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 Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:59 pm
 Ever since about....three days after her parents had been found by that scout girl and led back to the palace, reunited with their only daughter, Kelebek's mother, Sabah, had been having "tea" on at least a weekly basis with Vera, Hjortur's mother. This concept honestly terrified Kelebek, as both women were terrible gossips and she'd been right in that fry stage of her relationship with Hjortur. Somehow they'd all gotten through it mostly unscathed and unembarrassed. Now that she and Hjortur were married, well--Kelebek didn't care anymore what their mothers thought.
Except for today. Today, she'd been invited to take tea with her mother and mother-in-law. With no context for this invitation, her imagination (and anxiety) had run wild. She'd had several whole hours to ruminate on the reason for this sudden invitation and every conclusion she came up with was never good.
Kelebek knocked softly on the door to Vera's apartment, sort of hoping they wouldn't hear and she could go home.Daisicle after you post with Vera I'll do Kel and Sabah together
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:01 pm
"Why, you will NEVER believe what I overheard the other day from young Kerianna - unfortunately, though, it has nothing to do with her finding a nice male from the Guard to have court her. A shame, really. She is simply much too concerned with her duties and not concerned enough for her increasingly-lacking future." Old busybody Vera was inside of her apartment talking up a storm with one of her old friends from a life before the Spring. After recent events involving the loss of the young princesses and her husband and others close to her becoming gravely injured, along with the fallout that came of that, she wasn't able to venture outside of a few spaces very frequently at all. Here, Tox's quarters, the infirmary... that was about as far as she could go unless she was performing her duties. And even then, the other handmaidens often looked at her with such plain suspicion that it was becoming increasingly stifling to go.
For one thing, they no longer shared information the same as they used to.
"You know I keep trying to tell her and the other handmaidens about that passage Tox showed me, but none will listen! I cannot check it myself, but there are none to check it with me. A pity, really... I have quite the suspicion it may help with the search..." It probably would if they would listen to old Vera.
She was still huffing and a puffing over this new sidetracked thought of hers that she almost missed the sound of some knocking on the door. A wide grin formed on her face as she mischievously commented to her friend, "Our daughter has arrived~" She turned to call out, "Coming dearie~!" before swimming over and opening the door.
"Oh Kel you are looking splendid today! Come on in come on in~" Her persistence would leave no room for escape excuses as she ushered her daughter-in-law inwards.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:02 am
"Oh, do tell!" said Sabah, leaning forward to hear the latest news. She had news of her own to share, but she'd wait lest she seemed like she was bragging. Sabah and Vera got together at least once a week to chat and take tea and share the latest news. She was aware of the awkwardness around Vera and Snorri and that business with the Princesses, but since it happened before she and Haluk had found their way back...she mostly pretended that nothing was amiss. Especially since her own Haluk was also a Queensguard.
"Oh, I know, I hear you, no one listens to us old ladies anymore," she was agreeing when she heard the knock at the door.
Sabah rose from where she was seated to embrace her daughter, kissing her on both cheeks. "Hello, lovely girl," she said, smiling and returning to her seat, motioning to a third place for Kelebek to sit.Kelebek heard Vera's singsong voice from within and cursed under her breath. No getting out of it now. She put on a smile as her mother-in-law answered the door. "Hello, Vera," she said. "Thank you for inviting me to your tea with Mother." She went past Vera as bidden and into the front room where Mother was. Her mother got a warmer, slightly more genuine smile from her. "Hello Mother," she greeted her.
Kelebek sat where she was indicated, then put her hands in her lap. "Um, so....to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?" she asked, looking back and forth between Vera and her mother.
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Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 3:13 pm
Vera looked over with a faux-pout to Sabah as Kel went and sat herself down, chiming in a small, "Oh one day she'll give me a smile like that too - you'll see..." Before sighing in a plainfully dramatic manner and returning to her spot at a table. It was actually a bit of a sore spot to have her daughter-in-law treating her so coldly... well, that was also dramatics, but Vera really did wish she'd warm up and stop being so darned awkward with her already! Why, she'd practically already been family from the start.
Not one for mincing matters as interesting as this, the older woman decided to cut straight into the heart of the matter with an intentionally-leading, yes also innocently-unaware, question.
"So... Should we be expecting any more grandchildren soon?"
Her eyes sparkled in delight, expectation, and mischief as she quite visibly leaned in closer.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:38 am
Kelebek, who had made the mistake of taking a sip of the offered tea, was then made to splutter and cough at Vera's very pointed question. She blushed deeply, and started to go a little transparent around the edges as she panicked. How could Vera know already? Had Hjortur said anything? Nothing was even for sure yet, just that they were planning.
Wide-eyed, she looked back and forth between Vera and her mother, trying to get a read on either of them. How could they gang up on her like this? And about such a private topic? And she still didn't know how Vera could have known they were talking about it. What should she do? What should she say? At a quiet word from Sabah, she realized she was fully panicking now, and disappearing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.
"We're still discussing it," she answered as calmly as she could. "The boys are still young." Kelebek took a fortifying sip of tea. "And, as I'm sure you can remember, teenagers are a bit of a finful."Sabah shrugged and smiled sympathetically at Vera. She wondered sometimes about her daughter. They'd been separated for a long time, but she hadn't thought she raised such an anxious girl. Maybe that separation had caused it.
She smiled smugly at Vera's question and watched Kelebek's response. Well, that pretty much confirmed it, didn't it? She giggled softly and sipped her tea.
"You're fading, darling," she murmured softly, almost admonishingly, as Kelebek's power started hiding her from view. Honestly, her daughter's power was supposed to shield her from danger, not disappear her from awkward social situations.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:58 pm
The mischievous glint in Vera's eyes transitioned into an almost childish delight as her prodding yielded the most exciting of results. Had she anything to base her prior question on? No. There was nothing that would have led her to believe her son and daughter-in-law would be discussing on whether or not to grow the family. But Vera simply could not wait for an ever larger number of grandchildren or great-grandchildren to dote upon.
And so she'd asked.
As Vera picked up some lake caviar to snack on, she glanced over at Sabah with an almost smug smile before looking back at Kel. "Oho~ So you two are discussing it, are you~? That is quite the bit of exciting news to little old me."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:03 pm
Slowly it dawned on Kelebek that she'd been...deceived somehow. She frowned, and a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "I mean, we're definitely still just in discussion," she backpedaled, making a "slow down" gesture with her hands. "I-I'm not sure we've come to any concrete decisions."
But they had. Why was she feeling so compelled to lie to them? To not let them know what she and Hjortur were planning? Maybe because they were both so self-satisfied about the whole thing, and it felt like letting them win, somehow. Besides, if they knew she and Hjortur were definitely planning on more she would never hear the end of it until those babies arrived.Sabah shot an elaborate pout at Kelebek as she spoke. "My little butterfly, I can't believe you hadn't told me!" she exclaimed. "After all these years apart, and after the boys came as such a surprise, I would have thought you would have told me already!"
Part of this was, of course, an act, but she did wish that Kelebek trusted her more, or came to her more often, or that they had a....warmer mother-daughter relationship.
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:21 am
The excitement never waned from Vera's expression as she continued to grin at Kelebek. "But knowing that boy of mine, if you are already in discussion... why yes, it won't be long at all, will it? Oh how exciting! How very, very exciting!" You know what they say - give Vera an inch and she'll drag the whole damn rest of it along with her whims. She looked over at Sabah and nodded once. "Yes, yes. This gives us just enough time to prepare."
She returned her look back to Kel as she pressed ever onwards with the self-assured assumption that she would surely be receiving grandchildren in the near-ish future, "So are you hoping for a girl this time? Any names? Why, you must let us help more with this one - that none of our grandchildren between you two have continued the family legacies is a true shame, although not altogether unexpected given their... peculiarities. Although I suppose Sindri could still prove useful to the Queensguard, even on the surface..." Her gaze slightly glazed over as she became wrapped up in her internal thoughts on the subject and her words trailed off.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:46 am
Hearing the two of them simper like this slowly made Kelebek's blood boil. Carefully, she set her teacup down and held her hands tensely in her lap, biting her tongue until she finally couldn't anymore.
"There is nothing TO tell!" she cried, frustration clear in her voice. Her hair whirled around her as she practically shook. "You're wondering why we haven't said anything about what we're planning? Why we didn't say anything about the boys until they arrived? THIS," she made an encompassing gesture with her hands, indicating the scene before her. "This is why! I can't trust either of you to just? Be happy for us? Without trying to plan out the future of children that haven't even been conceived yet?" She wanted to stop and to leave but she was far too amped up now.
"Did the words 'How wonderful, darling, what can we do to support you?' ever occur to you? I raised four children entirely on my own with virtually no support from anyone, and while I am thrilled that the boys, and any future children Hjortur and I may have, will grow up amid a huge, loving family, the reason I haven't asked for help is because neither of you have shown that you're going to give me the kind of help that I want or need." She was incredibly offended by Vera's comment about family legacies but she couldn't adequately express why that was so inappropriate.Sabah leaned forward, resting her elbow on her lap and her chin in her palm as she calmly weathered her daughter's outburst. She couldn't help but smile. It was good to see her stand up for herself. This is how she'd raised her to be, not a mousy doormat.
Kelebek's comments didn't wound her, though they did needle. But Sabah had thick skin.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:54 pm
Vera calmly reached over to grab her own bubble/glass/however naiad drink hot drinks of tea while Kel's monologue went on... and on and on, her own expression practically unreadable behind her gentle smile. It was almost like she was waiting for a toddler throwing a tantrum to tire themselves out, which may have been pretty on-point. She fully waited it out before placing her instrument of liquid consumption down, seeming to deliberately choose which snack to have, and tossing it into her mouth.
"I admit, I haven't the slightest clue why I should be concerned about what you did prior to joining our family. Regardless of how long I've known you and your family, would you have me directly meddling in the affairs of my husband's superior unprompted? Waters no. Even I know that's strange... I'm sure more help would have been available if you'd just swallowed your pride or anxiousness or whatever it was that stopped you and asked. Complaining now about it makes no sense." She licked her lips a bit before looking up at Kel now, genuinely sympathetically. "Stop with the silly superlatives," low and behold, even Vera could use colorful vocabulary from time to time, "You complain you received no help, now you complain you won't want or need it when offered."
She reached for another snack and, upon beginning to chew on it, offered an exasperated sigh. "You can't have it both ways dear." She glanced over at Sabah with a shrug, as if she was asking her opinion on her irritable, unreasonable daughter.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:19 pm
Sabah, still amused at this whole scene, also took the opportunity to snack while Vera responded to Kelebek's outburst. They'd both made valid points. Kelebek was certainly entitled to raise her children how she saw most fit, and as their mother she ought to get more say than the father's extended family. On the other fin, Vera was entirely correct that because Kelebek was choosing to raise those children within her large extended, blended family, she couldn't choose to ignore that family.
She smiled a knowing smile at Vera and shrugged back, as if to say "kids, right?".
After Vera finished Sabah turned the shrug to Kelebek. "My darling, your mother-in-law is right. Regardless of what happened in the past, the family you have now is what matters. Do try and relax a little." She sipped her tea and leaned back into her seat casually.Kelebek felt more and more deflated the longer the two women talked. It was like neither of them had heard anything she'd said. This? This was why she didn't speak up. It was more trouble than it was worth.
She couldn't help but laugh a bit bitterly, though, at Vera's suggestion that she was complaining, and that she should have asked for help with her first children. Help from who? That was before Hjortur and before her parents had been found again and while she was still the fool who'd accidentally had children with the Queen's Consort. Well, before he became her consort. It didn't matter.
"Mm," she said quietly after it was clear it was her turn again. "I won't bring it up again." Kelebek sighed softly and picked up her drink again, sipping at it and hoping the others would change the subject.
The family she had now. Her mother's words echoed in her mind. That was true, she supposed. Even if she thought Vera was pushy and insincere, she was still so important to Hjortur. It wouldn't be right of her not to try to get along with her.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:32 am
~some time passes~ Sabah eventually changed the subject, steering Vera back toward whatever juicy tidbit she'd been about to divulge when Kelebek had arrived. As amusing as this whole thing was, she wasn't one who liked to wallow in the discomfort of others, especially those so close to her as Vera and her daughter.
Eventually Kelebek excused herself, citing that the boys would be expecting her. Sabah quirked an eyebrow, wondering how true that was, but her only response was to smile and thank her for joining them. "You must join us more often, darling," she added.
Once her daughter was out of the room, she turned back to Vera. "Well," she said with a chuckle. "That was certainly something."Kelebek hurried home, tears burning at the corner of her eyes. Not only did she feel completely ambushed, she had made a terrible mess of things with her family.
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