Her mother would not speak the rest of the evening. During supper, there was little conversation between the three of them. Awkwardly, Alaesa picked at her food on the plate, listening to the silence. She waited for one of her parents to break it, but nothing came out of their mouths. “Are you planning on eating, Alaesa?” her father finally spoke up.
She nodded, quickly picking her fork up. “Sorry, father, I was thinking.”
The rest of the dinner returned to silence again, with her mother excusing herself from the table and putting her plate away. “How are your studies?” he asked, picking up the cloth to wipe his mouth.
“Very well.”
“Your tutor tells me you are improving every day.” He smiled, scratching his shorn beard. “Keep up the good work.”
“Thank you.”
She looked up from her plate, meeting eye contact with him. She wanted to ask him what he and her mother fought about. She opened her mouth to speak, her heart hammering against her chest, and fidgeting with her fingers. “Is… mother feeling okay?”
“She did not sleep well. Don’t worry yourself over it.”
Alaesa cocked her head slightly, raising an eyebrow. He lied. As far as she knew, her father never lied. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. She kept staring at him, while he ate until he finally stopped eating. “Look, Alaesa, I’m serious. Nothing is wrong.”
“You would tell me?”
“Of course, I would.”
He continued, dragging the lie on. “There is something I need to talk to you about, though. Your education.”
“What about it?”
“You seem to have a lot of interest in herbs, and healing. There’s a school in Hueîl for young people such as yourself…” Alaesa did not reply, knowing where the conversation was heading. “I have already sent your application in, and you’ve been accepted. You leave before the end of the week.”
“You can’t just ignore what’s going on!” Alaesa exclaimed, throwing her napkin on the table. “I heard you and mother earlier! You lied to me. Grandfather is going to die and you are just going to send me away to a school?”
“For your own benefit, Alaesa,” her father replied, calmly. “You don’t know the details about the situation.”
“You lied to me!” she exclaimed. “How do you defend yourself knowing that? I heard both of you discussing my Grandfather’s execution. That’s why she is upset! How will sending me away help?”
“It will give you a new start,” he said. “I’m sorry about lying to you, and we were planning on telling you…”
“But you didn’t.”
Her father crossed his arms, no longer eating. Alaesa watched him carefully as he walked toward her, taking both her hands. “It’s true. He is going to be executed tomorrow at dawn. He refused to bow down to the new king, and it is plain and simple: he faces the consequences. I would send you to the school sooner, but… I can’t. They don’t allow applicants until later this week.”
The old longcase clock ticked loudly, filling in the silence between them. “You told me once you would do anything for this family,” Alaesa said. “Why can’t we help him?”
“I told you why.”
“But that isn’t a valid enough reason!”
“Does it matter now? You know why.” Avoiding the question. She shook her head, finishing her meal in complete silence. “You aren’t to attend the execution. Understand? Finish your food and pack.” Alaesa stopped in the middle of cutting a piece of turkey meat. “Remember, I am doing this for your benefit.”
It occurred to her… that he was not the man she once thought he was.
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