Just as I had suspected, Maria wasn't back by that evening or by the time guests began arriving for the party. Somehow she had been gone for three days and counting and I was the only one who was concerned.
"Oh she'll be back soon."
"The mines are far away so she might have miscalculated the distance."
"She's probably taken a detour at the orphanage."
Okay that last one was the most sensible to me but if she really wanted to visit the orphanage, she would have come to tell us first.
"Happy birthday your majesties." I nodded with a smile, accepted the wrapped gift, and handed it to Fern, who added it to the pile that was already the same height as both of us.
I saw my father emerging from the crowd and heading towards us. "Freya, Fernando. You're aunt Genevieve is he-"
He
