Chapter 359: A Rose for a Princess
Lyria's POV
The child stood before me, her small hands clutching the bent rose as though it were the most precious thing in the world.
Her brown eyes were wide, and her cheeks had turned a deep shade of pink.
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered.
Her voice was soft and uneven, the words tumbling out with the uncertainty of a child who was frightened she had done something terribly wrong.
"It was nice before. I-I had two, but I lost one."
She looked down at the rose.
"I wanted to give one to a pwincess."
Her eyes lifted towards me again.
"A real pwincess."
There was such wonder in the last words that something in my chest tightened.
She sniffled, and her lower lip trembled.
I crouched down immediately, bringing myself to her level.
She could not have been more than four years old.
