Page 17 of The Botanist and the Beast

"Yes, hello." Theo could tell he was trying to be polite, but he could see the anxious fidgeting in his hands. "It's nice to meet you."

"Food’s here!" said a thin older man holding a large pot. "More stew to warm your bones." He was much more stone than the others. His face, arms, and neck were all stone, and his eyes were pretty diamonds. He was like a living statue. He gripped the metal pot as if it wasn't hot to the touch as he came over to the table.

A woman with a voluptuous figure, pale skin, and a blonde bun on top of her head rushed out ahead of him with a bright smile. "Marcel, honey, you have to wait for me. They don't have bowls yet," she playfully scolded. She went around setting a bowl in front of each person and ladling out piping hot stew.

Even with no introduction, Theo could tell this was an old married couple and he delighted in watching them as they went around the table. They had warmth that reminded Theo of his own parents in his youth.

"Welcome, Theo," Colette said with a sweet smile when she finally got to him. Her eyes were an emerald stones that twinkledas she served him a heavy bowl of food. "I heard you might be a bit underfed, so please come find me and Marcel if you're still hungry during the day. We can whip you something up."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," he said, surprised at how hospitable she was.

They sat down in their own seats and that seemed to be the invisible cue that it was time to eat because everyone dug in and started talking with one another.

Unsure if he could eat this magical animal, Theo poked at his food hesitantly.

"It's safe for you to eat." Prince Sebastian gestured to Theo's bowl with a spoon. "I went to Collette and Marcel and made sure they cooked something a human could eat."

"And how did you know what humans eat?" Lyle asked from the opposite end of the table. He leaned back in his chair as he stared down the prince.

"I have books on humans. I simply did some reading."

"That's rather sweet," Theo said, perking up excitedly. He took a bite of the stew, and the tender meat reminded him of elk. He hummed with satisfaction. "It reminds me of my father's cooking." The memory of his family around the dinner table made a pit of sadness open in his chest. "Thank you. It's delicious. And it's not poisonous so far."

"I wouldn't poison you," Sebastian mumbled.

"I'm teasing again." Theo smiled a little, seeing the blush spread on the prince’s cheeks.If I have to be stuck with him, at least he's a little fun.

"You two are getting along," Oliver said as he sipped broth from his spoon.

"Prince Sebastian is a good host," Theo said between bites. "Easy to get along with."

"I bet he is," a man next to Oliver said with a smile. His skin was a deep brown with red undertones like black calla lilies.His midnight dreads were tied half up, half down and hung at shoulder length. The leaves on his body were brittle and curled inward. "Sebastian, when was the last time you made a special request in the kitchen for someone?"

The prince coughed on his food, covering his mouth with a napkin. "A request seemed reasonable in these circumstances. Do you have a request, too?"

"Ignore Jacques, he's just jealous of the ward," said the man on Theo's left. "I'm Henri, by the way. I'm glad you're here. It's been a while since anything exciting happened. I have a feeling you'll make things interesting."

Like the two cooks, Henri was much more stone than the others. Half his face was stone and even some of his hair was carved out of rock. The hair that was still soft was red and in short waves. He had a few dry brown twigs on his shoulder and a smattering of freckles on his skin.

"Um, thanks," Theo said not sure how anything in the veil could be boring. "Does not much happen here?"

"You have no idea," Oliver said with a sigh.

"Most people in the castle are part of the guard like Oliver, Jacques, and Henri," Prince Sebastian explained. "Unfortunately, most of the staff has passed on. We maintain the castle and kingdom. I suppose that can get monotonous. You'll primarily be with me, so you'll see what we have to do day to day. I'm sure you'll get the hang of things quickly."

Echoes of Sebastian's growls replayed in his mind.Is the prince the reason a lot of his staff has passed?

"What's your human village like?" Oliver asked, drawing Theo's mind away from dark thoughts.

"It's a small village. It's nothing as fancy as this. It's quiet and there's no magic but is still a peaceful place. Have any of you ever been to the human world?"

"We could but our powers are dulled outside of the veil," Sebastian explained. "Most children of the veil will avoid the edge altogether, so they aren't weakened."

"That explains why I've never seen a nymph before."

"Why don't more humans enter the veil?" Jacques asked. "We've never seen a human."

"It's hard for us to even look at it directly." Theo took a bite of his food. "It takes skill to look into it and travel through it."

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