Page 23 of Celestia, Year Four

Just a little longer...

SIA RAINBOW OF THE PRESENT

~CELESTIA~

"Sia… Rainbow?" I asked, blinking a few times. "Rainbow… like my last name?"

The woman from my dream.

By the time Esme had come back with another cup of coffee for the both of us, I’d dozed off.

It could have been because I was still recovering, but I'd had a strange dream.

It was kind of like what Esme had hinted about, and now that it was still vivid in my head, I was trying to get the questions out before it faded.

"Yes. Sia Rainbow, the Queen of the Elements who enchanted the lands with love and hope." Esme was sitting at the end of the bed, facing the two of us.

Momo was sleeping in her lap and Odion was sitting next to me, having let me rest against him as I napped.

"Celestia, don't you know a Sia?" Odion inquired.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to give him a confused look. "Sia, who?"

He frowned, looking deep in thought for a few seconds.

"Brother said you knew a Sia… I think he did." Now Odion looked a tad confused, which made me wonder if it was something I'd forgotten due to the shift into the Dark World.

"Um… I don't think so. Sia… Rainbow… it sounds familiar, but I don't know anyone by that name. My mother is Charlotte, and she never shared who my grandmother was, so I'm rather clueless. Actually… that makes me wonder. If the Queen… Sia, had passed, didn't her bloodline essentially stop?"

"You are correct," Esme replied.

"Then… I don't get where Rainbow came from. I mean… my mom is Charlotte Rainbow. Wouldn't that mean our ancestors were from the Rainbow bloodline?" I asked, trying to understand all of this.

Esme nodded and sighed. "Do you remember what I said before you fell asleep the first time you'd awakened?"

"Uh." I blushed and shyly avoided her loving gaze. "No… it’s kind of blurry. I apologize."

"No need. It is understandable."

I glanced back to see her smile and I didn't feel as bad for my forgetfulness. Sitting up a little more, I waited anxiously for her to continue. My attention was diverted for a moment when Odion picked my hand up with his left one and began to poke at it with his right index finger.

Esme and I both stared at him, but we exchanged a glance with knowing smiles.

Maybe he wants to hold my hand and doesn't know if he can.

I wrapped my right hand around his left one, and he paused in his poking attempt to stare at me.

Noticing our gazes, he blushed a bit and cleared his throat. "As you were saying, Esme."

Esme snickered, but carried on with what she wanted to reveal to me, her face going from amused to focused.

"My name is Esmeralda Rainbow, Celestia. Before the time of Sia's ruling, who was my daughter, I had ruled for many centuries. Close to 200 years, to be exact."

"Rainbow?! Wait… so Esme… you’re like… uh… my grandma? Or great, great, grandma… or… uh. Actually, that's just too complicated to figure out. But Sia was your daughter?! And you ruled for 200 YEARS?!" I exclaimed and quickly covered my mouth when Momo stirred.

We waited for her to settle before I whispered, "Sorry."

"No worries. Let's see how I'll answer this… I'll explain as smoothly as I can and if you have any questions, feel free to interrupt or you can save them for the end."

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