[Years Ago]

"Are you ready, Sis?" I asked, moving my arms up and down.

My big sister chuckled and patted my head. "Yeah, let's do this!"

"Yahoo!" I dashed away to the long wooden-floored hall.

"Hey, Carter!" my sister yelled, chasing after me. Her voice grew more distant as I zipped across our maze of a house. My feet screeched against the floor as I came to a sudden stop. I smiled at the door with the star sticker. I'd put it on there for Mommy and Daddy! I had gotten it in school for being a good boy!

I glanced around and ran into my parents' bedroom. Papa was still snoozing away while the other side of the bed was empty. Mama must've gone to help the cooks make me my Cart-fuel. But that was fine. Papa was the one that I was looking for.

"Papa!" I yelled, leaping on top of him.

"Augh, what hit me?" he said, opening his eyes.

I giggled. "A Carteor!"

He smiled and ruffled my hair. "Well, at least this one wasn't on fire."

I giggled and jumped off of him.

"Sorry, Dad. He slipped away from me," Sis said, entering the room.

"It's fine." He rose from his bed and scratch his long, messy black hair. "It's my fault for having overslept."

I snickered. "Papa's a sleepy lion!"

He crossed his arms and scoffed. "Well, male lions do sleep a lot. I'll be out in a bit."

I nodded and dashed out of the room.

My sister sighed as she followed me out. She watched me as I sat down by the door.

"You sure love running huh?"

I grinned. "Yeah, it helps me burn up my energy." I jumped back to my feet and started to jog in place.

My sister snickered and put her chin on her hand as she sat down. "Mind sharing some with your big sis?"

I turned to face her. "Are you feeling sleepy like Papa?"

She yawn into her hand. "A little, but it should pass by the time we're in the market."

I smiled. Hopefully, we could buy Mommy's gift before lunch was ready.

The door slid open. "Let's go!" Papa said in his best sergeant voice.

I saluted him and followed after him like I'd seen our guards do. Sis giggled as she followed behind me.

Once we were outside, we were greeted by a carriage driver. We hopped on and rode out of the palace into the village surrounding it.

"Woah!" I said as I saw some people riding on donkeys. "Papa, can I ride one too?"

"If you learn how to, you may."

I beamed. "Yahoo!"

"Uh, how do you plan to learn, little brother?" Sis asked.

"I'll hire an instructor of course," I said, nodding.

Papa leaned on his seat and chuckled into his long crimson sleeves. "And how do you plan to do that? You're a kid."

I crossed my arms and tilted my head. He had a point there. Plus, how would I pay them? I had no money. All I had were gummies. I gasped. "I got it! I'll find a kid who knows how to teach me! In return, I'll pay them in candy!" I said, straightening my head. 

Papa lowered his sleeve and reached his hand out, ruffling my head. "That's not a bad idea, sport! Back when I was a kid, we used to do the same."

"Woah, candy existed when you were a kid too?"

He narrowed his eyes at me and pulled his arm away. "How old do you think I am?"

I tilted my head to the left. "I'm not sure. I can barely tell you how old I am!" I laughed.

Sister sighed. "Your scope of time is awful."

I counted my fingers. "I'm seven! Uh, I think. My birthday feels like forever ago."

Papa crossed on leg over the lap of the other and smiled. "You got it right. Meanwhile, I'm thirty-six."

"Woah, that's bigger than the number of fingers I have!" I stared at my toes and wiggled them. "Though, I can still count that high thanks to these little ones."

Father snickered. "Hope you learn to count past forty in four years in that case."

I grinned. "I'll try my best!"

I ruffled my head. "Such a good boy!"

"Dad, he's your son, not your dog," Sister said, chuckling.

He let go of me. "Yeah, but Cart likes to be petted."

I nodded. I also loved being called a good boy!

"Oh, looks like we're here," Sis said, glancing out of the window.

I poked my head out and saw multiple shops and stores. There were a ton of colorful things! And best of all, food!

"You can drop us off here," Papa spoke to the driver.

"Understood, sir," the driver said, yanking on the reins. The horses neighed and came to a stop.

Papa removed his crimson robes, revealing simple blue ones underneath. He removed his crown and tied his long hair up. "Well, let's get going."

I reached my hand for the crown, but Papa grabbed me by the arm.

"Nope, not until you've proven yourself can you hold it."

I lowered my head. Aww. 

Sis put her hands on her hips. "Plus, he has to beat me first since I'm the oldest!"

"I'll beat you one day, sis!" I said, spinning my arms.

Sis put a hand on my head. "Sure you will, kid."

I huffed and increased my arm spinning.

"First you have to work on your technique," Papa said, picking me up. He put me on his shoulders and hopped off of the wagon. The driver had chosen a dark alley by the market to park in.

"Yummy scents," I said as the smell of the food reached us even here.

Papa laughed. "I'll buy you just one thing. I can't have you getting full. Your mama is hard at work making food right now."

I gasped. He was right! I would've missed out on Mama's food if I ate too much!

"Okay, just one tiny snack!" I said, raising my index finger.

He nodded. "Yup! I'll get it for you once we've finished shopping."

I turned and saw that Chunhua had gone on ahead of us.

"Sis, wait up!" Unlike Papa, she was still dressed nicely. She could get her stuff stolen!

"Cart, Father!" Sis said, waving at us from the end of the alley.

"Chun, you're no better than Cart," Dad said, sighing as he calmly walked over to her.

Chun's cheeks flushed. "Sorry. I got a little excited is all."

I smiled. "Must be that energy you asked me to share with you earlier."

Sister laughed. "Yeah, probably. Anyway, I caught sight of the store. It's not too far from here." She pointed to a shop a couple of stands away.

"That was easy! Maybe we'll make it home in time!"

"Yeah!" Sister said, hurrying up.

I narrowed my eyes as someone passed close to her. Father must've noticed the stray hand as well as he dashed forth and grabbed it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Father asked, glaring at the shaven-boy in white.

"I-I was..."

Father glared at him. "I'll unhand you, but if I catch you trying to pull this kind of thing again, I'll break your hand. Understood?"

The teenage boy nodded.

"Good. Now, scram!"

The boy ran off as soon as Papa let go of his hand.

Woah! Papa was so cool! If only I could've been like him!

"Thanks, Dad," Sister said, nervously.

He sighed and slid his hands into the opposing sleeve. "You have to work on your eyesight. The next ruler needs to have keen eyes. Always on the plow for any assassins or other miscreants who wish to do you and the kingdom harm."

Chunhua nodded. "Understood, Father. I'll increase my training so that I may be a great ruler."

He smiled. "Good."

"Papa looked like a superhero back there!" I blurted out as we continued walking.

"A superhero? I'm no such thing, I'm just a guy protecting his daughter's purse is all."

Chunhua giggled. "How modest of you, Father." She hurried off to the stall and pointed at a silver hairclip with pearls and diamonds assembled to resemble flowers and butterflies.

"You have a good eye, young lady."

Sister smiled. "You're all too kind, sadly, I just received a humbling dose of reality, courtesy of a thief."

"Oh dear..."

"But don't worry, my father took care of it."

The man glanced at my father.

"Your father..." He gasped. "Wait, aren't you the-"

Father dashed ahead and covered the man's mouth. "Yes, but please don't say it aloud. I don't wish to draw any unnecessary attention, understood?"

The man nodded, prompting Papa to let go of him.

"Anyway, please put that hairclip in the bag. We're in a bit of a hurry."

"Right away, sire. I mean, sir!" the man said, grabbing a back and putting the clip into it.

Papa crossed his arms and sighed. Why was he afraid of people knowing who he was? He was the strongest mage in this country! Wouldn't he want everyone to know it?

My stomach grumbled.

"Sounds like someone burned up all of their food earlier by running."

I giggled. Maybe I shouldn't have run too much on an empty stomach. Well, at least I was riding on Papa's shoulders now. If I weren't, I probably would've wandered off to one of the food stalls.

Papa laughed. "Let's go get you something to eat."

"Yippee!"

After buying me, Chunhua, and himself a couple of jianbing filled with scallions, lettuce, cilantro, and chili sauce. Although the sauce wasn't as good as what Mommy made, it was still tasty.

"We made it home!" Dad said, putting me down.

"Oh, where did you three go?" a blond-haired woman donning a purple apron asked, leaning against the doorway.

I gulped.

"Well, no use hiding it now," Sis said, holding out the bag. "Happy Mother's Day, Mother!"

Mama smiled. "Aww, thanks, Chunhua. But you shouldn't have." She pulled out the gift and gasped. "Wait, isn't this the hairclip we saw, Carter?"

I nodded. I'd drawn it for Sis! It mustn't have been too bad as she recognized it right away!

"Thankfully, the design was very unique," Sis said. "Otherwise, I might not have been able to find it right away given how bad Carter's drawing was."

Or maybe not...

"Gotta work on that," I mumbled, looking down.

"Want Mommy to give you some lessons?" Mama asked, kneeling in front of me.

I beamed and nodded.

"Come on, Chunhua. It wasn't too bad," Papa said, putting a hand on my head.

Sis snickered. "I guess, but it's not bad to improve."

"Yeah, you're right! I'll work hard on my drawings!"

Mama giggled. "You should take a break every once in a while. You already have a lot on your plate like martial arts, piano, and dancing."

"Gah!" I said, coughing. Why did she have to bring up that last one? And in front of Papa too!

"Dancing, huh?"

I nodded shyly.

He laughed. "I had no idea you liked dancing. You should show us your moves one day."

I looked down. Would he even like them? They weren't moves most guys would try to learn without risking being made fun of.

"Come on, Cart. You aren't that bad at it," Sis said.

I coughed. That wasn't the issue here! It was that ballet wasn't a thing most guys did!

Mama picked me up. "Aww, you worry too much, little guy."

"I do?" I asked.

She patted my head. "Sometimes. I like better the laidback you."

I smiled. "I'll try to be laidback-Carter instead of worrywart-Carter!"

"That's the spirit!" Mama said, hugging me.

I hugged her back. Mama was so sweet, understanding, and warm. I loved her so much. W-why did that have to be our last Mother's Day?

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the special ^_^. Thoughts?**