Peace Maker - Chapter 253

“Mother, I missed you,” Desilva whispered as she buried her head in her mother’s shoulder, long waves of black hair rubbing against her mother’s shoulder.

Memoline looked down at her daughter, weary peach lips spreading into a smile. “I missed you too, Silvi.” She gently brushed off Desilva and peered lovingly at her daughter’s face, squishing her cheeks slightly. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, have you been neglecting visiting your mother?”

Desilva flinched slightly before immediately shaking her head, soft cheeks rubbing against callused slender hands. “No mother, I could never,” she smiled reassuringly, “just been a little bit busy lately.”

Memoline chuckled lightly before glancing behind Desilva at Chalice who immediately bowed her head in greetings. “Good evening Chief.”

Memoline nodded her head in acknowledgment, her expression quickly switching to a teasing gaze. “Looks like everyone has been forgetting me lately, even you too Chalice,” she complained, “I’ve gone back to being Chief again. No need to be so tense, I’ve known your mother since birth and you have the same for my daughter.”

Chalice grinned happily in return as she nodded her head, “My apologies mother,” she responded, brown eyes shining with admiration as she gazed at Memoline. She was her mentor, her idol. Someone she wanted to grow up to be like, someone whose very presence empowered her. It hadn’t been the first time in which her greeting had been corrected, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last. But she couldn’t help it.

Mrs. Milti was someone to be respected. The chief of their village, still pushing forward despite the chains of old age that were wrung around her wrists and marks of hard work that riddled her palms. Still elegant in every light step she took and still level-headed despite going through struggles Chalice couldn’t imagine living through.

She turned to Desilva, her bright brown gaze caught by the gray-ish blue in Desilva’s eyes. A smile formed on her face. ‘How lucky I am,’ she thought to herself, ‘I may not have the same colors as her eyes, but I’m glad to be under their gaze.’

“How have you been lately mother,” Desilva asked, her eyes drifting back to her mother as she calmed the light palpitations in her heart, “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to accompany you.”

Memoline’s lips spread slightly, giving a small smile, ” I’m just glad Chalice has been able to keep an eye on you. You girls have to stay close,” she advised, “I’m sure Adeline would have liked that.”

Desilva nodded, stealing a small glance at Chalice before turning back to her mother. “I’ll make sure I do.”

Memoline strode to Desilva’s bed and peered at the two girls for a moment before taking a seat on it. Astute gray eyes stared at Desilva before locking with the tender gray-blue of her daughter’s.

They lingered in each other’s gazes for a second before Desilva turned to Chalice.

“You’re going to Dell’s room after this right?” Desilva asked.

“Mhmn,” Chalice nodded her head. She glanced at Mrs. Milti before her eyes skirted back to Desilva’s, “want to meet me there later?”

Desilva nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan,” she chuckled.

Chalice shared a grin with her best friend before bowing at Memoline, “I’ll be taking my leave now, mother.”

Memoline simply nodded her head before her eyes returned to Desilva.

A few seconds passed by as Chalice hurriedly left the room, leaving an air of silence behind. Desilva turned to face her mother and stood silently as her mother’s eyes remained pinned on her.

Another second passed by before Chalice’s footsteps faded away, Memoline’s stoic gaze melting into warm gray as the last of Chalice’s footsteps passed. “Come here child,” she instructed, stretching her arms wide, to which Desilva immediately approached her, reaching her mother’s side in a few quick steps. There, she flopped onto the space beside her mother and laid down, her head resting on her mother’s lap.

A wave of stress washed out of Desilva as she felt warm, rough fingers perch softly on her head and slowly run down her black waves of hair. Each touch and gentle sweeping through her hair felt like soft breezing brushing against her cheeks. She had missed this.

A shaky breath trickled out of her lips as her body sunk into her bed sheets.

Memoline peered down at her daughter, quiet eyes watching her daughter as her fingers slowly brush through her hair. She pushed back some strands of hair on her daughter’s face and tilted her head as her eyes ran up and down Desilva’s features.

‘Just as before,’ she thought to herself as her fingers caressed her daughter’s cheeks, ‘nothing out of place.’ Her fingers traced up her daughter’s cheeks once again before pausing when she felt Desilva’s body tense up.

“What is it?” she asked, words soft but quick to leave her lips. Gray eyes rush up and down her daughter’s features before stopping when they settle on the smile on her lips.

“Pfft- haha… that tickles mother,” Desilva grinned, sitting up, “I forgot how ticklish it was when you did this.”

Gray eyes peered at Desilva apprehensively, a stare that quickly flickered a second later. Memoline smiled, “Is that so?” she chuckled, “just shows how long of a time we have spent apart.”

Desilva smiled warmly, a little giggle leaving her lips. “It’s only been a couple of days since we came here mother, and a day since I’ve seen you. I doubt that deserves the title of ‘a long time.’”

Memoline’s smile weakened for a moment before shifting to a scoff. “So a day is not a long time of separation for me not to see my daughter? Looks like I was the only one missing my only daughter.”

Desilva immediately shook her head, “Nono, mother. I missed you too. A day is a long time for separation,” she began, “that plus all the days we spent away from each other back at the village too… I haven’t gotten to spend that much time with you for these past few months. It’s been saddening.”

“Now, you spend most of your time with the prince.”

The remark came barely a second after Desilva’s last word, striking with a weight equal to its speed. Desilva bit down on her inner lip.

“I know, I apologize, mother,” she responded, her gaze wavering for a moment as she formed her next words carefully, “I should have found a better way for me to come in contact with you often, it’s been kinda hard to balance my new roles.”

Memoline nodded her head, gray eyes steady as she observed Desilva’s slight fidgeting with her finger and the bed-sheet. They shifted back to Desilva’s face.

“A role that should have been assigned to someone of the same caliber,” she muttered as she peered down at Desilva, eyes pinned in the open grayish blue of her daughter’s eyes, “a job that stressful should not have been given to you. You came to explore the kingdom and experience something outside the village, not to spend your days glued to his side behind stacks of papers.”

Desilva shifted slightly in her seat.

“Something like that should have been given to me dear. I’ve already experienced the brightness of youth, this is your time to do so,” Memoline continued.

“But I like it,” Desilva muttered, her voice weak at first before rising, “It’s not like I’ve spent a month indoors. It’s barely been a week, I don’t think I’ve been put to any work yet. A normal day at the village is more productive than what I’ve done today.”

“But this isn’t a normal day at the village.”

Desilva sat silently, unsure of what to say next, her eyes averted from her mother’s stare as her thoughts did not match her mother’s gaze.

She liked it here. It had only been a day or so, so she couldn’t really make a full decision yet, but so far… It was lively. The palace was huge, filled with servants and things that she thought were scarcity for most of her life. ‘The kingdom…’ she thought to herself as chills ran down her spine, ‘is even more beautiful.’ It was bustling with life. Young, old, bright, colorful, new life. Liveliness this vivid that she hadn’t seen for the past 14 years. She loved it here and every moment she spent here, whether working or just lingering felt amazing. She felt alive.

“But it is a normal day at the palace,” Desilva returned, “a normal day that I am now a part of.”

The gray of Memoline’s eyes darkened as she smiled at her daughter. “I’m happy that you find this place nice.”

Desilva grinned for a second before pausing, catching the tone in her mother’s words. “Do you not like it here?” she asked.

Memoline chuckled as she shook her head. “No.. I’m worried for your safety here.”