A Mother's Love
POV: Alexandra
We had hashed out the details of how Tyleesh would be rescued. We decided that it would be done during the assembly. No one was expecting Ashton to be in attendance since he was known to be away from Tarn on a mission. They would need to go at a specific time so that the guards wouldn’t be there. Blake said he would check with his source to see when the guards would check on the prisoner. That way they could map out the perfect time to portal into the room and pull Tyleesh out of the dungeon. We shared this plan with my parents and grandfather so that they would know what to expect on the day of the assembly. We got word from Blake a few days later that the guard’s orders will be to check on him every fifteen minutes so it would have to be a very quick in-and-out operation. The assembly was being held on this particular afternoon with a reception after. Lucien said they would announce that Nystasia was staying in Vellum as part of a study opportunity that he and her mother worked out. In reality, she was going to stay to be a guide on some journey I was told that All Mighty wanted me to be on.
My mother knocked on my door, “Xan, I pulled out your House uniform and had Dana press it. I have it here.” This was not like her, usually, she would burst into my room but this particular day she waited for me to beckon her into my room. I walked over to the door and opened it, “Why didn’t you just come in? You always have.” She shrugged, “I have been thinking a lot about what kind of mother I want to be to my fully grown child. I realized how much I have been on you since you left home and realized that I had been treating you like a child still. You are, technically, on your own and someday soon you may choose to get married and have some children of your own. I will never stop mothering you, that’s my job no matter how old you get but I needed to learn that this is the phase in my motherhood where I needed to be your best friend. Every young woman will always need her mother, I know I did. She went from nagging me about every little thing to have a serious conversation like I’m having with you now. I didn’t get my mother for as long as I plan on you having me though. I wanted to set the same boundaries that you have with any of your friends.” I smiled at her and shook my head, “I appreciate you trying to place boundaries, Mom, but I think we don’t need to have as many boundaries as friends. It feels like that would be too distant. Perhaps somewhere in between?” She sighed with visible relief, “I think that would be better. My mother became a little too distant with me the way she did things and I don’t know if it ever had the desired effect and I felt like I was so distant from her when she passed away.” I giggled, “Then why on earth would you choose to make a decision like this? You are so silly sometimes, I swear.” She rolled her eyes, “Listen, I wasn’t sure how you would take this newfound freedom from my watch. You’re a much different person than I am. I am well aware that you don’t see me as the parent to go to. We’re already so distant.” I shook my head and threw my arms around her, “Mom, you know that I love you both equally and I will always go to you for things I might need. I know I don’t always show how much I love you but just know that you are the measure of a woman that I have always aspired to become. Never doubt that, Mom.”
I heard a sniffle come from her as I started to break the hug. She wiped her eyes and held out the outfit to examine it, “I just hope we didn’t wrinkle this.” She walked into the room and laid the outfit on the bed and unzipped the garment bag that it was in. The uniform was still perfectly pressed but she started to smooth it down anyhow. This was my mother’s way of ensuring everything was perfect. She turned to me and smiled, “Looks like it’s okay. Are you ready to put it on or did you want to do makeup?” I shrugged, “Which do you think is better?” She smiled, “I think you should dress first. You don’t want makeup smudging on the outfit.” I nodded, “Let’s do that then.” She stepped towards the door and I shouted after her, “Mom! Where are you going?” She shrugged, “I figured you wanted to get dressed by yourself.” I sighed exasperated, “I told you not to be distant, Mom. Let’s get me ready like we always do. I feel like that is the time we spend the most genuine time together. Remember growing up, we used this time to talk about life in general?” She nodded, “It was always my favorite time. Okay, let’s do this then.” She strode back over to the outfit and pulled it out. I got myself undressed down to my undergarments and she brought over the skirt. I stepped into the skirt and she pulled it up to my waist. She smiled as she helped me to button the front buttons and smoothed the skirt out, “So, you have a thing for Lucien then?” I could feel the heat rising up to my face, “Uh…yeah.” She giggled, “So what was it about him that made you feel that way?” I hadn’t thought about what it was that specifically made me fall in love with him. He was really good-looking, sure, but looks aren't everything. I said to her, “Well, I know that he’s good looking but Dad always said not to judge a man by how he looks but by his heart. I suppose it would be that he’s astute, has a strong sense of justice, he’s protective when he should be and he knows when to back off. I couldn’t ask for someone more perfect.” She smiled up at me, “You know what’s funny about what you just said?”
I looked down at her startled, “What’s that?” She smiled and stood up, “Those are the very reasons I fell in love with your father. You’ve essentially looked for the same traits in the man you choose to love as the man who gave you life.” I shrugged, “I heard that if a father treats his daughter well enough she would look for the same traits in her man. Daddy treated me really well all of my life and showed me what it was that I should measure in a man. I imagine your own father did the same for you?” She nodded, “Yes, now that I think of it my father did show me the same traits as I found in your father. Should you marry Lucien, I just know that your own daughters will look for those traits in their loves.” I had never asked my mother about her father before because we just never got on the topic of fathers. I looked over at her as she grabbed the long sleeve teal button-up shirt that went under the vest for the uniform. I inhaled slowly and asked, “So your father was much like my own.” She stopped in her tracks and looked up to think, “Well not entirely. My father had his flaws and in my eyes your father is flawless.” I giggled, “No man is flawless, Mom.” She shrugged, “I suppose his one flaw was to dote on you far too much especially when the situation called for seriousness. My own father had the same temper I do but with a shorter fuse. Little things could set him off. He yelled and threw things when he was mad. Many things in our house got broken. My mother would often joke that if you valued your possessions that you would need to hide them away from him. Talon was a lot like you, always wanting to provoke him to see how far he could take it. He’d back off before it got too serious but sometimes he didn’t recognize it in time.” I instantly understood that my mother identified with her own father much of the time because of this temper. I looked her in the eye as she finished buttoning my shirt, “Were you a Daddy’s girl?” She smiled, “Yes, I was the only one he never got mad at. I was always his tranquilizer. I could tell him to calm down and he would do just that. I miss him.” I sighed at the dewiness that was starting to happen in her eyes, “How did he die?” She rubbed the back of her hand against her eyes, “It was in the war, he was killed by a night elf in Seely. They said his heart was cut out. I later found out that when a night elf cuts out a heart, that he owns the man’s soul.” Knowing this now, I had wondered why my mother wasn’t more bitter towards the Seely Realm. I asked, “Why don’t you hate the Seely Realm then?” She sat down at my table, “Well, I was bitter towards them which is why the Queen sent me to Seely to soften my heart. I got close to the Seely Queen and she promised to punish the night elf who kept my father’s heart. She stuck to her word and returned his heart to us. Darren was kind enough to set up a tribute area in the garden here. You know the blue stone in the garden in the northeast corner?” I nodded, “Yeah, I always thought it looked out of place.” She smiled, “That is where we buried my father’s heart. It is supposed to glow when his loved ones are near to show them how much he loved them.” I sat down on the chair next to hers, “Would we be able to do that with Gramps too?” She sighed and looked down, “He already planned to. He said he wanted that for you. He asked that he have his heart placed next to my father’s to keep him company. He asked that you be the one to place it.” As I thought of the prospect of creating this tribute to my grandfather, my mind turned back to the rescue of Tyleesh.
