The Veltina Sisters

Chapter 25

Camellia idly rubbed the top soil as she tried to smooth out the dirt above her newly planted sunflowers. Recently she had felt an urge to add a new set of flowers to her garden and had chosen sunflowers after much deliberation.

She could already imagine how beautiful they would look after they bloomed right next to her rose bushes.

After using her handkerchief to wipe the sweat that had begun to gather on her forehead, she grabbed a nearby bucket filled with water and brought it closer to her plants.

Retreating a few steps, she pursed her lips as she tried to concentrate. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breathes, as she listened for the call of her element. Feeling the cool energy of her element surrounding her, Camellia slowly opened her eyes and stretched her hands forward.

Feeling her mana slowly leave her body, Camellia gently called out to her element and slowly levitated the blob of water from the bucket. Moving her hands slightly, Camellia divided the blob into several tiny blobs of water and with a swoosh of her hands, rained down small pellets of water onto her flowers.

Releasing the last drop of water, Camellia allowed her hands to drop to her knees as she bent over to catch the breathe that was stolen from her. After giving herself a few minutes to adjust to the feeling of her mana leaving her body, she raised her head to look at her freshly watered plants.

Straightening out her posture, Camellia dusted the dirt off the dirt stuck to her dress and admired her work.

With every thing that had been going on lately, Camellia was happy that she had taken the time to care for her garden. The last time she felt anxious, she had neglected her plants and almost allowed all of her hard work to be destroyed.

With a small sigh, Camellia allowed her mind to wander. In a few days both she and Carmine would be meeting their betrothed. On the bright side, she finally knew who her betrothed was. He was the third son the Callisto household. Camellia wasn't sure what to think of him as she had never heard of him before. But then, there weren't many people that she had heard of.

With each passing day, Camellia found herself becoming more nervous. She couldn't help but think negatively.

"What if he doesn't like me?"

"What if I'm not what he expected?"

"What if he's a mean person?"

Thoughts such as these continuously took up space in Camellia's mind and she often found it difficult to concentrate. She knew that she was overthinking things, but somehow she found it difficult to stop. It was as if her mind was against her, determined to see her fall.

No amount of comfort could calm her. As the days went by, the feeling continued to grow stronger and stronger. Camellia often felt as if it would swallow her whole. This feeling, a monster of its own, continued to cloud her mind and smother her.

Wiping her sweaty palms on her dress, Camellia vaguely wondered what her life would be like in the future. Since Carmine was going to marry into royalty, there was a good chance that Camellia would inherit the land from their mother. Which would mean that she would have to take over from her mother in the future.

Camellia wasn't opposed to the idea at all, in fact she found it slightly comforting. It was similar to a safety net, in a way. With this, she didn't have to worry about what she wanted to do after graduating the academy. She could take comfort in the fact that a path was already outlined for her.

No matter how much she admired her sister's ambition, Camellia found that she couldn't mimic her sister's way of thinking. All she wanted was peace and stability.

Standing back, Camellia gave her garden one final glance. With a nod of approval, she turned and set off for a bath and change of clothes. Around this time Carmine should still be busy with her classes, so Camellia figured she had enough time to visit the library afterwards.

Ever since she had learned about the different kingdoms from her mother, she had been studying them with great interest. She was especially interested in learning about the kingdom her father was born in. Unfortunately, she didn't know what town he grew up in, so she couldn't read up on it, but she figured she could just ask about it when he returned.

Everything about the kingdom of Klein was so different from Etherion; the people, the food, the culture. With every chapter she read, she felt closer and closer to her father.

She finally understood why, although she looked so similar to her mother, she somehow looked different from the maids and others serving in the estate.

Reading up on the kingdom of Klein served as a great distraction from her impending engagement meeting.