"How do you know stuff like this?" To this day, Zen's still very much in awe of his wife, even though he's known her for enough years, one would think that he got used to all of her amazing qualities. But not Zen, he's had all these years and however many days, and she still surprises him and fills him up with enough awe to raise a hot air balloon high up into the sky.

"It's sort of like herbology?" Shirayuki looks a little surprised and a little flustered as Zen directs his awe right over to her. "See, these flavors go well together, and you grind herbs and spices up for the kitchen like you grind up herbs for the pharmacy." She shrugs, a little unsure why her husband is so mesmerized.

"How do you know which ones go together?" Zen came closer, watching as she measures out small amounts and yet different amounts of spices and ground up herbs together.

"A lot of trial and error. And a lot of reading cookbooks. My grandparents owned a bar, you know? So, I learned all of the food they cooked for it, and then some. We had many cookbooks and I had very good teachers." Shirayuki still looks a little surprised, and Zen leans closer to watch her work.

"That's amazing." Zen eyed the spices as Shirayuki finished up by stirring them together to make for a nicely colorful bowl. "Could you teach me?"

"Sure." Shirayuki smiled, "We have the time after all."

And Zen almost wants to laugh as giddy as he is, as Shirayuki guides him through seasoning the chicken and heating it up and making dinner. And as he helps with the salad, a task far more familiar than blending spices together to make delicious seasoning for him.

To this day, Zen is still amazed that he even met his wife, let alone was blessed enough to marry her and that she's patient enough to teach him what she knows about moving through the kitchen and cooking. Zen is absolutely sure that Shirayuki cooks better than the palace chef, though a little bit of self-control and politeness keeps him from telling the palace chefs that. Shirayuki, on the other hand, he can tell and gush over her cooking any day of the week.