Lily beamed at the notable excitement in Carsyn's posture. When the girl reached back to squeeze her knee, Lily took her hand, returning the squeeze. "You needed your own flower, of course. Just because your name has no plant relation doesn't mean you get to miss out on that bit. And as I'm claiming you to be my sister, I figured you deserved one. Forget-me-nots, gifting them is supposed to show your admiration and love for someone, as well as respect. I believe its meant to be romantic, but plants are fickle things, and romance is far from their minds. It means," She continued, placing her chin on Carsyn's shoulder. "That I will never forget you."
The blush that bloomed over her cheeks couldn't even begin to compare to the wash of emotion that crashed through her. It felt like a tsunami of happiness, enough to bring silent tears to her eyes. Carsyn covered her mouth with her free hand, even if she made no noise, and squeezed Lily's hand back just a tad harder than before. Leaning her head against Lily's, she closed her eyes and lowered her hand to reveal a happy smile. Never. Never had she felt so loved and wanted before—as more than just a simple slave. Lily never failed to show her unconditional and unending love, and Carsyn constantly found herself getting hit by the impact of that showered affection.
'Thank you,' she mouthed, opening her eyes to look at her self-declared sister.
"Always. Though I warn you now, family doesn't need to thank each other. Not mine, at least." Lily said, her voice soft and almost trembling with happiness. To her, Carsyn deserved the world. She had suffered a similar, if possibly worse, lot than Lily, who wanted to do everything she could to make sure that Carsyn knew there were people in the world who would never hurt her. "My mother will tell you that a thousand times over. Family helps and expects nothing in return, because it will always come back anyway. She loves proverbs. You'll be swimming in them a few days in. Or worse, embroidering them on pillows." She joked, leaning in to kiss Carsyn's cheek.
"Do you want to wear it? You seem to like it, unless you're just really trying to hide the fact that you hate it."
Reassurances like that meant the world to Carsyn, and she didn't know if Lily knew just how much her words could mean to the former servant. Having living a life full of hate, abuse, and ridicule, she had convinced herself that she would never earn any sort of kind word from anyone. But then she had been sold to the royal family, and Wulfric had paid attention to her. And with him came Lily, the common girl that had so obviously enraptured the Crown Prince and stole his heart from beady-eyed noblewomen.
And with Lily, came a sisterhood she would cherish forever.
Carsyn wiped at the few happy tears that had slid down her cheeks, then grinned and nodded excitedly. Yes, she loved the beautiful hairpiece. If she could, she'd wear it every day. The message behind it, the gorgeous design, and the beautiful flowers—-no way she could hate this gift.
"Oh, lovely." Lily said, her eyes an ever changing mess of light colors, of happy colors. "Let me pop it in for you, then?" She offered, beaming at Carsyn's excitement. In general, Lily was a good gift giver, always managing to pinpoint exactly the kind of thing someone needed to receive. But she'd been just a bit nervous about this, worried somehow that it could be taken wrong, or go wrong. But it hadn't. Of course it hadn't. Carsyn always seemed to know what she was thinking, picked up on the meaning behind everything she did and the importance it had. "We'll get you all set as the most stunning sort of tourist around."
Her shoulders shook with laughter, minute noises escaping her unused vocal cords. That's another thing. With Lily, Carsyn found herself laughing more, a noise she hadn't heard herself make in forever. And though she had no tongue, couldn't talk, and could barely read and write, Lily had always done her best to understand what she wanted. It almost felt like a superpower. So as she waited while Lily put the comb in her hair, her own fingers messing with her clothing, she smiled and wondered how the rest of the Song family would take to her.
