Rose's POV

I stop by the bakery on my way to town. Texas is already here in the back kneading some dough when Mr.Wilson comes to greet me.

"Oh my! Rose when do you get here? Sit, sit." He rushes to me. The Wilson's have filled in place of my non-existent grandparents so they often coddle me. Not that I am complaining, it feels nice to be spoiled sometimes.

"I just thought I would stop by and see if you need any help in preparation for tomorrow?" I respond. His wife, Maria Wilson, actually taught me to not only how to bake, but how to cook as well when I was very young. I have been blessed to be on the receiving side of the Wilson's family recipes only a few are aware of. They have always treated me as apart of their family, and for that, I will always be grateful.

"No, we have everything handled Sugar. But please, tell me how you are holding up." Mrs.Wilson asks me, joining the conversation. I spend the next hour chatting away with them while sipping on some herbal tea. Before I head out, I bring the chocolate chip cookies they baked for the village warriors with me on the way to the training field.

"Goodbye Sugar." Mrs.Wilson calls out as I leave. I wave goodbye before securing my hold on two large-sized containers full of newly baked, lukewarm chocolate chip cookies. I should let you know, I hardly have any female friends due to our differences in choice of hobbies, so the crowd I hang around are the village warriors in training. I like to call my group of friends the golden boys of our village. They are all fairly attractive and are known for their good progress. I make my way to the training center, finding Jason along the way.

Jason is like the cool uncle at all the family gatherings. He is super chill and actually encourages me to train along the rest of them, while others are hesitant. He is about late twenties, a good 6 foot and has a nice frame.

"Hey Jase." I say.

"Hey Rose." He replies. I met him when I trailed them on one of their hunting journeys without being noticed until they were a day into their journey back to our village. He and the others apparently found it humorous as to how a 7 year old girl tailed them all the way out into the woods without being noticed.

"The Wilsons know the lot of you are tired and most likely worn out in preparation for the Dragon Fest, so they me freshly baked cookies to give to you all." I inform him, approaching a larger group of trained hunters. I hear cheers as many more familiar faces gather around the savory aroma. I have trained with the older warriors far longer than I have with those my age, making me slightly more advanced skill wise.

"Thanks kiddo." Garret says. He is one of the older warriors whom I have also developed a bond with. He is 41, with a slightly graying beard in contrast with his bald head. He is always one to check up on my studies and pushes me to strive my best academically. His motivation is what pushed me to do better at such a young age, and ever since, I have remained top of my classes. He lost his wife to cancer a few years back, and ever since, we have become closer.

"Yeah, I really needed this today." Jamie pipes in. He is 37, expecting his third child with his wife Iris, and is very humble about his abilities. He looks very happy, probably because his overly energetic 4 year old daughter, Amber, is wearing him out. Honestly, Miss Iris is a saint for giving birth twice, nearing a third, having known the pain of child birth. Jamie is one of if not the best hand-to-hand combat warrior, so getting personal training from him was a great honor for me.

"It was no problem. Anyway, I really have to get to my training, see you all around." People wave me goodbye as I make way towards the archery grounds, knowing that the golden boys will be waiting to begin with me.

I see them up ahead not too far away, leaning on the fences. They are currently chatting to the school's walking STD. What?!? Just because I am polite doesn't give me the right to lie. Also, she has always had it out for me because the boys tend to steer in my direction more than hers. Here I am, never been kissed before, while she has probably been with half the guys in our year, or anyone else desperate enough to handle her.

I walk up to them and immediately the STD—Angelica—glares at me. Ironic name, trust me, I know. She continues to batter her eyelashes in attempt to flirt, but really it looks like she has a tick. I truly do my best not to laugh aloud but a single glance at Danny and I bust out laughing. He, his twin Daniel, Ryder, and Tony all join me very quickly, meanwhile Gelica looks like she could murder me with her glare.

"What are you laughing at?" She jeers at me.

"Nothing much, just your feeble attempt to win them over with your angelic charm." I say with sarcasm coating my voice. She humphs and storms off to her little minions watching us from one of the shops. Ryder begins another round of laughter and it doesn't take much for us to follow in his footsteps.

"Come on come on, we should begin before we end up doing nothing." I gather myself. The others nod, letting a few sporadic chuckles out here and there. The thing is, none of them are attracted to her in the least. The population of boys that she has been with doesn't include any of the golden boys of our village surprisingly.

We tell each other of how our mornings have been, and they all let out simultaneous groans when I tell them about the cookies, but quickly lighten up when I tell them I saved a few. We continue to chat away as we practice with bow and arrows, daggers, hand-to-hand combat, swords and run around the village on a trail designed for working out. We finish our training session when Daniel complains for the nth time about how we are already the best warriors in training and don't need to run. He may deceive you with his abs of steel, but boy does he despise running. In all honesty I could have gone for a couple more miles but I keep it to myself. We walk back to the main training center to see the seasoned warriors lightly conversing with one another, sweating buckets after their training came to a momentary pause.

Mr.Lucia, the head warrior, has been training them hard non stop. I know it is because this year has the most promising batch of possible chosen ones, leaving the village warriors down in numbers. All of the surrounding villages are at peace currently, but one could never be too cautious. I know Mr.Lucia feels stressed and although he seems energized and ready, I can see right through him. I see how the dark circles under his eyes have worsened, his posture slightly hunched, the crease between his eyebrows seemingly never gone. I can read my elder so well due to the fact that he was the one who introduced me to all my favorite hobbies. In fact, Mr.Lucia was the one heading the hunt when I was just 7.

It is quite ironic that Mr.Lucia, an Italian, fell in love with Stacy Lucia, a Russian. I find the story of how their love developed amusing, especially because Stacy ended their first interaction by calling him a prick. Yet, Mr.Lucia says that's when he knew Stacy was the one for him. Mr.Lucia was raised in the heart of Sicily with his numerous family members, and Stacy was born and raised in the streets of Moscow, an only child.

I am fluent in both languages now because when I was bored out of my mind, Mrs.Lucia said that one could never not know the cultures of others. So, when my training was complete for the day, or when my studies were finished, she brought it upon herself to teach me Russian culture and her family traditions, along with the language. I am also fluent in Italian because Mr.Lucia stated how it was unfair that I got to know his wife's culture but not his. So, he followed in her footsteps and taught me everything to know about his motherland. Needless to say that my stomach is never left unsatisfied when they have me over.

Jason is supposedly going to fill the role as the head warrior in a few years time, though he could just be following in his fathers footsteps. Jason's full name is Jason Vladimir Lucia, the son of these two flamboyant characters. I can only imagine the pressure Jason must feel to live up to his father's expectations.

I call out to him when I see him grow increasingly frustrated with his top warriors.

" Ehi Italia, se continui ad aggrottare le sopracciglia, la tua faccia apparirà così per sempre. " I joke. [ T : Hey Italy, if you keep frowning, your face will look like that permanently. ]

Jason, the only one who understands what I said, begins howling in laughter. Mr.Lucia just grumbles and replies with a slight smirk on his face,

" Cosa c'è di sbagliato in questo? " [ T : What's so wrong with that? ]

" Non molto, aggiungerà solo più rughe al tuo vecchio viso. " I tease him. [ T : Nothing much, it'll just add more wrinkles to your old looking face. ]

Jason begins laughing twice as hard while Mr.Lucia releases a hearty laugh as he pulls me in an embrace.

"Good one." He chuckled out. I just give him a view of my megawatt smile and converse with him in fluent Italian. I only pause when I notice the extremely quiet atmosphere, around the same time Mr.Lucia himself does too. Many look amused, some in awe because they have never seen Mr.Lucia smile, others in awe because they only know one language. I internally smirk at the thought. 'One language, pfft. I'm fluent in four others.' Then I come to realize the tired looks and pleading eyes.

"I say we give them a rest for today, what do you say Italy?" I ask my mentor.

"We still have work to do." He says, returning back to his serious self.

"I think they deserve a break after all the hard work," I reply. "E anche tu." [ T : And so do you. ] I mutter under my breath, only loud enough for him to hear, my voice laced with concern and slight sympathy.

"I also brought cookies." I try to bribe.

He stares at me deep in thought, though I see traces of amusement in his eyes.

"Chocolate chip?" He raises an eyebrow, of course he would ask that. I give him a bright grin,

"Only the best." I respond.

He gazed at me for a minute longer, the warriors anxious for his response, the golden boys long gone, tired of today's work. Jason just looks at me knowingly, already seeing as to how his father is only toying his peers with his dramatic response. He waits another moment before he sighs in fake defeat.

"Fine." The village hunters and fighters cheer for the second time today. "But I get first dibs on the cookies." Mr.Lucia raises his voice. The cheers dampen, but I still look around to see excited faces in the crowd, it is not often they get time off of training. I fully expect everyone to utilize this time wisely.

Everyone dispersed before Mr.Lucia decided to change his mind. I wave off everyone, very happy knowing that I made many peoples' day better. I pass other villagers who give me warm smiles and wave, I return with the same enthusiasm as I make my way down to the day care where I go to spend time with the young kids whose parents can't take care of them due to work.

I glance a look at the sky and estimate it to be around a quarter til' noon. I make my way with a goal in mind and walk through the smaller establishment.

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