Chapter 372: Her gifts to him.
The question that Arnie asked her was not so easy to answer. She wanted to say that she would kill them, because it would be so easy. She didn’t know them. She didn’t feel sorry for them. She didn’t want them in her life. But, Missy Orlena Miller, was different. They were her parents. It was likely that she would rather visit them in prison, every once in a while, than visit their graves.
As she took a bath, washing the stench of wine from her hair, steam curled around Sienna’s face as she pondered on it. The issue clung to her like mist, refusing to disperse. By the time she dressed, she resolved to handle the problem as quickly as possible, to prevent it from lingering in her life. As for how it ended, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
She dressed and slipped from the grand hotel with Elias at her side, their departure unnoticed amid the chaos of the birthday festivities. Their fancy clothes had been shed for simple, comfortable outfits, as if they were going out on a walk.
Outside, a sleek private flying ship the size of a helicopter awaited, its wings gleaming like polished marble under the moonlight. It hummed softly, as it lifted them into the sky, carrying them away from the noise.
They didn’t say a word through the ride, but Elias held Sienna tightly, his head leaning against hers.
When the airship finally landed, it was on the grounds of an aquatic theme park.
Sienna leaned against Elias, smiling mischievously at the shock on his face. "I asked your brothers to suggest things you have never done. The question reached your grandparents and parents. Everyone had an idea but none stayed with me like this one. Surprisingly, it came from your mother. She sent me a message with the name of this place and an admission that she promised to bring you here when you were six and she brought her nephew instead, leaving you home. When she offered to take you again, you refused. I guess she has always felt guilty about it. Tonight, we rewrite that story."
Elias raised a brow, intrigued, but before he could respond, Liman and the fox guards approached, leading two massive transparent boxes. The boxes were being transported on wheels. Inside, two wild horses pawed the floor, their eyes glowing faintly with fierceness.
One was a midnight-black stallion streaked with red veins across its coat, live small rivers of blood flowing in its living flesh. The other was a pale mare whose mane shimmered violet. Their hooves sparked faintly when they struck the floor of the boxes.
Sienna’s voice softened. "I sent my uncles to scout the wild pastures for the most unique or most fierce horses they could find. You like to collect them, I like to provide them. What do you think? Isn’t this the most amazing birthday gift you have ever received?"
Elias’s breath caught. He walked to the box carrying the mare and pressed his hand against the glass, awe flickering in his eyes. But Sienna wasn’t finished. She gestured, and more guards, under Shalin’s instructions, brought out more gifts.
A set of ten watches, each able to sync with universal maps, and track time across galaxies. They could all be used to make calls and send messages as well
Three cloaks woven from rare silk and animal fur, stitched with protective layers on the inside that could block a knife or bullet.
Boots crafted with adaptive soles that adjusted to terrain, from mountain rock to flat ground.
A box of hand-carved beast men forms, each clumsily painted by herself and the cubs.
A hoverboard, a skate board, a ski board, a miniature drone shaped like Ali’s fox cub form, programmed to mimic playful antics.
And finally, a 3% share in her honey business.
In total, she gave him thirty three gifts, one for each year of his life. Some were childish and whimsical, some extravagant and some deeply personal.
Elias’s composure cracked. He laughed and pulled her into his arms. "You are very maddening," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "Maddening and perfect." He buried his face against her neck, holding her as though the gifts themselves were secondary to the thought behind them.
The gifts were taken back, and he finally got a chance to look at the wondrous aquatic theme park. It had been transformed by Sienna’s vision. The decorations at the hotel, were the same here. Little fox lanterns could be seen on all the water themed rides.
She pulled him towards the swings. "They hover in midair, and spin through a storm. Isn’t it great?"
He laughed, unsure if the word great was being used in the right way. But nonetheless, he joined her. He screamed alongside her when the storm hit. Elias could not help thinking back to when he was a boy; how excited he had been at the thought of experiencing this very storm. To think he was doing it as an old man!
Despite that thought, he laughed like a boy as the swing carried them higher.
Sienna’s heart clenched at the sight--this was what she wanted for him, tonight. It a moment being re-written.
They raced boats through neon-lit water tracks, their laughter echoing in the empty park. They tried claw machines that dispensed water related toys, and when she teased him when he failed to win a single one.
He retaliated by carrying her off, dumping her in a spinning cup that went through a waterspout!! The spinning ride left her shrieking and clutching the cup, dizzy but also exhilarated.
Later, they sat together on a bench shaped like the inside of an oyster, watching the very fireworks he had rejected so much.
He turned to her, his eyes softer than she had ever seen them. "Sienna...thank you. You have given me something I didn’t know I needed."
She smiled, brushing her fingers against his. "Then remember this part of the night. Not the crown and the chaos. Not the past where you felt empty and alone. Tonight, you are number one in my heart."
Elias tightened his hands around her arm.
"I have one more gift waiting for you in a our sea themed room, with a view of the penguin habitat." She whispered.
He gulped. A gift in their room! Parts of him became excited.