Episode 20

While bickering and playing around they finally arrived at the west wing garden. What you first see when you arrive is a gate made of maple wood.

The gate painted a light red, close to pink, with bushes of roses blocking the inside from prying eyes. When they arrived, their was a royal knight blocking the entrance, which surprised Sakura. 'It seems well protected for just being a garden'.

The man noticed them before they were close enough to see, he wanted to warn them that no one is allowed to enter, but before he could: he saw Sakura in the shoulder of Ariel. Which halted his actions.

He glances at Azrael and then at Ariel, what he got back was a nod of the head. That was all he needed. So he turns toward the gate and removes a set of keys in his breast pocket. The one he chooses was a beautiful golden key, it had an emblem of a purple tulip and a peony flower. 'Royalty and beauty' That was the first thing she thought of when she saw those flowers designs.

'I remember reading this in a book about flower meanings... remembering why I read it brings me great shame as I grew older.' While cringing from her middle school days, she tries to push the memory in the back of her head, so she wouldn't remember the embarrassment of the middle school faze she had.

But while trying to forget that part, she really starts to notice the love he had for the empress.

"Your father personally created the lock and the keys. Can you believe such a man shut himself in a room and studies the meaning of flowers just to give an unforgettable present for your mother? He then gently used his magic to melt and mold the keys and lock. He carved those flowers with such delicacy that it took him an hour and a half to finish each petals, and then he coated those flowers so he can get the right color to show the meaning he wanted to give her." Ariel explained to Sakura the backstory of the keys and the garden.

"Your father traded with the elf ruler for the maplewood. I know we have maplewood trees, but you see Sakura. The trees grown in the elfen territory are stronger, even when cut down, the vitality and strength of it is high. So your father only wanted the best for your mother, that he even traded 5 year worth of high level embedding gems for the seeds of the flowers inside this secret garden."

Sakura widen her eyes from the love Mihkael has for her mother, that he went that far for just one person.

'Didn't he have issues for showing too much favoritism to the empress? Wasn't he worried it would have been used against him?' Rather than awwing for the tender love between the couple, she first thought of the political issues that would have appeared from this love.

'Love? Ha! It really is the number one weakness a human being can ever have. Because of love, people forget their surrounding and commit unforgiving acts. I should know, I played this stupid game where the villainess fiance, whomever it was, will always fall for the heroine, and breaks their engagement just for their "love".'

While remembering how much the game really pushed the villainess to the brink of despair, she starts to think of what to plan for her future, what actions must be taken and whomever or whatever she has to use to gain the happiness the villainess loses in all those endings.

'There was never a truly happy ending for the villainess Sakura Serenity. But the moment I ended up here, I will make sure that in this one, the villainess does get one, no matter what.'

"Sakura? Is something wrong?" Ariel notices the change in Sakura's eyes, he expected a different response, not this one.

"Aren't you happy to know the love your dad has for your mother?"

Just a cold gaze appeared in Sakura's eyes, but before any of the men there can see it, she switches to a blushing child, who covers her cheeks in a bit of embarrassment.

"Wow~! I wonder if I'll ever fine one like that. It'ths like a fairy tale!"

"... yeah, it is, isn't it." Ariel wanted to say something. He sensed something was off, but decided not to say it.

Throughout their conversation, the royal knight unlocked the door and left it unlocked for them to enter. Seeing that, Ariel turns to look up at Sakura.

"Wanna see the garden filled with your fathers love for your mother?"

"Aye!" She raises her hand in a cheerful manner, her face filled with a childlike innocence. Seeing that, Ariel smiles in relief and calls Azrael to follow. While passing the knight and entering the garden, what filled her vision was a path of roses.

The red flowers beautifully leading you deeper to the gardens core. The moment they took a step inside, the knight gently shuts the door, leaving only them and the garden. They started to walk through the path of roses in silence, until Sakura brought something up.

"How many keyth are there?"

"Hmm? Oh! How many keys are there?"

"Yeah!"

"There are two, the key the royal knight there has, and the one your father has."

"What about mama?"

"You mean the key for your mother?"

"Yeah"

"Well the one the knight is using belongs to your mother. The reason he has it is because your mother entrusted him to watch over the garden for her if anything happens to her. She was- no, she is a smart and wise women."

Ariel whispered the last few words "she knew, or sensed something was wrong, so she quickly made arrangements so nothing would be left out, the only regret she had, was she didn't have enough time to arrange everything for you." He spoke in a calm and careful tone, he feels that the princess's mood today was a bit strange

'As if... she didn't want to care or better yet, doesn't want to waste her time to care.' Ariel was a man who can be considered carefree and lazy, but without anyone noticing, he is one of the first to understand a situation, even when he doesn't say anything.

He started to notice the princess's changes after the accident she had.

Before then, she was how everyone described her as, a child who didn't like to learn and would throw tantrums almost every day. Yet now... 'she became a silent and polite child, she reads the mood too well for a naive child. I even feel that the moment she acts like a kid, it may just be an act in her part to distract us from how different she is now from before the accident.'

Ariel felt something really was wrong when he puts more thought into it.

'It's too much for only me to think about, I'll ask Raphael more in depth of the princess, he practically raised her, so he would know more than me.' Making up his mind, he pushed those complicated thoughts at the back of his mind, and kept walking till they arrived at the garden.

'Wow~ now this is a royal garden fit for an empress.' Sakura looked around with her mouth wide open at the beautiful view. There was an open space with many different flowers surrounding it, perfect to lay down a blanket and admire the view.

The flowers that surrounded the area was a light and dark shade of carnation flowers blooms beautifully beside the peony and there was a row of orchids mixed with purple and red tulips.

And while not obvious at first, there was violets under the other flowers, giving off a cute feel to them. When Sakura saw the diverse amount of flowers, she understood one common thing about them all.

Each one has something that represents love. And made her understand, 'Mihkael... he truly and purely loved his wife... if so, why didn't he show even an ounce of that love to Sakura?' What filled her eyes at that thought wasn't hatred for him, but sadness for the villainess, 'if he only showed just a bit of love for Sakura, then maybe so much would have been different. If he loved her mother, then he should have displayed fatherly love for Sakura, yet the only one he did, was to Rose?'

Sakura couldn't comprehend the mind of her father, from only the game narrative did she understand that he loved Sakura as much as he loved Rose.

'This man was truly a fool.'

Sighing Sakura can only lament the actions of her father, and the actions of the original Sakura. 'Truly every actions a person does leads to something.'

"Do you not like the garden Sakura?"

"N-no! Ah! I meanth that I do like ith!" Sakura quickly nods her head.

"Then why did you sigh?" Azrael was the one to ask this question.

"Uh... well...um"

'Ah ha, I got it!'

"I wath just sad mama wasnth here." Sakura quickly thought of something and sighs again, to show that's what she was sighing about.

"But your mama is here."

"Huh!? Where!?" Without thinking, Sakura started to look around, trying to find even a glance of her mother. But stops half way her search 'why was I so desperate to see her? Could it be that I started to form some type of attachment to them? I've only been here for 3 days! They aren't really "my" parents!' While trying to deny the feelings blooming inside her. She again feels something wrong with her thoughts.

'wait... but didn't I accept that I'm sakura now? Why am I denying it so strongly? Why don't I want to accept it?' She pondered the thought and can see the many contradictions there is. But she doesn't notice how strange it is to analyze her thoughts that way, as if she was a 3rd person looking at someone else's problems, and not her own.

Before she can comprehend her thoughts some more, she heard the quite chuckle of Ariel. Looking down at him and trying to understand what he was laughing about he starts to walk to a different path of red rose bushes.

"Princess."

"Hmm?"

"I finally see a childish side of yours."

"!!"

"Its fine to reveal your need for a mother figure. I bet it gets tiring to only be around grown men. And even with the maids, you must have felt their insincerity to actually care for you. So you must have been lonely."

"..."

"That's why I decided to bring you to this garden, the one your father and mother loved so much, it was one of your mother's most treasured places. And I bet she would have loved to show you this place."

Sakura just silently listened, waiting for him to go on.

"But do you know your father loves this place a lot too? Not because it was a garden he created for your mother, but because of this."

His steps stopped to a hidden opening, where a life sized statue rested. Sakura held her breath from the appearance of that statue. It was made of high class marble, even when she never studied statues or materials for it, she can tell by just a look how much was put in the material and the craft of it.

What appeared was a women with waist length hair, it curls to the end, yet seems as soft as silk. The dress was just flowing on top of her body, showing her thin yet well proportioned body. The carving of the face done with such detailed features. The dimples of a smile that gently rests in her face, the carving of the her eyes so life like, that if it was color, it may have been mistaken for a living person. the eyes narrow in joy as if laughing happily in the moment. It was just breathtakingly... beautiful.

"A... fairy..." those were Sakura's true thoughts. The women was so beautiful, it was as if she was looking at a fairy moving in the realm of mortals.

"That's your mother."

"Huh?" She answered in a daze, not fully taking Azrael's voice.

"Yup that's your mom, Aurora Eternity. The Empress of this empire, and the emperor wife. Your mother."

"Do you like it?"

"Ah... uhh- sniff. I-I like ith..." Sakura doesn't understand this feeling that was swelling inside of her, but she can feel hot tears sliding down her face. She quickly tries to wash them away but they just won't stop, another just takes the place she wiped.

Then she felt a gentle cloth help her brush away the tears she couldn't wipe away, she turns to the side and sees Azrael gently wipe them away with a napkin. Wondering where he got it, he answers before she can ask.

"Ariel let me borrow his handkerchief."

Hearing his answer, she laughed a bit because she knew Azrael didn't seem like the type to have one, so she wasn't surprised Ariel was the one to let him borrow it.

"This place is your fathers most treasure area, because he isn't allowed to see your mother, and because the photo crystals aren't enough for him because it isn't something he can feel. But make sure to keep it a secret that I'm telling you this."

"Ok" she made a hushing gesture, to show she will keep a secret.

"Good. So he comes here sometimes and gently brushed his hand through the features of the statue, to remind himself of her features, how deep her dimples are when she smiles, how long her eyelashes was, how tall she was, and how her eyes felt when she would smile to him. He would always be here to remember them. Until the day she wakes up, he would never allow himself to forget her, may it be in 2D or 3D."

He looks at the statue in sadness, for he knows how much his friend is suffering through this ordeal. He images sometimes how he would feel if something like this happens to his loving wife. He can only say 'I would have gone insane...'. He really admires his friends perseverance. And he truly wishes Aurora gets better, everyone does.

He even feels bad for Seraph, because he grew up with her, she was his cousin, then became his sister when her parents lost their life in an accident. They grew up inseparable and he knew Seraph suffered for his adopted sister.

'Aurora... please, please persist and fight against whatever you have. So many are waiting for you. Don't disappoint them. And your only daughter is waiting too. Didn't you say you wanted to do so many things with her? Why are you still laying in that stupid bed! We miss you. Didn't you say you were the big sister and will always be there to help us? Where is our big sis when we need her the most?'

A pained and lonely look can be seen in Ariel's eyes, like a lost child. But before he can allow it to take a hold of him, he felt a hand pat him in the head. He looks at who it was. He saw Azrael gently patting him while looking at the statue as well. "Big sis would get angry if you look at her so sadly." Azrael glances at Ariel, and a tint of a smile can be seen.

"Remember, she only liked to see people smiling, she hated to see a frowning face. I would know. She would always smack me in the back of the head when I only showed her my expressionless face."

***

"Hey! Azrael, what's with that face! Your ruining your good looks with that deadpan face. When are you gonna find a person when you don't try and express yourself!"

***

"Haha! I remember, she was always able to find a way to make you express yourself, that's how you found your fiance though."

'Oh yeah! I forgot. Uriel and Azrael are engaged' the game was more in the present time thinking, where gay or same sex marriages are accepted.

'Well that was why the adopted one of the capture targets, they needed a heir for the position of general, so just like Azrael, the boy was adopted into the family.'

'His personality was exactly like Azrael, yet his clueless flirting was exactly like Uriel.' Remembering the future capture target, he was actually her favorite one out of them all.

"I can'th wait..."

"Hmm? What did you say princess?"

"Ah, I umm. Can'th wait eat, I'm a bit hungry."

"Hahaha! Not even 2 hours passed when you had your breakfast my dear princess." Ariel laughs outloud while trying to make sure the princess doesn't fall off his shoulders.

"She really seems like a mini Aurora."

"Hahaha she does hahaha!" Azrael had to carry Sakura because Ariel clutched his stomach for laughing too much, he had tears falling from his eyes, and fell on his knees when he saw her pouting and glaring down at him.

"Hahaha! Ah man. Sorry princess, ah. Let's go get some snacks ok?"

"Yeah!"

"Haha let's go then."

While wiping his tears away, he lets Azrael go first with the princess, he glances back and smiles at the statue.

"I can see how Mihkael didn't lose himself, because of the final present you gave him. Hope to see you again, but laughing and jumping around." He then turns away and begins walking forward. The statue smiling at his back, as if to watch over them.

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