So I have a little obsession with Beauty and the Beast. Well, can you blame me? It's a cinematic masterpiece. Also, I watched it two days ago...

On an unrelated note, it is basically 2 AM where I live and I have a headache while listening to Tinkerbell music.


Photo #42: Don't Fly Away

Sometimes, Eadlyn has a more harsh approach when it comes to certain things. That was just the belief she has when it came to the ruling of a country - nobody will ever attack if they were afraid of you. Even though she wasn't exactly brutal, her nice touches were often forced - or felt forced or simply seemed forced. Eadlyn just wasn't the lady who was made out of sugar and spice.

The next photo on the wall is a shot taken high from above although Eadlyn could still distinguish who is in the photo and what they're doing. It has her mother and a younger version of herself. On a snowy day, they were feeding birds in the courtyard.

She didn't know her father caught a picture of it but then again, the same goes for a large portion of these photos...

-o-

Maxon huffs in exhaustion at all the paperwork on his desk. He puts down his stationary and places his hands on his throbbing temples in an attempt to massage the stress away.

"Why don't you step outside, your Majesty," a butler suggests, refilling Maxon's coffee mug. "The chilly breeze may relax you."

"You know what," Maxon replies, "that is an excellent idea."

Maxon pushes his chair away from his desk to get up. He strides over to the balcony and opens the door. The breeze flies in all at once and he has never been so thankful for the invention of paperweights to deal with his papers that rest on his desk behind him. He closes the doors behind him as he steps out on the balcony, hugging himself in order to keep warm on this cold, winter day.

He looks down and sees the flaming red hair of his beautiful wife in the courtyard below with their little daughter bouncing around in the deep snow that probably goes up to her knees.

"Eadlyn, look!" America whisper-screams, grabbing Eadlyn close to her.

America rests her hands on Eadlyn's shoulders. Her head is beside her daughter's as she stretches one arm out to point at what's ahead of her. Eadlyn looks down and sees a family of colorful birds hopping delicately on the crystal-like snow. Eadlyn's eyes and mouth open in amazement.

"Mommy, they're so pretty," Eadlyn whispers.

"Here, I have something for you," America says.

America reaches into her jacket's pocket and pulls out a handful of a variety of bird seeds. She pours them into Eadlyn's mittened hands. Eadlyn steps forwards a bit, towards the birds. She kneels down and shoves her hands towards the birds. The birds fly away from fear and regroup again a few feet away.

"No..." Little Eadlyn cries to them. "Don't fly away..."

America laughs a little to herself as she shakes her head. Eadlyn does the same thing again and America smiles at Eadlyn's innocence. She approaches her daughter to pause her feeding of the birds and crouches down beside her. America pours a bit more bird seeds in Eadlyn's hands and some she makes into a small trail in the snow. She cups Eadlyn's hands into her own and cranes them forwards, gently out towards the family of rainbow birds.

The birds nestle on the trail, slowly munching on the seeds that rest on top of the snow. One sees a pile of seeds in Eadlyn's hands and hops right in. Eadlyn lights up with joy, calmly, to avoid scaring the bird away. America smiles brightly as she scoops some bird seeds into her own hands and obtains her own bird.

Once the birds are done munching on seeds, America opens her hands and releases the bird high into the sky. The remaining seeds in her hands fall into the snow and America watches her birds fly away with a gleaming sparkle in her eyes.

Eadlyn looks at the birds in her hands and is hesitant on letting them free. She takes a breath and lifts her hands up. She opens her hands and gives the birds the opportunity to fly away which they do, whistling and tweeting their lovely songs as they depart.

"Mommy, where do the birds go?" Eadlyn asks, watching the birds fly off until she can no longer see them.

"The birds go wherever their wings take them," America replies. "The sky's the limit for them."

Eadlyn watches the birds fly off with a little hope and excitement in her eyes. She opens her arms out wide and begins waving up and down as if she was a bird herself, hopping like she was flying. America quickly lunges forwards and grabs Eadlyn by the waist, picking her up and swinging her around uo to the point where she stops because she's dizzy. Eadlyn laughs loudly as America puts her daughter back on the ground again.

"Don't you fly away from me," America says to Eadlyn. "At least, not yet..."


Get it? "Don't Fly Away" applies literally to Maxon's paperwork and the birds and metaphorically to Eadlyn growing up. See? I'm more than just a pretty face.

Stay Tuned - the clock will soon strike twelve...