"Evie!"
The call of the name rang out into the mid-morning air, catching the attention of one young maiden that sat out alone in the middle of the royal Altean garden. She sat amongst flowers and shrubs, her dainty hands playing mindlessly with a wilting daffodil.
Her bright cerulean eyes snapped up to find a handmaid calling her name, and she quickly brought herself to her knees and waved an arm to make her location known.
"Ah! There you are, Evie!" The maid called, her face lighting up. She lifted her apron and skirt carefully before beginning to make her may to the girl who sat, quite literally, in the center of the muddy garden.
The girl continued to play with her plants as the maid approached, her skinny young form sinking back down into a sitting position. She was a maiden of perhaps ten years of age, with long, elegant, wavy blue tresses that fell down her back, which was clothed with a light green imperial gown. Her skin was a delicate milky color, only tinted in certain spots, like her cheeks, forehead, and upper arms, where the fall sun had caught her. Her brilliant blue eyes held a certain feel of curiosity, a trait that matched her quiet, yet inquisitive personality perfectly.
It was such a nice day, probably one of the last of the season. Rain had fallen almost perpetually for the last month, making the ground soft and green. Long sleeves now needed to be worn, seeing that winter was now well on it's way. A chill ran through the air even as the young girl sat in the sunlight, but she loved being outside, especially in the garden behind the castle where she now resided.
"Princess Evelyn Gweneth, now look what you've done!" The maid practically threw her hands up in the air at the sight of the girl sitting right in a mud patch, no blanket or anything to protect her very royal garments from stains. "It'll take me weeks to get the dirt outta that dress, yes it will!"
"You're always so dramatic, Bretta," the princess chuckled, looking up to meet the dark brown eyes of the older women.
"I swear Zelda will have my head for this!" Bretta continued to fret. "That's the third dress you've soiled this week, Evie! And you know how badly your mother wants you to start acting like a Lady. Are you trying to make me lose my job?"
Evelyn could only giggle. Bretta had been her personal handmaid for years now, and she always knew exactly how to blow situations way out of proportion. They both knew that neither the Queen nor the King would be cross with the Princess, both being too kind and too gentle to care for such superficial things.
"Well I suppose it's a good thing that my mother is away then," the young girl played along. "She cannot be angry with either of us if she isn't even here to know about it. And besides, father doesn't even have the capacity to be angry with me."
Bretta scowled at that response, frustrated with the lack of respect she was receiving. The handmaid put her hands on her wide-set hips and tilted her head to the side.
"That is no way to speak to me, young lady! I have dressed that bum of yours since you were a babe, and just because you are growing up into your royal title does not mean you can just stay in the garden all day, dirty yourself, and then talk to me with such tongue," Bretta's patronizing tone wasn't anything new to the Princess. She knew when the handmaid was starting to lose her patience.
"Calm down, Bretta," Evelyn smiled innocently. "I apologize, I was just making a point. That's all, I swear." And then the Princess was rising to her feet with a few flowers in hand, and sure enough, the hem of her skirt hung caked in mud.
The handmaid could only shake her head.
"Here," Bretta held out one hand in front of her, "Lemme take those. There'll no place for you to put them once you've gone inside."
Evelyn complied, placing the long stemmed plants in the older woman's hand.
"You still have yet to tell me why you've come to fetch me from the garden," the young girl pointed out, clasping her hands behind her back. "Where am I needed?"
"Ah yes, all of this dirty clothes nonsense has distracted me!" Bretta motioned the flowers towards Evelyn's lower-body. "Your father wishes to speak with you immediately, m'dear. It was something about a carriage ride as I recall."
"Is he in his study then?" the Princess asked as she started to walk away, her feet heading towards the castle's back entrance.
"I believe so," the handmaid clarified. "And don't be gettin' all the palace rugs as soiled as your skirt! Be careful!"
But Evelyn was already distracted, only waving a hand in mock acknowledgment as she quickly made her way out of the garden. Her dress felt heavy under her, but she didn't care, and the she was soon picking up her pace to a light jog. Once inside and past the exterior guards, Evelyn went into an all out sprint. She loved running, even if she had to bear the weight of a useless imperial outfit while she did it. Nothing ever compared to the freedom she felt flying ahead at full speed, the feeling of her pounding heart in her young chest barely noticeable. The guards didn't say anything or even glance when the princess ran by them in a fit of giggles.
Soon she stood before a great door, embellished with intricate wood detailing, that separated her from her father. In one quick motion, she was opening the door with two hands and peeking her head through to the other side. Sure enough, Marth sat at his desk, his eyes downcast toward one of his countless books.
"Papa," Evelyn murmured, not wanting to disturb him. "You called for me?"
Marth looked up immediately when the girl spoke, his eyes lighting up at her presence.
"Yes, lovely. Please come in," his tone was gentle and fond. The princess instantly ran to his opening arms and buried herself in his embrace. She noted his smell, which was always a constant aroma of clean Altean grass and a muskier scent that was unique to him. Evelyn loved his smell more than anyone else's.
"When is Mamaí coming home?" The girl mumbled against her father's chest.
"Soon, Edelweiss, I promise," Marth reassured, rubbing his daughter's back lightly and soothingly.
'Edelweiss' had become the King's pet-name for Evelyn when she had still been a newborn. Travelers from far and wide had come to help celebrate the young Princess's birth the summer following her spring announcement. Royals from neighboring and far away kingdoms presented or sent extravagant gifts to the babe, ranging everywhere from golden jewelry to handmaid clothing. The finest present, in Marth's opinion, though, was a bundle of tiny white flowers sent from a friendly Germanic Queen, who lived on a mountain not too far to the east. Her kingdom was small, but she was known for her peaceful ways and nature-loving habits. The flower was Edelweiss, explained as meaning 'daring and noble courage,' which was what the mountain Queen hoped the gift would bring to the new baby girl as she grew.
From that point on, Marth had adopted the name to his daughter, hoping it would give her strength and hope in times of peril and loneliness. Every year following, the same flower came to Evelyn in the summer. It sat on her windowsill until winter came, its wooly petals wilting slowly with the season. She loved the flower to no end.
"Mamaí loves you very much, you know," Marth continued, one hand lovingly stroking the back of his daughter's head. "She just needed to take this trip on her own."
"Why is she always so sad this time of year, Papa?" Evelyn whispered. Her father sighed, tightening his hold on the girl subconsciously.
The King and Queen had long ago decided to keep the details of Caleb's kidnap a secret from Evelyn. It would be too painful and frightening to explain to a child that she would probably never meet her older brother. But as Marth held onto his daughter now, trying so desperately to remember what his first child had felt like in his arms, he couldn't help but think that he owed her the truth. She was such a sweet girl and so mature for her age.
"Do you remember me telling you once that Mamaí lost something a long time ago, something that she'll never be able to get back?" Marth murmured into Evelyn's hair. The princess nodded lightly. "Well it was actually several things that she lost."
"What were they, Papa?" Evelyn's voice was barely above a whisper, as if she were scared and hesitant to voice her curiosities.
"One of them was her homeland," Marth's voice sounded just as unsure. "She had her own kingdom before she ruled alongside me. It's where she spent most of her life, and she hasn't been back there in a very long time, so that is where she is going now."
"Why did she leave there at all?" Evelyn looked up into her father's cerulean eyes, finding them conflicted.
"It is a long, sad story, my love," Marth confessed, casting his eyes down. "And I promise that I will explain all of it to you someday, but I do not think it is appropriate for right now."
Evelyn nodded weakly, placing her head on his chest once again and thinking about how badly she wanted to understand her mother's pain. She was such an empathic child, and it pained her to see someone she loved so hurt. She knew better, however, than to push her father for information. The king had never been one to reveal many secrets.
"Her other great loss was a child," Evelyn's eyes widened at that. "He was a boy named Caleb and he was taken from your Mamaí and me when he was only a couple years younger than you are now."
Thick silence hung in the air for a few moments before the princess spoke.
"I… have a brother…" was all Evie could say. Her voice was unreadable, somewhere caught between hushed surprise and underlying worry. Marth couldn't tell if he should continue or spare her the rest of the details.
"Yes," the king finally spoke, gently pulling his daughter's face back to meet her gaze. "You were born a few years after his disappearance, and we chose to keep this from you in hopes of keeping your life free from worry."
Evelyn's eyes were big and cautious, her eyebrows furrowing together only the slightest bit and Marth moved one hand to her face to smooth his thumb over the small crease forming between them.
"Please don't fret, precious," the king soothed. "You are perfectly safe here with me. Caleb didn't have the protection that you do." Again, Evelyn nodded, and then she looked away from her father, her face softening the slightest bit.
And although the information was a lot to take in, Evelyn's mind seemed to be more at ease than before. It all made sense now. Why her mother never wanted Evelyn out of sight, why her father felt protective and overbearing, why she always felt watched, why her mother emotionally distanced herself, and every other strange part of her life was all because she was the second child. She was the second chance, the one they had brought into the world to ebb the pain of losing the first. And she really didn't blame them; the way they had acted and continued to act made so much more sense now.
"Do you…miss him too, Papa?" The princess asked hesitantly.
Marth gazed at her for a moment, wondering how after learning of a long lost sibling, his daughter could still want to know about his pain. This girl was a wonder within herself.
"I do, love, yes," his throat almost choked with emotion. "But I see so much of him in you." And it was true. His son had been so young and carefree, and there would be times when Evelyn was running through the garden that Marth would see Caleb again in the wheat fields, his feet bare and his smile bright.
Evelyn smiled then, her teeth shining, and she brought both of her small hands up to touch her Papa's face, gently pressing into the wrinkles by his eyes and mouth. He smiled down at her and thought about what a wonder she was, about how blessed he was to have her.
"I love you, Edelweiss," the king murmured, kissing his daughter's head lightly.
"I love you as well, Papa," Evelyn answered, her face brightening once again.
Marth had always felt a strong connection to his daughter, and it may have just been that their personalities were compatible, but the king liked to think it was because she was meant to be his daughter. That somehow, the gods had purposefully brought them together this way, like it was fated. She was meant to be his little girl and he was destined to be her protector. And really, it didn't matter if any of it was true or not, because all that did mattered was that she was his and that they were together.
The two then made their way out into the hallway outside of Marth's study, hand in hand and content to have comfortable silence hang in the air between them. As they walked, Evelyn watched the clouds move slowly in the sky through the windows, wishing she could be out in the garden for just one more hour. The king watched her with curiosity, but didn't say anything.
"So I was thinking," Marth said after a short while. "Perhaps we should have one last carriage ride before the snow starts to fall, just you and me."
Evelyn turned to find her father smiling at her and she couldn't help but return the gesture.
"Sure, Papa, I think that would be lovely."
A/N: one way or another….I'm going to finish this freaking story.