Chapter 5: Oh, Those Darn Eyes!
Being three had its benefits and Elizabeth knew this from day one. And you better believe she use this to her advantage. Sure, her father had become a bit stricter but that didn't mean she didn't know how to dissolve him into pudding. She had learned throwing a tantrum only did him justice. With her eyes and a few words, though, she could destroy any stone shield he had.
For instance, like, right now.
The toddler wanted to see her Uncle Gawain and her Aunt Percival, who, had both, grown onto her and she, them. Elizabeth stood with her arms crossed, mimicking Lancelot's stance. Her cheeks were puffed in annoyance and her. She really wanted to see them today and she was going to, no matter what.
"But daddy, I want to go see uncle and auntie," she feverishly exclaimed.
"My dear," Lancelot sighed, "I'm sorry but not today. Today is their day off from training and any journeys. We wouldn't want to disturb them now would we?"
Elizabeth blinked, "I don't care," she bluntly said.
Lancelot quirked a brow. Since when did she start acting like him? She had everything already down to pat. The look, the tone, hell he even thought he saw here move her head with it. Wherever she picked it up from he couldn't help but dread the years to come. If she had an attitude now, wait he could only dream of what she would be like in her teenage years.
"Sutekide wanai Erizabesu," he kneeled down to her level and glided his hands through her quills which were hanging on her shoulders. Elizabeth, unwillingly, let a purr slip out. She waddled over to her father lap making him sit on his rear. She stood on his legs and grabbed his chest furs. She tilted her head upwards. Lancelot grimaced as her eyes turned a lavender color, the color of Lenora's eyes, and liquefied. She tugged lightly on his chest hairs and pleaded, "Please daddy. I promise I won't be a bad girl. I'll-I'll be good. Please, can we go see uncle and auntie?"
He couldn't refuse her. Not now. And never with those big eyes of hers. Lancelot sighed and pulled her in for an embrace. Ones he found not to appear often anymore. "Fine my love. You've won me. Let's go see Uncle Gawain and Aunt Percival."
May the Lord help him on his journey of fatherhood. He's going to need it with eyes like that….
Elizabeth cheered with untamable happiness and ran out of her father's arms to get something in his room. Lancelot stood up and smiled softly as she emerged from his bedroom with a soft pink stuffed bunny. It was half her size but she managed to carry it around.
"What do you need that for?" he asked. Although, he already knew the answer and, might I say, it was a humorous answer.
"I'm going to play baby with uncle. He loves to play that game with me," she answered innocently. Elizabeth stumbled towards Lancelot, almost falling with the extra weight. The midnight male chuckled at the scene before swooping her up into his arms, carrying both the child and the bunny. The young one hummed in confusion.
"It looked like you were having trouble walking with your toy," he answered knowing the question. He soon hummed in confusion as his daughter shook her head rapidly and her eyes turned a, very, light shade of purple. What was wrong?
"No!" she exclaimed already knowing his question, "I don't want daddy to carry me. I-I can walk all by myself," she declared. Lancelot cocked his head to the side. "I always thought you enjoyed it when I carried you. I don't do it often."
"I don't want you being mad at me like all the other times. I don't want to make you feel dis-dissapi-disap-poin-"
"Disappointed?" Lancelot sadly said.
Elizabeth nodded and climbed her way down. She put her hands out to steady herself and then nodded when she was balanced. "Can I have daddy?"
Had he really forced this thought into her mind? That every time he carried her he would be disappointed. That if she didn't walk he was going to be upset with her. How could he do that? All he just wanted for her was to catch up to her age level and he found the only way to do that was to be stern. Maybe she didn't know she was doing a phenomenal job with her walking as well as her speech. She only fell if there was extra weight or she was running to fast. And that was expected out of a three year old. Maybe he'd been focusing on being a teacher that he'd completely forgotten about his duty as a father; to let her know how proud he was.
Lancelot looked at the miniature bunny in his hands before kneeling. "Elizabeth?" he asked. Said hedgie gave her father her attention and responded with cheeky smile, "Yes daddy?"
"You know I love you very much, correct?"
"Of course daddy! An-and I love you too."
"Good. And you do know that the only reason I pushed you so hard was because you weren't where you were supposed to be. But now you are and you're improving exceptionally. You're even talking a bit above your age level and I can't tell you how proud I am of you." Elizabeth's eyes shined brightly. "Really! You're proud of me daddy?"
"Mochiron, watashi wa, watashi no aisuru," he nuzzled her head. "And don't you ever forget that. You make me happy every day and I'm terribly sorry for making you believe that I'm not. So, do not think, just because I carry you, you're making me upset. I know I do get a bit edgy but I will never think you are a failure. You understand?" His daughter nodded happily and said, "Ok. Are you done now? Can we go see Uncle Gawain and Auntie Percival?"
Lancelot chuckled at her impatience. She was becoming more like him by the second. "Well of course." He, once again, swooped her into his arms and the two headed out the door.
Several knocks came from the wooden door. Percival, owner of the house shouted, "I'll be right there." She ran over to the door her casual dress flowing behind her. The lavender cat opened the door and instantly smiled at the hedgehogs. She kneeled down, opened her arms and in jumped Elizabeth. She hugged the little girl and picked her up and tapped her nose. "Why, hello there Elizabeth. How's are you doing today?"
"I'm doing great Auntie Percival! How are you?"
"I'm doing fine and even better now that you're here."
Elizabeth blushed a light pink and hugged her before she was set down. "Where's Uncle Gawain? Is he here with you?"
"As a matter of fact, he is here. He asked me if he could borrow a sword. He's in the first room on your right. Do you know where that is, sweetie?"
Elizabeth smiled giddily at the hallway of doors. She giggled, "I don't know what my right is but I'll find my way. Bye auntie!" She ran er….waddled hurriedly down the hall, back and forth, shouting, "Uncle Gawain, come out of your hiding spot. We're not playing hide and seek anymore."
Percival chuckled and looked back at Lancelot. "She's a handful," Lancelot joked.
"She may be but she's makes up for it just by being here."
"You get it?" the crimson striped male asked surprised. It wasn't everyday you got people to understand the meaning of being a parent.
Percival shrugged. "You could say it's just a motherly instinct all females have." Lancelot only hummed and went inside the house.
"Well, my friend, you know how it is. Make yourself comfortable and don't be a stranger. You two come over so many times, you basically live here."
"You can thank Elizabeth for that."
"I'll be sure to."
Out of nowhere a, high pitched, scream was heard. Lancelot sat straight up and made a b-line for the origin of the scream but a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked back to see Percival smirk and shake her head. He scrunched his brows in confusion and irritation. "What are you doing?" he sternly said, anger slowly rising. The feline laughed at his sudden change in mood. She nodded towards a door and said, "See for yourself."
Lancelot speed walked towards the door and opened it. His eyes widened but softened. In front of him Elizabeth and Gawain run around the room. The red echidna had one of his eyes closed and his teeth clenched. He chased after Elizabeth who screamed with excitement. She squealed as she was lifted up and placed on the ground.
"This is what you get for poking me in the eye with that rabbit."
Not a moment too soon Elizabeth howled with laughter as Gawain tickled her. He laughed along with her as she tried squirming out of his hands.
"I-I s-said I was s-sorry Uncle Gawain. S-stop!" she laughed uncontrollably.
"Sorry Bessie but there are consequences for your actions."
"I take it you two are having fun without me," Lancelot smirked. Gawain immediately stopped his tickling attack giving Elizabeth a chance to escape. The little hedgehog ran out of his grasp and behind her father's leg blowing a raspberry at the stunned echidna. Gawain blushed as the darker hedgehog's laugh.
"And you said you didn't like being an uncle," he teased.
Gawain muttered a curse before grumbling, "Shut it Lancelot."
Elizabeth ignored the comments and growls between the two. With her stuffed animal still in her hand she, carefully, walked towards a big shiny object. It stuck out from a scabbard and it looked so flawless. She guessed it was a sword. She looked back to see if anyone could see her. She smiled mischievously, when the coast was clear, and took the sword out of its place after dropping the bunny. It was way too big for her to hold but she held the middle of it, the two ends touching the floor. She sat down studying the slick metal. She knew in an instant that if she were caught with this she would be dead. She'd been caught touching swords before and, it never ended well.
But that didn't matter right now.
The ebon female glided a hand over the sword feeling the sharp edges. Her eyes shined a bright fuchsia. When could she own a sword? They were so fascinating. The littlest amount of pressure could protrude anything with this sword. It was so sharp, whoever created this sword had true craftsmanship. It was unbelievable. She'd seen and held her father's sword, of course without his consent, and it was nothing like this. It was sharp but this one hurt to even grip. Elizabeth averted her eyes towards the end of the sword of which someone would grip. She studied it and found the material to be pitch black. Possibly darker than her own fur but, she wasn't focused on that. She was most intrigued by the funny characters carved in gold.
What weird shapes and lines.
The young child was too distracted to hear the comment on where she was by her father. Her name, which was called out, fell on deaf ears.
"Elizabeth Ann du Lac!"
It was only until her father's deep voice cut straight through the air that she noticed something besides the sword. She screamed in shock causing the bounce up and cut her finger. At first she stared, shocked that he used her full name, and then something dripped on her bare leg. She looked at her index finger to see a thin line of blood flow down it. At the sight of her own blood, which she had not seen ever in her life, she started to breathe heavily. Then that turned into tiny cries of terror.
"D-daddy!" she cried trembling at the hot, sticky, crimson, liquid.
Lancelot immediately darted for his daughter, worry and anger marking his features. He picked her up examining her finger. It was only a minor cut but it was enough for him to go off.
"How many times have I told you not to touch those things young lady!" he shouted. Elizabeth only responded by burying her head in his neck, bawling. Lancelot, enraged, took this as a sign of ignoring his words. "Elizabeth, you look at me when I'm talking to you. Haven't I told you a million times that those things are dangerous and yet, you still choose to defy me? Now look what has happened. We're going straight home, now."
Elizabeth's head shot straight up. "No! No, daddy. No! Please, I don't wanna go home-"
Lancelot's glare shut her up and she shrunk back from his soft growl. "Watashitachiha, katei tsumorida to watashi wa anata no kuchi kara kuru nin'i no kotoba o kikitakunai. Anata wa watashi o rikai shite imasu ka?" he dangerously whispered. His daughter whimpered and nodded. She put her head on his shoulder and cried silently not wanting to anger him any further.
The dark knight walked out to where the other two, noble, knights were. Percival, who caught first sight of the two, paced towards them. She smiled in relief. "I see you found-" she started but hummed in confusion when she heard quiet hiccups and gasps for breathes. "What is wrong Lancelot?" she asked with full concern.
"We'll be taking our leave now," the father gruffly said before walking towards the door.
Gawain caught up to them before they reached the door and said, "But you just got here. Why are you leaving so soon? And-" he narrowed his eyes at Elizabeth, "and why is Bessie crying?" Lancelot grunted and replied, "I caught her playing with a sword," he put an emphasis on sword while eyeing his daughter, "and she got hurt. It's just a minor injury but her actions were still unacceptable. And you still did it even after I told you not to touch one."
His reply was soon directed to her causing the young one's head to pop up. Her tears strained her cheeks as she spoke, "But I didn't mean too, daddy!"
"How can you not, when I saw you holding it with my own eyes. Don't you dare call me liar!"
A hand came upon Lancelot's shoulder making him look back. Gawain, with a look of concern said, "Don't you think you're being a bit too hard on her. Yeah, she slipped up but you don't need to jump to conclusions. Lay off the kid Lancelot." The crimson striped hedgehog roughly shrugged off the hand. He glared at Gawain.
"And who do you think you are to tell me how I should discipline my own daughter. You wouldn't know the first thing on how to raise a child you buffoon," he snapped.
"Hey! At least I don't scream at little girls you big jerk!" Gawain shouted, already boiling with anger.
Percival rolled her eyes at the two. They acted like jealous brothers at times. She went in between them holding her hands out. "Now, before you two start a brawl let me remind you there is a three year in our presence." The two backed away from each other a bit shameful they let their temper get the better of them. The purple feline sighed before continuing turning her attention to Lancelot, "And at least let me bandage her finger before you leave." Lancelot eyed her with hesitation. "It would do me great pleasure."
The midnight father sighed in defeat and handed Elizabeth over to Percival. The lavender cat nodded with appreciation and said, "Let's get you fixed up. We'll be back in five minutes." She walked to her bedroom to get the first aid kit, leaving the two men to glare each other down.
"Idiot," Lancelot started.
"Emo."
"Gullible."
Gawain gasped, "You take that back."
"You make me."
This was going to be a long five minutes.
The bandage was placed neatly on the tiny finger. Percival kissed the finger when Elizabeth held it up. She put the first aid kit away and said, "Okay, now let's head out to your father. I'm sure he and Uncle Gawain are already choking each other."
She went to pick her up but stopped when Elizabeth whimpered and shook her head vigorously. "No. She whispered. I don't wanna see daddy. I don't wanna leave. He's being a big meanie to me."
"You know your father's just trying to do his job. He loves you very much and he worries about you constantly. And you know how he get's when you're hurt."
Elizabeth crossed her arms. "He didn't have to yell at me. I just wanted to touch the sword!"
Percival's brow raised, "But did he tell you not to touch it before?" She chuckled when the young toddler timidly nodded her head, avoiding eye contact. She sat next to her and Elizabeth crawled on her lap. Percival began to run her hand through her quills.
"Well, it was wrong for you to disobey him."
"I know," she admitted.
"Can I tell you something?" the feline asked. Elizabeth nodded and leaned into the soft hand grooming her quills.
"Okay. Well, there was a time when you were a baby, you couldn't even speak, and something happened. Your father had accidentally hit your head on a wall. I can't tell you much since I was sworn never to speak of this by him but, I can tell you he was more worried than he was not too long ago."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. He went straight to the infirmary almost to the point of tears. Your father would scream at anybody who touched you, yet he still wanted you checked. It almost got to the point where he would attack anybody who even looked at you. It was confusing, but still. He was so angry, so worried, the king had to come in himself to reassure him of your safety."
"Why was he so angry auntie?" Elizabeth voiced.
"He was mostly angry at himself for inflicting harm on you. He almost gave you to me saying he couldn't take care of you and he would only harm you. But after a few minutes of convincing I got him to believe in himself. But anytime you get hurt he immediately blames himself. You know he takes care of you all by himself, you're his first child, and you're his daughter, no less, so if any harm comes to you he gets riled up."
Elizabeth stared at her thumb before asking, "So daddy was mad at himself when I cut my finger?"
Percival nodded. "Most likely, yes. Don't get me wrong, he was upset that you defied him, as would any other parent or guardian but, most of the anger was probably directed towards himself."
The knight's daughter nodded her head, understanding her situation. She jumped off her lap and said, "I should probably say sorry to daddy for disobeying him, right?"
"That would be good."
Without a minute to spare Elizabeth grabbed Percival's hand and raced out of the room. She let go the minute she set sights on her father. She raced up to him and hugged his legs, barely getting her arms around them. "I'm sorry for not following your rules daddy. I promise not to touch another sword without telling you. Will you forgive me," she sweetly said looking up with.
Again, with those eyes.
Lancelot looked at Percival and Gawain who shooed him on. He kneeled down sighed. "Yeah," he said defeated, "I accept your apology. Just don't ever do that again." He encircled his arms around her which she gladly accepted. "Please, just, don't ever do that again, you hear me? You had me terrified," he whispered the last part for her own ears only. Elizabeth smiled and whispered, "I'm sorry."
As the two released each other Lancelot rolled his eyes as Percival awed and Gawain wiped a tear from his eye.
"That was so beautiful," he choked.
Percival laughed and Elizabeth giggled, not really knowing what was going on. Lancelot sneered, "Oh shut it."
Elizabeth suddenly bowed her head and sadly said, "Well, g'bye Uncle Gawain. G'bye Auntie Percival. I guess we have to go home now." She grabbed her father's hand and faced the door.
"Goodbye Bessie. I'll see you later," Gawain softly said, disappointed.
"Bye sweetie," Percival added with the same tone.
The crimson eyed male furrowed his eyebrows. He studied his daughter's eyes before sighing.
He would never win if she has eyes like those.
"I guess we could stay for a little while longer." Elizabeth brightened in less than five seconds. "Really daddy?" she exclaimed yanking at his hand.
"Yes but, don't expect me to let you off this easily all the time. Now, I don't want you going near any sword in this house, understood?"
"Yeah! Yeah, daddy. Thank you so much." Elizabeth reached for his head which he lowered. She kissed him on his cheek before running off and grabbing the other two's hands. "Hurry, we still have time to play baby!" she shouted.
"Wait up Bessie. Do you know how old I am? I don't wanna play baby, again!"
"Sucks for you, Uncle Gawain. Hey let's have uncle be the mommy," Percival snickered.
Lancelot watched as the three ran off to the back. He smacked his forehead. Did he just get played by his own daughter, again? He snorted with a blush and walked to the kitchen to get a drink. He put a hand on the cheek Elizabeth kissed and scoffed.
"Hmph! I'm going soft."
Translations:
Sutekide wanai Erizabesu-That's not nice Elizabeth.
Mochiron, watashi wa, watashi no aisuru-Of course I am, my dear.
Watashitachiha, katei tsumorida to watashi wa anata no kuchi kara kuru nin'i no kotoba o kikitakunai. Anata wa watashi o rikai shite imasu ka-We're going home and I don't want to hear any word come from your mouth. Do you understand me?
Well, whadda' think? I really enjoyed writing this chapter, actually. It was fun. I tried to get Lancelot back on his persona but, still leaving a soft spot for Elizabeth. And yes, Gawain does call her Bessie. Sir Gawain and Lady Percival are kind of like Elizabeth's second parents except they won't have any type of romantic relationship and neither will Lancelot and Percival. Sorry. I just thought I should say that, just incase. Anyway, I put some foreshadow in there too. I know foreshadows are meant for the reader to figure out but I just can't hold it in. Lancelot wasn't just upset because the sword cut her. That's all I'm saying. Anywho, tell me what you liked and disliked, ya'know, the usual. Feedback, feedback and more feedback!