The King's Beloved

~ [Music Recommendation: "Little by Little" by CHEEZE (It\'s Okay Not To Be Okay OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene ~

"Good morning, Selena," a middle-aged woman greeted the sleeping little Selena. She was dressed casually, with an apron on her front. "Get up, it\'s your 5th birthday today. Let\'s go out to celebrate!"

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"Nanny?" Selena rubbed her cute eyes that shined like the colors of cherry blossoms. Her hair was purple and short, only extending to her shoulders. She wore a frilly pajama with the same color as her eyes. "Is mom and dad coming back home?" with her tiny voice, she asked her nanny.

A hint of worry could be seen from the nanny\'s face. She sighed before answering the poor child, "Unfortunately … a storm canceled their flight back home. They won\'t be able to make it today. But they should arrive this weekend. You can all go out and do a post celebration".

The young Selena felt a bit sad. But she was used to it by now - used to not having a birthday party except for the one she celebrated when she was one year old and barely remembered anything.

"It\'s okay," Selena shrugged. "I know they\'re busy, like always. And they\'ll probably be busy until I get older. Let\'s just go outside like we normally do. I want some chocolate cake".

Her nanny chuckled, "How understanding of our little miss. Sure, let\'s get you that chocolate cake!"

"Uhm! I want the one in that famous cake shop!" her eyes twinkled, "the one where there\'s always lots of people lining up".

"Yes, they sell really great cakes. Which one do you like most?"

"I like the one with golden leaves and cherries on top!" Selena\'s eyes twinkled in excitement. "And then, there\'s this … ahmm, when you cut them, there\'s chocolate coming out like a lava. Ooooh, that one\'s so yummy!"

"Ha ha ha ha! Our little miss is so cute," her nanny laughed out loud. "Alright, we will buy that one then. Better prepare for a long line. But let\'s dress you up first".

"Okay~ I can take a bath on my own," Selena dodged her nanny from accompanying her to the bathroom. "Just prepare my purple dress, nanny!"

She quickly ran towards the bathroom and with a loud \'thud\', closed its doors.

"There\'s warm water in the tub," the nanny shouted from outside the door of the bathroom located inside Selena\'s bedroom. "Just drop the bath bombs and you can go in after a few minutes".

"I know~ I\'m not a kid anymore, of course I know how," the little girl smugly said. Then she walked towards the basket containing a line of bath bombs. She thought for a second which one to pick, and decided to go with the light blue one with lavender flowers in it. "This smells nice!" Her little hands grabbed it after and threw it in the tub.

Bubbles started foaming on the surface of the water until the bath bomb was no more. Selena removed her pajama and slowly dipped into the warm water. She hummed as she enjoyed her bath time, blowing the bubbles that accumulated every now and then.

"La~ La~ La~ La~" she continued humming until she finished.

A few moments later, she finished bathing, and her nanny helped her dress. Then, they went out of the house. Her nanny brought an umbrella and a bag on her shoulders as she held Selena\'s hands while they walked towards the town. Selena lived near the town proper so there was no need to travel by car. Plus, she liked walking and wandering around, seeing different sceneries along the way. Their neighborhood was a beautiful and peaceful one, no wonder she appreciated nature even as a small child.

"Oh no! It\'s filled with people today more than usual," the nanny gasped after seeing the long line of people that reached the outside of the shop, all the way up to the corner of the street which was a whole block in itself. "This will take hours. Maybe we should have pre-ordered instead".

"They don\'t have a pre-order nanny," Selena reminded her. "They\'re too popular so they do first come, first serve".

"Hm? Right! Now that you mention it," she nodded. "Well, I\'m sure you\'ll be bored waiting in line with me. Why don\'t you go play in the park for now?" She then pointed towards the park that was just in front of the cake shop. "Just make sure not to wander too far. And don\'t talk to strangers, okay? And never come with them, okay?"

Selena grimaced. "I know, I know. I\'m not a kid, of course I know that!"

"Yes, yes, says our little miss who just turned five". The nanny patted her head before letting her go.

And so, Selena walked towards the park, hopping merrily. She grinned seeing so many other kids playing around. She wanted to play with them too, but where to start?

"Hmm … Should I go with the girls in the swing?" Selena thought. "Or maybe the slides?" but seeing the kids with dirty faces, she grimaced, "Ugh, but there\'s too many boys there with their snotty noses". She looked around again. "The monkey bars? But that will make me sweaty. Trampoline? Hmm … too dangerous. Sandbox? No - I\'ll get dirty. Ugh … the swing was the best option but it\'s packed with other kids".

 Then her eyes wandered around the bench near the trees.

"I guess I\'ll have to wait my turn here as well," Selena pouted. She walked towards the bench and climbed up to sit. That\'s when she noticed, if her eyes didn\'t betray her, a translucent woman sitting under the trees behind the bench! Selena\'s eyes opened wide. "What in the - am I seeing this correctly?" was what she initially thought.

She climbed down the bench and carefully walked towards the woman she saw. She rubbed her eyes twice to make sure she wasn\'t seeing things. But even after doing so, the translucent woman remained there. She looked like a ghost, with an almost transparent body … as if she was … disappearing?

As her curiosity got a better of her, she continued to walk towards the woman until she stood in front of her. Up close, she noticed that she had long and wavy red hair, pale skin, and a very beautiful face. Her eyes were closed for a moment but it shot open when Selena got nearer, revealing a pair of ruby eyes.

"Woah! So … beautiful," Selena blurted out, her face filled with awe. Even as a child, her emotions showed like an open book on her face. "Uhm, excuse me, miss".

"You … can see me?" the red-haired woman asked. Her voice was mature yet very kind and gentle.

Selena nodded. "Yes but … you\'re body … Are you a ghost? Or did something happen to you?" she bravely asked, without any hint of fear in her eyes.

The red-haired woman chuckled. "Are you not the least afraid of me?"

"No," Selena shook her head. "Besides, I doubt you\'ll be able to do anything to me. You look … tired. Are you okay?" Worry spelled all over her face.

The red-haired woman was taken aback by her answer. Then, her lips curved into a warm smile. "Tell me, little miss, what is your name?"

"Oh, my name is Selena. What\'s yours?"

"I see …," the woman smiled again. "Selena … moon …," she murmured, "Then, perhaps … this is fate".

"Hm? Fate?"

"You\'re a brave and kind child. I can see it ... your future".

"Woah! For real? What did you see?" Selena asked excitedly. Her eyes twinkled in anticipation.

A sudden gust of wind blew hard and the woman\'s voice turned serious.

"You will get lost … but will be found again. When all the pieces are put back together … You will join the chosen ones on their journey".

The young Selena didn\'t understand what she meant but she kept repeating her words in her mind.

"It\'s your birthday today, right?"

"Huh? Yes. But how did you know?"

The woman simply smiled. "Since it\'s your birthday, let me give you a gift". 

She then reached out her hand towards Selena\'s chest. Suddenly, warm lights filled the place around them. The little Selena felt a warm and fuzzy feeling brewing inside her.

"Hm? What\'s this … weird feeling? It\'s … warm and comforting," Selena thought. "Is this magic?"

As the warm lights faded inside her body, the red-haired woman disappeared in thin air until she was no more.

"Ah! Wait! Don\'t go yet!" Selena tried to stop her but she was no more. She looked around but didn\'t see her.

"Selena!" her nanny called her from a distance. "I got it! I bought the cake you wanted!" Her face beamed with joy.

Convinced that the ghost left already, she turned back and walked towards her nanny.

"What\'s the matter? Did something happen?" her nanny asked her. 

"Nah, it\'s nothing. Let\'s go buy some more food and eat them at home!"

And so, Selena continued wandering around with her nanny to buy the things she wanted. They went back home after and ate the food they bought.