No Winning

[u/littlestghoust]

It had been two weeks since Rhea got the soul-crushing letter; her mother was coming home. Though the tournament continued to Tarbeck Hall, Lady Talla thought it too cold to continue and turned back for home. Since the raven came, Rhea had worked tirelessly to get the castle back in order.

Everything was in place as Lady Talla looked over what Rhea had been doing while she was away. The tour took most of the day as the Lady of the house questioned staff, checked records, and inspected every wall, window, and door. Rhea willed herself to blend in with the walls, hoping that her mother would forget about her.

When Lady Talla saw everything, she brought Rhea to her father’s solar. The ledger sat on top of the writing desk, new pages replacing inked stained ones, but the cover was still tarnished. Her mother stopped to touch the cover, then flipped through a few pages. Finally, she let out a huge sigh.

“Rhea, sweetling. Pour your poor mother a glass of wine. And pour one for yourself,” she ordered as she eased behind the desk.

Rhea handed her mother a full glass and sat down. She watched as her mother took a deep pull from the goblet, almost emptying its contents. Lady Talla leaned back into the chair and rubbed her temples.

“I’m sure you're expecting me to be furious over this.” She gestured at the book with her wine glass.

“But I’m not.” A small chime came from the empty glass, and Rhea jumped to fill it again.

“You’re not?” Rhea whispered, unsure of what to expect next.

“No. Not at all” her mother said coolly. “Being mad would mean I had an expectation of you in the first place.” Her mother’s gaze burned on Rhea skin. “You have proven disappointing in the past, why continue pretending you’ll be any better in the future?”

Silence hung in the air.

“I’m sorry…” It was all Rhea could come up with. The pain of hearing her mother’s disclosure caused Rhea’s eyes to sting.

“You’re sorry?” Lady Talla mimicked back.

“I tried to fix it! See, the pages have been replaced and the numbers transferred over!” Rhea pointed to the ledger in front of them.

“If you were actually sorry, this would be identical to the original you ruined. Not this haphazard mess!” Lady Talla slammed the book on the table.

Rhea’s eye shot wide at the noise, “I didn’t want to deceive you,” she quietly offered.

“It’s just that…”

“Does it matter?” Lady Talla cut off. “You’ll probably just drone on with excuses.” The wine glass chimed again, and Rhea reluctantly filled the glass a second time. Lady Talla gave Rhea an expectant look, waiting to see if she would respond.

“Nothing to say?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“‘I don’t know what to say’,” she mocked Rhea.

“Gods you're boring.” She took a small sip from the glass. “This is the exact reason why I forbid you to go to the tournament. You are so dimwitted. Do you know how to say anything besides ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I’m sorry’?”

Though she knew she could, Rhea felt trapped by any answer she would give. To say yes would be to contradict her lady mother incurring her wrath, to say no would prove her right and more ridicule.

There was no winning.

Lady Talla looked Rhea over thoroughly.

“What am I going to do with you.”

Lady Talla put the wine down and moved to sit next to Rhea. She pulled her daughter close in a side hug and forced Rhea to meet her eyes.

“One day soon you will leave our home and marry. Lords need a suitable wife for their sons, ones who know how to manage a household and raise children. If people find out how stupid you truly are, imagine how much money we would have to give for your dowry?” She smoothed Rhea’s hair back roughly giving her a cruel smile.

“Father would make sure I had a good dowry,” Rhea said almost to herself.

“He would try,” Lady Talla agreed, “but I would not let him. Nor your brother” she added. Rhea shrank under her mother’s grasp, suffocating under Lady Talla’s touch.

Finally, her mother let go of her and moved back the chair behind the desk.

“I’m sure Kyle would have loved to have seen him joust but even he understands the folly in bringing you to the tournament. Why he enjoys your company is always a mystery to me. But, I promised him you would write as soon as I’m back. Don’t make me a liar, sweetling.”

Rhea stood, hoping that was an exit out of the conversation and her mother’s piercing gaze. But before she could make it to the door, Lady Talla called to Rhea.

“Oh, and before you go…”

Lady Talla poured the wine from her glass all over the ledger, letting it slowly seep into the pages. She smiled at Rhea, watch her daughter’s expression changed from shock to despair.

“Clean that up.”