Queen Versus The Dragon: A Short Story
e“I am the size of a whale. No, TWO whales, and I have MONTHS to go,” said Audra, bouncing baby Elen lightly while seated on cushions on the floor in her bedchamber.
This was the new morning routine, the women gathering and playing with the babies on the floor. Formal breakfasts in the Banquet Hall or Dining Room no longer happened; Audra, her mother, and the ladies ate picnic-style on the floor. Spending time with and caring for the babies had helped Audra’s confidence grow in terms of caring for her own baby. She had already made it clear to Carlton that her child would not be fostered away from her, and she would be the one to provide daily care unless she was incapacitated. Carlton had stared at her, wide-eyed for a long moment when she’d made this declaration a month earlier, but immediately accepted her demand. And when she told him she wanted construction to begin straight away on a nursery adjoining her room, he did little more than nod his head in acquiescence.
“Oh, my child, you are not a whale,” insisted Ina, taking little Dera from Una’s arms. “You are radiant and beautiful.” …show more content…
Humor distracts me from my misery, he wrote. It helps me forget all I’ve done wrong. It keeps me from facing the truth, that is all I will ever be, a wretched disappointment.
Despite their collective failings, Audra and Geraint adored one another. She saw only the good in him, he often wrote about how he treasured their friendship.
Audra finished scribbling out the letter to him and sealed it up. Yet for some reason, this time, writing did not soothe her. The desire to pop open her foot trunk, dig to the bottom of it, and unlock her carved wooden jewelry box consumed her. She never allowed herself to look at it again after Maxen’s banishment, but tonight, she needed to touch the treasures that reminded her of
This was the new morning routine, the women gathering and playing with the babies on the floor. Formal breakfasts in the Banquet Hall or Dining Room no longer happened; Audra, her mother, and the ladies ate picnic-style on the floor. Spending time with and caring for the babies had helped Audra’s confidence grow in terms of caring for her own baby. She had already made it clear to Carlton that her child would not be fostered away from her, and she would be the one to provide daily care unless she was incapacitated. Carlton had stared at her, wide-eyed for a long moment when she’d made this declaration a month earlier, but immediately accepted her demand. And when she told him she wanted construction to begin straight away on a nursery adjoining her room, he did little more than nod his head in acquiescence.
“Oh, my child, you are not a whale,” insisted Ina, taking little Dera from Una’s arms. “You are radiant and beautiful.” …show more content…
Humor distracts me from my misery, he wrote. It helps me forget all I’ve done wrong. It keeps me from facing the truth, that is all I will ever be, a wretched disappointment.
Despite their collective failings, Audra and Geraint adored one another. She saw only the good in him, he often wrote about how he treasured their friendship.
Audra finished scribbling out the letter to him and sealed it up. Yet for some reason, this time, writing did not soothe her. The desire to pop open her foot trunk, dig to the bottom of it, and unlock her carved wooden jewelry box consumed her. She never allowed herself to look at it again after Maxen’s banishment, but tonight, she needed to touch the treasures that reminded her of