Summer in Askr

Spring was Alice’s favorite season, but Summer in Askr was nothing to scoff at.

For one thing, the weather was hot enough for the clothing she liked to wear. The warm rays of the sun warmed both her normally icy-cold skin and the mood of Askr’s people, not to mention the shallow ponds that she enjoyed soaking her feet in so much. The scenery was also gorgeous, with lion lilies adding bursts of blue and yellow to the otherwise green expanses that surrounded the kingdom. She often watched them grow when anxious thoughts began to cloud her mind.

But by far the best part of the season was the extra time she was allowanced with her children while they were free from their studies. She was proud of Zachary and excited for Cecil, of course, but the more they were busy, the more she missed knowing what was happening in their lives. More than once now, she’d been surprised by the news that Zachary had learned a new battle tactic, or that Cecil had once again outgrown his shoes and needed new ones.

“Hello, there! It’s nice to meet you!”

…or that Cecil was greeting strangers in the park, as the case may be.

Alice suppressed a smile as she turned around to see her little boy running up to an unfamiliar group of teenage girls, all giggling and waving to him.

“It’s nice to meet you, too!” one of them replied, shaking his hand.

“He’s so cute,” whispered a girl behind her, loudly enough that Alice could hear.

“He is, isn’t he?” Alice interrupted. The girls jumped a little. “I’m very lucky to have him.” Taking Cecil’s hand, Alice murmured, “Come along, now, we don’t want to be late for the picnic.”

The little boy’s eyes lit up at the mention of the picnic, and he followed his mother with an eager bounce. The teenage girls waved goodbye, and Alice was pretty sure she overheard one of them asking where his older brother was. So that’s why they were all fawning over him.

As they approached the grassy hill that had been pre-designated as the meeting spot, Alice noticed— to her surprise— that her elder son was already waiting at the top. He spotted them from a good distance off, and motioned them over as if they weren’t already heading up.

“Mother!”

Zachary’s warm smile just about melted Alice’s heart. It was generally agreed by the people of Askr, but especially by Alice, that his smile could outshine the sun any day.

“Come quickly! I want to show you something!” Despite his age, he bounced in place like his brother, eager as ever.

Cecil ran ahead, hugging his brother’s leg before tugging at his sleeves. “Did you bring us chocolates?”

“Not this time, sorry,” Zachary apologized with a smile.

“Aww…” Cecil’s face turned into an adorable pout that Alice was all too familiar with. She’d be lying if she claimed she’d never been swayed by his childish charms, but this time she stood firm.

“Cecil, say thank you to your Kuya. He’s gone to all the trouble of setting up this picnic for us, after all.” She placed a hand on her son’s shoulder, giving him a smile that he knew meant not to push his luck. In an instant, his expression shifted back to the cheery grin it had been before.

“Thank you, Kuya Zachary!”

Zachary gave his sun-warm smile again, and started pulling things out of the large wicker basket at his feet. “It was my pleasure. And although I don’t have any chocolate to give you, I did get something else I’m quite excited about.”

Alice’s eyes widened as her son retrieved the item with a grin. “Juna fruit!” she exclaimed. “How in Askr did you get ahold of…?”

Zachary laughed while Cecil jumped up and down, trying to grab the fruit from his brother’s hands. “It took some effort negotiating in the marketplace, but your reaction made it all worth it! Come on, now, all this food’s not going to eat itself. Have a seat!”

And so they did. Well— Alice did, and Cecil sat for short periods of time before sporadically jumping up and rolling down the hill, but neither Alice nor Zachary felt much like chastising him for the activity when they heard his happy shrieks as he rolled.

“Your skills in the market really do impress me,” Alice praised warmly. “Some days I’m not sure you wouldn’t make a better salesman than anything else.”

“Oh, I’d get bored of that quickly,” Zachary refuted. “Complimenting people and seeing them smile is wonderful, but I’d miss my sword-fighting lessons if I did it all day.”

“Complimenting people? Is flattery how you obtained this wonderful fruit?” Alice teased knowingly. Zachary blushed slightly.

“Well, the girl selling them did have nice hair, and…”

“So it was a girl, then?”

“Mother!”

Alice laughed and took another bite of her Juna fruit, watching as a light breeze sent grass clippings flying through the air. Cecil— who was currently lying at the bottom of the hill— sneezed like a puppy as some of the clippings brushed past his nose. Between his natural cuteness and Zachary’s casual charm, it was inevitable for their mother to tease them about the many girls they encountered… not to mention that both sons happened to be royalty.

“Cecil,” Zachary called, after the child had been rolling down the hill for at least ten minutes. “Come back up or Mother and I won’t save any fruit for you.”

That got the little boy’s attention fast. As he stumbled back up the hill in a way that was also incredibly puppy-like, Alice reached into the picnic basket to see what else her elder son had brought. Various ingredients for sandwiches, including freshly-baked bread, sat comfortably in the wicker’s cloth lining.

“Did you bake this, Zachary?” Alice asked while Cecil snatched the last piece of fruit from the basket.

“The bread, yes. Most of the other ingredients came from the royal kitchen, and before you ask, I didn’t have to ‘bargain’ to get the chefs to give them to me.” He winked and started making his own sandwich, Alice following his lead. The sun had kept the bread warm from the moment it was taken from the oven, and the queen couldn’t help feeling another burst of pride for her son’s many talents. Truly, she was the luckiest person in Askr.

She savored the first bite of her sandwich by closing her eyes, then noted with surprise, “You’ve gotten even better at baking.”

Zachary beamed. “I’m glad you think so! I’m always tinkering with the recipe to see if I can improve it. I’m even working on my own recipe for a Juna fruit pie, which is partially why I bargained for some in the market.”

Alice was silent for a moment. “It’s strange not having known sooner.”

Zachary tilted his head as he did when he was stumped on his lessons. “Pardon?”

“Oh, I’m just being sentimental, that’s all,” Alice replied, shaking her head at the emotions rising in her chest. “I used to know everything you were up to, all the time. It seems just yesterday you were both so young, and now you’re accomplishing all this on your own… I only wish I were around more to watch you grow.” She brushed a strand of hair out of her son’s face in the way that only a mother could, causing him to glance away in embarrassment.

“Mother…”

Cecil looked up from the now-empty fruit rind that had absorbed his attention up to this point. “Am I gonna be as big as Zachary soon, too?”

“Yes,” Alice chuckled, wiping a seed of his cheek. “You’re both growing up in the blink of an eye. It seems you’ll both be adults before the summer ends.”

“She doesn't mean that literally,” Zachary quickly amended, noticing how his brother’s eyes lit up. “Mother only means it feels as if we’re growing that fast.”

“Well, to me it feels like forever,” Cecil pouted, reaching for the fresh bread and tearing into it without bothering to put on any other ingredients first. “Iff ‘ur gonna be an’dult soon—”

“Don’t speak with food in your mouth, Cecil,” the boy’s mother reprimanded. “It’s not befitting for anyone, especially a prince.”

“Mother, let him be a child,” Zachary suggested in a teasing tone of voice. “He’ll have to act proper all the time when he’s older, and like you said, that’s not very far away.”

“That,” Alice teased back with an accusatory point, “is playing dirty.”

“My Queen.”

Alice almost cried out in surprise at the unfamiliar fourth voice, which she realized belonged to a guard coming up the grassy hill. It looked like a rather arduous task in full armor, but if it was he didn’t let it show, saluting as he reached the top. “My apologies for intruding, but the counsel has requested your presence immediately.”

Alice felt her heart sink as she looked first at the guard, then to her kids, who exchanged worried glances.

“Is it absolutely necessary?” she asked. “The counsel must know I don’t take many days off; I try to be an available queen, however…”

“I did not wish the task of summoning you,” the guard sighed. Alice figured the job must’ve been assigned to him due to his newbie status— she didn’t recognize his voice. “Yet the counsel would not send me were it not a matter of utmost importance.”

Alice sighed again and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she told the two boys beside her, her voice softer than normal.

“Don’t worry about it, Mother,” Zachary reassured. “Me and Cecil can still finish the picnic by ourselves, right?”

“Well… yes, I suppose you’re old enough now,” Alice replied with a tilted smile. Cecil cheered and jumped with joy, less perceptive of his mother’s subtle sadness (or at the least, less affected by it).

Both boys stepped forward to embrace their mother in a hug, and she embraced them each tightly, the summer sun on her skin already fading.

“You may escort me back,” she sighed to the guard after finally pulling back. He nodded and stood at a respectful distance while she gave her sons some last-minute warnings.

“Be back at the castle by sunset—”

“Yes, Mother—”

“But if anything seems off, come back right away—”

“We know, Mother—”

“And no more flirting with strangers while I’m gone, okay?”

“Mother!”

Alice finally retreated as Zachary laughed and nudged her away, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. Cecil didn’t fully understand what the teasing was about, but he gladly joined in making silly faces at his brother, dancing around his feet.

It was hard for Alice to leave such a happy scene, but, as she reminded herself, Summer wasn’t the end. As much as she enjoyed it, she still looked forward to the seasons of the future— and she was eternally grateful that she would got to watch her sons grow through each one.