I had been speaking to May Ariel, Esma Ella, and Ana Staysha for a month now. They are always so nice to me. I like getting to see them smile. I tried getting CJ to play too, but he said he didn't know how to speak. I do not understand what he means, but I don't care.

I was telling the pretty elven girls about my day when I heard Papa and the Emperor talking. I stood tall and bowed politely like my Papa told me to when I see the Emperor.

Papa was quiet with his mouth open. He called me to him like a puppy. "Skylar, come here please." I obediently ran to him and raised my arms for a hug. Papa put my arms down and knelt down so he could be short like me. "Skylar, you know the rules, you aren't allowed to talk to those girls."

I frown and put my head down in shame. "I'm sorry Papa."

"Do not say sorry to me, say it to the Emperor." Sternly, Papa turned me to our ruler. I open my mouth but he starts talking.

"It's alright, she's only a child after all. She could not have known." He thinks for a long second. "How do you know?"

I do not understand what he means by know. Did I do something wrong? I am confused. "What?"

"How did you learn to speak their language? Who taught you?"

Taught me? Language? I am silent. Papa helps me understand. "The language we are speaking right now is the common tounge. Those girls do not speak the same way we do."

Oh. I understand now. Their words were jumbled up because they did not speak the same. I think hard and try to remember meeting May Ariel. "I don't remember learning how to speak with them. First it was jumbled sounds, then it wasn't." I explain the best I can. I thought since I knew, then everyone else knew. I guess, I was wrong. "Am I in trouble?"

Papa shook his head "no" and the Emperor smiled at me. I feel a little better now because I didn't do a bad thing like I thought I did. Papa picked me up and carried me home.

The Emperor got mad. May Ariel got in trouble. But she did nothing but talk, and now she is saying nothing at all. I think I should be punished instead so May Ariel will speak to me again. I want to be a pirate with her again.

I stare longingly, for a long time everyday because I miss her. I don't want her to be mad at me anymore. My heart is wanting to say I am sorry that I got her in trouble. Papa said her heart is not ready to hear mine. I wish it had ears so it could listen.

Papa began teaching me how to read and write when we were training. He would sometimes ask me what the tiny little scrawl on some old parchment said. I look for a minute, then I say it. I was never wrong, always right. He would have me read aloud for him. Elven poetry was his favorite. I like Arabic.

One day, I am sitting with Papa while I am writing a Greek story, or myth. Ulana is captain of her ship, and she must pass a great big ocean with sea monsters and pirates. It is cloudy, and raining hard. The waves are 50 feet tall now. Her ship is about to be swallowed. "Abandon ship! Save yourselves!" She and her crew leap from the deck into the cold water, swimming. They swing like little fishies. The monster rises out of the water. It's enormous with big scary tentacles and suction cups. Ulana climbs onto the formidable creature. Raising her sword high into the air, ready to plunge it into the heart of the mighty beast!

"Skylar, I think that's enough." My knuckles are white, my hand gripping tight to the pen. Ow. My arm is cramping, and my head feels dizzy. Papa pulls me out of my chair and brings me to get ready for dreaming. The pokey brush tugs at my hair, and minty paste bites my mouth. My teeth are white as stars now. I don't like to get ready for bed, but I love the part where I close my eyes and float away on a cloud.

"I am so proud of you." I look at Papa and ask him why? as I climb into my soft bed. "Because you have a special gift. You have a voice that can speak to more people than anyone else. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you." Kiss.

I have a very happy smile. I love Papa, and I love to make him proud. I pull him into a big bear hug and laugh. I am happy I am special like a snowflake. I close my sleepy eyes and begin to softly fall into a snow drift of dreams. I am a snow angel dressed in white.