Red Moon Princess

CHAPTER 12: Time for a trip

The sun appeared on the sky 4 times since that day, maria was in the garden laying down, doing absolutely nothing.
She refused to learn anything in the past 4 days, just laying down and looking grumpy. Nothing else.

"For how long are you going to keep acting like this, child?" Maria didn't have the need to sit up and see who dared chase the peaceful moment away. It was her mother.

"The teachers got mad, you know?" Her mother said as she stood before her, hands on hips.

"Why would they? I told them I'm tired."

"You didn't quite say that."

"It meant the same thing."

With a sigh, yvanna sat next to the laying princess looking over the beautiful garden of colourful flowers.  "Being all sad and mad won't help you with anything, Maria." Yvanna conceded, casting a glance at her daughter.  "You're not helpless. Don't act like it." She let her palm fall on her hair, testing the soft touch of her silk brown locks. "You know what will help?" Maria shot her mother a curious look, despite the grumpiness. 

"Searching for answers. In Neroliner." She sat upright at her mother's words, watching the small excited smile that had her lips. Maria narrowed her eyes, getting suspicious. 
"You're just trying to make me feel better." She mumbled, casting her gaze away.

"That, and going to Neroliner too." Yvanna commented with a shrug.

"Are you serious?" All the grumpiness got replaced by pure curiosity and an urge to smile widely.

"Yes. Your father believes we'd find something there, and so do i."  The urge to smile won, and Maria jumped on her mother, grabbing her by the shoulders with a big grin. "Are you sure sure sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure sure sure." Yvanna replied with a chuckle.

Maria listened intently to her mother’s words, her heart racing with excitement and anticipation. She couldn’t wait to leave monaler to search for anything that might help her, but she was more excited to see her mother's homeland and the relatives she had there.

"How long will we be gone?" Maria asked, eager to know more.

"Not long," Yvanna replied, gently tucking a stray hair behind her ear.  "Just long enough to find the answers we're looking for."

"I can't wait!" Maria exclaimed, bursting with enthusiasm.
"But," Yvanna said somberly, "There are some rules you need to follow while we're away." Maria's heart dropped a little. There were always rules, always something to worry about, even when something was supposed to be fun and exciting.

"What kind of rules?" Maria asked warily.

"You know after the death of your grandfather things weren't as good as they used to be, Neroliner is facing a bit of a problem at the moment." Yvanna  explained, trying not to sound too rough or explicit. She's a child, she wouldn't understand. 

"What's going on there, mother?"

"Nothing too bad. Just promise me you won't leave my sight? Not even for a second?"

Thinking her mother is overreacting a bit, maria nodded. "I promise."

"Good," Yvanna said, smiling at her daughter’s obedience. The truth was, things in Neroliner were worse than she could even imagine. Maria would soon find out that the "bit of a problem" was actually a crisis of monumental proportions, one that could threaten the very existence of her beloved kingdom. But it was important that she kept the severity from her daughter, at least for now. Instead, she focused on the more positive aspects of the journey ahead.