light my fire.

Samson turned his head at the sound of the young woman’s voice and offered her a warm smile. “You make an excellent point,” he replied, finding no way to argue with her logic. And even if the water was a bit cool, it was the best he’d be getting outside for a long time. Russia wasn’t exactly suitable for outside swimming most of the time. Or, at the very least, this particular area of Russia wasn’t well suited for the activity. “Swimming seems like the best idea for now, even if the water is a bit chilly,” he chuckled, removing his shirt, kicking off his sandals, and making his way towards the water.

.

Rebel listened to the man just across the lake as she proceeded to make her way down to the water. Had Alexi not been working today, she would have made it a point to invite him. However, Rebel couldn’t wait, and not wanting to miss this opportunity, she found her way down to the edge of the water. Dipping a tow in she shivered slightly, but knowing if she didn’t just take the plunge, she’d never get in. Backing up slightly, she looked back up to the other swimmer, “Sometimes you just gotta take the plunge, yeah?” Without waiting any longer, Rebel took off running and jumped into the water. It was a shock to her system, taking the air out of her, and when she emerged from the water, she was laughing and gasping for air, “Okay, it’s pretty damn cold!”

His nose crinkled lightly as he watched the girl hit her head. Despite his trainings, and how fast his reflexes could be when he was focused, he was a bit of a klutz most of the time. But she seemed to be a tad more, or maybe she was just having a bad day. Sometimes that could affect someone’s coordination, “That looked like it hurt,” he have been to the bakery a few times since he got there, so he recognized her, “Are you okay? You seem extremely stressed,” he was almost his whole life, so he knew how she was feeling. Being a royal, was not as fun as some thought it was.

.

Not expecting anyone to be nearby, Rebel jumped at the voice behind her. Turning around, she noticed Cathal standing nearby. She didn’t know him all that well, but she knew him enough to know that he seemed like a pretty good guy, “Hey! You startled me.” The young woman rubbed the back of her head once more knowing there was going to be a lingering headache for a while, “And yeah, I’m fine. It’s just starting out as one of the days I guess. Didn’t sleep well. But what about you? What are you doing here so early?” She opened the door up to the bakery, “Come on in.”

He nodded, smiling bashfully when she asked if he’d been to the bakery before. “I have, actually,’ he admitted. “I’ve been in there getting some little baked goods for when I want to eat alone and enjoy the village when I can.” Valentin answered. “My favorite has to be your cakes. I get one slice every day, and in the afternoon I eat it-I love your cookies too. In fact…I was just in there yesterday getting some chocolate chip cookies.” It was his favorite cookie to get when he get a chance.

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“You’re very kind, but I take no credit for the cakes and cookies. The owner of the bakery, he’s the mastermind behind all of it. I just follow recipes occasionally when he allows me to bake things.” She had learned a lot, but she wasn’t quite ready to debut her own personal creations to the world. Those were just for her family at the moment. Though, she had talked to the master baker about letting the customers try one her many creations, but she hadn’t quite reached that privilege as of yet, “The chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorites as well. What’s your favorite cake?” 

One of Tegan’s favorite past-times now that he was trapped in the frigid forests of Russia was to get away from the hoard of guards put in charge to watch him and annoy the villagers . Rebel especially. She was small and didn’t accept any of the bullshit he threw their way - qualities he apparently had a thing for. With Mia, Aria, and now Rebel - he just loved messing with them and seeing them get all heated over it. They might not be his biggest fans - but the constant back and forth fighting they got up to helped Tegan get the attention he so deeply craved every day. “Anything you say out of those sweet lips is hot to me, darling. I can’t help it.” He added, finally done laughing in her face. 

He did lean over and pick up the shattered phone, smudging some of the chocolate that got stuck in the cracks off with his finger, then sucking it off. “Royal duties ?” He stopped himself from giggling at the sheer mention of duty and proceeded on. “My parents may be horrendous, uncaring, assholes. But they are not dumb…And to give me any responsibilities - would be an idiotic move on their part.” Mostly because instead of doing said duties, Tegan would find some way to ruin it and have it blow up in their faces. “And can’t I just be here to talk to you ?? That scowl is so welcoming. I don’t know how I could go on with my day without seeing it.”

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Rebel cringed at his words. She couldn’t quite figure out if he had been attempting to flirt with her, or if he was just trying to get under her skin. Honestly, it was something that could go both ways, “Oh, so basically I could stand here and think of the grossest thing that comes to mind and you’d think it was hot? Okay. Show’s how easy to please you are.” She knew her sassiness could get her in trouble, and she had come close to saying some choice words to other royals, but had refrained. However, with Tegan, it came naturally, especially knowing he wasn’t one that would care or probably ever report her.

Watching as he leaned over and grabbed her phone, his actions caused her to shudder. “Great. Now, I’m going to have to go home and scrub my broken phone down with disinfectant.” She sneered at him, not wanting to touch the phone whenever it was offered back. “Oh, you’ve got parents? I thought you might have been raised by wolves.” She collected the rest of her belongings and then broken cookies off the ground, not wanting to leave a mess. Looking back up at him, she returned an even strong scowl of disdain just for him, “There. Consider yourself blessed. Now can I have my phone back?” She wasn’t planning on touching it, instead opening the bag up and pushing it towards him to drop the broken device in. She’d figure out how to clean it when she got home.

@rebelcervantes​

The bakery had been the last shop in the village that Sarika hadn’t really visited yet. The princess had walked past the building a handful of times, even looked in the windows, but she’d never actually gone inside before that day. Her sweet tooth wasn’t as bad as some of the others around the castle and when she did indulge it was usually late at night after she searched through the kitchens for any leftover desserts. But something had caught her eye through the window that morning, the Hungarian not even thinking twice as she quickly made her way into the shop and towards the counter where a girl was working on one of the displays, and she gazed intently at the necklace around her neck. “Where did you get that?”

No introduction, no small talk, nothing. Sarika went right into it as she continued to stare at the familiar piece of jewelry around the woman’s neck. It had belonged to her best friend. She had seen that exact necklace being worn by Birdie more often than she could remember and there was no mistaking that it was the same. “Where did you get that?” She asked the question again, more demanding this time as she looked up into the girl’s eyes. “Why do you have it?”

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It had already been a long day for Rebel. She burned a whole rack of bread. Forgot to add an ingredient to the cookies she was making and caused a few other random mishaps that had the head baker sending her out to work on displays rather than hanging out in the kitchen. It wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but it was better than being fired. She had needed this job more than anything, and the idea of losing this source of income for her family had scared her.

As she continued to rearrange doughnuts and other random baked goods that would occasionally be brought out front, she heard a rather demanding voice behind her. Turning around to meet the person’s gaze, she Rebel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. It had taken her a moment to realize what the brunette was talking about, but when she had, she instinctively grabbed at the necklace, “Oh, this? My friend’s mother gave it to me.” She done good to get Birdie off of her mind, the princess’s death coming as a hard blow to her when she had first found out from the her friend’s mother, “Why do you ask?” Rebel’s curiosity had gotten the better of her, despite knowing the fact that whoever was standing in front of her seemed of a higher status by the way she was dressed, but it was her heart that had taken a hit at the subject of her friend being brought up unexpectedly.

The corners of the blonde’s mouth curled upwards, glad she hadn’t ruined important pastries that she’d made for a specific reason. “You can tell your brother it’s my fault if that helps.“ She joked, thinking the brother might take the blow better if he knew it was an accident that wasn’t the baker’s fault. “Around here? Oh no. I’m from Austria.” She tucked her books under her left arm and extended her right hand towards the other. “Eden Halsburg. It’s lovely to meet you, even considering the force with which we met.” It was an automatic greeting with a twist, but it didn’t make it any less genuine. “You work at the little bakery down the road then? Which probably means you are from here, right?”

.

“Oh no. I wouldn’t do that to you. Besides, I’ll probably just tell him, I fed them to some squirrels or something. Make him jealous of what he’s missing tonight. He’s spoiled anyways.” The truth was, Alexi was far from spoiled, but Rebel loved to pick on her brother, just as he did her. It was a regular thing between the pair, and it’s how they showed one another sibling love. “Oh, wow! Austria’s a good bit away.” She noticed the woman extend her hand. Reaching out to shake it, Rebel spoke, “It’s lovely to meet you, Eden. Or should call you princess?” She wasn’t quite sure. “I’m Rebel, and you hit the nail on the head.” She laughed slowly pulling back her hand after giving Eden a firm shake.

“О, но я не несла драгоценный груз. Это на тебе.“ He grinned at her narrowed eyes before he stuck his tongue out at his sister, something uncommon for the male but when he was around people he was completely comfortable with this was what they got. “Хорошо, отец был бы очень расстроен, если бы не ел свой обычный десерт перед сном. И я бы с радостью бросил тебя под автобус за то, что он расстроил его.” His smile was palpable as a challenging glint reflected in his eyes, Alexi continuing to help her clean up the mess they had made. Villagers milled about around them, some saying their hellos to the Cervantes children as they passed, but he started to quicken to his pace so they could get out of the way.

“Птицы, вероятно, не должны иметь шоколад.“ He wasn’t about to pick up the discarded remnants of the treats on the ground after she had kicked even more dirt all over them. But all was forgotten when she asked about her pone which he had in hand, Alexi’s face morphing into a curious one as he glanced down at the device. “Зачем? Что ты прячешься здесь?”

.

“That is so not on me. You’re lucky I bring home cookies, Douche.” Just to spite Alexi, she started speaking in English. “Better watch out. A bird might poop on that thing.” She started laughing, until he had brought up their father. Her relationship with their dad was something very special. While she had loved their mom greatly, he had been the one to teach Rebel about soccer; a sport she wasn’t the best at, but one she had come to love. “Hey! Now you’re just making me feel bad. You think he’ll notice if I get cookies from somewhere else?” She wasn’t sure where she’d go this late. In fact, she was kind of screwed.

Sighing in defeat, she continued to help clean up the spilled and crumbled cookies giving a friendly nod in the direction of those who passed them, “Oh, great. Make me feel worse. First dad, and now all these poor birds.” She stomped down on the bits of chocolate hoping to ground it into nothing but dust, so they couldn’t get their beaks on any of it. Alexi’s resumed teasing is what made her look up, “What? No! What would I be hiding? You know pretty much everyone I know.” Except the royals that have somehow taken a liking to me. Whoops. 

               " I’D CATCH UP EVENTUALLY, my legs are far longer than yours. “ she gestured downwards as she made note of their obvious height difference, not that it was unusual the norwegian princess was quite used to towering over most people she met. “ two steps and i’d probably be ahead of you too. “ she teased with a light laugh, now if there was one thing aria enjoyed about the village it was interacting with different faces  — even if some of those interactions went south because of her lack of ‘ russian ‘ for the most part the princess couldn’t complain, many people seemed to want to accommodate them and that had been one of the reasons why she’d looked for any way she could help and having heard that spending money buying local things was one way to do so… well she’d taken it to an extreme. she had a feeling that as many russian trinkets as she’d bought… she could fill a closet or several. 

 a light frown was still apparent on the blonde’s features but she pushed herself to smile. “ well.. how about this… “ her voice trailed as she took her book back. “ i was looking to have lunch and given the fact that i’m the one who’s RUINED something, i say it’s more than necessary for me to invite you. “ and she didn’t mind, the company was something she could use. not to mention she was curious about the ‘ day old stuff ‘ comment, she had wondered what happened to things that didn’t sell and allowing employees to take them home made sense, it was at the very least much better than throwing things out. food should never go to waste, that was a motto she lived by. looking down at her book the princess nodded. “ the queen of spades, it’s russian. “ she mused with a scrunch of her nose. “ it’s by alexander pushkin and it’s… quite entertaining, it’s about a german officer in the imperial army, there’s a love story.. you know one of those. but i’ve challenged myself to read it in it’s NATIVE language. “ which she thought was a good way to learn to be more fluent, the people who had accommodated her and her friends deserved that at last. “ but now i’m not so sure it was the best idea, i haven’t gotten very far. “ she added with a snort. “ but alas.. sacrifices must be made in the name of learning no? “

“Good to know then. I’ll let you catch up, then I’ll stop, and you can keep going.” Rebel winked at Arianna. She had been one of the more pleasant royals to visit the village on a regular basis, and those were the twenty-four year old’s favorite. She didn’t take kindly to rudeness, and when she did encounter someone with a pension for snark, she sent it right back at them in the most sickeningly sweet way that sometimes verged on that fine line of ‘bless your heart’ and ‘fuck you’. Thankfully Aria wasn’t someone she had to work that special magic on.

“Wait. Invite me to lunch?” Rebel was somewhat surprised. Were villagers allowed to accept offers like that. She glanced over to the guard standing back a few feet giving the princess ‘space’, “Am I even aloud to go to lunch? Your friend over there doesn’t seem to pleased with the idea.” She looked back to woman. Besides, what would her family say if she said yes? Alexi already despised the royals with a passion, and if he had gotten word that Rebel had went to lunch and accepted a handout, would he give her a good talking to about how wrong it was and how she had disappointed the family, blah, blah, blah? “You know what. If it’s okay, then consider me in.” Alexi doesn’t have to know. And if he finds out, then so what. He can’t go around hating everybody forever, including his baby sister.

She put her attention back on Arianna, who was now deep into describing the book and how it was in Russian, “It sounds interesting. I’m more of a horror novel type person, when I do read. Have you heard of that Stephen King guy? He was from many years ago, but I find his books interesting. As if ghosts and zombie pets could even exist.” She laughed. “But I do respect you for putting in the effort to learn Russian. I know the villagers around here will especially respect you more coming in and having a conversation with them in their native tongue.” It was technically her’s too, but Rebel had also been fluent in English and Spanish; respectively for her birth parents and adoptive parents.

These days, it was pretty rare for Ethan to have an entire day off. Since he arrived in Russia, he worked tirelessly to make up for the fact that he left his ailing mother back in England. It hurt that he couldn’t be with her - especially now that it seems like she is getting worse each day - but he was the only person in his house bringing in money. He had to keep working for his family’s sake. 

Except for today. For the first time in months, Ethan had the entire day to himself. He slept in, surfacing from his room - far past noon. Then made his way to his isolated spot on the back end of the castle. So far - he had been able to get away with sitting outside on the roof and smoking without getting caught by a royal or his boss. That was - unfortunately - till now. Ethan pulled out his hand-rolled joints - always preferring the home-grown approach to getting high - and lit one up. He got in a few drags before hearing the window open behind him.

It was pretty obvious what he was doing up here. The smell giving it away. But Ethan still tried to hide the cloud of smoke. Waving his hand in front of him. “It’s not what it looks like!”

.

The delivery of fresh baked goods was done, and while Rebel had every intent of heading back down to the village, curosity had gotten the better of her. Well, that and wanting to annoy her brother. She knew it was forbidden to wander the castle, but if she had gotten caught, she would have multiple excuses for being there: her brother, Mia, Arianna, or a good old lie about being lost. It was a huge place after all. And whose to say she could’ve accidentally zigged, when she had meant to zag.

As Rebel made her way through the vast halls, the smell of pot had gotten her sidetracked from finding Alexi. It had been a while since she had gotten her hands on some, and she figured royals nor staff were allowed to light up a joint. Blackmail would be a real possibility and as she made her way, inching closer and closer, she finally spotted the culprit, “It’s not what it looks like? I know that isn’t tobacco. I know that for a fact. Share or you can forget sneaking off to smoke it again.”

Fumbling with the keys to the bakery, Rebel groggily tried to unlock the door. It had been her responsibility this week to open up and get things going. But the dreams that had haunted her the previous night were making things difficult as the keys slipped out of her hand. Cursing in Spanish, she bent down, and as she raised back up, the brunette smacked the back of her head on the door handle, “Joder!” More words slipped out as she rubbed the back of her head and resumed trying to find the right key.

When she found success, Rebel let out a sigh of relief. She could already tell it was going to be a day. Luckily, there were was still some time before the bakery officially opened and at least then, she’d be able to gather herself and emotions, before dealing with anyone, or so she thought.

“I’m just as guilty, you don’t have to apologize.” Alistair insisted with a small, polite smile. He would never start yelling at someone over something so simple- years of training and many lessons had taught him better than that. And while he probably should have caught himself and focused on attempting to talk Russian- using the limited knowledge he had- he was relieved when the girl switched with such admirable ease. “I’m absolutely fine. Do not take this personally, but I don’t think it’d be so easy to take me out.” He joked lightly, only to shake his head at her offer. “Oh no, I’ll be fine, thank you- I wouldn’t want to take that away from you.”

.

She was relieved to hear he was okay. Not that she could have done much. He was a pretty tall and buff guy, “No offense taken at all. I’m just glad to hear you’re okay.” She reached out and took her phone and bag of pastries. Pulling the bag up around her arm and stuffing the phone in her pocket, she let her attention shift back to the man in front of her, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. And I’ve seen quite a few people considering bread is my forte.” She laughed, “Okay, it’s not completely my forte, but I’m learning.”

“…oh.” he said with a nod as he poured them their drinks. Setting the bottle aside, he picked up the cheese and crackers and took a bite. “Yeah he would. If not, send him to me and I’ll explain.” he told her with a soft smile before taking her hand. ‘Valentin,” he introduced. “I’m, uh, always around the village from time to time. That’s how I found out about this cheese.”

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The wine looked refreshing. It wasn’t everyday that she got to indulge on such a delightful snack. She took another bite and savored the taste, before replying, “I’ll keep that in mind when I head back to town. Thank you.” She gently took her hand back, “It’s lovely to meet you, Valentin.” If Alexi knew that Rebel was enjoying wine and crackers with a prince, he would probably have some pretty strong words to say to her, but she was going to enjoy herself and the offer from the man. It’s one of the reasons why she hadn’t been so quick to pass judgment about the people that lived in the castle, because some had turned out to be much kinder than she was led to believe, “Really? Now, that I think about it, you do look kind of familiar. Have you been to the bakery before?”

“Yes, I’m quite alright.” She wiped some dirt from her backside and shrugged. “Nothing a quick wash won’t fix.“ She didn’t imagine her skirt would have any lasting damage once the dirt was removed. Initially she was going to refuse the help with her books, but when the brunette launched so quickly into grabbing them up it seemed silly to stop her. 

“Thank you.” Taking her books, she noticed that the baked goods the other had been carrying were not so easily salvageable and as she was covered in flour Eden could only assume she’d made them. “No, that’s alright. I just feel badly that you dropped all your hard work.”

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Rebel was relieved to know that the woman was okay, especially since she appeared to be from the hill. It was rare that she saw a villager wearing something as nice as what this lady had on, “You’re welcome.” She passed the books over to their rightful owner with a smile, before glancing back to the pastries on the ground, “Don’t apologize. They were nearly stale, and it’s my job. I’ll make more tomorrow. My spoiled older brother just won’t get his cookies tonight.” She laughed, “So are you from around here?”

The one thing the royals had definitely brought to Khatanga had been diversity. From a small town that was nothing more than a blip on the raider, the city had become one of the most important places in Russia. But it had also brought on hardships for her family, and for that, she sometimes found herself resenting the people on the hill. Just not quite as badly as her brother did, it seemed.

The sound of the small bell over the door of the bakery alerted Rebel to a customer coming in, “We’re closing in ten minutes.” The head baker had stepped out for the day leaving Rebel in charge of cleaning and locking up. It had been a long day already, and she couldn’t wait to be done, but knowing there was a customer lingering just out front meant it would probably be longer than she had wanted.

Finishing what she was doing in the back, the twenty-four year old stepped out front to keep an eye on the person and to help them if they needed assistance. However, when she saw who it was, a smile came over her face, “What are you doing here so late, besides delaying my chance to duck out of earlier?” She walked over to Mia playfully running into the princess with her shoulder knowing Mia’s guard was probably staring daggers through her right now.