1: The Eleventh Visitor
Series*
Shiine·etc*
General*
AftertheWedding*
I'm so excited! Mother and Father are coming to the castle to visit! It's been a while since we've seen one another, and now I can't wait to meet them again!
I forced my broom to pick up speed, and suddenly I couldn't hide my eagerness anymore. "I'm coming, Mother! Father!"
It was my turn that day to let Riiya ride with me, and inevitably, he fell. Unfortunately, he managed to hold on to the last strands of my broom with his claws. Cha-cha, however, followed me faster, and caught the little wolf dog just in time.
"What's with Shiine? He's acting so weird today," Riiya grumbled when he had already seated himself comfortably in front of Cha-cha.
"His parents will be visiting him today," Cha-cha patiently answered, always having a little more bit of understanding to that little wolf than to me.
Why does she always have to do that? Then I'm the one required to have a sensible mind.
Seeing that I was nearly out of sight, she carefully rose higher, and tried to catch up with me.
I can't let her catch me now. Humph. Let's see who'll get to the castle first...
As soon as I set foot on the terrace leading to the reception room, I completely forgot whatever there was to compete about. Instead, I turned around to wait for them to land. Then all three of us, after Riiya transforming into a person once more, went to the lounge to meet my parents.
"Mother!" Cha-cha exclaimed before we could enter. The Queen was standing outside to welcome us, and extended her arms as her little red hooded daughter ran towards her. I stopped to greet her Majesty, but Riiya continued to walk, went ahead all of us, and barged into the room we were heading for.
Two figures stood up as we approached them. One, a golden-brown haired, soft-spoken woman, and another, a strong, well built man having the same hair and eye color as I did. I recognized them immediately, and it was my turn to run towards my parents.
"Mother! Father!" I cried out excitedly as all three of us hugged one another.
"Shiine!" my mother exclaimed. "We missed you so much."
My father was the first to pull away from us. When all reunion was complete, it was only then that I saw who the other adults present were. Teacher Seravi and Miss Dorothy were sitting together on one of the wider furniture pieces, seemingly at peace with each other this time. Cha-cha's mother came to join her husband, and they watched everything that took place as they stood together near the room's window.
Three couples in a room. All married, I might add...not bad!
Riiya did not think of these things, though. The first and only thought that crossed his mind was food, and he was very lucky, since the first thing that he saw when he entered the room was also food! Forgetting how he must have behaved and what the purpose of the visit to the castle was...well, he always does...he dashed to the coffee table and consumed the plate of colorful cookies, Cha-cha's favorites to be exact, that the Queen baked for her guests.
Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five-four-three-two-one, I counted silently as he licked the few crumbs he carelessly left on the dish. Strange. Fifty-three milliseconds late. He hasn't broken his record yet.
Everyone was too sorry for himself or herself to scold the greedy boy, feeling they were short of teaching their young students and children of good manners. Cha-cha's mother, who looked as red as the hood of her daughter, got the empty plate and went towards the door.
"D-don't worry," she stammered, waving her hands with even the plate in the air, as if to say everything's fine. Despite this, she looked worried to all of us. "There's plenty of cookies back in the kitchen, and the servants can still make for Riiya, right?"
The latter's eyes grew literally wider and sparkled. "Great!" he exclaimed.
If I hadn't been able to control myself, I would either fall unconscious to the floor, or knock him unconscious to the floor.
"So," Teacher Seravi interviewed my parents, temporarily taking the place of the Queen as host while she was away longer than we expected. "What brought you here after a long time of no news from you?"
Father held Mother's hand, and answered. "My wife has had a series of illnesses over the past few weeks. "
"We consulted our doctor about this, and he advised us it would be better not to travel for a while," Mother continued. "Until I felt strong enough. When I finally recovered, the doctor announced that I was allowed one last trip, that he advised to be a few days longer than usual, for I would not be able to go back for a long time, if you know what I meant by that."
She addressed her last phrase to the King and our Teachers, who, like the three of us, didn't get it.
"Then we shall have to celebrate then!" the Queen announced at the doorway, returning with another batch of cookies.
A smile slowly spread across Teacher Dorothy's face. "Congratulations!"
The King and Teacher Seravi went to my father to shake hands with him. The Queen and Teacher Dorothy hugged my mother to no end.
I stared at Cha-cha, hoping to find an explanation from her, but she stared back at me. We're staring at each other! However, I realized what the true cause of our stares meant, and pushed the thought away. Another wild idea crossed me...No. It couldn't possibly be...
"Then that means," I said out loud to her.
Cha-cha understood at once. "Your mother is going to have a baby!"
"I can't believe it!"
We jumped danced around the room like crazy.
"Why? Are we going to have a party?" he asked. "Cool!"
For a moment, all of us stared at him, and countless sweat droplets filled the room. Then we fell down, feet up.
APotBiB © iced*