Miranda walked out to the parlor and sighed as the rain continued to pour down. She began to wonder if she should've approved James and Amber going out. She shook her head, maybe later the weather would clear and her mood would brighten up.
A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she turned to see Roland standing behind her. "Rollie?" She asked, wiping her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I have some down time," Roland said, embracing his wife. "What's bothering you, Miranda?" He asked getting directly to the point. "I've never seen you so… depressed."
"I'll be fine, Rollie," she said, not wanting to tell him about anniversary of her husband's passing. She didn't want him to think she didn't love him; but her heart still ached at the memories of Birk. "Really."
Roland studied his wife, but didn't press. She would probably tell him when she's ready. "Alright," he said, kissing her cheek. "Just know that you can tell me anything, Miranda. I love you more than the sun and the stars combined."
Miranda closed her eyes tightly, holding back the tears. She loved Roland and both of his children very deeply, and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their relationships.
"Your Majesty," Baileywick called. "You're needed in the throne room."
Roland sighed, looking at Miranda one last time; there was a pleading look in his eye that made Miranda feel guilty.
As soon as he was gone, Miranda broke into tears. She wanted to tell him so badly, but she was torn between hurting him and keeping it to herself.
WS
Sofia and James were putting up decorations in the ball room. "You sure this will cheer her up?" Sofia asked, tying another balloon together.
"Positive," James said, trying to steady himself as he finished putting up a ribbon. He hopped off the stool and smiled. "Done!"
"Now it's time to find Mom and Dad," Sofia said, running out with James. It wasn't hard to find Roland as he walked out of the throne.
"Hi, Dad," the children said stopping in front of him.
"Hello, Sofia, James," Roland said, smiling at them. "What seems to be the rush?"
"James and I wanted to invite you to our party we're throwing," Sofia explained excitedly. "Family only!"
"That sounds wonderful," Roland said happily. Then his smile faded as he looked the way his wife probably was. "I have to go check on your mother, first."
"Mom's invited too!" Sofia said happily. "Can I go get her?"
"Well," Roland said hesitantly. Miranda wasn't one to stay away from a party, especially if it was hosted by her own daughter. "Okay."
Sofia clapped and raced off to go find her mother. She found her staring out the window, watching as the rain continued to pour. "Hey, mom?" Sofia asked, walking toward the Queen. At first there was no response, which puzzled her a bit. "Mom?" She asked again, placing her hand on her mother's shoulder.
Miranda turned, weakly smiling at her daughter. "Hello, Sofia," she said softly. "What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing," Sofia replied, pulling gently on her mom's arm. "Just throwing a little party for the family. Dad's in the ballroom waiting for us."
Miranda's eyes darted to one side at the mention of her husband. She didn't want to pass up the opportunity for the majority of the family to be together, but she also didn't want her Rolie pressing. Deciding to spend time with her family, she got up and followed Sofia.
Sofia happily led her mom to the ballroom where everyone was waiting. The music started playing as soon as mother and daughter entered. Miranda immediately put on a smile as she looked around. Roland came up behind her and embraced her. It was all she could do to keep the smile on, but inside she wanted to curl up and cry somewhere.
No one seemed to notice, though, as she and her husband danced around. The children did the same, although James broke off to get something to eat.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. "Baileywick!" Roland called.
"Right away, Your Majesty," Baileywick said, not needing to be told what to do.
Roland turned back to his wife, only to see her looking out the window again. "Expecting to see someone out there?" Roland asked teasingly.
Miranda smiled slightly, but didn't laugh much. "No. Just… remembering…"
"Remembering what?"
Before she answered, Baileywick returned with a tanned skinned, soaking wet girl with dragon wings around herself; she also wore a green dress and a reddish white pendant with a white dragon in the center. "Your Majesties," he said. "Princess Leila of Gondra has arrived."
"Just Leila is fine," Leila said, shaking her head. "Sorry for the intrusion, but I got caught in the rain. Would you mind if I stayed and waited it out."
"Not at all," Roland said, his arm going around Miranda. "We would be delighted to have you, right, Miranda?"
"Of course," Miranda said. Leila looked at Miranda curiously, but then quickly turned to Sofia and James.
"Hey, you two," she said, waving from her position. Sofia waved back, walking toward her.
"Let's get you out of these wet clothes," Sofia said, dragging Leila by the hand.
"Okay, okay," she said, quickening up her steps a tad before opening up her wings when they reached the foyer. Leila's wings flapped a couple of times, and before they knew it, they were in the air; circling the staircase. They startled Violet as they flew over the balcony and dropped.
"No flying in the castle!" Roland called last minute.
"Sorry," Leila called back.
"Come on," Sofia called, dragging Leila toward her room.
"Okay, okay," Leila laughed.
"Here," Sofia said, picking out a dress. "You can wear this."
"No offense, Sof," Leila said. "But, I'm about your mom's height. Your dresses are too small."
"Right," Sofia said, flushing a bit from embarrassment. "Let's go to mom and dad's room, then."
"As long as they don't mind the intrusion…" Leila said hesitantly. "I could just dry off here, but I don't want to leave any scorch marks behind."
WS
Roland waited a few minutes after Sofia dragged Leila away; then James went to find Rex. Once James was out of sight, he walked to his wife again. She was standing by the window, looking down at the floor. "Remembering?" He asked, his arm wrapped around her again.
Miranda sighed a bit, not turning to face him. This concerned Roland a bit, but he was still just trying to probe. "Miranda," he said softly. "What's bothering you?"
"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm just a bit tired."
"Heard you had an early morning," Roland said, beginning to massage her shoulders a bit. "One of the groom's said the Pegasus I got you was freshly groomed when he was beginning to groom the horses."
Miranda tensed a bit at the mention of that. She hoped that he didn't know about the cemetery visit, because then she would have to spill everything. After a moment of silence she sighed. "I'm really tired, Rollie," she said affectionately. "Can we discuss this later?" She added silently, much later.
"Of course," Roland said, kissing her head. "As long as we discuss it later."
"Thanks," she said appreciatively. "I'll just be taking a nap."
"Rest well," he said, reluctantly releasing her.
Miranda smiled softly then turned and walked out of the room. Roland sighed, wishing Miranda would tell him what was going on.
WS
Miranda walked slowly to her room, fighting hard to keep her tears inside. She gasped when she saw Leila, who was still soaked, and Sofia by the door. "What are you two doing here?"
"My dresses are too small for Leila," Sofia said. "So, we were hoping you could let her borrow something?"
"Nothing fancy," Leila quickly added. "Just something plain and simple."
"Well, I'm sure I have something," Miranda said, opening the door to let the girls in. Leila stood by the fire while Sofia went to the couch. Miranda came out a minute later with a simple light purple dress that was slightly tattered, but looked like it would fit Leila.
"Nice," the Princess said, taking it and putting it on behind the blinds. "I would dry off myself," she explained to the Queen. "But, I'd rather not leave scorch marks everywhere."
Miranda had barely heard a word that the Dragon Princess had said. Instead, she just looked at the flames, gazing at the flickering dance.
"Mom," Sofia said, placing a hand on top of her mother's. "Are you okay?"
Miranda looked down at her daughter's touch, then tried her best to put on a smile. "Fine, sweetheart," she replied. "Just tired."
"Better leave your mom to rest," Leila said, coming out with her clothes on her arm. "We can play a game of chess if you want."
"You're on!" Sofia said happily, jumping off the couch and running out.
Leila walked out, but paused at the doorway. "Be careful how you handle this," she said.
The Queen looked up at her quizzically. "What?"
"Nothing," Leila replied, walking out. "Hey, Sofia! Race you down the railing!"
Miranda shook her head, brushing off the older woman's words. She laid down on the couch by the fire and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Little information on Leila: Princess of a dragon based land called Gondra. Eldest of three, on sibling is dead and the other is a thorn in her side. She can be prickly at times, but does have a sweet personality. She also has Dragon powers. Such as being a pyrokinetic.