Chapter 19

"Ren-sama! I have something for you." The little blonde imp bounced to him with a festively decorated envelope.

Kuon chuckled. "What's this Maria-chan?" He smiled as he examined the white and gold invitation to the Happy Grateful Party.

Maria waved for him to come closer. "We're celebrating all the people that have helped us, but it's also Onee-sama's birthday... We're going to surprise her, so keep it a secret." She whispered and Kuon nodded in agreement.

"I'll make sure not to breathe a word." He assured her in a conspiratorial tone.

"Thank you!" She smiled brightly and kissed his cheek before his stood up and bounced off to deliver another invitation.

Hmm... Her birthday is on the 25th. What should I get her? What would she even like that she wouldn't think of just conjuring for herself? He sighed as he sat down and picked up a magazine that was sitting on the coffee table of the break room. He quietly thumbed through the pages and something caught his eye. It was an ad for the largest rose he had ever seen. It was stunning. The ad read: Say "I Love You" With The Queen Of Roses. Now available by special order through your local florist. He smiled sneakily and pulled the page out, folded it into a small square and quickly slipped it into his pocket. It was perfect for her and he had just enough time to order one before the party.

That takes care of Christmas, now for her birthday. He smirked as he thought of what his father had given his mother one year. A pink diamond. Kuu had told him that it meant love and romance. At the time, he almost hurled at the thought of his parents that way, but now he was glad to have that memory. It was perfect. Would she understand the Red Queen Rose and the Pink Diamond? Well, if she got it immediately... She just wouldn't be Kyoko. She wasn't exactly up to par on the modern ways of courtship. He figured that unless he walked up to her, pulled her into a kiss and told her he loved her, she wasn't going to get it.

"Ren, they're ready for your scenes." Yashiro told him as he entered the Break Room.

Ren stood, nodded and they began the rest of their day with Yashiro wondering many curious things about his charge. Like: what his interests were? What was with his peculiar behavior lately? Was all of this because of that wonderful girl that had invaded their lives and why did Ren have that super sneaky, suspicious look on his face when he walked in, that was so entirely out of character for him? Yashiro would definitely have to look more closely into this. He grinned mischievously as he watched his charge act out his scenes.

She loved it. She had never had so much fun with one little individual in all of her life. Together, she and Maria, created a small enchanted forest in the ballroom, a chocolate waterfall, below the waterfall was a small meadow with edible grass, the stage was set up for the musicians, the tables were set and decorated, the streamers dangled from the ceiling and the entryway was prepared for the grand entrance that Lory had requested. All they had left to do, was to instruct the chefs and wait staff on their expectations for the party.

Kyoko had spent a good portion of her free time scouring websites, cookbooks and experimenting with different dishes to come up with her version of the perfect meal. Ruto and Lory felt overstuffed and bloated from all of the good food the prior week and they both lamented that Kuu had not been present to take the bullet for them. They really could have used his black hole of a stomach that week. They had both agreed that it would be steamed vegetables and brown rice for a few days before the party so they could tolerate the delicious feast that loomed in their near future.

Farasha was an expert at cooking when they were younger and she most certainly had not lost her touch. She preferred a more hands on approach when it came to the more complicated dishes and only used her magic to conjure the fresh ingredients. Everything always seemed to turn out better that way, in her opinion. She wasn't sure why that was. Huba Syd had told her it was because she put all of her love into it, but she shook off that silly thought. It was hard work and perseverance. It was the knowledge and the feeling of making something for those you cared for as you cooked. Love had nothing to do with it. Her silly brother was being ridiculous. Love, how absurd. She shook off the silly thoughts as she bustled around the kitchen and entered the walk-in cooler to make sure they had enough of everything before it all began.

He had never been so nervous in all of his life as he waited for the young lady at the florist put the long stem of the Queen Rosa in a small water reservoir and carefully wrap the largest, most perfect, red rose he had seen in all of his young life.

Maybe I shouldn't do this. What if she really knows what all of this means? He groaned internally at the thought. His stomach was starting to roil a little. He paled. He still hadn't picked what he was going to wear to the event and he had to figure out how to hide the large, pear-cut, pink diamond he had purchased in the rose so it wouldn't fall out and get lost.

He examined the rose closely when he got home and discovered that it hadn't fully opened yet. It still had that unopened bud in the center and the small opening was just large enough for him to slip the diamond into it. When it opened, the diamond would reveal itself. Perfect... He smiled. It was going to work. He nodded in satisfaction when he turned it upside down and waited with his palm beneath it to catch the precious stone if it fell, it did not.

"Now... What to wear." He announced to his empty apartment as he carefully lay the rose down on his kitchen counter and left for his bedroom.

He walked into his expansive closet and browsed through the multitude of suits he had at his disposal. After debating with himself for a great while, he finally decided to go with his basic black and a silk tie. It was his favorite one and the most comfortable one he had. He wanted to look nice for her. He left for his shower and began his routine with a light heart and a soft smile. Maybe something would happen.