Just Another Fairy Tale: Trail to the Dark Side

Chapter 21: Gin Rummy

It had now been three weeks after my fathers funeral, I had turned 19 years of age and had a brand new arranged marriage set up. In my family, we really think it best to have three or four fallbacks, and this time my father was right about something for once. And yes, it did slightly blow my mind up when I heard about his other idea for me to get a spouse.

Today was a very important day and definitely something I could not miss. For once in my life it was my mothers turn to play the part of a spinster, for it was very improper to have a daughter with no male role model in her life. And trust me, it would not be pretty.

"Dearest!" my mother called, standing outside my doorway, "May I come in? I think we should have a little mother to daughter talk soon, and I thought today to be the best day to do that."

"Mother... can you just... er... wait for one moment?" I looked at the door and saw the nob turning gradually.

"I'm coming in dear, we need to talk now."

"Please mother? ... I just need some personal space for one second... uh... er... I'm on my way out, okay? Just need to get... um... dressed. Yes, that's it, dressed!"

"Oh, please. I've seen you naked many times," well that's totally not creepy at all (sarcastic voice), "Heck, I'm your mother! I breastfed you, honey."

The doorknob commenced rotating quick, then even more promptly. Ultimately, the door was ajar and my mother's lower jaw bone dropped as her googly eyes were barely balanced on her nose.

"What in the hey pickin' hell are you doing?!" she pronounced loudly and prominently.

I looked down to my feet, "I told you to wait a minute.

"I did!"

"You waited less than a second mother. Now leave!"

I looked back down to my toes and then up to the ceiling. She can never know. I thought to myself. She can never know that I was doing the unthinkable. The unacceptable. The inadequate. I was making my bed. Now for you, that is something you most likely to every day. But to royalty, it is heavily frowned upon.

Later that day, well... not really... only about an hour later, I strutted down the stairs and into the billiard room to go play gin rummy with Naomi. It was a tradition we had started after the court session last year. Every Saturday we go down there and play cards. I was good for both me and her, a real stress relives. Some people smoke or use essential oils when they are wound up, I play cards.

"Rummy!" I hollered, pointing at the ace of harts in the pile. Moving it into my pile of three aces.

"Damnit Zofia! You win again!"

"Not yet, I don't. I'm not outa cards yet."

"True dat." we both giggled while we played.

I put down my five of diamonds in the stack on cards, "Y'know Naomi? I haven't seen Fauna in a really long time. And you, you haven't seen her in about a year. She'll usually stop by about once or twice a week. Hope her father hasn't killed her yet."

"Yeah. We should probably go out and see her sometime this week Check up on her."

"Good idea." I agreed, "Know that everything has calmed down a bit we can actually have a civil, normal conversation with her."

My mother paced in the billiard room, giving me an unusual glimpse, "Don't think I didn't see what you were doing this morning honey. What you did was absolutely disgraceful and we are gonna have a lengthy extensive conversation about it over breakfast this morning."