Maj 3rd – 4649 A.P.
“Wake up, EVA!” Eva burst her eyes opened and sat straight up. Her half-sister, Laurel, sat at the end of her bed, waiting for her to wake up.
“What are you doing? What time is it?” Eva frantically inquired.
“I’m waking you up. And it is half past ten in the morning.” Laurel answered. Laurel was nineteen years old and looked so much like her mother.
“Ten thirty?! Why didn’t you wake me up at nine?” Eva demanded as she jumped out of bed and run into her bathing room.
“We couldn’t wake you up,” Laurel answered as she watched Eva run into her bathing room. Laurel stood next to the closed door of the bathing room and continued her conversation, “We’ve been trying for the past two hours and it was like you were dead. We made sure you weren’t though. We’re not cold-hearted. We just pretend to be.” Laurel joked, she waited to hear a laugh from Eva, who was washing off in the bathing room, but she heard nothing. “Hey, that was actually funny.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Eva called back. Laurel rolled her eyes.
“Whatever. Just be ready by eleven thirty, because they will be here at noon.” Laurel warned. Laurel left Eva’s room closing the door behind her, leaving Eva to get ready. Eva finished washing up and walked back into her bedroom to put on her blue and white striped dress. After she was dressed, she quickly put on a little mascara, powder, and pinched her cheeks for a little color.
Eva finished getting ready and slipped on her white flats and ran downstairs to the kitchen to get a bite of what was left of breakfast. She chowed down a strawberry and cream cheese pastry and chased it with some water.
“Look who’s awake.” Eva turned around and saw a man standing there at the doorway. He was a tan-skinned man with unshelved brunet hair and the most promising emerald eyes. Eva knew this man to be her father, Nicholas.
“Look who didn’t wake me up.” Eva shot back at him. She took another sip of water and wiped off her mouth.
“You were too peaceful. As a father, I have to let my children get what’s best for them and sleep was what you needed.” Nicholas replied.
“Some time for you to actually let me sleep in.” Eva muttered. Nicholas chuckled but faded it out to take a more serious tone,
“Eva, can I talk to you seriously for a moment?”
“Sure,” Eva answered.
“Your mother told me about your talk last night,” Nicholas informed. Eva closed her eyes. She wished with all her heart that she would not go through another serious talk with her father. She did not want to be embarrassed. She hung her head and grumbled. “Evangeline, please just hear me out.” Eva sat up and turned to her father.
“Okay, but please don’t make it awkward.” Eva pleaded.
“I’ll try not to,” Nicholas replied. “Eva, I want you to know that you are loved no matter what this Elias situation brings about. But just know that you don’t need a man to make you happy.”
“Pappa… I know I don’t a man.”
“Good. Good.” Nicholas nodded his head. He never really was one to share emotion. Not to say that Nicholas and Eva’s relationship was emotionless, but while Eva was full of emotion and always let her father know how much she loved him, Nicholas let Eva that he loved her by making sure she was always taken care of.
“You know you have no reason to worry. I don’t make time for people who aren’t worth it.” Eva replied.
“Spoken like a true Lorenzi,” Nicholas grinned, but his smile quickly went away. “I want to warn you about the Ruso boys.”
“Why?” Eva wondered as she took another sip of her water.
“They are troublemakers. More so than you and your siblings are.” Nicholas was about to leave when his daughter replied,
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll see.” Nicholas replied as he left Eva to finish her breakfast. Eva sat there for a moment, taking in what her father said. She knew the Ruso kids very well. Both families were very close, but Eva wondered why her father warned her about the boys. Was there something he knew that she didn’t?
“Eva!” A voice yelled. A woman walked into the kitchen and stopped at the doorway.
“Are you almost done?” The woman was favored like Nicholas. Brunette hair, tan skin, and freckles. Her eyes were a deep understanding nutmeg.
“What do you need, Sophia?” Eva inquired. Sophia was Eva’s younger sister and Laurel’s twin sister. Eva and Sophia were kindred spirits. Both sweet, but could possess the biggest bite.
“I need help.” Sophia pleaded.
“With what?” Eva wondered.
“Picking out flowers for the vases. I don’t have a good of an eye as you do, so I need you as my second opinion.” Sophia prompted. She knew Eva was amazing at picking out flowers for the right occasion. She knew what each flower symbolized and what each of their guests would prefer. Eva was the best at making people feel at home.
“Okay, but we need to make it quick. They will be here soon.” Eva warned. “Do you have anything in mind?”
“I have no idea. Mum asked me and then I went straight to you. I have no idea what I’m getting into.” Sophia replied honestly. Eva sighed. She worried that this would ruin her day too much, that she would not be able to welcome their guests.
“Okay then, let’s go, but we need to hurry up.” Eva ushered Sophia towards the gardens.
“Thank you!” Sophia exclaimed. They walked down the corridors towards the far side gardens to find the perfect flowers for their guests. But once they got to the gardens, Eva noticed a far off engine sound.
“What was that?” Eva inquired. Sophia scrunched her brows and looked from Eva to the palace. The only thing that came out of her mouth was,
“Ugh-um. No?”
“I thought I heard an engine sound,” Eva replied.
“You know,” Sophia quickly thought up, “it was probably the refurbishments being done on the new speeders. They’ve been using a lot of equipment. Loud equipment too.”
“Oh, I thought they finished working on the speeders the other day?” Eva inquired. Sophia quickly replied,
“They found something they missed early this morning. They were going to have them ready for today in case Pappa wants to show our guests around the city, but they needed a few more adjustments to the engines.” Sophia struck a satisfied smile. She never in her life had thought of a lie so quick. Her sister, Laurel, would be so proud. “Let me check on the adjustments. I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t leave until I get back.”
“Why?” Eva inquired. Sophia paused.
“So I can know what flowers you pick out and where to find them. For future reference.” Sophia replied. “I need help,” Eva smiled and shook her head.
“Yes, you do.” Eva agreed. Sophia quickly left. As she got inside, she began to book across the palace, leaving Eva out in the gardens. Eva just walked around the flower gardens and looked around to find the right additions to the bouquets. She started to gravitate towards the purple hydrangeas since they were so easy on the eyes. She began to pick the ones with the most bloom and hold them in her hand as she scanned the gardens for more flowers, contemplating whether the purple hydrangeas were for their guests or for her.
“When we first met, you were holding purple flowers. Just like those.”
