Chapter 26: Spending Time Together
"Alec had made this crown especially to thank you." Cassian stared at the small bunch of flowers without blinking. His face looked lost.
He had imagined so many times that he would play in the garden with his child and his wife. Among the things they would do were construct sand castles, make crowns of flowers, and name the clouds.
"If you did not like you, you did not need to take it." said Alec as he tried to take the crown back from Mary's hands who frowned and placed her heels on Cassian's feet.
Walen, the knight's eyes widened with horror as he winced imagining the pain but Cassian did not even blink.
He finally came back to his senses and stared at the child whose eyes were full of resentment and his face softened.
"It is pretty. I will cherish it." He assured the young boy as he ruffled his hair but Alec only flinched at the touch. His whole body froze making Cassian pause. His own son was wary by his touch.
"Since you have received a gift, isn't it normal to offer something to the child too?" Mary, who was incredulous from the side, tried to bring life to their conversation again. They are both equally stiff and adamant. Just how in the world would she bring them closer?
"Of course, I will ask the treasurer to take Alec to the treasure room. He can choose anything from there.'' Wait! Mary's eyes widened while her face turned red with anger.
Was he talking about his famous treasure room which was filled with gold and all kinds of rare jewels that even the Emperor wanted to see? It was the first thing the emperor had opened after killing Cassian and imprisoning the rest of his army. And no matter how grand it was explained, it did not do justice. But… what would a child find there?
"Seriously? Is he a girl that would find a pretty necklace there?" she asked with a frown that Walen winced again.
He never knew that his Lord could be chided this much and in such a manner by a petite commoner who did not hold any power or strength.
"Then.. Do you want to go to the weapons room?" Was he serious? Mary wondered what she was thinking when she liked this character.
She took a deep breath. The characters are not humans, they do not have emotions but their mind is only developed as the author had made them. They were like robots only. She explained herself as she forced a smile on her face.
"Umm, your highness, how about a small toy or new clothes? Or both of you can take him out to the market and let him choose what he really wants?" she pushed Alec in front of Cassian.
"I am sure the child had never seen the capital, right?" she batted her eyes when Alec squirmed.
Of course he had not seen the capital and it would be a lie if he said he did not want to see it! But to stick with this man… he stared at Cassian's stiff figure with resentment in his eyes.
"Will you come along with me too?" When Cassian nodded, Alec ignored him and looked at Mary with his big doe eyes, surprising her.
"That." She wanted to join. but at the same time she wanted both of them to bond. When she noticed the child's eyes dimming, she gulped.
"Of course, she would take part. We all will travel together." Cassian announced it as he looked at Walen who nodded his head and ran out of the room hiding the shock on his face.
"Really?" Alec kept looking at Mary who finally nodded with a smile on her face.
"Of course, I will. We both will visit and have scones and that delicious dish made by wizards called gelato there." She smiled brightly, bringing brightness back to the child's face.
Soon the maids took Alec and Mary back to change their clothes and Cassian finished the files in his hands and scurried towards the carriage.
As the strange family of three sat in the carriage, Cassian waited for Alec to take a seat beside him. However, he chose to sit with Mary, bringing a frown to Cassian's face who looked at Mary with such cold eyes that she felt goosebumps.
"Alec, I think the view is better from that side." She pointed when Alec blinked. It was indeed a better view than where Cassian was sitting.
"Then.. will you sit with me there too?" The seat was wide enough for three of them to be seated on one side. It's possible that she would freeze to death sitting in the middle of a blizzard.
She was still contemplating on how to refuse when the child pulled her with him.
She was not prepared and lost her balance and just then the carriage hit something and rocked a bit. She fell back on the seat bumping her head against the ceiling of the carriage, causing Alec to be shocked.
"....."
"Are you okay, my lady?" he asked in a worried voice as he felt guilty for pulling her while Cassian could not help but blink.
He had never seen someone getting injured in a carriage. How foolish was she to..
"Ah! Yes! I think I am fine." She rubbed her head with her hands as she winced and tried to sit up but Alec was not convinced.
"Shall we take her to a physician first, my Lord?" He did not want her to suffer because of him when she blinked.
"Ah, no! It is not even a scratch. I am good." she assured but the child looked worried when Cassian knocked on the carriage joining window.
"Stop the carriage in front of the medical facility."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone