Ken & Barbie

Rhubarb Pie

Coree woke up to cries from Caroline and giggling from Virginia. Coree did not hear Harper, but she was alright with it. She stumbled out of her bed, tripping over her duvet as she untangled herself from her mess of a bed, grabbed her robe and shuffled downstairs, finding Virginia and Caroline screaming at each other over something idiotic: breakfast. I stood by the stairs, hearing the whole altercation occur.

"I want pancakes with strawberries!" Caroline shrieked, and Virginia rolled her eyes, callous to the fact that her siblings always got what they wanted, regardless of what Virginia wanted.

"I want omelets and bacon. We don't even have strawberries." Virginia laughed in her sister's face. "We have rhubarb, you idiot."

Caroline sniffled, "I'm telling mom. Today was my turn for breakfast!" She shuffled out of the kitchen, bumping right into me as I entered.

"Sorry, Coree." She exclaimed as she ran back upstairs to mom and dad's room.

"What's going on?" I asked, a bit curious.

"Caroline wants pancakes with strawberries for breakfast, but we don't even have strawberries. We grow rhubarb, not bloody strawberries." Virginia rolled her eyes.

"Well, she wants pancakes and you want omelets and bacon? Let's compromise? Pancakes, omelets or eggs, and bacon with some toast! Huge breakfast and we're all happy!" I smile, giggling a bit at how easy that was.

Virginia nodded as she gave up on her plea for breakfast, heading upstairs to her room to grab her book.

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After cleaning up the mess that we made for breakfast, everything was a mystery for the day. I helped mom make rhubarb pie and some ice cream, and we let it sit with some candied flowers on the counter. It looked really pretty, but not pretty enough not to touch.

Soon after snacking on the pie here and there, mom called us into the dining room for a family meeting. We only had those if someone was dying, or the town was having another gala.

"Yes?" I asked, a bit concerned. "Grandma didn't die, did she?"

Mom laughed, "No, not at all, Coree. It seems that the mayor of the town, his son is in town, and he would like to meet you, Coree. He said he saw you playing in the grasslands a few days ago, and was entranced?" She giggled in amusement.

The mayor's son, Jacob, was a sweet guy. But I've only met him a few times, and the few times, we were never introduced. He found me doing non-ladylike things, like running barefoot in the field, running after my sisters in a rage, or laying out in the grass with a book or flowers in my hair. He thought I was a madwoman.

"You can't be serious." I sighed.

"I am. He said he recognized you by your beauty and the flowers in your hair." She smiled.

"I don't understand, I'm not even 18, mom. Jacob is 22 years old, and a bit ill-tempered. Why not Virginia?" I asked.

"He asked for you. We are going to the mayor's gala, tomorrow evening. You will be with him, and get to know him better. This is great for you, Coree." She grinned, and I nodded my head, a bit nervous to see what could come from this.

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Coree sat in the grass, pulling the green out of the dirt, loving how the grass felt when it ran through her fingers. She had an obsession with nature. Coree had flowers set around her. She used the grass to bind the flowers together, creating a crown to wear in her hair.

"Still the same, huh, Cor?" Coree looked up to see the mayor's son smiling down at her.