Silent.

『 24 』

❝A Liar Revealed Amongst Flowers❞
Past POV 8/10 - Y.843
Seven years prior.
- - -

Even though Celena had kept Levi's promise close to her heart, three months flew by.

Training above ground, in Wall Sina, was more stressful than ever. Since there were four months till her birthday, Celena's father became more demanding of her, causing the tension in the house to skyrocket. Mero Tumaa, her mentor, also endured the stress, as Alecto took it upon himself to scold the young adult for Celena's inability to quickly understand how the 3DMG works. They had been trying to teach her for weeks now but the result was always the same: she couldn't use it. It wasn't that the girl was pretending to fail, she struggled to use the device. Her body wasn't used to the tight straps, and Celena often fell forward, unable to balance herself perfectly.

She was lucky that she hasn't broken any bones yet.

There had also been another issue arising within the Ral household. Recently that week, Alecto had confirmed that there was a gang in the Underground District that had mastered the 3DMG (Celena was a little jealous) and had been attacking traveling wagons to steal supplies and food. This was bad for his youngest child since Celena had more difficulty visiting Levi and the others due to the rise in soldiers in each Underground stairway. There had been one too many close calls for the girl but she was glad that at least her training had helped her in something. All she had to do was keep more of a close eye on the soldiers.

Who knows what would happen if they catch her.

Celena was eating breakfast and judging the new location of the multi-colored hydrangea flowers she had planted near the kitchen window when her mother entered the room. Annabeth didn't notice her second child yet and moved to make a fresh cup of tea. Celena, however, immediately noticed her mother and gulped down her food before rushing to her side with a smile.

"Good morning, mother!" She beamed, holding her hands behind her back. "How did you sleep?"

Annabeth seemed startled at the greeting but smiled back nonetheless and caressed her daughter's cheek in affection. "Morning, Celena Phoebe. I slept well, and you?"

"I couldn't sleep at all!" The sentence was negative but the ginger had said it positively. "Can't you believe that the flower festival in Hermina starts on Friday?! I'm so excited!"

The mother froze.

The flower festival.

Also known as the Festival of Hermina; a festival dedicated to the blooming of flowers which occurred every spring (since the Hermina district was known as the district of nature within the walls). It was a carnival that Celena cherished greatly, and this was mainly due to the fact that Annabeth had always taken her there to see the flowers ever since she was a toddler. It had been a family tradition between the two of them. One they would never break.