"Alright, what should your Mother be able to do?" Empress Evelyn asked expecting playing and cooking to be the top of the list .
"My mother has to be able to smile a lot . She also needs to care more than anyone else in the world . " Raina replied and Eve chuckled having expected such a answer . It was interesting to talk like this with the child .
"Why's that?" Eve prompted and Raina smiles back .
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"Because a smile is a good way to reassure people and show she cares . My mother could be the mother of the kingdom one day if Daddy becomes Emperor and My Mother will have to be mother to the entire empire then . " Raina replied, and her answer broke the Empress for a moment . Those clear blue eyes gazed back at the older woman so full of understanding and kindness . She herself almost couldn't believe the child was truly seven years old .
"Who taught you that?" the Empress wondered, honestly wanting to thank the teacher . Princess Raina beamed with pride .
"'The Mother of the Many by Silvia Roarer . " Princess Raina replied reciting from memory . Once again The Empress was caught off guard . Then she remembered hearing the princess was playing music .
"A song, I see . Who taught you it?" Empress Evelyn probed vaguely remembering this conversation with her son .
"Lady Kyera teaches me all my songs . I prefer to play Pretty Polite Princess Pearl, but my favorite song to listen to is Mournful Sounds of the Warrior's Pyre . " Raina offered with a smile . Empress Evelyn listened to the child with a wide smile . She never dreamed she would have the same love for music as Eve herself had as a child .
"Those are beautiful songs . I will have to hear you play some time . " Evelyn replied honestly overjoyed by the child's knowledge .
"Mmmhm . I would like that . " Princess Raina added with a childish giggle .
"Well . One more question and I think I will know what to do with these women . What is the most important thing you want in a Mother? For you not the people . " Evelyn added, wanting to focus on the child's happiness first and foremost .
Raina's jovial little expression fell . The child looked down at the floor as she thought for a moment . She remembered all the things she had been through in her few short years alive . The feelings of loneliness and being unwanted by everyone but Daddy, Grandma and the Emperor . All her little failures and the berating she received from the Queens . One thing stood out . Even those who loved her lacked one quality she desperately needed .
"I would like a Mother that believes in me . Believes I am a good girl and… not a burden . A Mommy who can teach me to do for myself and trust me to do what's right . I want a Mommy that wants me as much as I want her . " Raina replied as her eyes turned away from the Empress, focused on the ground before sneaking glances toward the tea service .
The Empress felt her eyes glaze over with tears as she watched the child speak . Those words were obviously from the depths of her tiny heart . She couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the baby's pain than she had ever known? Such a sweet child, so young and full of life and yet she seemed to carry a burden swallowing her whole . Those soft sad eyes were focused on someone in the crowd . The Empress didn't have to look to see who she was focused on .
There was only one person who that child looked at with so much adoration . The woman who believes in her… The Empress had no doubt in her mind as to who the child wanted . Perhaps it was possible to grant her little wish .
Chapter end
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