20 Alls Fair In Love And War (1/2)

In a vast field filled flowers in every direction, a large hollow cherry blossom tree stood in place.

”Hmm…” A soothing gentle tune hummed in the distance.

Enchanting melancholic bells rang loudly in her ears. Slowly fluttering her dark long lashes open, Rin wakes to recognize a familiar face. A face she dreamt of every night.

Her mother.

”Mommy?” The child's soft voice cracked.

Looking up from the pile of flowers in her lap, the beautiful young woman looks at her child's pained expression.

”What is it little Rin?” Her beloved mother's soothing voice humbly asked. ”Did you have a nightmare?”

Sleepily getting up with a dazed expression, the little girl bobs her small lovely head. Chuckling at her daughter's adorableness, Ai lovingly stroke her daughter's disheveled hair.

”Want to tell mommy what it was about?” Ai placed a long strand of hair behind the girl's ear.

Tightening her glossy lips into a straight line, Rin gently shakes her graceful head rapidly, before leaping eagerly into her nurturing mother's arms, causing the peony flowers beneath her to be crushed.

”Aiya, Rin you crush all the innocent flowers,” Ai sighed contentedly with a helpless smile.

”I'm sorry mommy!” Rin murmured tenderly in her mother's bosom.

Giggling softly, the woman sighs before stroking her daughters delicate head.

”It's alright. I prefer chrysanthemums anyway.”

Cautiously lifting her large milky emerald eyes towards her mother's lovely face, Rin curiously arches a puzzled brow.

”Does mommy not like peonies?”

”En, I like them. A peony can represent ravishing beauty, and only her bloom can attract all people to the capital city,” A mournful distant smile appears on the graceful woman's face. ”However, only a chrysanthemum represents strength, nobility, and elegance. One that refuses to be polluted by society.”

The woman's eyes flash with a hint of loneliness and another unknown emotion that Rin couldn't detect.

Hearing her mother's words traced with a tinge of sadness, caused the little girl's brows to furrow.

Hopping off of her mother's lap, Rin grabs the peonies on her mother's lap with her small plump hands and hurls them away into the broad field of flowers - stomping on a few in the process.