Chapter 31

Aeliana walked around the town, looking inside every shop and the marketplace but she couldn't find anything that she thought they would like.

"My lady, how about these as presents?" Flora spoke out, guiding her to a small stall at the corner of the marketplace.

The stall was selling an assortment of wooden handicrafts. From a wooden bowl to a wooden horse and doll. Aeliana glanced around, looking at every item that was displayed but she still couldn't find anything.

"Nothing piqued your interest, young miss?" the owner asked.

They had a craving knife in one hand and in the other holding a half-carved wooden object. She nodded at their words but shot them a smile.

"Yes but everything here is made nicely. You must be a very good craftsman to make such quality work."

The owner blinked before proceeding to laugh at her words, "My! You sure know how to sweet talk!"

They leaned forward and spoke in a softer voice, "I like you young miss, so, just between you and me, there is one more thing I haven't shown."

The owner placed down his things and ducked down the stall table. There was a few rustling and grunts before the owner emerged back with something in their hands. They placed it down in front of Aeliana and proudly grinned,

"This is the proudest item I have made and I wasn't planning on selling it but if you like it I wouldn't mind selling it to you!" they laughed, rubbing the tip of their nose in the process.

Aeliana looked at the item and immediately something in her head clicked. Her eyes glimmered and her head shot back up to the owner.

"Owner, I would like to buy this!!"

"Gahah! I knew you had a good eye on things! Of course you can buy, that will be 30 Beldimes."

"What? That's so expensive for a wooden handicraft!" Flora exclaimed after hearing the price.

The owner shook their head and grinned, "The reason for this is because it is imbued with magic."

"Magic?" Aeliana's hearing heightened.

This was her first time hearing someone talk about magic outside of the mansion.

"That's right, my magic allows me to put a protection spell on things I have crafted."

The owner held the item in his hand and grabbed his knife. Without hesitation he stabs it but there is no mark or dent. A faint circle could be seen floating slightly above the item with unreadable words all written on the circle.

"See?" the owner smugly said as the faint circle slowly disappeared.

"Amazing.." Aeliana softly muttered, the magic circle ingrained into her mind.

It was her first time seeing it up close so she felt the adrenaline pumping inside of her. The owner saw her positive reaction making them feel great about themselves so they added on,

"Young miss, did you know most commoners don't know how to do this?" they said.

"Really?"

The owner nodded, "It is a known fact that you can find out your magic at the temple but honing them is another thing. Only people who have money can get to learn how to use them properly at the academy and even if there are commoners, those are sponsored by nobles or aristocrats."

Aeliana nodded, taking note of this new information. Thanks to this newly discovered information she received from the owner, now she understood why she almost never saw any of the servants or maids use magic, even Flora.

"Thank you for telling me about this!" Aeliana beamed.

She lightly tugged on Flora's sleeve. Flora looked at the item she wanted and nodded.

"Here you go, owner. 30 Beldimes."

The owner handed the item to Aeliana and took the money in exchange. They grinned and chuckled after checking it was the correct amount.

"It was nice doing business with you, young miss! Come back soon!!" the owner said as they waved goodbye to her.

"Are you planning on giving this to Lord Marius?" Flora asked, pointing at the item she held in her hand.

Aeliana nodded, "Now I just need to buy for Brother Darius."

"Lord Darius loves reading, doesn't he?"

"Mhm, he reads more than me."

"I see...then how does he keep track of where he is on a book?"

"I don't know, he always seems to just remember what page—"

Aeliana paused her sentence and looked at Flora who had a bright smile on her face, waiting for her response. She smiled back at Flora once she caught on to her meaning.

"Hey Flora?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Do you know how to make bookmarks?"

Flora chuckled, "Of course I do, my lady. Shall we go get the stuff to make them later?"

"Yes please!"

***

The twins were asleep in their room, the curtains were shut tight, allowing no sunlight inside. The door to their room burst open with a voice following behind,

"Happy birthday!!!" Aeliana shouted loudly, startling the two up from their sleep.

Their eyes were wide open and their head was dishevelled, almost looking like a bird's nest. Aeliana laughed at the sight of them before running up to their beds, hugging them each.

"Aeliana! You scared us!" Marius shouted, pinching her cheeks.

She laughed in response, "But it's your birthday and I'm the first one to wish you isn't it?"

Darius got out of his bed and walked over to Marius' bed where the two were. He stroked her hair and smiled.

"Thank you, Aeliana." Darius said with a shy smile.

Aeliana smiled, "I hope you two have the best birthday."

Not long later, their father and two older brothers came and wished the twins as well. Flora whisked Aeliana away in order to get her ready for the party.

Flora brought another two maids to help her and they began preparing Aeliana for the party. She was bathed and her hair was brushed out before they started going through different dresses. Aeliana was glad she was still young since she was allowed to sit on the couch with her teddy bear and snack on the biscuits.

'I want to read...'

"Flora, can I read—"

"My lady we have the perfect dress for you!!"

"...Never mind, coming Flora!"

Aeliana was dressed in a classic chiffon white jumper dress with tiny black bows decorated around the hem of the skirt. Flora added a silver chain necklace with a small rabbit charm around her neck and white ribbons around her wrist to match the dress. Aeliana wore white lace socks that rested on her calves and had brown mary jane shoes with a heart buckle on them.

"Flora are we done yet?" she questioned but Flora sat her down in front of the vanity table and shook her head.

"Almost my lady but we need to do your hair."

"But it's short.."

"Length doesn't matter! There are still plenty of hairstyles we are able to do."

And with that, Flora and another maid got to work. They started out by brushing through her hair and afterwards they tied a small half-up ponytail in the middle before taking small sections of her hair close to her ears and braiding them. Once there were two braids from both sides, they tugged a few strands from the braids making it slightly loose and more voluminous before it was tied together with the ponytail previously made. Lastly, they added a bow clip to hide the hair ties used.

"Now we are finished, my lady!" Flora clapped her hands together and stepped aside, allowing Aeliana to see herself in the mirror.

"Wow so pretty.." she mumbled to herself.

She was more used to seeing herself with messy tangled hair and dark eyebags as that was how she always looked previously every time she passed her mirror. She silently took one more glance at herself before turning to Flora and the other maids.

With a warm smile plastered on her face, she shyly said; "Thank you."

Seeing herself in this state made her realise she took a step forward in this life.

***

Aeliana headed to the ballroom that had been prepared for the twin's birthday. She could hear audible sounds from the other side of the door. Just as she was about to head inside, one of the knights guarding the entrance stopped her.

"My lady, this isn't the correct entrance." the knight spoke.

"But everyone went through this way,"

The knight nodded at her words but said; "This entrance is for the guests. My lady is supposed to be at the entrance where His Grace and the Lords are at."

She blinked before smiling, "I'm sure it's fine if I use this way."

Before the knight could refute more, a servant arrived and bowed towards her.

"My lady! His Grace is looking for you right now. The party is about to begin." the servant said, panting heavily as he ran around searching for their young lady.

"Oh okay, bye sir knight." she waved as the knight bowed.

"Take care, my lady."

Aeliana followed the servant over to the other entrance where her father and brothers were waiting at.

"Eli! You look amazing." Cassian happily spoke rushing over to her and carrying her up into his arms in one swift move.

She grinned and placed a small kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, daddy, Flora and the others did all of this!"

Cassian smiled at the kiss he had received and said, "I'll be sure to give them a bonus this month for their hard work."

Aeliana turned to the twins and reached out towards them. Cassian noticed and placed her back down, allowing her to go over to them.

"You look amazing!!" she exclaimed.

The twins were wearing matching suits with Marius wearing a black suit and Darius wearing a grey suit. Their hair was styled with a side part and combed neat hair.

Marius lifted his nose up and grinned. He was obviously happy to be complimented while Darius had a shy expression on his face, his cheeks dusted pink.

"Let's head inside now, the party is about to begin," Cassian said, looking over at his children.

The servants opened the doors, the lights from inside slowly peeking through, creating a dazzling effect. Cassian began walking, signalling his children to follow.

Aeliana was unsure what to do but she felt someone holding her hand. She glanced up and found Darius by her side. He smiled and mouthed; "Follow me."

As they walked inside, going down the curved staircase and following by age, everyone inside the ballroom was looking at them. Aeliana could feel her stomach churning with the gazes.

She wondered how it would have been if the party was bigger than now.

'Maybe I'll request a smaller party for my birthday next time..'

Standing at the landing of the stairs, Cassian smiled at the guests and began speaking.

"Good evening to everyone who is here. I would like to thank everyone for coming to my third and fourth son's sixth birthday. Marius, Darius, would you like to say anything?"

Marius took one step to the front and cleared his throat, "Thank you for coming to Darius and I's birthday today! The food is great so you must try some!!"

Cassian chuckled, shaking his head at his son before turning to Darius.

Darius gulped, looking at all of the people in the ballroom. He could feel his body stiffening up making him unable to move.

"I—"

Just as he was about to back away, he felt a soft squeeze around his hand. He looked over at Aeliana and in response, she gently smiled and mouthed; "I'll be here with you, brother."

His eyes brightened and a smile bloomed on his face before he took in a deep breath and took a step forward, standing beside Marius.

"..Thank you for coming and please..enjoy the party!"

The guests clapped for the twins and soon the party began without a hitch.