Born at thirty-five weeks gestation, the youngest royal child was classified as premature, and spent the first month-and-a-half of her life in the neonatal care unit at “Regions Memorial Hospital” in East Zeerk. The queen gave the infant the name, Gretchen Garrick, and was pleased to find that the baby looked like her father. Luna was released from Doctor Alderman’s care three days after giving birth, but she rarely left the hospital. Sitting in the nursery and feeding and taking care of the little one was her first objective, and the second was praying to the goddesses in “The Rainbow Sanctum” that they would find favor to spare the infant’s life. At the time of her birth, Gretchen weighed five pounds and eight ounces, and she could not be released from the hospital until the scales read that it was up to six pounds and higher. As much as Kouper wanted to be with Luna and Gretchen, he was the planetary king and the father of seven other children, therefore, he spent his days at the hospital with his wife and newborn daughter, and at night, after putting the other kids to bed, he handled the king’s affairs.
It did not take long for the oldest royal child to find out that her baby-sister had been released, and when the Royal Carriage arrived at the citadel, the princess was waiting for everyone outside; she wanted to meet the newest royal family member, and no one was going to stop her. Kouper asked his step-daughter to allow himself and their mother to take the little one inside, and then, he agreed that Ecko could hold her sister. As soon as she was able to hold Gretchen, the princess realized there was something missing from her life, but she was not sure what that could be. The royal family sat in the throne room in order for the queen and king to take care of any necessary business, and they did not pay attention to their two daughters.
With the queen and king distracted, Ecko saw an opportunity to take advantage of their duties, and she manipulated her way into taking the baby to Devereux Estates; it was the first time the princess was deceptive to her biological mother, but it would not be the last. If she were honest with herself, the idea of lying to Kouper made her stomach twist into knots, but it did not bother the princess to speak falsehoods to the queen. Before anyone was aware of what she’d done, Ecko was already back at Devereux Manor, and had an excuse as to why the baby would have to stay overnight.
When Jasmine saw her daughter with the baby stroller, the educator’s first thought was not the best one that could have come to mind, but she knew the princess had always been a well-balanced individual, therefore, a benefit of the doubt was given in order to receive a rational explanation.
“Mamma, look what I’ve got!” Ecko shouted.
“Don’t you mean, ‘Look whom I’ve got’? I mean, if you have an inanimate object in that stroller, it is a ‘what’, but if there’s a being in there, that being, whomever is in there, is not a ‘what’, but in fact is a ‘whom’. I thought I’d taught you better than that, I mean, I’m not trying to be harsh, but think about how you’d feel if I called you a ‘what’ instead of a ‘whom’. I know that these lessons seem ridiculous, but you always have to consider the other one’s feelings”, she told her daughter.
“Did you ever stop to think that I was actually talking about the stroller, itself, and that it is the ‘what’ I was referring to?” The princess asked.
“Oh, well, of course I’d thought of that, however, I know the way your mind works, and I guess, you could say that I jumped to conclusions. That is a very terrible habit I have, it’s not fair that I’m like that, and I promise to work on making it an obsolete thing that I do,” her mother said.
“Oh, mom, You don’t have to do that, I find it an endearing trait that is only a small part of what makes you, uniquely you, and it would be a shame if you were to change it. Then again, I am biased towards you, since you are my mother,” Ecko said.
“Alright, I’ll keep that habit, especially for you, now, whom do you have in that stroller?” Jasmine inquired.
“My sister, Gretchen,” the princess replied.
“Oh, really, now how did you manage that?” The educator said.
“I don’t think you really want me to answer that question,” she told her mother.
"What I really don't want is problems with her parents, like it or not, I am your biological mother's best friend, and you can...