Peony could feel the soft breeze of the forest brushing against her cheeks. Compared to the warm breeze of the Scalding Sands and the cold breeze of the nights at Pyroxene, nothing could be compared to the home breeze of her home in Fairy kingdom. After an entire day of filling out the papers in her father's office, she sighed in relief with the last paper completed.
Upon finishing her papers, she laid back on the sofa as Aqua appeared with tea. She took a cup into her hand and took a whiff of it. She sighed and smiled, "It'd be nice if I could have this tea back in school too."
"Then, shall we ask Maisey to prepare some for you on your way back?" Aqua questioned with a sigh, "Seriously, since you left, Maisey had been fiddling with his creations every day in your absence. Gathering the green tea leaves can help give him something to do."
Peony paused in silence and deep contemplation.
"Your highness?" Aqua called out to her hesitantly.
Peony slowly shook her head, "If Maisey has the time, have him ask the sylphs to accompany him to gather some lavender and chamomile flowers. Then, ask father if he can gather these items for me. I know that they are near his personal retainer's dwellings. For payment, I shall gift him the appropriate price. All I require is his confirmation."
"Understood." Aqua nodded and quickly left the room leaving Peony alone in silence.
Peony was left in deep contemplation as she looked out the glass window and recalled many nostalgic memories.
.....
"Peony, go stay by Maisey's side."
She remembered her mother's firm yet worrying gaze. Despite the worry in her gaze, everything about her gold figure exudes an aura of confidence and grace.
Peony reached out and grabbed her mother's hand with a bright smile, "Can I stay by mother's side?"
"This."
"Tatiana..." Oberon murmured softly to her seemingly trying to appease her.
After speaking with his wife quietly, the queen finally relented dejectedly, "Very well. Come, my daughter."
Peony nodded and reached out to her mother's open hand. The warmth of the sun against her cheeks was unforgettable just as unforgettable it was to feel the warmth of her parents' embrace. Her father pouting at the side in dismay as the attention of his lover was showered upon their new child instead of him.
Knowing this, Peony feared that her presence may cause the couple to quarrel as she visibly glanced over to her new father. Her mother caught this and turned her head curiously only to sigh in disappointment upon realizing the pouting of her husband. No one in the room dared to call her attention away from her child or her husband for such minor reasons, but they found it fortunate that she finally noticed his majesty sulking in the corner. Nobody dared to call out the king over the unusual change of behavior between work and home.
"Come now. Our daughter found us some sweets from the human realm with dear Maisey. When the meeting is over, let us rest and try them." Her mother coaxed him hoping he would perk up before the guest arrive, "You took so much effort trying to find one. Let's not waste it."
"Ugh... But the castle..."
Their castle was a large tree with plants and lumber built into the hollow vibrant green leaves changes with the season and vines of beans and flowers entwined the columns of the house as though it was the columns supporting the house. There were windows beautifully designed and colored according to the amusement of the queen and made as a gift by his majesty.
Well, it had been that way when they left. Now, half of the castle had crumbled on one side and their beloved stained glass was shattered to pieces! The left side of the flower vines had collapsed and the vibrant green roof had been blown away by the impact. Now, it looked as though the castle had been attacked by intruders!
Well, technically, that wasn't wrong...
"Three hours..." The king groaned in agony, "And it wasn't even according to our sense of time, but human's perspective! We were only gone for three hours and our home..."
"True." Tatiana huffed in disdain as she muttered in deep thoughts, "I can't believe that other humans actually managed to infiltrate our home."
"Mommy, does Briar Valley have a lot of humans too?" Peony asked them innocently.
"Briar valley?" The king straighten his back up and scoffed, "Those dark faes see humans as the inferior beings they are."
"Oberon!" Tatiana hushed in dismay before turning to her daughter softly speaking, "There are not alot of humans in the Briar Valley, even the man today took a lot of effort for your father to find one."
"Igni said that Briar Valley uses magic as the way we do at home too and dislike those who can't." Peony tilted her head with a troubled look, "Then, do those humans work for someone... If it's the orphanage manager..."
"Hush," The queen responded, "Let's forget that terrible human man. Come, let's meet with this human your father specially looked for."
"Okay..."
Watching Peony and her mother interact happily, the king grew bitter once again, but something stood out to him like a thorn to his side as he frowned, "Humans working for someone?"
He shook his head and glanced over to Igni, "How was the interrogation of those intruders?"
Igni saluted with a hand to his chest and responded calmly, "Your majesty... According to the slyphs and the fairies of outside, the materials of their clothes were finely tailored by materials found in the deserts. Far from Briar Valley. It's very likely that they are here to kidnap the fairies and used the chance when the barrier temporarily lifted during our departure. During the interrogation, we learned that they assumed Peony was a fairy and plot to kidnap her. However, the new princess is smart enough to avoid their advances. But, the humans went overboard and attempted to utilize magic and metal mechanics to capture her resulting with the princess evacuating the entire castle and using the floors as a labyrinth."
"No wonder..." The king frowned and hummed in deep thoughts before breathing a sigh of despair, "But did she really have to destroy the castle to this extent?"
Seeing the male fairy mopping around, Peony hesitated with an innocent expression, "Did I make father very angry?"
Tatiana sighed and shook her head in disappointment seeing her husband so down, "No, you did nothing wrong. Because this was an emergency, we can't fault you. Don't worry about the castle. Your father and I are very strong fairies and our people aren't weak. We'll patch the castle back up as good as new and make you a room as well. It's about time we had a remodel."
"Peony will help, then!" Peony replied with a bright smile on her face full of dusty and sweat.
"No, it is too dangerous for a child to go near a construction site." The queen warned her firmly before a thought came to her mind, "We can talk about this later. Come, now."
"Okay!" Peony nodded with a bright smile as her mother turned to her new father.
"Oberon?"
The king nodded reluctantly and the three made their way into the guest hall. Inside, a lean human man looked around quietly as the other fairies in the large room looked on cautiously and with a tense air. Peony could see the hesitance in his eyes as he acted calmly in the area.
He wore the type of clothing she had seen in the book pages from the library. Wasn't it a suit? She could see that his ears were that of a human and there was no other difference in features. This man seems to be of human descent like her. The other had the sharp ears and sharp eyes. He wore some green attire and a black cloak rests on his side. Seeing that cloak, she recalled that many who work for the palace wore such a black cloak and the green attire adorn with the small number of metal badges is the attire of military soldiers.
"In the human society, adoptions of orphans are handled by those in power. So, your father went to find one and send for them." The queen explained touching her daughter's soft and short hair that finally started to grow back, "This is someone who can help sort out the troubles that may come in the future with your adoption."
"G-Greetings, your majesty!" The lean man responded, "I am Gavin. A common lawyer from Briar Valley."
"Greetings." The older gentleman got up and bowed with a confident smile, "I am the envoy sent by her majesty, Queen of Briar Valley."
Queen...
Peony thought to herself quietly. Igni once mentioned that the queen of Briar Valley was a very resourceful and wise queen. For others, she was also the third strongest magician in the world if you forget the fact that she was a fae. Peony looked over to the man that accompanied this young looking military man. The dark faes and the fairies were not on good terms for the longest time. Therefore, they would never try to reach out to the fairy kingdom or her parents, unless.
She glanced over to the young man and frowned. Envoys from the outside kingdom.