1 Year Later
" Please, please go to sleep, little Elise." I was walking up and down the hallway, slightly rocking the squalling baby in my arms. Oh, even though I didn't want to use magic to get her to sleep, it was one o' clock in the morning.
" Elise, go to sleep, my baby." The door opened, and Folken emerged, rubbing his eyes.
" Jeez, hasn't she gone to sleep yet? It's one o clock in the morning!" I glared at Folken and said
" Gee, ya think? You try getting her to sleep. Be my guest." I gently handed Elise to Folken. Three seconds after Elise was in Folken's arms, she was sleeping. I stared open-mouthed at Folken.
" How...the...HECK...did you do that?" I fell over.
" It's easy, really." Folken smirked.
" Whatever. I'm going to bed...I'm bagged." Waving my hand behind me, I walked into our room and fell into the bed. Outside, I heard Elise start crying again. Grinning, I rolled over and fell asleep.
When I woke up, the sunlight was streaming through the window. Folken was out like a light, and Elise apparently just woke up. Hanging my head, I got up to feed Elise. When I came back into the room, Folken was propped up on one elbow.
" You know, I fully respect my parents now. I never imagined that babies could cry that much...oy." I held my head in my hands, and sat down on the bed.
" Yeah, at least you got some sleep. I fell asleep ten minutes ago." Folken fell back down onto the bed. Laughing, I pushed him off the bed.
" Come on, lazybones, you have a meeting in half an hour." Folken glared at me and went to change. Smiling, I snuggled under the covers. Folken walked back into the room.
" If I don't sleep, you don't sleep. Up you go." Folken lifted me out of bed and dumped me in a chair.
" Hey.....that's not very nice." Grinning, I ran over and gave Folken a mega-noogie. Folken grabbed my hands and started to tickle me until I cried Uncle. Just then Elise started to cry. Sighing, I broke up the tickle-fest and went into the next room. Smiling at Elise over the crib, I picked her up and went to go visit Hitomi.
Folken slowly walked down the hallway, where he met Van. With a skeptical look, Van then nodded and smiled.
" Elise didn't sleep last night, did she?" Folken glared at Van and kept on walking, trying not to fall asleep.
" No. You'll have to worry about this soon enough. Probably with Hitomi too, huh?" Van glared at Folken and color started to rise in his face. Folken laughed and walked into the meeting.
" Hitomi, how are you feeling?" I walked out onto the patio where Hitomi was sitting.
" Oh, fine, I guess." I could tell by her eyes that she was homesick.
" Miss good old Earth?" I tilted my head sideways and grinned at Elise. Behind my concerned exterior, a plan started brewing in my mind. Chuckling softly, I gave Elise to Hitomi to hold.
" Yeah. It's almost Christmas, and, well..." Hitomi sighed. This was PERFECT!
" Well, if you get lonely, you can always snuggle up with Van." Hitomi blushed.
" We're just friends!" Despite her protests, I could tell that she really loved him. And the feelings were mutual. I smiled. I couldn't wait until Folken was done his meeting so I could tell him about my plan. It was pure brilliance!
" I know you like him. Would you marry him if he asked, though?" Hitomi blushed further.
" Well, yeah, I guess. I don't think he'd ever ask me though...I'm not royalty." I smiled.
" You never know, Hitomi. Stranger things have happened. Take Romeo and Juliet, for example. Anyway, Folken should be done his meeting. Do you mind looking after Elise for a while? We didn't get much sleep last night." I grinned fondly at Elise.
" Sure. You two go have a nap, or something." Hitomi smiled at me and turned her attention to Elise. I turned around and started grinning. I ran down the hall in a sudden burst of energy. When I met up with Folken and told him the plan, he grabbed my shoulders.
" It's perfect! You're brilliant!" We both started laughing. Just then Allen and Mellerna came down the hall. Minutes later, they were both smiling. Van peered around the corner.
" What's...going on?" Van was staring at us like we were crazy.
" Van, we have an idea, of sorts." I walked over to Van, who looked extremely nervous, and put my arm around his shoulder.
" What?" Smiling, I told him my brilliant idea. " You want me to do WHAT!!!" His eyes widened and he backed up to the wall.
" Oh come on, you know you want to! You guys...such chickens." I shook my head.
" All right. I'll do it." Van tried to look like he wasn't happy, but his eyes told us all we needed to know. " But you know that kings don't marry non-royal people. How are going to get around that?"
" We've figured it out already. Folken?" I turned to face Folken.
" May I introduce you to Hitomi, Princess of the Phantom Moon." He gestured to a figure coming down the hallway. Van nodded, and our little group broke up. I had a lot of fine-tuning to do.
I sat for a long time thinking...I needed to get Hitomi away from the palace for about two weeks. That's it! I could get Merle to take her on a tour of Gaia! It's perfect!
" Hey Hitomi, could I talk to you for a sec?" I went out into the terrace where I left Hitomi. Elise was sleeping peacefully. I shook my head. How did she do it?
" Yes?" Hitomi was so trusting. So naive.
" I was wondering if you and Merle wanted to go on a tour of Gaia. You've seen Fanelia and Asturia, but other than that..." I grinned. Hitomi's eyes lit up in excitement.
" I think that'd be lots of fun! Do you want me to take Elise for a tour? She goes to sleep easier with me, I think." I smiled gratefully. It's not that I didn't like Elise, I loved her very much, but it would be easier to work with her gone.
" I'll go make arrangements with Van." I smiled, and turned to leave. As soon as my back was turned my smile turned sinister and my eyes narrowed.
A week later, Hitomi was packed Merle by her side on a wagon. As the wagon started off, Hitomi raised an arm lost in a bundle of furs and waved it. Elise started crying. I laughed out loud, waving back. As soon as they were out of sight, I turned around.
" OK PEOPLE!" I shouted out to the staff that was assembled there. " You all know what you have to do! I need those birds and stuff on the list by tomorrow morning at the latest! Allen, you take those blueprints over to the carpenter's place. Mellerna, if you wouldn't mind, you know where to get the decorations. Folken, you and I are going into the forest to find a tree." After a pause, I added, " Oh yeah...forgot the snow. Just a sec." I waved my hands in the air and a growing cloud started to form around the city. A thin layer of snow was dusting the ground after about 2 hours.
Folken and I were out on a sled within 10 minutes. When we arrived at the forest, he lifted out the axe and we set off into the forest. We reached the tree within an hour. It was perfect! When we got back to the palace, we put the tree in some soil and water and placed it in the main dining room.
" Ok, Folken, I'm going to see if the food's arrived yet. We have a big meal to prepare." I squeezed his hand and set off to the kitchens.
Inside the kitchen was chaos. After a lot of yelling, I managed to get the noise level to a dull roar, and gave the cooks the recipes. Walking around, I fine-tuned the different meals. Turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce...the perfect Christmas dinner. I smiled as Mellerna walked in with an armful of decorations.
" Good. Let's go decorate the tree...I'm getting a headache in here." Mellerna giggled.