Celestia slowly stumbles into the room, stunned at how grey and sickly her new mother appears; however, the princess is just thrilled that Serena didn't pass away in childbirth. Not just about her mom surviving, but also about the new addition to the family! She lets out a sigh of pure relief and moves to Serena's side. Although, by how she looks, anyone could tell she was close and that she had danced well with death. The Queen places her hand on Celestia's face who is having a party inside her brain, at the moment. The palm on the cheek knocks Celestia out of her internal dance rave and back into reality.

"How are you, my little gem?" Serena says softly, her voice calm and loving towards her perfect little daughter. Honestly, the Queen couldn't envision herself ever using her harsh voice on Celestia; there was just something with Celestia that prevents Serena from upsetting her. She had always been intelligent from the moment she opened her eyes.

Celestia has a bit of shocked expression on her face. 'Even when she looks like she's about to wither away, she's concerned about me? I'm not even ill or anything. Queen Serena really is the perfect mom, like what sort of unbreakable metal is this person made from!'

"I'm fine, mommy. I should be asking you that, just without the 'my little gem' part!" Celestia peeps much to Serena's entertainment.

The Queen puts her fingers through Celestia's crimson hair and rubs the little princess' head with a weak chuckle. Celestia huffs and crosses her arms and pouts, barely able to conceal her hidden smile.

She pretended to dislike this, when in fact, she cherished every moment with this family. It was much better than the one in her previous life, if a bit chaotic, in a good way obviously. The graceful mom, the scary-looking yet huggable dad, the quiet and reserved son and finally, the noisy and eccentric daughter -- everything somehow coming together to create a family. Celestia is proud to be apart of this family with all her heart.

"Don't tell Ruby or Cirian, but you're my favourite," the Queen whispers with a playful smile. "Now, come closer, I need to talk to you about something important."

She sits up from her sheets and puts her back against the soft padded headboard of the bed. Serena sprays herself with perfume before shuffling over, inviting Celestia to sit next to her. Celestia clambers onto the cosy bed and snuggles up to her mom's arm, almost clinging to it.

"What is it, mommy?" Celestia asks, an inquisitive expression on her face as she waits for an answer from her mother, Celestia's head tilted to look her mom in the eyes as she speaks.

Serena places a gentle kiss on Celestia's forehead before speaking, "Did you not say you wanted to become a knight, right? A powerful and strong soldier like Leodore and Fredrin?"

"Mhm! I wanna beat people up and make sure people know how tough and cool I am. I don't want to be a little delicate flower girl; I want to swing a sword around! I wanna be a knight!" the Princess proudly proclaims at the top her lungs, a childish smile plastered across her rosy face.

"Are you willing to work for it? Willing to spend hours upon hours upon hours of training without much rest? Backbreaking work almost every day and every week?" Serena asks.

"Did I stutter?" Celestia chirps back with a cheeky smile, finally being able to say that in the right situation.

Immediately, Serena bursts into laughter, her face going as red as her hair as she laughs. She is joined in by Celestia after a few moments laughing together. Serena's unlady-like chortle is cut off by a wince of pain, though she manages to hide it from her daughter.

"I love you, Celeste, I wish more nobles were similar to you. Everyone is so wrapped up and concentrated on their reputation, ego and how much influence they possess. Moments like this truly make me happy. Though, for that to be the case, everyone would have to become a child, would they not?" Serena rubs her child's back. "Thank you."

"No, thank you, mommy," Celestia says, nestling up to Serena's arm.

"Now, don't let anyone say you're too weak or too delicate or too precious to become a knight. Let no one stand in your way, Sword Princess. Keep being your independent and wild self," Serena kisses Celestia on the forehead before laying her down on her leg. "Now, when the next servant comes around, have them escort you to your room."

Celestia waits for a servant to come by to check on the Queen and when they do: Celestia is taken back to her bedroom, leaving her parent to rest. When she gets back to her room, Celestia throws herself on her bed, sinking into the sheets for a few moments before standing up and going over to her window to stare out into the city of Nuria. Black silhouettes of buildings stretching out in each direction with the occasional candlelit room shining out from the window. The sky darkens with every passing moment as the sun sets slowly.

She wasn't tired, no, she felt more energised than ever. Queen Serena Esmere Ulovar Adellum, her mother, has practically given her express permission to train as a knight. Celestia leaps back onto her bed with a grin as wide as the river that ran through the capital city.

"No shitty marriages for me!" Celestia cries in pure, unfiltered glee; very happy that no-one would be able to hear her due to the thickness of the walls. "Suck it snobby nobles and future suitors! I win against you little bitches!"

Celestia leans over the side of her bed to retrieve her stolen wooden practice sword. She beams a bright smile before jumping up on her bed and slashing at the neck of an invisible, non-existent attacker. She swings and slices the sword around like a crazed madwoman, laughing and giggling all the while. She didn't know why this childish persona was taking over, perhaps it was because Celestia couldn't wait to be a knight now. Now she won't have to worry about being married with that future vow of celibacy.

She looks outside and into the training yard of the palace, the way the royal guards and servants move around with lanterns make them look like little insects from where she is. It almost looked like an ant colony: some workers gathered around certain important areas while others were further away by themselves. Yet, no matter how far away they were from the epicentre, they didn't look isolated.

Celestia stares at the travelling lights for a few minutes before lying back down and going to sleep, in the happiest mood she's had in this life, knowing that everything is going right.

What's this? Author-sama uploading two chapters one after the other within 24 hours of one another? Blasphemy! Well, here it is, I didn't feel this chapter was long enough or distinct enough to be a full chapter but I also didn't want to make the last one too long so I made it a half one.

Enjoy the consecutive upload everyone.