To Violet, the king and queen were nothing but a pair of unfamiliar adults; fortunately, though she gave them a blank stare, she wasn’t anxious enough to burst out crying. No doubt Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates had built up her immunity to “strange grown-ups.”
“Ooh, so you’re the Lettie I’ve heard so much about.”
“Yeah!”
“And you even know how to respond? What a smart girl.”
“Yeah!”
It really was impressive that she could answer his questions despite having no idea what he was saying!
Are those her innate social skills at work? Is it something in the Fisalis family blood?! Okay, probably not.
“I’m His Majesty, king of Flür.”
“Floo...?”
“No, that’s not my name.” Struggling to get his point across, the king cracked a strained smile. “Call me ‘Your Majesty.’”
“Uh?”
I couldn’t help but laugh as Violet screwed her little baby face into a confused frown. Yeaah, that one’s gonna be tough...
“Hrm... Too long, eh?” Now the king was frowning too.
“You have to give her something easier to say,” Father Fisalis suggested.
“I see. Then how about ‘King’? Lettie, say ‘King’!” he tried, pointing a finger at himself.
“Keen?”
This time, it seemed to have gotten through.
“You got it! I’m the king! Great job, Lettie.”
“Keen!”
“Very nice, very nice.”
You look totally smitten, Your Majesty!
“Shall I be ‘Belle,’ then?” Her Majesty proposed.
“That one’s a stretch.”
“Quiet, you!” she snapped at Father Fisalis’s dig. However, as soon as she noticed Violet’s curious eyes staring up at her, she fixed her smile back into place. “Ahem. Lettie, I’m the queen! ‘Queen’!”
“Ween...?”
“That’s right. Very good, Lettie!” The queen looked just as charmed as her husband.
In the end, we managed to land on “Keen” and “Ween.” All’s well that ends well.
“Now that Dianthus is all grown up, I’d almost forgotten how cute babies can be.”
“You said it, dear. He’s turned into a little terror, but he was such a darling when he was Lettie’s age. Oh, what a soothing presence she is! She’s so cute. Positively precious!”
Delighted to hear Violet say her name, Her Majesty couldn’t stop rambling about how adorable she was.
“The princesses are dying to meet her too.”
“Bring her over to the royal palace sometime, will you?”
“Though I’ll warn you—we might be tempted to keep her around forever.”
The way the queen had said that with a straight face gave me the sinking feeling that she was being dead serious.
Oh no! Do we have to worry about the royal family kidnapping our daughter?! Careful now—there’s no telling what he might do if it comes to that!
While that maybe-joke-maybe-not had me sweating bullets, Father Fisalis interjected, “We certainly couldn’t have that. If you don’t plan on letting her go, I’m afraid we’ll have to take her back by force.”
Whoa—what a terrifying look my father-in-law’s got right now!
“What he said. Or perhaps we ought to keep her away from the royal palace altogether?”
Mother Fisalis’s smile isn’t any less intimidating! Man, these two might be an even bigger force to be reckoned with than their son.
“Look, we’re sorry! We promise to send her home, so please don’t hesitate to bring her over!”
“You’d better,” came Mother and Father Fisalis’s joint retort.
The royal family was no match for my in-laws.
The apple sure didn’t fall too far from the tree. It’s moments like this when I can see the family resemblance.
✦ ✦ ✦
With Violet around, the Fisalis manor was more full of life than ever before. Who ever would have thought the day would come?