Disclaimer: Sunrise

Chapter 3: Birthday Date - Challenge

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"Lady Cagalli, it's been a while since the last time you went out by yourself to the city like this. Are you sure you'll be okay?" Myrna watched as her mistress put a wig on her head—part of her disguise so she wouldn't get recognized in the city.

While still adjusting the position of her wig in front of her vanity, Cagalli smiled, staring back at Myrna from the reflection on the mirror and answered, "Don't worry too much. Besides, I'm not going alone. Colonel Waldfield will be with me all the time today."

After the talk with Andrew about the old times they spent at the desert, Cagalli felt nostalgic and chose something similar with her old outfit for today; a red shirt with short sleeves and an army green cargo pants. Only now, her flaxen hair was covered by a short dark wig she chose for today's disguise.

Myrna sighed, smiling softly. She kinda got an idea as to why Cagalli chose that color and style of wig.

"Well then, I'm off, Myrna," Cagalli waved at Myrna who walked her off to the front door, and left the Manor. When Cagalli had closed the door, Myrna walked inside and made some calls, "The Princess has just left. I'm counting on you guys then."

"Colonel!" Cagalli waved when she got a sight of the person who had been waiting for her.

"Hey, don't call me that here. You want our cover to be blown off? Even though I don't really need a cover though…"

"Well, nobody really knows about the Desert Tiger here in Orb, I admit. But what's with that look?" Cagalli asked when she saw him with a hat and sunglasses, similar to how he looked the first time she met him in Banadiya.

"Speak for yourself. Feeling nostalgic aren't we?" He nodded to Cagalli's outfit, which was the same as the ones she had worn when he met her first. "Where is your bodyguard by the way?"

"I came by myself," Cagalli said, grinning without an ounce of timidness, while Andrew could only facepalm himself at the princess who had zero safety management in front of him.

But as he looked up and watched around to make sure she was not being followed by anyone strange, Andrew could feel it. In a few places, some was visible slightly, some didn't, that her bodyguards were following her unbeknownst to the princess herself. Her personal maid who cared so much for her that he had the chance to meet once in a while came to his mind. They must have followed the lady based on her instruction.

Well, at least someone was considerate enough to keep the Head of state safe, as she should be.

"Well, then, where to, Mister?" Andrew could see she was literally bouncing with excitement.

"This way, Princess," he said, half joking but using gestures like a butler showing the way to a lady.

"Don't call me a princess, especially here," Cagalli hissed lowly.

"Well, don't fret over small details, let's go!"

"Do I have to?"

"Don't tell me you are going back on your own words, little miss."

They were sitting at one of the tables in front of a kebab stand. Andrew, sitting in front of Cagalli with folded hands on his chest, was staring straight at her, who were cowering while looking at the donner kebab on a plate in front of her, dressed with yogurt sauce.

"You promised," Andrew reminded her once again, "I'll have the kebab with this super hot chili sauce if you are going to try that one with yogurt sauce. We already talked about this, remember?"

"But… but… They look so bland!" Cagalli protested, pointing at the kebab in front of her, glistening with pale white sauce. "I want that one!" Now she pointed at the kebab in front of Andrew. "The Master said that that's a special sauce using the special hottest chili you can find in Orb, and I want to try that!"

"What, what did you order for me? I thought you were ordering a regular one with the regular chili sauce. Are you trying to kill me?"

Cagallli flapped her hand in a reassuring manner, as if to tell him that it was impossible. "You wont die from a hot chili sauce," she huffed.

"I'll get transferred to the emergency room! I've seen one, trust me," he looked at the bright red sauce; he felt like he could smell the sharp smell of the chili—whatever kind of chili they were using— from where he sat. "Little miss, maybe you should reconsider eating this. This is not human food, this is poison, I tell you."

"You are just not built for it. I'll have the one with chili sauce, then," Cagalli said, reaching out to the kebab with what was supposed to be the spiciest sauce in all of Orb.

"Okay, so that means you are backing down from the challenge, am I right?" Andrew grinned, teasing her. But to be honest, he was hoping for that. He was okay with the regular chili sauce, even though it burnt his tongue and throat a little bit, it was tolerable. But there was no way he could shove down that kebab—or anything—with the spiciest sauce like this one.

But he knew the lady in front of him had some weird sense of competitiveness, that she was not one to back down from a challenge. And it had been a while since he had some fun, other than teasing Dacosta. Andrew had some fun watching her biting her lips, her eyes darting from her own kebab to Andrew's, having a hard time deciding whether to back down or try the one with yogurt sauce as she herself had promised to try.

When she finally gave up the chili kebab—because she hated losing—someone came and put two portions of what looked like a smaller size of a sandwiched kebab, and two small cups of ice cream. Surprised, Andrew and Cagalli looked up, since they didn't remember ordering this.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you guys or anything, but when I heard you arguing about the sauce, I feel like making these sample-size kebab; this one is with yogurt sauce and this one is with chili sauce, with the same level of spiciness as the Lady had ordered," the man who was the owner of the food stall came, pointing to each food as he explained to them. "And this is dondurma ice cream. Many people who tried this sauce will feel like their mouth is burning, so we usually treat them with this ice cream to relieve the burn. So I'll give this along with this free sample," he finished with a smile.

"No way, really? Thank you Mister!" Cagalli said with a bright face, delighted as she took the sample with the yogurt sauce. As long as she finished this smaller kebab, she could say that she fulfilled her part of the challenge—trying the kebab with yogurt sauce, and she could take that doner kebab with chili sauce she had been wanting to try since it was served to them. The owner commented that Cagalli was so brave to order this menu—which most people avoid—and only a few people were able to finish the entire thing. Cagalli had a nice small talk with him and ended it with a promise, "I'll make sure to come here again if I have time and want to eat kebab again."

She turned again to her companion. "Look, Col—Waldfeld, now you don't have to eat the entire chili kebab in case you can't stomach all of it. You don't have to go to the emergency room either," Cagalli grinned at the colonel in front of her.

"Shut it, you better finish that kebab with yogurt sauce too," Andrew took his part of the smaller sandwich kebab, bringing it to his mouth, and stared back at Cagalli. "You ready?"

Cagalli nodded, and almost at the same time, they brought their small sized kebab to their mouth.

Cagalli was scrunching her face, her face showing a look of discontentment at the lack of taste that she had been craving for—though she expected it from the start. The kebab was still delicious to her, but it was unsatisfactory to her taste buds.

Meanwhile, Andrew went stiff as the chili sauce hit his tongue; his entire face turned red. As soon as he swallowed his first bite, he reached the ice cream, took a spoonful of it and shoving it down hurriedly.

Pretty much inspired by my experience with the kebab stall near my apartment back then. They also had dondurma ice cream, too bad I never bought one. The sandwich kebab was so good and one of the mister sometimes treat me with free canned oolong tea. And of course I used chili sauce, though it was the mild one

Maybe another two chapters and this story is done, and probably one outtake if I have time to write

Cheers~