What If?

16

Athanasia POV

Claude and I have spent quite a bit of time together. Each encounter with each other he'd give me another flower crown. I had a big pile of erratic flower crowns Claude gives me. Today, though I will be teaching him how to make them correctly.

Yesterday Claude and I were having tea as usual now days. Claude grabbed the flower crown on the table and handed it to me. "Thank you, Your Majesty." I tell him as I place it on my head. Like usual it was to big for my head. It's going to fall apart soon enough like all his other ones do in the end. I don't even understand how gets them to stay together this long.

"Your Majesty." I say taking a bite out of the strawberry cake. "Yes?" Claude says looking up at me. "Tomorrow, instead of tea how about we make flower crowns?" I suggest looking up at him. He looked back at me for a moment. "If that is what you want to." Claude says looking back down at his tea.

"I look forward to tomorrow!" I smiled. This wasn't so bad, right?

I should go now. Ah! My legs! I-I fell? I'm getting weaker? I've been trying to deny so long now. But I can't worry everyone. Especially since it seems it's my mana only Lucas can fix it anyways. Just stay calm. When he gets back he'll fix me again. I just have to stand up again!

I reached and grabbed onto the back of the couch slowly pulling myself up. I need to control this! Soon I'm going to collapse in front of someone.

"Princess! It's time for you to go." Ces came into the room. "Okay!" I smiled at her before walking towards her and leaving. See as long as I don't think about it I'll be fine.

"Here you go. Just like you asked, Princess!" Lily smiled at me handing a ball of twine and sharp little knife. "Thank you, Lily." I smile taking it from her. "Have fun, Princess." Lily says kissing the top of my head. I just nod and head to the Garnet Palace.

It's nice to spend some time with Claude. He is still cold but I know longer feel a murderous aura around him anymore. I still won't forgive him though. I don't know if I'll ever.

The lapliea flowers have bloomed so beautiful this season. We should make flower crowns out of these, they'd be so pretty! I begin to pick several flower until I could hold no more. We can make so many with all of these alone!

They smell so heavenly!

"Athanasia." I look up to see Claude sitting on a blanket with tea of tray and already many picked flowers surrounding him.

"Your Majesty!" I went over to him joking him on the giant silky white blanket. "You picked some Lapieas?" Claude asks looking at them. I shove the flower to him, smiling. "Don't the smell so heavenly?" I smile as Claude looks at the flowers. "Heavenly?" He asks looking up at me. "Yes. This what I imagine heaven would smell like. These flowers and freshly made Lippie tea with deliciously just baked pastries."

I hope that's what heaven is like. That's what my mother gets to experience everyday. I looked up at Claude who seemed to mumble something. "Pardon?" I ask at the dazed Claude. He looked up at me then back at the flowers. "What is the twine and knife for?" Claude asks.

"It's to help make flower crowns!" I tell him as I unravel some of the twine and wrap a circle around my head. Then keeping the circle I took it off my head and cut it with the knife. Then tied a knot.

"See this is how big a flower crown should be for me to wear!" I explain putting it down. Claude looked at the circle of twine I made then back at me.

"May I?" I ask holding up the ball of twine. "I don't want a flower crown." Claude says. "But look at these pretty flowers." I say holding up the laplieas. Claude narrowed his eyes at me. So cold. "Well," I take a single flower and tucked it above his ear. Ah, he actually looks really cute. "You look so pretty, Your Majesty!" I giggle looking him. Claude then glared at me, quite harshly. "I'm sorry." I say look down and picking up the rest of the laplieas. I start to make a flower crown with them.

Claude grabbed some flowers himself and began to attempt to make one also. He seriously doesn't know how to make one at all.

"Here. You bend the stem like this. Then you take the other flower and loop that stem through the other hole. Then you can take another flower and loop that one also." I demonstrate on mg flower crown.

Claude tries to do what I tell him but begins to do it backwards. "You lied. It's not working." Claude gets annoyed. "You are looping it the wrong way making everything twist in a weird way." I explain almost done with my flower crown. He is still better then the first time I taught Lucas.

"Father?"

I turn around to see Jennette heading towards us. "Hi, Princess Jennette." I greet her. "Hello Athanasia." Jennette says seeming indifferent.

"What are you doing?" Jennette says coming and sitting by Claude. "Flower crowns." Claude says taking a sip of tea. "May I join?" Jennette says smiling up at Claude. He really does look at us differently. It's easy to see he doesn't think of me as his daughter at all once you see how he look and treats Jennette.

"Of course." I smile handing her the flower crown I just made. "Here. I just made this." I tell her. "Thank you but I want one that father makes me." Jennette smiles at me. Ah, did I do something to her?

Claude grabs a flower crown from the other side of him that sat on the tea tray. Another messy one. It must've been mine. "Here." Claude says handing it her. Jennette smiles happily putting it on her head. "Thank you, father!" Jennette hugs Claude tightly. The lovely father-daughter relationship. A sweet girl adorned by all especially her father. I'm happy for them. I'm glad Jennette gets to be close with her father after years of not having one. I'm also happy for Claude because he gets to be happy with a daughter he loves. I don't belong here. But I want to stay just a little while longer by their side.

I go ahead and start on another flower crown as Claude and Jennette talk. A lot has changed if I think about it. Before Claude and I would never interact at all and he wouldn't even look at me. In the past when I used to call him father he would be so angry. Then I never hanged out with Jennette too because I was jealous. How impudent of me. But I've accepted it now I think. Claude doesn't think of me as his daughter and that okay. He is still my father in the end and I'm glad that I've been able to get to know him and that he is happy with his daughter that he adores.

"Athanasia." Claude says catching my attention. He hands me a pretty flower crown. Did he really make this? "You did so great! Thank you, Your Majesty!" I smile at him. He improved a lot with just this one compared to all the others.

"Father, I asked for that one!" Jennette says sadly to Claude. It is nice than the one he gave her. She must be embarrassed. "You can have this one if you want Jennette." I tell her handing it to her. "Thank you." She smiled about to grab it. "No." Claude says grabbing Jennette's hand. "It is hers. I gave her one and I also already just gave you one." Claude tells Jennette.

"It is o-" Claude glared at me making me stop what I was about to say. I should leave them. "May I excuse myself?" I ask standing up. Claude looked up at me before sighing. "Yeah, you may be excused." Claude says.

"Goodbye, Your Majesty and Your Higness." I say before walking away back to the Ruby Palace. I'm starting to get a headache.