously… does that make sense?"

Nisnieth nodded, seeming to be not quite sure how to process her explanation "So… that is not necessarily a bad thing?"

Liliana couldn't help but smile, he looked so nervous that she might think him a joke or something "No, it's not always a bad thing… sometimes cheesy can be cute and seen in a sentimental way depending on ones with relationship with the other person"

The prince seemed relieved "So… as your future husband, I am not a bad 'cheesy'... right?"

Oh boy… there was the future husband talk again…

"I… I'm not sure that exactly works like that, Nisnieth…" Liliana responded, but the prince was already waving it off and interpreting her words in whatever way suited him at the moment… which she supposed was fine for now, it avoided having to try and explain human terms and etc any further for the present time.

They ate the rest of their dessert in silence as Nisnieth seemed to be having a good time savoring the experience of his first dessert, which suited Liliana just fine… the prince was so overwhelming at times that a moment or two with her own thoughts was a relief.