Soren sighed softly. "I know. But you've already helped a lot. And there is nothing you need to apologize for. Really. We've got everything under control. Well…even if we don't, we will. Eventually."
"Soren, if you say a statement, you can't immediately go back and change it." Mikhail said exasperatedly. "Okay?"
Soren nodded. "Alright, alright. I know."
“New topic for now.” Celeste said suddenly, almost sounding hurried by the need to change the subject. She clapped her hands together and winced slightly as her chest twinged again, before pretending it had never happened. “I made cookies! I forgot about them, but lucky I remembered, huh?” She reaches into her pouch, pulling out a bag full of small cookies after some digging around.
Soren raised an eyebrow. "Considering you're a witch, should I be worried about the content of said cookies?" he questioned, looking at her with a small, teasing smile. "Because Mikhail really shouldn't be having any drugs or anything of the sort while he's…like this." he waved a hand vaguely in Mikhail's direction.
"Hey! Use the name of what happened! "Has a hole in his chest that he gained saving my dumb ass"." Mikhail said. "It isn't that hard to say."
Soren rolled his eyes. "My ass isn't dumb." he replied. "It doesn't have a brain, therefore it can't be dumb."
"The same could be said about your head, your highness." Mikhail replied, dead pan.
“No, they aren’t drugged.” Celeste cut in, rolling her eyes. She pulled one out, popping the small cookie into her mouth and chewing and swallowing. “See? The only thing extra in here is lemon, for more flavor.” She assured, stepping over to offer Mikhail the bag first. “Chocolate and lemon. That was my mother’s secret, adding the lemon.”
Mikhail reached out, taking a cookie. "Oh. Thank you, miss Sovanna." he said politely, then tried a small bite of the cookie. He nodded. "That's really good, actually." he smiled, looking over at Celeste.
"How come you're polite to her, but you call me a dumbass?" Soren said grumpily, crossing his arms in a childlike way.
Mikhail stuck his tongue out. "Because you are a dumbass. It's not an insult if it's true."
Soren rolled his eyes. "Put that tongue back in your head or I'm cutting it off." he retorted.
Mikhail smirked, and ate the rest of the cookie.
“Celeste works just fine, Captain.” Celeste interjected, before letting them continue to bicker as she stepped over to Soren to offer him the bag. Her smile was back, though it looked slightly faint, like she had other things on her mind still. She always did, but this was a bit worse.
"If I'm going to call you Celeste, then you have to call me Mikhail. No one calls me captain except the guards on duty, and Soren when he's being a smartass. And he's only a smartass when he isn't being a dumbass." Mikhail replied with a smirk.
Soren groaned, taking a cookie. "Are those the only two insults you can come up with, Miky?"
"Oi, take that back." Mikhail sat up straight. "No nicknames." his voice had turned serious very quickly. "You know that, Soren."
Soren sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry." he said softly. "I forgot. I'm sorry."
Mikhail nodded, something in his eyes looking a little off now.
Soren sighed, and looked at Celeste. "Are you alright?" he asked her, giving Mikhail a minute to recover and gather himself together again.
“I’m quite alright. Why do you ask?” Celeste tilted her head, the lie coming as easily as the question. Her eyes flickered to Mikhail in worry, but she understood that sometimes just giving someone time to gather themselves was best. She returned her gaze to Soren, her eyes betraying her somewhat, swapping between dark colors, and looking far from the palace.
((Celeste: Sue’s only been my maid for a day and a half but if anything happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.))
"Your eyes." Soren replied quietly, gesturing to his own eyes vaguely. "They don't look…happy." then he frowned. "I sound high, don't I?"
Mikhail was silent, closing his eyes for a moment and letting out a soft sigh.
Soren glanced at Mikhail, then back at Celeste. "If I or Mikhail have said or done something to make you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." he said, hoping it wasn't something either of them had done. That would be aggravating.
(oml yess. Sue is a lil sweetheart. Also isn't that a meme or vine or something like that? i ain't up to date on the lingo so shoot me)
((It’s a Brooklyn nine nine quote that became a popular incorrect quotes meme lmao))
“No, no! It’s nothing either of you did, don’t worry!” Celeste assured hurriedly, brightening her smile and looking away. “My…eyes? How exactly do you mean they don’t look happy?” It was a deflection, and anyone could tell that. Because she was so close to opening up right there, at least about one of the things bothering her. Bottling things up only lasted so long, and her bottle was old and cracking.
(ah OOF. I need to watch that show. adds it to list among 1000+ others)
"Well, they're all dark and weird looking." Soren said slowly.
"Soren, the way to win a girl is not by telling her her eyes are weird looking." Mikhail joked softly.
Soren rolled his eyes. "Quiet, captain." he replied, still watching Celeste. "I mean…it's not happy colors. And I might be blind and a dumbass, but I know what happy colors look like. I've seen your eyes when you're happy, or calm."
((Lmao it’s a good one. I haven’t seen the new episodes but I gotta))
“Dark…?” Celeste’s voice sounded odd to her own ears, as a pair of dark eyes flashed through her mind. ”You have your mother’s eyes, dear. How cute.” She blinked a few times, giving herself a mental shake. “Just…things on my mind, I guess. Nothing you should worry about.”
(ahh okay)
Soren nodded slowly. "Okay. If you say so." after a moment, he held up the remainder of the cookie that was left. "By the way, the cookies are amazing." he smiled lightly.
Mikhail nodded in agreement. "They are." he said.
Soren grinned. "See? Highest praise, coming from that one." he pointed at Mikhail. It seemed like when he was around Mikhail, he just became…looser. Less put together and proper, more playful and spontaneous.
“Well, feel free to help yourselves to more.” Celeste said, setting the bag on the small table next to the bed, so it was within reach of both of them. Her hand moved, touching her chest for a moment before moving to trace the mark on the back of her neck, which seemed to be a general fidgeting thing. “Baking is a good destressor for me, though it’s odd, doing things in a kitchen that isn’t my own. I’m glad Cook let me in though.”
Soren nodded, and finished his cookie, then grabbed another, eating it in record time.
"Soren, when I'm outta here, you're sparring with me for a few hours to work off all this sugar you're eating. I am not protecting you if you decide to be a lazy ass." Mikhail said, before grabbing two cookies and eating them one after the other.
"Whaaaat?" Soren exclaimed, looking at him. "That's not fair! You just ate two!" he said childishly.
"Yes, and I'm the exception, not the rule." Mikhail replied with a smirk and a grin.
That managed to draw something like a laugh out of the Witch, who shook her head. “‘The more you spar, the more sugar you can eat.’ Wise words from a man who could eat a whole batch of cookies while bench pressing me.” A soldier she had met in Jarsken a year or so ago, who had done exactly that.
Soren sighed. "But the king doesn't need to be fit!" he argued.
"Yes, but no one is going to marry you if you weigh fifty pounds more than you do now. Also, you know that you're traditionally shirtless for the Dragon Festival. Currently, you have a good six pack. Would you rather that become fat that sags down around your waist?" Mikhail replied, arcing an eyebrow.
Soren groaned. "Fine. You win."
Celeste’s eyebrows lifted as she listened to them, leaning against the wall slightly. Whether it was because if the mention of Soren shirtless, or just their usual bickering, not even she was quite sure. Maybe both. Soren’s surrender was expected, as it seemed Mikhail was usually the voice of reason when they argued.
"Of course I win." Mikhail ate another cookie to celebrate.
Soren reached out and grabbed another while Mikhail wasn't looking. "Yes mother." He grumbled teasingly, a smile fighting to break out across his face. He sighed softly, then looked at Celeste. "Sorry, we're leaving you out, aren't we? My apologies." He held up the halfeaten cookie. "These are very good. As I've said before."
“I’m more intruding than you are leaving me out.” Celeste assures, though the praise seemed to strengthen her smile. “Thank you. I’m glad the recipe worked out, considering there wasn’t really one. A little bit of prayer and a lot of guessing turned out alright.”
Soren chuckled. "Alright." He sighed. "You mean there's no recipe I can have?" He asked, making a mock pouting face.
"Soren, you are making a fool of yourself." Mikhail said exasperatedly. "Stop. And no, you don't get a recipe, because then you will eat it all the time! Remember our discussion about weight?"
"Mikhail, you aren't my mother!" Soren replied, looking up at the ceiling. "And yeah, I'm making a fool of myself. So what?"
“Would it be helpful or unhelpful to mention that there’s a recipe now?” Celeste asked, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow. Her memory was a faulty thing, but she was usually able to remember the contents of baked goods she had randomly thrown together. She’d taken the time to write this one down afterwards, too, which was a bonus. “Or would it be better to offer to ration out the cookies, in a way that wouldn’t negate any working out done?”
"Ration." Mikhail said before Soren could speak up.
"What? But I'm the king!" Soren replied. "I can do whatever I want!"
"No, you can't. You can do whatever I say you can, since I'm the captain of the guard. Also, I think that medication is still affecting you." Mikhail said calmly.
“Ration it is then. Any particular requests for various baked goods?” Celeste was once again digging through her pouch, her hair coming out of the bun it was in and falling into her face. “You really should listen to the Cap-we, Mikhail, Soren. He’s got a few good points.