A few hours earlier.
Theo continued to experiment with his magic. The more he experimented, the more he was certain that Thea was born to wield magic.
Soon, he grew bored with basic and simple magic. He wanted to know how powerful Thea really is.
But he knew he cannot do it in the guest room or in any room in the house. He needed his own place. His own 'lab.'
After experimenting for about thirty minutes, Theo grew tired. He cursed as he forgot that Thea's physical body was still weak.
From where he was standing, the bed looked very enticing. Theo gave up and fell asleep.
He was sleeping peacefully when Arthur knocked. Theo woke up in daze, still sleepy. And when he heard the word 'dinner,' his stomach rumbled.
One thing that Theo looked forward to was meal times. In his old world, food was scarce and difficult to procure. When he did, he had to put others first and him second. He was following his King's example.
But here, he was everyone's priority. And he welcomed it.
After slamming the door in Arthur's face, he quickly put on an oversize T-shirt he had 'stole' from Arthur and refused to give back, over his overly girly clothes and washed his face.
When he was still in the hospital, he rarely went to the bathroom unless he really had to. He often waited until the last second, because he still has reservations when it comes to 'handling' Thea's body. He feels like a pervert. [Author: you're not a pervert, Theo!]
When he finished washing his face and went out from the bathroom, he noticed the room was in chaos. The carpets were not where they were supposed to and Thea's clothes were scattered around. Theo exhaled.
He quickly put everything to its place… to the best he could. He looked around, satisfied that he found nothing out of place. He looked at the mirror to make sure he was decent. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he quickly went to his door and opened it.
------------------------------
Everyone freezes.
Arthur instantly straightens his back and clears his throat. "Ready?"
Theo looks at Arthur and Julian in turn. "Yes."
Julian also clears his throat. "Hope you're hungry. Mom's prepared a feast!"
Theo grins widely. "I'm starving!"
The three of them casually chat as they walk to the dining room.
Julian isn't lying. The dining table looks like it's hosting a party for a few dozen people instead of just five.
Theo is surprised to see it. "Wow!"
Even Arthur and Julian are surprised. "Holy cow!" Julian exclaims.
Arthur looks at him. "I thought you knew."
"What makes you say that?" Julian asks.
"You told Thea that Mother has prepared a feast."
"Oh! I know about that, but I never expected it to be this much!"
Leila looks at her three children with concern. "You think this is too much? I was afraid that Thea's preferences had changed. And since I don't know what they are now, I took the liberty of preparing… well, everything!"
Theo doesn't say anything, just looks at the table with a huge grin. He looks at Leila with gratitude in his eyes.
Leila is shocked to see the spark in her daughter's eyes. For the past few months leading to the accident, Thea had become picky, and her portions were getting smaller. Leila thought her daughter was just being a teenager and trying to watch her figure.
When she saw how well Thea ate at the hospital, she was happy. Cooking has always been her first passion, and now she's happy she gets to cook this much food.
Maurice laughs when he sees Thea's expression. He has similar thoughts as his wife: Thea is too thin. And after staying in the hospital for a month, she has become even skinnier.
"Well, sit! Eat! Don't just stand there. Enjoy, children!" Maurice invites everyone to start digging in.
Theo takes a seat beside Leila, still staring at the table. He has never seen this much food—chicken, fish, meat, pork, all there. Braised, fried, steamed, grilled. All there! Even duck, and a few other things Theo has never seen, are on the table.
He knows Leila is a good cook from Thea's memories, and he's thrilled that he gets to enjoy her cooking.
Leila fills Theo's plate with a little bit of everything. "Try everything first. Then tell me which ones you like best, and we'll go from there, yeah?"
Theo looks at Leila and bobs his head like a chicken. The men laugh happily when they see this. They all have the same thought: Thea is too thin.
Everyone is eating and chatting happily. The atmosphere in the dining room is pleasant, and everyone is happy and relieved that Thea seems to be able to settle down well. Nothing makes the Montroses happier.
Maurice leans back on his chair. "Ugh, I can't. I'm too full." He caresses his now round stomach.
Leila laughs. "You sure? There are still desserts."
Maurice's eyes widen. He slowly smiles. "Desserts? What's for desserts?"
"What do you want? I have everything," Leila claims proudly.
"Everything?" Julian, with his mouth full.
"Don't speak with your mouth full," Leila scolds. Then she smiles. "Yes, everything!" She emphasizes the last word.
Julian swallows his steak. "Chocolate cake?"
Leila nods. "I have chocolate mud cake. My recipe. Your favorite."
Julian gasps. "Mother! I love you!"
Leila scoffs, but everyone can see that she's not really angry. She turns back to Maurice. "Well, do you want desserts?"
Maurice bites his lower lip, thinking. "Key lime pie?"
Leila laughs. "Yes, darling. I have key lime pie."
Maurice winces. "Ugh, you're killing me!"
Theo is still busy emptying his plate. His eating speed has slowed considerably. But at the mention of desserts, his ears perk up.
He finally finishes his nth chicken wing. His lips and fingers are greasy with oil, but he doesn't care and turns to Leila.
Leila, who has been very attentive to Theo, instantly looks at her, smiling. "You also want desserts? Please, you need to have desserts."
Theo swallows his last chicken wing. "I'd love some, but I don't know what I like."
Leila chuckles happily. "You used to like chocolate mousse or tiramisu cake. I have both. You want to try both?"
Theo has never heard of either dessert, but somehow he doesn't feel those two are appealing. Maybe because I'm already full.
Arthur, who had finished his dinner a few minutes earlier, gets up from his seat and goes to the fridge. He opens the freezer, and cold steam comes out.
The fridge is located behind Maurice, who is sitting at the head of the table. Theo, who turns to Leila, sees the steam coming out of this box. He quickly searches Thea's memories and cannot find anything about the box.
Leila notices Theo's stare. She turns around to see what he's staring at, and she sees Arthur take out a cup of ice cream and close the freezer.
Leila turns to Theo again, who is still staring at the freezer, and follows Arthur until he sits back down.
Feeling inspired, Leila gets up and heads to the freezer as well. She takes out a few cups of ice cream in different flavors and puts them in front of Theo.
Theo is staring at her and at the ice creams. He has never seen anything like it. He can see the cold steam. What is that? Is that food?
Arthur enjoys the ice cream in his hands, but he's staring at Theo. There are alarms blaring in his mind. She acts like she's never seen ice cream. Arthur doesn't realize how accurate his observation is.
Finally, Theo reaches out to touch a cup and flinches when he feels how cold it is. He immediately looks at Leila and then at Arthur, who seemingly enjoys his extremely cold food very much.
He looks at Leila again.