Chapter 37 - Dream and Tea Party

"Take care of the child," Said by a woman as she laid down in bed. A sweet smile and gentle expression plastered on her face, her eyes looked tired and she was pale. She looked fragile and thin yet her stomach was big, not that big but big enough to tell that she's pregnant. However, even with that state, she looked beautiful.

"What do you mean by that? You know that I love my children no matter how annoying they are sometimes, right?" He responded with a frown on his face, his eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the woman that seems like his wife. A hint of worry and sadness can be seen from his eyes. The woman just chuckled and she reached out her hand to caress the man's cheek, "I know that but still, take care of the child even though she is a female," Her voice was gentle and sweet, it was also smooth like silk. It sounds pleasing and soothing to the ears.

"Our bloodline never have females, that thing will never happen," The man furrowed his eyebrows more, his face became wrinkled as he stared at the woman, his voice tells her that he was worried and sad at her condition. "A male or a female, you need to take care of him or her. You know I love children very much even though they are noisy. Protect the child's smile, take care and love him or her. If you don't, I'll haunt you," The woman threatened with a smile on her face, it seems like she was joking.

"You're saying that as if you're about to die," The man responded. The woman giggled once again and opened her mouth to speak, her voice came out as a whisper but it was loud enough for him to hear, "Oh, I might be,"

--

Alexandra heard a gentle voice trying to wake her out of her slumber.

"…Wake…" She felt someone lightly shake her yet she refused to open her eyes. "Young miss, wake up. It's already morning," Alexandra hearing the voice once again, fluttered her eyes open and what greeted her was the face of Diana with a smile plastered on her face. Alexandra sat up her bed and rubbed her eyes, "Good morning," Diana said sweetly and after Alexandra rubbed her eyes, she smiled back at her. "Good morning, Diana!" Alexandra said cheerfully as she smiled at her.

"The bath has been prepared," Diana said and Alexandra nodded. She got down of her bed, gliding her feet and sliding it inside her slippers as she walked towards the bathroom along with Diana behind her. However, she was deep in thought, trying to remember what her dream was about. It somehow got buried too deep inside her mind that she can' remember it already.

Was it a dream or someone's memory?

--

After eating breakfast at the dining room, she immediately went outside to play with the snow since she was bored anyway. She needs to have a break from all the reading and studying she did from the past few days, it's time for her to relax once again. Carlos followed behind her, "Where are we going, Miss Alexandra?" He asked in a polite yet cheerful tone, as always, he was beaming with energy and he was smiling despite what happened yesterday. The unexpected encounter with her brothers and someone called Sir Mark that needs to be avoided because he was annoying and dangerous, said Carlos.

Come to think of it, there are only a few days left until the Celebration of the Winter Star comes and Alexandra was excited about it. Her tutor, Ferdinand, was on a break for a week or two since he has a family to go home and he wants to celebrate New Year and Winter Star with them. So that means, she can rest, play, or do whatever she wants in the afternoon starting from now but it's only temporary. Maybe she could invite Christian, they are close anyway and he might be happy since that will be his first. Alexandra walked around the snow, the sole of her shoes leaving a mark on the snow as she walked around. Though it was cold, she didn't mind since she was wearing thick clothing. What stands out the most when it's snowing or when the whole place is covered with snow in the garden, with the flowers still blooming beautifully, surrounding the place with a faint sweet scent.

Alexandra shaped snow into a snowball and threw it towards the tree in front of her, the sound of the snow smashing against the tree, small pieces of snow attached to the bark of the tree while some came off, and the tree slightly shook. She did it once again, to relieve stress while she was thinking. Carlos just watched her vent out her emotions towards the tree, even though she doesn't look annoyed and just felt like she wants to do it.

"Miss Alexandra," Carlos called out to her cheerfully as he grinned widely, he thought of something since the miss was bored. Alexandra stopped and turned her head around to look at Carlos whose face was beaming with joy and excitement. "Yes?" She asked, slightly raising her eyebrows as she looked at him wondering why he called out to her. "Would you like to build a snow fort with me?" He asked. Alexandra's eyes sparkled upon hearing this, she looked excited and she wants to do it.

"Let's build a big one!" Alexandra said excitedly and Carlos chuckled upon seeing her like this. And that's how they spent their whole morning before they ate lunch and head towards the palace to have her tea party with her father.

--

"Good afternoon, papa. Good afternoon, brother," She greeted Christian and her father once she arrived in front of them, a smile was plastered on her face as she spoke, her face beamed with joy, and her eyes darted towards the food on the table. She walked around to look for her seat, she climbed up the chair and sat on it as she adjusted herself to feel comfortable.

Her father, as usual, was just silent and Christian greeted her with a smile on his face, "Good afternoon, Alexandra," Christian's voice was gentle as usual as well as the expression on his face and he started to eat. It seems like they didn't eat until Alexandra arrived. Carlos was standing still behind Alexandra, a few steps away from her observing the surroundings, roaming his eyes around. Lysander was also standing not far away from them, as always, he had his blank expression on as he stared at the group and at the food. Alexandra started to eat too and she initiated a conversation with Christian.

"Have you read Art of Emotions by Lorraine Wester? I finished reading it not too long ago, maybe 2 years ago?" She started and ate the piece of cake that was on her fork. The sweetness melting inside her mouth making her feel satisfied and couldn't help but to breathe out a sigh. Christian placed down the cupcake he was eating and thought for a moment before he answered, "For maybe her feelings were vast and wide, that he refused to acknowledge it," He said. It was a line on the book and it was Alexandra's favorite one. Her eyes sparkled, "Thou his emotions and feelings were art itself, that he locked it up inside the cage of his heart," She said, her face beaming with joy as she spoke. It was another line from the book which she will never forget.

"I liked that one, it held a deep meaning. I think it was at Page 98, 3rd paragraph," He said and that made Alexandra amazed. He even memorized the pages, that's amazing, Alexandra thought to herself. She can't help but giggle, "That's amazing, you even memorized the pages!" She said.

Christian chuckled at her reaction, the expression she made was cute and it showed how amazed she is, "It's one of my favorite books, it actually left an impact on me. I read it 3 times already," Christian said with a gentle tone of voice as he stared at Alexandra who still held an amazed or fascinated expression which he finds cute. "Me too, me too," Alexandra said excitedly, her face beaming with joy and her smile was wide.

Alexander just stared at two happily talking with each other, sweet smiles plastered on their faces, their faces beaming with joy, their gaze that contains warm and happy, and the bright and light atmosphere or aura they held. Somehow, seeing them makes him feel happy and contented but he just brushed off the feeling and continued sipping his tea, the bitterness of the tea making him forget what he just felt earlier yet at the same time, it tasted sweet.

--

"Can I go to the garden?" Alexandra asked her father once Christian left the courtyard to go back to the library and read. Alexandra heard from Carlos that the garden here was big and it's filled with flowers, the flowers don't wither or die in winter because of the same spell that was cast upon their garden. Alexander placed down the cup of tea he was drinking, "Carlos, show her the way. I'll be going back to the office to do some paperwork," He said and stood up. Alexandra also stood up from her seat and she looked at her father smiling, "Please do rest and not overwork yourself," Alexandra said, a hint of worry can be seen from her eyes. Lately, Alexander has been working non-stop and only takes a rest for an hour in the afternoon while they are having their tea parties, Alexandra was worried. She wondered why she was worried about him even though she fears him or somehow hates him because of what he previously did but, what's past is past, she needs to let go and not hold on to the grudge or she will not be able to move forward.

The corner of her father's lips went up and he turned around, leaving Alexandra behind without uttering a single word. Lysander also left with him, he followed behind her father quietly, and their footsteps were quite audible to their ears. But, Alexandra saw it. The faint smile he made before he turned around, she saw how it slightly went up and how his gaze became warm all of a sudden, it held happiness and joy. Was it her imagination or did it really happened? She experienced this before too but she wasn't sure if that really happened. She was left stunned not until Carlos called out to her name, grabbing her attention.

"Miss Alexandra?" Carlos' voice was gentle as she called out to her, he wondered why the miss was staring at her father's back for seconds until he called out to her. She was in a daze. Alexandra turned her head around and looked at Carlos who was staring at her curiously, "W-What?" Alexandra asked, still recovering from what happened. Carlos stared at her silently for seconds before he answered, "Should we go to the garden?" Carlos asked politely with a gentle smile on his face and Alexandra replied back with a smile too.

"Please show me the way," Alexandra asked and she stood beside Carlos while she looked up to him. Carlos nodded and he held her hand to make sure that he will never lose sight of her, tight enough to make sure that they wouldn't accidentally let go but gentle enough to make sure that her hand won't hurt or something. Alexandra told them that she wants to walk, although being carried is nice, she also wants to try to walk on her own two feet. The condition was to hold her hand in order to not lost sight of her or something like that.

Alexandra just shrugged off what happened earlier and thought that she might be being delusional or she was imagining things.