Nuela's Red

TRQ (Version II) | Chapters 4, 6, 9, & 12 (Red)

Chapter 4

"It wasn't fair!" the little boy complained. "You cheated!"

"I did not," the girl argued, crossing her arms. "I covered you in slime just like you said."

The light-haired boy growled. "I said the theme was nature."

"You find slime in nature!" she said, bringing out her arms for emphasis. "I could find a slug and there would be a trail of slime following it; are slugs not in nature?"

"This is the weird human-manufactured slime." The boy was starting to turn red in the face, which was adorable to see on a four year-old child. "Besides, you had your eyes open."

The girl rolled her eyes, brushing red strands away from her face. "No, I didn't. You're just mad that I won the round, like usual."

"Because you cheated!"

The girl and boy would've gone on arguing for hours on end if they didn't hear the familiar voice of the king say, "Enough! You two can have a rematch at a later time."

The girl's face lit up when she recognised him. "Tata!" she shouted happily and ran towards her father and mother who were just walking into the clearing in the forest where the girl and boy were playing; the Elven rulers trailing close behind, looking for their son. The boy followed her lead, except going to his own parents.

"Hello, Red," her mother cooed, giving her a giant hug, the tips of her blue and amber gown getting dirty in the mud, but she didn't mind.

Red smiled and hugged her father, too, who asked, "What were you two arguing about this time?"

"Red cheated when we were playing SAD," the boy explained, and Red rolled her eyes.

"No, I didn't, Salvatore is just mad that I won," Red defended herself before fulfilling the urge to add, "again."

"I can see that you clearly lost," Salvatore's father said, running a finger through the sparkly red slime that covered his son's hair and shoulders. "Let's get you cleaned up before dinner, shall we?"

* * * *

The wiccan and elven royalty went back to the Mysticalian Palace and got cleaned up. Red was used to this, her mother and father meeting with Salvatore's parents for some strange reason, leaving the two children "alone" together to play. Though they weren't really alone. Nature spirits were always watching them, making sure they didn't get into any trouble, and kept them safe.

Now, they were eating dinner together, Red and Salvatore sitting opposite each other. Red was poking and prodding at her food, hardly taking any bites whereas Salvatore was about ready to ask for seconds.

Like the slob he is, Red thought in her little four year-old mind.

"Did you two have fun today?" Queen Elgiva asked after wiping her son's mouth. "Besides someone supposedly cheating."

They both shrugged, which is as to be expected of little children.

"It was fun pelting Salvatore with slime," Red elaborated, taking a very small bite of her salad. Then with a tiny smirk, she added, "even if I cheated."

Salvatore's eyes widened. "I knew it! You did cheat."

Red tried to hide her giggle, and the parents laughed. Salvatore was the only one that didn't find this amusing.

"We are so having a rematch later," he declared.

After a few more minutes of chit chat traded between the adults, everyone quieted down, and there was an awkward silence with the exception of forks clinking against plates.