The Royal Wolff

Chapter 6: España Por Favor

The flight wasn’t all that bad once I managed to get over the fact that I was pretty much nowhere near home already. That was after around five hours of me endlessly staring at the window and internally praying there would be some kind of airplane trouble and we’d have to go back to the JFK airport, but by that five hour mark, I knew if there was any problem to come up, JFK would no longer be the closest airport to come back to.

It was game over.

“Chin up, you loser. We’re going to have an awesome time there!” My brother said constantly, at least every hour, and the only thing he changed was the very endearing nickname he gave me.

“And the best part is…” He turned to me with his eyebrows going up and down.

“What?” I asked, although it didn’t really matter to me. I’m sure nothing could take this feeling of missing home away, but I was still curious.

“All-” Mathieu’s eyes widened at me.

“The-” He inhaled sharply.

“Authentic-” Smiled like an i***t.

“Spanish-” Bit his lip like some kind of p*****t. Weirdo.

“Food!” He squealed like a little girl and if the people we weren’t sitting with in the business class weren’t too busy with their rich people things, I’m sure they would have turned around and looked at my i***t brother judgingly.

“You are so embarrassing.” I told him before rolling my eyes at him and pulling the airplane blanket up my head to cover myself.

Mathieu let out an evil chuckle. “You can’t deny it, though. I can already taste all the Spanish food we’re going to have everyday.”

“Look! Just look!” He continued to annoy me, pulling the blanket off my head.

He grabbed one of the magazines on the table in front of us and started waving it in front of me.

“Croquetas! Albóndigas! Leche frita!” He flipped the pages of the magazine while constantly shouting out the names of the food on the pages and exaggerating sounds you make when you have good food.

Well, one thing he was right about was that all that food looked darn good. Oh shush, stop it, Anita. Don’t let yourself get sucked into Spain because of their amazing food! Oh, but look at the way that Jamón Serrano (cured ham) is perfectly sliced into thin, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Ah! Stop. I knew my mom’s unusual craving for Spanish food when Mathieu and I were still in her stomach would someday bite us back, but I wasn’t going to let it win over me!

I slapped the magazine Mathieu was practically shoving to my face away from me then gave him a death stare. “Let me sleep, brutto (ugly).”

I didn’t give him a chance to react or say anything else as I put my headphones on and the blanket back up to my head and turned around. I pressed play on my playlist and with one last look at the sky outside, I closed my eyes and let the world around me disappear.

-

“Gracias por volar con nosotros (thank you for flying with us).”

Right after hearing a man’s voice, most likely the Captain, speak up, I felt Mathieu nudge my side. “Wake up, nincompoop, we’re here.”

“Ugh.” I groaned displeased before pulling down the blanket and taking off my headphones which I realized were no longer even playing any music. I wasn’t sure when it stopped since I fell asleep faster than you could say ‘Mathieu is annoying’.

“I can’t believe you slept throughout the entire flight and even the landing. Woman, you are a ridiculously heavy sleeper.” He commented while shaking his head in disapproval.

“No wonder you always sleep through your alarms.” He chuckled loudly in an evil tone and this time all the people around us who were busy with their things no longer were so they turned to my brother with very judging looks.

It made me laugh and my brother’s cheeks turned slightly red. “Nice going, brutto. Way to give a first impression.” I teased him and he scoffed at me.

“Whatever. It’s not like we’ll see these people again, anyway. Hmph.” Mathieu stuck his tongue out at me and now it was his turn to be annoyed.

We really do complement each other too well. I chuckled to myself.

Eventually, it was finally time to step out of the plane and the first thing I noticed was the weather and how pretty warm it was, even warmer than in the city. I immediately took off my jacket and placed it back inside my luggage.

“Do you two have a ride to where you’re staying?” Uncle Marco suddenly appeared next to us after we stepped out of the plane.

It was nice to still see a familiar face and to know that he was looking out for us.

“We do, yes. Our cousin who lives here will be picking us up.” Mathieu responded before he took his phone from his pocket.

“If he actually shows up on time, that ghoster.” I added, looking around the area to see if there was anyone else familiar.

Magnus wasn’t really the most reliable one when it came to, well, things you needed to rely on him for. He was a year older than us yet he acted much more carefree, but we didn’t entirely put that against him. Somehow, we knew the pressure of being the heir to the Alpha title and his father said that he understood this point of life in his son because he went through the same thing even though he was younger then.

“Oh, yeah. Still no replies to my texts.” Mathieu chuckled awkwardly.

Sometimes, it would be nice if he could become more serious once in a while though.

“Well, I have about an hour left until the flight back. I can ask someone I know around here to drive you wherever you need.” Uncle Marco told us reassuringly.

Mathieu and I glanced at each other for a quick second.

Should we ask him? Mathieu linked to me.

I don’t know… Why not? I replied.

It was weird to ask for a favor especially when the two of us had been used to not doing that. Independence was a big thing in our household. Which is probably one of the main reasons why I am the way I am today.

Mathieu cleared his throat and just before he was about to speak up, his phone started ringing.

“It’s Magnus.” He said before picking it up.

“Wait, you’re here already? Why didn’t you reply to my texts?” I raised a brow at the conversation they were having and was making a wild guess in my head.

Magnus was probably asleep the whole day and rushed to the airport which is why he couldn’t find the time to reply to any of Mathieu’s texts. Now he is most likely telling us to hurry up because he is now late for another thing he has to do.

“Okay, we got to go. Magnus is apparently in a hurry.”

Ding ding. I was right. Typical Magnus.

“Oh, that’s great you two found your ride then. Take care of yourselves, alright?” Uncle Marco gave us a quick hug and we thanked him for his kindness.

“Oh and don’t even worry about your parents. Those two will enjoy their time.” He said with an insinuating tone and wink and Mathieu and I cringed at the same time.

“Too much information, please!” I commented as I pretended to cover my ears and we all chuckled.

As we walked away, I turned back around, seeing Uncle Marco making his way back to the plane. I couldn’t help but think… At least he was going back home to New York.

“Bienvenida, bienvenido, una y todos (welcome, welcome, one and all)!”

As soon as we got out of the waiting area, we spotted Magnus already making a scandal out there. Based on his just-got-out-of-bed look; his usually wavy hair looking even messier, wrinkled sweatpants, and socks that didn’t even match, this guy is the complete opposite of our Alpha.

“Mis primos favoritas (my favorite cousins)!” He instantly pulled both of us in a hug and the stench of man’s deodorant instantly took over.

“Favoritos, not favoritas. And they say my Spanish was terrible. Haven’t you been living here since first year of high school?” I looked at him with a raised brow.

“Ahhh, there goes Anita the critica. I missed you too.” He shot me a cheeky smile and I narrowed my eyes at him.

That nickname was given to me by him a long long time ago when we were kids. We were playing a quiz type of game with the other kids back in the pack and Magnus and I were competing for the championship.

It was the last question and he answered it just literally a millisecond faster than me, but I noticed there was a slight deviation from his answer. I told the referee which was Dottore Angelo back then and he agreed. Magnus could have been the champion if not for that so until now, he hasn’t let it go, and I doubt he ever will.

“So, what was it? Did you party so hard last night that you couldn’t wake up?” I asked him and he was taken aback by my sudden straightforward question.

He let out a sheepish laugh. “Hey, it’s the land of the Fiesta. Can you really blame me?” He shot me a smirk and I huffed at him. “Anyway!” He put his arms around Mathieu and I’s shoulder.

“Shall we get going? It’s about half an hour to my place, but that’s if I drive insanely fast and I don’t really want someone snitching on me to my old man.” He cleared his throat and side-eyed me a little, implying that I was the one he was talking about.

“Hey! I don’t snitch!” I instantly objected and gave him a punch on the arm.

There are things that I let slide by because I could consider it not worth my time and breath, but calling me a snitcher is not one of those.

“Ouch, what the- Have you been boxing or something? Jesus, Anita, your punch felt like a man’s.” Magnus looked at me in horror while massaging his arm.

“Oh don’t be a baby. I’ll take that as a compliment though.” I smiled at him mockingly and he was getting ready to talk back at me when Mathieu slid in between the two of us.

“Okay, alright, geez. Not even ten minutes in Spain and you two are already close to biting each other’s heads off.” Mathieu said while pushing the two of us away from one another. “Chill out, Mags. My sister isn’t and never will be a snitch.” He told Magnus who didn’t look all too convinced.

“And you-” Then he turned to me with an ‘our parents told us to behave’ look. “Dire grazie a nostro cugino (say thank you to our cousin).” He said and I was about to demand a reason to do that when he looked at me with widened eyes and spoke with his teeth gritted. “Dire grazie (say thank you).”

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and let out a deep exhale to calm myself down.

“Grazie cugino (thanks cousin) s***h future Alpha. Where will we be without you?” I said rather sarcastically.

Magnus clearly wasn’t amused. “That’s not even a real thank you!”

Yeah, that’s because you don’t deserve a real one. I almost said that out loud.

“Well would you look at the time? You’re going to be late for your other thing, Mags! We should really get going. Más rápido, más rápido!” Mathieu once again got in between us before wrapping his arms around both our shoulders and dragging us out of the airport.

The car ride was surprisingly not as awkward as I thought it would be, but thanks to the music and Mathieu continuously talking about boy stuff with Magnus, there was not a dull or silent moment. At least for them.

How many freaking soccer teams are there that they just never run out on what to talk about, anyway?

I chose to distract myself by looking out of the window and taking in my surroundings. So far what I have gathered is that this place was massive. There were about the same number of people you would see back in New York, but the big difference was the exterior of the place.

Every building you passed, every corner, things were more… cultural-looking. It wasn’t any modern glass structure, no tall skyscrapers, just a bunch of what they call, Catalan Architecture or Modernisme, which were one of the few things I learned from Mia.

The further we got into civilization, the lesser cars there were as well. More people walked around the streets and they looked completely different from city people. They looked, how would you say - more carefree? Honestly, us New Yorkers have quite a bad reputation for looking unapproachable. Key word: unapproachable. We just seemed snobbish because of the fast pace in the city, but we wouldn’t entirely bite. Some of us.

Here, the people looked like you could accidentally spill coffee on them and they’d be the ones to apologize for being in the way. In other words, I was insanely culture shocked.

“I looked the same way when I first got here three years ago.” Magnus commented, and I instantly turned to him.

“What? What do you mean looked the same way? What way?” I asked curiously.

“You know - shocked, confused, and a whole lot of curiosity. You’ll get used to it. And yes, the people are crazy nice here as long as you don’t talk bad about FC Barcelona because if you do, you will no longer know peace.” Him and Mathieu chuckled and agreed.

I had zero knowledge on soccer so I couldn’t relate, but there was one thing Magnus said that somewhat stuck to me.

“You’ll get used to it.” The words echoed in my head even until we reached our place and I wondered if what he said was true. Will I really stop feeling as if I don’t belong here?

“No way, this is our place?!” Mathieu shouted out in disbelief and rightfully so, as we stood in front of a tall white, brown, and gray historic mansion-cottage. It looked like it came straight out of an architect's digest for Royals.

It was a mix of modern and the Catalan architecture I saw on the way here and nature all in one. Stunning, really, like entering Alice in Wonderland’s garden but you were also the Queen of England. Perhaps she stayed here? I wouldn’t be surprised because I didn’t even know we owned such a place. Then again, we have properties all over the world, three-fourths of that I don’t know either.

“Yes indeed. Keys.” Magnus handed us a set of keys hanging from a keychain and one fancy-looking golden key card.

“Keys are all labeled to where they open. The gold card you swipe once you enter any room then it turns on all the electrical gadgets. Don’t lose them, please. Not that it costs much, but it takes about a week to get it made again since everything here are special locks. If that happens, best believe it’s your ass that will go through all that effort.” Magnus warned us and we both nodded in agreement.

He rang the doorbell and in a few seconds, a lady dressed in a long dark blue dress showed up. “Sir Magnus, welcome home.” She said in a soft tone before bowing.

“Martha, meet Anita and Mathieu. My cousins that I told you were staying here for a while. Guys, meet Martha. She’s pretty much the headmistress here and there are three others. They stay in the other cottage by the pool house.” Magnus said before walking inside and Martha took his keys and other belongings.

“What is this, Downtown Abbey?” I turned to Mathieu confused and we both chuckled.

“Laugh it off, you two, but maintaining this place isn't as easy as you think. It might not be common in the US to have a maid, but it is here. In fact it is highly encouraged to help with employment as well.” Magnus looked at us with that ‘I know better’ look and I clenched my fists tightly, stopping myself from punching him again.

“Well, I can’t really give you two a tour right now because I am almost late for my other thing, but if you don’t mind, Martha can show you guys around or just bring you to your rooms already.” He told us before asking for his belongings back and she instantly gave them to him.

“Oh, wait. Are you feeling energetic, Mathieu?” He turned to my brother with a curious smile and my brother did the same as well.

What in the world is this male interaction going on right now? I stood at the side awkwardly, not knowing how to process it.

“I think I’ve still got a few hours in me.” Mathieu replied and Magnus tapped him on the shoulder.

“Atta boy, let’s go have some fun. You’re going to meet some of the boys in the team.” Oh, that’s what was going on. Soccer again.

The two boys were walking away when Mathieu stopped and turned to me. “Wait, are you going to be okay here? I can stay if you want. Maybe we can just look around the neighborhood tonight.” He asked in a soft voice as he looked at me worried.

“Psh, I’ll be fine. I’m not a wuss.” I reassured him with an eye roll and he shook his head, chuckling lightly.

“Good, but if you need me for anything at all, just call, okay?” Mathieu insisted and I nodded my head continuously.

“Yes, yes. Have fun, losers.” I scooted them out of the door and the second they were gone, I let out a deep sigh.

Now what?

The million dollar question.

It was nice for my brother to make a proposition like that, but he should know me well enough that the last thing I would do is accept a helping hand. This independence of mine is going to get me one day, but whatever.

“Um…” I walked towards Martha who was swiping some dust off of the table.

“H-hi.” I said shyly, unsure of how to approach her. We had some helpers who came over sometimes back at home, but they didn’t dress in full attire such as this, so I felt awkward.

“What is it, my lady?” Martha said in a thick accent while she smiled at me, her eyes brightly lit up.

My lady? Oh Moon Goddess, I definitely need some time to adjust here.

“Uh… do you know any places nearby where you can, um, I don’t know, relax?” It was the first thing that came to mind.

It seems deep down inside I just want to find somewhere peaceful and I can be with my own thoughts.

“Oh, yes! Sàrria-Sant Gervasi, perfect! Do you drive?” Martha replied so enthusiastically I looked at her, blinking my eyes while processing what she had just said.

“Sant- what? I- I don’t drive, no. Need to learn first.” I replied, chuckling awkwardly.

“Oh, no problem. Santino is here! He can drive you. Come.” Martha hurriedly motioned for me to follow her and before I could actually realize what was going on, she had directed me to the back of the house where the garage was.

My mouth hung open at the sight of various cars parked.

“Are these…”

“Sir Magnus cars. All his. He loves cars.” Martha exclaimed before walking away and I saw a slightly older man in a uniform once again.

They started talking in a volume I couldn’t hear, but the man who was apparently named Santino kept looking at me with a small smile which made me feel less tense. He seemed nice.

“Anita, Santino. Santino, Anita. He will take you to Sant Gervasi. He knows all the amazing places. Trust him.” She smiled widely. This woman seemed like a very happy person.

“Oh, okay, okay. Gracias, Martha.” I thanked her before carefully entering the matte black car which Santino led me to.

I didn’t have much knowledge about cars, but I am pretty darn sure this was not cheap. It reminded me of the times my mom used to tell us our dad was obsessed with expensive cars, but that was all thrown out of the window when he met her.

“Just sit back and relax, Señorita Anita.” Santino suddenly said as he smiled at me from the front mirror.

When the gates opened and we drove out, I felt slightly nervous because of the feeling of uncertainty. First night out in a country I wasn’t familiar with all alone? Damn, Anita Wolff, you are really kicking it up a notch here.

As we drove further in and the night lights filled the streets, I decided to roll down the windows. The feeling of the cool breeze instantly awakened me and when I looked up, the stars were so alive in the night sky.

I smiled and thought to myself…

Oh Spain, por favor sé amable conmigo (please be nice to me).”