A tough decision by Aine.
Aine Myst lived in a fancy, well designed, yet modest manse compared to some of the houses here in the northwestern highborn district of Beldorn. It was located near Haven, of course. Tanglewood Forest lay to the southwest a bit. The manse yard was nicely designed, with well placed rocks and small boulders on the terraced landscape of the garden making fancy border decorations along the winding paths. There were many colors and varieties of flowers. Here were blue irises, red tulips, along with yellow daffodils, and white roses. There were a few bees flying lazily by, occasionally stopping to visit some of the sweeter flowers. It was very quiet at the present time and it was an exceedingly beautiful and idyllic Valdemar summer on this last day of endweek.
Aine was on her way back from delivering and selling some of the more practical leather goods this time; with belts, gloves and yeoman's pouches being some of the proffered fare. She was enjoying this pleasant ride on Obsidian's strong back as she skillfully guided the horse along the cobblestone streets. Obsidian's gait had slowed to a flat walk now, carrying them smoothly along. There is some benefit to delivering leather goods to neighbors here and throughout Haven, she reflected. She loved seeing the Heralds of Haven, with their pristine white uniforms and their hauntingly beautiful white, almost ghostly horses. Well, she thought to herself, someday, if I can get into the Guard, I will at least be near it all..maybe I'll even become a Herald someday if I'm lucky...
Aine drew nearer to the household, then circled around back to where the barn and stables were. She dismounted, then brought Obsidian, named so because of his intense black color, to the stalls. She led him in the barn and tethered him to one of the supporting posts, allowing him to feed on some hay. She patted him on the head., and then, all of the sudden it occurred to her; if I were to become a Herald, of course I would have to find something to do with Obsidian. I would have a Companion instead...Obsidian was the most friendly, loyal horse she had ever known or rode. She thought she sure would have a hard time dealing with...giving him up. These thoughts made her eyes moisten a little. She patted Obsidian on the head again. Maybe, just maybe we can figure something out old boy...
She dreaded going in as it was almost time for the noon meal and she knew there would be more talk about what her parents thought she should do with her life.
Inside the manse, Aine's mother, Constance, was busy putting the finishing touches on one of her more splendid meals. Steam billowed out from worn yet fancy kettles. The odor of burning wood from the large iron stove wafted throughout the kitchen as well as the smell of skillfully cooked wildfowl.
Aine's father, Gerard, was in the dining room already, sitting at the table with the ornate and delicate fringed tablecloth on top of it. Some of the finest crafted silverware made in Haven was laid neatly on cloth napkins. He was smoking a well carved wooden pipe, studying the accounting books and studying some of the new orders with regards to the family business. Smoke drifted lazily throughout the room.
All seemed pleasant and quiet.
Aine came in the front entryway, slammed the door behind her and immediately winced. She braced herself for some of her Dad's nerve racking yelling. She prepared to mock and mouth his words as he spoke them. Father was very predictable. "How many times have I told you not to slam that door, you are going to ruin it," he thundered, his voice coming from the dining room and reverberating throughout the house, "you know I don't like that, so don't do it!" She mocked some of the faces he made when angry as she finished mouthing his words. Aine felt a little anxiety in anticipation of the mid-day meal with them.
"Is that you Aine?' Constance shouted from the kitchen.
"Yes Mom." Aine took off her riding boots and some of the other riding gear before
going into the dining room.
"What'd you say Aine?"
"Yes mom its me!" she shouted.
"Well who else would it be traipsing in here, not knocking and slamming the door shut like that?" Gerard said with an edge of irritation. He took a puff on his pipe and returned to looking at one of his business ledgers.
Aine rolled her eyes, All is pleasant as usual with father and mother I see, some things never change, she mused.
In the kitchen Constance thought of replying with a rebuff of her own, thus putting him in his place yet again. Hmmm, perhaps not now, you have to time these things just right. It wouldn't do for Gerald to get wise to my game. With men, and Gerard in particular, discretion and timing are the keys to getting my way. She smiled at her own thoughts. She finished getting all the food together and was preparing to bring it out into the dining room.
Aine took a chair in the dining room, looked at her father busy with the books and said as brightfully as she could manage, "Hi Dad, how is it all looking?"
He took another puff on his pipe, adjusted his wireframe glasses and without looking up he said, "Hmph, were getting by, we're getting by."
She paused before she sat down at the table. She opened her mouth to say something in reply but thought better of it and sat down. She fidgeted with the silverwear. She had a sense that they were going to argue again, and she very much wanted to avoid that. As a result, she could feel the tension building up inside of her. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. Dad looked up at her, almost as if she were a piece of dirt. He didn't say anything, but his piercing gaze made her fidget even more.
Thankfully, Constance came in, which served to break the tension. "Dinner is ready," she cheerfully announced. She brought in a turkey from the local butchery, and it looked superb with all the trimmings. She set this down in the middle of the table. Steam was still coming off of it and it's pleasant odor filled the kitchen. She walked briskly back into the kitchen.
Aine watched her and smiled. Her mother was very special to her. If it weren't for her, she didn't know if she could have put up with life here. She knew Dad probably meant well, and he worked hard, but he had an outer shell as hard as the best armor made in Valdemar. Not much seemed to get through to him, and he never revealed too much about his feelings either. She could never seem to connect with him, and she so desparately wanted to. She wondered, not for the first time, if she really was like her father as Mom suggested once. She rankled at that comparison and told her mom that no way would she ever be like Dad. When Aine had said that, she remembered her mother smiling and shaking her head as if to say, 'it's inevitable my dear.'
Constance burst into the dining room with more food. She placed steaming green beans on the table and some corn on the cob. Having done that, she almost ran to the kitchen and brought out buttered mashed potatoes and gravy. On top of that, she also brought out some apple crisp for dessert and placed it all nicely around the turkey. Gerard set the books aside and surveyed all the food through his spectacles, eyeing it critically. Constance sat down and looked at Aine, and they both rolled their eyes at each other. They knew that Dad would eat the meal alright, and probably even really like it...but he never did make favorable comments about it to his wife. Aine knew that his brash comments broke her mom's heart. Since she worked so hard to please him, it always stoked Aine's anger to a fever pitch when she thought about it, but so far she managed to keep a lid on it. Her mother was one of the most tender hearted ladies she knew. She thought to herself, When and if I ever get a husband, he had better like my cooking or else he can don the apron himself and cook his own meals!
Aine thought she would never make the quite the efforts her mom did to please her man. If he didn't like it, then he would fend for himself and that was that. Aine's mother sometimes remarked to her daughter how she always thought in absolute terms; how she would indulge in black and white kind of thinking with no middle ground or even compromise.
They all began to eat, yet there was an undercurrent of uneasiness between them. No one even looked at each other for a while. Aine thought about their last meeting yesterday; of when her parents had steadfastly disagreed with her desire of wanting to go to the Collegium in Haven, and of how upset she became. They actually wanted her to stay home and help run the business! Thankfully, at least her mother was a little bit more flexible with this option of hers, but would not mention it in front of her father. That was one thing about her Mom which she hated, she would never stand up for herself. Thinking of these things did not help to ease her tension.
Gerard finally broke the silence, "Well Aine," he said looking up at her over his glasses, "I trust you have come to your senses regarding the running of the family business. You have decided that you will stay here, correct?"
Inside, Aine felt the water beginning to boil. She met his gaze and said incredulously, "No I haven't, and since when do you decide for me, you don't even care about what I have to say, do you! Your only concern is that I do what you wish!"
Constance had a worried look on her face, and she felt compelled to interrupt, "Aine dear, please! listen to your father first before you"-
So far, Gerard had remained passive. Now it was Aine's turn to interrupt. Tears of frustration began to stream down her cheeks, "No I won't mom! And why don't you ever stand up to Dad and tell him what you really think!" Aine's face became flushed, she felt like she was quickly losing control of herself. "You know damn well what I want to do and you were supportive of me; you said so!" Constance's facial expression was looking more and more shocked as Aine went on. She was crying more intensely now, and the increasing tears flowed more freely. Their refusal to acknowledge how she thought and how she felt was the main cause. She asked of her mom loudly, "How could you be so weak and spineless, mom?", Constance glanced around nervously fidgeting with her silverware. She couldn't believe what her daughter had just asked. She knew this was going to be bad, very bad. So far, they really hadn't eaten much.
Gerard had had enough. He stood up violently, causing dishes to break and food to fly off of the table. He was beet red and clutched the edges of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. "Don't you ever talk that way to your mother again!" he boomed. He spit out a greenbean upon the floor. His voice became very penetrating and almost unbearably loud in volume when he was mad. "You will stop it right now and you will listen!" He pounded the table with a fist causing silverware and everything else on the table to to jump sharply. His facial expression was becoming dangerously livid. "You will right now"--
He didn't get a chance to finish. Aine walked forcefully over to her angry father, made a fist, raised it to him, "You don't even care about mom," she said less loudly now, but no less threateningly. Her voice was beginning to take on that dangerous undertone, lower in volume yet with an implied sense that soon she was going to blow. Her veins stood out on her forehead. "You never compliment her and you don't even care what she thinks." She shook her fist at him, as if to emphasize her point.
He was temporarily taken aback, but not for long, it was his turn now. "Look at what you're doing to your mother!" He pointed forcefully in that direction. "You don't even know what it's like to work hard child, you don't even"--
That was it. Aine lost it at mention of the word 'child'. She slapped her father violently, causing his head to jerk around. His glasses flew off, fell to the floor, and broke. He was dazed by what just happened and his jaw dropped.
Her mom covered her mouth with her hands, staring unbelievingly at what she just saw. She really burst into tears now.
Aine stood back, aghast at what she had just done. She felt a severe tingling, an adrenaline rush. Her head felt like it was swimming, almost out of control. She lost it and began to cry very intensely now. She looked at her mom looking so afraid, crying profusely. She looked at her father, who looked a little lost now. She couldn't handle that and she flew out the kitchen, ran through the the living room, and burst out through the door, running in the direction of the stables. That was the last she saw of home for quite some time.
