Fireflies And Butterflies (ON HIATUS)

07║First Address

The sunset was warm and peaceful as Czarina walked her dog through the garden. Her eyes were on her dog as he strayed from one rosebush to another. He would sniff them and then bark and go back to walking in front of her, only for him to rush to the next bush and repeat his actions. She laughed lightly as her dog moved a bit further and tried to sniff another rosebush but got his nose pricked by a thorn. Bruvver whined and used his paw to rub his nose. When it seemed like the pain was not going away, he looked at Czarina with large eyes and whined.

Czarina rolled her eyes and squatted, Bruvver sitting on the spot. "It is your fault that it hurts, not mine." She tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. He barked and licked her finger. "Ew. Bruvver." She puffed her cheeks and the dog barked, continuing its walk. Standing up, Czarina grumbled, "drama queen."

She huffed and followed after him as he began to tug at his leash. Casually walking through the sandy path, Czarina gazed up at the skies. She stared at the horizon that was painted orange and purple and she smiled, the last light of day reflected in her eyes. At some point, Czarina totally stopped walking, lost in the beauty of twilight.

Bruvver growled lowly when his leash reached its limit. He moved back to her and began to surround her. It was only when he had wrapped his leash around her twice—it dropping to her feet, kicking her out of her reverie with it's cold feeling—did she gaze down. Czarina shook her head with an exhausted sigh as she eyed the leash. She looked at her dog and he sat down, breathing heavily. He barked once at her, his bark ringing loudly.

"Naughty dog."

As Czarina was trying to unwind the leash from around her, she heard the light sound of sand crunching under a pair of feet as somebody approached her. She gazed towards the source of the sound and smiled faintly at the sight of her father.

"Dad," she said, wrapping an arm around his side as he hugged her to himself.

He kissed her head and removed his arms. "How are you? How's your day been?" he asked, shifting his eyes to Czarina's dog—he was sniffing Qlaus' feet.

Czarina shrugged, tugging at her dog's leash. "It's... relatively okay."

"Good?" he said, raising his thumbs.

"Good." Czarina looked back at the sky; it was almost totally dark, the moon partially visible in the sky.

"So... what are you doing?"

"Just... walking Bruvver. Sky... watching."

He hummed softly. "Um... Czarina you had wanted to ask something of me the other day. What was it?"

Czarina's eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. "Oh... yeah. Um... I uh..." She scratched the back of her head. "I... wanted to ask you if I can make Lulana my... personal... maid."

"Really? Why?" he asked, his voice sounding surprised.

"Well... you know," she said, fiddling with the leash. "I... Uh... I want a personal maid that could... you know... answer to my every call."

Qlaus remained quiet for so long that Czarina had to look at him. He was holding his chin, an eyebrow lifted, his expression was one of questioning. Czarina's face warmed up as he hummed, a playful smirk on his face.

"Should I be bothered that my daughter actually remembers the name of a servant, talk less of asking me if she could have that very servant as her own." He held his waist. "This is new."

Czarina's eyebrows knitted together as she frowned in confusion. "But... is that wrong?"

"Hmm, let's see. You've never had an interest in anyone besides me, your friends and your dog. And secondly, you've never asked something from me Czarina, you demand."