The palace buzzed with joy.
Banners in soft gold and pink waved gently in the summer breeze. Flowers handpicked by the maids and blessed by the temple children lined the garden paths. Long tables were set up with cakes, fruit, tiny pies shaped like animals, and rows of juice cups just low enough for little hands to grab.
Elara was turning two.
Adrian had started the preparations a whole week earlier. “Nothing too grand " Evelyn had warned, rubbing her growing belly. “It’s her birthday, not a royal coronation"
But of course, Adrian didn’t listen.
“She's our daughter " he’d grinned, scribbling notes on parchment. “She deserves a memory"
Now, the palace garden was glowing with joy.
Elara, in a soft cream dress and a crown of daisies, ran barefoot on the grass, giggling as she chased a
