The lights in their eyes (3)

It was a touching reunion between the two sisters. As they stood there in each other's arms, one of them could even be heard sniffling.

Aurelia released her sister from her embrace and stepped back to get a look at her. It had been three years since she saw her and unlike with her mother and father who barely changed, the girl in front of her did.

No longer was she the little baby girl that she could pick up with ease. She had become almost as tall as herself now. Her hair was also slightly different than what she knew. She remembered it being pitch black but it seemed that it had gotten lighter over the years.

She hoped that her sister had awakened to being a mage by now but it has yet to happen. She was a little disappointed in that fact but she kept quiet about it. After all, her sister is probably more disappointed that she has not awakened yet. Aurelia smiled at her little sister. 

As the two stared at each other trying to find more words to say, a loud growl could be heard from them. It was a little unclear as to which one of their stomachs let out a roar of hunger, but the two just giggled together. 

"Hahaha… Ah… Sounds like we could use a meal eh?"

Pyron turned to face the servants all waiting on them.

"Ahem… I apologize for making you all wait. I am sure that it has been a long road for all of you and I am glad to see all of your faces once more. Everyone must have their own stories to tell to each other. So to celebrate all of your return, let us feast!"

""Yeah!""

Whether it was because they agreed with Pyron or they were happy to finally eat, the crowd let out a roar of excitement and a round of applause as the people who came back all moved towards the dining hall.

"Not there, everyone."

The wave of people stopped in their tracks at Jyllene's question unsure of what to make of it. She let out a small laugh looking at their confused faces.

"The dining hall is far too small for twenty people not including the servants here. Head to the main ballroom, the feast is over there."

To use a massive ballroom normally reserved only for major events for a feast for the servants, they felt touched.

The crowd moved towards the ballroom leaving the imperial family atop the stairs. It was slightly rude of them to not wait for their hosts to lead them but it was no issue. The family even preferred this so they could take their time.

"Looks like the place will become livelier now that everyone's back."

"Isn't that a good thing Jyll? There's more people around. It'll make the place feel more like a home."

"Yeah I know. I just got used to the lessened staff we had."

Just then they heard a growl coming from Aurelia's stomach.

"Hehe, sorry."

"No need, Rel. Come on, let's grab a bite."

As Pyron led the way the rest of the family followed behind.

Reaching the ballroom that was converted into a dining area, one could see the massive amount of food that was prepared. Though it was prepared in a hurry, none of the food would look out of place if put on a nobleman's table.

Though the people had already taken their seats, none had yet to eat. They were all waiting for them to take their seats and the first bite.

As the family grabbed their food and sat down at their table and took the first bite, everyone began to merrily eat. Although it was a party, all of them were from noble families so it was less messy than one would think.

The people spent their time talking to one another as they ate. Telling each other stories of what happened to them while they were away. It was a lively atmosphere, one that did not suit the imperial family's little girl.

While everyone was happily chatting away, the girl was silent as she ate only speaking when spoken to. She was focused on her sister as she ate and talked with the people around her. She watched her mannerisms at the table, the way she talked to others.

She was a little confused as to what she was seeing. When everyone was talking about her, they made it seem like she was the perfect princess. But now…

'She's acting like a commoner.'

Talking while her mouth was full of food, elbows up on the table, slightly hunched over as she ate. All things that the little girl knew as traits from the common folk. It went against what she learned from everyone.

Yet no one seemed to care that it was. Looking around it seemed that everyone was like that. Far from the noble etiquette they should have, they were all behaving the same way. It was only her who was sticking to what she knew as noble behavior. 

'Are we supposed to be like that?'

The girl timidly placed her elbows up on the table to see if anyone would scold her for it.

""...""

To her surprise no one did. 

Was it because everyone was too preoccupied with their conversations to notice or was that actually the right way? It was confusing for the girl, but she took her elbows off the table before long.

'It feels wrong.'

"Mira?"

While thoughts were swirling inside the girl's head, her sister tried to strike up a conversation with her. 

"Mira??? You've been really quiet."

Her sister's eyes were looking at her with genuine worry in her voice and eyes. Though that seemed to be the case at first glance, the girl found it hard to believe. The past few days' events made it that way.

Staring at her was the person everyone else wanted her to be like. But while she was better than her in some aspects, she also seemed to be worse in others. It was confusing for the girl.

"Helloooo??? Mira? You ok?"

Her sister waved her hand in front of her face trying to get her attention. 

"Y-yeah?"

"You alright? You seem really out of it."

"Y-yeah… I guess I still feel a little sick."

"If you're not feeling alright dear, you can go rest for now."

"I-I think I will."

She was too confused to taste the food anyways. With her thoughts in disarray, she excused herself from the welcoming party with her head in disarray.

****

Aurelia watched as her little sister walked out of the room shaking and clutching her head.

"Has… Has Mira always been like that?"

"No, but she's had less energy the past few days."

"Did something happen? She's really different from what I remember."

"Well, she was a little sick recently. So there's that. But beyond that? Not really."

"Hmm…"

The sight that Aurelia saw felt really off. She remembers the little girl being much more energetic and playful. Always smiling and bouncing off the walls, it was a far cry from how she was acting now.

"I hope that's really all there is."

Aurelia kept staring at doors that the little girl went through. She wanted to go check on her but she trusted her parent's judgment. The food on her plate also called out to her slightly clouding her own reasoning.

So the family kept on eating with nothing wrong in their mind. Their youngest was acting a little odd but it was still within reason, so they thought nothing much of it.

****

As the girl was trying to sort out her thoughts, the cold wind of winter brought her out of it.

"Hoo…Hoo…"

She tried to warm herself up a little bit by blowing on her hands which helped albeit slightly. Looking around, she once again found herself in the garden. The snow had been consistently falling so there was a small blanket of it all over the flowers. Though they all had different colors, the white of the snow brought them all together.

"Looks like it's cold for you guys too huh."

The girl crouched down as she inspected all of them. Perhaps it was because of the snow, but the flowers looked much closer together than they usually did.

"They look like they're huddling for warmth."

Thinking that the cold snow would hinder the flowers' growth, the girl brushed off some of the snow that fell onto them. It was unreasonable to do that to the entire garden, so she only brushed off the ones she was close too.

"Hmm… odd."

After a bit of time, the girl noticed that snow seemed thicker on some parts of the garden. Trying to figure out why that was, went rather quickly.

"Oh right. You were here too."

Turning around, she saw a flower bed with a significantly less amount of snow on it. On it was a single golden flower giving a warm shine. The girl went towards the flower and sat down next to it.

"Hi there Lady Sol."

The girl started talking to the flower. In truth she was merely talking to herself out loud.

"You probably already know this but my big sister came home recently. Everyone's really excited to have her back. And I am too… But I'm scared."

She hugged her knees as she continued to talk.

"Everybody wanted me to be like her and I wanted that too… but it's strange. She's not acting like how I was taught. She's acting like a commoner."

"And she's doing it in front of everyone too. But no one's telling her that it's wrong. It's so confusing."

She picked up some snow and turned it into a ball.

"Is that how we're supposed to act? Then what about all the lessons that I got from Miss Nova?"

The girl stood up and threw her snowball at a nearby husk of a tree. The snowball shattered upon impact and she started to pick up some more.

"Is it because she's already a mage that everyone's not bothered by it?"

She threw another snowball at the husk of the with the same result.

"Will they ignore my mistakes if I become a mage too?"

Another snowball was hurled at the husk.

"Will I ever become one?!"

Another one.

"I should, right?? I have your blessing after all."

The girl turned to the golden flower with a look of fear and frustration on her face.

"I have it right? You gave it to everyone else so surely you gave it to me too right?"

Her angry expression softened as she continued to yell at the flower.

"Please…"

The girl's voice began to shake.

"I-I… want them to look at me like that too…"

She dropped the snowball that she was making onto the flowerbed.

"I-I… want them to smile at me like that. I… want them to hold me the same way they held her…"

The girl fell down onto her knees in front of the flower. Perhaps it was because of the heat that it gave off the snowball that she had dropped already became a puddle inside the flower bed. Next to the shining golden flower was a dark murker puddle. 

Cruelly, the shine from the flower gave off just enough light for the girl to see her reflection inside the puddle.

"Please… please tell me you gave me your blessing Lady Sol… Please. I-I promise I'll be good…"

Of course there was no answer, no one but her was in the garden after all. There was no one to hear her pleas.

Away from the warm welcome party thrown for her sister, the girl was alone in the garden talking with a flower.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you Lady Sol. It's probably hard to believe that. I should work on making things real."

Regaining her composure, the girl stood up and apologized to the flower. It's shine was still the same but the puddle next to it changed now that she was away from it. 

Instead of her reflection, the puddle reflected the visage of the moon. Unlike the brilliant shine of the flower, the puddle gave off a pale light just like the moon. 

"Aww…"

A cold wind blew past the girl causing her to shiver and look up at the night sky. It was dark and cloudy almost as if it was gonna start raining.

"But, how did I?"

The girl looked back at the puddle. The moon's reflection was no longer on it. The girl looked up again and tried to see the moon to no avail.

"Haha… I must be really tired now. I'm seeing things."

With a lonely chuckle, the girl started to make her way back inside the palace.