Scenario 21- ''Our Daughter Wants to Become a Lady Knight.''
Kel's daughter, Alanna, was the spitting image of her mother. The eyes, the smile, the way that that they held themselves... All were things that they held in common with each other.
But Alanna was also like her mother in other ways. She also shared her mother's compassion, her mother's determination and her mother's skill.
Since she was young, she had dreamed of being a lady knight. It proved not to be a phase for Alanna; the dream only solidified as she got older. Her main reason for wanting to be a knight was wanting to help others, for wanting to stand up and protect the small just as her mother did.
Kel was proud, and supportive of her daughter's dreams. But Neal... He was completely against it.
Knighthood had too many rigors for his little girl. Plus he had seen Kel being hazed and ridiculed for being a girl; he didn't want Alanna to go through that.
And the biggest reason of all... His brothers. Despite all the years that had passed since their deaths, he sometimes woke up with the wounds aching just as strong as ever. Their deaths had scarred his family, and almost tore it apart.
He had barely managed to recover from their deaths. They had died with honor; they had fallen in the line of duty. But that didn't make it any easier. If anything, it made it worse.
The thought of Alanna putting herself in that kind of danger made him sick to his stomach. But the idea of her... ending up like his brothers... That thought Neal could not even begin to fathom.
If Alanna ended up like her late uncles, Neal could never recover. Ever. His mother never really did, and his father only recovered partially. Being a parent was what made it easier to conceptualized what his parents had to go through.
He was definitely not against girls becoming knights; he was just against his girl becoming a knight.
It was an issue that he had the opportunity to put off for a long time, until Alanna's tenth birthday.
''Our daughter wants to become a lady knight,'' Kel informed Neal. ''Page training resumes in the fall.''
''No, absolutely not.''
Kel was not surprised by his reaction, as similar reactions ensued every time Alanna brought up her dream. ''You're going to have to let Alanna go sometime,'' Kel told her.
''No.''
''Neal...''
''I will not allow her to do this, Kel!''
''Neal, it's her dream,'' Kel said. ''She's wanted to do it since she was little and I can tell that she's serious about it.''
''She can find a different dream, then.'' It wasn't that hard. After his brothers were killed, he had done it easily enough.
''Neal, you can't...''
''Knighthood is dangerous, Kel. And she'll be hazed and the rigors...''
''I handled it. I'm sure she can too.''
''No. She's not going to be a knight.''
''What do you want her to be then?''
''Something safe.''
''Like what- a noblewoman?''
''There's nothing wrong with that.''
''I agree. The life a noblewoman would be a life that would satisfy many girls. Alanna isn't one of them.''
''I'm not limiting to her to the life of a noblewoman. Who am I, the Stump? There are various other things she could do with her life. Safe things.''
''I don't think Alanna would be satisfied with safe, either. I certainly know that I was never was.''
''Kel, I will not let her be a knight, even if I have to run in front of the horse that will get her there. That's the end of it.''
And with that, Neal turned away from Kel and left.
Kel sighed. Neal had good intentions but he did not grasp how cruel he was being. Alanna being denied the chance to be a knight would be devastating to her. Knighthood was in her heart, her blood and even her name.
She also knew how incredibly determined her daughter was, just as she was. If Alanna wanted knighthood enough, she would find a way to get it. She would find a way to successfully convince her father if she truly wanted to.
Alanna did go trying to convince her father.
''Daddy,'' she said, ''I know you don't want me to go but...''
''It's not just that I don't want you to go,'' Neal said. ''You're not going. At all.''
Alanna was prepared for this. She had prepared a speech in front of a mirror, and decided to give it to her father. Alanna was better with numbers than with words, but still she tried to present all of the reasons that she wanted to be a knight. ''Father,'' she said, ''Knighthood will give me a sense of purpose. A knight defends honor and protects the small and there's nothing more I could imagine wanting to do with my life.
''Also it will give me a sense of freedom...''
''So you want to get away from us?'' Neal asked.
Alanna flinched. She had realized she said the wrong thing. That wasn't what she meant at all. ''Fighting does. There's nothing more freeing than riding horseback or fighting with a glaive.''
''You can still do that for fun,'' Neal said. ''It's just that you can do something else for your occupation. Something less hazardous.''
''I've wanted to do this my whole life,'' Alanna said. ''It feels like the right thing to do, combining two things I love the most.''
''It doesn't feel like the right thing to me,'' Neal said. ''Besides, interest changes. What you want now you may not want as an adult. How do you know that you will want to be a knight when you're older?''
''I've wanted to be a lady knight my whole life. Why would it change as I got older?''
Her reasoning was getting to Neal, and he didn't like it. He had to keep his ground; he couldn't let her become a knight. Because she just couldn't become a knight. ''Because things change, Alanna. Sometimes things happen and you're not the person that you used to be. Sometimes it's gradual and sometimes it's sudden but… You never know when some things happen.''
Alanna noted with great shock as her father's eyes voice shook and he looked away.
''You're not becoming a knight,'' he said, his voice much softer now with the sadness within it.
Neal left the room then, leaving Alanna stunned.
Neal was running out of reasonable reasons to why Alanna shouldn't be a knight. Alanna had not said a word to him since their confrontation, but the looks she gave him were enough. There was a pleading look in her eye, and Neal couldn't look at her.
She gave up. She couldn't have been that serious about it if she gave up on it. But he knew the truth. Alanna was smart. She knew that going to him now would not help her case; she would go to him in a moment of lucidity and when her word has sunk in enough.
He thought about considering it. But then his memories, his parental fears, came rushing in and that was ruled out of the realm of possibility.
Then one day, he stumbled upon Alanna practicing wielding her glaive one day. He stood there and truly studied her.
She was completely absorbed in it, putting all of her energy and passion and devotion into it. Neal watched her with awe; it was a long time since he had watched her do her exercises and he was amazed at how much she had improved. His eyes were on each jab, each small movement that she did.
She was a natural, and she always had been. She already had an incredible amount of talent, one that could be refined and increased with training. With her amount of speed, strength and grace, she would go far.
And she loved it, that much was obvious. Her passion radiated from her as she did her exercise.
It was at that moment that he realized how truly horrible it was for him to hold her back from the future she wanted so badly and the future she would greatly prosper from. He had to let her go, and hope that things would turn out for the best.
Alanna turned around. ''Dad, why are you...''
He never came to her exercises, because they always argued about Alanna's possibility of knighthood.
''You can become a lady knight,'' he said. ''I'll support you becoming a lady knight.
Alanna's first reaction was shock. Her eyebrows lifted and her jaw dropped. Then she beamed and for a moment she was speechless.
''Thank you, Daddy,'' she said. ''Thank you.''
The words felt hollow to Neal, as did Alanna's embrace. He felt she was slipping away from him already, out of his reach and out from any protection he could have given to her.
He gripped her harder, and looked away from him, in an attempt to hide his tears from her.
This was an idea that I had for a long time and decided to put in here. I hoped you liked it. In some evil fit of irony, events have made it even harder for me to update despite the season. I will do my best to update though; I'm already halfway through my next chapter of In Her Darkest Hour and I should get it out soon.