"Can I keep her?"
Queen Katrina Peacecraft, still a bit stunned, looked from her smiling son to the frightened little girl clinging to him. She surveyed the girl for a moment. The child was in quite a state. Her hair was a mess, full of leaves and grass. Her bare feet and legs were scratched and dirty from the trek through the forest. She had dark circles under her huge violet eyes and her face seemed very pale. Katrina bent down in front of the two children, reaching out to the little girl. The child drew back and tried to hide behind Milliardo.
"Milli, where exactly did you find her?" said the queen, stepping back a bit so as not to frighten the girl further.
"I was under a big apple tree and she fell out...or maybe she FLEW out...anyway, I think it was where the orchard used to be when Father was little."
"Are you certain she was alone, Milli? You did not see anyone?"
"No, Mama, there wasn't anybody else, honest." He grinned as he added, "Her name is Miss Noin."
"Milli, 'noin' is a number, not a name."
"I know, but since it was on her bracelet, I figured it was her name, too."
Katrina looked puzzled. "Can I see your bracelet?" she asked. She reached for the little girl once again, but Noin jerked away, cowering behind Milliardo. Katrina decided to try another approach.
"Milli, come give me a kiss."
"Maa-maaaa, not in front of my friend," whined the young prince.
"Milli dearest, if your friend sees that you are not afraid of me, perhaps she will lose her fear as well. Come give your Mama a hug." The queen held her arms open and smiled.
"O.k., I guess..." Milliardo grumbled as he gave his mother an embarrassed hug. His mother wrapped her little boy in a tight embrace and kissed him on the nose. "Is it working yet?" asked Milliardo, as his mother gave him another kiss and smoothed his hair out of his eyes. He didn't mind so much now. "I think so," Katrina responded, a mischievous smile spreading over her lovely features, "but just to be sure..." She proceeded to tickle him under the arms, making the boy laugh.
The two looked back at Noin as they laughed and smiled. She was watching them with curiosity, but still seemed somewhat nervous. "Come on, Miss Noin. It's only my Mama. She's nice." Milliardo grabbed the child's hand and pulled her forward. Noin resisted the tugging at first, but finally took a step towards them. Katrina smiled warmly at the girl and gently took her other hand.
"See," said Milliardo, "She's not bad. Even when she gets mad she's pretty cool. She doesn't yell or anything...you'll like coming home with us...and she sings pretty when you can't sleep and she laughs at my jokes, even when I don't tell them right..." As the boy continued to point out all of his mother's good qualities, Noin gradually inched forward. By the time Milliardo finished, his friend was standing right next to him, no longer afraid. Katrina reached over to brush a stray lock of hair out of Noin's eyes, tucking it behind the girl's ear.
"My, you are a pretty one. Don't you agree, Milli?"
"Sure. All fairies are pretty. That's why they live in flowers."
"May I see your bracelet now, little one?" Katrina spoke in a soft reassuring voice. The little girl smiled and allowed Milliardo to pull her sleeve back revealing the metal ring on her wrist.
"See Mama. It says 'noin.' Don't people write their names on bracelets?"
"Sometimes, Milli." Katrina replied absently, studying the copper-colored band. It was very plain, similar to a hospital tag. It was one complete piece...no clasp. The inscription was made in large block letters. Noin. German for 'nine.' The girl had mistakenly believed Milli's name was zechs, the German word for 'six.' The queen thought for a moment.
"Ich heisse Frau Katrina," she said, gesturing to herself. "Wie heisst du?" She patted Noin's shoulder. Her tactic paid off immediately. The little girl's eyes grew wide and she smiled. "Frau Katrina," she announced proudly, touching the queen's shoulder. "Hey! She understood you!" Milliardo piped, thrilled that he could now communicate with his friend. Although he was still learning, he knew enough German to ask Noin a few questions. He shot out questions about fairies and whether she had wings and other such topics faster than his friend could possibly answer.
"Milli! Slow down, she still hasn't told us her name." Milliardo sighed in frustration at his mother's interruption and fell silent. Katrina asked for the girl's name again and noted the child's reaction with concern. The girl did not speak but frowned instead as she looked down at her wrist. Katrina lifted the child's chin gently and asked once again. The girl hesitated before timidly responding, "Lucretzia."
"Lucretzia?" Katrina repeated. That name was common in Italy, not German-speaking countries. She continued to quietly question Lucretzia, asking if she was alone, where her parents were and how she had gotten to this place. Little Lucretzia's answers were vague at best. She didn't seem to remember much of anything other than she had been walking alone for a long time. She couldn't remember any other grown ups or where she had come from.
Katrina continued to speak to the girl in a soft tone of voice, hoping to find at least a few clues. She asked what Lucretzia had been doing before she met Milliardo. Lucretzia responded that she had been sleeping and woke up hungry. She went in search of something to eat and found the apple tree. Katrina asked where she had been sleeping.
"Nel campo lilla," was the reply.
Katrina was not surprised that Lucretzia had been sleeping in a field of lilacs--that was obvious enough from the girl's hair-but she was surprised by the fact that Lucretzia had responded in Italian. "Parla lui l'italia?" Katrina asked. Lucretzia nodded. The woman once again questioned the child, this time in Italian. The little girl spoke the language just as fluently and responded to the questions as she had in German. She didn't remember anything.
The wind began to blow harder as clouds gathered above. "It would seem there is a storm approaching. We should hurry home before we get caught in a downpour." Katrina looked back at the child at Milliardo's side, deciding to let the matter go for now. "Come along, little one. I will carry you." She spoke in Italian as she picked up Lucretzia, settling the girl on her hip. The little girl began to finger a lock of the queen's honey-blonde hair, then lightly touched her amethyst earring. Katrina smiled at the girl and kissed her cheek.
"So I can keep her?" asked Milli hopefully as they started for the mansion.
"Milli, she's a little girl, not a stray puppy. One does not simply keep a little girl..."
"But she's a fairy princess, Mama, not a girl. That's different. When you find a fairy you get to keep her." He began to gather flowers here and there as they walked.
"Oh really? Where did you learn this?" Katrina asked with amusement.
"Everybody knows that. And when you find a fairy, you have to marry her when you grow up, and since she's a princess we'll be the king and queen of Cinq AND the Flowerlands..."
"Flowerlands...?"
"Yeah. She's got lilacs growing in her hair, so she must be the daughter of the Queen of Lilacs and everybody KNOWS the Queen of Lilacs is in charge of all the Flowerlands." Milliardo gestured broadly as he spoke, spilling some of the flowers he had collected. "So we have to keep her to preserve peace!"
"I see." She said smiling affectionately at her little boy. She never ceased to be amazed by her son's incredible imagination...or his logic. She reached down and took his hand as they walked. "Milli, what if you and Relena were separated?"
"That would suck!"
"You know I do not like you to use that word, Milli, but yes...it would suck." Katrina frowned and made a mental note to talk to the person who kept teaching her son to use slang.
"Rena's not going anywhere is she Mama?"
"No dearest," Katrina assured him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, "I just mean 'what if' she was lost. Wouldn't you want whoever found her to bring her back to you?"
"Yeah. I'd be lonely without Rena. And I got stuff I'm supposed to teach her...like how to tie her shoes and how to blow bubbles with gum and stuff...it's my job...and I don't want her to get lost."
"Of course not. Now, what if your fairy here has a family who is looking for her? A mama and big brother who miss her? Her mama is probably very sad without her. If I lost YOU, I would be very sad." She added the last part to let him know she hadn't forgotten that he had run away again.
"Yeah," he conceded, "but we can keep her until we find her fairy family, right?"
"We will see," she sighed.
**** end part three ****
The correct German phrases were provided by Kyoshi. Thanks again!
About the title of this chapter: 5 year-olds think differently. Things that sound wild to grown-ups, make perfect sense to 5 year-olds, they just accept the possibilities without question. They also tend to speak in run-on sentences...
The next chapter takes them up to bedtime, I promise. I'll eventually get to the next day, really I will. They just end up doing such cute things, I HAVE to write them down.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even the computer I'm using to write this. If the powers-that-be (a.k.a. owners of GW) want to sue me, then they are either heartless (bleep)s or really stupid.
