Mirtala finds her mother's jewelry box and although it's filled with pearls and sapphires, she becomes captivated by a pair of dusty bells.

Silver Bells

Among her mother's possessions, she found two bells in an oak jewelry box. Sitting cross-legged on her parents' bed, she cupped one of the bells and raised it to eye level. As she expected, it was smooth and sleek, bigger than her hands. The bell jingled with every twist of her wrist. The grayish-blue tint matched her eyes and silk cape without any hints of brick red rust, and blowing off the leftover dust, she smiled when it shined a little brighter.

Humming, Mirtala swung out her legs. She wasn't sure why her mother would put bells in a jewelry box, especially among the round pearls and cuts of jade and sapphire. They were unusual compared to the gems, making her believe they had somehow gotten mixed in when her mother was cleaning.

"I see you're done with your chores."

Mirtala broke into a smile as Donatella appeared and leaned into the door frame. The red lace and silk portière rested on her mother's shoulder. Mirtala cocked her head, saying, "I sure did."

She took one long stride into the room and stood before her daughter. Her arms slowly crossed over her chest. "You certainly finished cleaning the stables faster than I thought. I haven't heard a single complaint out of you today about doing it, either."

"Oh, well..." She giggled and tilted her head the other way. "...you know, Mom, it's Queepie's turn to do that, but I did set up all the chairs for tonight's performance." She batted her eyelashes and tipped her chin to her chest. "That's why I decided to have a well-earned break."

Donatella nodded and tucked her cloak around her. She sat next to Mirtala, the bed creaking quietly in response. Her eyes lowered to her jewelry box. Although she had organized them by their cut and size, the gems were scattered in the velvet interior, victims of Mirtala's eager hand pushing through them.

Taking the jewelry box off Mirtala's lap, she set it between them. Leaning into her, she offered her hand, and Mirtala set the other bell in it. She rolled it in her palm, the ringing pleasant in her ears compared to Augustus mediating an argument between Dion and Raz over psychic powers outside.

"My mother gave them to me," she said with a sigh, "and her grandmother gave them to her. They're sterling silver bells passed down to the first girl in our family."

Mirtala frowned. If that were true, Frazie should have been given them already. But instead, they gathered dust in her mother's jewelry box tucked underneath her bed seemingly forgotten.

Sensing the question Mirtala wanted to ask, Donatella said, "Frazie said they weren't her style. She insisted her feathers were better than bells."

Wrinkling her nose, Mirtala snorted, "That's dumb. She has no taste." She huffed and crossed her arms, keeping her bell cupped upright. "Who in their right mind would wanna wear a headband with feathers instead of a sterling silver bell?"

"She also didn't want to seem too gaudy in case she met any nice girl after a show," Donatella added, shaking her head.

"'Gaudy?' What's gaudy about bells? Only a blind person wouldn't be able to see how nice they are," Mirtala sneered, her lips curling upwards. She tossed her bell up and down. "Someone who wears only one earring wouldn't be able to appreciate them."

"And I know you will," Donatella said, her comment almost making Mirtala miss the bell on its way back down.

Gasping, Mirtala clutched the bell to her chest. She smiled so hard that her cheeks pushed up against her eyes and forced them into a squint. Bobbing her head up and down, she was about to ask Donatella to put them in her hair only for Donatella to pluck the bell from her and set both of them back into the jewelry box.

"But you can have them after you clean the stables because Queepie told me you gave him Jolly Ranchers to do it for you," Donatella said, matching her daughter's smile.

She gawked and gasped, her fingers splaying out as she sputtered, "Bu-! Wha-? How did-? You shouldn't know-I mean, Queepie-!" Mirtala's mouth dropped open an inch. She quickly clenched her fists, furrowed her brows and hissed, "Queepie, that lying little gremlin! I gave him Snickers, too, and he betrayed me? Some brother he is!"

"You can't trick me, Mirtala. I'll always find out." Donatella laughed and gently poked her nose, Mirtala sticking out her tongue in return. She set the box on her own lap. "When you finish with the stables, come back here, and I'll put the bells in your hair. I think they would look really nice underneath your ringlets." As Mirtala pouted, stubbornly crossing her arms and glaring at the corner of the bedroom, she patted her shoulder. "They'll bring out your crown. Wouldn't you like that?"

Glancing at Donatella out of the corner of her eye, Mirtala's mouth quirked into a grin. She pushed herself off the bed and wrapped her arms behind her back. Skipping towards the door, she tilted her head and looked over her shoulder, saying, "Well, I guess it's a fair trade, but when I'm done, let's put 'em in my hair A-S-A-P! I wanna look my best for tonight's performance!"

Her daughter scampered out before she could reply. Tucking the bells back into the box, Donatella smiled at her reflection. Small wrinkles at the corners of her mouth lifted as she remembered her own mother weaving the bells into her long braid, and she couldn't wait to have Mirtala sitting in her lap so she could do the same for her. Shutting the box with a quiet click, she stowed it back underneath her bed and decided to make sure Mirtala finished her end of the bargain, a faint feeling of nostalgia welling up within her when she remembered a similar conversation she had with her mother around Mirtala's age about chores and the family bells.