Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Nyx then ignored Lucas entirely and returned her attention to the steaming bowl in front of her. She was still determined to mimic the way she thought commoners ate, shoveling spoonfuls of broth and chunks of chicken into her mouth with deliberate carelessness. It was awkward at best, yet she kept at it with a kind of stubborn pride. Lucas, leaning back slightly in his chair, watched her with barely contained amusement.

Nyx glared at him over the rim of the bowl, her lips glistening from the broth. "I am trying to blend in," she said, her words slightly muffled as she chewed.

He shook his head slowly. "if you really want to blend....do this too" He picked up his own bowl, tilting it toward his lips and drinking the broth straight from it. "See? No spoon, no fuss. Just drink."

Her brows drew together. "That is barbaric," she said firmly, though her eyes flickered with curiosity.

"Barbaric?" Lucas smirked. "Or authentic?"

Nyx hesitated, then let out a sigh that was equal parts resignation and stubbornness. Slowly, she lifted the bowl to her mouth and took a long sip, letting the hot, savory broth flow in. Her face twisted in mild discomfort at first, more from the act than the taste, but when she set the bowl down, Lucas was already laughing at her expression.

"You look like you just committed a crime," he said, grinning.

"I might as well have," she muttered under her breath, but she picked the bowl back up and drank again anyway.

When the meal was finally over, they stepped out into the street, Lucas walked with his hands in his pockets, while Nyx tried to keep up, brushing stray strands of hair from her face.

"Where are we going now?" she asked.

"To the pub," Lucas replied casually. "But before that… let's do something daring. Something thrilling."

Nyx tilted her head suspiciously. "What exactly do you mean by daring?"

Before she could press further, Lucas's gaze had already shifted to a man whose servant was struggling to balance two baskets overflowing with ripe fruit. Without hesitation, Lucas strode over, plucked one basket from the servant's grip, and tossed it directly into Nyx's arms. She caught it instinctively, her eyes widening.

"What...?" she started, but before the words could leave her mouth, Lucas had already taken the other basket and, with a quick motion, tossed it toward a group of ragged, hungry children who immediately descended on it, snatching up the fruit with grateful cries.

Then, just as quickly, he stepped over, grabbed the basket Nyx was holding, and hurled it toward another corner where several beggars sat huddled. The fruits rolled across the dirt, and the beggars scrambled to gather them up.

Nyx stood frozen for a heartbeat before finding her voice. "Xavier! Are you insane?!" she hissed, rushing to his side. "The punishment for stealing is having your hand cut off!"

"Relax," Lucas said with a grin. "It's worth it."

"It is not worth it!" she snapped. "You are a mad boy!"

The man whose fruit they had taken was not nearly as amused. His face flushed with anger, and he pointed directly at them. "Seize them! Bring them to me!" he barked to his servants.

Lucas glanced at Nyx, then at the approaching servants, and his grin widened. "Time to go," he said cheerfully, before grabbing her wrist firmly.

"Wait..." she began, but he was already pulling her into a run.

"Run!" he shouted, and they both tore down the street, the sound of furious voices and pounding footsteps following close behind.

They both darted into the bustling market street, weaving through the crowd with the sound of angry shouts echoing behind them. Nyx's dress whipped around her legs as she struggled to keep pace with Lucas, her heart pounding, not only from the run but from the sheer terror of what would happen if they were caught. Lucas's grip on her wrist was firm, dragging her along before she could even think of slowing down.

"Xavier!" she hissed between breaths. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Yeah," he replied without looking back, his tone maddeningly light, "I fed people who needed it."

"You stole!" she shot back, ducking under the awning of a spice stall as they rushed past.

They dodged a cart piled high with fish, the startled vendor shouting curses after them, the stench of salt and brine lingering in the air as they sped past. Lucas barreled through without hesitation, pulling Nyx along into a narrow alley where the sun barely touched the cobblestones. She almost lost her footing on the uneven ground, but he steadied her with a quick tug.

The sounds of pursuit grew louder, the servants pushing through the crowd, demanding people move aside. Lucas spotted a gap between two stalls ahead and yanked Nyx toward it. They burst into another stretch of the market, this one lined with merchants selling bolts of cloth, baskets of vegetables, and strings of drying herbs. In their rush, Lucas's shoulder clipped a table stacked with apples, sending them rolling in all directions.

"Watch where you're going you fuckers!" the merchant bellowed, shaking a fist at them.

"Sorry!" Lucas shouted back, though he didn't slow down for a second.

They swerved sharply around a corner, narrowly avoiding a rack of hanging pots that clanged together noisily. Every turn seemed to bring another obstacle...barrels, crates, startled animals...but somehow Lucas kept them moving, never hesitating, never stopping.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the noise behind them began to fade. They turned down one last side street, slipping into the shadows between two buildings. Lucas pressed his back to the wall, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, a triumphant grin spreading across his face.

Nyx, however, was far from amused. She whirled toward him, her eyes flashing with fury. "Have you completely lost your mind?" she demanded. "Do you even imagine what would have happened if we'd been caught?"

Lucas met her glare without flinching. "Relax," he said, still catching his breath. "They're not going to cut off the hands of the princess and the Royal Alchemist."

"That is not the point!" she snapped, her voice dropping into a heated whisper. "We have to protect our reputation."

He raised an eyebrow, cutting her off. "Was it thrilling or not?"

Nyx folded her arms, her lips pressing into a thin line. She held his gaze for a long moment, her expression a mixture of irritation and reluctant admission. Finally, with a sigh, she muttered, "...It was."

A satisfied smirk curved Lucas's lips. "Thought so."