MY LITTLE PRINCESS

BIRTHDAY

It has been months now since Loralei came to the Oldenburg household and her birthday is coming near.

After learning of her birthday, the mansion became more busy trying to come up with plans for her birthday. There were many plans submitted like a surprise birthday, simple birthday that only consists of those in the mansion, a grand birthday inviting many people showing off the only heiress of the house, even a family vacation abroad to broaden the relationship between the father and daughter. People inside were all looking forward to that event without Loralei knowing it.

"Uhm, Lucy? What happened?" Loralei asked as they both sat on a picnic mat under a shade of the tree while rubbing Nalla's head as she fell on slumber.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked back not understanding the little girl's inquiry.

"People were always watching me and smilling. Some were whispering with one another and if I ask them, they just escape and run away from me. Did I do something wrong?" She innocently ask which made Lucy smile at her.

Even though the kid is still a kid, her perceptions are up to point. Staffs are watching her to know what she might like because they are thinking of what to gift her. Even the plan for the birthday party is still under discussion, they are still thinking of what can make the little miss more happy for celebrating that special day. The worst is that they run away from her because they literally have no confidence that, if the girl questioned them, they can lie to her. Just seeing her questioning expression or curiosity within her eyes, any person will just spat out whatever truth there is and in order to avoid her disappointment if they ever had the guts to lie, they just scatter away at her approach.

"Well, maybe they are just busy? You know, since your father came home, they are all busy doing their works." Lucy tilted her her as she watch her every reaction.

"Didn't you now sleep with your father every day? Why not try asking him?" She added as she remove a leaf on the head of the girl. The girl lay down beside the female puppy as she look at Lucy near her.

"But he's busy and busy means busy. Lory will just wait for what happen, then. I can wait." The little girl suddenly yawn as her eyes flutter.

"Do you want me to bring my nephew again so you can play together? You will not be bored if he is here." Lucy once brought her nephew on the mansion thinking that Lory may need someone close to her age to play with. Red is the son of her only sister and sometimes Lucy herself takes care of him. He is 3 years older than the little miss making Loralei look at him as a big brother.

"Hello. Nice to meet you, my name if Lory" Lory, just standing there beside Lucy, said when she first saw Red.

The boy just stared at her with his amused face.

"Aunty? Is that a talking doll?" His eyes were switching from his aunty to Lory.

"Lory is not a doll. See?" The girl pinch her own cheeks and strech it showing him that she is real.

But the boy's eyes grew more wide at her action. He reached out to her and pinch her nose checking if she's breathing.

"Ey! Ay hent bweeeet!" Lory lightly held his hand pinching her nose as she complain about how she can't breathe.

Since then, whenever Red came, they will both spend their time together and play. He will tell stories about the outside and what he do with his friends and Lory will listen to him eagerly. She will follow him every where calling him 'brother' while he matches her pace when they take a walk around the garden.

"Okay... I miss brother Red, too." Lory replied in a small voice as her eyes totally closed entering the dream world.

Lucy grabbed a blanket from beside her and covers the little miss with that. Simba, who is busy chasing a butterfly a while ago, noticed Loralei suddenly lay down so he, too, nudge beside her and took a nap.

It was a peaceful afternoon in the Oldenburg household again.

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"What do you think, sir?" Sebastian asked as he laid out files in front of him. Albert read each file seriously and eagerly. After reading all five proposals in front of him, Albert pinches the bridge of his nose.

For other people it may looked like he is in the middle of a hard decision for the company, but, in reality, he is deciding on what to do or what to plan for the kid's birthday.

"Do I even have to do this? Can't you do this by yourself?" Albert grumbled while dejectedly looking at Sebastian.

"As a father, don't you think it is nice to decide for this kind of things? Or are you planning to exclude yourself from the joy of her first birthday preparations?" The man replied as he tried to hold his smile from the young man in front of him.

"Aren't women good at these kinds of things? Why not just ask Lucy or the other maids?"

"They want to celebrate the little miss's birthday, yes. But to plan the event themselves, they don't want to take the joy of it from you, her own father." Albert just sighed and tried to remember things about Loralei, the times they are together, and analyze her actions in correlation to her likes. And after stitching things and thoughts together, he gave Sebastian instructions of what to do and what the decorations or theme will be.

"Is it better to invite special people only or to broadcast her existence in the social world?" Albert asked as he tried to narrow down the list of invitees.

"Only you can answer that. Do you want to set her out to the world and make them know of her existence or do you want to hide her under your wings until she can live on her own? As a person beside you all this time, I cannot tell you what to do or what not to do you already went through that phase with the late miss. And I know, that you can make the decisions you will not regret again."

Albert's eyes showed sadness for a short time but then regain his composure. He tried his best in the past, yet, made a wrong decision which led them with great heart break and life being lost.

"In business, yes, I can do that but not now. I am not that confident myself to make decisions especially when it involves Loralei. I can't have a hidden variable with the result of harming her or worst, losing her, too." He buried his face on his hands as he breathed out harshly remembering how he lost Anne with a wrong decision.

Albert didn't answer anymore. He knew, more than anyone else how much Albert suffered after losing Anne and not knowing the variable known as Loralei not until few months back.

"She's stronger than you think she is." Sebastian's last words made the master to sigh deeply as he tried to compose himself once again.