Chapter 8: That's History I

Having flicked through some of the most compelling entries in the book her many-times-great grandmother brought with her from Nataria, Aliah placed it on the table. She intended to "forget to take it with her" in the hopes Mina might be interested enough to read the whole thing - the passages speaking of the princess's loneliness, her hunger for a life she could never have, and feelings of powerlessness she hoped to save her own daughter from ever experiencing.

'I'm not sure what you want me to take from that,' Mina said as she stood and stretched. 'In essence, it's a story of love growing out of an arranged marriage.'

Aliah suppressed a smile; that was precisely what she wanted her daughter to pick up from the extracts. The idea was to give her enough to make her interested and to think she may have found a way to counter Aliah's arguments. If she was curious enough about her ancestor's life, she might read the rest for herself and learn something different. 'I guess you could look at it that way.'

'How would you describe it?'

'As a tale of two people who loved each other, kept apart because the needs of their countries and the threads of prophecy forced them to live a life contrary to their own desires.'

'So you only read the bits that reinforced your own view of the world?' Mina challenged her.

Working hard not to smile as her daughter walked into the trap she had laid, Aliah stood. 'Sadly, your reaction is not unexpected.' She pretended to be angry. 'I am sorry I can't discuss this further. I'm already late for dinner.' She stalked to the door as if she were indeed annoyed. 'Even though you have heard it all before, I hope you will think on the words of your ancestor in light of what you're facing, and perhaps we can spend some time together discussing it tomorrow.'

'You mean you want my decision then,' Mina shot back.

Pausing in the doorway, Aliah's head cocked to the side as she wondered how far she might safely push her daughter in the direction she wanted her to go. 'That's not what I said nor meant. We can talk for as long as it takes for all of us to feel comfortable that what you decide to do meets Aria's needs.'

'All of us?'

'Yes, you, me, and your father,' Aliah explained.

'He knows about this?' Mina's face screwed up in confusion.

"Yes, my dear, so don't go crying on his shoulder, hoping he will rescue you from me." To her daughter, she said, 'Yes. In fact, it was his idea we spend some time talking - to give you the chance to put forward your thoughts. Then he expects you and I to work together to reach an agreement about your future.'

'Oh.' Mina's eyes widened.

'Today's tale was genuinely meant to give you an idea of what your ancestor was prepared to do for her country. My hope is it will help you think about how what you're proposing measures up to what she gave up.' Before her daughter could speak again, Aliah closed the door.

***

'She made me so angry with her "how does your plan stack up against the sacrifices others made for Aria in the past."' Mina paced about her brother's room while he sat in a chair by the fire, his eyes following her.

'She left the book behind when she went to dinner. I'm sure it was on purpose. Well, I think it was. I did needle her, and she got annoyed. So, maybe it wasn't on purpose after all.'

At the sound of suppressed laughter from her brother, Mina stopped midstep, turned, and glared at him. He laughed so much he couldn't get a word out. Hands on hips, she tried to maintain her anger, but she felt it slipping away.

A few minutes later, when Gabriel's laughter was under control enough for him to speak, he said, 'Do you ever listen to yourself? You sound like you're angry for the sake of being angry, and Mum just happened to be your target.'

Sinking into the chair opposite, Mina snorted. 'What would you know? You're her golden boy and can never put a foot wrong.'

'Really, Mina, thinking before I act doesn't make me her favourite, merely less troublesome than you.'

Gabriel brushed his fringe out of his eyes. He looked so like their mother, with his honey-gold hair and blue eyes. It was uncanny. All her friends thought he was quite the catch. Squinting at him, she couldn't see the attraction herself. Only a little over a year younger, he was smart and thoughtful, but he still could not best her in a swordfight, even though he was bigger and stronger, and she could outrace him on any four-legged animal. Still, he was a prince, and she guessed that went some way to make up for his lack of physical prowess.

'Mina. Mina!'

Shaking her head, she refocussed. 'Sorry... what?'

'I said, you read the rest of the book, didn't you? That's why you're so annoyed with Mum.'

Taking a deep breath, Mina said, 'Yes, of course I read it.'

'And you learnt something from it?' When Mina did not answer, Gabriel prompted her. 'Mina?'

'God's breath! Yes, I learnt something. That poor woman. I don't even know her name, yet I'm so angry over what she was forced to do. She married a complete stranger, then his people banished her from his home. She spent the rest of her life in exile from her family in Nataria and her children in Aria, snatching what time she could with a husband she grew to love - and all because she was expected to do what she could for her country.' Mina's eyes filled with tears.

'Her name was Edisha.'

'Sorry? What?'

'She was called Princess Edisha. She was the mother of the ruling family on the Isle of Hand, the matriarch of the southern dukes. And as the Natarian emperor's granddaughter, she is one of our many-times-great grandmothers,' Gabriel said.

Mina smiled. 'I might have guessed you would have come across her in your studies. Thank you for telling me. Finding out her name is recorded somewhere and that she was not forgotten by history makes me feel a little better.'

'So, what about her story roused so much anger? I mean, it can't be simply because she was expected to marry for the good of the realm - thanks to Mum and Dad, you dodged that arrow - so what is it?'

'When I think of everything Edisha went through for Nataria and Aria, and I think about my desire to spend my year of service in the army, and the fuss I've been making - it's like I'm a spoilt brat or something.'

'What makes you say that?'

'It's because I want to be a guard. I've wanted to since I first took up a sword. I realise now if I spend a year joining a troop as my service, I'm serving my desires rather than considering what it will contribute to Aria.'

'Why does coming to this realisation make you angry?' Gabriel leaned forward, as if to better hear her answer.

'Because I believe it's the lesson our mother wanted me to learn from Edisha's diary. She manipulated me.' As her anger dissipated, so did her energy. She knew with all her heart she didn't want to return to Wizard Isle, but she now also realised her parents were right; it might actually be the thing she needed to do to meet her obligations and secure her future.

'And you think that means you must go to the wizard school?' Gabriel asked, guessing her thoughts.

'Yes,' Mina whispered.

'Mina, you're smarter than that.'

'Sorry?' She shook her head, trying to clear the fog.

'That isn't the only option you have. All you need to do is find a way to convince our parents spending a year in the army will benefit Aria as well as you, in the same way attending the wizard school would have.'

Mina stared at her brother, allowing his words to sink in. Slowly, she nodded. He was right; this battle was not yet lost. If she could buy some time to pull together a half-decent argument, she still might win.

'Good,' Gabriel said, 'now the real Mina's back. Let's come up with a plan.'