[Er...sorry; got my stories mixed up. This is the right on. Please review! Insert disclaimer, I don't feel like typing it.]
"Majesty," greeted Jaina, as the Queens face shifted out of the red glow in her scrying pool.
"Don't call me Majesty. I'm your mother. How are you doing in Tortall."
"I like it here." Jaina did not have a particularly honest relationship with her mother, but the woman was known to be a powerful mage, and probably had a truth telling spell worked into her side of the scrying link.
"That's a pity, Jaina, because you're leaving."
"Mother!"
"This isn't going to please you."
"Damn you, it already isn't! Tell me!" Jaina mentally went through and abundance of swearing in two languages. Beautiful as she was, the Queen of Anguis was a hard woman to love in the best of times.
"His Lordship Sirus tiber of Darkholm is going to take you on as an apprentice."
"What!? Mother, no!"
"You have no choice whatsoever in the matter. He is a valuable man in my kingdom, and the most powerful mage in Anguis. I can't say its entirely proper, but it is going to happen."
"You're going to ship to the Darkholm mountains to learn magic I don't care about from a man half the country is terrified of?"
"Oh, behave yourself, Jaina. You are a princess. You are obviously a powerfully gifted girl, and I wouldn't dare offend him by refusing, even if I wanted to. You are a princess. You will serve your country to the best of your ability. A mage as powerful as you will be if you are trained by Lord Sirus will be much more help than another petty fighter."
"How dare you?!"
"Jaina Kirian dai Madira!" Jaina could feel her mother's burning anger through the magic of the pool, and she flinched. "You have made me a great deal less sympathetic, daughter."
"You'll be glad to have me off your hands." The fierce, anger was replaced by pain.
"You are a wild little brat. Undoubtedly Lord Sirus will teach you to mind your manners. You will be under his control completely. This is an opportunity many will cherish. I will see you back in Anguis in a month's time, when I will turn you over to him. Travel is already scheduled. You leave in a week."
Jaina's eyes were shining, but tears did not overflow. "You truly do not care about me, do you?"
Her mother looked at her. Jaina saw her own face in her mothers. Dark eyes, dark hair, haughtiness, coldness...
"I suppose you deserve a mother who can bring herself to care for you the way one should," the Queen said, in a burst of unusual honesty. "Every child does. I cannot. I answer to my country. I am a queen. You will leave in a weeks time. I will see you soon."
Red magic washed the pool for a brief moment, and it was simply a pan of water. Jaina's tears overflowed into it, causing ripples to spread. She could never call her mother a bad queen.
"Majesty," greeted Jaina, as the Queens face shifted out of the red glow in her scrying pool.
"Don't call me Majesty. I'm your mother. How are you doing in Tortall."
"I like it here." Jaina did not have a particularly honest relationship with her mother, but the woman was known to be a powerful mage, and probably had a truth telling spell worked into her side of the scrying link.
"That's a pity, Jaina, because you're leaving."
"Mother!"
"This isn't going to please you."
"Damn you, it already isn't! Tell me!" Jaina mentally went through and abundance of swearing in two languages. Beautiful as she was, the Queen of Anguis was a hard woman to love in the best of times.
"His Lordship Sirus tiber of Darkholm is going to take you on as an apprentice."
"What!? Mother, no!"
"You have no choice whatsoever in the matter. He is a valuable man in my kingdom, and the most powerful mage in Anguis. I can't say its entirely proper, but it is going to happen."
"You're going to ship to the Darkholm mountains to learn magic I don't care about from a man half the country is terrified of?"
"Oh, behave yourself, Jaina. You are a princess. You are obviously a powerfully gifted girl, and I wouldn't dare offend him by refusing, even if I wanted to. You are a princess. You will serve your country to the best of your ability. A mage as powerful as you will be if you are trained by Lord Sirus will be much more help than another petty fighter."
"How dare you?!"
"Jaina Kirian dai Madira!" Jaina could feel her mother's burning anger through the magic of the pool, and she flinched. "You have made me a great deal less sympathetic, daughter."
"You'll be glad to have me off your hands." The fierce, anger was replaced by pain.
"You are a wild little brat. Undoubtedly Lord Sirus will teach you to mind your manners. You will be under his control completely. This is an opportunity many will cherish. I will see you back in Anguis in a month's time, when I will turn you over to him. Travel is already scheduled. You leave in a week."
Jaina's eyes were shining, but tears did not overflow. "You truly do not care about me, do you?"
Her mother looked at her. Jaina saw her own face in her mothers. Dark eyes, dark hair, haughtiness, coldness...
"I suppose you deserve a mother who can bring herself to care for you the way one should," the Queen said, in a burst of unusual honesty. "Every child does. I cannot. I answer to my country. I am a queen. You will leave in a weeks time. I will see you soon."
Red magic washed the pool for a brief moment, and it was simply a pan of water. Jaina's tears overflowed into it, causing ripples to spread. She could never call her mother a bad queen.