He nodded and ducked under a flying spoon. "Yup. Just stand around until you're selected for a job." Just as he said that, one of the cooks grabbed his arm and ushered him over to the pot of boiling water, telling him what dish was being made there.
So she did, standing just far enough to be out of the way, and watched the bustle of the kitchen. Though the knowledge she was likely going to be touched kicked up a bit of apprehension, the nostalgia much made up for that. It wasn't long before she was drawn into cutting vegetables, something she had no problem doing, her skills with a knife making it that much easier.
The twins chatted and laughed with the cooks as if they weren't the prince and princess. They interacted with the cooks and servants that streamed in and out as if they were friends picking up where they last left off. There didn't seem to be any social class tension between any of them, and it was certainly an odd sight to see.
Lily hummed softly as she moved about, doing whatever task was asked of her without complaint. She kept to herself as she did, not really one to chat, and not knowing anyone else didn't exactly make it easier. She watched the twins though, occasionally, noting how comfortable they seemed here.
After some hustle and bustle, the flurry in the kitchen died down some as food was carted out and set up in the dining hall. Cinthia and Wolf regrouped with Lily and waited for the servants to take all the food away before they had the kitchen all to themselves.
Lily reached up, letting her hair down from the bun she'd pulled it up into at some point to keep it out of the way. She was practically glowing, a small smile in place on her face. "That was…fun."
Wolf ruffled his already messy hair, shaking out some four and spices that had somehow gotten dusted all over it. "Exhilarating,"
"And extremely chaotic," Cinthia said.
"But fun," he finished.
Cinthia clasped her flour-coated hands together. "Now. The kitchen is empty and we have it all to ourselves."
"Who's hungry?"
Lilly huffed a laugh, turning to the twins. "I could eat." She said with a nod, before surveying the now empty kitchen once more. "You are allowed to? To have free reign, I mean."
"Well…" Cinthia started, bobbing her head from side to side.
"Technically, we're not allowed in the kitchens, according to the King and Queen," Wolf said.
"But we don't care, and neither do the cooks." Cinthia tightened the band holding her hair up and started going through cupboards, searching through the ingredients and pulling out some.
"In all fairness, this is this cooks' domain." Lily said with a shrug, leaning against the counter. "Officially, the King and Queen are in charge, but cooks oversee this space. Can I help, Cinthia?"
She nodded and went on her tiptoes to grab something out of the high cupboard. "I'm making snickerdoodle cookies, and Wolf is making cupcakes."
He raised a brow, "Oh, am I now?" but headed over to a different cupboard to start gathering ingredients for chocolate cupcakes and homemade frosting.
She scanned the ingredients Cinthia had already gathered, before moving to help, sifting through the cupboards. "Well, I'll gladly follow any instructions you give."
"Damn cooks and their fancy flying magic," Cinthia muttered under her breath as she practically had to crawl on top of a counter to grab some bowls and cookie sheets. To Lily, she said, "Alright, alright, alright. Uh…" She pointed to the fire-powered oven. "Could you heat that up?"
"Of course." Lily nodded, flitting over to the oven to do as told willingly. She resumed her humming as she took a moment to figure out the oven, before starting it up. She shot Cinthia a thumbs up, paired with a small smile.
Cinthia hopped down with the bowls and cookie sheets in hand and shot Lily a grateful smile as she set them down. "Thank you. Okay, now I need…" she rattled off the directions that she had memorized from years of cooking, instructing Lily with a pleasant but confident voice that usually had people willing to do as she asked without complaint. Usually.
Lily paused to listen, nodding to show that she was. Once Cinthia had finished with the first chunk, she nodded once more and flitted about as she followed the instructions. She didn't need most of them, as she'd made cookies before, but this recipe was just a bit different from Jazmine's.
Wolf talked about random things with Cinthia–sometimes including Lily as well to not be rude–as he worked. However, he made the grave mistake of mentioning a slight crush, and Cinthia latched onto the tidbit of info and relentlessly hounded on him for more details. He adamantly refused.
"Cinthia, he's more likely to tell you later if you stop picking him apart now." Lily commented, not looking up from the eggs she was cracking. She had stayed fairly quiet throughout the time in the kitchen, not that that was knew, focusing on the baking.
"Highly unlikely," Wolf said in response to Lily's comment.
"Oh come on, I confided in you," she whined, pouting at Wolf. He just shook her head and tried focusing on his cupcakes. The tips of his ears were pink. She huffed and went over to Lily to check on her.
"Better than never." Lily shot back at Wolf, lips quirking up into a smile. She glanced up as Cinthia approached, raising an eyebrow and continuing on to mixing.
He turned around to stick his tongue out at her. Cinthia chuckled and helped Lily.
"I'm curious, about places and rooms in the castle worth spending time in, and ones to avoid." Lily said softly, after a few minutes of silence.
"Depends on personal preference," the twins said at the same time. Cinthia waved her hand lazily. "I'd suggest staying away from the barracks unless you like spending time with guards–and don't mind getting challenged to a friendly fight. The King and Queen's wing is definitely a no-go. There's a personal library here, but it's nowhere near as grand as the one that I showed you. Indoor greenhouse, an underground pool of river water, uhhhh…"
"Aquarium and stables," Wolf chimed in, "The kennels, aviary, that family of wild bunnies that now live in the gallery."
Lily looked up as they talked, her eyebrows raised in slight shock. "That's quite the selection of things to do. No way to go bored, I suppose." You shouldn't be thinking about recreational activities, Lily. Not with what's at stake.
They shrugged and opened their mouths to say something when the door opened and a familiar pair of emerald green eyes poked through. Rhydar's gaze landed on the twins and then found Lily. He flicked his brows up in surprise as he shut the door behind him. Now dressed in his usual casual clothing, rings and piercings galore, he very much looked the part of the thief that he was at heart. "Wasn't aware a party was going on in here," he said by greeting. The twins waved hello and went back to their baking.