Chapter 12: Blinded truth

Being the children of the leaders of your Tribe was not equal to free tickets to get away from punishment. Both Fae and Ni’en knew that their father wouldn’t let it go so easily. Luckily they weren’t blind and deaf to their children's words and actually took time to listen to them. In the end, Fa’ni’en was grounded and had to stay at home from training until the next full moon. Fae her punishment was less severe. While she had left the Tribe grounds, she had done it to find her brother and his friends to return them. On the other hand, she should have warned one of the Tribe Elders to go and find the children instead of going out herself. The surrounding forest was holding more than some rabbits and deer during the night.

But it wasn’t really the punishment that bothered Fae, but the thing her brother had said. It had been lingering in her mind for the past few weeks. Even to the point it started to bother her. So one day, when she was alone with her mother, who was braiding her hair, she tried to collect all the courage she had.

“Mom, can I ask something?”

Ly”Kalyn softly hummed while she kept on with her work.

“Is it true that father is looking for a mate for me?”

Ly blinked surprisingly with her eyes and dropped her hands a bit.

“Where did you … let me guess, Ni’en told you that?”

Fae nodded her head, turning herself a bit to face her mother, without pulling her hair from her hands.

“It’s just something your father has said and your brother must have heard that … and squirted it out, as usual. But there is nothing decided dear. But I wonder, why do you ask about that?”

Fae tried to pick her words carefully. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful. 

“I always thought that I would be allowed to find my own mate. I mean, if dad would pick someone for me, how is Selûne ever gonna agree with that? Isn’t it her that encourages us to find someone we love?”

Ly listened carefully to her daughter, letting her hands rest in her lap before she faced her. She offered a soft smile, letting out a sigh only a mother could.

“There are some cases where it goes differently, Fae. You have the potential to become the next Imha’Akthan, whenever I become old. Your father wants to be reassured that your mate is of … good standing. He is supposed to become the next Akthan if so. It was the same between me and your father.”

“You were forced to be married?” Fae’s voice sounded somewhat concerned, but also surprised. She had always thought her parents came together by their own choice.

“Forced? No, not really. However, both our parents were maybe pushing us a bit. Let us say they guided us to come together. We were good friends during our youth … I never thought I would marry your father … until our youth passed and we passed our trial. The talk about finding a good mate started to rise. And everyone was saying we would fit well together. Even when many of the women would have loved to become your father’s mate. As the future Akthan, we were … well, seen as a good match.”

“Do you love my father?” 

Ly sighed and her eyes drifted towards one of the windows. Her father … Normally she would get the image of Fa’hadir before her eyes. But she didn’t. Instead of a male with blue tinted hair, she now saw a dark skinned male with snow white hair. 

“Yes, I still love your father. I love him very much.” Ly said with a soft smile on her face, a dreamy glance in her eyes before she looked back to her daughter, picking back up some hair to continue the braids.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about what Ni’en said. Currently, men see you as a child. They have no eyes for you. Once you have passed your trial, you are an adult and then the men will see you as one as well. And who knows what the goddess has in store for you.”

Ly saw the still worried expression on her daughter's face and in some way, she could understand the girl. No one wanted to marry someone you didn’t love. Or maybe she feared that no one would be interested in her. Yet Ly would be surprised if no man would be interested in her. It was not because she was her mother, but she could say that her daughter was a fine beauty. 

“Beside, your father has no final say in it. It's mine. You are my daughter and before anything happens, I will ask the blessing of our goddess. And her blessing should not be ignored .... or I will call upon her wrath and strike them down!”

Fae chuckled softly and Ly was glad to see that sparkle back in her golden eyes. It seemed the worry had calmed down, subduing back to a corner of her mind. Ly knew that Fa’Hadir was planning something. He loved Fae and only wanted the best for her. But Ly would not allow it that her child would be married to someone she didn’t pick herself. She was grateful that her own marriage had worked … but it wasn’t perfect. Even the goddess could be wrong in her predictions. The result of that was sitting right in front of her. And while it may have been a mistake, she loved that mistake with her entire heart.