588 The Gift Part 2

"True enough, now then Raina, I have a present for you." Clovis replied waiting for his daughter to turn her attention to him, which only took a second.

"Yes, Father?" Raina asked and he smiled at her. He held out a rather large package, that would easily fit in one arm if she had to carry it by herself. She took it expecting there to be a lot more weight than there was.

"I had it enchanted to be lighter so you can manage it on your own." Clovis explained to her look of obvious confusion. He couldn't blame here. Most things that big should have been trouble for her to handle alone. It was just logic.

"Thank you, Daddy." Raina replied as she began to remove the lid of the box delicately. As she did she squealed in delight. Nested in the soft cloth lining of the box was a dark wood zither with silver fastenings to hold the strings in place. It was her size, and custom made, as she looked it over she was enthralled by the painted engraving of a fairies dancing across the corner of the instrument. The largest fairy being a very close replica of her little Muse. "This is beautiful…" Raina whispered looking up at him suddenly. "Its for me?" The grown ups around her chuckled at her disbelief and child like innocents.

"Yes, of course. You have been dedicated to your Zither since the day you started playing. I thought it was time you had your own, made just for you." Clovis explained kneeling down to his daughter's level, to hell with his pants. Raina smiled and hugged her father tight, the zither still in one arm. "Good now, it is probably best that you have your Mother tune it. I am not entirely sure how that part works."

Raina turned to Kyera and offered it to her. Kyera took it, and began fiddling with the strings with a practiced hand. After only a few moments the Zither was singing delicately just as her own did. Raina's cheeks glowed as she reached a bit impatient for her new prized possession. Kyera handed it back with a chuckle.

"Now then, you have practiced your dance, you have perfected your techniques, and now you have your Zither. You have everything you need to shine, Princess." Clovis smiled at her, trying to hide his own nerves. She was his baby girl, and going to be a true center of attention,  compared to all these other children. He didn't want to see her heart break.