Beatrix
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
But Before You Mess with Me
You'd Best Think Twice
But Before You Mess with Me
You'd Best Think Twice
"Mother, what do Launceleyn's do when family members die?" she had asked one night as she sat on her bed, letting her mother carefully comb her hair after a bath.
"My, was a morbidly specific question. Why do you ask?" her mother had cooed gently.
"I overheard someone talking about burying people in a...uh...Cemartitery or something but you never said there was one back home." she had explained. Home of course had meant the family compound, not the nation itself.
"Because there wasn't one my dear. Launceleyns are born from magic, and to magic we return. Our bodies are burned with the power of fire magic, as well as our belongings. And then, when we are naught more than smoldering ash, our families move on and the time for mouring is over."
"Oh! That makes sense." It was simple. Pragmatic. Logical. It fit in the narrative of her heritage that she had memorized and now she asked nothing more.
But oh, she should have. What did you do when there was no body? What did you do when you ran for the streets, not sure you could trust the so called monarchy that enslaved your family once before? What you do when you were just a ten year old girl trying to figure out how to survive with your four year old brother and now had to come up with a magical funeral?
Figure it out, Beatrix. Launceleyn's make order in chaos and overcome all obstacles. That sounded like something her mother would say.
So she snuck back into the manor, coming through a back entrance and making her way to Edrei's room, Jace clinging to her back piggyback style. Once in, she set him down, finding a bag in Edrei's closet. "Okay, Jacey, we gotta put all of Aunt Edy's stuff in here. Got it?" she said. Jace nodded, quiet as usual, toddling over to the bed and pulling out whatever he found and dutifully taking it to the bag.
But as the duo began collecting things, Beatrix froze, hearing a noise. Her eyes narrowed, nose wrinkling. "Stay here, Jacey. Don't make a peep. Get under the bed okay?" she whispered to him. The boy nodded and hid as told. Quietly the young girl tiptoed out, carefully avoiding the squeaky boards on the stairs. Still hidden in the shadows, she poked her head around the corner and spotted...
"Loren?!" she said, gaping in shock.
"My, was a morbidly specific question. Why do you ask?" her mother had cooed gently.
"I overheard someone talking about burying people in a...uh...Cemartitery or something but you never said there was one back home." she had explained. Home of course had meant the family compound, not the nation itself.
"Because there wasn't one my dear. Launceleyns are born from magic, and to magic we return. Our bodies are burned with the power of fire magic, as well as our belongings. And then, when we are naught more than smoldering ash, our families move on and the time for mouring is over."
"Oh! That makes sense." It was simple. Pragmatic. Logical. It fit in the narrative of her heritage that she had memorized and now she asked nothing more.
But oh, she should have. What did you do when there was no body? What did you do when you ran for the streets, not sure you could trust the so called monarchy that enslaved your family once before? What you do when you were just a ten year old girl trying to figure out how to survive with your four year old brother and now had to come up with a magical funeral?
Figure it out, Beatrix. Launceleyn's make order in chaos and overcome all obstacles. That sounded like something her mother would say.
So she snuck back into the manor, coming through a back entrance and making her way to Edrei's room, Jace clinging to her back piggyback style. Once in, she set him down, finding a bag in Edrei's closet. "Okay, Jacey, we gotta put all of Aunt Edy's stuff in here. Got it?" she said. Jace nodded, quiet as usual, toddling over to the bed and pulling out whatever he found and dutifully taking it to the bag.
But as the duo began collecting things, Beatrix froze, hearing a noise. Her eyes narrowed, nose wrinkling. "Stay here, Jacey. Don't make a peep. Get under the bed okay?" she whispered to him. The boy nodded and hid as told. Quietly the young girl tiptoed out, carefully avoiding the squeaky boards on the stairs. Still hidden in the shadows, she poked her head around the corner and spotted...
"Loren?!" she said, gaping in shock.
