The Hell Princess Diaries

Chapter 20 - edited

        I stare at the woman. My mother. Her hair is blonde like mine, but a shade lighter with brown highlights. Her eyes are hazel with a ring of brown around them. She has freckles on the bridge of her nose, like me. Our figures are similar with her the same height as me. I guess I know why I'm so short. I think to myself. She's wearing black jeans and red shirt with a black vest over top with her army boots that are just like mine. She looks like a younger version of my grandmother.

        "Mom?" I ask her still staring. She smiles at me and nods her head.

        "It's me, Livvy." She says quietly. I laugh at the nickname she and my father used to call me.
        
        "How are you here?" I ask her. "Your dead. Everyone said you were dead." I gape at her, not understanding how she was here.

        "You're right, I am dead. With the help of a witch, a ghost can astral project to the human world. So I came to see you." She says with a smile.

        "Why did you never come see me before?" I ask her.

        "The key words in what I said are 'human world'. Where you were was far from human." She says with a sad smile. "I wanted to see you, but I couldn't. I missed you so much, your father too. Your grandmother told me how you were but it wasn't the same. I'm so sorry I missed you growing up. But you have obviously grown up to be a beautiful young lady." She has tears in her eyes and it breaks my heart.

        "It's not your fault mom. I've been fine. Dad took good care of me." I say quietly.

        "How is your father?" She asks and a spark of some emotion passes her eyes.

        "He's good. He's extremely overprotective towards me." I say with a small laugh.

        "Well, you are his little girl. He was like that as soon as you were born." She smiles and I see the same emotion pass over her eyes again, but this time I recognize it. It's love. She looks around the room, as if just remembering there are other people around and her eyes land on Ransom. "Who is this young man?" She asks me.

        "Ransom, ma'am." He says quietly and bows a little. My mother laughs.

        "No need to bow, we're not in the palace." She says laughing, then seems to realize what his name is. "Wait, your Ransom? My goodness, you're all grown up too. I remember when you were just a little thing still in diapers." She says causing him to blush. Leave it to my mom to embarrass someone, even if she has been gone for sixteen years. "I see you and Livvy have stayed friends. You two were inseparable from the moment you met." She laughs, me and Ransom both blush this time.

        I hear Christian laugh at our red faces and I glare at Christian. He stops but still smirks. My mom turns to him.

        "And who is this fellow?" She asks.

        "Christian, ma'am. I'm one of Liviana's guards." He says politely. My mother nods her head. Then looks back at me.

        "So which one is your boyfriend?" She asks with a grin on her face. My eyes widen and face flames.

        "Mom!" I say with a high pitched voice. I hear Ransom choke and turn to see his face turning red like mine. I hit his back, trying to help him stop choking. "Are you okay?" I ask him and he nods, still coughing too much to talk. Then I hear Christian laugh and turn towards him to see a cheshire cat grin on his face which I return with another glare. Turning back to my mother I see my grandmother, behind her with a hand on her mouth trying to contain her laughs. "Neither of them are my boyfriend." I say to my mom. My face still burning.