Page 231 of A King's Oath

“Smart equestrians can’t be princesses?” He cocked his head. Ava gave him a look. One that said —No, she is not a princess and do not go there.So he shut up and showed her a flat cap in pink. Their shopping went wild after that.

There was war over an all-white coat with shiny buttons that the mother thought was impractical because ‘you run in the mud even when you have no outdoor class’ and the daughter wanted because ‘you never buy me anything in white.’

It was quite an entertaining sight until Samarth realised that a pair of round eyes was staring up at him as if he would referee the match.

“Oh,” his dreamland bubble burst. He glanced between Ava and Brahmi — “Umm, I think Mama is right…”

Brahmi’s lips popped out in a pout.

“You are right too…”

Ava cleared her throat. When he glanced at her she was glaring at him.

“Oh no, of course you are right… whites get dirty and…”

“Sam!”

He glanced down and one eyebrow was cocked up. He recoiled. Was that him glaring back at himself? He caught his breath. Sometimes Brahmi just took it away.

“Alright,” he snapped out of the contest. “Here’s what I propose — Ava, what if this white coat is only for special occasions? Occasions that you get to veto on? It stays in a special place of the closet and comes out only when you say so. That way,” he turned his face to his daughter, feeling very much like the Rawal on the throne solving a dispute of goats. “Brahmi gets to have something in white too. And learn to take care of it. Hmm?”

“Fiiine.”

Again she took his breath away. A sassy Ava was shrugging right back at him.

“Ava?” He quickly looked away. She was frustrated and looked done with him. Or was she… amused?

“The payment for this white coat will be made from your savings account,” Ava stared down her nose at Brahmi. Immediately his daughter jumped to read the price tag.

“Savings account?”

“Unlike piggy banks, she has a savings account with me. She gets interest for every three months and if she does not spend it for six months, the interest rate multiplies. Every year the amount is either renewed, used to buy a massive gift for herself or set into a fixed deposit in a real bank.”

“Wow,” he mouthed. “Does she understand interest?”

“It’s been two years since we started. She can’t calculate but she understands that money is added onto the lump sum she saves.”

Samarth gaped at Ava in awe.

“No, it’s ok,” Brahmi muttered, letting go of the price tag. Her pretty little face was drawn out.

“Let me buy it for her,” Samarth murmured in her ear. She was about to shake her head — “I’ll deal with it right. Let me.”

Ava stared at him.

Please,he mouthed.

“Fine.”

“Oh, what if I loan you some money?” He asked Brahmi.

“What is loan?”

“Loan is like borrowing. You borrow your friend’s crayons or pencil? That way you can borrow money too. But you have to return it when you have it.”

“I have it but I cannot touch it until December or it will not become more…” she explained the concept to him patiently, arms wide.

“Hmm,” he held his hand out. “In that case, you can return the money to me in December.”

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