Chapter 5 Mom Talk

Elle’s POV

“Mom!” Elle exclaimed frantically as her arms wrapped around her mother’s slim waist. She returned the hug tightly, not letting go until Elle loosened her grip. Elle sensed a tremendous amount of anxiety coming from her mother. This was going to be a different kind of talk. 

“Darling…” Elle worriedly looked at her mother. Evidence of her mother crying was all over her face. Her sadness tugged on Elle’s heart. Dried tears streaked her mother’s red blotchy skin. 

“I am so sorry. I should have told you sooner. Let’s sit somewhere and talk. We do not have a lot of time.” 

She was calm on the outside. But tumultuous emotions were brewing heavily inside her.

Elle led her mother to the porch swing. 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

Her mother sat down next to her and sniffled. “I… I don't even know where to start.” She shrugged and choked out a humorless laugh. There was a sad kind of indifference about her. 

“I kept telling myself I would tell you, but then it was never the right time.” Her haunted voice was far off in the past.

This talk was not helping Elle feel better. What was her mother going on about? What WAS going on here? 

“Corvin? Who is he? How do you know him?”

Her mom shuddered a deep breath. She grew even more outwardly calm. Her gentle, warm hand rested on Elle’s.  

“When I was little, I was part of a society where I was expected to do certain things. Every society is like that, you know? Each person has a certain place and an expected responsibility.”

Elle nodded, not wanting to interrupt her mother's story. 

“Well, my place in this society was sort of a princess. I was going to grow up and marry a handsome and rich prince. The problem is… your daddy was not that prince. To be allowed to leave that society, I had to make a promise.”

Elle swallowed. She had an idea of what that promise was. “The prince is Corvin?”

Her mother nodded. “He let me go so that I might be with my true love on the condition that on my daughter’s 18th birthday…” She paused, looking guilty.

Elle shook her head. “It’s the twenty-first century! Outdated societal laws like that no longer bind us. What you are talking about- it just doesn’t make sense.”

Her mother laughed sadly. Elle could sense her seriousness. This was not some elaborate and horrible joke. 

“There are still… cultures that bound by the old ways. Some cultures are just as old, if not older. They exist within our current world.”

“Well, surely, our country’s laws would protect us from this?” Elle argued. “We could call the police.”

Her mother lifted an eyebrow. “You saw how that worked out, dear. If you do not take my place tonight with Corvin and marry him…” 

Her mother’s eyes grew distant, and tears began to fall heavily. She hugged Elle. Her body trembled, and Elle knew she was terrified. 

“Well, then I will kill him. He can’t be on guard all the time. I will get him! Then he couldn’t hurt anyone that I loved!” 

Elle was struggling to keep her tears back. But she was doing better than her mother, who sat upright and met her eyes. The violent statements had surprised her. Elle saw dismay in her eyes.

“Oh no, dear! Corvin is a beast but this. This situation is not his fault. He is just doing what is necessary to keep the darkness out of the world. Why, if it weren’t for him, they would have killed me for leaving with your dad before we had a chance to bring you into this world.”

“Then, who, mom? Who would hurt you? Would they kill you?” Elle asked quietly.

“Oh, if only they were kind enough to kill me. Please forgive me, Elle. It was not the world I would have had for you. But it would have been the one you were born into if I hadn’t made the deal, which allowed us to be with your father.”

Elle’s face grew pale as she realized her mother was asking Elle to be with a man who might have been her father in another life. 

“I don’t want to do this, mom.” She whispered. 

Immediately, her mother’s emotions seemed to suck into her out of Elle’s reach. Elle could no longer sense them. Her mother pulled her into a hug. Her voice was calm and confident like the still before a storm, as she replied, “Then, I will pay the price for your freedom. Let me talk to Corvin.” The finality in her mother’s voice gave her the chills. 

She sat back on the swing and kissed Elle on the forehead. “I love you. You were always my good girl. Would you please give my love to your father and Tabitha?”

Her mother stood up and began to walk away. Elle grabbed her arm. “What are they going to do to you?”

Her mother shook her head without turning to her. “It is better if you do not know. Unless you have lived in the society as I have, you wouldn’t understand anyway.” Her voice was haunted and far away, as if she were preparing for a fight or impending doom.

Elle couldn’t hold her tears back. She was terrified of marrying Corvin. She would be giving up her dreams and Jimmy.

But how could she let her mom sacrifice herself? Her mother would be leaving her father and her sister, too. How long would they have to be without her? That was just as frightening because everyone would suffer, and it would be all Elle’s fault.

“No!” Elle screamed and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, burying her face into her back. “I will do it. I don’t want you to go.”

Her mother shook her head. “I should never have put you into this situation. It is my responsibility to bear it.” Her voice was detached and distant.

“Samantha and Daddy need you.” She squeezed with all her might as the tears came down unrestrained. “Besides, I always wanted to be a princess.” It was Elle’s turn to choke on her laughter.

Elle’s mother turned around and wrapped her arms around her. “No, darling. After tonight, you will be a queen.”