The Midnight Princess

Chapter Two

It was the night we were celebrating Mother's birthday, and all the food was laid out to enjoy. Calantha was fidgeting with her fork, disappointment in her eyes.

"Callie, what's wrong?" I asked her when Mother had left the room to fetch some candles.

"You promised you would bring home a flower for Auntie..." she mumbled, holding her cheek in one hand.

Something snapped in my mind, realizing the flower Brandon had promised had never come. That liar...

I squatted down so I was at eye level with her. Calantha's hazel eyes were glassy, near to crying. "Callie, I'm really sorry I couldn't get the flower for Mother. I tried, but I just couldn't."

I took the tiny girl into my arms and hugged her tight. "It's alright, Callie. You being with us is the best gift you can give to Mother."

Calantha nodded her head silently. I rubbed her head in an attempt to soothe her.

Mother soon came back with the candles. Callie and I took them and placed them on the cake. I then lit it, watching the flames dance on the wick as Mother sat in a chair right in front of the cake.

Once everyone was situated, we sang a quick happy birthday to Mother, showering her with kisses and hugs. Calantha seemed to cheer up afterward, thank the stars, but she still kept looking at the flower vases we had scattered around the house. She probably wished she could have given the flower to Mother.

After all, if it wasn't for Mother, Calantha would have probably been dead.

Calantha is the daughter of my mother's brother. I don't even want to address him as my uncle. He was a great man once, always helping out in the town. But when he met his horrid wife at a brothel and the edge of the border, everything went downhill for him.

My mother's brother began to engage in disgusting activities with his wife. He became an alcoholic, drinking up to ten bottles a day. He would often smoke mysterious plants in order to "go to another world" as he calls it.

When he by the house one day with his wife, he went on and on about how the both of them would get down and dirty every night in the sack. It was horrendous the words that would come out of his mouth.

There was no surprise when it was revealed his wife was pregnant with a child. However, the new parents wished for a baby boy, but the stars didn't align for them. They were "cursed" with a baby girl. Unsatisfied, they were going to kill the child by throwing it into the fire.

My mother was horrified when she learned what her brother was going to do. She begged him to spare the baby's life and instead give it to her to raise. He did not care what would come of the child, and it was his sister he was dealing with. Therefore, Mother took the baby in and raised it like her second child. She named the poor girl, Calantha.

What was interesting is the fact I was almost named Calantha when I was born, but my father had chosen a much prettier one. Mother would tell me that if she had another girl, she would have named her Calantha.

I myself am so grateful Mother begged with her life to save another. I can't think of a world without my cousin in it. That's why I completely understand why Calantha wanted so badly to give Mother a present.

I was helping Mother clean up while Mackenzie played with her dolls under the kitchen table. There was an serene silence between us.

"Why was Calantha upset earlier?" Mother asked out of nowhere. "I heard you tell her being with us is the best present she could give to me."

A ripple of shock went through my body as I froze. "Uh...I said that?"

Mother raised an eyebrow. "I'm a mother of two children. I see everything, I hear everything, and I sense everything. What happened?"

Knowing there was no way of escaping the situation. "It was the reason why I was at the palace," I began quietly. "Calantha wanted to get you a Middlemist Red for your birthday present."

"You mean my favorite? Don't tell me Calantha heard the rumors going around that the palace has every flower in the world."

"She did. And she asked me to go to the palace to get it for her. I don't know what possessed me to listen to her, but I went. But the rumors were true. I saw it myself. The palace garden had Middlemist Reds."

Mother's eyes widened. "You're joking, right?"

I shook my head. "No. That's how I got caught by the guard. But he agreed to delivering a flower in a pot to us by today, but it never came..."

I felt my face turn glum. "I let Calantha down by putting my trust into someone I barely know."

Mother softly smiled and pulled me into a hug. "It's alright, Kira. Like you told Calantha, you two being happy and healthy in my life is the best present I could ask for."

Calantha saw us and whined, "I wanna hug Auntie, too!"

Laughing, Mother and I stretched out our arms and invited the girl to join. She promptly accepted and came into our little family circle. We all hugged it out, smiling and giggling.

Mother squeezed us tight and sighed, "You guys are the best thing to have ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Our little moment lasted a while until there was a banging on the front shop door. Mother gave me a bewildered look. "Who could it be this late at night?"

Mother rushed to the front door, quickly unlocked it, and gasped when she saw who it was. I followed after her and when I saw too, my stomach sank.

"Good evening, Miss. We apologize for interrupting your night, but is a young woman by the name Yuki Himekana living here?"

Standing there in the doorway were two of the castle guards, clad in their familiar gold and white armor. The one on the right held a scroll in his hands. I could hear the faint noise of neighing outside.

Mother slowly nodded her head. "Yes, and I am her mother. What business do you have with my daughter?"

"We have come to deliver something that was requested from you," the soldier on the left answered. "It is a strange one actually, making us come all the way for a flower."

The solider handed Mother a pot. Her eyes sparkled when she received it. There in front of her was the Middlemist Red.