What Blooms At Midnight

Twenty One

My dear sister had indeed followed through on our Mother's suggestion... The timid knock of a maid announcing that she has brought food meant for my Angel to break his fast coming just after I finally get my Jasper to fully relax with me... His position in my lap something any human might find scandalous if not familiar with just how quickly soulmates become familiar with each other... The way he draws himself away from me ever so slightly when I tell the maid that she may enter...

I know I should be patient... Even if his shyness over being openly caressed and held tenderly by me does cause my heart to ache... But there is promise in the way he keeps himself still close, not fully climbing off of my lap... His thighs still very much straddling me as I guide the maid to place the porridge on the side table just within reach... A request for another pot of tea to be brought up being quietly made before she is allowed to slip away so that she might attend to her other duties...

It is not until I clear my throat and make it known that he might turn himself just ever more slightly into a position more suitable for him to comfortably eat without fully leaving my lap that he changes his position, his cheeks such a beautiful shade of dusky red that I find myself swooning with how beautiful he looks at the moment... His hands being caught in mine just as he reaches for the porridge... I take but a single moment to redirect them... My own hand being the one to reach out for the saucer that the bowl is situated upon so that I might hand it to him to hold in his lap, my fingers being the ones to retrieve the spoon with a very simple question upon my lips, "Might I be the one to feed you? I found myself quite jealous of Carilynn being invited to feed you those confections earlier..."

...

Jasper

...

Edmund's words make me feel so shy... The admission of jealousy seeming more playful than serious with the tone he takes on... A gentle chuckle backing his words while I stare down at the bowl in my hands...

The porridge in it is nearly unrecognizable with how rich it looks... As if it has been made with actual cream and broth... What looks to be vegetables stirred into the warming mix... What looks to be a biscuit of some kind resting just inside the edge of the delicate bowl that it has been served in...  My stomach tying itself in knots over the fact that this family that has welcomed me into their opulent home in order to care for me at the behest of their son have seen fit to share with me such decadent treats such as the Princess with those alcoholic confections... And now this simple yet luscious-looking breakfast...

All of that on top of Edmund sharing his blood with me in order to heal my heart and soothe my body...

I know not how I shall ever be able to adequately repay them, even if they have already made it so very clear that they expect nothing in return other than my willingness to follow the draw that Edmund seems to have on me... Something that seems like it will be all too easy to do with how gently he keeps treating me... The smell of his collar and the coolness of his hands making me shiver with each and every caress so very soothing to me in ways that I cannot begin to vocalize or explain...

My thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed by my Prince... His free hand leaving my waist so that he might reach up and guide my face until I turn and look at him over my shoulder... His look of concern gentled with the smallest of smiles... "Are you alright, my Love? If you've lost your appetite and would rather just rest you do not need to fret... The porridge would not go to waste... I promise."

...

Edmund

...

"I... I will eat it... I was simply thinking of how wonderful it looks... And I've no objection to you feeding me, my Prince... Though now I do wonder what you might mean by not letting it go to waste..." My question having caught Jasper off guard results in the sweetest of answers from my Beloved... His curiosity, even when feeling unwell, so very endearing... His wanting to know even the smallest details of how our world works here within the walls of this castle such a positive sign... For why would he bother asking such things or learning of such things if he was not wanting to understand me and my family... And the role we play in this world...

"Thank you... And to answer you..." My pause is only long enough for me to observe him settling down once more, his back leaning more firmly against me as if to recapture some of the intimacy we had lost when he had turned in my lap, the spoon in my hand finally dipping into his morning meal, "The bowl would have been brought back down and offered to any of our staff who might want it instead of their usual morning fare... And when we have food to spare after throwing a feast, or even just from the day to day of feeding our occupants who enjoy human-style meals... We actually send it out with the food that goes to the clinic... We feed the Physicians and the patients... And the spare food from there goes towards anyone down on their luck that needs a warm meal in their bellies...  We may not necessarily need food the way the rest of you do... But we take great care not to take it for granted... And we do not ever waste anything that could benefit those around us."

Just as I lift the spoon to my Beloved's lips I catch a glimpse of a smile... A thoughtful one, his mouth hesitating to take his first bite just long enough to share with me his thoughts on the matter, "That is so kind... I would have never known... No one ever speaks of it... But I suppose that the true acts of kindness need not be bragged about..."