บท 13: The Birthday -2

"Happy Birthday my little princess." Evan walked towards her and hugged her.

"Thank you father." Silja said a little awkwardly. She still remembered what happened when she came here last time.

Evan could sense his daughter's inner trouble and he felt guilty for behaving rudely to her that day. It wasn't easy for him either. Throughout these years he had never raised his voice on Silja. That was the main reason that both father and daughter pair were feeling guilty.

Evan patted her back and then Silja walked towards her mother.

"Happy Birthday." Doris said plainly. Then a maid entered the room.

"Your gift." King Evan said. Silja looked excitedly at the maids.

Evan opened the cloth from the plate and Silja's eyes fell on the blade.

"A dragon blade…." Silja's eyes widened in surprise and shock.

She took it in hand and took a careful look. The dagger was made from the finest steel from the South. The handle has a serpent design which has an open mouth and it was breathing fire.

The blade of the dagger was similar to flamberge. But the design was more curved and sharp. The whole dagger was about 13" long and could not be assembled. Silja was fascinated looking at the blad.

Silja hooked her finger in the design hole and played with it for a while. She ran her fingers on the sharp edges. Just from the look she can tell that one blow from it can be turned fatal.

"Your mother designed it." The king spoke. He can tell from the look on her face that she liked it.

"Thank you, mother." Silja looked at the queen Doris and smiled with gratitude.

"Use it carefully." The queen said and Silja nodded.

"Thank you, father." Silja then turned towards Evan and hugged him.

"Silly child. I'm happy that you liked it." He patted her back.

"Now go. Benjamin must be waiting for you." He said and Silja nodded her head.

She left the king's residence and went back to brothers courtyard. It was a rule that on the day of birthdays juniors visit their elders and take blessings. Since she was younger than her brother she went to meet him. Although Benjie didn't believe in such a custom, Silja still follows them every year.

"Benjiii.." Silja walked towards his room and pushed open the door. But no one was inside.

Benjamin loved his privacy so he didn't allow many maids and servants in his room. There were only two male servants who worked in his courtyard. And they Also left after they finished their regular work.

Silja looked around but there was no one. She walked in the room and called him again.

"Benjamin….." She raised her voice.

"Boohoo…"

Silja was looking around in the room when someone came from behind and tried to scare her.

Silja turned around and saw her brother whose face was painted in a weird monster.

He was staring at her with wide eyes and clawing his sharp nails towards her face.

"Is this what you got?" Silja looked at him calmly and as if someone had poured cold water on him.

Benjamin, who was pretending to be a monster, his enthusiasm died down looking at his sister's unamused face.

"You are such a boring person." He said with detest on his face.

"It's not me who is boring. It's you who is childish. Improve your techniques. You won't be able to scare a five year old with this makeup. Hahaha" Silja laughed looking at him.

Silja pulled his red nose.

"Huh… get off" He Scoffed and brushed off her hand. He took out the long hair he was wearing and walked towards the bed. He took out a small box under his pillow and threw it toward Silja.

"Here, take it," he said.

"Is this how you give someone a gift?" Silja's lips twitched.

"I would have given it nicely if you would have pretended to be scared of me earlier." Benjamin shrugged his shoulders.

"Childish." Silja murmured and opened the small box. It has a small bottle of black liquid.

"What is it?" Silja asked, looking at it.

"So dumb." Benjamin shook his head and walked towards her.

Silja glared at him.

"It is a special ink. I purchased it from the merchant a few months ago. It has special properties that make the letters invisible after you write. The latter can be only seen after you apply another rare liquid on it." Benjamin explained.

"Wow its amazing. But what are the other solutions that can make the letters visible?" Silja asked. That was Also necessary information. She had one bottle of ink but there wasn't anything for solutions.

Benjamin pursed his lips.

Silja wanted to roll her eyes looking at his childish arrogance if her brother.

"Wild daisy. The blue wild Daisy's pulp water will help it be visible." Silja widened her eyes.

Wow. She opened her mouth and made a O shape.

The solution was simple and at the same time unpredictable.

"Thank you brother." She said happily and hugged him.

"Okay okay now go away. I was working non-stop to prepare for your birthday in the past few days. Now let me rest for a while." He said, waving his hand.

"Okay okay.." Silja waved and left.