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Clearing my throat, I looked away from her expectant face, focusing on the twisted crown in my hands.
“Let’s take a look.” It wasn’t badly damaged, just a bit twisted. The metal frame looked like someone had stepped on it. The top of the tiara was smashed flat and the plastic jewels were hanging loose. She leaned in close as I turned the tiara over in my hand, gently bending the metal back until it sort of resembled what I thought was the original shape. As I worked, I tried to distract her from her misery with a little small talk. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“Daphne. Daphne Pennington, and I’m five years old.” She sucked her lower lip between her teeth for a second, her eyebrows pulling down into a frown. “But I’m not a-posed to talk to stwangers.”
“That’s a really good rule, Daphne.” She smiled at my praise, and her eyes lit up with happiness.
Damn. She was the sweetest little thing.
“But, you don’t seem stwange, so I guess you’re not a stwanger,” she nodded at her little kid logic, her pigtails bouncing.
“Well,” I said, giving the tiara one last inspection. “I’m Silas. I’ve known Stone for a lotta years, so I’m not a stranger to him. I guess that means I’m not a stranger to you, either.” I turned sideways on the bench and held up the repaired crown. “There you go.” Daphne hopped off the bench and stood in front of me, smiling so huge, I thought her cheeks must hurt. “One crown for one princess.”
Daphne’s little face fell, all her joy gone in an instant. “What’s the matter?”
She hitched another sob, ready to cry again. “My sister says I’m not a weal pwincess,” she said quietly, looking sadly down at her pretty dress.
I frowned. Constance was working her vile magic again. She was more than ten years older than Daphne. There was no reason to hurt the girl’s feelings on purpose. I had dealt with my own crappy older siblings all my life, so I knew exactly where Daphne was coming from.
“Well, I don’t know what she’s talking about,” I said seriously, watching as her eyes raised to me with that hopeful look in them again. I don’t know why, but something in me just couldn’t stand to see this girl hurting. “I am an expert princess spotter, so I know for a fact that you absolutely are a princess. I mean, look at you.” I took her hand, giving it a tug to spin her under my arm. Daphne giggled as her dress furled out around her, her purple boots stomping as she moved. “That is most definitely a princess dress.”
Her eyes went wide. “Weally? You mean it?”
“Of course I mean it. And this tiara,” I said, holding it aloft like it was the greatest treasure in the world, not just a piece of aluminum. “There is no way a girl who was not a princess would have such a beautiful piece of jewelry.” I bowed low and gently set the tiara on her head. “My lady.”
Daphne giggled again, her cheeks turning red and making the freckles across her nose stand out. She grasped the sides of her dress and held them out as she curtsied.
“Silas, I-” but she was cut off when we heard the front door slamming open.
“I said I’m going out!” I cringed as I heard Stone, his usual gruff demeanor firmly in place. His old man must have been inside. “Silas is leaving for the army at the end of the week, Ma. I’m gonna spend my time with him.”
Daphne let out a quiet gasp beside me and I felt her slide her little hand into mine. “Leaving?” she asked, blinking rapidly at me.
I sighed. I had only told Stone yesterday that I had enlisted, knowing our plans to spend the summer together were getting cut short. My recruiter had me heading off to Fort Benning, Georgia, in six days, and I had no plans to tell my old man. “Yeah, Princess. I’m leaving soon.” Daphne didn’t say anything, but she squeezed my hand tighter.
We watched as Stone started across the gravel drive, headed for where my truck was parked. When he didn’t see me in it, he stopped and looked around. Catching sight of me on the porch, he started my way, stopping when he saw Daphne’s hand in mine. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I only shrugged.
“What are you doing, little bit?”
“Silas fixed my twown,” she offered, pointing at the item in question where it perched on top of her brown hair like it belonged there.
“He did, did he?”
“Yup, but now he’s leaving.”
“We both are, Daphne,” Stone replied, not unkindly. It appeared that he had a weak spot for his baby sister. Not that I blamed him; she was cute as a button.
“You always leave when we come here.” I watched as her lip jutted out, trying not to laugh at the uncomfortable look on Stone’s face.
“It’s not you, little bit. I just….”
“Hey,” I cut in, going down on one knee in front of Daphne, trying to distract her from Stone’s emotional distress. The guy just couldn’t handle feelings. “Why don’t you head inside. I bet your dad can rustle up a snack fit for royalty. I know Miss Ellie has some cookies in there. I could smell them from the driveway.”
“Okay,” she said, twisting the toe of her purple boot against the porch. “But, will I see you again?”
“I don’t know, Princess. I have to go away for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll be back here.”
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to the Army, kiddo. Training to be a soldier.” Her expressive little face lit up again, her eyebrows high and her mouth opened in shock.
“You mean like a knight?”
Stone snorted behind me, but I ignored him. “Not quite, princess. Just a soldier. No armor and no horse.”
“Well, if I am a pwincess, you hafta be my soldier,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah?” She nodded rapidly. “Well, alright then, Princess. You got yourself one soldier.”
“Si, man. Can we please get outta here?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure thing.” I turned to look at Daphne. “It’s time for me to go.”
She didn’t hesitate when she threw her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight. “Goodbye, soldier.”
I froze for a moment, not used to any real kind of affection, especially from a little kid. Eventually, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around her, patting her back gently.
When she finally let go, I stood and headed back toward my truck with Stone, ready to head out for the rest of the afternoon and spend the last few days I could with my best friend before we went our separate ways for who knew how long.
As we crossed the driveway, I paused and looked back at Daphne where she stood at the top of the stairs, her purple boots and frilly blue princess dress looking totally incongruent, but totally perfect for her. She stared at me somberly, her expressive eyes wide and trusting. I smiled, one side of my mouth lifting in a sort of half grin and gave her a little wave.
“See ya around, Princess.”
