Rose's POV
I start making my way towards the bakery, knowing that I want to say goodbye to the Wilson's before the shop gets jam packed. I see Maria first, she pulls me into a grandmotherly hug ,complementing me on my achievements. Mr.Wilson does the same, telling me how I have already made our village proud. I stay for a good 15 minutes before I have to take my leave and say goodbye to everyone else. Before I can go though, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson rush to the back of the bakery and come out with a a good sized basket.
It contains all of my favorite pastries in bulk: cookies, chocolate bark, fudge, butter croissants, homemade bread, jams and other goodies. At the bottom of the basket lays a fluffy blanket with nice smelling soaps and hygiene products. I gasp and pull them both into a huge hug. For how well prepared the basket is, it seems that the goodies were made this morning, the chocolate and fudge last night. This means they were going to give me the basket regardless if I was chosen or not. I grab the gift basket and make my way to say goodbye, and let me tell you, I feel very appreciated.
I forgot to mention this, but before we left the orphanage for the last time, the twins and Autumn gifted me a pair of silver studs, much like my gold ones just different in material. Luke, who is very interested in minerals and rocks, gave me his favorite crystal. Kyle, who is very interested in dragons, gave me a limited edition book describing every type of dragon known to mankind and their respective powers in detail. Oliver and I didn't exchange gifts because we will attend the Academy together, and Texas and Colt gave me a few of their clothes that I always wore around the house.
When I went to say goodbye to Mr.Romano (seamstress shop owner), he gave me two dresses in similar fashion to the one I wore today. He probably remembered my request for this one and the sketch I drew of it. Miss Valorie and Miss Donna gave me some of their boutique's finest clothes that fit to my style. Even Miss Ama, a close friend of theirs, gave me form fitting shorts (modern day spandex) and a soft, yet aerodynamic t-shirt. I place all of this in my backpack, which is slowly becoming heavier and almost full.
When I went to say goodbye to Miss Iris, Jamie's wife who owns the salon, she gave me a gift basket as well. This one filled to the brim of hair products, shampoos, hair masks, curl enhancing cream, and a few brushes. I cried as I said goodbye to her and made a promise to help her out with kid number three when I return. Mr.Olly and Olsen gave me an 11' x 12' package. They told me to open it when I get to the Academy and to be very fragile with it. I gave them both enormous hugs, thanking them for developing my passion for art. I carry the package placing my two gift baskets on top, trying and my upper body to keep them balanced.
I say goodbye to a few more of my village elders then make my way to the blacksmith shop where I spent all my time during these past summers simply learning the craft of weaponry. London sees me first and yells out to his two brothers. The triplets pull me into a large group hug, and go on and on about the rarity of my powers. Then, we talk about how much fun I will have making more weapons at Stone Heart before I go to leave. As I am about to walk out the shop, Brandon calls out.
"Wait! We almost forgot." He says, slapping his two younger brothers upside the head. He goes into the backroom and comes back out with a chest. He puts it into my arms and gesture for me to open it. I do and look excitedly at what is inside. The chest is full of imperium.
"We figured since you are kinda the only person who can use it, you should just take all of it with you to the Academy." London says. I squeal in excitement and hug the jellies out of the closest person next to me, which happens to be Landon. When I finally depart from the shop, holding even more weight in my arms, I am beginning to come up with new designs for my future imperium made weapons.
I run into the Nicholas and Robin on the way to the Dragon Fest entrance. I was planning on looking for them at the Fest, but I guess this is more convenient. I play with their 1 year old for a couple minutes before going to say my goodbyes. When I pull away from Robin, tears leaking from her eyes as she motions to her husband for something.
I have gotten extremely close to Robin from helping her out with her kid, chatting the day away with her sometimes or even just spending some quality time with her family for the holidays. Nicholas grabs something from his pocket and gives it to me. I look at them with confusion.
"You do not have to give me anything." I try to reason. They both just shake their head and lightly chuckle.
"Please, we insist." Robin says. I hesitantly nod and open the well-wrapped gift. When I open it, I can't help but break into tears at the sight. I thank them repeatedly.
Inside the box is a charm bracelet that bears many inside jokes and memories from my time in the village. One is a flower, symbolizing the nickname originally given to me by Robin. Another charm is a star with a bright stone in the middle, a show for the time I went stargazing with them the night of my 11th birthday. They are all beautiful charms, each one symbolizing a period of happiness. I realize this is another pre-prepared gift and I look back up to them and give a bright smile.
"This means so much, thank you!" I say honestly. They just pull me into another hug and we all make our way to the Fest after I clasp on the golden bracelet. I part ways with my village leaders / substitute aunt and uncle at the entrance. The reason being that it is a tradition for all of the village warriors to meet up and congratulate the chosen ones. I see Garret chatting away with another man when he waves me over. The other man leaves while Garret just pulls me into a hug after I set down everything in my arms.
"Kiddo! I knew you were special from the moment I met you. You are a true rarity, a one of a kind." He tells me. "That is why I think she would want you to have this." He shows me a long box, small in width and gently gives it to me. I look at him in curiosity, when I open the box. I break into another round of tears from what I see in the gift box, ugly sobs racking through my body. In the box is a beautiful silver chain, on it is Garret's wife's favorite ring. Adele's family heirloom. I look at him about to refuse, but he gives me a look and begins to explain.
"As you know, she was infertile and unable to have kids. And when.. when she got sick, you were there by her side just as much as I. Adele held out for us as long as she could, but before she left us for the gods, she told me something. She told me how she always viewed you as her own, and how without the both of us, she would have given up earlier. This is why she wanted to give you her family heirloom, she told me that she's always wanted to pass it down to you, but she was not going to be able to give it to you directly." He takes a deep breath. "Adele loved you so much kiddo, thank you for making her happy in her final moments, for that, I will always be in debt to you." He finishes and we both have tears streaming down our faces in the moment.
Adele was such a pure soul, she is who taught me to meditate when I am feeling stressed, nervous, overwhelmed, or just in need of peace. French was actually the first foreign language I became fluent in because Adele saw that I was interested in her family's background. She taught me her native language when I was 5 and I became fully fluent in French before my seventh birthday. Her imprint on my life was huge, and I will always share a piece of my heart with her.
I put on the chain with help from Garret, and admire its beauty around my neck. I thank him with a bright smile and he leads me to the rest of the elder warriors. By the end of the goodbyes, I have been given several more gifts. My backpack's weight is maxed out from the clothes and other smaller gifts, finally needing some help with carrying my two gifts baskets, chest of imperium and package.
I see Mr. and Mrs.Lucia patiently waiting with Jason to the side of the street. I struggle my way over. Thankfully Jason sees me and carries the three larger gifts effortlessly while I maintain my hold on the chest. Mrs.Lucia chuckles and nudges Mr.Lucia right next to her.
"Somebody's popular." Mr.Lucia teases. I roll my eyes playfully. Thank god I had the decency to wipe my puffy face from all the tears. They individually hug me and move to get something from behind them.
"You guys really don't need to get me anything. You supporting me through everything is enough." I start. They just ignore me and give me a box to open. I reluctantly take it, very grateful for their consideration. When I open the box, I see twin daggers. I look at them more closely and see that Mr.Lucia's family crest is engraved on the handle of the left dagger while Stacy's family crest is engraved on the handle of the right dagger. I let out an excitement filled shriek. I instantly remove my old daggers from my thighs and replace them with my new daggers. While I am still in my state of happiness, Jason pulls out a book and hands it to me.
"You know how you've been wanting to learn different languages deriving from Latin?" He asks, already knowing the answer. I nod. "Well, I got this book from a friend in Italy, it teaches you the cultures and languages of Spanish, Portugués, and Colombian." He finishes with a broad smile. I stare in shock before I latch myself onto him and crush him in one of my infamous embraces.
Jase just gives off a hearty laugh and returns the hug muttering a few words along the lines of my sister's such a bookworm. The elder Lucia's joins in on the laughter and spend a good chunk of time together eating the food at the Fest and playing a few games before we make our way towards the area our where suitcases are being kept. I asked the Lucia's to accompany me because I am not quite ready to say goodbye yet, and I can't really manage a backpack full of gifts, two gift baskets, a large package, and a chest by myself.
We walk to where the dragons are being held with the rest of the experienced magii users and riders, and what I see confuses me. Either I am seeing triple or there are 6 more dragons than there were before. I close my eyes and tune into the conversations around me, not the best way to go about, but I am curious. I hone in on Dark and Brooding's voice a good 4 meters away, telling some other chosen ones that there were more chosen than they expected, so they called in for reinforcements. How they got here on time is beyond me.
Alas, I have to depart from the Lucia's, a river of tears streaming down my face. With encouraging smiles, I turn around and make my way, shuffling towards the closest dragon, who happens to be Blue. I sniffle a little and wipe my face as the dragon watches me get myself together. Two Colors approaches me, looking at my gifts and then me, letting out a low chuckle.
"I see I have met the village's favorite." He raises an eyebrow. I slightly smirk at him as I glance around, seeing that I have an abundance of gifts compared to the other in both size and quantity.
"Perhaps." I snip. I turn back around just to see that Two Colors has gone off talking to other chosen ones. I don't see Oliver or the golden boys anywhere, so I search for a secluded spot to meditate in before I am thrust into the Academy lifestyle, my mind made up. I will develop my new found abilities and make a great impact on the magii community.
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