"I"ll be taking my meals in the kitchen indefinitely, Ellaine, my apologies," Halian said as he shoved his brother down to the floor in front of the cutting table. "Lucien needs to have better manners before I inflict him upon the staff.""Of course, sir," Ellaine said, wiping her hands on a fresh towel. "Three meals a day, then?"
Jules heard her hope, and smiled to himself.
"At least two," Halian said, sighing. "My brother requires more food than I do."
"I see." Ellaine put her hands on her hips and gave Halian a teasing smile. "What will it be, then?"
"Whatever you have ready," Halian said. He put Jules"s stool down beside his chair. "Jules, will you please go to the kennel and get a bowl?"
Jules made it a fast trip. When he came back in, he washed the bowl out and poured boiling water into it to clean it properly.
"That wasn"t necessary, but I"m sure Lucien appreciates your thoughtfulness," Halian said. He jerked on his brother"s neck chain.
"Thank you," Lucien croaked, the rage in his voice barely contained.
"Say his name," Halian ordered coldly.
"Thank you, Jules," Lucien growled.
"Good dog." Halian opened a bottle of wine that Ellaine sat out for him.
Ellaine put a plate of something down for Halian, winking at Jules before dropping some of the same food into Lucien"s bowl.
Jules settled on his comfortable stool, glad he wasn"t practically under the table, like Lucien.
"This is a new recipe," Ellaine said. "After you finish it, I"ll give you something very special, sir."
"Oh?" Halian reached for his fork. "Lucien, no hands," he then ordered.
"Yes." Ellaine poured wine for him, and again winked at Jules.
Jules smiled. Ellaine, plainly, had something up her sleeve.
Halian used knife and fork to cut up the noodles. "This smells good," he said. He gave a piece to Jules.
Jules"s mouth instantly rejoiced. It was coconut, curry, and chopped up Cashews on rice noodles. "Oh, Hal," he said. "You"re going to ???? this."
Halian tried a bite, and groaned. It was so long and low that Jules felt his omega gland spasm. "Ellaine..."
"A victory!" Ellaine tossed her head proudly. "Your mother left you a gift of canned coconut milk, sir. She left recipes, too, and Jules can help me read them."
"I"m going to send my mother a barrel of lavender honey," Halian swore. He fed Jules another noodle. "Remind me, Jules."
"Of course."
They ate with as much decorum as possible when confronted with the best tasting stuff, ever, ignoring the wine until finished. Jules could hear Lucien trying to eat his own portion without making a mess. By the sound, failing. Jules surrept.i.tiously dropped a napkin for him.
"Thank you... Jules," Lucien said.
"Twenty points," Halian told him. He gave Jules a drink of wine. "Be glad of Jules"s kindness, because I don"t have any for you."
Relaxed and comfortably full, Jules accepted drink after drink. He felt Lucien watching them.
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"Halian?" Lucien asked, almost inaudible.
"Yes, brother?" Halian inquired.
"Why are you feeding... Jules... that way?"
"It"s how it"s supposed to be done," Halian answered. "It"s how a treasured omega is given food. You choose what he eats, and it forces you to carefully consider his nutrition. And, an omega needs a.s.surance. This is one of the best ways to give that a.s.surance." Halian paused. "Fifty points for paying attention, and being brave enough to ask. Another twenty for using Jules"s name twice without prompting."
Ellaine went to the ice box, coming back with a cloth covered plate. "Sir, do you remember the dark chocolate you gave me for my birthday?"
"Yes. Imported from Gylena, the chocolate capitol of the world," Hal answered.
"You paid a lot of money for it," Ellaine said. "I wanted to share it with you, because it"s so good. And, I know you don"t care for sweets, but please try these." She uncovered the plate to reveal about twenty pieces of chocolate speared through the middle by slender pieces of wood. It looked like she"d melted the chocolate and dipped some things.
Halian smiled a little bit. "You"ve made me curious," he admitted.
"Try that one first," Ellaine said, pointing to a smaller piece.
Halian slid the thing into his mouth and bit down. His eyes widened. "Ellaine, you covered Cashews," he said in wonder. "It"s..."
"Delicious," she finished for him. "See the difference between that one you just ate, and this one? Eat it next, then do as you please for Jules."
Halian readily obeyed, and again he groaned. "Pineapple," he said reverently. "Oh, Ellaine, did Mother leave pineapple, too?"
"She left four whole ones," Ellaine reported. "They ought to keep another week. You"ll have a pineapple treat every day."
"Two barrels of honey," Halian said. He began feeding Jules, too.
Oh, they were good. So good. Jules took two from the plate and handed them down, not knowing if Lucien would accept food from him, but willing to try. After a moment, he felt them leave his hand.
"Thank you, Jules," Lucien rather sighed, sounding defeated.
"Twenty points," Halian murmured.