R O L E P L A Y · E N T R Y
[ prentice ]

#752e1d #78bb60 #c3b18d


    Unbent

      Solo

      Summary

      Aelyn speaks with her mother Kuloma after a fight with Merle. Aelyn reaffirms that she refuses to bend under Merle's cruel treatment.

      Solo

      Aelyn's door was shut. It usually was. In this house, nowhere was safe until it was shut off from the prying eyes and ears. The walls had eyes. Aelyn had grown up understanding too well the meaning behind that saying.

      Every move within this household had to be calculated, targeted, planned to minimize the potential that even insignificant every-day behaviors might be used to extort. Having conversations that weren't closely guarded or spoken in confidence, inside a private room, could easily come back to bite you. It was exhausting. Merle was exhausting.

      Tonight, Aelyn was sprawled across her bed, still dusty from a day out but too mentally tired to get up and bathe. She had come back with her hair an absolute mess, her clothes partially torn, and a few new bruises after a nice brawl with the urchins. By now, Aelyn considered these fights to be more like training spars than full-on tussles, and she was getting better. None of the girls thought to laugh at her anymore, and the boys had stopped thinking that they could win hands down. This was progress.

      She had been vegetating for close to an hour when a gentle knock sounded at her door, two quiet knocks that sounded almost like questions. Was company welcome? From the sound, she could tell it was her mother. Aelyn heaved a sigh and picked herself up off the bed (her mother had taught her better than to dirty clean sheets like that). The young prentice made her way to the door and eased it open as quietly as she could. Without even thinking about it, she was doing her best to minimize noise and reduce the risk that someone would hear this mundane activity.

      "Mother," she said, pulling the door open just wide enough for Kuloma to step in before gently pushing it shut.

      "I brought you some dinner," Kuloma said, holding out a plate of lukewarm food pilfered from the kitchens.

      "Oooh!" Aelyn squealed, snatching up the plate. "Nobody takes care of me like momma."

      She plopped herself down cross-legged on the floor and tucked into the meal, shoveling food into her mouth with almost astounding speed.

      "Nobody's... going to steal that from you, dear," Kuloma said gently.

      Aelyn paused mid-shovel, eyes darting sideways to fix a pointed stare onto her mother. "You don't know that," she said around a mouthful of half-chewed food.

      Kuloma sighed and perched on the edge of Aelyn's bed. "It really isn't that bad here, Aelyn. It could be worse, you know."

      Aelyn managed a laugh. She jabbed her fork in her mother's direction. "Uh, says the woman who named me after Father's firstborn," she said. This retort had served her well all her life. Every time Kuloma suggested that maybe things weren't so bad, Aelyn pridefully reminded her that there had been reasons behind Kuloma naming her after Acyn. It was to curry favor, plain and simple, and to give her a leg up in a family that Kuloma had no doubt known was certifiably insane.

      "I know you love him, and you love all the children. It's just who you are, mom," Aelyn said, seeing Kuloma sitting up to respond to her quip. "But some of the people in this house are not as kind as you are. And certainly not forgiving." She rolled her eyes.

      "Aelyn. You shouldn't fight with Merle..."

      "That woman," Aelyn spat. She would not dignify her by using her name. "Would probably do a little dance if I died. If she had her way, she would squash me like an insect, mother. If I didn't fight with her or stand up to her, she would crush me."

      It was probably not even an exaggeration. Merle was a vengeful woman, and she could be cruel.

      "I refuse to be one of her political pawns. I will not bow down and call her mother. I will not pretend to respect her. I will not even pretend that most of the things I do aren't meant to directly piss her off. She can't get away with treating half of father's children like dirt. Not if I can help it."

      Kuloma sighed and rose. "I'll never be able to tell you to behave otherwise."

      "No," Aelyn said, piling the rest of the food into her mouth. "Not at all."

      wc 722