Culinary Dominion

Agrippa's head nods forward as she dozes off, until it slam down onto the desk, leaving an angry red mark on her forehead.

She jerks awake, pressing a hand to the throbbing spot and grimaces at her notebook's slanted, ink-smudged mistakes.

Those misspelled words remind her of the distain in Doll's eyes and those annoying punishment assignments, once again, Agrippa scored single digits on the exam.

Agrippa snatches up her notebook, fingers itching to rip it to shreds. The memory of Doll's punishments flashes through her mind, and she freezes. With a growl, she jams the notebook's corner between her teeth and bites down hard.

Yet the gnawing doesn't lessen her unfinished homework by a bit. It even makes her feel slightly hungry after being locked in the dorm for so long.

Yesterday, she'd raided Aigis's dormitory after trashing her own supplies yet again... Only to end up in a fist fight with Jenkin who came to investigate the noise.

The verdict came down hard: Agrippa ended up with double transcribing punishment and a three-day grounding.

Agrippa recalls the only thing she loves about this school: The delicious free dishes in Mythag's cafeteria. She finally shakes her head, slams the table, and stands up.

Under cover of darkness, Agrippa pries open the door with practiced ease. A quick scan confirms the coast is clear. She bolts for the kitchen.

Agrippa immediately ducks behind the corner, then pokes her head out cautiously to scan the shadowy figure by the kitchen door.

The fear of being discovered fades. Agrippa jumps out of the corner, shoulders squared and hands locked on her hips, her voice sharp with domineering confidence.

Uvhash doesn't flinch. He'd sensed her minutes ago. His hands never pause, stubbornly fiddling with something.

Uvhash shouts irritably, startling the approaching Agrippa.

On the kitchen's unremarkable small door, layers upon stacks of locks hang, as if the kitchen's owner is angrily guarding against some habitual offender.

Uvhash completely ignores her, already back to wrestling with the locks. Agrippa stomps her foot, wanting to turn around and leave.

<i>She should leave, she WILL leave...</i> but her traitorous stomach growls in protest.

She considers going back to face those endless transcriptions and decides to stay with this despised slave... for now.

Before Agrippa can pick the locks with her spider appendages, Uvhash yanks off the entire set of locks along with the doorknob with a roar.

Uvhash reaches his hand into the large hole, easily unlocking the door from the inside, then kicks the door panel down and strides into the kitchen.

Agrippa, who's never set foot in a kitchen in her two lifetimes, widens her eyes in excitement. She darts between overflowing baskets of ingredients with frantic glee.

After breaking through the kitchen blockade once again, Uvhash is in a great mood. He skillfully opens the weak little lock on the fridge and waves to Agrippa.

Their heads crowd around the fridge. Uvhash yanks it open with pride like revealing the entrance to a brave new world.

Various meats stand stacked in neat rows. At the center rests a full plate of seasoned ribs, its spice-rich aroma curling into the air.

Uvhash stares at the ribs in momentary confusion, but Agrippa's already snatching the plate, her eyes glittering.

Uvhash snorts and decides to lecture her about how to use ovens. Then he spots a strange button lighting up where the plate had been.

In an instant, the floor beneath them splits, revealing a dark, gaping hole.

The delicious rib slips from Agrippa's grasp.

The two crash into the pit with a echoing thud. The floor snaps shut above them. Darkness. Silence. Two pairs of wide eyes stare at each other.

Under Uvhash's full-force strike, the floor above them doesn't even scratch, instead, silver patterns light up elegantly across its surface.

Agrippa, slow to realize their predicament, starts clamoring; seeing Uvhash's attacks prove utterly ineffective, her anger boils over.

Amid Agrippa's incessant complaints, Uvhash tries every possible method of attack.

Yet the two floorboards that had pressed together now seem reforged, not even a hairline gap remains.

Agrippa recalls her life since arriving at Mythag: those incomprehensible tomes filled with celestial knowledge.

The transformed buildings, alien customs, and strange inventions, the disappearance of slavery and forced independence of life.

Everything once taken for granted has become a cycle of trouble, punishment, and more trouble, met with others' sighs, disdain, and hostility.

The world has completely changed overnight. She barely clings to her dignity as a slave owner while feeling increasingly out of place.

Like a fish stranded on a beach, unable to ride the new tides.

Now the long-absent phantom hunger envelops her again.

This emptiness isn't from survival's pain, but the vast grievance of having lost everything.

Her exploring offsprings return empty-handed. Agrippa collapses, hugging her knees, curling into despair.

Uvhash has been sitting nonchalantly in the corner, ready to wait until dawn, but Agrippa's curses are getting too loud to tune out.

He digs at his ear, frowning as he cuts Agrippa off.

Agrippa lifts her head incredulously and unleashes a torrent of curses.

She glares wide-eyed, staring at him with eyes full of betryal.

Agrippa's angry expression freezes as she sees Uvhash relaxed in the corner with his legs crossed. She suddenly understands the precious "reassurance" this place offers.

She remembers falling asleep peacefully at night here, free from betrayal's fear.

The nightmare that once trapped her in the Maze... She hasn't recalled it in ages.

But the sight of this arrogant slave still makes Agrippa feel a peculiar itch at her teeth's roots.

Agrippa lets out a furious screech. Her hair stands on end as pale chitinous eggs burst from her body, appendages stamping wildly before charging at Uvhash.

In the cramped space, venom and blood spikes fly as limbs and spider appendages clash, a chaotic struggle where neither is willing to yield.

During their commotion, some stray attack connects, and the silver-glowing door above suddenly flickers.

Agrippa stops abruptly. She looks up as Uvhash crashes headfirst into the still-unmoved door panel with a thud.

Agrippa pushes Uvhash aside like a stack of potatoes. She then presses against the door, studying it... Until she spots something familiar in the silver patterns.

The homework's contents flood her mind. Before an even dumber student, her barren knowledge finally has its moment.

Agrippa hangs her head in despair, shocked when the slave doesn't mock her. Instead, Uvhash simply nods in approval.

Uvhash turns, staring into that invisible spot on the wall like it's his greatest foe.

Like a battle god returned, blood-crafted spears manifest one by one around him, glowing crimson in the darkness.

With manic laughter, his all-out strike hits true. A faint click sounds as the invincible door finally dims.

The silver light flickers out. Agrippa looks up in surprise, then laughs uproariously.

They exchange a glance, snort simultaneously, and together smash through the now-powerless door panel.

In their fighting frenzy, the long-restrained pair quickly clear the kitchen of meat before swaggering away.

Their names will not appear on the campus bulletin board, Rome's glory remains intact this night.

Lo and behold, another kitchen falls to Roman might.

Only the head chef, confidently walking into the kitchen the next day, let out a roar that echoed across the campus.