celina laurent

He chuckled. “You are far from a strange witch. Remind me more of Rapunzel, just shorter hair,” he said with a grin. A shrug followed suit at her comment. “My sister drug me here, and if you ever meet her, she’s quite literally Satan, so I never say no to her for fear I may be drawn and quartered by her demonic spawns I’m sure she hides in her closet,” he joked.

“Perhaps I’m the Rapunzel who chopped off all her hair. Plus, I left my frying pan back in my room,” she mused as she sat back in her chair, looking over their food spread. It had been a while since she had indulged in this many sweets, so it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy the holiday. “I don’t believe that I’ve met her but she sounds absolutely fascinating. How does one tame demonic spawn to do their bidding? I must know her ways.” She smiled in a way to leave him guessing whether she was joking or not. 

Allore had come for face of course. Not wanting to date herself but finding these events fun for making friends more than mates the decision had been made to attend. Not a hard decision honestly but nothing that Allore couldn’t handle and as she watched the women stack the cheese’s into a little tower Allore couldn’t have been more entertained with her choice. The small jolt as the women heard the bell made Allore giggle and helped some of the falling cheeses before lifting her own glass. “If you should be so should i.” She said her cheeks flushed a bit red from the wine.

She chuckled and smiled. “Oh goodness,” she said, settling down and removing her hands from the plate. Celina was doing everything that her etiquette lessons had taught her not to do. She was playing with her food, not exhibiting proper posture, making an absolute fool of herself... but she didn’t mind it one bit. To be honest, she played around with the thought of renouncing the crown to live a normal life. Getting to see the villagers free to do as they pleased in town opened her eyes to a world she hadn’t known. “Oh, I’m certain you’re fine. I’m just... I’ve never been to something like this.”

Just passing by as Celina reached for her glass, Eden instinctually lurched forward to help, but quickly realized her help was not needed. “Or perhaps you’d be better off with those stemless wine glasses.” It was just a friendly suggestion as Eden herself preferred that style, especially when seated at a table. “Is this seat taken?” She gestured towards an empty chair with her own wine glass carefully as it was quite full.

Celina smiled and shook her head. “The seat is yours. Knowing my luck, I’d still be just as much of a klutz with a stemless glass. Maybe even more so given that there’s less surface area for me to grab,” she mentioned. “I’m Celina, by the way. I’m hoping we don’t have to deal with the formalities here. I don’t really care for the longwinded titles.”

@crowncelina​

He’d made his brief appearance at the Valentine’s event, but soon enough Bastien had retreated to the safety of the kitchen. He’d just started preparing for lunch- set to be served later than usual today, because of the event- when the door swung open. He looked up, expecting to see a member of the kitchen staff, but instead it was one of the royals. He nearly rolled his eyes before catching himself. “Can I help you with something, your highness?” he asked, his tone polite, yet a little curt. 

The socializing out in the main room had been slightly overwhelming. There were so many people and the speed at which they had been going from person to person was a stark contrast to what she was used to. She slipped away between bell rings and found herself wandering into the kitchen. Celina remembered one of her new friends mentioning that she knew the chef and that his food was exquisite. She perked up as soon as she saw him and pressed her lips together. He was probably extremely busy preparing all the food for the event and she had interrupted his work space. “Oh... no, not at all. I just wanted to see... Hi, I’m Celina. You don’t have to call me your highness.”

Her announcement that she knew him had him have to run through all the royals he has dealt with, her face never quite hitting a name, but he did remember the day of his puzzle from hell and the girl who wanted to make arrangements with him. “Who let you out of your tower today?” he teased, remembering their conversation. 

“No prince. Still no prince. I’ve just been hiding with my flowers like some strange fairy tale witch,” Celina chuckled nervously as she settled down. It had been nice when she was out at the flower shop making the birthday flower arrangements. Even if they never made it to their intended recipients, the activity helped her feel like she was useful in someway shape or form. “It’s nice that you were able to get away from the shop.”

“You do not have to make conversation, I am really only here for the wine. And to make sure no one dies this year.”

Celina’s eyes went wide at the mention while she was in mid chew. “Someone died last year? I hadn’t heard. What happened?” she asked. Truth be told, she was intrigued about the woman guard and loved that she had a moment to get to finally speak with her.

“So, what? We get wine drunk and flirt all afternoon? Finally, they’ve learned to throw a proper event.” Sitting back in his chair, the prince pulled a flask out of his pocket at just past twelve-thirty. “I do prefer whiskey though.”

Celina shook her head and smiled. “There doesn’t have to be flirting. There’s plenty of good food to be had,” she pointed out.

Ollie would not have been here if it wasn’t for his sister finding it a hilarious thing to drag him to before running off. So here he was at 12:30 on the dot, taking a seat when a bell chimed and looking up to his ‘partner’. “Fair warning, I don’t even know what day it is or exactly what we’re doing here, but hey,” he offered with a bit of a grin.

It had been a solitary few weeks for Celina. Rather than putting herself out there and handing out all of the orchid arrangements that she had put together for the castle residents, she kept to herself in her room. It was strange, but being back in isolation felt a little easier. She felt a bit embarrassed from her interactions with the few people she had run ins with. No amount of reading could prepare her for social interactions. She swore at her parents’ mentally for keeping her away from people outside of the occasional castle gala. 

An invitation to some Valentine’s social was her signal that it was time to go back out. There were people here and no one to restrict her. She had to admit that the activity was strange. She just wanted to eat all of the treats that were laid out. When the bell chimed, she stuffed a macaron into her mouth, trying to finish it off before she had to move onto the next person. “Oh, hello. I know you,” she said once she finally swallowed the cookie. 

.

When the other approached, his eyes glanced upward at the woman. Facial features softened slightly as she spoke. His eyes glanced down to the spot she spoke of, placing the piece where she explained and then he chuckled, shaking his head. “I have no ability whatsoever when it comes to these God forsaken puzzles,” he admitted. “If you want irises, I got loads in the back. They aren’t very popular around here, so I don’t have anything premade with them,” he began, to stop her from leaving the counter. “I know you said color didn’t matter but I have purple, blue, and orange to pick from. I can make mixture arrangements too,” he offered. “Anything to get me away from this puzzle,” he said with a laugh.

Celina gave him a small smile as he spoke. Clearly, he wasn’t cross with her, just with the puzzle. “I didn’t either at first. But a couple of decades with nothing but puzzles to solve and books to read, you develop a knack for finding the pieces,” she mentioned before pressing her lips together in a line. That was clearly an overshare. He didn’t need to know that information. She needed to get herself together before she thoroughly embarassed herself. “It’s fine. I don’t need anything premade. If anything, I can take the bunches and arrange them myself. I do love the purple and blue...” She finally looked up and bit the inside of her cheek. “Could I... Can I do some arrangements with you? If you don’t mind it of course.” 

Izsak wasn’t about to turn away the out he was served on a silver platter. Even if the sweet was calling his name. He just knew he would end up regretting it later. So it was for the better that he didn’t end up indulging himself. “Oh - well happy early birthday. Should I consider this my invitation?” He replied, mostly joking. Izsak was a little too used to not be inviting to parties or being ignored all together.  So there would be no feelings lost if Celina and him never ended up splitting that pastry. “If it is. I look forward to it. Not much else going on in this place.”

“Oh yes, please come to my birthday! I mean, I don’t have too much planned. Nothing too extravagant. Just good food and music. Very casual,” she nodded enthusiastically. Celina never had anyone outside of her family and politicians at her birthday galas over the years. They were stuffy and uncomfortable and Celina wanted this year to be different. 

.

The Canadian found himself chuckling at his cousin’s statement, after all, her run-ins with wildlife hadn’t been what he’d been referring to. “I’m guessing your parents also haven’t allowed you to visit the internet much while you were at home, huh?” he wondered. “Girls gone wild is typically a way to describe partying heavily, drinking to excess, stupid behavior, and inconsequential sex,” Hunter mentioned. There was no use pointing out where the expression had come from. “And judging by what you’ve said, it’s not like you’ve done it either,” he trailed off.

It wasn’t that he was encouraging the idea, but he believed there might have been a part of Celina that would be curious about it, and maybe she’d like to try her limits now that her parents weren’t breathing over her neck 24/7. “In a way, that doesn’t change things much,” he shook his head. The prince still tried to do what he often did: avoid people and stay out of the way, even though sometimes it proved to be an impossible endeavor. “Have your parents found you a fitting suitor yet?”

Celina’s entire face went red. When she had received her freedom, those things had been the furthest thing from her mind. But maybe she did need to dabble in some irresponsible behavior. When else would she have the opportunity to? “No... no I haven’t done any of that. I mean, there was the champagne on my birthday, but hardly anything that falls along those lines.”

“Allegedly, a betrothal has been arranged. I have yet to hear from or meet said betrothed. Even further reason for me to not be running around and having inconsequential sex. It wouldn’t be a good look for me to do that if a match has been made, would there?” she mentioned. There had only been one person she had ever entertained the idea with, but she had kept her crush to herself and as a result, nothing had happened. He was an artist and as such, it would have never worked out.  “How about yourself? I haven’t heard a thing about whether or not you’ve been betrothed.”

.

“Yes, we were sent here for our own protection.” She took a moment, before further speaking, “I am unsure of how things are for you back in your country, but being among regular people has always been a governed task for me. Constantly surrounded by more than enough guards during outings and further being surrounded by high ranking politicians hasn’t allowed me to truly be among those who aren’t of royal birthright. And I have never fully been allowed a conversation longer than just a few minutes.” She did agree with Celina though, “You are right. Your responsibility is to the people of your country, but that is currently a position being held by the ruling king and queen. I would much rather be at home as well. Back in Wales in familiar territory, but the least I can do while I am locked away in some far off land is to get to know the townsfolk of this small Russian village. Observe them and their needs, so that when I go back to my own people, I will at least have some idea of what to look for and will hopefully be able to bring a fresh perspective to the tiresome ways that my parents have seen fit to rule for decades now.”

Celina was torn on the matter. In truth, she didn’t know what her people needed. She wasn’t allowed. It was frustrating as a future crown not to be included in vital conversations regarding their country. Was she simply to sit idle by while her betrothed took over her duties just because he was a man? And even so, how could she determine that the Khatangan people had the same needs as her own? It was a different landscape, different rulers with different policies. The more that she learned from the royals that she interacted with, the more underprepared she felt for the title that had clearly just because only that. Her parents held no trust or confidence in her ability to lead and she was only now beginning to realize that. “That’s... a very good way to look at it I suppose,” she responded quietly, her gaze wandering. “That’s nice that you’ve gotten outings at least.”

He was waiting with crossed arms for her to start berating him for his lies, to yell or even ask where his boss was, but when that didn’t come Alexi felt his defenses deflate. Suspicion took hold though. Why was she so calm about this? Sure, he had met royals who were more down to earth than others but he had expected her to at least get a bit angry with him. This was an interesting one for sure. “You are a curious person, has anyone ever told you that?” Rich considering his skin was presently a very unusual shade.

“That was a comic?” He remembered a show of the same name, barely because they didn’t watch much, but every now and then they would have a rerun come on during special program in the early hours of the morning before they went to work, and it would play in the background. “I do not think it will be as simple as just washing it off. But thank you for the sentiment.”

"Not to my face, no. But I’ve heard it said,” she admitted abashedly, taking a step back and holding her towel close to herself. Being confined to the castle made Celina an expert in all of the nooks and crannies of the place, able to hide in plain sight to overhear the staff and their opinions of her. It varied. Some pitied her for her predicament. Others placed bets on what must have been wrong with her for her to be kept behind closed doors. Celina wasn’t the type to confront them, so she kept to herself. 

“A very old comic. I believe there was a tv show. I doubt they have it in the library here for viewing,” Celina mentioned offhandedly, looking down at the ground. Even though he was the blue-skinned one, she felt self-conscious, especially after his comment. “Baking soda and dish detergent perhaps. I know my hair dresser used that when she got some hair dye on my skin once. I’m not sure if it would completely help with your... situation. But it’s worth a try.”

Bee and her mother had their fundamental disagreements when it came to some things, though it wasn’t as if the blonde could disregard all the lessons the Maltese matron had to offer her and her siblings when they were growing up. “Oh, I can’t say we are always on the same page about things, but the idea of eating without guilt was a good thing,” she smiled, choosing not to dwell on their differences either. The blonde looked over at the princess as she suggested the introduction. She was a pretty brunette. Who wouldn’t enjoy making her acquaintance? Bee thought to herself. “Sure! I mean, as long as you don’t feel like messing around his kitchen, Bas would probably love to meet you. And I’m sure you know all these famous chefs you could talk to him about,” she mused.

Celina was excited for the opportunity to spend time in the kitchen. Her mother insisted that a kitchen was no place for a princess to spend time in and it would only tempt her further with all of the food at her disposal. But she wanted to learn a new craft to keep her hands busy. There was only so much reading that could be done. Now was the time to learn new things. There was no telling when her freedom would be taken away again. “I promise I won’t do anything to his kitchen. And I actually don’t unfortunately. I haven’t been granted the audience of famous chefs, so he would be the first.”

“Oh trust me if you time it just right you’ll get them when they’re right out of the oven. Which judging by the smell I think you may just be in luck.” Camilla was about to go get some for herself, she could never turn down a delicious sweet. She laughed softly as she heard the growl from the others stomach and she shrugged her shoulders. “Well I mean they do have bread. You could always eat bread for lunch and have a cookie for dessert.” She suggested with a grin. “I think I’m about to go in and do the same myself.” 

Celina looked at the baked goods through the window and sighed. “I shouldn’t. Maybe another day. Give myself some time to savor all the greatness that Khatanga has to offer. That way, I don’t spoil my appetite by overindulging. I mean, there’s just so much good food,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. There was still residual guilt for wanting to eat all of the things. Even though her mother was no longer over her shoulder tracking every single thing she ate, the old thoughts continued to linger.

Val took the piece of paper from Celina, committing the photo to memory as he took off to buy the cookies. Though it took him a while to get them-had to wait on some of them, since they weren’t done cooling off-he carefully picked up the bag and went back to the castle, muttering the room number under his breath. He looked over the cookie plates, trying to find which one he was looking for, until he does, seeing the door propped. 

“The cookie man has arrived,” he called out, kicking the propped door open and walking inside. “Where you want me to put them?” he asked, trying to find a place to set them down before they all fall down.

For a moment, Celina wondered if Valentin would actually come. He had been sweet enough in the market, but he could have just been indulging her. Celina had a tendency to be gullible and there had already been several instances in the castle where her naïveté had shown. When he finally arrived, she beamed and looked around at the place. The table was good for one, but it wasn’t really spacious enough for their entire spread. 

“Oh here! Let me help you with those,” she said grabbing one from him to help. “The table is a tad small. So we could set up a picnic on the floor or on the bed. There’s also the settee by the fireplace...”