Just a Visit

[Cecilia]

It's not that Cecilia planned to ever stay in Avaleur permanently. Infact, asides from the nice people there, she didn't like it very much. If it weren't for Phillis being there, she wouldn't have put forth the effort in visiting ever. It was nice, but it wasn't Paineston, that was for sure.

After arriving she'd heard rumour that her old room was put to different use. Well, whatever, she shrugged it off. It was too small anyways. She'd be put in a bigger room, like the grown ups had.

She walked through the gardens, smelling the flowers. It was the only thing in Avaleur that could ever rival Paineston. Sure, Paineston had nice flowers but nobody really cared for them as much as Phillis had. The gardens just became completely boring after he'd left. Cecilia enjoyed the garden in Avaleur far more.

She sat down for a moment. She wondered if anything changed since she was gone. The only thing she noticed was a lot more destruction because of the war. Also, her brother was missing an ear. Not that she cared much, to be honest.

Her feet didn't quite reach the ground when she sat, so she dangled her feet, humming to herself.

[Deleted]

Alice wandered around the beautiful gardens; it was her favourite place in the whole castle. She loved to come and sit on the benches with a book, sitting and reading for hours with the sweet scent of the flowers all around her.

That was what she had been planning on doing, but when she reached her favourite bench, she saw that someone else was already there. A girl about her age.

"Hello," she said politely, her voice quiet. "My name is Alice. Who are you?"

[Cecilia]

Cecilia jumped off the bench and curtsied as she introduced herself. "My name is Cecilia. Pleasure to meet you."

[Deleted]

Alice smiled and, giggling, said, "You as well. May I ask what you're doing in the gardens all by yourself?"

[Cecilia]

Cecilia shrugged. "I'm allowed to do whatever I want here. What're you doing here in the castles, might I ask? I've never seen you around before."

[Deleted]

Alice tipped her head in confusion. "Why's that? I've never seen you here before either.. And I'm the king's new adopted daughter."

[Cecilia]

"The king's new adopted daughter? The king? As in, Philly? That can't be possible." Cecilia stated, confused.

[Deleted]

"Philly? That's a funny nickname," she said with a laugh. "But yes, he adopted me a couple weeks ago."

[Cecilia]

"Why?!" Cecilia nearly yelled. She was beginning to feel irritated.

[Deleted]

Alice flinched a little at Cecilia's harsh tone. "Well, I was all alone after my parents died, and Papa felt bad for me, so he adopted me.."

[Cecilia]

"Papa?! PAPA?! He's NOT your papa! He's MY big brother! He's nobodies papa!" Cecilia clenched her fists as she yelled at the girl. "He doesn't feel bad for anyone! He doesn't care about anyone 'cept for his family and you're NOT a part of it!"

She felt threatened. Why would he adopt a little girl? Why one her age? Why would he wait until she was gone? Why?! Nothing made sense to her.

[Deleted]

Alice stared at Cecilia, her eyes wide in fear. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't meant to upset you.." She said quietly. "And Papa is really nice to me, and he says he loves me. Why can't he be your big brother and my Papa at the same time?"

[Cecilia]

"Because! It's not supposed to be like that! He can't love BOTH of us! He's a man, he's only capable of a few things at once!" Cecilia huffed. " You don't belong here. There's only enough room for one cute little girl, and that's me. He's never gonna be your real papa, but he's always gonna be my real big brother."

[Deleted]

Tears came to Alice's eyes, and she fought to hold them back as she said, "I do belong here; Papa says so. He tells me all the time he's glad I'm here. And he can love more than one person at a time. He loves Daddy, too. It's not just you.."

She was a little angry, but tried not to show it and spoke very quietly, close to whispering. Cecilia had no right to say she didn't belong here.

"And besides, you're never here. I'm here everyday and you're not.."

[Cecilia]

"That's cause Philly sent me away to protect me from the war! Other than that, I'm here a lot!" Cecilia rolled her eyes. " And whatever, Philly says a lot of things that aren't true!"

[Deleted]

"Well, he wouldn't lie to me! I know he wouldn't! He promised me I could stay here and be his daughter and he would take care of me always! He wouldn't lie to me!" She exclaimed, her voice loud and high-pitched.

She had believed all the things Phillis had told her, because he was one of the few people she trusted. Since her parents died, she always made sure not to trust someone too easily. But Phillis was different; she had trusted him when she first met him. But after hearing Cecilia's words, she was doubting whether or not he had been telling the truth.

[Cecilia]

"You don't even know him! How long have you been here, a week? He lies all the time to people! And you know what? He doesn't love people either! He uses them! He's probably just using you for something! He probably only adopted you to make himself look good to the kingdom! To make every one think he's a good 'papa.' Bet you didn't know that! 'Cause you don't know him at all!"

[Deleted]

"I do! I do know him! I've only been here for a month, but I know he would never lie to me! And he loves me, no matter what you say! He doesn't need anything to make himself look like a good king, because he already is one! You may know him better than I do, but you don't know how he is with me! You don't know anything!" She yelled, really angry and upset. She was trying so hard not to cry

[Cecilia]

"Shut up! He could never love a dirty commoner like you! He doesn't care if your parents died, he probably would have left you to die too if he had've thought it over!" Cecilia stomped her foot on the ground. " He's not your papa! He hates dirty people like you! He only likes the clean, rich people!"

[Deleted]

"I was only dirty when I first met him, and that's only because I was living on the streets! I'm clean now though.. He never would have 'left me to die', regardless of if he had thought it over or not!! He. Is. My. Papa!"