Cassandra studied herself in the mirror, frowning deeply. She did not enjoy dressing up, and Easter was no exception.
Granted, she looked okay (at the very least) in the dress: a knee-length thing that was mainly green (a similar shade of green to the grass that was on the ground outside) with white polka-dots, with a matching white sash and sweater. She didn't like it.
And then she saw a slight movement behind her in the mirror, and she smiled when she saw that it was Varian and Trystan. Varian was wearing a nice blue polo and khaki shorts, and Trystan was dressed in a yellow-and-white plaid dress... The same dress that Cass had worn for her first Easter, many years ago.
"Are we ready to go?" Varian asked.
Cass nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
And then she yawned. Trystan laughed before yawning, too, resting her head on her father's shoulder.
"Okay... So we got a tired baby and a tired mama. I think we all know who's driving."
Cassandra rolled her eyes, biting back a sarcastic retort. In all honesty, she was tired, and she did want to have a little bit of time to lay back and rest. Having a four-month-old daughter was not helping her with sleeping schedules; it would be nice to get to rest for a little while, even if it was simply for the short half-hour that it took for them to get into town via car.
"Fine."
Varian smiled a little, looking at his wife and daughter in turn. "Let's hit the road, then."
The car ride proved to be quite difficult. Trystan was quite fussy and basically forced Cassandra to take a seat in the back, next to the tired, frustrated little girl. The entire time that Cass was supposed to be resting-- and Trystan, too-- was taken up by Cass's desperate attempts to get her daughter to calm down once more. But Trystan only calmed down when they came to a stop at the Corona City Gardens... Their final destination.
As Varian put the car into park, Cass unbuckled Trystan's car carrier, scooping the little girl up into her arms.
The four-month-old leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, looking ready to fall asleep at any moment. Cass chuckled a little, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. And then Varian came around to join them, digital camera in hand.
"We ready to go?"
Cass nodded, looking down at Trystan. "I think this is the most ready you'll find us today."
Varian laughed, and with that, they began making their way into the Gardens.
The Corona City Gardens were a small place-- just about the size of a normal palace courtyard, if anything-- and, as you might expect from a garden, there were flowers everywhere. There was a stone fountain in the center of the Gardens, and it was completely surrounded by flowers. This seemed to make Trystan perk up a little bit. After all, she was only an infant, and everything seemed to fascinate her... Especially colors like the ones that were displayed in the flowers in front of her.
Varian chuckled a little, turning on the digital camera and snapping a few photos of the flowers before turning the camera to Trystan and taking a picture of her. The little girl-- his little girl, he had to remind himself-- squealed happily, reaching out for the camera. Thankfully, Varian was somewhat anticipating this and snatched the camera out of the way of her tiny hands.
Cassandra nodded her approval-- normally, or at least what 'normally' had been before Trystan was born, Varian didn't have such good reflexes, but thankfully, that had changed up a little bit-- before beginning the stroll around the perimeter of the gardens. Varian stayed behind a little bit, taking multiple pictures of the flowers and, of course, of his wife and daughter.
The pictures made him smile, and he knew right away that the pictures were things he would cherish forever.
