"Which should I open first?"
"Mine, please, Your Highness!" Esther said first.
Camellia laughed softly.
"Then yours shall be first."
She lifted the blue parcel from the box with both hands.
It was smaller than the others, square and carefully cushioned in a nest of soft white cloth. The wrapping paper was a cheerful shade of sky blue, though the ribbon had been tied with an uneven bow that immediately revealed Esther's own work. One loop sat slightly higher than the other. The ribbon had been tugged too tightly in one place and loosened in another.
It was not perfect.
It was earnest.
Camellia's fingers touched the bow.
"You wrapped this yourself?"
Esther nodded vigorously.
"Monika helped me cut the paper because I made it crooked the first time. And then I made another one crooked too." She looked briefly embarrassed. "But I tied the ribbon myself."
"I can see that," Camellia said.
Her voice held no teasing.
Only warmth.
