"What is this supposed to do for us?"

Wes walked close to Evie as the two of them made their way down to the training grounds. There was faint clanging in the distance from the knights' sparring as they left the castle walls.

"This is just supposed to help us figure out if it actually is Godfrey's birthday soon," Evie explained.

"Why do we have to do all this though?"

Evie sighed loudly. "You really have never schemed in your life, have you?"

"Not much scheming to do in Bellbury."

"Then you're not looking hard enough," Evie teased, eyebrows raised with a smile growing on her lips.

The two of them turned the corner, the laughing and taunting of the knights finally reaching their ears. The sight was very similar to what Evie saw when she was in the armory not too long ago. They all just appeared to be so comfortable with each other. They trusted each other with their lives in a way that Evie would never be able to understand, but she looked at Wes and saw his eyes. She could feel how much he wanted to understand, he wanted to be a part of this special brotherhood forged in the fires of battle. He was looking in through a window, seeing a glimpse of what his life could be.

Evie had to make this work, and make it work spectacularly.

A scruffy knight with long hair– that one must've been Enoch, the last living member of the Starvale family– caught a strike from the big, tall knight he was sparring with– Evie couldn't mistake the giant Ivor– with a clean counterparry when he saw the two unknighted individuals wandering into the grounds.

"Well, now," Enoch declared breathlessly, "what do we have here?"

"We brought snacks!" Evie smiled, holding out a plate of bread, cheese, and grapes for the knights to take from.

Enoch smirked at her, "Well, I never say no to free food."

"All right," Ivor said. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Evie told him, looking Wes in the eyes while she did so. "We just thought you all could use a break and some food."

"You're damn right about that," Enoch agreed.

As the Starvale knight reached for the food, Ivor lightly smacked his hand away, earning a brandy-colored glare from Enoch. Ivor tilted his head and sweetly said, "Godfrey gets first pick."

Enoch's face scrunched up. "His birthday is three days away still!"

Evie gave Wes another look, and he nodded as he probably realized that she knew what she was doing and he should listen to her more often because she knew what she was talking about.

"Doesn't matter."

Enoch's shoulders slumped forward as he whined, and Ivor threw an arm around him, patting the poor knight's back as he himself tried to hide a smile. Godfrey sauntered over, throwing Enoch a teasing smirk before happily perusing the selection of snacks.

"Happy early birthday," Evie told him, putting on her most innocent smile.

"Why, thank you," Godfrey smiled as he took a piece of bread and some cheese.

Wes seemed to have puffed out his chest a little bit and lowered his voice a little as he said, "So, ah, Sir Godfrey. What sort of strategies might you all be practicing?"

"Fuck if I know." Godfrey popped a piece of bread in his mouth.

Wes ran a hand through his hair, tossing it back after and continuing, "So you're not preparing a secret strategy to use against the rebellion?"

Evie's jaw unhinged slightly as her brows furrowed, wondering what in the world he was doing.

Godfrey shook his head, "Nope. Not without Theo. Instead we're taking a page out of Bar Boy's book."

Enoch had finally managed to break away from Ivor and presented himself to the two of them with arms wide open, flashing a mischievous grin. "Ah, yes. I am the king of what they call fucking around and finding out. You are in the presence of greatness, lady and gentleman."

"You keep telling yourself that," another knight– presumably Josiah Milmore, the final knight in Theo's inner circle– teased.

Enoch turned, made a face, then proceeded to return his focus to the food. He took an apple and bit into it. "So, kid, you wanna fight some rebels?"

"Of course."

"What for?" This smirk that seemed to be Enoch's trademark lingered on his lips as he taunted Wes. "The glory of battle?"

Evie was preparing herself for another dumb response, but Wes had a little flicker of fear in his eyes like he knew he would never be as cool as Enoch was. He gave a surprisingly normal Wes answer. "Honor and glory is fine, but I think what they're doing is wrong."

"So you believe in the monarchy?"

It felt like a trap. The rest of the knights had taken notice of Enoch's games by now.

"Absolutely." Wes sounded like he was trying to be confident, but the blatant interrogation was getting to his head.

Enoch inched closer, the look on his face moments away from causing Wes to drop dead of fright. The two came face-to-face, and Enoch put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm messing with you."

Enoch clapped him on the back so hard Wes slumped forward a little bit, and he faked a laugh. "Yeah..."

"Kid, you gotta chill if you wanna hang with us."

Wes's lips spread into a thin, forced smile as he sighed through his nose and stood up straight again.

Enoch turned his attention towards Evie. "And what might you be doing wandering around this desolate place, princess?"

"Oh, you can call me Evie."

"Nah," Enoch said, shaking his head and biting into the apple again. "I like princess better, it suits you more."

Evie nodded slowly. "Mkay..."

"So, as I said, what business does a girl like you have in a place like this?"

"I told you, I was just trying to do something nice for you hard-working gentlemen."

Enoch nodded, the smirk still tugging at the corners of his lips. "And the real reason?"

"I can assure you," Evie told him, "there's no other reason."

Enoch pressed his pointer finger to his lips, "No, you're usually busy doing something else... What was it Theo said...? Ah–" Enoch snapped his fingers, then pointed at Evie– "you're a reader."

Evie was unsure if this was a genuine suspicion of her intentions or if this was another game of his. Of course, she was dedicated to keeping this surprise birthday plan an actual surprise, so if she had to play along with Enoch, then she would.

"What drew you away from the books?" he asked. "Couldn't be one of our lovely faces, could it?"

"In your dreams," Evie smiled back at him.

Wes shifted uncomfortably a bit off to her side, clearly concerned that indulging Enoch would backfire and result in some horrible retaliation directed at him, but Evie held stares with Enoch, completely unafraid.

It paid off. The knight chuckled, taking another bite out of his apple. "Really, though. What about this little outing is more interesting than these books you love so much."

Wes inched his way closer to Evie.

The princess shrugged, "Maybe I got tired of reading about dragons."

Enoch's eyebrows raised. "Dragons? What like the kind that need slaying?"

"One and the same."

"Well, you've got your pick of knights in shining armor to rescue you, if ever in distress."

Evie's lips pressed into a thin line. "Don't get excited, I won't be needing you any time soon."

Enoch glanced over at the rest of the knights with a soft chuckle. "She flirts like her cousin."

Evie's brows furrowed aggressively. "That wasn't flirting." The statement came out sounding more like a question than a declaration. Wes somehow managed to move even closer to her.

Enoch's impish smile somehow grew wider. "Could've fooled me."

Wes cleared his throat very loudly. "So, you guys get to go on adventures pretty often, huh?"

Godfrey shook his head. "Most of the time we're just hanging around here training for some. Granted, the rebellion's resurgence has upped our chances to get sent off to war."

"Is that where the rest of the knights are?" Evie asked. "I noticed there's not too many around besides you guys."

"Yup," Josiah told her. "The knighthood is actually a lot more extensive than most people think, but, of course, everyone only sees the small arsenal stationed here. Theo's been knighting kids left and right to send off to war under the queen's orders for years now."

"We're lucky," Godfrey added. "The six of us– including Theo and Bastien– are too trusted to send out to the bloodbaths. The queen wants to keep her most trusted circle of knights here to protect Vale Serine, the royal family, and to train the newcomers."

"You send new knights to war?" Wes asked. "With their lack of combat experience? What, are they leading soldiers?"

Godfrey's head dropped for a moment as he sighed. "That's what happens when you're in a decade-long war. We're running out of experienced leaders. We make due with what we can, but the rebels have been decimating our ranks... and Valseras's strategies have been, well, shit."

Evie and Wes were a little stunned by the information, so Godfrey and Josiah left them to process. Enoch, however, was ripe and ready to change the subject.

"You know, in my experience the only place you need to look for adventure is in your own backyard," he told them.

"He said backyard, but he means bar," Ivor teased.

"Well, bars are fantastic places to find adventure."

"And by adventure, he means a brawl or a woman."

Enoch acted like he was going to slap the massive knight, but the violence threatened was never actualized. "If adventure is what you're looking for, follow us."

Evie and Wes exchanged nervous glances.

The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the small brick passage. Evie dedicated a decent amount of her stay to figuring out the layout of the castle and felt quite confident in her knowledge of the palace, however, she had never ventured into the servants' passages. Evie had absolutely no idea where she was, and based on Wes's face neither did he.

Enoch and Ivor seemed quite confident, though. The giant knight skillfully slumped his posture forward to accommodate the small passage. They never spoke about which path would be best, just making jokes quietly as they walked. Clearly they'd done this a lot.

Wes had that look in his eyes again, Evie noticed, that look of determination to join the brotherhood. The princess was sure he had convinced himself that joining this little escapade was his ticket in. She could nearly hear his thoughts as he tried to memorize the route or come up with quips to throw around or formulate a coherent yet effortlessly chill sentence. He was trying everything to make it seem like he belonged.

Evie, however, had promised herself that she'd smack him if he did that dumb puffy-chest, lowered-voice routine again.

"Here we are, boys," Enoch announced, then corrected, "and princess."

They had stopped in the middle of the servants' passage, which was empty and barren besides a small grate in the floor. The scent of baked goods was strongest at this location, so Evie peered down at the grate. Just barely, she could see the bustling of workers over boiling pots and fiery ovens, all adorned in white aprons stained with various types of baking and cooking ingredients.

"We're above the kitchen?" Evie's question came out more like a statement.

"Yes, indeed."

"Why?"

"That, dear princess, is the name of the game." Enoch reached for a rope with a little hook on the end of it. "Grab as much food as you can before big-hat down there yells at us."

Evie made a face and nodded slowly. "...And this is what you do for fun?"

Enoch's lips spread into a thin line as he shook his head, "You really are just like your cousin."

"It's a staple adventure in Vale Serine," Ivor added. "Haven't lived until you've done a kitchen heist."

Enoch lightly smacked Ivor's chest with the back of his hand, then pointed at him as he agreed, "And much safer than other heists."

"You, uh..." Wes's voice forcefully dropped in pitch. "...you pull other heists regularly?"

The smack delivered by Evie's hand was on another level compared to Enoch's, Wes's chest responding with a resounding thunk, and he made a little "oof" noise.

"You wouldn't mind showing us the ropes, would you?" Evie's lips spread into a smile as she felt Wes look at her while rubbing his apparently wounded chest.

Enoch answered with a mischievous little grin and a, "Sure thing, princess."

It was clockwork the way that the two knights sprung into action. Ivor removed the grate from its resting place gracefully with gentle strength, such control and purpose in every movement. Enoch fished a hook out of his pocket and quickly tied it to the end of a thin rope, pulling on it haphazardly to make sure it was well-fastened and prime for stealing food. Once satisfied, he beckoned Evie and Wes to come closer until they were leaning over the two knights, looking down the hole in the floor.

There was a clear path to the table below where several trays of varying foods sat. Of course, well within reach were small, cooling loaves of bread, and Enoch wasted no time lowering down the hook to snatch one. He left the hook to hover among the pots and pans hanging on a rack just above the food for a second.

During that pause, Enoch took a moment to look around and then whispered, "Clear."

Ivor nodded, staying silent and looking about as well, and responded, "Clear."

Enoch proceeded to lower the hook again, and within seconds he had fished a loaf of bread out of the kitchen. Ivor removed it gently from the hook and handed it to Enoch who immediately ripped off a piece and shoved it in his mouth.

"See, it's not that hard," he said with a mouthful of bread.

"The hardest part is making sure you have a clear path to the target," Ivor more helpfully offered. "A lot of the time it's just waiting for eyes not to be on the food."

Enoch nodded with a goofy grin on his face as he was still eating his piece of bread. Once he swallowed it, he asked, "Either of you wanna try it?" The knight held out the hook.

Evie wasn't quite sure she wanted to participate in this particular escapade. She was quite happy being a bystander observing the shenanigans, but she looked at Wes. He wanted this to work out so badly, and if it was for him... well, what was one piece of stolen food compared to her friend achieving one part of his dream.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Wes declared it first. "I'll try."

Enoch raised his eyebrows and waved the hook around, offering it to the knight-in-training. Wes looked a little– no, extremely unsure of himself at that moment as Enoch backed away with his bread and Wes stepped up to the hole. Ivor gestured for him to lower the rope, and Evie watched in silence.

Wes did just as Enoch did, stopping where the hook was hidden among the pots and pans, Ivor holding up a hand to motion when to stop. He watched the large knight scan intensely, waiting for a signal that he was good to resume.

"Clear," Ivor declared. "Check your side to make sure before trying to grab one."

Wes nodded, and Evie held her breath as he looked about. It was a few seconds of silence before Wes nodded again, this time to himself, and continued down towards the food.

There was a loaf of bread well within reach, and Wes was hovering near it... the only problem was he couldn't quite figure out how to get the bread stuck on the hook. Enoch, who was clearly the expert on the subject, stayed quiet as he watched and ate his bread in peace. Ivor did his best to offer small words of encouragement, but no actual advice was offered. Evie could only stand there because she certainly had no idea how Enoch did it so swiftly.

After a couple of failed attempts there was a small commotion coming from the kitchen. Evie looked between the two knights, who exchanged wide-eyed glances just a moment before a shriek erupted.

"GET YOUR GRUBBY WIRES OFF MY FOOD, YOU LOUSY THIEVES!"

Enoch immediately reached down to help Wes yank up the hook as Ivor simultaneously grabbed the grate and placed it back in its original resting place after everyone cleared it. The shouting from the kitchen continued with some very choice words and phrases directed at the knights who had bolted, leaving Wes and Evie to follow as best they could.

Yet, as they struggled to keep up with Enoch and Ivor, an idea flourished into existence in the princess's head. It just may have been a good thing for her to accept this lesson in thievery.

Chapter Intro: Thank You For Coming — WandaVision
Chapter Outro: Float — KT Tunstall