Gold Blood

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - Phoenix
    "Happy birthday!" Nixon yelled running into Phoenix's room. Groaning Phoenix opened his eyes and yawned. "Wake up sleepy head," he yelled again.
    "What time is it?" Phoenix asked pulling his blanket up to his neck. He rolled over and placed his face in the pillow.
    "It's 9 in the morning, mom brought breakfast," Nixon replied grabbing the blanket and yanking it away from Phoenix. He groaned again and rolled off the bed. Phoenix stumbled towards the closet and grabbed random clothing off the shelf and pulled it on. When he returned to the room his mother was there with a large tray with breakfast on it.
    "Happy birthday," the Queen smiled brightly at her son. She set the tray down on his desk and walked over to give him a hug. Hugging tightly Phoenix smiled. He loved his mom more than anything.
    "Thanks mom," he replied letting her go and walking over to where his breakfast sat. Phoenix grabbed a strawberry off of a plate and popped it into his mouth. A letter sat on the edge of the tray with Phoenix's name on it. He grabbed the letter recognizing his father's handwriting and he opened it. Quickly his eyes scanned the letter and he rolled his eyes. His father wouldn't even come wish him a happy birthday. At this point Phoenix no longer cared what his father did. He had stopped acting like a father a long time ago and by now he was use to it. Silently they all grabbed food off the tray and found places to sit around the room.
    Phoenix heard a tinkling laugh from across the hall and he longed to go over there. He loved Acelynn's laugh and he knew that he would recognize it anywhere. He glanced towards the door and was tempted to go and invite her to breakfast. Deciding against it he grabbed another strawberry and pushed it into his mouth. His mother moved away from her seat in the corner and walked towards the door. Confused Phoenix followed her with his eyes. She opened the door and reached around the corner, she bent over and picked something off the floor. A small box wrapped in gold coloured wrapping paper was in her hands and she walked over to Phoenix presenting the gift to him.
    "Thank you Mom, you know you didn't have to," Phoenix told her warmly. She shook her head and smiled softly at her son. He took the box from her hands and carefully unwrapped the box. Under the wrapping paper was a ebony box with gold detailing along the lid. Gently he lifted the lid off the box and a silver dagger stared back at him. He picked it up easily in his hand and felt the weight in his palm. It was a beautiful dagger and he smiled at his mom.
    "Do you like it?" The Queen asked. Nodding his head quickly he placed the dagger back into the box and pushed the lid into place. Phoenix stood up and gave his mom a large hug. She hugged him back tightly before letting go and grabbing piece of fruit off of the tray.
    "Thank you," Phoenix said nodding appreciatively at his mom, she smiled back and glanced towards the clock.
    "I must be going, I have to get ready for your party tonight. I hope you have an amazing birthday my dear. If you need anything I'll be in my room," Queen Isa smiled one more time at her eldest son and then turned and walked out of the room.
    "Happy birthday Phoenix, I think I'm going to go as well," Nixon told him, he turned on his heel and walked out the door quickly.

Acelynn
    "Your hair!" Brianna howled loudly with laughter. Groaning Acelynn turned towards the mirror to see what her hair looked like. The cloth pieces were still in her hair but it was frizzy and the pieces were sticking in every direction. Acelynn starred in the mirror for a moment longer before she burst into laughter. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she laughed.
    "Please help me," Acelynn pleaded in between laughs. Brianna rolled out of bed and made her way towards Acelynn. She pushed Acelynn down into a chair and started fumbling with the knots in the cloth. Her nimble fingers slowly untied the knots and pulled the cloth out. Acelynn's long blonde hair rolled down her back in tight ringlets. By the time they were finished both of their stomachs were growling and Brianna was complaining. Moments later there was a knock on the door and two trays of food were brought into the room. Squealing with glee Brianna ran over to the first tray and snatched it from the servants hands.
    "Thank you," Acelynn told the servants with a laugh. They nodded their heads at her with small smiles on their faces. The servants let themselves out of the room and the girls started shoveling the food into their mouths.
    "This is amazing," Brianna mumbled through a mouthful of food. Acelynn shook her head with a laugh and popped an apple slice into her mouth. One thing was for sure, the palace got the best fruit ever. All of the fruit tasted so good and it was all fresh.
    "What time is the party tonight?" Acelynn asked.
    "7:30 on the dot, try not to be late," Brianna answered sarcasm dripping in her words. Acelynn rolled her eyes and glanced towards the clock, she had plenty of time before she had to get ready. She ran her fingers through her new ringlets and sighed happily.
    "We should go say happy birthday to Phoenix," Acelynn whispered pushing her tray towards Brianna who eagerly started eating the leftovers.
    "Let's do it," Brianna replied shoving the last of the apple slices in her mouth. They both stood up and glanced down at their clothes. "First we should probably change," Brianna laughed and dragged Acelynn over to the closet. They pulled on long pants and baggy long sleeves.
    "Let's go!" Acelynn ordered eagerly. She grabbed Brianna's hand and pulled her towards the door. Brianna followed pulling back slightly on Acelynn's arm. Finally they reached Phoenix's door and Acelynn knocked eagerly. She couldn't wait for the party tonight and to see Phoenix.
    "Hello?" Phoenix said answering the door. Seeing Acelynn and Brianna his hands flew to his hair and he quickly tried to fix his messy hair.
    "Happy birthday!" Acelynn exclaimed a large smile on her face. She reached forward and gave Phoenix a large hug. Brianna smiled behind them and mouthed happy birthday to her old friend.
    "Thanks," Phoenix replied letting Acelynn go. "Want to come in?" Phoenix asked opening the door and stepping back so they could come into the room. Both of the girls entered the room and sat on his bed. Phoenix closed the door and walked over to his desk.
    "Any plans for your big day?" Acelynn asked.
    "Just the party tonight," he answered sitting down on his desk chair.
    "Do you have any family birthday traditions?" Acelynn questioned him moving around so she could lay on her stomach. She placed her hand under her chin and rested her head on it.
    "Not really. I eat breakfast with my mom and brother in my room and that's about it. I get a letter from my dad every year and it almost always says the same thing. I guess you could say that's a tradition,"  Phoenix replied shaking his head. "Do you have any?" Phoenix asked politely.
    "We get up at really early and we watch the sunrise together, and then we just spend the day together," Acelynn answered a wishful look on her face. She missed her family. She moved her free hand towards her ear and felt the 3 earrings from her family.
    "What are those from?" Brianna questioned noticing the earrings.
    "In my family, when there is going to be a big change we get an earring to remind us of what we had and how what we're going to have is going to be good," Acelynn explained kindly. Brianna and Phoenix nodded their heads and thanked her for telling them her traditions. The trio continued to talked about their families and how each of them grew up. Before they knew it it was lunch and all three of them were hungry.
    "What do you guys want to eat?" Phoenix asked them leading the way towards the kitchen.
    "Can I make us lunch?" Acelynn replied eagerly. She wanted to eat something from home and she knew that the palace cooks wouldn't be able to make it the way she was able to.
    "I'm sure we could ask, I don't see why you couldn't," Phoenix replied pushing the door open and holding it for the two girls. Acelynn nodded her head in thanks and Brianna followed suit.
    "Miss Celia, do you think that we could cook ourselves lunch today?" Brianna asked walking towards an older lady standing in front of a pot. Miss Celia glanced up quickly and looked towards the three of them.
    "Fine by me as long as you don't start the palace on fire," she replied stirring the pot in front of her.
    "Thank you!" Acelynn beamed happily. Moving around the kitchen she quickly gathered all the things she was going to need while Phoenix and Brianna watched her intently. Phoenix stood behind her and watched as she placed multiple pieces of bread in a large pan with melted in the butter.
    "What on earth are you making?" Phoenix probed. He watched as she placed cheese on top of one piece of bread and placed another piece of bread on top of that.
    "A grilled cheese sandwich," Acelynn replied flipping the sandwich over so the other side could brown. She glanced back at Phoenix who had a confused look on his face. "Have either of you ever had a grilled cheese sandwich?" Acelynn sputtered.
    "I have no idea what that is," Brianna replied sounding confused. Phoenix nodded his head in agreement.
    "Just wait, you guys are going to love it," Acelynn hummed. Phoenix and Brianna continued to stare at her as she finished cooking the food. She rummaged around the kitchen to find plates and placed two sandwiches on each plate. Eagerly everyone grabbed a plate and bit into the food. Acelynn watched her friends facial expressions and smiled.
    "This might be the best thing I have ever tasted," Phoenix complimented. Brianna mimicked his expression and gave Acelynn a thumbs up. Acelynn grinned at both of her friends and took a large bite out of her sandwich.
    "We need to go get you ready for the party," Brianna finally noted standing up and taking her plate towards the sink. Acelynn followed her lead and placed her plate on top of Brianna's.
    "I'll see you later Phoenix!" Acelynn bubbled sprinting after Brianna who had already left the kitchen. Acelynn heard him chuckle before the door closed behind her. They made it to Acelynn's room in record time with Jana entering the room moments later.
    "Your hair looks amazing!" Jana gushed twisting one of the blonde ringlets in her fingers. Acelynn blushed and smiled at the young maid.
    "All thanks to you," she replied kindly. This time Jana blushed and looked away from Acelynn. Jana quickly got to work taking some curls and pinning them at the back of Acelynn's head until it was in a intricate updo. They left a few curls around Acelynn's face out and they hung perfectly framing her face.
    "I have to go get ready, I'll see you at the party Ace!" Brianna called out bounding out of the room. Jana shook her head with a laugh and watched as the door swung closed.
    "Where did you grow up?" Acelynn asked gently as Jana spread eyeshadow on Acelynn's eyelids.
    "I actually grew up here at the palace, my mom worked as a maid for the queen and my father was a blacksmith in town," Jana replied casually, she continued her work on Acelynn's face softly humming to herself.
    "That's really interesting," Acelynn commented hoping to learn more about her story.
    "Yeah, it was for awhile. When I was 12 they were killed in a raid and I didn't have any other family. Queen Isa had heard about my from my mom and when she found out about my family she tracked me down and offered me a job as one of her personal maids. I was too young to be a maid for anyone else, they wouldn't have wanted me. The Queen practically raised me, and now I only serve those who she wants me too," Jana elaborated explaining her story to Acelynn. Acelynn nodded her head softly and she looked up at the young maid in front of her.
    "I'm truly sorry for your losses," Acelynn whispered softly to her. Jana nodded in thanks and moved away from her face. Acelynn looked into the mirror and smiled at Jana. "Thank you so much!" Acelynn squealed jumping out of the chair and wrapping her arms around Jana. Jana laughed in surprise and squeezed Acelynn in her arms.
    "Let's get that dress on!"