Some News

We spent the next hour diving, playing, splashing, and having fun in the naralin’s cave. The cool water on our hot, tired bodies felt amazing. We swam till we were utterly exhausted and rather waterlogged. After an hour of this, I thought it was my duty to make sure we got back soon. “Well,” I sighed reluctantly, “I guess it’s time to head back.”

            “Aww, please, ten more minutes?” Lucia whined. 

            “Well, it will probably take us at least ten minutes to get home, Lu,” Anika replied.

            “Fine.” We gave most of the naralins goodbye pats, and then Silverscale, Pearl Fin, and Nautilus swam forward to us and lowered their ridges. Anika smiled. “I will always think it’s amazing that we live in a place where we can actually ride on sparkly, shimmery, creatures whenever we want!”

            “I know, right? I mean, they’re amazing.” I mounted Silverscale expertly, and Lucia and Ani followed suit, mounting Pearl Fin and Nautilus respectively. The naralins set off, plunging forward and into the huge curtain of water blocking the cave’s entrance. I had ducked low before entering the water, so I didn’t get knocked off by the force of the waterfall’s impact. After the others emerged, we swam the rest of the way home, chatting happily all the way.

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            “Well girls, we have a surprise for you!” It was after dinner, and our family was hanging out downstairs. My parents had just told us they had a surprise, and Lucia and I were curious! 

            “What is it?” Lucia asked. 

            “Yeah, what?” I added.

            My father answered, “We have decided to go to the mainland for the next five months. We will -” Excited squealing cut him off. Me and Lucia jumped up and down. As the royal family, we lived in two places: this tiny island, and in a palace on the huge main island’s capital. We alternated where we stayed, but we went to the capital a lot so my father could meet with the government officials.

            “Why are we going?” I asked curiously.

            “Well, your father has to meet with some foreign ambassadors and other things like that,” said Mama.

            “And,” Dad added, “we want to be closer to good doctors and midwives when the baby arrives.” We nodded. This made sense.

            “This baby’s getting closer every day,” Mama said. “Honestly, we don’t know how early I could go into labor. It should be in around seven or eight weeks, but we do want to be in a good place for the delivery. After all, both of you were early. Better safe than sorry.” She smiled and rubbed her belly. My heart did that little flutter thing it does whenever someone talks about the baby. It’s like a mixture of elation, nervousness, and excitement.

            I snuggled close to Mama, needing to feel her warmth. She smiled, and put her arm around me.

            Lucia broke the silence. “When are we leaving?” I had been wondering the same thing.

            “We’ll be leaving tomorrow, a little before noon, if the Maker wills.” Dad replied. “We suggest that you get up early to help us pack up.”

            “Oh, we had one more thing we wanted to tell you about,” Mama added, “we’d like you to help us pick out a name for the baby!”

            “Really!?!” I gasped, delighted and surprised by the idea.

            “Really.”

            I considered it for a moment. “Well, I like Silenria or Ilura for a girl.”

            Lucia said, “Aenea is pretty, or Silvianna.” Mom and Dad thought for a moment. Then Mom smiled.

            “I love Ilura for a girl, too. Min, did you know that name means ‘child of the sea?’” I shook my head. Although I had not known what Ilura meant, it seemed like a perfect name for a princess of Etholia.

            Dad said, “I love the name Silvianna. It means ‘gift from the Maker’, which is a lovely meaning. I think Ilura Silvianna or Silvianna Ilura sounds nice.”

            “I like Ilura Silvianna Aldrich’s-daughter,” Lucia said. 

            Mama thought it was a good name as well. “I like it too. It’s a lovely name with a lovely meaning. Well then, if it’s a girl, that should be her name.” We all agreed. 

            “Well, what about for a boy, then?” asked Dad. 

            “I’ve always liked James,” Lucia commented. 

            I was quick to agree. “Me too!”

            “Funny, that was also our top pick!” Mama smiled, “And we want the middle name to be Aldrich.”

            “James Aldrich Sia-son,” I said, savoring the words on my tongue. 

            “Ilura Silvianna Aldrich’s-daughter and James Aldrich Sia-son,” Mama said. “Wonderful, girls!” She was right. They were absolutely perfect.