Flora let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes. Checking the square shaped window to her left, she saw the sun up and birds chirping on a branch nearby.
Sitting up, she glanced at the calendar to see that it was March 1st, her birthday.
'This is the first birthday I am not spending with my family.' Flora thought, sighing. 'Still can't believe Daddy believed her over me and thought I stole his jewellery. I could have gone back and ordered the guards to let me in but what sense would that make? I would only be staying in a house where my father believes his wife more than his own daughter. The good thing is that throughout all that has happened, I got to met Helia.'
Jumping out of bed, Flora bathed before getting dressed in the same pink mini pleated skirt with the white and pink shirt and shoes that she had on the first day in Atlantis.
Making her way to Helia's room she entered to see no King. On the bed was a silk mini white dress. It had thin straps made of gold silk and had pleats at the bottom of the dress. A golden, thin heart shaped necklace was beside the dress along white ankle, high heel boots. On top of the dress was a note.
Closing the door, she headed to the bed and read the note.
To a Beautiful Flower
Happy Birthday to a beautiful Flower Princess. Hope the outfit is to your liking. Please put it on and meet me at centre of the red rose garden by eight.
Love Always
Helia
Flora smiled as she put down the note. Seeing that she only had a few minutes to get dressed, the brunette put on the outfit Helia gave her.
Helia stood in the middle of the rose garden with a bouquet of red roses in hand. He had on black pants with a blue and white shirt and black shoes.
On the grass was a large pink and white blanket with a picnic basket full of Flora's favourite foods and fruit juices.
Minutes later Helia saw Flora coming towards him wearing the outfit he laid out for her. His breath stopped as she came closer to him. It seemed like every day she took his breath away with today been no exception.
Once she reached him, he said. "Good morning, beautiful. Happy birthday."
"Thank you." Flora smiled as he handed her the bouquet. "Helia, you didn't need to do all this for me."
"No, I wanted to. You are very important to me, Flora. Taking the day off to celebrate your birth is one of the ways I am going to show you how much I care." He cooed as they took a seat on the blanket.
"Thank you again, Helia. It means a lot to me especially since this is the first birthday I am spending without my family." Flora told him as Helia took the food out for them to eat.
"Do you mind telling me what happened to your family?" The blue hair male enquired, placing the food onto the space between him and Flora.
"My mother died a few days after my birthday last year." Flora began, taking a deep breath. Releasing it, she continued. "My father met and married someone a few months after her death. He thought I needed a motherly figure and company around the house since I am an only child and had no other family members apart from him. After my step mother and her family came to live with us they began to show their true colours and act like a bunch of witches. This went on for weeks with my father too blind to see it."
Flora stopped as tears fell from her eyes. Helia stopped unpacking the food and kissed away the tears. "Flower, if this is too painful for you to talk about; you do not have to continue."
"No, I want to." Flora blushed, feeling his soft lips on her cheeks for a moment. Once he stopped, she continued. "The day before I came to Atlantis some jewellery was missing from my father's collection and my step mother pointed the blame on me. He didn't agree or deny it to my face but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he thought I did it. That night I overheard my father and her talking about it and he sided with her. My step mother was happy to hear that. Afterwards she began pressuring Daddy to disown me and leave everything to her and her daughter. Let's just say I didn't stick around to hear the rest. After hearing him side with her on the jewellery I packed up some of my clothes and money before leaving."
"That's awful to hear." Helia said, placing his right hand to cuff Flora's left cheek. "My sweet, you can stay here as long as you want."
Flora yield to his touch, wanting to stay with him forever. "That means a lot to me, Helia. I consider this Palace my home and see the people here as my family."
"Including me?" Helia asked, feeling his heart beating faster.
"Including you." She cooed. "Helia, you are an important person in my life and the weeks spent with you have been unforgettable."
As the two talked Palladium stood by a window watching them. He thought. 'I think today is supposed to be the Princess of Antarctica birthday too. I wonder if Flora could be her. From what I heard about the Princess she is beautiful, a skilled fighter and supposed to be turning nineteen just like Flora. If she does turn out to be the Princess it will be good news for Helia since he seems to be falling hard for her. If it turns out that she is not then Helia's heart is going to get broken because at the end of the day his duty as King is supposed to come before his heart.'
As the clocks in the Palace struck midnight Helia escorted Flora to his bedroom balcony. They were coming from a surprise birthday party for the brunette.
They rested on the railing of the balcony; Flora looked up at the stars. "I had a wonderful birthday. After the picnic they spent the the rest of the day at the aquarium, a classily vegetarian restaurant and a birthday party it was a day to remember."
"Glad you enjoyed yourself." Helia exclaimed, gazing sweetly at her. "I have one more present to give you and I hope you like it."
"I will like anything that comes from you." Flora replied, turning her attention to the King.
"Close your eyes." He requested, nicely.
"Sure." Flora did as told. Feeling Helia's arms wrap around her waist, the brunette felt his lips pressed against hers. She gladly returned the kiss and chained her arms around the King's neck. It was more passionate than their first kiss and never wanted it to end.
Parting for air, Flora opened her eyes to see Helia looking at her with a blush on his cheeks. "The last gift I have for you Flora is my heart. I like you more than I have ever liked anyone before and that will never change."
"It's the best gift I could ever receive." She smiled. "I will treasure and protect it forever and beyond. My heart became yours Helia from the moment we met and it will stay that way till forever ends."
Helia was glad to hear that. Leaning down, he said. "Your heart is worth more to me than all the riches in universe and I will spend an eternity treasuring it."
Sharing another kiss the brunette and the blue hair male began their romantic relationship.
