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"And we're done!" Zen smiled broadly, watching as his eldest daughter, Aria, looked happy.
She was very pleased with her hairstyle, literally glowing with happiness; he just brushed her red hair and did a braid on the side so that she could sleep comfortably. However, there were bright sparks in her emerald eyes. His youngest daughter, Nozomi, was already lying in the bed with the same hairstyle, holding her fluffy white bunny in her arms.
It was time to go to bed, but the girls really wanted him to do their hair, looking at him with pleading eyes, and he couldn't refuse them. After all, due to the huge amount of work in recent weeks, he didn't pay much attention to them. However, he missed them terribly and therefore was glad to spend the evening with his daughters.
"And now it's time to sleep." Zen lightly stroked their hair.
Aria was already lying in bed, showing her younger sister her new hairstyle.
The girls had their own rooms, but in recent weeks, they enjoyed sharing one room and sleeping in one bed together because it was more fun to play with toys together before going to bed. And also, as he learned from his wife, Aria and Nozomi really liked to talk about everything before going to bed; they could talk about the stars and the moon, or about people they met in the castle, and they could come up with a new game that they would definitely play the next morning.
Zen looked at them with a gentle smile, seeing how his daughters treated each other. He and Shirayuki were very worried that they would be jealous of each other since the age gap between them was only two years. They were both worried that the girls would fight with each other for the attention of their parents, that they would not be able to learn to play with each other, and would hate each other until they became adults.
Fortunately, Aria and Nozomi loved each other very much. They rarely had fights, and if they did, they reconciled very quickly. They didn't offend each other; they always shared toys and played together. If something interesting happened, they always told each other. Aria and Nozomi never let others hurt them, and they always protected each other. They also loved their older brother Rinji, who was a very responsible and caring child.
His children were very protective of each other, and Zen and Shirayuki were very happy about it.
Zen loved his children very much. Very.
"Daddy, what about a bedtime story?" Nozomi looked at him with pleading eyes, but Zen immediately turned away. If he had met that gaze, he definitely wouldn't have been able to refuse.
"I'm sorry, my little star, but it's time to sleep." Zen patted their heads, seeing how disappointed they looked. He would have loved to spend some more time with them, but it was really late. "But I promise I'll tell you a story tomorrow."
"Promise?" Aria asked, still hoping that he would stay with them a little longer.
"Yes, now let's go to sleep."
A few more minutes passed, and the girls fell asleep. Zen patted them on the head and kissed them on the forehead. Before returning to his room, he checked Rinji's room. Zen quietly opened the door and found his son sleeping in the dark. After making sure that everything was alright, he finally went to his room.
"You're back." Shirayuki looked at him with a gentle smile while holding the comb.
"It looks like I've been there too long." Zen immediately went over to hug her. She kissed him on the cheek, and he hugged her even tighter.
"No, you're just in time." Shirayuki handed him the comb and turned her back on him. "I can put them to bed tomorrow if you want."
Shirayuki was terribly sleepy, but she also wanted to enjoy their little ritual before going to bed.
"Oh, well, I already promised them I'd tell them a story tomorrow." Zen combed her hair carefully and tenderly, fascinated by it. "But you can join us if you want. The girls will be happy."
He put the comb aside, wondering what hairstyle he should do to make her sleep comfortably. Maybe a bun or a tail? No, it didn't sound very good. After a few seconds, he just decided to do the same thing he did for his daughters; he did a braid on the side. When he finished, Shirayuki was pleased with her hair and left a light kiss on the cheek. However, that wasn't enough for him, so Zen immediately pressed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss.
He couldn't remember exactly when it had become a bedtime ritual.
One evening, he just wanted to try to do his wife's hair. At first, it didn't work out very well; the hair stuck out, and the braid turned out to be very crooked; some strands fell off altogether. However, after several attempts and such evenings, he began to do much better.
They started practicing it almost every night, and sometimes they felt so weird when they didn't do it before going to bed.
And if at first he only did it for Shirayuki, so they could spend a little more time together, now he started doing it for his adorable little princesses.
He never thought that this little ritual would become special to him. Sometimes he was too busy to spend time with his family for a day, or even a few weeks, and he was very ashamed of it.
But this short time spent together made him really happy.
Rinji became a teenager; he had other interests, and therefore, Zen spent time with him in a completely different way; he taught his son horse riding, archery, and fencing, and took him with him on various trips. Of course, it wasn't that often, because Rinji was still too young to accompany him everywhere, but he tried to give his son as much attention and love as he could.
His daughters were just little girls who also needed his attention and love. Zen couldn't take them with him on trips, and he might not see them for weeks. However, it did not mean that he did not love them. He did his best to be around. After all, he also wanted to spend a lot of time with them.
He wanted to spend time with his wife in a special way. Sometimes in the evenings, they drank tea and played chess. There were evenings when they just looked up at the stars and talked about everything: about their struggles, about their children, and what they could do for the family and the whole kingdom.
Zen was really happy doing this little ritual before going to bed. He enjoyed spending time with his daughters and his wife.
His girls definitely liked it very much.