The Shadow of Beauty

Ch 35: Flirt

A/N: Actually had most of this chapter written months ago because it was so much fun...enjoy an early update!

The dinner proceeded. Dishes of every sort, mostly vegetarian, were brought forth and set before the guests. However, Sig, Helia, and Kendrick were presented with what looked like a steak of some sort to choose. They readily accepted it as did a couple other guests. There was quiet chatter as the meal progressed and though very tasty and titillating to the palate, Kendrick found himself not exceptionally hungry. He ate mostly to be polite. He kept stealing glances over at Twillow and internally battling his emotions in silence.

Eventually, dessert was brought out. It was a slice of plain pink cake with a yellow, sparkling bubble floating above it in midair. Once the plates were placed before them, the Parliel Realm residents seemed excited by the presentation. The three Lower Realm guests watched as they all took up their dessert forks and lightly tapped the floating yellow bubble. The bubbles burst and landed a perfect blanket of golden cream atop the pink cake. Surprisingly, a second smaller, purple-colored bubble, that had been hidden inside the yellow one, hovered over the cakes. The guests eagerly used their forks to spin the purple bubble and like a spin painting the purple bubble unwound itself as a spiraling string and decorated the yellow topping with purple stripes. Sig, Helia, and Kendrick were being constantly surprised by the strange magical occurrences but eagerly copied the locals. Helia even laughed a bit seeing the purple drizzle perfectly over her cake. Then they began to eat the confection.

Buttery, creamy, and a slight hint of an unknown fruit teased their taste buds.

"What is this, Twillow?" Helia asked through her mouthful.

"We call it a triple B cake."

"What the heck is a triple B cake?" the slayer inquired.

"Bubble Burst Berry cake. It's made with a special berry that only grows in the fields under the city of Marlayla. It's one of my favorites."

"I don't know what the flavor is...but it's pretty good." Sig admitted, stuffing another bite in his mouth. "Bet my wife would love to use these!"

"Do you like it, Kendrick?" Twillow asked.

Kendrick seemed to snap out of deep thought, "Huh?"

She laughed, "I asked if you like the cake?"

He looked at it but said politely, "I'm-I'm not really hungry. Thank you."

Twillow seemed mildly disappointed but nodded, "That's ok. It was a big meal."

Eventually, the guests finished the meal and began to leave the table or coalesce into small chat groups. From across the room Twillow spotted her friend Marci emerging from the kitchen and beckoning her over.

Kendrick made a move to get up and follow her but she held up a hand, "It's ok, Kendrick. I'm just going to talk to my friend really quick."

He nodded and sat back down, yet still watched her walk away.

Twillow walked across the room to Marci whose bright green eyes were focused on Kendrick.

Her pupils widened with interest as her voice became sultry, "Oh my...is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, that's Kendrick." Twillow confirmed.

She made a pouty face, "I thought he was a giant?"

"Well, normally he is. When my brothers came to "rescue" me they shrank him with a defensive curse. So...he's not exactly himself." Twillow explained.

"Oh...is he um... 'giant' in other ways?" she purred, biting her lip.

Twillow balked quietly and pushed her slightly, "Marci! Oh, for goodness sake!"