"The Princess is entering!"

My presence was announced as the door opens with Papa sitting at the end of the small table with a glowing drink. He looks up and waves away the papers that covered his plate, giving me his undivided attention.

"Hello Papa." I sit down in the seat next to him feeling a little happy that we matched; his clothes being of the same material and color as my dress.

"I hope your hungry." Papa smiles as trays of food were brought in, floating in mid air. "The chef worked really hard on this today."

The first dish revealed a special fish dish that I recognized from a book that was good for growth- telling me that the conversation that I had with Dr. Strom earlier in the week had reached the kitchen.

I had asked him if there was a way to help me with getting taller. My height hasn't changed much since I came here, even with all the food I've been eating on a regular basis. Papa had told me that I could grow at my own pace but I had a goal of reaching his height- so I was very concerned.

Dr. Strom didn't seem to concerned as well and repeated what Papa had said.

"Just focus on eating good food and resting."

Which is exactly what I've been doing.

Papa watched as I finish of the first plate and started on the second, my table manners on full display and perfected with help from Mimi.

"I see that you are still concerned with growing up." Papa murmurs before changing the subject. "What did you do today?"

"Well, Aidan and Nadia and I...." I started telling him about the book I read and the twins sparing when there was a knock at the door.

"It is Abaddon, you Majesty." Grandpa's voice comes from the closed door.

"Enter."

"Hello Grandpa!" I couldn't help but smile.

"Hello granddaughter." He pats my shoulder briefly before leaning over to Papa and whispering in his ear.

I look up at the sound and see a large crack in the ceiling.

"Papa?"

"Sorry Soraya." Papa pushes himself away from the table in one graceful movement before patting my head. "It looks like I need to cut our meal short today."

"Okay." I nod, this wasn't unusual. I know that Papa is a very important person so he can't always be besides me though I do feel a little said as I watched him leave.

I quickly finished up my meal and decided to take a walk in the garden, spirit lights floating around the plants as the moon shined brightly.

'Hmm?' Something dark flickers out of the corner of my eye but when I turn to look: it was gone. 'What was that?'

I paused for a few seconds, waiting to see if it would reappear.

"What ya doing?" A voice causes me to jump a little as it comes from above me. "Even though it's you- you shouldn't be wandering around by yourself."

"Nova?" I look up to the tree and see the black little kitten lounging on a branch their tail flicking as our eyes met. "You scared me."

"If your bonded to me." Nova sniffs as they jump down onto my shoulder. "You need to be made of tougher stuff than that."

"Sorry." I scratched under their chin. "I wasn't expecting you to appear like that."

"Expect the unexpected." The fiery tip of the tail taps my face. "Especially with me."

"I know." A chuckle bubbled up as I tried to keep it down.

Since being bonded to me, Nova hasn't changed. They had told me that once they were an adult, that was when they would find out their gender; mostly due to the influence of their bonded partners.

It mostly depended on what the person needs. They also weren't clear on when they would become an adult, though it seems like it would be when I became one.

"Aren't you on a walk?" Nova asks, settling down around my neck. "Let's go."

"Alright." I rubbed their rounded ears as I continued walking, their weight familiar and warm. "I haven't seen you all day."

"There was some important stuff I needed to do." Nova answers, adjusting their position. "Unfortunately, I hit a dead end."

I wanted to ask, but knew that Nova wouldn't say anything about what they were doing.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Nova's tail taps my face once more as they start to purr at my touch. "Maybe it's a good thing."

Hey everyone! I hope that you all had a fun Valentines/Galentines day! 🥰🥰I had meant to post this yesterday but had some stuff to do that took up a lot of time.😅

Sorry for the short chapter, but the next once should be a bit longer!

😘💖