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The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

Aria blushed as she hurried after Ben. She could imagine them together, traveling and being free and happy, but for Aria that would mean leaving the safety and love of her home. Drawing up next to Ben, Aria glanced at him before speaking in an off handed way, trying not to seem too interested,
"So, is there a girl on the island you may ask for her ribbon? I'm sure you saw a few yesterday at the beach... Or I could introduce you to a few." Looking ahead at the winding road leading to the cliffs, Aria shrugged non-nonchalantly,
"All the single girls here would gladly be the sweetheart of a man like you."

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

She yelped and caught the flour in her already powdered face, but before she retaliated she picked up the empty roll tray as a shield. Peeking over the pan, Aria nodded,
"There are two reasons people go there. Romance, and to cliff dive." She lowered the pan for a moment,
"There are caves and a shipwreck when the tide is low. When it is high tide, the boys cliff dive and you can swim around in the caverns." Smiling brightly Aria got excited again,
"And sometimes there are dolphins! They go into the cavern and play with the swimmers."

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

She raised an eyebrow at him then looked back down and the rolls,
"The men here want a quiet, meek girl. Someone who wants to be a housewife, tame... I'm not tame." Aria quieted down as Rosa rushed into the room,
"Rolls! I need rolls!" She grabbed the basket and breathed a little easier,
"You two are making good work. Clean up and you can go off about your day." Aria smiled and immediately covered the leftover dough and set the final tray in the oven. As Rosa left, Ari had a sudden idea. Taking a handful of flour in her hand, the young woman ran around the counter and flicked the powder into Ben's face,
"Surprise!" She laughed and skipped backwards,

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

"The Moon Festival." Aria said as she pulled a tray from the oven and immediately put two more in before turning to put dough on an empty tray,
"Our ancestors were banished from the mainland for not accepting the common religion, they worshiped a sun god and moon goddess. They came here, and by chance realized it is shaped as a crescent moon. Believing it to be the moon goddess taking care of her people they settled here and every since then there has been a festival to commemorate the day of arrival." Aria took a breath and started into the next bit of explaining as she dumped the first load of rolls into a basket to allow time for the pan to cool before putting more dough on it,
"Unmatched men wear blue; for blue moons, and unmatched women wear white; for the full moon, but they have a blue ribbon." Motioning to her's, Aria continued,
"During the evening, the men try to get the ribbon from the girl they like, by asking or performing something for her. The girl can either accept or refuse... It is how many couples are formed here. When the man gets the ribbon from the girl, he ties it around his wrist and wears it to tell the others that he is taken. Then, at midnight, if the couple are serious about their relationship, they go to the beach and kiss under the moon." She shrugged and ;looked at Ben with a one sided smile,
"At the end of the night the village gathers in the square and dances until they can't anymore. Mama calls it dumb, but it is how she and Papa began their relationship." Her smile turned into a smirk,
"No man has ever gotten my ribbon."

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

Aria had always been awful at baking, and she was embarrassed when Ben came in, she knew she was coated in flour. Luckily for the festival she had worn a white sundress but the heat in the kitchen was causing her hair to curl slightly, some locks springing loose of the blue ribbon holding her hair back. Looking up with a frustrated look on her face, Aria wiped her forehead with the back of her hand but only left a smear of flour there. She was covered up to her elbows in the white powder even as she set a tray off to the side to be put in the oven, before Aria could say anything though, Rosa walked in.
"Mr. Chase, I need you to fold these napkins," She said, setting a stack down on the table in front of some baskets to carry the rolls.
"Tonight is the festival and everyone is expecting these rolls to be there!" Rosa said walking out of the kitchen to prepare something else. Aria rolled her eyes as she kneaded more dough,
"You don't have to fold them, Rosa always thinks the world will end if her rolls aren't accompanied by napkins."
"

Two Winter Souls {Yoyo and WhiteLily}

That's fine, I understand. So, wanna talk plot?

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

The next,morning Aria was kept far longer than she would have liked by her mother. She was set to clean the house and was about to be given a bucket to weed the garden when her father scoffed,
"Let her go Caterina, can't you see you've made the girl suffer enough." Aria's mother opened her mouth to protest, but Aria had already crossed the room to kiss her father on the cheek and was out the door,
"I will see you tonight at the festival!" She called, running down the road and into the town, Going up to the hotel door, Aria stepped inside and was immediately greeted by Rosa who directed a groaning Aria to the kitchen.
"I have rolls to make for tonight! You have plenty of daylight to go play! I will send Mr. Chase to meet you, now get baking!" The older woman pointed to the counter where a large bowl was set waiting to be filled with dough. Aria let her head drop back and groaned loudly, dragging her feet to start making the rolls.

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

Aria blushed as Ben kissed her hand, his lips were warm on the back of her hand and it ended all too soon. At his question, Aria bit her lip but nodded,
"I will be by in the morning, Mama will need help in the kitchen but then I will come to you." She let her hand linger in his before pulling away,
"The hotel is two blocks that way," She pointed as she took a couple steps back, not wanting to leave, but knowing she had to,
"Tomorrow we will go to the cliffs, and tomorrow night is the festival. Wear something blue," Was all that Aria said before turning away and jogging out of the yard. Once out in the open Aria felt as though she could breathe again. Ben's presence was intoxicating to her, and she wanted more. The run home helped to calm the young woman and clear her head enough to make up a viable excuse for her lateness when she arrived home, and was promptly scolded by her mother for being so up in the clouds as to lose track of time on the beach. She couldn't tell her parents about the attractive man from far off places, not yet at least.

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

She nodded and went back to him willingly their bodies pressing together again. Wrapping her arms around him, Aria ran her fingers through Ben's hair, letting him lead her in the dancing. She wanted to stay like this, she didn't want the day to end. It had been one of the greatest days of her life and with the coming night Aria knew that her mother was waiting for her at home, Papa was probably pretending not to worry but he was sitting in his chair, rocking a little more aggressively than usual. All too soon the music began drifting away to an end.

The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

She laughed and her face flushed as Ben allowed her to be so close, with his hands on her. His eyes were amazing, they really were like a window to his soul, a soul that had seen so much and held many stories to share. As the music slowed to a romantic guitarra piece, a man's tenor voice rising and falling in traditional Italian with the song, Aria broke eye contact and looked over her shoulder, disappointed that the lively music didn't continue. It was different now, but she didn't want to move from Ben's touch, with his hands on her bare waist, the way they fit together they were like puzzle pieces meant for each other. Blushing, Aria moved to take a step back,
"We can sit this one out," She said reluctantly, hoping he would say no and pull her close again.