( wanda shushes her brother, loudly, as she sits on the windowsill, one leg out the window, the other still inside. her dress pulled up haphazardly, but thankfully it isn't one of her more delicate ones. the twins were meant to sit in the tea room to play as decorations to the king's guest. well, papa is expecting too much of his rebellious teenage daughter. she doesn't doubt that sunday was dutifully sent to look for her, as it has been a good twenty minutes since their guest arrived into the castle.
looking down, it's not entirely a huge drop, from the third floor to the gardens below, but wanda has also become an expert at climbing down the outer wall of the castle. her bag with the clothes she's 'running away with' were already dropped down before her.
her voice is hushed, even as she sharply says, )
I'm not going to sit and listen to Count Brucker talking nonsense about the villagers and ways to make their lives more difficult. Father ( not papa, because she's angry) thinks he's a funny old man, but he doesn't know the awful things happening.
You heard Cirio, Sunday.
( cirio, who lives in a townhouse by the docks, gets to see day in and day out the troubles of the villagers in their kingdom firsthand. they get to live in opulence, while count brucker sees their father giving him the room to meet as sponsorship for his sordid acts, taking away from those they were meant to protect.
[ He's about to interject, but being shushed has Sunday crinkling his nose in obvious - though quiet, as requested - distaste. Wanda might be straddling the window but his hands are on her shoulders since once that expression passes it's right back to worry which hadn't left since he'd walked into the room to find her escape in progress. This might not be the highest window in the castle but it's certainly still up there. The couple of seconds it'd taken for her bag to hit the ground with a muffled noise were more than enough for Sunday to become concerned.
So - ]
I'm not saying you have to sit there, I'm just saying that maybe you don't have to climb out a window!
[ It's possible this might have more impact than being whisper shouted at a level to get the supposed shouting part of it across even while being careful to not let it echo through the room, out into the hallway, or out the window itself when anyone might be in the gardens below. Not their parents since they're busy with the Count, a man Sunday doesn't care for either from not only today but all the past times they've had to sit there listening to him spout terrible varieties of the same thing Wanda's correctly pointed out.
He has his doubts, too, about whether Father doesn't actually know what's happening, but he's not about to say so aloud when his goal is to keep Wanda from climbing out. ]
And I'm not saying you have to stay, either. [ Just adding that quickly in hopes it's before she interjects, considering he knows better than to suggest that as he glances over his shoulder. No one's approaching, so there's time yet. ] Just at least take a different way down.
[ There's a multitude of passageways throughout the castle, and most of which he's willing to bet either their parents don't know about some of the ones their children have investigated or have forgotten about them once duty and everything else became their focus. He's counting on that, in fact, when one such hidden entrance isn't far from this very room. ]
( wanda is vaguely aware that despite her general introverted personality, she can be quite overbearing on her brother. where he is calm, she is quick to anger; where he stops to think about situations, she bulldozes without measuring the consequences of her actions. much like fire and water, she burns too quickly through her options while he tries to calmly smooth out opportunities.
(and, much like fire and water, she can be warm and nurturing when caught in her gentler moments, while he can grow forceful and stormy when truly upset.)
they complement each other very well, masking each other's flaws and bolstering their strengths. together, their mother has said time and time again, they can do just about anything, even if their teenage years has caught them tipping over the scales a lot more extremely in some cases. young royals fawn over sunday and how handsome he is; young ladies of the court are constantly making eyes at him and trying to act cutesy around him. wanda has mentioned her annoyance at being befriended by many of them, only to be bombarded with questions about him, the scheme clearβgetting close to the sister would let them get closer to sunday. it's rude, wanda would think, because it's not like her brother was solely interested in girls! in a similar fashion, wanda has found herself wanting more than what the constrictions of her title gave her, to explore and go beyond, oftentimes letting her heart be swayed by swashbuckling smiles and rowdy behavior, which gives endless amount of headaches to sunday, constantly trying to get her feet to land back on the ground.
but, as wanda pouts, her brother's hands at her shoulders keeping her from absconding from the conversation and jumping off, she knows that he's here and trying to change her mind because he loves her. there is no one in the world she loves more than her older brother, the one person who knows her best. frustrated tears form in her eyes, feeling a hundred types of way about the count and his awful ways, how helpless she feels.
all that emotion is removed from her when sunday admits that he isn't here to force her to stay, but rather gives her another solution to escaping this situation. )
One of your secret passageways!
( bursts forth, excitedly, as she pulls herself up and off the window, into the room proper. she draws her arms around her brother in a tight embrace, because she knows what he's talking about. when she draws back just enough, wanda lifts her chin a touch to look into his eyes, hands on his shoulders.
(once upon a time they used to be the same height; wanda had even been taller than sunday once, too, when they were little.) )
[ With a huff preceding what he says which sounds remarkably like their mother - ]
Yeah, the thing you should've thought of first.
[ No, he's not letting it go that she was just in the window over this as an option. He gets why that was her first option since she's made it through there successfully even as it'd caused him immense anxiety then, too, being the one left standing in the window with his hands gripping the sill until she was safely on the ground waving to him cheerfully.
Slow to anger, quick to worry. Always one to contemplate the outcomes before doing something, and always watching with pride and a tinge of envy when Wanda is quick to stand up for what she believes or to tell someone off for it when they have it coming. He's learned to channel that for himself, too, particularly to any of those young royals or nobles who think they might turn a situation to their advantage by finding some way to separate the siblings standing together when they clearly didn't want to be. More than once he's quite happily put them in their place with a sharpness they didn't expect.
At her question, the one he really should have known was coming as he hugs her back, a wrinkle appears in Sunday's brow. Not quite a frown though it could become one at any second - an expression he's started to wear more often these days when it wasn't often seen before, now that he's spent some more time at court in the actual court matters and it's often been the extent of his reaction to something desperately requiring more.
But. If there was ever a weakness and one they both know he has since Sunday won't pretend for a second it's not the case: it's his sister. She looks at him with that not quite pleading look as if she expects him to say anything else but the answer he doesn't have to consider for even a millisecond. ]
Of course. Someone has to keep you from getting lost if you make a wrong turn somewhere.
[ Unlikely to happen, and it's not like Sunday needs a reason, an excuse, or anything at all when it's Wanda who's asking. Which is why he steps back and grabs one of her hands to tug her towards the doorway, whatever hesitation there now vanished. ]
C'mon, but only if you're up for more sneaking around.
[ Unnecessary, and the mischievous smirk he shoots back over his shoulder to further prod at his sister like all siblings do, no matter how proper they might be learning to be outside of here. ]
( of course she is up for sneaking out. wanda's plan really went as far as getting out of the castle, into the village, and maybe finding a way of getting cirio to join her in her spontaneous outing. there really is very little thought put into it beyond that, but having sunday leading the way and taking charge makes wanda feel more comfortable about the thought that this now has a structure to it. )
I wouldn't get lost.
( she replies, halfway through a pout, as she holds her brother's hand tightly as he leads the way. out the door and into the hallway, which is, for now, deserted; wanda looks one way, sunday the other, then back at each other with a nod. wanda knows that he will guide the way to this secret passageway of hisβone that she remembers existing, but cannot honestly remember the last time she's used it.
as they traverse the many turns in their home's vast hallways, wanda spares a moment to, win a whisper, think about him, )
I have some pants that might fit you in my bag. ( he didn't pack his escape bag! ) We have to make sure to grab it on our way out!
[ To her (correct) rebuttal she wouldn't get lost Sunday simply sends another brotherly look back over his shoulder. It's true, he knows, that she would've remembered her way through tunnels they'd once had any numbers of adventures in with premises dreamed up as children. Sometimes even with Cirio in tow - though with no shortage of eye rolls from Sunday hidden and quite visible - so maybe it's extra fitting Cirio's here in the background of today, too.
If not actually there, eventually. Sunday's choosing to ignore that for time being while they walk quietly through the hallway. It's empty, and almost suspiciously so, of anyone coming to find the siblings to guide them to this meeting they're avoiding where one or both of their parents will have to explain.
A problem for future them since for now there's leaving, and when he looks back at Wanda again he raises an eyebrow. Right - clothing. He definitely hadn't thought about that at all but with his room so far away as they've kept going? Too late for that now when he presses on a piece of molding which pops up the hidden panel he was looking for. ]
We should bring something to eat with us, too.
[ For however long they'll be gone, on the topic of preparations. This passageway has a branch to lead to the kitchens and if one of their favorite cooks is there, well. It'd be easy to get up with more than enough snacks before they go. ]
( what the siblings don't know is that although this is a very important excursion for them, the majority of the castle staff is fully aware of their 'adventures', and usually give them the room for their explorations, turning a blind eye to them. the castle for a long time had been without the loud, joyful sound of children in it, after many decades of turmoil during those wretched days of war and the royal family having to hide away. now, in these years of relative peace, the royal family reinstated, the loyal staff that once served the family for generations now returned, and finding the queen to be expecting twins was reason for grand celebrations.
not to mention that the twins were fated, by prophecy, to bring further peace and understanding between nations. whatever details this entails, no one knows, but the twins do bring joy wherever they go, their kindness and love for the staff born naturally from within. it really isn't just one favorite cook, so much as the kitchen staff adoring them, as they are the least picky eaters and have even tried to spend time in the kitchens learning.
unsurprisingly, sunday is thinking about food. )
I hadn't thought of that.
( she admits easily, as the wall's mechanisms pull and move at the passageways hidden door to reveal its entrance. once upon a time, during darker times, this very same passage led many royals to safety and helped them avoid a gruesome, torturous death. to think it had been part of the twins' playground really speaks of how times have changed.
inside they go, treading ever onward, wanda's hand still holding tightly onto sunday's as he leads the way. )
We'll have to swear any of the kitchen staff that do see us to secrecy. We need a proper head start before Father realizes we've gone.
( this is such a serious matter, and yet it's such a lousy plan in concept... )
[ It's why they balance each other out so well, this ability to consider the things the other hasn't. Wanda thought of clothes, and he's thought of food - together a success to make sure that their plan to leave will be a success. Easier once they make it out to keep going without having to rely on much else, at least until they're more settled.
(It does, however, escape Sunday's notice each and every time that someone else has intervened prior to whatever they've planned.)
That makes it an easy decision to make the kitchen their next destination as he was already planning so when the turn down those passageways approaches they travel it together. ]
It should be busy what with the count arriving soon. [ 'Count' said with considerable disdain - the same he'd felt earlier but hadn't voiced aloud so best to make it clear right now. ] That'll make it easier to sneak in and whoever we come across will have what they need to get done, so maybe we can just say we're there for a snack.
[ It wouldn't be that out of place when those dinners are often late to allow for the required socializing to happen first from all the nobility working their way through court. Attention their parents must pay to them as the leaders, certainly, but even that only goes so far for the schemes put into place by those who would try them. Ones that are getting ever closer to the twins themselves as they've grown older, and ones Sunday looks at with disdain.
So at last when they come to the door that leads to the kitchen, he's ready for this departure. One nudge opens it enough to peer through; sure enough, the staff is working on any number of things though he spots Hilde at a stove, one of the older cooks who's quite fond of them indeed, and nudges his sister with his elbow. ]
( with sunday taking charge, in a way, wanda is left to do one of the things she enjoys doing the most with her brother: following his lead. there's certainty in the way he confidently poses the plan, the way he explains how they will go and do and manage. nudged by her brother forward, wanda slips her hand out of his and moves over to hilde, who all but kisses the top of her head and brings her in for a hug. hilde has known them from the day they were born, so it stands to reason her affection is rather motherly.
it takes little coaxing to ask hilde for some snacks, for some food proper, once wanda's eyes catch onto things inside the ice box and on the counters. hilde never asks, she just plays along with the twins.
and, sure enough, between sunday and wanda, they manage a bag packed with enough snacks and food to last them... perhaps an afternoon, if they're careful and ration properly. a task that, undoubtedly, they've not had to do in their lives, so this might be too much of an ask. back to their secret passageway, and soon they're out toward the garden. wanda rushes toward the bushes to find the bag she had dropped, hitching it up on her shoulder as she rejoins her brother.
so far, so (suspiciously) good. )
Where to now?
( sunday is, after all, the expert in directions, considering his route through the secret passageway. )
[ By all accounts, the bag might as well be packed with days' worth of food by Sunday's estimation. It absolutely doesn't; it's the privilege of not having to know how beyond a theory and with that in mind, the supplies won't last nearly as long as their plan to leave ("leave" as it'll actually be) intends to be.
But: it's an important part of today's plan either way and with the supplies in hand and with a kiss to Hilde's cheek for her thoughtfulness and that assurance she won't say a word, off the twins go. Oblivious, possibly, to the fond looks they get on their way out and maybe a quiet bet or two regarding when they'll be back.
Outside in the air and as Wanda retrieves her other bag, the possibilities of what to do from here seem limitless. The castle grounds sprawl on and one so they'll have to walk quite a ways, and Sunday reaches for his sister's hand to pull her along. ]
Let's just see where the path takes us.
[ The path in question is one leading to the extensive gardens, ones with all sorts of hedges and walls they can duck behind if someone else is out here enjoying the sunshine and might want to mention they've seen the twins on their way out. On the other side of the gardens closer to the start of the woods is a treehouse they once favored as younger children and still stands when their parents couldn't quite ever commit to taking it down. They can say goodbye to it, too.
That's Sunday's thought, given he's not looking up at the sky to see what while it's sunny now, there's a suspicious number of rainclouds gathering on the horizon. ]
( the path takes them ever onward down a familiar road within the confines of the expertly-cared for gardens. the twins knows but aren't necessarily aware that there are well-patrolled borders at the length of the castle's lands. for them, getting to go down the gardens and towards the woods has always spelled a fun kind of freedom.
wanda's expression brightens when she realizes where sunday's steering leads them, and she's the first to break into a run to greet the old, stalwart tree that has been witness to many of their playdates and adventures. a ladder lingers to the side, made of rope and hardy wood, ever inviting. )
Old Wildspur!
( yes, they've given the trees names. their father, the king, is a man of the land, beholden to the earth, its people, and its many troubles. their mother, however, comes from a group of peoples that live under the stars, without need for roof or hearth, where every living creature has a name and a spirit and essence. their union had been a fortuitous one, in wanting to bridge the growing gap between both cultures. it's why sunday's silver hair and golden eyes are not entirely surprising, as many in their mother's family bore hair of silver starlight and eyes unusually colored; though wanda took after their father in these aspects, her features were delicate, much resembling their mother's traits. the twins held fast to the loving connection her mother's people kept with the natural world. sometimes in whispers, sometimes in song, it was many a time that the twins would claim to 'hear' the trees talking.
there's fondness in wanda as she lightly passes the palm of her hand over the old tree's bark. )
If only we could take you along.
( she says, a little sadly, and the tree's leaves rustle, almost in response. a warning, perhaps, too, as heavy droplets of rain start to fall on the ground, threatening the arrival of plenty more. )
[ Perhaps it's no surprise at all that on their path away from the castle and into the woods where they've spent so much time after the years that their first destination is an old friend. The tree which has watched over so much on mornings, afternoons, or other evenings when they've crept away from obligations to find a sliver of peace.
It's fitting, then, there's an actual goodbye to be had here and that it goes to the tree. In response to what's said, the branches almost dip lower like a parent or grandparent's arms going to encircle a beloved child like Wanda's sadness has touched it. Others might say it's an illusion, a trick of the wind or simply gravity settling the world a little further - but the twins know better, don't they? ]
You'll tell the other trees where we've gone, won't you?
[ A network of rustling leaves and tree limbs reaching for each other the intertwined canopy above them that's also keeping the rain from immediately falling onto them where raindrop after raindrop falls and slowly picks up speed. Sunday's focus isn't on the impending weather either when he also places a hand to the bark which feels alive beyond anything else and it rumbles in response. Doesn't it?
Then again, thunder rolls above them and startles Sunday into finally looking up in time with rain sliding off of the leaves sheltering them to fall directly onto his face. ]
Come on, Wanda. We need to go to the treehouse.
[ The roof on it is still whole even after all these years, secretly maintained by castle staff who know the twins find their way there often enough to need it and with what care the siblings have provided themselves, too. This goodbye to Old Wildspur is far from being complete as he murmurs an apology; they'll come back to finish it before they really leave and aren't in danger of being soaked by the rainstorm. ]
( despite their best efforts, wanda and sunday will get soaked. they manage to track their way to the familiar tree that holds aloft their treehouse in its sturdy branches, and a quick climbs has them reaching up and into the protective roof of their childhood playroom. wanda climbs up after sunday, her brother helping her up on the last spurt upward. they close the hatch, and wanda drops her bags.
looking a little sullen at having being soaked, she heads towards the trunk where many of their clothes and towels and other linen had been kept (and constantly freshened up by the castle staff in charge). she manages to find a towel for herself and her brother, coming back to him to give him his ownβa pastel blue one with an 's' embroidered delicately by hand on a corner. )
It's so stuffy in here.
( part of the role of the staff keeping up maintenance is to keep the treehouse feel like it hasn't been used for as long as the twins haven't been in it, for the sake of 'realism'. oh, how carefully curtailed their whole lives have been. wanda sits herself down on a hammock chair, drying her hair, legs hanging as she swings lightly back and forth. )
The west wind shouldn't be blowing storms this way this time of the year.
( and yet, it's a cacophony of heavy rain outside, a blistering sound above them. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
β΄οΈ sunday
( wanda shushes her brother, loudly, as she sits on the windowsill, one leg out the window, the other still inside. her dress pulled up haphazardly, but thankfully it isn't one of her more delicate ones. the twins were meant to sit in the tea room to play as decorations to the king's guest. well, papa is expecting too much of his rebellious teenage daughter. she doesn't doubt that sunday was dutifully sent to look for her, as it has been a good twenty minutes since their guest arrived into the castle.
looking down, it's not entirely a huge drop, from the third floor to the gardens below, but wanda has also become an expert at climbing down the outer wall of the castle. her bag with the clothes she's 'running away with' were already dropped down before her.
her voice is hushed, even as she sharply says, )
I'm not going to sit and listen to Count Brucker talking nonsense about the villagers and ways to make their lives more difficult. Father ( not papa, because she's angry ) thinks he's a funny old man, but he doesn't know the awful things happening.
You heard Cirio, Sunday.
( cirio, who lives in a townhouse by the docks, gets to see day in and day out the troubles of the villagers in their kingdom firsthand. they get to live in opulence, while count brucker sees their father giving him the room to meet as sponsorship for his sordid acts, taking away from those they were meant to protect.
this is wanda's act of rebellion. )
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So - ]
I'm not saying you have to sit there, I'm just saying that maybe you don't have to climb out a window!
[ It's possible this might have more impact than being whisper shouted at a level to get the supposed shouting part of it across even while being careful to not let it echo through the room, out into the hallway, or out the window itself when anyone might be in the gardens below. Not their parents since they're busy with the Count, a man Sunday doesn't care for either from not only today but all the past times they've had to sit there listening to him spout terrible varieties of the same thing Wanda's correctly pointed out.
He has his doubts, too, about whether Father doesn't actually know what's happening, but he's not about to say so aloud when his goal is to keep Wanda from climbing out. ]
And I'm not saying you have to stay, either. [ Just adding that quickly in hopes it's before she interjects, considering he knows better than to suggest that as he glances over his shoulder. No one's approaching, so there's time yet. ] Just at least take a different way down.
[ There's a multitude of passageways throughout the castle, and most of which he's willing to bet either their parents don't know about some of the ones their children have investigated or have forgotten about them once duty and everything else became their focus. He's counting on that, in fact, when one such hidden entrance isn't far from this very room. ]
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(and, much like fire and water, she can be warm and nurturing when caught in her gentler moments, while he can grow forceful and stormy when truly upset.)
they complement each other very well, masking each other's flaws and bolstering their strengths. together, their mother has said time and time again, they can do just about anything, even if their teenage years has caught them tipping over the scales a lot more extremely in some cases. young royals fawn over sunday and how handsome he is; young ladies of the court are constantly making eyes at him and trying to act cutesy around him. wanda has mentioned her annoyance at being befriended by many of them, only to be bombarded with questions about him, the scheme clearβgetting close to the sister would let them get closer to sunday. it's rude, wanda would think, because it's not like her brother was solely interested in girls! in a similar fashion, wanda has found herself wanting more than what the constrictions of her title gave her, to explore and go beyond, oftentimes letting her heart be swayed by swashbuckling smiles and rowdy behavior, which gives endless amount of headaches to sunday, constantly trying to get her feet to land back on the ground.
but, as wanda pouts, her brother's hands at her shoulders keeping her from absconding from the conversation and jumping off, she knows that he's here and trying to change her mind because he loves her. there is no one in the world she loves more than her older brother, the one person who knows her best. frustrated tears form in her eyes, feeling a hundred types of way about the count and his awful ways, how helpless she feels.
all that emotion is removed from her when sunday admits that he isn't here to force her to stay, but rather gives her another solution to escaping this situation. )
One of your secret passageways!
( bursts forth, excitedly, as she pulls herself up and off the window, into the room proper. she draws her arms around her brother in a tight embrace, because she knows what he's talking about. when she draws back just enough, wanda lifts her chin a touch to look into his eyes, hands on his shoulders.
(once upon a time they used to be the same height; wanda had even been taller than sunday once, too, when they were little.) )
You'll come with me, won't you?
no subject
Yeah, the thing you should've thought of first.
[ No, he's not letting it go that she was just in the window over this as an option. He gets why that was her first option since she's made it through there successfully even as it'd caused him immense anxiety then, too, being the one left standing in the window with his hands gripping the sill until she was safely on the ground waving to him cheerfully.
Slow to anger, quick to worry. Always one to contemplate the outcomes before doing something, and always watching with pride and a tinge of envy when Wanda is quick to stand up for what she believes or to tell someone off for it when they have it coming. He's learned to channel that for himself, too, particularly to any of those young royals or nobles who think they might turn a situation to their advantage by finding some way to separate the siblings standing together when they clearly didn't want to be. More than once he's quite happily put them in their place with a sharpness they didn't expect.
At her question, the one he really should have known was coming as he hugs her back, a wrinkle appears in Sunday's brow. Not quite a frown though it could become one at any second - an expression he's started to wear more often these days when it wasn't often seen before, now that he's spent some more time at court in the actual court matters and it's often been the extent of his reaction to something desperately requiring more.
But. If there was ever a weakness and one they both know he has since Sunday won't pretend for a second it's not the case: it's his sister. She looks at him with that not quite pleading look as if she expects him to say anything else but the answer he doesn't have to consider for even a millisecond. ]
Of course. Someone has to keep you from getting lost if you make a wrong turn somewhere.
[ Unlikely to happen, and it's not like Sunday needs a reason, an excuse, or anything at all when it's Wanda who's asking. Which is why he steps back and grabs one of her hands to tug her towards the doorway, whatever hesitation there now vanished. ]
C'mon, but only if you're up for more sneaking around.
[ Unnecessary, and the mischievous smirk he shoots back over his shoulder to further prod at his sister like all siblings do, no matter how proper they might be learning to be outside of here. ]
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I wouldn't get lost.
( she replies, halfway through a pout, as she holds her brother's hand tightly as he leads the way. out the door and into the hallway, which is, for now, deserted; wanda looks one way, sunday the other, then back at each other with a nod. wanda knows that he will guide the way to this secret passageway of hisβone that she remembers existing, but cannot honestly remember the last time she's used it.
as they traverse the many turns in their home's vast hallways, wanda spares a moment to, win a whisper, think about him, )
I have some pants that might fit you in my bag. ( he didn't pack his escape bag! ) We have to make sure to grab it on our way out!
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If not actually there, eventually. Sunday's choosing to ignore that for time being while they walk quietly through the hallway. It's empty, and almost suspiciously so, of anyone coming to find the siblings to guide them to this meeting they're avoiding where one or both of their parents will have to explain.
A problem for future them since for now there's leaving, and when he looks back at Wanda again he raises an eyebrow. Right - clothing. He definitely hadn't thought about that at all but with his room so far away as they've kept going? Too late for that now when he presses on a piece of molding which pops up the hidden panel he was looking for. ]
We should bring something to eat with us, too.
[ For however long they'll be gone, on the topic of preparations. This passageway has a branch to lead to the kitchens and if one of their favorite cooks is there, well. It'd be easy to get up with more than enough snacks before they go. ]
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not to mention that the twins were fated, by prophecy, to bring further peace and understanding between nations. whatever details this entails, no one knows, but the twins do bring joy wherever they go, their kindness and love for the staff born naturally from within. it really isn't just one favorite cook, so much as the kitchen staff adoring them, as they are the least picky eaters and have even tried to spend time in the kitchens learning.
unsurprisingly, sunday is thinking about food. )
I hadn't thought of that.
( she admits easily, as the wall's mechanisms pull and move at the passageways hidden door to reveal its entrance. once upon a time, during darker times, this very same passage led many royals to safety and helped them avoid a gruesome, torturous death. to think it had been part of the twins' playground really speaks of how times have changed.
inside they go, treading ever onward, wanda's hand still holding tightly onto sunday's as he leads the way. )
We'll have to swear any of the kitchen staff that do see us to secrecy. We need a proper head start before Father realizes we've gone.
( this is such a serious matter, and yet it's such a lousy plan in concept... )
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(It does, however, escape Sunday's notice each and every time that someone else has intervened prior to whatever they've planned.)
That makes it an easy decision to make the kitchen their next destination as he was already planning so when the turn down those passageways approaches they travel it together. ]
It should be busy what with the count arriving soon. [ 'Count' said with considerable disdain - the same he'd felt earlier but hadn't voiced aloud so best to make it clear right now. ] That'll make it easier to sneak in and whoever we come across will have what they need to get done, so maybe we can just say we're there for a snack.
[ It wouldn't be that out of place when those dinners are often late to allow for the required socializing to happen first from all the nobility working their way through court. Attention their parents must pay to them as the leaders, certainly, but even that only goes so far for the schemes put into place by those who would try them. Ones that are getting ever closer to the twins themselves as they've grown older, and ones Sunday looks at with disdain.
So at last when they come to the door that leads to the kitchen, he's ready for this departure. One nudge opens it enough to peer through; sure enough, the staff is working on any number of things though he spots Hilde at a stove, one of the older cooks who's quite fond of them indeed, and nudges his sister with his elbow. ]
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it takes little coaxing to ask hilde for some snacks, for some food proper, once wanda's eyes catch onto things inside the ice box and on the counters. hilde never asks, she just plays along with the twins.
and, sure enough, between sunday and wanda, they manage a bag packed with enough snacks and food to last them... perhaps an afternoon, if they're careful and ration properly. a task that, undoubtedly, they've not had to do in their lives, so this might be too much of an ask. back to their secret passageway, and soon they're out toward the garden. wanda rushes toward the bushes to find the bag she had dropped, hitching it up on her shoulder as she rejoins her brother.
so far, so (suspiciously) good. )
Where to now?
( sunday is, after all, the expert in directions, considering his route through the secret passageway. )
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But: it's an important part of today's plan either way and with the supplies in hand and with a kiss to Hilde's cheek for her thoughtfulness and that assurance she won't say a word, off the twins go. Oblivious, possibly, to the fond looks they get on their way out and maybe a quiet bet or two regarding when they'll be back.
Outside in the air and as Wanda retrieves her other bag, the possibilities of what to do from here seem limitless. The castle grounds sprawl on and one so they'll have to walk quite a ways, and Sunday reaches for his sister's hand to pull her along. ]
Let's just see where the path takes us.
[ The path in question is one leading to the extensive gardens, ones with all sorts of hedges and walls they can duck behind if someone else is out here enjoying the sunshine and might want to mention they've seen the twins on their way out. On the other side of the gardens closer to the start of the woods is a treehouse they once favored as younger children and still stands when their parents couldn't quite ever commit to taking it down. They can say goodbye to it, too.
That's Sunday's thought, given he's not looking up at the sky to see what while it's sunny now, there's a suspicious number of rainclouds gathering on the horizon. ]
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wanda's expression brightens when she realizes where sunday's steering leads them, and she's the first to break into a run to greet the old, stalwart tree that has been witness to many of their playdates and adventures. a ladder lingers to the side, made of rope and hardy wood, ever inviting. )
Old Wildspur!
( yes, they've given the trees names. their father, the king, is a man of the land, beholden to the earth, its people, and its many troubles. their mother, however, comes from a group of peoples that live under the stars, without need for roof or hearth, where every living creature has a name and a spirit and essence. their union had been a fortuitous one, in wanting to bridge the growing gap between both cultures. it's why sunday's silver hair and golden eyes are not entirely surprising, as many in their mother's family bore hair of silver starlight and eyes unusually colored; though wanda took after their father in these aspects, her features were delicate, much resembling their mother's traits. the twins held fast to the loving connection her mother's people kept with the natural world. sometimes in whispers, sometimes in song, it was many a time that the twins would claim to 'hear' the trees talking.
there's fondness in wanda as she lightly passes the palm of her hand over the old tree's bark. )
If only we could take you along.
( she says, a little sadly, and the tree's leaves rustle, almost in response. a warning, perhaps, too, as heavy droplets of rain start to fall on the ground, threatening the arrival of plenty more. )
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It's fitting, then, there's an actual goodbye to be had here and that it goes to the tree. In response to what's said, the branches almost dip lower like a parent or grandparent's arms going to encircle a beloved child like Wanda's sadness has touched it. Others might say it's an illusion, a trick of the wind or simply gravity settling the world a little further - but the twins know better, don't they? ]
You'll tell the other trees where we've gone, won't you?
[ A network of rustling leaves and tree limbs reaching for each other the intertwined canopy above them that's also keeping the rain from immediately falling onto them where raindrop after raindrop falls and slowly picks up speed. Sunday's focus isn't on the impending weather either when he also places a hand to the bark which feels alive beyond anything else and it rumbles in response. Doesn't it?
Then again, thunder rolls above them and startles Sunday into finally looking up in time with rain sliding off of the leaves sheltering them to fall directly onto his face. ]
Come on, Wanda. We need to go to the treehouse.
[ The roof on it is still whole even after all these years, secretly maintained by castle staff who know the twins find their way there often enough to need it and with what care the siblings have provided themselves, too. This goodbye to Old Wildspur is far from being complete as he murmurs an apology; they'll come back to finish it before they really leave and aren't in danger of being soaked by the rainstorm. ]
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looking a little sullen at having being soaked, she heads towards the trunk where many of their clothes and towels and other linen had been kept (and constantly freshened up by the castle staff in charge). she manages to find a towel for herself and her brother, coming back to him to give him his ownβa pastel blue one with an 's' embroidered delicately by hand on a corner. )
It's so stuffy in here.
( part of the role of the staff keeping up maintenance is to keep the treehouse feel like it hasn't been used for as long as the twins haven't been in it, for the sake of 'realism'. oh, how carefully curtailed their whole lives have been. wanda sits herself down on a hammock chair, drying her hair, legs hanging as she swings lightly back and forth. )
The west wind shouldn't be blowing storms this way this time of the year.
( and yet, it's a cacophony of heavy rain outside, a blistering sound above them. )