Aurana shook her head. "Oh, it's okay, I'm not interested in fighting, I just..." She pulled a wide grin. "I'll get to [i]see things[/i] now! I don't care if I have to learn how to be battlemage, I'll do anything for that!"

"A...battlemage? My little girl?" Aeramina was only partially calmed by Kaleeth. She lifted her nervous fingers up level with her mouth. "Surely you would not do something so dangerous, my daughter!"

"Mother, please stay calm." Janius took his turn to reassure her. "Even if Aurana wanted to become a battlemage, you should not doubt her. She's determined, and as long as you and father are there to support her, she'll be fine."

Aeramina began to stammer. "I-I-I simply do not know what to do! I thought you would grow up to be a beautiful courtable lady, Aurana! A lady does not sling spells and fight!"

"She will learn," Remus intoned. The sternness in his voice silenced everyone. Even Aurana stopped halfway through her breath to shout protests at Aeramina. "She is no mere lady. She is our daughter. This is what is best for her. Learning to defend herself and navigate life will not make her unfit for court."

"Here again with your stupid pride, Remus!" Aeramina said as her face contorted into sadness. "Do not ruin our daughter!"

"We were ruining her before!" Remus growled back.

Aurana slammed her hands on the table. All the remaining cutlery jingled. "SHUT UP!" She screamed.

Everyone stopped.

"Mother, listen to me! Either I get to do this, or I don't go to court at all." She scowled at Aeramina, but her lips were quivering. "You know you can't make me. You know I can just be rude at court and become unmarriageable in one night of throwing drinks in people's faces."

"You do not know what you're doing-" Aeramina was cut off.

"I know what I'm doing because I have a chance now!" Aurana stopped to breathe. Aeramina did not have anything in response. "I have this to lose. "I promise that I'll try to make you happy, but I can't do that if I'm stuck here with cabin fever all my life. I can't [i]live[/i] like that." She held her hands to her chest. "I can't [i]breathe.[/i] Please, let me have this. Let me have this and I won't complain about going to court again."

Aeramina curled her fingers and pressed them to her mouth.

"She is her own young woman, Aeramina," Remus added. "She will be an adult soon. I believe she is capable. If she says she can get a husband, I believe her. You should, too."

Aeramina's shoulders shrank down. She looked down. "This isn't what I had envisioned."

"No," Remus agreed. "It is what [i]she[/i] envisions. That is what matters. Not our vision. Janius proved that tonight with how he has come back to us."

Aurana stared at Remus for a silent moment before her eyes tensed and reddened. She brought both her hands up to cover her lowering face. A strained breath in through her nose confirmed that she was crying and trying to hide it.

[hr]
"Picking a winner is pointless here anyway. Not if we were below our limits."

Lunise took a small step to take in the sight around them as the sand settled. Her face relaxed from its condescending pride to a look of quiet wonder. Her eyes traced a school of tiny black fish that wriggled by, and then to a crab that scampered across the sea floor sideways. There wasn't as much to see as in a reef, though the softly swaying sea grass and occasional sea creatures played off the blue light that bathed the entire expanse around them.

Whether conscious or not, Lunise let her arms fall to her sides. Her voice softened. "So, this is why you went to the trouble of holding air down here." Lunise scanned across the clear waters. There came an uncertain wistfulness to her voice. "You are showing me many special things this day."