A Cherry Pastry for His Highness Ch. 1
(The reader is a simple baker girl who lives in the Angelo kingdom with her mother and father. One fateful morning she meets one of the young Prince's as she's preparing for the day before her. Little does she know that that one fateful meeting is going to change her life for the better. She will fall hopelessly in love but not without a few bumps along the way.)
(This story can be found on my ao3 as well! https://archiveofourown.org/works/23524447/chapters/56419189)
I stretched my arms above my head as I stood in front of the table that held tins of flour, cups of berries, and the dough that I was currently kneading and sectioning out for today. My family’s bakery is well known throughout the Angelo kingdom, especially for the pastries that are handmade by me. My parents and I get up every morning at three am to begin the process of making our delicious baked goods and by six we set them out on display for all of the townsfolk to bear witness to and purchase for their breakfast. A small smile made its way upon my lips as I thought about all the smiling faces I would see and the giggles of children that would grace my ears. I hummed softly to myself as I began to knead at the dough once again and fell deep into my thoughts.
“Wow, that smells amazing.” I heard a deep voice say from the window across from me.
I let out a yelp of surprise and nearly fell backward onto my butt at the sudden sound and stared up at the person, a man to be more exact, with wide eyes. When all the man did was chuckle and smile at me I furrowed my brow out of confusion and concern.
“Haha, sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you.” He said as he leaned further into the window, his chin resting on one arm and the other dangling inside the bakery. “I just smelt something really good when I woke up and decided to check it out. Glad I did.” He added with a hum.
I studied the man’s features for a few moments, he wasn’t someone who I had seen before in the shop nor out in the market whenever I was sent to go and get supplies for the next day, then realization dawned on me. The white hair, the blue eyes, and the rather fancy garments he wore, he was not just some random man that happened upon the bakery.
“Y-Your Highness!” I squeaked out as I quickly wiped my flour-covered hands onto my dirty apron, curtsying when I felt clean enough. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your sudden visit?” I asked as I kept my head bowed out of respect.
I heard the man sigh and adjust his position on the windowsill before speaking again. “Aw damn, you caught me.” He said with a soft huff. “Like I said, I woke up to a wonderful smell so I decided to see where it was coming from.” He stated as he gave me another lazy grin when I looked back up at him.
I blinked a few times before smiling back at him and nodded my head. “Of course Your Highness! I’m glad that our baked goods smelled wonderful to you! Would you like me to get you something? It’s all fresh out of the oven.” I stated as I clasped my hands together in front of me.
The Prince grinned at me and nodded his head. “Hell yeah, that would be great.” He said as he began to look around at the many different baked goods that were lying about. “How about some of those?” He stated as he pointed at the different fruit pastries I had made a little earlier.
I looked over to where he was pointing and smiled brightly. “Of course! Is there a certain fruit you would like Your Highness?” I asked as I walked over and grabbed a little basket to put the pastries in for him.
“Oh yeah, I like strawberries.” He hummed. It seemed like he was in thought when I looked at him once again, but before I could ask if something was wrong he began to speak again. “Would you be alright with me getting some for my parents and brother? I can hear them nagging when I think about what will happen when I get back. I can take one for each of them if you want. Don’t want to take too many of your sweets before everyone else.” He teased with a wink.
I giggled softly and shook my head as I grabbed a strawberry pastry. “Of course not Your Highness. Take as many as you like.” I said as I looked back up at him.
He grinned and nodded his head before he began to speak again. “Sweet! Alright so, Mom likes apples, Dad likes raspberries, and for some weird reason, Vergil likes cherry. I never really understood why he liked cherries, they’re too tart. Do you have all of them by chance?” He asked as he pointed at the pastries once again.
Ah, so this was Prince Dante. No wonder people say that he is a little rambunctious and wild compared to his brother Prince Vergil. I smiled and nodded my head as I grabbed one of each fruit pastry and placed them in the basket. “Of course Prince Dante. I make sure to have every fruit that is known to our kingdom so there are plenty of options!” I said as I covered up the pastries with the cloth I placed inside and walked over to the windowsill, holding it up to him.
“Here you are, Your Highness. Please let me know how you like them, I made them myself this morning.” I said as I gave him a genuine smile.
Dante looked at me for a few moments before smiling right back and nodded his head as he took the basket from me. “Sweet! Thanks! Oh right,” He looked down at the basket and then to me. “How much do I owe you? I don’t want to take these for free just because of… You know.” He said with a small smile.
I smiled back and shook my head. “There’s no need to worry about that. It’s on the house. Think of it as a welcoming gift to our bakery. Please do let me know how you like the pastry if you decide to come back.” I said as I gently pushed the basket towards him.
Dante grinned and nodded his head as he moved to where he was sitting upright. “Thanks, baker girl. I’ll come back tomorrow to let you know my thoughts on it.” He said as he disappeared from the window and a soft thud could be heard as his feet hit the ground.
I walked over to the window and placed my hands on the bottom of it and pulled myself up on my tiptoes so that I could see over and into the ever lightening morning sky. I smiled to myself and leaned my head to the side as I watched Prince Dante walk away from our humble bakery.
Dante hummed softly to himself as he pulled out the strawberry pastry that I had so delicately placed in the basket for him and inhaled deeply. “Man, I knew getting up was a good idea.” He hummed as he opened his mouth to take a bite.
“And where were you?” The sound of his brother’s voice rang through the hall of the foyer, making him roll his eyes. “And why are you up so early? Normally you sleep without a care in the world until noon, or until Mother comes to wake you.” Vergil said as he stepped up to his brother.
Dante rolled his eyes again and shrugged his shoulders. “I woke up ‘cause I was hungry and I caught the most wonderful smell drifting through the air and I just had to know where it was coming from!” He said with a hum to his tone.
Vergil raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his younger brother. “And what might that smell be dear brother?” He asked and watched as Dante grinned and motioned to the basket that he was holding.
“Only the most delicious pastries in the kingdom! You know that little bakery that’s past the blacksmith and bookstore that you like?” Dante asked and Vergil only nodded. “Well, apparently the girl that works there, real cute might I add, makes pastries every morning with every fruit that can be found in our kingdom.” He said as he pulled out the cherry pastry and held it out to him.
Vergil stared at the pastry before huffing through his nose and turned his head away. “I do not have time to indulge in sweets this early in the morning Dante, and neither should you.” He said as he began to walk away.
“Aw, come on Verg. Give it a taste! One bite isn’t going to hurt you! Plus she said it was fresh out of the oven!” Dante pleaded. “And uh,” he cleared his throat a little. “I kind of told her that I would come back tomorrow with everyone’s opinion about it.” He stated.
Vergil took a deep breath and sighed heavily through his nose. “Fine.” He said as he turned around and took the pastry from his hand. “I will eat this later and tell you my thoughts on it. But after this, do not ask me to do something that does not pertain to the task of the day.” He said as he turned back around and began to walk off towards the study.
Dante rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Yeah, yeah. Just let me know what you think before tonight!” He called out to Vergil as he walked away from him.