Chương 26: Her Words, Not Mine

"She's special." Seraphina's words hung in the air like a thick fog. Good job. Explain that one. Special how? Seraphina chastised herself. All eyes were firmly planted on Seraphina, waiting for her to elaborate. Little Miss looked over at her unexpectedly, as if sensing her uncertainty. Suddenly, her eyes began to glow softly. Sheera gasped.

"I'll say, she's special." She giggled.

"Doesn't change how I feel, Auntie, she belongs here, I can feel it." Little Miss looked up at Sheera and smiled contentedly.

"I know exactly who she is." Sheera smiled back at her. Seraphina and Illianna looked at each other, their faces rife with confusion at Sheera's declaration.

"What do you mean, Sheera?" Seraphina asked, confident that there was no way she could possibly know anything about Little Miss.

"I will tell you exactly who she is… first and foremost, she is my daughter," she said firmly.

"Her being the prophesied child is secondary to that," she added.

"Wait! What?" Seraphina asked, unsure she had heard her goddaughter correctly.

"You heard me. She is the child from the prophecy. Are you going to deny it?" Sheera asked, raising her eyebrows.

"How could you possibly know that?" Seraphina asked, unnerved.

"She told me," Sheera said flatly. Her long ink-black hair cascaded over a shoulder when she turned to look at Seraphina.

"Also, her name is Thalindra, Thai for short. She said to tell you that, although she understands why you and the other one began calling her Little Miss, she would prefer you used her actual name." Both Seraphina and Illianna looked at each other, then at the baby, in disbelief.

"Come on, now, you're trying to tell us that she told you that? She's not even a day old, Sheera," Illianna said, frowning as doubt crept into her expression.

"Are you alright, Sweetheart? It has been an exhausting day. No one would…"

"Believe what you want," Sheera interrupted.

"She said to tell you that you should probably let Celestia come back in now." Seraphina jumped up.

"I can't believe I left her outside like that," she said, turning to look at Sheera. Sheera seemed unable to take her eyes off the baby, while her contented smile said it all. She was completely smitten. Flummoxed, Seraphina shook her head before opening the door. Unbeknownst to Seraphina, Celestia had been standing just outside the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. When Seraphina pulled the door open, the young fairy practically fell inside.

"Hi!" Celestia said, embarrassed.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked casually as she walked past Seraphina toward the sofa. Stolen story; please report.

"You must be Sheera," she said with a smile, sitting down next to her.

"I see you've met Little Miss," she added, matter-of-factly.

"Now that we are all acquainted, shall we get down to why we're here?"

"It's handled, Celestia," Seraphina said, closing the door.

"What do you mean by handled?" Celestia asked.

"Just what I said, it's handled. And, by the way, her name is Thalindra. Thai for short," Seraphina replied, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Who?" Celestia asked, confused.

"The baby," Sheera answered.

"That's a pretty name. Who came up with that?" she asked, first turning to Sheera, whose eyes never left the baby. Then, her gaze shifted to Illianna, who immediately looked away. Then, finally her eyes darted toward Seraphina, who immediately turned her face toward Illianna.

"Well? Who?" Celestia asked.

"It's not like she named herself." The three women glanced at one another.

"She did," they replied in unison.

"Which she?" Celestia asked, now looking completely confused. The three women looked at Thai, wordlessly. Celestia shook her head and folded her arms.

"Fine, don't tell me." She huffed. Seraphina sat on the sofa by Celestia.

"We did tell you," she said with a slight sigh.

"Thai told Sheera what her name was, and Sheera told us." Celestia cocked her head to the side.

"You're trying to tell me that the baby told her?" she asked, looking from woman to woman for a tell. Celestia could read nothing on their faces. Her forehead wrinkled deeper in confusion, then she began to laugh.

"You had me going there for a minute. Great joke."

"She told me to tell you thank you for taking her from beneath the tree," Sheera said, looking Celestia squarely in the eye. Celestia leaned back in her chair.

"How?" She paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

"How could you have possibly known that I took her out from beneath a tree?" she asked, struggling to comprehend.

"You told her. You must have," she said, looking at Seraphina.

"You had to have told her." Seraphina looked at her blankly and shrugged.

"I didn't say a word, Celestia. Not one word."

"She said to tell you that she tried talking to both of you," Sheera said, turning to Celestia. She turned to Seraphina.

"And especially you. But you simply refused to listen." Sheera's gaze returned to Thai.

"I can't explain it, Auntie Phina, it's not like I hear a voice in my head or anything like that. When she tells me something, it's more like I can…" she paused, taking in a quick breath.

"I don't know… Feel what she is saying. It's like a random thought just pops into my head."

"Well then, have her explain what we need to do now. Or how about she tells us how this whole fiasco is going to turn out?" Celestia demanded, unconvinced Thai had the ability to communicate with anyone. Sheera looked at Celestia with eyebrows raised.

"Celestia, dear sweet Celestia. Just so you know, she said that, not me…" Sheera explained with an exasperated sigh.

"Thai also said to tell you that although she can communicate with me, she is not capable of predicting the future. She can comment on the here and the now, but she cannot begin to guess how all of this will turn out."

"Well, that was not helpful." Celestia sighed.

"No offense, Thai, but you would think a baby as special as you would have more insight into the situation." Sheera looked down at Thai, before looking back to Celestia.

"Offense taken," Sheera began.

"Mind you these are her words, not mine. I am limited to the flesh and blood aspects of this vessel, Celestia. Because of this, I am dependent upon others for my basic care. I am sorry that you feel I should be more than I am, but technically, I am an infant who is merely hours old, and as frustrating as you find it, I find it doubly so." Celestia's face flushed. The women all tried to stifle giggles. Celestia opened her mouth to retort, then thought better of it.

"I guess she told you," Seraphina said, looking down at Thai with satisfaction.

"Seraphina, can I speak to you outside?" Illianna asked.

"Of course," Seraphina replied. Seraphina knew the look on her friend's face. It was the I-have-a-problem-with-all-of-this look, the we-need-to-chat look.

"It seems Thai is tired. She smells like she needs a change and would perhaps like something to eat," Sheera said, standing up.

"If you will excuse me, I think it would be better if I address my lovely new daughter's needs in the bedroom, get her all cleaned up, and introduce her to her father," she said, before leaving the room.