Going Home to Nova
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 118567
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Little Petunia stumbled out of Belboz's network of tunnels not one hour later, dirty and gasping in the fresh air. She couldn't believe her luck - somehow she had managed to evade capture, and could at last begin her journey home after being kidnapped by brigands. Her astounding luck seemed to continue, because there was a ship headed for Nova docked nearby, and the brigands had managed to miss a few of her most valuable pieces of jewelry. So she offered her gold necklace as payment and began her journey home. As Petunia waited anxiously for the voyage to conclude, she made a promise to herself, that when she returned home, she would prove her worth to her father. She knew that if she had never come back, his life would go on almost completely unaffected, but she would not have it, not anymore. The journey was two months, and at last Petunia arrived. It was another three days to the woodland palace, where, it seemed, the guards hardly recognized her. But when she said desperately, "I'm Princess Petunia," their eyes cleared up and they admitted her. Even her mother, the current queen, Ivy, had always preferred her older two daughters over her. They shared a luxurious bedroom, but Petunia had simply been tucked into the corner of that same room when she was born. But when her next-oldest sister, Clover, had married and moved out, Petunia had gotten her bed, so at least there was that. But the sad truth was that Petunia was always receiving everyone else's leftovers, be it a bed, or clothes, or even the attention and affection of her parents. She was admitted, after some time cleaning herself off, into the throne room, where King Birch and Queen Ivy waited. They seemed impassively expectant as she entered the room, and she said, her voice quivering, "Mother? Father? It's me, Petunia. I've returned." Their expressions cleared a bit, and the king said, "Oh, Petunia! I'd quite forgotten you were gone. Where were you, again?" "V-visiting Allaria, Father. For a festival. You wanted us to have some presence there, but didn't really want to send anyone else..." "Oh, yes, the Festival of Flowers. Marvelous, then. How was it?" She blinked, surprised at the question. "Oh! It... it was lovely. I actually was kidnapped afterwards by--" "Yes, quite," said the king. "We're pleased you're back, darling," added the queen. Petunia was wringing her hands, and at last dared to say, "Father, I realized something on my journey. I want to prove myself to you, and the kingdom. I know you have many daughters, and I'm not the most beautiful nor strongest nor bravest nor smartest... but... but I want to improve myself, and I want your direction and guidance, if you'll give it. What should be my focus? What do you value most in a daughter?" The king scratched his beard, thinking for a moment. He said then, "Well, very well then, little Petunia, if you'd like to try. You should make it your goal to...
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11/21/2021 11:49:35 PM
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