NOTE: For the next week or two I'm going to try uploading the daily chapters a little earlier (4:00 and 5:00pm, Pacific) to make the content available to the East Coast readers at a more convenient time. On AllNovelFull, little details like upload times can have an impact on income, so this is an experiment to make sure I'm not hurting Elreth & Aaryn's audience. I'll let you know if it changes again!

*****

ELRETH

Elreth started walking again, but slowly.

"Excuse me?" Her mother's voice was quiet, but the word were bitten out and the nine year old still inside Elreth quailed. "Do you have something to say to me, young lady?"

They continued along the trail—but only for a few steps. They'd reached the Weeping Tree and Elreth stalked towards the massive tree, shoving aside the curtain of delicate branches and leaves to give herself entry, her mother hot on her heels. It gave her a moment to brace and put her shoulders back.

She was Queen, she reminded herself. Alpha. Of all. Just as powerful as her father had ever been—whether everyone recognized it or not. Whether her mother liked it or not. So when she reached the open area under the Weeping Tree, near the trunk, where the branches started high up and there was plenty of room, she turned on her heel to face her mother and folded her arms.

Her mother stopped right in front of her, one eyebrow up and her hands on her hips.

Queen, Elreth reminded herself. Alpha of All. Even moms.

Elreth clenched her teeth. "You're being stubborn," she said through her teeth. "And I'm saying it ends now. I've had enough. I am the crown now. If you have never rebelled, now is not the time to start… Mom," she added after a hesitation.

Her mother's lips twitched like she was going to laugh, but she didn't give in. Only tilted her head. "You think I'm rebelling?"

"I think you're resisting the crown, which is the same thing. I think you're in rebellion, yes."

Her mother shook her head. "Even your father didn't go that far, El. Are you certain you want to have this conversation?"

"I am certain that I need to know what threats hang over my people—whether they come from within my family or not."

Her mother's mouth dropped open. "You see me as a threat? You truly believe that?"

Elreth snarled with frustration. "If you know what's happening around me and won't tell me so that I can deal with it, yes! You leave me scrambling, potentially making the wrong decision, and who knows what you're getting up to—I just found out humans are being brought into Anima, Mom. Humans!"

"Only because they are necessary."

"FOR WHAT?!"

They stared at each other, Elreth glaring and not backing down, her mother's gaze icy cold and equally hard. "I. Can't. Tell. You."

Elreth threw up her hands. "Do you know what I would do with anyone else who just outright refused me, Mom? Do you know what I'd have to do, as Queen?"

"You have a Creator-given role in the Anima, Elreth. And I am very, very proud of you. You're going to be an even better leader than your father, I think. But if you really think dealing with your family is the same as dealing with the people—"

"No, it's not! That's my point. You weaken me and leave me nothing to do about it that won't harm you—which I don't want to do. But I feel like you're pushing me towards it!"

Her mother frowned. "Elreth, you need to understand that no matter how powerful you are in this world, you cannot control everything—or everyone. That is one thing your father grasped from very early on. Being a good ruler isn't dependent on knowing everything. It's dependent on good character, good judgment, and responding appropriately—and honorably—when new information or problems come to light."

"Well, I have a problem, and I have someone right in front of me who understands it better than I do, but refuses to help me!"

"No. You have a mother who is protecting you—and I will not apologize for it."

"Protecting me?! How can you say that?"

Her mother's head jerked back. "Elreth, I want to you think back over your life. Have you ever had a reason to think, even for a second, that I wasn't working for your good? That I wanted to harm you, or trip you up?"

"Not until now!"

Her mother's gaze flattened. "El—"

"Don't give me that look—it's obvious this is what Dad was feeling too, right? He thought you were holding something back that could hurt him or cause him problems."

"Yes, and I asked him the same question I'm asking you—what possible reason have I given you not to trust me? What possible reason could you have not to look at what is happening right now and think to yourself, "Mom's loved me and taken care of me my whole life, she must be doing that now, too."

"But… but… you're asking me to let you do things without my knowledge. Things that could potentially hurt all of Anima and you want me to just… trust you?"

"Yes! Have I not proven I'm worthy of that yet?!" her mother snapped, throwing her arms wide.

Elreth was startled. Her mother was often irritable or aggravated, but she rarely lost her temper. She took a deep breath.

"Mom, this is a very, very big deal. And you are not perfect. Apparently you know the answers to a lot of my questions, but you're leaving me hanging. Flapping in the wind. How is that not harming me when hearing what you have to say could equip me to take better care of the people—which includes you, by the way!"

Her mother's jaw jutted out and her she pursed her lips.

Looking off to the side for a moment, Elreth recognized in her the thoughtful pose that meant she was considering something.

Considering giving in and telling Elreth what she knew?

Apparently not, Elreth thought dryly, when her mother met her eyes again and leaned in close.

"I will say this only once, so you listen close. The things I am doing and know would harm you if I told you." She blew the air from her nostrils. "They wouldn't just harm you, they'd harm EVERYONE. That's why I'm not telling you."

*****

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