Shadow of the Prince

To Ruin a Man

Later that night, after her mother dragged her back home and went into a flurry of cleaning and rearranging in the shop, and after her father, Teravin Leary, settled into a drunken sleep in the corner of their small apartment, Dal decided to seek out her mother. 

All afternoon, her mother avoided her and refused to answer questions. Instead, every time she approached her mother, she came away with a new chore to complete.

But no more. She deserved answers. She was obedient to her parents. She did as she was told. She watched out for Theikuth. Was she not finally entitled to some answers? 

Dal crept out into the shop, careful to keep her steps light. 

Aragda Leary was huddled over the reading table, bones cast out in front of her. She was turned away from Dal, so she couldn't read her face. 

Dal approached her mother and cleared her throat. Her mother's sharp, green eyes locked onto hers. Gathering what courage she had in her heart, Dal finally spoke what had been on her mind, not just over the course of the very long, ridiculous day, but over the course of the past several years. 

"I think it is time I know the truth," Dal said calmly.

"You already know it."

"No, mother, I don't believe I do."

Her mother's cutting gaze tested her, but Dal did not break. For a long moment the two stared at one another. It was in this moment that their differences truly stood out. One old and wisened, but jaded from the world. The other, young and naive, but nursing a childlike hope.

"Sit," her mother said.

Dal obliged, and sat across from her mother at the reading table. This would mark the second time in her life that she had ever been allowed to sit above bones.

Her mother sighed, and her stoney expression broke into something else entirely. Something foreign to Dal.

The once-great seer, Agatha Leary, looked like she'd given up. 

"I have kept much from you, to protect you," she began, "but I will not be able to protect you from what is to come. I thought I could keep the cursed Dark Prince away from you. I thought I could keep you away from you. The blood of seers is not always passed on. There was a chance that you could have lived a normal, happy life, away from the responsibilities and pain that comes with knowing. With seeing."

"I am ready, mother," Dal leaned forward and grasped her mother's hands in hers. 

"No, you are not," her mother sighed, her gaze drifting off to look beyond Dal, just over her shoulder, "But nevertheless, you must prevail, regardless."

"Prevail? Against what, mother?"

"Against the Dark Prince."

"I thought you said earlier that I was to marry him?"

"Yes, but to win this man, you must first ruin him. It is what I have seen."

"I... I don't think I understand?"

"You don't need to understand everything now. We have a few months, yet, before your eighteenth birthday. There is much we will need to do before that day comes."

Dal nodded and turned her questioning gaze to the bones beneath her. Curiously, she recognized the pattern laid out before her.

"You should get some rest, daughter. You will not have many more chances for a good sleep in the coming days."

Dal nodded and rose from her seat, eager to find refuge from the hectic day. But, there was something bothering Dal. She stood beside the reading table, arguing with herself over bringing it up.

Agatha sighed and crossed her arms. "What is it, Dal?"

"Will you tell me how you and father know Mother Marion?"

Dal's question caught her mother off guard, allowing her to watch the entire range of emotions that fluttered across her face. 

"Tomorrow," her mother muttered, "Now get some rest."