2 Birthday Gifts

Edited by: Black Jesus

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Tears streamed down Delilah's small face as she ran towards her chambers. After arriving she immediately pushed the doors close. She then got on her bed and continued to cry.

Growing up Delilah would always overhear conversations regarding her origin. She knew that she was adopted but she did not care one bit. She regarded her grandmother as her only family member. No matter how much pressure her grandmother faced for adopting her, she never backed down. There was also no extent to which her grandmother wouldn't protect her.

"Grandmama…" she sobbed.

She instinctively clutched her emerald necklace with one hand and wrapped her other arm around her knees. This emerald necklace was a keepsake from her birth parents which she had worn her whole life. Whenever she held the necklace, Delilah could feel a faint connection that somehow gave her a comforting feeling. Unbeknownst to her, the emerald lit up within her hand.

Delilah continued to cry until she fell asleep. It was not until the evening when she woke up. Out of habit, she reached for her necklace. What surprised her was that her necklace had gone missing. She furrowed her brows and a hint of panic flashed on her face. This was the first time she had lost the necklace. No one but her grandmother was allowed into her room at this time, so it was nearly impossible for someone to have taken it.

After searching her bed and the entire room, she fell onto the floor exhausted. She was both physically and emotionally tired. You have to remember that she just turned 8, her emotions were still developing and so was her body. She had kept brooding over the matter regarding her grandmother, so much that she could barely feel upset over having lost her necklace.

Delilah sat on the floor staring at nothing while the words her grandmother said repeated itself again and again in her mind. It was not until she felt a warm sensation from her chest that she broke off from her daze. As she glanced down she instantly became stupefied. What lay there was a silver necklace with a large square-cut emerald at the center. The emerald was glowing and she felt the familiar connection to it. But something was different. The connection before was just faint. Now, she felt as if the connection was strong to the point where she felt it was bound to her soul.

As she focused on the necklace, she found that there was a magical space inside of it. It was a spatial object! Within were a letter, two books, and a box.. She cast the two books and box a fleeting glance then focused her attention towards the letter. She could feel a peculiar aura coming from the letter. It was both familiar and not familiar at the same time. Delilah took the letter out of the space.

Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

'Happy Birthday to our dearest daughter.

Since you've just awakened your constitution, we will give you our two ancestral manuals. We know that's not a remarkably good gift so we included something extra!

We love you our dearest.

Mama and Papa.'

Delilah furrowed her brows. Her origin and parents were a touchy subject for her. She had always felt guilty about her longing towards her parents because of her grandmother. Although, this was just a personal thought as her grandmother would never mind her feelings. A strange glint flashed in her eyes as she suppressed her feelings of longing. Delilah then glanced at the box in the corner of the magical space.

Taking out the box, she examined it. Although she was a princess and had seen all sorts of luxurious things, she had never seen such a luxurious box. Although the stones that decorated the box looked shabby, they were worth much more than commonplace jewels. Judging from the aura exuding off the stones, they were surely empowered or magical stones. Opening the box, she was met with two square cut emerald stud earrings, a matching pair with her necklace. What surprised her was that there was no aura coming from the earrings and they seemed to be ordinary jewels. She quickly put her questions aside though as she decided to try them on. Delilah put them on and glanced in the mirror.

Although they were a bit big for her, she would eventually grow into them. Delilah then noticed how her red eyes and swollen face from crying.

Girgle.

Her face flushed red when she heard her stomach making noises. Noticing the time, she sighed. She had missed dinner. Delilah decided not to leave her room for the night even though she was hungry. She did not want to run into her grandmother as she needed more time to digest things. If she saw the loving expression of her grandmother, she was afraid that she would break down again.

Sitting at the edge of her bed, she focused her mind on the space within the necklace. She proceeded to take out two books. One had a silver cover and the other was green. The title on the green book read Archer's Heart and Mind and the silver book was nameless. Delilah decided to look at the green book first.

After skimming through the green book, she found out that it was a physical empowerment skill manual. It required one to be at least an apprentice Archer to start learning. Noticing that the book was of no use to her at the moment, she instantly lost interest and then decided to look at the silver book. She nonchalantly flipped through the book and landed on a random page near the middle of the book. What appeared was a picture. The picture was hazy and Delilah could barely make it out. As she kept staring at the picture she noticed that she could not turn her gaze away and was starting to enter a daze. After a few moments, Delilah felt a wrenching pain within her soul then proceeded to vomit blood.

"Delilah!" said a young woman who barged through the doors.

The young female rushed towards Delilah and held her up. Delilah's face was ashen and she looked sickly.

"Elder sister?" Delilah muttered. The room was spinning around her as she barely managed to swallow down another mouthful of blood.

"I kept calling out to you and when I heard you make that noise after not responding I got worried. What in the world are you doing? Hold on I'll go call a priest and a doctor."

"There's no need… Just… just call grandmama for me."

"Okay, hold on," the young woman replied.

The young woman was Queen Lily's disciple Rayna. She had always treated Delilah like her younger sister ever since Delilah was taken in by the Queen. This was why Delilah referred to her as an elder sister. After a few moments, Queen Lily could be seen rushing into the room with a panicked expression with Rayna in tow.

"Lilah, what happened to you?" asked Queen Lily as she swept the room with a fierce expression. Her gaze then landed on the books on Delilah's bed. She instantly knew what happened after she found out after looking at the picture in the silver book. Even she felt somewhat dizzy looking at it. It turned out that Delilah had received backlash looking at the picture in the silver book. But what confused Queen Lily was that she did not remember Delilah getting ahold of such a book. After all, she had just completed her awakening ceremony.

Queen Lily then proceeded to scan Delilah with her spiritual powers and when she found out she only had a minor wound to her soul, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She then used her spirit powers to envelop Delilah. Because the damage was done to her soul, spiritual powers could be used to heal the wound. Delilah instantly gained her rosy complexion again.

Delilah lifted her head to see her grandmother and Rayna. She was still in a bit of pain but her overall situation seemed much better. That type of soul-wrenching pain was something that she never wanted to experience again. She did not dare look at the silver book again.

Noticing her granddaughter avert her gaze from the silver book, Queen Lily laughed and shut the book.

"Oh silly. You did well not to injure yourself that severely after staring at a spirit portrait for the first time. But where in the world did you get ahold such a thing?"

Spirit portrait! When Rayna heard these words, she gasped. One had to know how rare spirit portraits were. They were unique resources that could train one's spirit. Just one could cause a bloody storm, so there was nothing to say about a whole book of them.

Queen Lily glanced at Rayna and Rayna instantly knew what she meant and nodded back. Rayna started to think that her little sister was becoming more and more of an enigma. Rayna decided to leave the grandmother and granddaughter pair to talk. She did not want to have another secret to keep.

Delilah gave a bitter smile towards her grandmother then handed her the letter from her parents. She then began to explain what happened with her necklace.

"So that's how it is… Delilah, your origin is not simple at all."

Queen Lily then glanced at the green book and Delilah's earrings. Both of these things were just as intricate as the silver book. She then took a deep breath.

"Lilah, now that you're okay, I want to apologize for the abrupt conversation earlier. I hope you know where Grandmama is coming from."

"Mm," Delilah nodded. After experiencing the incident with spirit portrait, she felt that her state of mind had matured more. If she had the mentality of a person in their early teens before, now she could be compared to someone in their late teens. Delilah understood where her grandmother was coming from.

"Grandmama, is there no way that your injuries can heal?" Delilah asked but she already knew the answer.

"No," replied Queen Lily. If there existed a way to heal her injuries, then she would have already done so.

However, Delilah did not believe anything was set in stone. She believed that there had to be a way for her grandmother to recover and that she would definitely find it within the next decade. But Delilah knew that the most crucial part in finding the cure was strength. A resolute glint flashed within her eyes.

The two continued to chat for a few hours. Occasional laughter could be heard through the halls surrounding Delilah's room. It was not until the sun rose that their conversation ended.

As Queen Lily was heading out the door, she paused for a moment. She then turned around and a jewelry box appeared in her hand. Although it was not as luxurious as the box which held the earrings from her parents, Delilah could still feel an aura coming from it.

"Here, come open it," Queen Lily said while smiling.

Opening the box, Delilah found a pink diamond tennis bracelet. Pink diamonds were the signature gems of the ruling monarch in the Ancient Flower Kingdom and it could be said they were privileged to wear them. Delilah spoke no words and resolutely put the bracelet on. This gift proved how much trust her grandmother had in her.

Delilah felt a warm sensation in her heart. She looked up at Queen Lily who had a doting look. The lights from sunrise highlighted the pair.

"Happy Birthday Lilah."

"Mm."

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The next day.

After sleeping for nearly an entire day, Delilah finally woke up the next morning. She was physically rejuvenated but was extremely hungry. After cleaning up and getting ready, she headed towards the main dining room. She was instantly met with the lovely floral scent of tea and the sweet smell of baked goods. There was no tense atmosphere like the day before as Delilah greeted her grandmother and then took the liberty to start eating. Queen Lily's face took on a weird expression, looking as if she knew something was about to happen. She quickly shifted her attention back to her paperwork.

"Lilah, today I've scheduled for you to meet with your instructors," said Queen Lily looking as if she avoiding looking up.

Delilah nodded as she started to stuff her face with baked good after baked good. If anyone saw the usually fairy-like Delilah's appearance at the moment, no one would know how shocked he or she would be. The small girl resembled a starved animal as she gorged herself in food. One thing about Delilah was that she loved to eat, especially sweets. Her grandmother could never figure out where she put all her food. All the food Delilah ate was made out of what could be considered precious medicines placed in a normal household. Someone at her age would be full from just a single bite, let alone gulping down who knows how much. At first Queen Lily stopped her out of worry, but coupled with the incessant crying of hunger and checking that it did no harm, she decided to just leave her be.

"Grandmama is busy so I won't be able to become your magic instructor, so I assigned that to Marvin. Although Marvin is young, he is the only Summoner the kingdom possesses. As for your instructor regarding physical empowerment, I originally wanted to have you learn from Clovis, but I made a last minute change. After seeing the inheritance you got from your parents and considering your physical attribute, I decided to have the head of the Stealth Corps, Roy, instruct you. He is one of our kingdom's top soldiers."

"Mm," she nodded, instantly agreeing. Delilah was actually very excited to start her training. Delilah learned from a young that in this world, the law of the jungle always prevailed. She had always looked up to her grandmother for being such a strong person and had unconsciously set her grandmother as her goal, that being in both power and leadership. Delilah also had the pressure of her grandmother's health.

While in the middle of looking through documents, Queen Lily noticed the sounds of gorging finally stop. She was hesitant to look up. Queen Lily never got used to seeing her granddaughter in such a voracious state.

After waiting a moment, she then asked, "If you're done eating, then let's head out. It's not good to keep your instructors waiting."

Burp.

"Yep! I'm done," Delilah replied merrily. Being full was one of her favorite feelings.

The two then proceeded to walk out of the of the dining hall. Before stepping out of the hall, Queen Lily looked back at the dining table. When she noticed the number of empty trays, she felt faint. She cursed inwardly that she would definitely punish whoever was in charge of today's breakfast.

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Achoo.

"Are you okay?" someone dressed in chefs clothes asked.

"Yeah, I just felt a chilly feeling out of nowhere. Maybe it's because I worked all night to prepare all of the desserts I knew for Her Majesty and Fairy Princess this morning's breakfast. Having a dual constitution is terrific news worth celebrating after all!" replied a similarly dressed man who had a face full of respect.

"I'm sure you'll be rewarded! You know how much the Fairy Princess loves sweets. I plan to make all of the desserts I know as well for their dinner too. I won't lose out to you!"

"Mm."

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A white carriage gilded with pink flowers could be seen making its way down the street. It was surrounded by an entourage of armored knights riding horses. Whenever someone saw knights, he or she would make way, but when they noticed the flags which some of the knights were holding a deep reverence would appear on their face and they backed away even more.

Inside the carriage sat Delilah and Queen Lily.

"Grandmama, is my training taking place outside?" asked Delilah. She never expected her training would take place outside of the palace grounds. Looking through the carriage window towards the city streets, she noticed pink lanterns strung on the sides and what seemed like pink confetti littering the usually clean city floors. Queen Lily noticed her granddaughter's puzzled look.

"Mhm, also they just held a parade for the awakening of your constitution."

"A parade? For me?" replied Delilah with a surprised expression. Thinking back to her position in the country she did not think it was so surprising now. She took a deep breath her face turned serious. Her flushed cheeks and bright eyes betrayed her though. Queen Lily had made sure Delilah had plenty of interactions with the citizens of the Ancient Flower Kingdom. Delilah sincerely loved her people and country. She did not dislike the pressure of the position she held but instead used it to push herself even harder. Previously she had worked hard and succeeded in studying all of the minor spirit formations available in the palace. Now she was finally able to start training which made her exhilarated.

The journey through the city continued for nearly an hour before they stopped at the southern city gates. The walls surrounding the city were a beige color and stood at a majestic 20 meters high. It was Delilah's first time at the outer perimeter of the city and looking up at the walls so up close; she could not help but feel a bit shocked.

The carriage stopped and Delilah got out.

"Work hard Lilah, don't push yourself too hard," said Queen Lily.

"I will!" Delilah replied as she watched the carriage ride off with the group of soldiers and took a deep breath.

Today would mark the start of her road towards power!