Chapter 10
1604 Words
Ginny
“Hello, Ginny,” mom sang into the phone and it took all I had to not start screaming at her. I reminded myself of the moment I had really wanted to hug her for being her.
“Mom,” I said stiffly. “We need to talk.”
“Oh boy,” she sighed. “Is it that bad already?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about that Gran was superstitious?” I asked.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Gran has some problem with red eyed dragons, mom!” I shouted. “You forgot to mention that minor detail!”
“That was a story from the ancients,” she said. “Nobody believes that anymore.”
“Well Gran does!” I snapped. “She’s been losing her damn mind! After giving Elias the third degree and telling me that I was too young to get married, thanks again for the heads up on that by the way, but then she asked me how my dragon lessons were going. When I told her that I had changed two years ago, she excused herself and went back to her room.”
“Oh my,” she sighed. “Its worse than I thought.”
“What?” I asked getting annoyed that she has not responded to my concerns. “Mom what the hell is going on? Why didn’t you tell me about Gran not wanting to do the blessing?”
“Because it’s your right to get her blessing,” she said stubbornly. “You’re old enough to be married because your dragon! It was a stupid rule to begin with and one of the reasons I left.”
“Well it doesn’t matter anymore,” I snapped. “Because as soon as she finds out about our red eyes, she’s going to kick us out of the family!”
“She will not,” mom said. “I don’t know what’s going on with the red eye thing, she hadn’t really believed it while we were growing up. I’ll call Argus.”
“Mom, its awful here,” I said starting to cry. “She denied Tiny and Clementine!”
“What?” my mom gasped. “She did what? Why?”
“Because Tiny’s Irish,” I said. “She said he wasn’t worthy enough and denied them. Now Clementine wont be able to take over the tribe.”
“What the hell is happening?” my mom said. “How could Argus stand for that? He knows that boy is worthy of his daughter! He fought along side him during the wolf attacks!”
“That’s what I said!” I cried. “But he’s been here for two years and they still treat him like he’s a lesser dragon.”
“Scottish old fools,” my mother growled.
“Mom can we please come home?” I said. “This is awful! And I know once she finds out about our eyes she’s going to freak out!.”
“No, Ginny, you cant come home,” she said. “I know youre upset, but I’ll call Argus and get to the bottom of this. You just need to focus on Elias and his task tomorrow.”
“What task?” I asked. “Nobody said anything about a task.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, they should be informing you of that soon.”
“Mom just tell me!” I yelled. “Why the hell are you keeping s**t secret from me?”
“Tomorrow is the forest task,” she said. “Elias will go into the woods, he needs to show that he can provide for his mate and his tribe. He’ll have to hunt and gather.”
“That doesn’t sounds so bad,” I said. “What’s the catch?”
“There are traps,” she said. “Things designed to test his strength and his cunning.”
“Like what?” I asked. “Stuff that will hurt him?”
“Only if he’s stupid about it,” she said. “But Elias is very smart so I don’t think we’ll have to worry. He’ll be fine.”
“I think you should come here mom,” I said. “Something crazy is going to happen, I just know it. I want you and dad to come.”
“I can’t sweetie,” she said her voice high and tight. “I can’t interfere. I’ll call Argus and see what’s going on. Focus on Elias.”
“I love you mom,” I said. “Even though I’m kinda mad at you right now, I love you and I miss you.”
“I know daughter,” she said and she openly wept now. “We’ll get through this. It’s just ten days.”
“When will we have to show her?” I asked. “Assuming neither Elias or I flash our eyes or something and she sees or someone tells her first. But when is the point of absolute no return?”
“The night before the blessing,” she answered.
“So even if he completes the task and does everything else she says, we lose it all on the last day?”
“Elias needs to prove himself now more than ever,” she said. “There’s a chance he can still win her over despite the eyes.”
“When has Gran every changed her mind?” I asked.
“When She forgave me for betraying my family and running away,” she answered. “She had every right to be angry with me.”
“But you don’t believe half of these traditions!” I said.
“It wasnt about the traditions or the rules,” she said. “You wouldn’t understand and is not something that needs to be discussed. So please, Ginny, I know it’s hard and it’s killing me to know I can’t help you. But please, just nine more days.”
“It’s not fair to use me like some pawn,” I growled. “You cant make up for what happened between you two by forcing me to do this.”
“I’m not forcing you to do anything,” she said. “It’s part of who you are. Blood Fire is in your blood too.”
“I wasn’t raised as Blood Fire,” I snapped. “I’m Black Wing. My wings are black! And my eyes are red!”
“Ginny I don’t want to fight with you,” she said softly. “I promise, when you get home, I will explain more. Just focus on Elias, prove to Gran what he’s worth and the red eyes aren’t a bad omen.”
“Fine, but if she freaks out, I’m marrying Elias anyway,” I snapped. “Blessing or no blessing. Tribe or no tribe. I’ll marry my mate and go start our own tribe or something.”
I hung up the phone and threw it on my bed. I screamed as loud as I could into the pillows and pounded my fists into the mattress. I just want to be home in my cottage with Elias. I don’t want to have to put up with anymore traditions or rites of passage. It wasn’t fair! Why was I the only one who has to deal with this? Ian and Everett didn’t have to do anything of this.
Feeling frustrated, I started kicking the sheets and pillows off the bed. Throwing a five alarm, bat s**t crazy, tantrum, I punched and cursed and swore; kicking the bed. I’m not afraid to admit that sometimes I get a little carried away when I’m frustrated. Realizing I was making a fool of myself, I calmed down quickly. This wasn’t the way an adult dragon acts.
Breathing heavily I sat up and looked around at the mess I created. The blankets and sheets were completely ripped off the bed, pillows thrown to the ground, the lamp got knocked over. I sighed heavily and mentally cussed myself out as I started to pick it all up. I pulled the sheets and blankets onto the bed and put the pillows back.
When I bent down to check for any strays, I saw there was a box underneath the bed. I laid down and stretched my arm out to get it. It took a few tries, but I managed to get a hold of the lock and pulled it out. It was a odd looking wooden box with a lock. It looked as if it were a diary. The lock had been broken so I opened it up and found that it was a diary. There were pages and pages of loose papers inside the box. They were handwritten and dated almost fifty years ago. I gasped when I saw the penmanship.
This was my mother’s diary.
- Writer
