[UPDATE IN PROGRESS] Onmyou-Pocketville: Fallen Dusk

Chapter 7: Stars and Flowers

Many years ago, back when Ava and Eva were younger, there was a beige cat with cinnamon markings and icy blue eyes, and was wearing a golden collar bearing the Friendship Heart. She was indeed Queen Tomomi, Onmyou's previous reigning sovereign. She sat at the desk of her room, the Monarch's Suite...it used to be her room. She stared at a piece of parchment paper she wrote on with her trusty fountain pen. It was a note that reminded her of an upcoming event.

"Presumed Date of Stellar Conjunction: 24th day of the Hisan moon, 1534." it read.

"It's in 400 moons..." murmured Tomomi. "I hope I get to witness it. I'll be very old by that time."

The Tenneko monarch looked away from the paper and at the goldenrod wallpaper, saddened by her skeptics and senses. They were telling her that she probably won't get to see the astronomical event. Was she going to be correct? Only time will tell.

Tomomi sighed. "But if I don't..." She then grew a slight smile. "At least my darling daughters will."

Ava and Eva were in the garden during that time, having a lot of fun there. Tomomi wished she had more time to spare, just to have more free time, but the duties of a monarch have to be done first. And it wasn't easy, not even for Tomomi.

The doors to the cat's room slid open and another cat with beige fur, but instead having lacquer-black point markings, appeared. It was King Yoshiaki, who was Queen Tomomi's husband.

"Good day, my dear Tomo!" Yoshiaki's eyes were bright with joy, as he was happy to see his spouse.

Tomomi looked up and met eyes with her husband. "You're finally here. Have Ava and Eva finished picking the camellias and primroses to place in the vases?"

The camellia and the primrose were Ava and Eva's favourite flowers, respectively.

"Not yet," Yoshiaki nodded. As he walked over to get closer to Tomomi, he then glanced at the paper that laid on the desk. "Ah, what do you have here, my love?" he asked.

"There are always three peculiar stars in the sky, the colours of pink, yellow, and red hues, the brightest stars of the summer sky," replied Tomomi. "It is said that those stars will be at their most powerful soon. I've written a note so I won't forget."

Yoshiaki noticed his wife's melancholic eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's...nothing." Tomomi shook her head. "You should go help Ava and Eva with the flowers. I'll be here just doing my work."

"Are you sure?" Yoshiaki tilted his head in both wonder and worry. "Darling, you shouldn't push yourself too hard when it comes to work.

Tomomi thought for a moment on what to do.

I've been overworking myself for quite a while. Maybe I should calm down...and spend time with my family.

She stood up once she made a decision, once again looking at Leon.

"I changed my mind. I shouldn't be such a lone wolf! I must be a true mother and be with my children!"

"Alright then. Come with me, dear," Yoshiaki purred as he gently ushered Tomomi over to the doorway.

As the royal couple walked down the hallway, a young kitten with cinnamon markings, blue eyes, and a pink ribbon collar scrambled right over to them.

"Okaa-san! Otou-san! Look what we found!"

"Yes, Ava. We'll be right there." Tomomi nodded.

Ava ran all the way to the other side of the corridor and made her way to the opening to the outside. Shoots of grass brushed against her short legs as she continued her run into the garden, where her sister Eva was, along with the flowers both were collecting.

"They're coming, Eva." mewled Ava. "We're gonna get extra help moving all these into vases in the castle." She peered into the camellia bush she was next to. "And hopefully they'll notice this."

Eva nodded as she pulled a yellow primrose flower's stem out of the soil and placed it in a woven basket that had other primrose flowers of the same colour tied together with a ribbon.

Eva always loved the butter-yellow primroses. She also liked other primroses' colours too, such as white, purple, and orange, but the buttery hue of the yellow flowers would always brighten her mood.

It was not long until their parents finally came over to the shrubbery. Yoshiaki was as active as ever whilst Tomomi was a bit fatigued after the sprint.

"So...did you both collect enough flowers?" asked Tomomi.

Both sisters nodded in unison.

Eva had a worried look as she turned to her mother. "What about water? These flowers will shrivel up without it!"

"Don't you worry; we sent someone to fetch water from the well." Leon placed one paw on Eva's head, rubbing her.

"But we have something to show you; here!" Ava pranced over to a certain area in the camellia bush she sat next to.

At first the couple was confused, until a noticeable colour caught their eyes: there was a red flower within the pink and green colours of the camellia shrub.

"What in Wajikyu...how did it end up growing with the camellias?" Tomomi was now flabbergasted, as she found the anomaly in the shrub.

Wajikyu is the name of the earth-like terrestrial planet where Onmyou is located.

"Aww, what a lonely little lily!" Yoshiaki was more enthusiastic than his wife as he too took a look at the unusual flower.

"Pink, yellow, red..." murmured Tomomi. "Pink, yellow, and red. Pink camellias, yellow primroses, and a red lily. Pink, yellow, red."

Pink...yellow...red.

The three colours caught Tomomi off-guard. Were they...connected to something?

"Mum, are you alright?" Even if she were young at that time, Ava still had worry over her mother's thoughts.

Tomomi blinked. "Yes...don't worry about it, dear."

"Come on, we can't procrastinate!" Eva said as she slid the flower basket to where it would hang around her neck. "With more of these flowers, it's going to be radiant in the palace!"

"Isn't it always radiant?" Yoshiaki chuckled, as he always knew that the castle's exterior was painted with bright hues of yellow and fuchsia, which made the home of the reigning sovereign like a beacon on the hill it stood upon. Even the interior rooms were even more magical than ever.

"At least it'll make it smell as pretty as it appears!" Ava chimed in.

"Alright, alright, let us get the baskets and get a move on." Tomomi wasn't as amused as the other three, but at least she hadn't forgotten about what they were supposed to be doing. She grabbed another basket with camellia blooms placed in it and tossed it around her neck, where the handle rested above her collar.

Yoshiaki was about to start walking back inside the palace when he saw Eva almost tipping over as she held the basket around her neck. "Do you need help? The basket is a bit large for you."

Eva nodded without saying anything, and slid the basket back on the grass. Yoshiaki did the same method Tomomi did: tossing the basket to where it would be around the scruff area of his neck. Both adult cats found it a cinch.

"Now, let's go back." Tomomi was the first of the pack to walk back to the palace, followed by Yoshiaki, then Eva.

Ava was the last one, but not the least. She looked back at the lily that grew in the camellia bush, which still had its own flowers blossoming. She pulled its stem out of the soil with her teeth, to where she would hold the rose between her still-growing kitten teeth, with the flowerhead and the end of the stem sticking out in different sides. She glanced at the other three cats continuing their walk over to the castle, and scampered over to catch up with them.

Maybe the lily did have a great meaning behind it.