章節 39: You're No Mother of Mine
"My engagement ceremony?" Mara felt her world come crashing down as the possibility of being with Ryan shattered just as fast as she had it.
Her constitution would turn icy again, and her life would be full of sadness once more.
Her mother had received several offers for her hand in marriage, but she had rejected all of them.
As the only daughter of such a prominent and powerful figure in the human empire, her marriage partner's family would gain a lot politically, so it had to be considered carefully.
"How could she do this?" Mara wailed as tears streamed down her cheek, leaning against Ruth's shoulder.
Stroking Mara's hair comfortingly, Ruth pursed her lips and said nothing.
Heather only looked into the distance as tears of her own dropped to the floor.
Falling asleep in Ruth's and Heather's embrace, Mara woke up to the smell wafting off a freshly made stack of buttermilk pancakes.
Groggily looking over, Mara smiled as she saw Heather in her maid outfit holding a tray of food.
The spread included berries, fruits, pancakes, and a small bottle of syrup.
Feeling her tiredness fade, Mara sat up and eagerly started feasting on the food.
The food at the academy wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything compared to a home-cooked meal.
"Your breakfast was even better than I remembered, Heather." Mara complimented as she licked her plate clean.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Lady Mara," Heather said, bowing. "I was instructed to inform you after your meal to head to Master Frost's office." Gazing at the ground, Heather finished saying, "She has something she wishes to discuss with you."
Feeling her food starting to rise in her stomach, Mara suppressed her urge to vomit and slowly got to her feet, intending to meet her fate head-on.
Striving past Heather, Mara marched toward her mother's room, resolved to do what she had to do.
Making a decision, Mara's eyes turned icy, and her aura turned chilly as she forcefully removed Ryan's influence on her constitution.
===
Sitting at her desk, the Frost General massaged her temples, hoping to get rid of her throbbing headache.
Two days ago, she had received an order from the only person on Ravier capable of commanding her.
If not for this person's identity, she would have torn up the letter and set fire to the sender's home, but instead, she sat pondering why the matriarch of the Kheaweth family would force her daughter to marry one of her grandsons.
The Kheaweth family, who ruled the Human Kheaweth Empire, had existed long before the dark days. Their might only grew when the Heavens descended, and they formed the Kheaweth Empire, which would later be known as the human empire.
The matriarch of the family, the mother of the current empress, had trained her since she was just a babe.
She never knew her mother, and even though that woman was the closest thing to a mother she had, she never considered her one.
The woman was cruel, evil, and wicked. Both she and her daughter suffered from the actions of that woman, but at the end of the day, she couldn't defy her. She didn't have the strength.
Before turning 18, the woman implanted an element of Frost, which fused with her soul, causing her to develop what she now called her "constitution."
The Frost inside her soul gave her unprecedented control over the element, but the drawbacks were immense.
Hearing the creaking of the door, she looked up to see her daughter.
Shame and guilt were the words that came to mind looking at her, but as much as she tried, she couldn't feel those emotions.
"Please sit," she said, motioning towards a chair in front of her.
Sitting down, Mara looked around in silence as her icy eyes took in her surroundings.
"I assume those two already told you?" After a minute of silence, the Frost General said.
Mara kept looking around the room only nodding in response, happy to look anywhere but at her mother.
"I don't think you'll believe me when I say this, but as your mother, this hurts me just as much as it hurts you."
Hearing her mother say that, Mara couldn't help feeling enraged.
Hurts you just as much as it does me? Is that a joke?
Looking at her mother for the first time since entering the room, Mara said, "I don't know why you're doing this. But let me be clear, I might be your daughter. . . but you are no mother to me."
The Frost General felt like she had been punched in the gut.
The daughter, who had been the only ray of light in a sea of darkness, was now gone from her as well.
She inwardly shed a lone tear at all she had just lost, but on the outside, she was as stoic as ever.
Seeing her mother's lack of reaction, Mara shook her head in pity.
Pity at her situation.
Pity at her mother's seeming disregard when being condemned by her daughter.
Pity for what she once had.
"The man is of good background and is handsome. He is well adjusted and will make a good mate."
Mara replied, feeling sick to her stomach, "I don't care about those things, and you know it."
"Is bet this is your revenge for me daring to disobey you."
"Well, sorry, Ester, I'm not your puppet to manipulate. You might be able to force me to marry someone, but you've overdrawn your hand."
"You'll no longer be able to touch me once I'm married."
"The day I'm married will be the last time I'll have to see your disgusting face."
Jumping out of her chair Mara stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Mara sat alone in her room, curled up in a ball, crying.
"Why, why can't I be with Ryan? Why is the world so unfair?" As she sobbed, her constitution unable to contain her sadness, her thoughts kept drifting back to Ryan.
If she had been in this same position a month ago, she might have even seen this marriage as a good thing. It would get her out of her mother's grasp and allow her to be a free woman, at least as the law was concerned.
The law for normal citizens was that when one turned 18, they were their own person, independent from their parents.
But nobles weren't their own person until they got married.
Parents could wave the right and give their children legal independence, but almost no one did it.
When people lived thousands of years, an 18-year-old was seen as a toddler in their eyes. Why should they give a toddler independence? They clearly knew better.
As she was crying, the door to her bedroom opened, and Heather and Ruth rushed over to comfort her.
Stroking Mara's hair, the way she liked, Mara soon started to calm down and stopped crying.
"I understand why you're so upset, but isn't there some good out of this?" Heather asked.
Ruth nodded, "You've always wanted to get out of your mother's grasp, and the boy is someone influential. With his family's support, your cultivation journey will be even smoother than before."
Sniffling, Mara shook her head. "You don't understand." She said, "I . . . met someone."
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