Reflections Of Angels

Apology Gifts

When Nyx awoke again much later in the day, one of the first things she noticed as she sat up in bed was the large box on her dressing table.

Getting up and rubbing her eyes tiredly, she slipped across the room. Upon approach she realised it was actually two boxes; one large and square, the other smaller, thin and rectangular. Resting atop the lid of the larger was a note.

Nyx. I hope you like it.

There was no signature or initial, but she recognised his handwriting. Besides, who else could it be? There wasn't anyone else in the house.

Putting the written card aside, she lifted the lid. Inside was a dress; soft and short and white and tied with ribbon. Gently, she held it up to admire it- it was very pretty. Immediately she was relieved; she was running out of clothes, she didn't have many here, even being that she was not opposed to borrowing his shirts.

It was gorgeous- though it wasn't going to last five minutes if the baby got her mitts on it- and suddenly Nyx realised what this actually was. It was an apology dress. He was apologising for his lack of action during Grizelda's tantrum, although not in so many words; following Nyx going off on him about it the night before.
Nyx sighed. She didn't really blame him; everything was new and different and difficult.

Reaching over to the second box, she looked at the label before opening it.

For Grizelda.

Lifting the lid, she peered inside. Her first thought was 'Are you sure?'

It was a doll- a very beautiful one, tall and lifelike, made of soft fabric, wearing an elegant ladies dress of light violet.

***

"Sleepy today?" Nyx teased softly as Zelda nearly drifted off again as she lazily sucked on her bottle; back in her baby carrier for now as Nyx was taking no chances holding her longer than she had to. "See, this is what happens when you scream yourself silly."

When the bottle was empty she set it aside, chuckling at the drowsy pouty face Zelda pulled in objection. "Now, it you're going to be good, I have a surprise for you."

She didn't really want to reward Zelda for the tantrum she'd thrown last night; but she figured the baby was unlikely to correlate the two, in fact she'd probably already forgotten about it, and at this point anything to keep her happily entertained was a boon.

Zelda's eyes immediately lit up as she saw the doll and she reached for it with grabby hands.

"Yes, this is for you." Nyx chuckled, enthused despite herself by the child's excitement. Zelda squealed eagerly as Nyx placed the doll in her arms, cuddling it close. As the baby played, exploring the doll inquisitively, Nyx set about getting ready for her day; taking the opportunity to shower and brush her hair, before trying on her new dress. Looking down at herself, she thought, yeah, there was no way she was wearing this around the baby. It was way too nice.

Glancing into the nursery to check on Zelda for a second, Nyx smiled when she saw how sweetly Zelda was playing with the doll. She thought as she turned away to go change of how underneath it all, Grizelda was just a little girl at heart, and it was important she remember that.

RRRIIIIPPP!

At the sound of tearing, Nyx turned and raced back into the nursery; only to be met by Zelda was staring at her with hard eyes, the doll's torn-off head in her hand.

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Hope you like the picture of the dress, it's the closest to how I picture it I could find. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything similar to Zelda's doll XD