"Good morning. Thank you for coming to visit me. I hope my request didn't inconvenience you," Nimloth said.
Sina was stunned by her beauty; she couldn't comprehend her appearance.
Luna was mesmerised by her slenderness and tallness. Her neck was especially long, and her beautiful white hair touched the grass. It parted in the middle, framing the sharp, round inverted triangle eyebrows and seductive pink of her eyes, as well as her pink, tender lips. If Luna was a man, she would've fallen for her immediately and begged for attention. Her beauty was unpalatable, like a sun—hard to stare at, hard to avoid.
By her sat a smaller version of her, but she wore bangs curling to the right and on the sides as well, curling inward toward her face. But there was a difference in her eyes! They were round in shape, but the pinkness was even more potent than her mother's, Luna assumed. Her physical features were that of an elf, but something about her was different, alluring, hard to refuse.
Luna swallowed and looked away, blushing.
Mytri stepped forward and handed the two letters Luna had written to Valeris, the attendant, who had silky gray hair. "Please address these to the Duchy of Lockheart." She just bowed in response and walked away to do so immediately.
Nimloth gently bowed her head. "Good morning, Lady Luna. I assume you are comfortable staying in our capital?"
The young elf who sat on the opposite side of the table under the arbor was utterly stunned by her action, flabbergasted, her jaw dropped. She whispered, "Who is she, Mom, that you bow to her?"
Nimloth slowly turned her head to her daughter and with a serious look whispered, "Did you not read the notice I told you to read?"
The girl chuckled awkwardly. Nimloth sighed and whispered to her, "She is the daughter of the current head of Lockheart. I don't need to tell you who they are, do I?"
The girl shook her head. Nimloth muttered, "At least…"
She turned her head towards Luna and Mytri, saying, "This is my daughter, Elwing. She is my heir to the queendom, my lady."
Luna looked at Mytri with a perplexed look; she wasn't sure if she could say anything. Mytri chuckled, saying, "Forgive us, Queen. It's Luna's first actual appearance among nobles. She has never been out of her home to meet anyone."
"I see," Nimloth answered. "Lady Luna, you can speak freely with us. Nothing you say will offend or anger us."
Hearing her words, Luna gripped her hands and said, "You are really, really beautiful. I have never seen anyone this majestic!"
Elwing was flabbergasted and choked a bit on the tea she was sipping. She looked at her mother, fearing her reaction, but Nimloth just blushed as she touched her cheek, saying, "I see. So in your eyes I am beautiful. How kind of you."
Elwing leaned back in her chair, defeated, as she couldn't understand her mother's actions.
"And Lady Elwing, you too! You are as majestic as your mom!"
Elwing blushed in response, her hand shaking the teacup up and down. "T-thank you for your compliment. I appreciate it," she muttered.
"I want to be friends with you! Is that okay with you, Lady Nimloth?" Luna looked at her longingly.
"It is not for me to decide that, Lady Luna. If my daughter says so, then I am fine with it."
Elwing slowly panned her sight to her mother, her mouth agape in flabbergasted silence, muttering to herself, "I can't understand my mom at all…"
She looked at Luna and saw her admiration and determination. "I don't mind, Lady Luna." She looked at her mother. "Could we go by the river by ourselves to talk?"
Nimloth nodded.
"Let's go, Lady Luna!"
"Yes!" Luna answered, but as she remembered, she looked for Theia and didn't see her anywhere. Then she felt a tingling feeling in her back. Ahhh, you shrunk yourself and hid in embarrassment? Heh, how cute.
Luna whispered to Theia, "We'll be going with Lady Elwing to the river, so introduce yourself there, please."
"Y-yes," Theia muttered.
***
And so Luna and Elwing sat on a blanket by the running, clear blue river. Its bottom could be easily seen, as well as many fish unknown to Luna—pink, red, blue, all the colors of the rainbow she could count.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Elwing asked.
Luna nodded. "How can I call you, Lady Elwing?"
"Just call me El, in short. It would be more convenient for you than saying my whole name."
"I see. Thank you. They are really beautiful, like the colors of the rainbow. Ah, I wanted to introduce someone to you. She was really embarrassed to see you, El, and your mother," Luna said.
She reached behind her back to try to take Theia out, but Theia resisted, holding her clothes tightly.
"Please let go. It's already hard enough to keep you in my hand. Don't make me pull harshly, please," Luna said to Theia.
But El was confused. She chuckled out loud as she saw what was unfolding before her, muttering to herself, "What is this all… haha."
Theia finally let go, and Luna fell onto her back. Sitting up straight, she placed Theia in front of her and said, "This is Theia. She is my sister who came with me, although she was really embarrassed to face you. I hope you aren't mad at all, El."
El was speechless. She thought it was all Luna's acting, but before her sat a doll-like figure. Her long, silky hair, deep red sharp eyes, and round eyebrows were alluring to El. She couldn't lie.
"She's beautiful… Is she really your sister? Forgive me that I'm blunt, but it's hard to believe so."
"She is, but she's adopted into our family. She had nowhere to go, and, well, she loves me and I love her!" Luna said.
"Is she always this small?" El asked.
"No, she's most of the time my height, but shrunk herself to this height to hide." Luna demonstrated with her hand
"Could she turn to normal size? I'd like to hold her hands, if you don't mind at all," El said.
Theia nodded.
"Theia will change behind you, El. When she changes, it's really unpleasant to look at. I don't find it at all like that, but others might," Luna said.
"I see. Okay."
And as Luna said, Theia did. She came back from behind El, who immediately grabbed Theia's hands, saying, "You are truly a beauty, if I may say so." She let go, adding, "Forgive me for my rudeness. I couldn't control myself."
Theia grew red as Luna kept looking at her, and she kept looking at the ground.
"Theia is really shy and rarely talks to others, but she didn't mind at all. She really felt happy that you thought so," Luna said as Theia nodded to her words.
"Really?" El said, looking right at her.
Theia's blush turned beet red as she felt Luna's stare.
Luna wondered for a while why El wouldn't question Theia. She immediately would if she were in El's shoes. "You're not going to ask how Theia did it?"
"Why would I? I'm not in a position to ask her. If she doesn't want to, then I don't need to know."
"I see. Then…" Luna grabbed both of El's hands into hers. "I know we don't know each other at all, but I really, really, really want to be your friend!"
El was shocked by Luna's words. Her pink eyes slowly grew wider as a blush grew deeper on her face. "A-ah, I-I—" She couldn't say a word as her complexion grew redder.
She looked to the ground, to her feet, to her knees, as she thought: No one ever asked to be my friend… All they did was to gain something… But she doesn't… at least she doesn't feel like she wants something… Let's risk it this time.
El swallowed her saliva, saying, "I-I will be your friend!"