Lucas didn't even wince for of second in fact he revelled in seeing her wait patiently for the meat to cool down. Knowing full well he could get it to optimum temperature instantly.

When the time was right Lucas said she could take a piece. Without any hesitation, she grabbed a piece of meat with her hands and shoved it in her mouth. She chewed it so quickly and swallowed it. Thinking it would taste bad but even if she didn't savour the taste, she was surprised by how strong and delicious the aftertaste was. In a moment of extasy, she exclaimed " WOW!" It was only afterwards that she realized what she had done. She immediately tried to rectify the situation. However, when she looked at Lucas he had a smug look on his face as he smirked at her.

This infuriated her. So she took another piece of meat, this time hoping that her expressions would wipe the smug face off Lucas. She thought that even if it did taste good she would act as if it was not. She picked up a piece of meat that was still wafting an incredible smell, despite the fact that it had been exposed to the air for a while. She put the piece in her mouth and started chewing slowly. This time she wanted to eat it properly and assess it's true worth. To her surprise, the meat just melted in her mouth. With that, the juices exploded around her taste buds. It was something she had never experienced before. She involuntarily smiled as her body jiggled in euphoria. She immediately grabbed the next piece and the next piece until it was done. When each piece entered her mouth she would exclaim in joy. Despite the taste being the same for each bite her reaction never changed. It was as delicious as the first bite she ever savoured.

After she saw that there was no more her disappointment was evident. Layla Palmer rolled up her sleeves and wiped off all the grease on her arms. She then looked at Lucas and said: " It was okay."

Lucas thought to himself, " How shameless is this girl. She didn't even leave me a piece. She can't say when she is wrong. Reminds me of myself sometimes..." He then said, " Just getting a passing grade from a glutton princessss is good enough for me."

Layla Palmer's nerve above her brow twitched when Lucas said it but she kept her cool because she knew Lucas was trying to rile her up like she was trying to do to him.

After Lucas had his moment of retaliation he switched up and became serious. He looked at Layla Palmer and said, " I don't know if you already know this but we won't always be together. As you already know, this world does not have any people with my skin colour. With that alone, I stand out. Truthfully, you are extremely beautiful and will gather much attention. This is the last thing I need right now... People looking for fights with me just because of your beauty and their jealousy. I can't protect you in a situation like that... As weak as that makes me feel, I can't... Even if you have the strength to protect yourself, it's still extra unwanted attention. However, I can't in good conscience send you away as you are now."

" So you have two choices... Either go to the next kingdom. Join some Academy and have them train you in a class that you want to become. With this comes the risk of being captured on the way where you are likely to become a slave. Or even at the academy, you will meet a lot of jealous girls and lustful guys. Here power is everything. Yes, there are laws at the academy but I doubt they would care if someone tried to cut a line in your face out of jealousy. Now I don't mean to scare you. I'm just trying to give you the reality of this world. If by luck this doesn't happen maybe with your talent you can be discovered by some powerful family or guild that can protect you. That's option 1."

" Option 2, is to train with me. Gain some sort of strength before entering the big bad world. You won't be 'strong' per se but when you attend the academy looking for a strong backing. You will be able to defend yourself. Against the runts around you who will try to harm you. Also, I will be going with you to the next Kingdom. I plan on joining the Mage Academy. If you have some sort of affinity to magic and join the academy too, we do not know each other. With this, your safety towards the next Kingdom isn't guaranteed but it's higher. So what option do you want to choose?"

Layla Palmer was shocked when she heard Lucas speak. She didn't think Lucas and her would always be together but it still sucked to her how straightforward he was. As if it was a piece of cake to discard her. She understood his reason, but how was that her fault? How was it her fault people found her beautiful? This was the first time she had ever cursed being beautiful. She looked at Lucas and heart ached for some reason. She knew it wasn't love, she had barely met the guy. Yes, he saved her before but being a princess, she had been saved by many other guys. All far more dashing than Lucas. Yet when they said their goodbyes it never hurt.

Layla Palmer quickly emerged out of her thoughts when she realized she was staring at thin air for too long. She said in a tone that conveyed hurt, " Can I think about it...?"

Lucas gasped when he saw her face. This was the first time she stopped pretending and showed how she truly felt. It sucked that it took sadness for her to show her real emotions. But this was how he felt and there is nothing he could do about it. He then said, " Sure, tell me tomorrow." He forced a smile trying to be as friendly as possible. He then said, " Well I'm going to get some rest. You should too."

" Yeah, I will." She said standoffishly.

Lucas got up walked to the centre where the fire was. He then laid down on the hard ground and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, today was truly gruelling and full of stress. He fell asleep immediately.

[ Combat mode deactivated]

Layla Palmer soon after walked to the centre. She saw Lucas lying down fast asleep. This vexed her even more. It bothered her that he could fall asleep so smoothly after the bombshell he just released. But she soon got over it. Instead of sleeping she just sat by the fire and thought of what happened today. Going through all the events in her mind this took her 10 minutes. Afterwards, she looked at Lucas sleeping cosily and it warmed her heart as she looked at him. " This boy really saved me today..." She thought. " I can't wait to tell Papa" "Papa...". When she thought that a sudden realization came to mind. There is no Papa, she was alone in this world. She had no hope of ever seeing her family again because her soul was extracted from her body. They must have already had her funeral.

When she thought this, tears began streaming down her face. She had kept all this locked inside because Lucas used the same word her father once did. Her father always told her to be brave. She looked at Lucas's sleeping body once more and short wail came out her mouth. She immediately put her hand in front of her mouth while the tears kept streaming. She could not appear weak in front Lucas especially not him she thought. She looked to see if he was awake but Lucas showed no sign of being awake. She immediately got up and walked out of the safe zone. There she began crying her heart out with her back against the safe zone. It wasn't loud lest she wakes up creatures, but she still cried her fill.

When she was done she wiped away her tear stains. She walked into the safe zone and then to the centre. She saw where Lucas was still sleeping and laid a meter away from him. She then turned to the side where she no longer saw his back. At that moment she fell asleep. She was drained!

It was at that moment Lucas opened his eyes. He did hear her wail she let out inside the safe zone. Lucas was on guard so the slightest sound would not wake him up but put his body in a state where if the next sound appeared he would immediately wake up. However, a sob as loud as she released immediately woke him up. When her footsteps could not be heard in the safe zone he saw her outside crying with her back to the safe zone.

Lucas immediately went back into his sleeping position and thought, " It is what it is... But maybe I could have handled this better. Maybe I didn't need to be so straightforward and protected her feelings rather than my own. Maybe I could have revealed this information to her tomorrow. At least I could have given her one good night's rest... I always hurt people maybe it was best I did it earlier..."

After he finished wallowing he fell asleep again...