Day 2, Fivesday
“Morning, Love”
LaTao looks over her shoulder to find her mother in the doorframe of her bedroom. “Good morning, Mom.” Her attention quickly returns to her reflection in her antique cheval mirror. At each corner is a well-crafted dragon skull, holding the glass in place. Centered in frame, LaTao smiles, happy to be dressed for adventure. She fastens the buckles to her lightly cracked leather pouches and turns to the side, judging the slimness of her frame. Wow. This padded leather makes me look like I have nice hips. She raises her arm to scratch the back of her neck, then pauses. My arms look strong too… maybe too strong? Nah… no such thing, she reminds herself. How is it that I look cuter all geared up than when I’m wearing that ‘cutsie’ school uniform?
Before LaTao’s confidence can get too high, she sees a set of magenta lips above her reflection. LeNaiah stands tall, peering over her battle-ready daughter. The similarities are quite strong. They both have the same amber eyes and small nose. Their eyebrows are thin, dark, and arc as if tweezed to perfection. Unfortunately for LaTao, that’s where the similarities end. LeNaiah stands mature with a stare that pierces the hearts of men and women alike. LaTao… well… let’s just say it will be a long time before she looks old enough to legally drink.
“You’ve a look about you, Love. Dish…” she asks her scowling daughter.
“Oh, it’s nothin’. Just annoyed by someone.”
“I see,” LeNaiah replies, straightening out her long, silky, black hair. She smiles, then runs her fingers through her daughter’s red-tipped black hair. “You’re so beautiful, Love.”
“Sure, Mom.” LaTao turns to her side and sighs. “I’ll have my pick of all the guys that don’t like big boobs.”
“Don’t fret, Love. You’ll bloom soon enough, and if you don’t, do please remember this…. Wants are not universal. People like different things, Dear.” Content with their hair, LeNaiah steps away from the mirror. “How’s your return to normal student life?”
“Not bad, but not great.” LaTao follows her mother into the hallway. “My teacher is Ms Lyttle.”
“Oh I do miss her. She has such tiny hands, but she can wield with the best of them. I’ll stand beside her in any war.”
“Oh really? She’s that good?”
LeNaiah nods and heads downstairs. “Quite formidable, yes.”
“Who would win in a duel between you and–”
“Me, of course,” she replies, stopping mid-step. When she turns on the stairs, the two are eye to eye. They share a devious glare. “She’s good…” She raises her chin and adds, “But I’m magnificent.”
“And so humble,” LaTao jabs with a chuckle.
“My love, I’m not bragging… I’m just describing myself accurately. It isn’t my fault that ‘magnificent’ is such a fitting adjective.”
“You mean ‘superlative.’”
“Mark my words, Love. Women like us can only be described with superlatives. Its comparison best displays the difference between us and whatever bar other people measure themselves against.”
LaTao chuckles as they trot down the stairs. LeNaiah opens the door to their right, and the two are suddenly greeted by the familiar scent of coal dust and molten iron. They hear the reverberating clangs of a hammer, the melody of a master forcing hot iron to bend to his will. To LaTao's left is an old, tall, beaten and battered counter made of thick planks of black ironwood. On the other side… a very patient customer.
“Welcome to Castle Gander!” LaTao says with an endearing smile. She kicks a pedal, and a bench-like wooden stool drops. She hops onto the booster step to better meet the customer’s gaze.
“Oh dear!” the mighty warrior says. “Aren’t you the spitting image of your mother?!”
“Aren’t I lucky?!” she replies with batting eyelashes. Her act is well-practiced and smoothly delivered. Once the man’s face is sufficiently flushed, LaTao asks, “What can we do for you, Colonel?”
The knight unfastens his sword’s sheath from his belt, then places them both on the counter. The proud mother walks away, letting her daughter do her thing. The tonal shift and raised pitch from her bubbly daughter are expected. LaTao has long since learned to take advantage of her looks to bend and manipulate customers as easily as her father manipulates steel.
“Ah,” LaTao says, reaching for the hefty blade. “This is one of ours!”
“Aye. Been good to me, she has.”
LaTao unsheathes the four-pound sword and inspects its blade. “Yeah… yeah, this isn’t bad.” She lifts it, twists her wrist, and inspects the other edge. “Uh huh… yeah, Pops can have this done by the time you swing by tomorrow.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, this blade is superb. I could repair this one myself! I can tell you’ve been taking great care of it.”
The knight smiles, happy to get the approval of Gander’s daughter. He raises his chin and puffs his chest, looking around for other customers. His blush returns when LaTao looks up at him with her big, bright, innocent eyes. After leaving too many silver coins, the knight clears his throat. “Give the old man a salute for me.” He thumps his chest with his right fist twice, then points it at the young Apprentice.
LaTao sheathes the sword, then returns the knight’s salute.
Finding the sound of her tiny fist’s ‘thumps’ beyond adorable, the knight’s blush becomes a glow. “Tataa!” he instantly regrets saying. He mumbles grumpily about his choice of ‘farewell’ as he passes by rows of products ranging from weapons and armor to tools and magical items. The variety comes from Gander’s connections, but the volume is due to knights like him. Through such men, Gander’s legends and feats of brutal heroism in battle spread beyond Adeaus Kingdom and throughout the world of Galtimer.
LaTao grabs the patron’s weapon, hops off the stool, and steps through the door behind her. “Hey, Pops!” she says with a bright smile, far more genuine than the version she trained herself to show customers. She closes the door behind her and hears the sizzle of hot metal quenching in a barrel of oil. She places the longsword on the table marked ‘Priority.’ “I told some colonel that you’d have this ready tomorrow. I forget his name, though, but–”
“Aye,” her burly father replies as he carefully lifts a smoking blade from the oil. “I’ll know when I see it.” His voice is loud and monotone. Ever the perfectionist, he cautiously manipulates his work-in-progress, focused on searching for the slightest imperfections. He gently places the handleless blade blank onto his impressively large anvil, then wipes his brow with his massive, hairy forearm.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
LaTao pounces within inches of her father and leans her head back as if peering up a hairy mountain. “Do you need anything?”
The brutish man scratches the sweaty, ragged, black and gray mess of hair on his head, then looks down at his daughter. The over-seven-foot father bends at the waist, lowering his head a few feet to reach her level. Once there, he freezes for a moment, staring into her big, bright eyes.
Inches from the face of the intimidating, hammer-wielding man, LaTao peers into eyes that have seen the deaths of countless men. She bats her curled lashes. Slowly, her father’s empty hand raises to point at LaTao’s face. His fist is big enough to grasp her head like an apple. The finger inches from her is nearly as thick as her wrist, making her wonder if she could wear his wedding ring as a bracelet.
With a dark, stern voice, Gander says, “You know damn well what I need.”
In the blink of an eye, LaTao hops up and kisses his cheek.
Gander smiles and giggles like a tickled toddler.
“You’re cute when you’re trying to be scary,” LaTao says, unaffected by his antics.
Gander laughs with a hand on his big belly. “Only to you, Princess.”
“I’ll go brew you up some coffee, Pops.”
“Aw thanks, Princess,” says the only one allowed to treat LaTao like a princess. He dotes away as his tiny progeny leaves the forge with his black and gold coffee stein.
***
LeNaiah enters the kitchen and watches her smiling daughter pour black coffee into her husband’s large, ceramic, and metallic mug. “My Love, I can tell when my baby’s not doing well.” While LaTao rinses off the coffee press, LeNaiah closes the top of the metal mug, trapping the heat inside.
LaTao sighs.
With a sinister gaze, LeNaiah reaches into one of her pockets. She stares through slitted lids to say, “You know… I have ways of making you talk.”
LaTao chuckles at the threat. “Okay, Mom,” she sardonically says. “I’ll spill it.”
Her mother chuckles lovingly.
“What… what did you put back into your pock–”
“Go on, Love. You were saying?”
“Oooo Kaaay… well…” LaTao blinks a few times, shrugs, then ponders where to begin. “So, um… when you were my age, were you on par with Apprentices your age or were you–”
“Miles above them? Of course.”
LaTao smiles. “Good! So you know what I’m going through!” LaTao sighs, almost collapsing to the floor as a weight is lifted from her chest. “Oh sweet Lalu, I’m SO tired of pretending!” she exclaims, referring to Lalumalu, the goddess of dark magic. “I can’t talk about this with anyone but you and Kain, without sounding like an arrogant egomaniac!”
“Oh gods no,” LeNaiah replies, popping open a bottle of wine. “You think I jest when I refer to either of us as ‘magnificent’?” She shakes her head and pours the vintage into two wine glasses. “I’ve achieved great things in my life. The books they’ll write about me will shock you to the bone.” She re-corks the wine and stores the bottle atop the wine rack. “And I’ve no doubt your achievements will dwarf mine. If you were anyone’s daughter, I’d surely be jealous… instead, I’m overwhelmed with pride.”
LaTao looks at the two wine glasses, and her right eyebrow droops. I know the drinking age is seventeen in Adeaus Kingdom, but is NOW really the time to…
LeNaiah downs the first glass of wine, then raises the second. “This one’s for sipping.”
LaTao chuckles.
“I swear, Child. If you don’t start talking…”
“OH! Well, I thought you had more to… never mind. As I was saying, you know I love Meeka, right?”
“Ah. She’s like my Monie in a way. Very vain, but not bitchy about it. Aptitude for sorcery. Not as powerful as you, but remarkable nonetheless.” After a sip, she adds, “Don’t tell me she’s holding you back!”
“Not at all! She isn’t holding me back. I wouldn’t take her with me on an adventure with my boys or anything, but she knows her stuff, so she’s great to study with. Her friends, however, are another story.”
“Is that so?” LeNaiah holds the door for her. They then walk through the business section of their home. They pass by patrons through rows of weapons and tools on their way back to the forge. “Sounds like a pain.”
“No exaggeration, they’re my age… but they are now where I was at eleven.”
“As are most teens, to be fair… taught to be content learning from books and lectures and leaning on theory, whereas, like myself at your age, YOU step out into the world, take on missions, and use every opportunity possible to put your knowledge and skills to the test. You, Sage, and Kain have already saved lives and experienced live combat.”
LeNaiah places a hand on LaTao’s shoulder and grabs her full attention. “Remember this.” She makes a point to look LaTao in the eyes. “We set our goals high… but let us not look down upon those with less lofty goals. They should have the privilege and freedom to be mediocre. They are granted such freedom by those of us who can withstand these burdens, those who choose to gain and maintain our levels of excellence.”
LaTao nods, hearing her words for what they mean. She glances down an aisle lined with magic items. Within, she spies a Mage who avoids eye contact and slowly shakes their head. He obviously doesn’t hear LeNaiah’s words the same way. He softly scoffs and whispers under his breath, but never sends a glance their way.
Yeah. Fill your little basket and mind your business.
He places a bag of enchanted dust for magic circles and places it in his basket. By the time he returns her gaze, LaTao is giving him a bright and welcoming smile. He nods with a forced smile, then watches the two ladies go behind the counter and into the forge.
Continuing from where she left off, LaTao says, “The thing is, I just want to balance my friendship with Meeka, April’s coven, and my studies. I want them to… I don’t know.” She hands Gander his coffee.
He flips open the lid, releasing a plume of steam and the intense aroma of fresh coffee. “Ah.” He takes a scalding sip and says, “Thank you, Princess. If ya ask me, you should just be yerself. If anyone gives ya shit, you bring ‘em to me.”
LaTao smiles. “Thanks, Pop, but I’m serious. I don’t want to be ostracized for being intimidating… or for them to think I think I’m better than them. Mainly, I’m trying to fit in and avoid drama.”
Gander shrugs, then takes a sip of LaTao’s scalding brew. “Mmmmmm.”
LeNaiah walks her daughter to the rear of the forge. They step outside and onto a small dock, then take in a breath of fresh, chilly breeze. At the edge of the dock, a large carriage awaits its next use. Further still, past the small stable, is an insufficient amount of fencing… and the sheer cliffs above the Dorritian Sea.
“If that is truly what you truly desire,” LeNaiah says, where only horses can hear. “I have three rules for you to keep in mind. The first rule: No showing off. This sounds easy, but for you, it will be quite a task. You’ll find that competence alone can be seen as flaunting your wisdom… which leads to the next rule.
“Rule number two: Only occasionally are you to give advice. Try your best, only to provide answers when they ask. Let them be wrong, or else you’ll be correcting them all the time. Though you and I prefer to be told the truth over all things, even if it hurts, others may prefer to be lied to. Some would rather be seen as ignorant and fail than admit they need help. If they want to learn, let them come to you.
“Finally, show moral support, but don’t overdo it. Don’t push them, but gently show that you want each of them to excel.”
LaTao nods while taking mental notes. Makes sense. I already over-answered questions, and this was only week one! “Thanks, Mom! You’re the best!”
As they embrace, Gander steps onto the dock and says, “Kain is here.” He rolls his eyes and mumbles, “The other one’s here too.”
LeNaiah hands LaTao a scroll. “I know it’s been many moons since my Mage test, but I failed my first try because I didn’t know this particular spell. I don’t know if it will be on your test… but perhaps you can study this soon and teach it to your friends.”
LaTao accepts the scroll and fights the burning curiosity, urging her to open the scroll right now. “Thanks again!” She runs to her father, then hops up to give him a loud cheek peck. “Don’t wait up for me.”
The old man can’t help but smile.
LeNaiah sighs, stricken with nostalgia. “Have fun adventuring, Love!”
(Author note: Keep scrolling for the poll below ?? — I’m watching the results.)
What advice would you have given LaTao? (pick one or two)
