The first night Maya switched places with Riley would go down as the worst night of sleep the princess ever got. How Riley was able to get any sleep on this stack of hay, stray pieces poking through the thin blanket beneath, she would never know. It was spring time so she wasn't too cold but she couldn't imagine sleeping in this place in one of the kingdom's more harsh winters.
Normally when Maya couldn't get any sleep she would toss and turn until she wore herself out but she was too afraid one of the needles would stab her side, so she just laid on her back willing herself to go to sleep. She tried counting sheep, imagining she was sleeping, everything but nothing was seeming to work.
"Argh!" Maya exclaimed as she sat up in Riley's bed, breathing heavy from the force it took to get herself upright so quickly and being so furious.
"Maya?" She heard a few feet from her. "Are you all right?"
Damn. She had forgotten Farkle was sleeping not too far away from her right now. He might be used to sleeping on these ungodly stacks of hay but she still didn't want to be a bother. This whole thing may have been his idea but she was still a guest in his house. Waking him up in the middle of the night because of her own frustrations was not being a very good house guest.
"Yes," Maya answered. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't get to sleep."
"Yeah, I figured." Farkle said as he walked a few paces from his bed to the kitchen. "These haystacks aren't the best uses but it's much better than sleeping in the dirt, I can tell you that."
"I'm sure it is." Maya replied. "What are you doing in there?"
Farkle returned to her bedside shortly after and handed her a glass of warm milk.
"Riley has trouble sleeping too." Farkle said. "This usually calms her down."
"Thank you, Farkle." Maya said as she took a sip of the milk.
Maya didn't realize how thirsty she was until the creamy milk touched her lips. She was able to chug the whole glass in about three gulps. It was delicious and she already started to feel a bit more tired.
"Better?" Farkle asked.
"Better." Maya confirmed.
Farkle smiled at her, gently patted her leg and went back to the kitchen to rinse out the glass.
"I didn't know so much of the village was in poverty." Maya said aloud for some unknown reason. She didn't know so much of the village was in poverty but it was a thought she hadn't spent much time thinking through.
"I'm sorry-" Maya started.
"Don't be." Farkle said. "It's hard to see from where you are and vice versa. I didn't know half of the things I now know about you a few days ago."
"That's true." Maya responded. "Is there anything you would like to know?"
"I'm not sure." Farkle responded, thinking on this quite a bit. He could have asked her a million questions. What did the castle look like? What were her plans to help improve poverty in the kingdom besides marrying a prince? He supposed those were all good questions but she was sleeping in his sister's straw bed to escape her life as a princess. Maybe it would be best to ask her something different.
"What is your favorite color?" Farkle asked.
"What?" Maya replied. She was sure he was going to ask her something about her life as a princess. Nobody besides Lucas seemed to ask her about herself.
"What is your favorite color?" Farkle repeated. "Mine's dark gray. I know that's not very exciting but it's what I'm used to seeing working as a blacksmith. It's certainly not a glamorous job but it is stress relieving."
"Mine's green." Maya replied. "Like a soft green, nothing too bright."
"Really?" Farkle asked. "I've seen pictures of you throughout the kingdom. Forgive me, but I can't ever recall you wearing a soft green dress."
"I don't wear colors like that very often." Maya replied. "Duke Cory and Duchess Topanaga, my adoptive parents, always say it's best to wear bolder colors. It makes you look more powerful.
"The last gift I received from my parents was a soft green dress." Maya continued. "I still have it. I obviously can't wear it anymore but I was supposed to wear it to my first grand ball. I never got a chance too though. I had to wear black to their funerals instead. Not only is that dress beautiful, it's one of the last items I have from them."
"I'm so sorry, Maya." Farkle said once she was done talking.
"You don't need to be." Maya replied. "You lost your parents too."
"Which makes it all the more reason for me to be sorry." Farkle replied. "I too know what it is like growing up without parents."
"Do you have anything that belonged to them?" Maya asked.
"Yes, actually." Farkle replied. "That glass you have."
"Oh, my goodness." Maya replied. "I'm so sorry, Farkle. You can have it back."
"No, it's fine." Farkle said. "I don't mind you using it. It's funny, Riley and I got it one day when we were still in the orphanage. She and I were fighting over it and we ended up breaking the handle off. Once I got a job as a blacksmith, I was able to weld it back on."
"Well, that is convenient." Maya said.
"It is." Farkle said. "We got it about a year before we went into the workforce. It came with a note saying our mother had died and she left us this. It was the only valuable thing either side of our family owned. Our mother was a member of a wealthy family in the kingdom and our father was their stable boy. I suppose it was the classic rich girl meets poor boy story. Once my mother found out she was pregnant with Riley and I, her parents disowned her but she stole this glass on the way out. Not the most expensive item in the house I'm sure, but it was rebellious in her own way. Riley and I are named after our mother and father. That's probably why her name is so classy and mine is rather goofy. I've always envied her for that."
"I don't think your name is goofy." Maya said. "I think it is unique."
Farkle chuckled before standing up and taking her glass of milk away from her.
"Now I know you're exhausted." Farkle said. "Get some sleep, princess."
"Hm, I'm not a princess." Maya said. "At least not right now."
"What would you like me to call you then?" Farkle asked.
"I'm not sure." Maya replied. "Let's just stick with Maya until I can come up with something better."
The following morning, Maya awoke to the smell of sweet breakfast food. She looked up at the table and saw a short stack of pancakes.
"I know it's not much but I figured you would like some breakfast before your first day of work." Farkle said.
"Of course." Maya replied. "Thank you very much, Farkle. And I suppose if you would like another name to call me by, pancakes should work."
"Pancakes?" Farkle replied with a chuckle. "Why pancakes?"
"It just feels right is all." Maya replied. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"No, I don't mind…pancakes." Farkle said.
"Cute." Maya said as she took a bit of her first pancake. "I don't mind it either."
AN: Hello again everyone! I am so sorry about leaving this story. I may not be able to update very often but I have a lot planned and I certainly do not want to abandon it. I'm not a big Markle shipper so I had some difficulty writing this chapter and hope it turned out okay. I know it's a bit short but hopefully the next chapter will be longer. I think we'll have some more Rucas in that chapter as well as Maya's first day as a seamstress. Thank you all so much again for reading!
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