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“What do I do with this?” He asked but Letitia instantly snapped her eyes at him, signaling he should keep his tone down before everyone else hears. Luckily, they were both alone in the solar room and she had kept the doors locked to avoid anyone from barging in.

“You really have no clue on what toning down your voice means.” She eyed the man who wasn’t ready to deal with any early morning madness from Letitia herself. It was going to be a busy day today and he wouldn’t waste his strength on starting an argument with her.

“Why so secretive?” He inquired, “Gretta already revealed the meaning of the bells to us, so I see no reason to tone down my voice.”

“Listen..” Letitia looked at the bells in his hand before meeting Evan’s quizzical stare, “those bells are not safe here, it would be a wrong idea to keep them in the palace knowing it could get into the wrong hands, are you understanding my point?”

“If I say yes will you let me leave?” He prompted, but Letitia just sighed in disappointment. If it was in her, she would have returned the bells herself and not bother about meeting Evan for help, but unfortunately, she has things to sort in the palace and therefore, can’t leave.

“You’ll be heading to the central library to get some books for the council, am I correct?”

“And?”

“I need you to hand these bells to the librarian, saying you took it from a pack of djinns.” She firmly instructed, leading Evan to shift his gaze to the six golden bells in his grasp.

.....

“Why the librarian?”

“Apparently he’s the keeper of the bells. I would have gone myself but I’m tied in the palace, just get rid of it and I’ll reward you with something profitable when you return.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Letitia’s expression finally calmed, knowing how easy it is to make Evan act as long as he gets something in return, “don’t forget, and make sure it doesn’t ring while you head anywhere, most especially the ones with a red knot.”

“I know the meaning of the bells, you don’t have to worry.”

“Good.”

After getting that part settled, Letitia finally opened the door and walked out, followed by Evan who waited five minutes for her to disappear from the corridor before taking his leave.

~

Anna quietly stepped into Gemma’s chamber and saw the little one sitting on her big comfy mattress, drawing something on a piece of paper without lifting her gaze.

“Becca?” Anna softly called, seeing Becca stand at the other side of the room, equally staring at Gemma while holding a tray of milk, and Becca wasted no time hurrying towards Anna’s direction after seeing her come in.

“What’s happening? You sent for me?” Anna softly uttered the moment Becca reached for her side, and the lady exhaled tiredly through her nose while returning her lavender eyes back to Gemma’s direction.

“I need you to help me give her this,” Becca requested, “she’s been somber since yesterday and refused to play like usual. I brought her her favorite milk, thinking it would cheer her up a bit but she’s not even answering me.”

Becca whispered the situation to Anna whose brows knitted in worry. “Not answering you?”

Anna found that part hard to believe as she returned her gaze to Gemma, she was quietly drawing something on a piece of paper, and the look on her face barely showed one who was disturbed.

“Bring the tray, I’ll give it to her myself.” Anna willingly took the tray from Becca who smiled in appreciation.

“Thank you, you’re one of her favorites so I’m sure she’ll listen to you, if she remains like this, then her Aunt Letitia won’t let me live.”

“You don’t have to worry.” Anna assured her, “I’ll handle Gemma, you can carry on.”

Nodding to Anna’s words, Becca finally exited the chamber, leaving Anna to face the little demoness who had barely raised her head up to meet her stare.

Demons were known for hiding their emotions pretty well, and Anna sensed the same could go for her as well. Despite the mask she wore, Anna knew there was something bothering Gemma to remain like this.

“Gemma.” She softly called while taking a step towards her bedside.

Hearing Anna’s sweet voice, Gemma’s ears instantly perked up and she raised her small head to look at Anna whose concerned expression lessened as a smile formed on her lips.

“Can I come join you?”

At first Gemma only blinked, and when Anna was starting to think she might refuse, the little one nodded her head while shifting a bit, making space for Anna to sit on her bed with her.

Her actions relieved Anna to some extent, but the look in Gemma’s expression hadn’t faltered in the slightest. Her face lost a bit of its colors and despite trying to remain composed, Anna could tell something wasn’t right.

Dropping the tray in front of her, Anna sat beside Gemma who met her stare. Knowing the situation, it’d be completely inappropriate to start the conversation with what was bothering her so instead, Anna tried to cheer her up.

“Look what I brought for you, drinking pure milk has always been your favorite so come on, have it.” Anna brought the milk forward, but to her quick disappointment, Gemma shook her head, refusing to take it and it left her baffled.

“You don’t want milk?”

She didn’t respond, but Anna chose not to dwell in it as she smiled at her again.

“Do you want juice then? Should I get you your favorite?”

She shook her head.

“What about breakfast? Are you hungry?”

And Anna got the same unhelpful response from Gemma who looked away. Anna couldn’t make out what the issue was but chose to handle it calmly with her, knowing she was a child and therefore, should be handled with genuine care.

“What’s the problem?” Anna softly began with a concerned look, “are you feeling sick?” She felt Gemma’s forehead with the back of her palm and her temperature was naturally warm.

“Did someone scold you? Are you feeling bad about something? If you won’t tell me then we’ll keep staring at ourselves like this, we’ll go on a hunger strike together and we’ll both miss the family ball.”

At Anna’s words, Gemma suddenly hugged her to Anna’s surprise, wrapping her arms around her and leaning against her. Her small head rested on Anna’s stomach and her lips trembled like someone who was fighting back her tears.

“Gemma?” Anna gently pulled her back to stare at her face and she could see for herself the worry in Gemma’s glistening hazel eyes, and she looked sad about something.

“No no, don’t cry.” Anna gently cupped her puffy cheeks, seeing the tears that were pooling in her eyes and she sniffed.

“My little Gemma is no cry baby, come.” Anna pulled her into her arm, embracing the little one while lovingly rubbing her back to ease her a bit.

“Do you want to hear a story?” Anna sweetly asked as she helped her tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but despite not getting any response from Gemma, she began telling the story.

“This is a story about a milk angel and her pail.” Anna whispered it to her before continuing, ” Once upon a time, Patty, a milk angel was heading to the market, fully disguised as a maid while carrying a pail of milk on her head. On her way, she began calculating the amount of people who’d buy her precious sweet milk, but after making it to the market, no one was willing to buy the milk from the disguised angel. They all said they didn’t want to buy....”

Anna continued the story without stopping, and after some time, to Anna’s gratification, Gemma was actually listening while remaining in the comforting arms of Anna, and there were no tears in her eyes as she quietly listened.

“Then all of a sudden, a rich little girl walked up to the maid and was more than happy to taste the milk the maid had brought. So she paid for a whole cup and do you know what happened after she drank the milk?”

Gemma shook her head, waiting for Anna to say and Anna smiled at her anticipation, “the maid revealed herself to be the milk angel, and told the little girl that the milk was a gift from the heavens and that her day shall be blessed with happiness after drinking the milk.”

With that, Anna picked the glass milk from the tray and showed it to Gemma, “are you going to ignore the heavenly milk that I brought for you? Just like the little girl, you’re one of the lucky fellows to be getting a special milk today, are you going to ignore it?”

Gemma quickly shook her head and pulled away from Anna, taking hold of the glass milk and drinking it to the last drop. Anna smiled in triumph after watching her drink the whole thing and she only brought the cup down after emptying it.

“Good girl.”

Anna took the cup from her little hold and smiled with determination, “just you wait and see, now that you’ve finished the heavenly milk, you’ll have an angel who’ll be by your side, to guide and protect you and also ensure you stay happy, that is the reward of taking the milk.”

Finally, Gemma smiled at the news of having an angel watch over her, and her eyes expressed her happiness as the bright color gradually returned to her face.

“Are you hungry now? Do you want a taste of some heavenly breakfast as well?”

She nodded, leading Anna to kiss her forehead before getting to her feet. “I’ll go get it then.”

Picking up the tray, Anna turned around to leave, and as she made it to the door, she heard a cute, sweet appreciative voice behind her.

“Thank you.”