Je Maintiendrai

“Yea, well, I don’t really care what he thinks anymore.” Which was strange for the crown. He’s spent the majority of his life wanting to rule just like him and Matthias had definitely seen the error to that way of thinking. “Our country is important, Kat, but so id making time for family. Probably not the last birthday I will miss but I’m aiming for it to be one of the few.” Smiling, he was glad that she seemed to like the gift. “Looks good. Maybe I’m better at this present thing than I thought.” Giving her a teasing grin, he laid back on his hands as she spoke, nodding. “Tropical sounds amazing right about now. I’m hoping that we’re not so used to the cold weather that we’ll burn up in normal settings though.” 

“Is that... Matthias, rebelling?” Kat said, placing a melodramatic hand on her heart for a brief moment before letting out a laugh. As though he hadn’t done more than enough rebelling for one lifetime by proposing to Maggie- thereby, hopefully, taking all the parental heat off Kat forever, or for at least a little while. “I know soon you’re going to be busy and important and running our country. So it’s really okay if you miss more birthdays. I’ve definitely missed some of yours, so...” she shrugged. “Ugh, I hadn’t even thought of that. I sunburn so easily as it,” she replied, grimacing. “Maybe somewhere more moderate,” she mused. “We can choose later, god only knows when we’re going to be able to leave here, anyway.” 

“What’s that?” Casper asked as he took the punch cup that she offered. When she answered he grinned brightly. “See? Told you it was a good idea. Now I get to fix your squeaky hinges and hang out with you.” It truly was nice to be able to spend time with her when he wasn’t supposed to be on duty, or wasn’t getting distracted from looking out for potential threats.

As she linked their arms he surveyed the scene, letting out a soft hum as he debated everything. Kat was definitely right on the kayaking front. “We could try the float? Or just skip the kayak part of the whole ordeal and go straight to plunging into the lake?” 

“And I’m sure coming to the aid of every beautiful, helpless princess whenever their sink leaks or their desk chair wobbles has been nice too,” Kat said teasingly. 

She opened her mouth in mock shock. “Wow, I was expecting my best friend to be more supportive of my kayaking aspirations. Though cutting out the middle man and just jumping into the lake would be the most effective route, I suppose.” And the sun and warmth- uncharacteristic of Russia- was starting to get the best of her. 

“I felt like I had to fix it since I caused it, you know? Plus, it’s good practice for when the old man gets put out of his misery. But your birthday should always be priority.” He laughed as she mentioned the box, Matthias holding it out for her to take. It was just a bracelet he had found, something he thought Kat would like and could wear for charitable events for her animal causes as it had a simple shape of a dog in the middle. “It’s nothing much. I will make it up to you more once we’re out of Khatanga. I was thinking a nice vacation for the two of us. Anywhere you want to go. It might be a good time to catch up with each other and let me spoil my little sister a bit.” 

“Dad would have your head if he heard you say that,” Kat said with a smile- referring both to prioritizing her birthday over royal duties and the ‘getting put of his misery’ comment. She took the box from her brother and gasped as she opened it. “It’s perfect, Matthias. Thank you.” She clasped the bracelet around her wrist, and grinned. “A vacation sounds perfect. Maybe somewhere tropical, I think we’ve probably seen more than enough snow and ice to last a lifetime.” Though today it was warm and bright, the warm days in Khatanga were few and far between, just as the bitterly cold days in the Netherlands had been. 

“You know what’s nice about you not being a guard anymore?” Katrien asked, handing Casper a cup of punch before taking a sip of her own. “You don’t have to work at this party, so you’re free to hang out with your very favourite person.” Not that it had ever really stopped Kat from spending events with Casper back in the Netherlands, anyway- but it was easier now, and she was less likely to get him in trouble now. 

She linked her arm through his as she took in the scene, weighing their options. “What should we do first? I’d suggest kayaking but I think I’d probably tip the boat.”

He grinned, glad that he was able to not talk about what was going on. “Oh it is. I’ve been building forts since I was a kid. It’s very fun to just build one and forget about what’s going on or I just wanna escape. If I could, I can drag my pet in there with me so I can have her around.” 

@katrienmeijer​

Hunter preferred to live his days minding his business, and keeping it to himself. It had worked for over thirty years of his life, after all. Except that while he was in Russia, his family had deposited far too many expectations on him and what he might be able to accomplish. Lately, it included trying to find out whether there was a war brewing. There was little Hunter hated more than having to have an idle conversation that would build-up to what he wanted. So, naturally, when he spotted Katrien, his first idea was to ignore it altogether. Eventually, he decided to fight the urge to remain in his bubble and crossed the distance towards the girl. “I’m sure Matthias is in high demand at this moment, no?”

“Does your family see you that way?” He couldn’t imagine going through life being called a spared by his own family but he knew when it came to royalty, or anyone for that matter, familial love wasn’t always guaranteed. A lot of the world’s rulers liked to put on shows for the media but having been behind the scenes for so long true colors had definitely come out. “To be fair, cheese is pretty damn awesome so you guys have that going for you. Don’t you export a lot of cheese to different places? The world should really thank you guys.” The grateful smile she sent his way made him smile as well. She must have been getting a lot of grief from people about this whole situation. But with her question he looked around the room as if he expected to see the English princess walk through the door. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon. She doesn’t get a lot of alone time away from me so I try to give her and Thomas some space when they spend time together. I left them for a bit.”

“Ah, well, you know. I do try,” she chuckled in response when Katrien mention that she was well loved. It was probably the only reason she hadn’t managed to completely derail her reputation and her hold on the crown despite what she had gotten herself into over the years. “I’ll make sure that you have plenty of sweets on your birthday. I can even throw you a chocolate factory themed birthday,” Emilia offered. “I’m sure the kitchen staff could pull it off….”

Kat's face lit up at the idea of a chocolate themed party. It was, perhaps, a bit childish, but Katrien herself had a tendency to be immature occasionally. "That sounds perfect. You're an absolute genius, Mia," she beamed. "I haven't had a themed party since I was a child, maybe it's time we brought them back."

Solvieg briefly wondered if she could get them to voluntarily take the substances. Ivan maybe, Matthias, probably not. A shame, but perhaps they’d be lucky enough to find another way to unite the two. It would obviously still leave an elephant in the room, but it was better than everyone else being potentially caught in their crosshairs. “Well, at least there is medical equipment if they do,” she added softly on a more serious note. With a sigh though she paused before answering the princess’ next question. “They are…not good.” He could be in the same room as her, so that was progress, but it was still strained as ever. “I would like to think he has interest in mending things, at least to a point, but I cannot blame him if he does not.” He had given her a birthday present the month before though, so at least there was that. 

"True. I suppose there are worse locations for a fist fight," Kat mused. Not that she'd really know how to properly use the medical supplies, if it came down to it, but Solveig probably would. The guard's next words made Kat frown. "I'm sorry. Hopefully he just needs some time." Though it was hardly comparable, that's what Kat had needed- just some time and space away from her brother and Sol, to process things. "What's going to happen when we eventually go back home? If Matty is still mad..." She looked down at her hands, picking at her cuticles. "I don't know, I just don't want you to have to quit."

.

It felt less than what her father had commented on. Royals were selfish and spoiled but many of them knew little of the goings-on. The heads were the problem, not the stalks. “Then you take those problems as they come. No use in worrying about things you can’t control. Can’t worry about events next week if they haven’t happened.”

"That's very wise," Kat replied, after a moment of consideration. "I'll try to keep it in mind." Easier said than done, when things were so terribly uncertain, but the other woman had a point. "Enough about me and my problems. How are you tonight?"

The news surrounding Russia and the Netherlands was…concerning to say the least. Cassandra knew that Greece had some sort of relationship with both the Netherlands and Russia so she truly didn’t know what her father would do if tensions continued to rise. The only benefit was that as she was not crown, it wouldn’t impact any political choices she’d be stuck making in the future. And, as far as she was concerned, it shouldn’t impact her friendships.

That was why she had no issue sitting near Katrien in the dining hall. “I was not thinking of it,” she assured the other. “Just wanted to sit and eat some of this…Lekkerbekje. And wish you a happy birthday, of course.”

Katrien smiled, genuinely touched both by the birthday wishes and by Cassandra correctly pronouncing the name of the Dutch dish. She didn’t know Cassandra exceptionally well, but their countries had a working relationship, and she’d always liked the Greek princess. "Thank you!"

"I'm so grateful that the kitchen staff goes through all the effort to make dishes from our countries for birthdays. It helps the homesickness a bit, doesn't it?"

Lilliana snorted. “Does it look like I care about this…whatever the hell is going on?” she asked with a shake of her head. She really just wanted all of it to be over because she really didn’t give one damn about it. In reality, she cared on the inside, but on the outside, she really didn’t care one bit about it. “Not like I’m going to pry you for information. I rather talk about something else.”

"You don't care at all?" Katrien asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Seems like you're the only one," she said. She knew many of the other royals had their eyes on the Dutch and Russian royals, and every time she'd been down to the village since the rumors started spreading she'd noticed people gawking, whispering as she went by. "Fair enough, though. What would you like to talk about?"

“Honestly,” Valentin said, sitting down across from Katrien and started to eat, “I honestly don’t have anything to say about what’s going on, since my country’s bloody neutral. I rather talk about something else, like wishing I can go out for a ride when it’s sunny. Or make a fort and stay in it all day long.” 

"God bless you, Valentin," Katrien said earnestly, with a sigh of relief. It seemed everywhere she turned lately there was someone wanting information out of her, and not having to talk about her country for a while was exactly what she'd wanted. "Making a fort would be fun! Maybe that's what I should've done today."

Eamon rarely had dinner in the dining hall, but every now and then Niamh dragged him in, or he was encouraged to do so by Nell. It was the latter in this instance, but at least as he scoured the tables his gaze fell to a familiar face. Making his way towards Katrien he lowered himself into the seat opposite, lifting a brow with her words.

“I wasn’t, and trust me when I say I know it,” he replied, wondering idly what was on the menu for that evening. “Happy birthday by the way. I hope it hasn’t been too bad.”

She looked up at Eamon, and smiled weakly. "Thank you. It's been..." She trailed off and heaved a sigh. Her birthday coinciding with the rumors of the potential conflict brewing between the Netherlands and Russia had made for a rather somber day.

"It's been as good as can be expected," she decided with a shrug. "How are you holding up? The last few weeks have been a lot."

Emilia clapped her hands together as she looked at her friend. “You don’t even have to ask twice!” she replied, smiling as she reached for a cookie. “I’ve got it, Katrien. I will plan your entire day from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.” And then she laughed. “Actually, that’s probably a bit much but i’d happily throw together a little get-together for the day,” she assured the other.

“As we get closer, we can figure out what sort of thing you’d like and i’ll work with the staff to get it together,” she promised. With a smile, her free hand absentmindedly played with her rose necklace. “I think this has gone lovely today.”

Mia’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Katrien couldn’t help but return the smile. “Either sounds fine to me,” she replied with a shrug. “I trust your judgement entirely.” She looked around the greenhouse, at the group assembled. “I think so too. You’re well-loved,” she observed. “I’m glad you did this, I think we could all use some fun right now.” She bit into a cookie- some English thing that she’d forgotten the name of- and added, “And you’ll always find me where the sweets are.”