𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔

Dilemma

Mari's gaze swung to her maid, who had gone bright scarlet, and stalked down the grand staircase without a backwards glance.

Inwardly, she seethed as she descended down the steps to the large ballroom, people stepping to the side and the crowds parting like Moses commanding the red sea as she walked through the centre towards a man with a forest-green mane of hair, shot through with silver streaks.

"Father."

The man looked up slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, his eyes finally resting on Mari. He gave a nod of approval at her attire, and previous whispers that had silenced at her arrival ran around the hall again.

"Mari-Raine, good of you to join us," he nodded to the maid, who was trailing behind Mari, "So you've let go of the ridiculous notion that it's acceptable to wearing hunting garments to every occasion. 

"I hope that your idea of a woman standing on equal terms, or even leading men in the future to war will also disappear soon. You look more better in a dress, instead of those detestable hunting boots, I must say."

Mari didn't utter a single word during his tirade, instead she waited patiently until he had finished.

"And wasn't it smart of you to send a maid to deceive me that this was a simple family gathering?" She snapped, as soon as her father had finished. She detested the man for his traditional views. The views were inherited from humans.

The fact that he didn't deem her worthy enough to show up himself to tell her there was a ball further escalated her anger.

But, they were family, for Angel's sake.

Did that not mean anything to the old goat?

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind her father and Mari turned to see the person she loathed most in the world aside from her father: her mother.

"Mari-Raine Valeron!"

Mari winced, it meant business if her full surname was included.

"Yeah?" This time it wasn't just her mother that took in a sharp intake of breath, but the surrounding women around her mother. Lady Jesse, Mari's aunt was amongst the women, and was steadily turning a wonderful range of colours, flashing between red to purple and gritting her teeth.

"You, will show respect to your father. You ruin the family name by stepping out of the vicinity of the house by wearing those boots everyday, without the protection of guards, and you always feel this- this, this need the constantly assert yourself when talking to your father. Don't. A woman's opinion doesn't need to be heard when the man talks! You will apologize to Lord Valeron."

The woman wouldn't even call her husband by his name, how sad, Mari thought sullenly. She scoffed and turned to leave.

"I will apologize if father apologizes first. The man must always admit his mistakes that could lead to the death of others in a war, after all."

Mari's mother dragged her by her arm into the main dining room; a room that was soundproof and wouldn't inflame the rumours, most likely.

Her father sighed before parting from the crowd and following Mari and her mother, shutting the door to the room behind him.

"I apologize for letting her spend so much time with your deranged father, Jessica, clearly he's had an influence on her. Always talking about the old times where women hunted and brought," he look disgusted, "the loot home, and where they stood on equal terms with man and none of this 'hogwash' he called it, " Mari's father gesticulated angrily at his surroundings. 

"But he's not civilised like us, the man won't even look twice at a trade of wilderness for a mansion and power. That's why I sent him to that mental institution. Times have changed, Mari, and if you get left behind, you can't say I didn't try to bring you with us."

Mari lowered herself into one of the seats at the table, simply staring at the ground until her father's rant passed. He truly loved speeches didn't he?

Mari began talking slowly, enunciating every word so that her parents couldn't accuse her of bad grammar later or ignore her words with the excuse of her talking too fast.

"Look, if you want to act like humans, that's fine. Just fine. It isn't just for you to put grandfather in a building against his will using the reason that you're his family and he's senile when his mental health is amongst the best. It isn't just, but I've tolerated Mother locking her own father in a place he hates and dragging him into something he wants no part of-"

"How dare you, I did not lock my father in a place he hates! He'll grow to like it, and it's really for the best-"

"But. I will not tolerate you invading my space with one of your maid spies to monitor my every move, it's despicable and downright deplorable, and how can you say you have honour if you can't honour a person's privacy? YOUR OWN DAUGHTER'S?" Mari finished with a roar, her contact of her fist slamming into the table reverberating around the room.

A glass nearby shook off the table and smashed on the floor.

There was a tense silence as a muscle twitched in Lord Vale's cheek and her mother raised her hand, fire brimming in her eyes.

The door clicked open.

The maid who entered felt the blast of three pairs of golden eyes trained on her and started visibly shaking.

"I'm s-sorry, I was sent by Lady V-Vincent. She said she left something here?"

When it became clear that neither members where going to move for her to gain access to the table, and the intensity of the golden eyes increased, she began to back away towards the door.

Mari spoke up, lifting herself from the seat.

"No, Miss, she just wanted you to see what was going on so she could spread the gossip like a relay champion," Mari replied drily, brushing past her father, "so tell your Lady that constantly pestering my brother won't do her any good," she whispered as she passed the maid.

There was a slam as the door shut behind her.

"Fetch something to clean this made she caused will you?" Lord Vale demanded at the Vincent maid, "If that girl wasn't so caught up in her anger she'd do it herself. She's a noble, not a servant."

With that statement, he swivelled on his heel and exited the room with an abrupt slam, unwittingly mimicking his daughter's actions.

"Lady Valeron- This isn't my assigned house, I don't know where-"

Mari's mother gave the maid a fleeting glance, nodded, then walked briskly over the door, shutting it softly behind her.

The maid began to shake, then she clasped her cap and threw it on the floor, jumping up and down and vigorously flattening it.

When did her life become so hard?

Ever since she accepted the request to be her best friend, Lady Vincent's maid, that's when.

"Do this, do that, how am I supposed to do anything when I can't even find out how I'm supposed to clean this mess. What am I supposed to do?" She wailed.

Silence greeted her words.