He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen - Spoiled Princesses

Author's note; small intimate scene somewhere below.

Francis Madeline Miller was not happy. She had been forced into this pink confection of tulle and sequins and made to attend a party, which was really boring and all of the attention was upon her big brother and that ugly girl! Where were the balloons? Where were the unicorn decorations? Where were the presents all wrapped up in pretty paper and topped off with shiny bows? Lala, her nanny, was trying to mollify her with sweet foods and cake, but it wasn't even chocolate!

Some adults tried to speak with her, saying how adorable she looked in her pretty dress, with false smiles. She knew these smiles, they were what some of the maids used when speaking with daddy and big brother Mark, when mummy wasn't around. They were, 'I don't mean it, but I want something' smiles. "What a lovely dress!" The girl who had accompanied the man who said he was mummy's second cousin cooed. "You look just like a princess!"

"Lady," Francis looked up with large blue eyes and tilted her round face to one side. The girl blinked and gave her a indulgent smile. "Do you have children?"

"Oh no," the girl chuckled slightly, "I'm too young for children!"

Francis looked her up and down with the eyes of a shrewd eight year old and thought to herself; you really ought to get on with it! But instead she offered some advice. "If you do, don't dress her up like a cupcake. Not all girls like pink." And with those words of 'wisdom' she walked off, leaving the girl stunned and her nanny apologising on her behalf.

The child then scanned the remaining crowd. Not a single person was around her age. So she decided to pour her grievances to her big brother Mark. Except, when she found him, she realised belatedly that she had found the wrong person. This man, who had turned when she called out his name, had blond hair, was paler than Mark and had lighter eyes. "You are not big brother Mark," she said accusingly.

"No, I'm Owen," the man replied, kneeling so that he could see eye to eye with her.  She approved.  She hated when adults looked down on her, like just because they were taller than her that somehow they were better than her!  This did not include daddy and big brother Mark of course, daddy bought her gifts that she wanted and big brother Mark played with her during his visits.  Big brother Karl was okay, but he was always so busy and told her off when she interrupted his phone calls.  He was always on the phone!  Even mummy told him off for using the phone at dinner!  As for mummy, well mummy was in her bad books at the moment, she made her wear this ugly dress and come to this boring party!

Francis looked at the pale eyed boy who looked a little like big brother Mark and realised why.  She had heard the maids gossiping about it.  This was her other brother, the one who had to live in another house because he did not share the same mummy as her and her other big brothers.  Why that was a problem, she did not know.  Plenty of boys and girls at school had more than one mummy or daddy and had brothers and sisters who were considered only half.

"You are my big brother Owen?" She asked.  The boy's eyes widened, but he nodded to say that this was true.  "Mummy doesn't like you." She stated, bluntly.

But the boy just laughed slightly and said; "I know."

"What do you think of my dress?" She asked, suddenly.

Owen glanced over the pink confection, with a slight wince.  He had once loved feminine clothes, especially with frills and dazzle, but seriously, even Kez would not have been caught dead in this!  "Honestly?" He asked and she nodded.  "It's very over the top.  I think a paler pink or a baby blue would have been better with a flowy skirt, so when you spin around, it rises in the air."  Francis' eyes glittered in interest, so Owen drew on his fashion experiences.  "Do you like flowers?" She shook her head. "That's a shame, so instead of flowers we should put stars on the collar... and what else..."