The Magic of the Heart (OPEN)

"Chocolate?"

The Magus of Imagination looked at Ulv oddly as he wondered how someone could be so fascinated with the consumption of treats such as chocolate. He supposed scientifically they were good for relieving stress and releasing certain chemicals into the brain to cause euphoria and that could be a very good reason for such consumption. Perhaps Arianda was unhappy? He wondered why anyone who lived in such a lavish home as this, while not as lavish as he was used to, could be anything other than happy or content. Though he supposed, much like he had lived during the time his father had disappeared, things were not always as cut and dry as they may seem to be. He rubbed the beard that he did have on his face in deep contemplation until he finally decided to focus on the now rather than the later once more.

"You do have a lovely home and as Anna has pointed out, we will be willing to do our part to make sure that the house is well kept. I may not look like much, but I do have quite the green thumb, and am quite skilled in the ways of cleaning. I had to learn from an early age how to take care of myself and my estate back home, so I picked up a great deal of things from many different books, and resources."

Zunza spoke honestly as he watched Ulv leave, he said nothing to her, and simply acknowledged what she said as she left. She was going to arrange something for the two of them, he just hoped it wouldn't be something that would cause him anymore emotional distress. He hated acted the way he did, but he loved Anna more than anything in the world, and having someone flirt openly with her in front of him angered him greatly. Hopefully Arianda was different, but knowing just a little about Ulv and the fact that Arianda was her friend did not give off the greatest of first impressions. Once again, however Zunza would give her time to prove herself as it was more than likely what Anna would want. He would not allow one person to ruin the image of another.

"Anna's cooking is second to none. Her food has filled me with so much joy that it made me forget all my sorrows."

Zunza smiled warmly as he took a glance over to his wife and then nodded his head.

"I am the luckiest man in all of the realms. Not only because she is a great cook, but she is a humble, wonderful woman...such a thing is worth going to war for, worth fighting for, and yet I had not needed to do any of those things. She fell in love with me, for who I was rather than what people said I was...and for that I am eternally grateful. Still...I hope I can be of some use."

Zunza said extending his hand calmly to the young woman in front of him, the warm smile never leaving his face regardless of his poor appearance.

Anna listened to Ulv as she pointed to the city and detailed the locations they could go to and how she had plans prepared for them to celebrate their future marriage. Upon finishing, she left and vanished from the scene. Anna smiled and waved goodbye in her direction, even bowing honorably as a way of thanks. Even though Ulv was odd, she had still saved her life, and for that, Anna was overwhelmingly grateful. She then directed her attention to Zunza, who spoke movingly about how much of an amazing chef she was an individual, which caused her cheeks to flush with red. He truly was a kind, loving man who she would cherish and protect until the end of times. As he spoke, she gazed at Arianda, and awaited her turn to speak once Zunza was finished.

As he finished his loving speech, Anna walked forward and held his hand as she spoke after him.

"My husband basically took all manner of words out of my mouth. What can I say? He's amazing and showed me it was possible to love once again, though I had my heart ruthlessly shattered to pieces in the past. I'm not one to really speak profoundly about myself... but I would like to think I'm a very good chef, so if you wish to have meals prepared for you, I am always ready! I quite enjoyed being able to prepare food for the soldiers from my kingdom, so preparing them for a beautiful lady such as you would be an honor! "

"Madame, I believe you are underestimating my powers. I could clean this estate by myself. Anything is possible through magic, trust me when I say that!"

To be honest he hadn't flexed his mind much since he arrived in this realm, choosing isolation, and living off the land over expanding on his craft. However, that didn't mean Zunza couldn't still pull of a small scale miracle like clean a whole mansion's worth of dust. He grinned widely at the lady of the house, as a disembodied hand made of psionic energy came to take his staff from his hand as he entered inside of the home, placing it casually in an umbrella rack. Now that he had permission to come inside and live within this home, he decided to make himself more at home, as he deposited his cloak on a coat rack as well before turning to look at Arianda once more.

"A welcoming feast does sound quite good if I'm being absolutely honest, Lady Arianda. However, I can't allow my wife to cook alone by herself after all she has traveled a long distance just to find me."

Zunza spoke with honesty despite the fact that he hungered for a meal that wasn't overcooked or under-cooked like he had been having for the past few months. Zunza wasn't nearly as good as a cook as he wanted to be, while he could memorize countless recipes, and learn about great combinations from books for some reason it never translated. He still had nightmares of a pustular green sludge that was suppose to be a green apple smoothie. It baffled him as he was usually good at just about everything that he picked up, but he supposed he just lacked the natural talent that Anna had. She after all had what he could undoubtedly consider to be the perfect skill for cooking. Still that didn't mean he couldn't help her by doing the heavy lifting and supporting her to the best of his ability.

"I will support you in the kitchen, Anna. As long as I don't have to cook that is...I will help you search pantries and gather ingredients, but keep me away from a stove. I still have nightmares of all the horrible food I made for myself in isolation."

Zunza said this while walking toward what he hoped was a kitchen. He didn't know just how much help he could be for Anna, but he was going to try his hardest to make sure that she understood he was more than just a bookworm. That he could help her just as much as she had helped him.

"If it is a feast you desire, then it is a feast I shall provide!" With an exuberant declaration, Anna deftly shuffled towards the Kitchen, smiling as she was being followed by her husband who wished to assist her. She turned to face him and stuck her tongue out, a playful expression evident in her lovely features.

"Well, love, if that stew I tasted from your lips is any indication, it seems as though I may thoroughly teach you how to prepare a meal one day. For now, why don't you get acquainted with Ari and let me handle it~!" To fully illustrate her intent, Anna deftly enacted a barrier spell that would prevent him from entering while she prepared each of the meals.

Preparing meals truly was exhilarating, to see their expressions of happiness and awe as the food graced their tastebuds was one of Anna's most heartfelt pleasures. She used her supernatural skill as a magus to bring ingredients from the fridge and deftly began preparing a variety of meals from Italian, Chinese, and even American recipes that would make even the most cynical man in the world smile with joy upon tasting it.

As soon as she concluded her studious effort, she canceled the barrier and walked from the kitchen, ordering Zunza to help carry the plates. For American food, there was fried chicken, Mac ' n' cheese and other recipes of food America seemed to be fond of. Likewise the same for both Chinese and even some cuisine from her own homeland of the west. Bringing the cuisine towards the table - utilizing telekinesis so that each and everyone could land properly without fault - Anna happily exclaimed that, "The feast was ready!"

He had offered to help him and his reward was a barrier to the face, well it wouldn't have been to the face if he had been paying more attention to his surroundings other than focusing on helping his wife to be. Still, he had to respect the craftsmanship of the barrier, and he made note that she had indeed educated herself a bit, and while this barrier couldn't stop him from moving forward if he got serious, he decided to humor her. She was, after all, the cook, and his understanding of fine dining was not the most amazing thing in the world. As such, Zunza nodded his head, and took a seat at the table with Arianda. He looked over to Arianda as such, with a great deal of questions that were worth asking of her, but at the same time not wanting to be rude, and ask a question that would offend. She was different than Ulv or any species he had met since his arrival in this realm and his curiosity, namely his need for knowledge that caused him to finally start asking questions.

"I'm sorry it is going to bug me for eternity if I don't ask, Arianda. Your energy feels different than any species that I have met in this realm and I, being a man of knowledge, am curious as to your origins. You don't need to tell me...as I am just a humble guest in your home, but it does bug me that there is something that I don't know, and that I do not understand."

Zunza adjusted his glasses respectfully as he folded his hands on the table while staring straight at Arianda. The feeling that Zunza gave off was that of a teacher try to educate himself by reviewing material before giving a lecture, there was no maliciousness in his actions, but rather endearing curiosity. Some said it was his best quality, his thirst for knowledge, and understanding of things on a much deeper level than simply skin deep. Such curiosity to him was more of a double edged sword, sometimes it yielded information, but most of the time it led to trouble. Most of the time explosive trouble when it came to spell research. He doubted Arianda would be offended, at least he hoped she wouldn't be, but just in case Zunza was ready to defend himself verbally if she viewed his motives as sinister.

It was at that time that Anna would arrive with the food, Zunza would shift his gaze to the side, reaching out instinctively for his homeland's food over anything exotic. Anna's food was delicious as ever, but the fact that it was familiar to food that he hadn't had in a good long while only increased the flavor for himself. He found himself ravaging his way through what appeared to be some kind of soup, while also ingesting loads of freshly cooked bread.

"Ah! It has been so long since I had anything of quality to eat! I feared that I would have to survive on potatoes, stew, and jerky forever. Thank you, Lady Anna...as always your cooking brings a smile to my face and a fluttering to my heart."

He spoke with a grin as he finished off what could have been only his second bowl of soup and third slice of freshly baked bread.

Anna was elated to see her food being received such wondrous praise, to say nothing of gazing upon her future husband savoring it with such vigor. It filled the future wife within with immense pride. She had prepared quite a large feast, and so she definitely had plenty of food prepared for everyone, especially if Arianda may have had guests coming over.

She smiled at Zunza and Arianda as she sat beside Zunza and began to enjoy some of the food she had prepared, filling a bowl with rice and seasoned beef, and some of her special-recipe bread that she knew Zunza was wholeheartedly familiar with. His compliments made her feel so nostalgic about their first meeting.

She held back the urge to feed Zunza personally, no doubt out of respect for the owner of this home. Anna patted his head as she gazed at Arianda, intending to know the woman better as they all enjoyed each other's company over a fine banquet.

Hopefully, Arianda would be fond enough to form a friendship with both of them, if they had not already. She was rather fond of how bubbly Ari was and did not wish to be a burden on her or any living arrangements. Asking someone to live with them - regardless of the time frame - could always be difficult.