Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday dear Cade I think because technically it's my old birthday and this whole situation is causing me an identity crisis!
Happy birthday to me!
Who knew I would be spending my nineteenth birthday trapped in a random infants body from a light novel that Isaac binge read in like two weeks. Of course, in the Aeternum palace, everything was the same since to everyone else it was just an ordinary day. Delayza had taken me into one of the many gardens for the morning and had prepared a small picnic.
A fountain stood in the middle of the garden, surrounded by a myriad of multicoloured tulips. At its very top was a small golden statue of a cherub. It held all the standard features of one, cute curly hair and a belt of flowers and vines to cover its private parts. However, instead of the standard singular pair of wings that most have, this one dawned three pairs of wings as well as a small crown in its hand instead of a bow.
I turned to Delayza, pointing at the statue. 'what's that?' is what I tried to say but it came out as 'uats dat?' To be fair, that is much closer than I thought it would be and a big improvement from a week ago when all I could say was 'no.'
The girl looked up from her embroidery and realised what I was pointing at. "That? Well, considering the heir always lives here before they come of age, I suppose that would be you, princess." She looked back down at her work but not unkindly. "Do you like it?"
"Yuh!" I know, I know! Little, not even one-year-old but technically nineteen years old Cade/Aria is a genius. I figured out how to almost say yes, hold the applause, I already know I'm amazing.
Waddling back over to Delayza, I noticed a small jewel hanging down to the centre of her forehead. The silver chain holding it was thin and was hidden amongst her hair. Even the jewel itself was small and grey and was hidden by her short curly hair. It suited her perfectly.
"Uats dat?" I asked, pointing at her head.
She seemed slightly confused for a moment, touched her head and then realised that the jewel was there, to begin with. Delayza smiled softly as she took the jewel gently between two fingers and held it out for me to see better. So, I crawled onto her lap but I still couldn't touch it.
Her smile deepened as her dimples began to show. "It's called a Cala donia where I'm from. It's given to you on your first birthday and you wear it on important days." She placed her embroidery ring and needle down next to her and picked me up so that she could sit me in her lap comfortably. "Although, most people now just call it a head chain and it's worn in every country for any reason."
I played with her fingers as she spoke to me. Her nails were painted a pastel pink colour. Honestly, I thought that nail polish just wasn't a thing here since I hadn't seen anyone wear it once in the nearly eleven months that I have been here.
"Uats dat?" I pulled at her long fingers so she would know what I was asking about. Of course, what I really wanted to ask is why she was the first person I'd seen wearing since I had been here but I can nearly say 'yes' properly.
"My nail polish?" Her voice lowered to a mumble. It was a habit of hers whenever she would ask a genuine question to herself. "Ah, you haven't seen anybody wearing it, right princess? It's colours that go on your fingers called nail polish." Okay, buddy, I know that much! "It's very popular among noblemen but you've only been surrounded by women your whole life so I guess you wouldn't see it often."
Wait. Sorry, did she just say that nail polish is mostly worn by men? I guess there isn't really a need for me to return to my old world. I mean, why would I when this one is literally perfect?
I looked at her, trying to figure out how to ask why she was wearing it without pulling out a whole full sentence. However, she started answering my question before I could even ask it. "Although, quite a few women wear it as well for events and such." Was there something going on today? I mean, besides from my/not my birthday.
Realising I wouldn't really be able to ask that question since I was supposed to only be a baby, I climbed off of Delayzas' lap and began wandering around again.
I often wonder if they're weirded out by the fact that I'm very very smart for a child my age. I don't mean that in the 'look at me! Aren't I just the epitome of intelligence?' type of way. I only mean that I'm aware that at Aria's age, she shouldn't really be able to communicate this much. It's not a lot but when you were supposed to only be alive for eleven months, it's more than usual.
I looked through the tulips, hoping to find a pink one the same shade as Delayzas' nails when I stumbled upon something. "Ayza! Ayza! Uats dat?"
Delayza, who had resumed back to her embroidery some time ago, stood up to see what it was that I was making a fuss over. "My, you really are curious today. " She placed one hand on my head after crouching down to as close to my level as she could get. After scanning the area I was pointing at, her eyes grew wide. Gently, she scooped the injured baby bird into her hands.
Ok, let's get one thing straight, I am not a crybaby. I don't mind the sight of blood or injured people. I would prefer they weren't in that predicament in the first place, yes, but hey, things happen. So tell me why I'm crying at the sight of this dying bird?
Its yellow feathers were matted with blood and its thin, black, featherless tail looked more like it belonged on a dog rather than a bird. "Princess, it's okay. We can take it back to the palace, okay? I know a guard here who is very good at healing, so the bird will be alright." She transferred the bird into one hand and held out her other to me. "We can come back for all the stuff later, okay? The bird is going to be alright."
With tears, for some reason, streaming down my cheeks, I nodded and reached up for Delayzas' hand.