~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Within a few minutes, the children had managed to escape the watchful eyes of their attendants under Elmiryn’s leadership. Giggling at the audacity of their slipping away from supervision, the group followed the birthday girl from room to room, collecting items, before they finally ended in Elmiryn’s bedroom. There, they laid out their prizes on the girl’s bed sheet: a wooden toy horse, a small porcelain doll, a monocle, a pretty pink ribbon, and her mother’s silver mirror brush.
Elmiryn handed these out to everyone, but kept the brush for herself. “Okay, now we all have what we need!” She gestured near her toy box. “This is the children’s room,” she pointed toward her large bookcase, “That is father’s study,” she pointed at her small vanity dresser, “And this is mother’s room.” She waved the brush through the air. “Dinner will be ready soon! Everyone has to get ready. I’ll come around so that you can tell me what you want to look like.”
The children went off to their respective spaces, but in a few minutes, they were intermingling and slipping into their make-believe roles with excitement and giggles. Even Adara seemed to forget her earlier power struggle in favor of playing the haughty mother. Berian grumphed and harrumphed a lot, smoking a pretend pipe and squinting at everything through his monocle—a very accurate depiction of his grandfather—for his actual father had died years ago at war. The twins cooed and rolled around, playing with Elmiryn’s toys.
The redhead took to her role of “director” with relish.
“Roark, you have to pretend you’re a doggie. Of course children do that! I did when I was a child! And Berian, put your finger under your nose. There! Now you’ve got a mustache! Adara, look Lydia is crying. Stop being a bad mother and go make her feel better!”
When enough time seemed to have passed, Elmiryn announced it was dinnertime. She came around with her silver brush mirror and held it up to everyone. “Now what do you see yourself wearing tonight?”
Berian announced he was going to wear a cloak of snails. Roark and Lydia decided they too wished to wear a cloak of snails. Berian complained that the twins were copying him, so they changed to wearing diapers and golden crowns with big fat jewels. Adara whined that they were ruining the game. Elmiryn snapped that she wasn’t even trying to be a mother, just a snob. This made the older girl declare that they were all stupid children in real life, and she didn’t want to play with them anymore.
And just like that, the fun was over.
As her cousins left to return to the festivities, Elmiryn stayed behind to hide her stolen “toys” under her bed. A clear voice reached her from the doorway, and the girl froze, her face turning red. Turning, she saw Brianna and Julianna standing there—her mother with her hands on her hips, and her attendant with one hand over her mouth. Standing behind them with downturned heads were her cousins.
Snitches! Elmiryn thought with clenched teeth.
“Sweetest, come here please,” her mother said ominously.
The girl sighed and obeyed. Gripped in her hand was the silver brush.
Brianna raised an eyebrow at her as she reached down and took away the brush. “Elle, what, may I ask, were you doing with all those things?”
“Playing Family?” she mumbled.
“Are these things yours to play Family with?”
“No…”
Brianna just shook her head with a slight smirk. “Sweetest…” With two fingers, she gave the girl a smack on the forehead that stung, and then pointed down the hall wearily. “Just get back to the party before your father sees.”
Elmiryn didn’t need telling twice. She ran, her cousins in tow, back to the guest hall where the partygoers were just settling in for their first serving of dinner. The redhead glared at Adara. “You snitched, didn’t you?”
“Did not!” The older girl snapped back. She pointed at the girl’s face. “It was your mother’s mirror brush that got us caught! She was looking for it to freshen up before dinner was served!”
Elmiryn pouted, but said nothing further. The rest of the evening went well enough, and Warner never heard of her daughter’s antics. That night, the girl received as presents: a new doll house, many new dresses and accessories, and a young live horse, which she excitedly named “Scabby” due to how the filly’s ruddy brown coat reminded her of the scab she had on her left knee (but this was vetoed by her mother and father both, who quickly renamed the animal, “Rose.”)
That night, when Brianna was tucking Elmiryn to bed, she stroked the girl’s hair and said with a smile. “Sweetest, mother has one more present for you. Are you ready?”
Her daughter gave an eager nod, all appearances of sleepiness fleeing her, and her mother laughed. From beneath the bed, she pulled out a slim white box, and held it out to the girl. Elmiryn took it and opened it quickly. She gave a small gasp.
Inside was her mother’s mirror brush.
“I know you love it, so I wanted you to have it, Elle.”
Elmiryn gave a huge grin, hugging her mother. “Mama, thank you!”
Brianna laughed, hugging her daughter back. “Mother, not Mama…but you are welcome, Elmiryn. I love you very much.” She pulled back, holding the mirror side up to her daughter’s face. “Well? It’s a new year for you! You had fun playing Family with your cousins, didn’t you? And what role did you play? I think I see a very lovely wife in the future!”
The girl just blinked at her mother. “That’s not what I see.”
Her mother gave her a puzzled look. “Oh? Then what do you see?”
Elmiryn smiled at her mother as if she were being silly. “I see me, mother. Just Elmiryn.”
Brianna laughed again, a full and beautiful sound. She thought the girl was just being overly literal to make herself seem more mature. She kissed her daughter goodnight and left her to sleep. Elmiryn settled into her covers with the mirror brush clutched to her chest, more secure than she had ever felt before, because in her heart, she knew she had answered the very question her mother had meant.
What do you see?
I see me, the girl thought with a sleepy smile. Just me.
###
About the Author – Illise Montoya
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Illise Montoya was born and raised in California. She’s married to an incredible Air Force soldier and owns three cats: Freya, Xena, and Captain Nathaniel Garro. Her interests include video gaming, film and animation, comic books, and of course, literature. When she’s not shooting feral ghouls or watching her favorite drama show, she’s either studying, spending time with her family, or writing either one of her ongoing free web serials: Eikasia and Akumu Love Panic! Her zodiacs are the Dragon and the Sagittarius. She’s a proud brony (or pegasister if you prefer), she’s openly bisexual, her favorite color is red, and the Uncanny X-men are her absolute favorite superheroes. Did we mention she’s a geek?
Connect with the Author
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Eikasia’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eikasia-A-Free-Fantasy-Serial/131333536739
Eikasia’s YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/user/EikasiaNovel/featured
Eikasia’s Official Website: https://www.eikasia-novel.com/
Akumu Love Panic! Official Website: https://www.eighthcirclestudios.com/alp/
Illise’s blog: https://illisemontoya.wordpress.com/
Illise’s Deviant Art Profile: https://majiknine.deviantart.com
Illise’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/cajeck
Other Books and Stories by Illise Montoya
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Tooth and Nail: An Eikasia Prelude
N is for Nyx: An Eikasia Prelude
Tributaries (Eikasia #1)
In Sight, In Mind (Eikasia #2)
Blackwood (Eikasia #3)
Akumu Love Panic!
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Reflections: An Eikasia Prelude Page 2
