81 Isnt She Pretty? (1/2)
That 'minute' ended up lasting until dawn when Flora woke up and began to cry because she didn't know where she was and wanted her cousin. She didn't recognize Ruby on sight because her appearance was so different from her usual glamour.
She couldn't be sure what else had changed because there weren't any mirrors around but at the very least she knew that one arm looked like granite while the other was a mixture of shimmery rainbow crystal and rose quartz.
”It's me little flower,” Ruby sighed heavily. ”I'm right here.”
Flora stopped crying immediately at the sound of a familiar voice and tilted her head. ”Ruby? How come you're like a rainbow today?”
Ash decided to speak for the first time since the fairy in his lap woke up and did so in the sort of cheerful, animated voice that small children tended to respond to best. ”She always looks like a rainbow under her glamour. Isn't she pretty?”
She barely managed to hold back a snort at the very notion of being considered 'pretty' but she could tell he was testing his theory about children not being judgmental until they were taught otherwise.
He ended up being right too. Flora nodded enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. ”Very pretty! You're all shiny like the necklaces you make for me!”
Ruby's heart melted a little at her innocence. She wanted to go snuggle her but was still having a hard time moving. Instead she opted to open her arms so the baby fairy could come to her, which was gladly accepted.
Flora wrapped her arms tightly around her cousin's neck and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. She then blinked up at her innocently and asked, ”Are we not staying in the castle anymore? But there's still a vampire here.”
Ah, how to explain this? It would be strange for her having a vampire around that wasn't considered scary. Ash was about as different from their Cromwell guards as could be aside from his basic appearance.
”This is my friend Ash, Flora. We're going to go stay at his castle for a while,” Ruby said gently.
Flora scrunched her face up as she examined him. Eventually she nodded, unperturbed. ”He looks a lot nicer than Daciana. Does he like us?”
Ash laughed and reached out to tousle her hair. ”Yes, I like you both very much.”
The little fairy beamed at him. ”That's good! When are we gonna go?”
”I don't feel very good right now so we have to wait until I feel a little better,” Ruby explained. ”For now you can play here in the forest, okay? Why don't you practice your somersaults for us?”