The Five [EDITING]

Chapter Two: Waiting (Part Two)

ALIENA
   "Good morning, darling."

   "Morning, Mama." I said and kissed her cheek as I sat at the long table. "Where is Papa and Aaren?"

   "In the throne room of course." Said my mother with a gentle roll of her eyes. "They are too alike for their own good. Between the two of them, they will always manage to find work to do."

   Resisting the urge to remind her that father was king and so this was probably a good thing, I chuckled as I sat, filling my plate with apple crusts and honey filled lemon squares. I didn't much like the lemon squares but I knew Tonia, the cook, was proud of them (she'd made up the recipe herself) and so I was sure to put extra on my plate to make he feel good. We ate in silence for a while and I let my mind wander.

   "Is everything alright, darling?"

   I looked at my mother --- a near mirror image of me but with greying hair and laugh lines. "I'm fine."

   "Are you sure?" She asked and touched between my brows with her thumb as if she could rub my worry away. Then she sighed and took my hand. "Darling, I've been meaning to speak to you of something."

   Her serious expression made me place my spoon back onto the table and focus on her fully. "What is it, Mama? Is everything alright? Is it Papa's heart? Did the pains return?"

   "Oh, no, nothing like that at all." She promised with a wave of her hand. "This is about your accident."

   I frowned. "You mean the one that happened seven years ago? That accident?"

   She raised a delicate eyebrow. "Is there another of which I am unaware of?"

   "Well... no." I lied, thinking of two days earlier. "What about the accident?"

   "Well, it isn't about the accident itself but rather, your behaviour since then."

   Now I was even more confused than before. "I've been good and careful and---"

   "I know you have. Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble." She smiled gently, calming me slightly. "It is just... oh, Aliena, you were always so brave and fearless and curious. So... wild."

   "You hated that." I reminded her.

   She laughed outright. "I did." She agreed. "But only because it terrified me. I was always so afraid you were going to get hurt."

   "And I did. I nearly died." I said, as if she needed reminding.

   "That's true, yes, but... you're so reserved now, darling. Right after your accident, it was almost a blessing and then we --- your father and I, I mean --- we believed you were simply growing up. But, Aliena, if this reserved, calm woman is who you are now, then that is perfectly fine. Perhaps a relief even. But if your reasons for being this way is because of fear, or if that wild piece of you in being repressed..." She took my fingers, squeezing them. "You're nearly sixteen. In a couple of winters, you will be married and perhaps even a mother yourself. You will need to be reserved then. Wildness will not be fully acceptable, but right now you are home, darling... I'm afraid that you will loose a piece of yourself."

   "I don't... understand."

   "I'm not explaining it well." She paused a moment, collecting her thoughts, then tried again. "In but two summers, you will be married off to some high lord or prince, or perhaps even a king, and when that happens, you will need to show reservation. But as of right now being home and as safe as you can be, I would rather you be able to fully express yourself while you can." She touched my hair. "If that wild girl is no longer apart of you, then we love you, but if it is a part of you and you let it out... well, we will love that piece of you, too."