"Lucas~Wake up my princess."
Who ?
"Its dinner time dear . Are you that tired of playing ?"
"Honey ! Let her sleep. You are annoying her . Don't come whining to me later when she beats you up."
Mother ?
"Haha ! But its so boring without her commanding around everyone !"
Father ?
"Comeon ! Nobody wants to wake up when they are asleep."
How ? Her sweet voice…
"Aww…then play with me dear !"
"Get lost ! I have chores to do."
"Where are you going dear ?" - Lord Argentine followed behind his wife like a puppy , closing the door behind.
She woke up with a jolt . It was dusk hours . The manor was peaceful - with delicious whiff in the air of warm pancakes and biscuits . She couldn't hold back the single tear threatening to escape her eyes.
I'm back.
It was a dream.
She rose from her slumber - pink long frock , her young version liked the color pink. The whole room smelled of biscuits and roses . Everything pink , , from the bed post to the walls.
She smiled. It was just a nightmare.
Must be.
She walked up to her "candy" dressing table , standing in front of the mirror , scanning herself . Everything was fine. The gut-wrenching pain . The sorrow . The regret . It was a dream-
The scar ? On her hand ? She hasn't started sword lesson yet ? She started sword lesson when she was at Royal Academy..then how…
Ah…
It wasn't a dream .
Her upper arms were still scarred from the battles beneath her sleeves. It was real.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a dream….
She crashed by the playhouse she built with her father , with a loud thud.Lord Argentine and Lady Martha rushed through the door to their beloved daughter.
Huff…Hooo…I can't…..ughhhh....Kerghhh
She was hyperventilating .
"Baby ! Calm down ! Look at me."
"Daddy is here. Everything is alright."
Dad.
Mom.
Hah…huff….
She was slowly coming to her senses.
"I'm sorry dad. I - I couldn't…
Tears streamed down little Lucas' face . Big drops of tears on her little face , broke down Lord Argentine.
"Its okay . Everything is alright. Dad's here." - he slowly picked her up and rocked her in his big , secure arms , lulling her into bed.
"I'm fine Fath-I mean Daddy, I'm fine. Thank You ."
"Thank You ? Ah...are you sure ? Did you have a bad dream ? Would you like to sleep some more ?Would you like some strawberry slushie ? "
"You are bombarding her with questions old man ."
"Did you have a bad dream dear?" - her mother picked her up in her lap.
"You know dear...you are doing the same ?"
"I'm still better than you ." - she snubbed back to her husband.
"Sure sure Goddess Athena."
"Go away , you bald man."
"What ? I'm bald ? Have you even looked at me , Woman? "- he knelt down in frustration on the comment rubbing his ashen hair with his wife's fingers proving he isn't bald.
"Hahaha. Gosh !"- she laughed out loud at her parent's bantering like kids.
They both paused and looked at their sweet daughter smiling like an angel as her face beamed with joy , They both let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Luca ?"
"Yes Moth- I mean yes mom ?"
"Are you okay ?" - she asked in concerned voice .
"Yeah. I'm...okay. I'd still like some strawberry slushie tho-
"No."
She gave puppy eyes to her mother hoping it could work , while Duke Argentine was already swooped off his feet with the puppy eyes. Duchess was hardly holding herself from giving in.
"Pweassee ?"
"No. They are bad for your teeth. And you will catch a cold. Moreover, you have to go for Royal Academy tomorrow - can't get sick on your first day can you ? " - she peeked through her closed eyes to see her daughter's reacti-
Lucas turned glum.
"What's up dearie?" - she crouched down on the bed to meet Lucas' height. She stayed silent.
"Okay ... you can have strawberry slushie." - she still didn't say a word.
"Mom...I don't wanna go. Can I delay my school by a week?"
Duchess wanted to say no , but something held her back . A premonition. She instead nodded her head along , allowing her to take time off her school. And so she swooped her up in her arms and three of them headed to the dining hall.
"Luca !!" - both the princes exclaimed as they saw their playmate.
Prince Asher..Prince Dominick .
Her eyes welled up with tears as they both lunged towards her , almost knocking the duchess off her balance. The duke steadfastly caught hold of her elbow , having a nice Cinderella moment before getting smacked by his wife - making the children giggle.
Having lost their mother early , the duchess was a second mother to the two boys. While Dominick kept his feelings all bottled up , Asher became more clingy when sick or in foul mood.
The brothers resembled each other so much , so that one would think they are twins . Except that Asher had light blue eyes like the ocean , while Dominick had beautiful golden orbs like that of Sun. Despite being a year or two younger than Lucas , the three of them shared an inseparable bond of friendship from an early age . Probably because she lost her beloved teacher and they lost their mother and thus duchess had become a second home to the young lad.
And Archduke Argentine , being a commoner had suffered a great deal before meeting Lord Silva , maybe that's also a reason the Archduke cared deeply for both of them and treated them like kids instead of princes - projecting the kindness they had recieved.
"Did you wait too much , you monkeys ?" - Duchess pinched both their cheeks making them look like hamsters and picked them up both while crouching to their height.
"Hehe ! No mom. " - they both synchronised their words.
The duchess let out a sigh .
"Whatever shall I do with you three monkeys " - she placed them down and patted their head , ruffling their hair.
"Pat me too !" - the duke bent down to her height and quickly moved back before she could smack him .
"You little ..." - the duke ran away through the door into the garden followed by the duchess with her fan on her hand as weapon . The children giggled and ran behind them to witness the duke being smacked and punished by mom.
The evening passed quickly with the five of them fooling around , before the maids called them for the nth time to have dinner , to which Duchess asked them to have their dinner and that she would serve them all after they head in.
The dusk sky quickly changed to night followed by foolery and noise of crickets in the background.
"Children !! Wash up quickly , dinner is ready ." - she hurried down to the table with a hot pot of corn soup , as the Duke carried in the other dishes , carefully placing them on the table as Dominick hung by his leg and Lucas on the other. Asher stood quietly in a corner , awkwardly pacing back and forth.
Lies.
Asher's voice struck in Lucas' head as she quietly climbed down and headed towards Asher.
"Asher..."
Asher looked up to Lucas quietly . His blue - crystal eyes dripping with innocence almost fooling her into thinking it was someone else that day . How can these eyes be so cruel as to step on the Duke and behead their own father ?
She quickly shook off the thoughts lining her into darkness.
"Asher , lets go wash up. "- she extended her small hands and carefully guided him to his room. Dominick quietly followed them and went to his room.
The archduke , quietly noticed the change.
Something had changed. Drastically.
He could feel it.