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 Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:10 pm
Deep down, Lela did not want to break the pair up. She didn't want to squash out what little enjoyment Selene could get out of her days as an heiress. She often felt bad for what Selene had to go through, the stress and the pressure at such a young age. She was sure that this boy provided some sort of relief to these feelings. However, Lela also did not want anything to come out of their blossoming relationship. She did not necessarily mind a camaraderie between the two - but she did mind future relations. The gossip going around was that her daughter was headed in that direction. So, though she was a little torn about it, she had to have that talk. If there was one thing she had to teach the future queen of this pride, it was to do things for the good of the group, even if it cost personally.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:07 pm
Selene had been quite happily keeping busy. She made sure not to neglect her lessons but with Uchanjaa to keep an eye on her and Mazin to keep her company, she had more freedom and fun in her spare time. She was getting to know the lands better since she could wander more freely and she was happier with someone to talk to- and, even better, she had someone to talk to about her lessons, to teach things to, and it was helping her learn them better. While it did occur to her that Mazin was a controversial choice for a crush, it never occurred to her that including him in her lessons might be frowned upon.
Today, despite all of this, she was not far from home and she happened to be alone. She was humming to herself as she investigated the area around the family den, looking for signs of familiar plants and keeping eye on whoever happened to pass by. It would be useful to get a sense of everybody's schedule and know what was easy to find, right?
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:59 pm
The queen steeled herself before stepping outside the family den. She had to do this, she had to. Denying her daughter something that brought happiness would hurt her, but it was necessary. It was her duty to inform Selene of what her own duty was. And that settled it. Lela nodded her head once, firmly, and stepped out of the den into the glowing moonlight.
Her daughter was very easy to find - that familiar tawny color practically glowed during the night. "Good evening, Selene." She padded quietly over to face the young lioness. For a moment, her resolve wobbled. Looking at this lioness, growing into an adult and becoming everything Lela could hope for and more, it tugged deep down in the mother. What would she think when her mother told her what had to be said? What would she think of her? But I must do it, Lela thought. If I care about her, it has to be me. She steeled herself for the second time, preparing for whatever might happen. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if maybe her daughter might understand where she was coming from. But then again, she remembered that age all too well. There was so much room for being upset.
She tested the waters first. It's funny how one moment you can be the confident leader of a pride, and the next you can be tiptoeing around your daughter. "How are you doing?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:11 pm
"Mama!"
Selene loved her family, she was always happy to see them- and she did like to cling to the informal, childish names for them. She wasn't all grown up yet! And she doubted when she was that she would like it any less.
"Very well!" she responded politely and cheerfully, standing herself up tall and turning to face her mother with a smile, "Nothing to report around here, I've been keeping an eye on it. Baba'nyota passed by but that was a while ago."
She glanced off in the direction she had seen him go. It was impressive she had been able to see him in the dark- at least, Selene thought so, which partially motivated her to tell her mother.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:30 pm
"Oh, that's wonderful." Lela made one attempt to keep her spirits up before deciding this was going to be bad. There wasn't going to be anything good about it. She tried to relate to her daughter, feel her coming pain (which, even worse, her daughter couldn't even see coming). The only thing that Lela could cling to for what was to come was the slight comfort in that if it were her, she would understand. She would be hurt by such words, but she would pull through and know that it was what was right to do. Thoughts of Unyezi were completely corralled into one little corner of her brain and not at all looked at. Hopefully Selene wouldn't bring up her uncle.
Just when she was about to say it, Lela fell short. She needed more time, more build up. And she had felt so ready when she had stepped out of that den! But looking at her daughter now, it felt almost impossible. She longed for her mate to be by her side, to make this easier. But perhaps it might be less painful for everyone if it was just the two of them, mother and daughter. Talking about boys. She wished this could be different, that she could chatter with her daughter about a more suitable, happy match. "So, you... like doing things for the pride? You enjoy you lessons and responsibilities?" There was an all too hopeful tone to her voice.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:38 pm
Selene looked back to her mother with a smile. There had been a couple other lions by but she had no idea what their names were. She had recognized them, though. They were nothing to worry about. Perhaps another night would interrupt them and introduce herself.
The question her mother asked, paired with the oddly hopeful tone, confused the young lioness.. and immediately set off little alarm bells in her head. Something was obviously up. Was there some doubt of her dedication to her lessons or the pride? Was there somewhere she was supposed to be right now? Had she done something wrong?
"Of course," she answered, her tone falling and becoming more serious, "Is something wrong?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:53 pm
At her daughter's faltering tone, Lela's steel cracked again. Alright, just do it quick, she told herself. Maybe saying it fast would take a bit of the sting out. But a little deeper than that, she knew it wasn't true. There wasn't a good way to do this, except to just be straight forward. Enough dawdling. This was the life of a royal, she told herself. It wasn't glamorous, she knew, and it wasn't necessarily fun. But it was the way things were. She knew Selene hadn't chose this life, and had much less chosen to be first born of a high class royal litter. She had been chosen by the Great Lion for such a job, and she had to accept it. Despite the pain, it was time to grow up a little.
"I believe you," she said at first. Even though she wished to be straightforward, she was only mortal. There was only so much she could do. "Selene, word has gotten around that you've been spending a lot of time with Mazin." After saying the first sentence, it seemed a little easier to chug along. "I've noticed before now, but the gossip is a bigger problem." She was hoping Selene was on the same page at least for the moment. She paused to allow her daughter to process what was being said.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:58 pm
Selene looked on, puzzled, as her mother worked up the courage to say what needed to be said. As long as Selene had known her mother, she had never seen her quite like this before. Or.. maybe she had simply failed to notice when her mother was not so confident.
She blinked a couple times when finally her mother spit out the issue: Mazin. Selene's heart raced. She wasn't stupid, she knew a slave was not the ideal choice for a mate for anybody, especially someone so tied intot he monarchy.. but she wasn't doing anything wrong.
"I don't understand," she said, expecting her mother to explain herself more clearly and directly.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:21 pm
Less than ideal. But Lela had to finish what had been started. Surely her daughter knew that Mazin was not for her. A simple crush, someone to spend a little time with before moving on to a real relationship. Lela had enjoyed conversation and companionship with a couple lions before settling down with Thoth - of course both of those lions had been more proper choices than a slave, but that was beside the point. Surely her own daughter could understand that it was time to lighten up on this particular phase, move on in life, and if none of that worked - do her duty to the pride.
This wasn't going to be any where near the easy she could've hoped for. Lela sat down, wrapped her tail around herself. "Honey, sometimes we have to do things for the good of the pride, instead of doing the things we enjoy." She sighed, looked into her daughter's eyes. "It's the life that has been chosen for you. Mazin isn't a smart match, you must see that. The pride is talking about you two - the time you spend together. It looks like you're getting awfully close to him. Don't get attached."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:39 pm
She watched her mother sit down and brace herself for what she needed to say but Selene remained standing, defiant. She was normally very good at keeping herself under control physically, even if her mind wanted to shout or whine or anything so unbecoming or inappropriate. She didn't say anything, choosing to stay stubbornly quiet until her mother was finished speaking.
"His rank doesn't matter, his class doesn't matter," she said, clearly intent on attempting to argue her way out of this so-called problem, "If- if we married, he would join the high class and that would be it."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:07 pm
Despite the defiance, or maybe because of it, Lela was gaining confidence in what she was saying. Though it wasn't the best feeling to put an end to something that brought her daughter happiness, she was sure of what she had to do. This was the way things were, and not only was it for the good of the pride, but it was for the good of her daughter, as well. Selene had to learn this lesson now.
"He would join the high class, yes, but that isn't the point. The point is his origins, Selene." She sighed, cast her eyes off to the side, trying to find a way to get her point across in the nicest way possible. "It isn't proper," she decided on, looking back at her daughter. "It isn't proper for a young heiress to set her sights so low, dear. I understand you have some feelings for Mazin, but it's not just about feelings for us. It's about a smart match. Your future mate needs to be acceptable as the future king. Like your father. Not only did I love him, but he was everything he should be as the husband of the Queen and the father of the heiress." Even though Lela hadn't known leadership would be thrust on her when she had first gotten close to Thoth, when the time came he had stepped up to the plate in more ways than she could have hoped. Why couldn't Selene see that that is exactly what she needed? Someone who was regal and just and... of a higher social standing.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:19 pm
"His mother is a midwife," Selene said, and continued stubbornly listing relatives of Mazin despite whatever look or attempt to interrupt her mother might have given her, "His grandmother and uncle a historian, his aunt a host. His father is a guard and friend of dad's, and those grandparents are a lord and lady."
It was just Mazin and his siblings that had missed the mark somewhere. Everybody else was fairly firmly middle-class and above if you didn't count Kisura's children. And once of them had been sent off to become a lord in another pride.
She was stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that lineage was not technically a factor in one's standing in the pride. It could help with perception, or hurt.. just as actual status could help or hurt how you were perceived.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:38 pm
Lela opened her mouth to interject, but her daughter stubbornly went on, as if continuing to speak would change her mothers mind. Perhaps she had received a bit of that stubbornness from Lela herself, because the queen was not about to back down on this matter, and it had nothing to do with her rank. She listened while Selene threw out family members with ranks or titles, but it didn't matter, and she had a feeling Selene knew it deep down. Family was important, sure, but so was class. Family couldn't save you form your fate. They could only help you live to your fullest capability. Unfortunately, as seen in Mazin's case, sometimes that wasn't very much.
"Selene, you know what it means that his is low class. It doesn't matter what his parents were, what his grandparents were, who they are. It matters what the Great Lion has chosen for him - and what he has chosen for YOU." She was speaking quickly, getting in what she needed to before her daughter went off again. "Even though his class may change, it just isn't a good match. You must see that, I know you can." She sighed again, wishing this were simpler. "He just isn't for you. He isn't what the pride will need you to marry."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:47 pm
Selene listened to her mother shoot down her argument in a completely expected way. This was when she would be forced to acknowledge that her mother was right, that this was really how things were and that she knew all of this when it happened. She didn't need to be told how things were, she needed to be told to stop ignoring them.. but she didn't want to listen.
"Well, you'll be happy to know, we aren't exactly planning a wedding," she said defensively, "And if it comes to that, I'll keep what you said in mind."
She and Mazin were not even a couple. Selene knew how she felt about Mazin and she knew basically how Mazin felt about her, it was not exactly unlikely but it wasn't in the immediate future. She would not brush Mazin aside now and if they did choose to marry, she would defend him appropriately then. She would stand up for him, not try to talk her mother out of worrying about the fact he was a slave.
She would fight to keep her choice in the matter.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:03 pm
Lela's eyes practically bulged at the word wedding, no matter the context. She had to take a moment to recompose herself. This was going no where. Her daughter was simply not listening to her - but this had to end. Lela would not allow the future queen to marry Mazin, not when the pride was already gossiping so heavily about it. Surely Selene had heard the whispers. If Lela had, she knew her daughter had. Buy why persist? Why keep this going?
"You know," she said quietly, no longer arguing, "I had a little crush before your father. Nothing came out of it, and I'm glad it didn't - I wouldn't have you or your brothers, or the life I currently live. It takes strength to realize something like that, Selene, and I know you have it within you." Maybe putting the responsibility of the decision, or at least making it seem like it, would help the transition away from this boy.
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