Chapter 62 - Gift

"The Queen? You're the Queen… " Gem freaking out, still unable to believe the fact that the Queen actually went here, in this room, just to see her. And she even brought Petunia with her!

"That's right." The Queen smiled.

Somehow, Gem was able to familiarize Halma's features that were similar to Venedette's even with the little tinted light coming from the thing in Halma's hands against this new darkroom during dawn.

"What's that?" Gem asked while eyeing the roughly cut circle crystal between Halma's fingers that were glowing in different fascinating hues of blue to green alternatively. (Like an LED light inside a crystal yoyo.)

"This is my gift to you," Halma whispered and placed the tip of her index finger to her lips which indicated silence since Venedette was still sleeping between them.

"Come, let's go outside." Halma mouthed which Gem was able to understand immediately thanks to her super hearing ability.

When Gem followed Halma to the door, she was caught off-guard when Petunia suddenly handed her the object from the Queen's hands. Not because she thought Petunia was actually sleeping this whole time, but because of the fact that this stone was heavier than what she was expecting!

"This is heavy." Gem whispered enthusiastically which Halma only responded to with a giggle.

The glowing thing was just as small as her hands yet it was heavier than the total weight of Fily and her combined!

So this was just one of the Queen's many capabilities from her pureblood superpowers! Unlike Venedette whose powers have become more saturated, the Queen can actually lift anything easily with just a fingertip!

And Petunia was not even that different from her. I mean, how could a human in a cat's body hold this thing so easily as if it was just nothing?!

Gem shook her head and exerted more effort instead in carrying the glowing object which she still did not know the use of until Halma decided to educate her on it afterward.

Outside the room, Sir Grand was leaning patiently against one of the walls across the door from Gem's room since he was kicked out by the Queen for simply looking like a loser inside.

"Sir Grand!" Gem greeted him after closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing here? Do we have a class later? I'm feeling super energetic right now and there's this task that I need to test out for later but I'm sure I could still manage to attend your class later!" Gem said in one breath which made Sir Grand look at Halma for her decision about this whole class thing while she's visiting.

"Oh honey, don't worry about that for now. I have a lot of things to discuss with you first before you continue your lessons with this... teacher. And do you mind if I..?" Halma answered in Sir Grand's stead and asked for the yoyo in Gem's hands.

"Oh? What is it for?" Gem's eyes sparkled while watching Halma let go and retract the heavy crystal thing using the thin strings in between them, subsequently forgetting all about Sir Grand and his pitiful experience with the Queen which Gem did not focus on clearly.

***

"What did you do to her? Did you tell her about the..?" Venedette intentionally trailed off her sentence while watching Gem enjoying her new toy peacefully beside Fily and Lei on the outdoor dining table where Halma decided she would do the newborn ceremony for Gem.

And although Gem was not actually a newborn, Halma thought it was necessary for Gem to obtain her blessings anyway since she would be a representative to their country soon as part of the Princess' squad Leviathan.

"We didn't tell her anything about it. Even though I am very against this… keeping a secret from her thing-"

"Me too." Petunia suddenly pitched in.

"I just hope you'll tell her soon enough. When you're ready, of course." Halma said in concern which really creeped Vendette out this time.

"What are you planning? Why are you carrying around Petunia as your pet?" Venedette said and looked at Petunia meaningfully.

Petunia on the other hand just shrugged at her and looked away immediately while Halma laughed nervously at her question.

"Nothing. Just let the old lady have her fun while I'm here," she said which made Venedette narrow her eyes even more.

"I'm watching you, ma. Please, just don't try doing something at all while you're here. Just… stay still and let me do the job for you. Trust me." Venedette said before leaving the flowery stage made especially for Halma during this one-time event.

"Venedette!" Gem called to her after making her presence known at this table.

"Are you feeling okay now? How about your powers? Are they working just fine?" 

"They are. Although I haven't tried doing the tasks, I'm afraid they might not work while I'm still here in the real world." Gem said without any background information which confused Venedette.

"What tasks?"

"Oh, I haven't told you yet? I was given a bunch of tasks when I went inside--" 

Thankfully, Venedette was quick to cover Gem's mouth before was able to say the word 'Solitude' in this crowded place.

"Okay, we'll talk about that later okay?"

"Okay! By the way, what's the ceremony for?" Gem asked.

"It's for you dummy," Fily answered after surprising Gem with her arrival.

"Hey! You're not asleep!" It was not a question but rather a shocked expression from Gem and even Venedette too on the inside.

"That's right! The Queen gave me this medicine, the same one my mom was using to maximize her awake time while on duty." Fily smiled while showing them a clear glass bottle with purple pills inside.

"What's it made of?" Venedette asked cautiously.

"She wouldn't say. But Petunia helped me guess, uhmm Guimerra fruit and Michocho? I'm still not sure, so far all we know is that it's safe and yes, pretty expensive. I'm guessing this came from Maharlika, you know? My family's home country." Fily said expressively while Gem was just nodding the whole time.

"As long as it's safe," Venedette said and shrugged right before the ceremony started.