Sirius and the Forgotten Princess

The Contract

Leah glared at the defiant woman, Ipomoea Alba. She and her were most certainly not going to get along. Leah understood that God Mother Alba was probably foreign - by the looks of her probably a Northern nation - and therefore not the most familiar with Canis Major's customs, but at least the woman could show her some respect.

God Mother Alba continued to smile. "It is a pleasure to be working with you, Ma'am Leah. I hope-"

Leah was having none of this. She took her feet off the desk, raising sitting straight up in her seat. "It's 'your highness.'"

"Pardon?"

"'Your Grace' will do, as well as 'your excellency.'"

"I understand, but..."

"Godmother Alba" Leah cut her off, raising to her full height, only to be disappointed by her shorter stature once more. "I am not some title-less madam. I am Leah Familiars-Linnaeus, third of the name, crown princess to the Throne of Canis Major. I shall be referred to as such."

The fairy bowed her head, "As you wish, your highness. But since we are on the topic of names, I do wish that you stop referring to me with my full title. I understand that the Canians are a very formal people, but we Gemini are far less so."

Leah sat, skeptical.

The fairy continued, "While I understand the importance of titles and formal names, I prefer to go by my common name, Moon."

Quite the curious name. "Moon? Like the objects in the sky that orbit our world? Like your kind's kingdom?"

Moon visibly cringed at the words "your kind." She paused. "Yes to all, however it refers to the common name of my flower, Ipomoea Alba, otherwise known as the moon flower. I prefer not to use the name Ipomoea anymore, so please use Moon." Moon kept her head lowered. She started fidgeting with one of her bracelets, still nervous.

A rather dull sounding reason for a rather interesting name. Leah exhaled, waiting for the fairy's next sentence. There came none. Leah waited a few more moments for the fairy to continue speaking. The woman occasionally glanced up, only to duck her head down again.

Was not her god parent supposed to follow some procedure, instead of just playing with her jewelry? Leah could see some parchment sticking out of the pouch tied around the fairy's waist. Paperwork if Leah had to guess.

All of this was rather tiring to Leah. She wondered what else her fairy god mother would do. Not that it mattered. She had had enough of this woman and her nonsense. Leah stood to leave. Upon passing the dark-haired woman, she was upset to find that she only came to Moon's shoulder. Moon tried to speak as Leah left, but the princess decided that it would be best to ignore her.

The servant outside the door kept it from slamming shut. Heels clicked on tiled floor as Leah made her way to her room. The boy followed keeping his head down as he followed. She was glad to have gotten rid of the awkward and rather impolite fairy. However, Leah was still uncertain on the abilities. Clearly the council wound not send her someone completely incompetent.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of low-heeled boots colliding with the ground below. Leah turned to see the fairy running to catch-up with her. She used both hands to hitch up the front of her dress, revealing the white layers of skirts and petticoats beneath. Leah could also see the woman's calves dart in and out the petticoats. The attendant turned around to hide his embarrassment. No respectable woman should show her lower legs like that.

Moon caught up with Leah slightly out of breath. Leah refused to look at her. The fairy attempted to speak to her to no avail. She lowered her stature to attempt to look at the princess's face only to be greeted with an eyebrow twitch.