The Lady lifted the wooden sword in her hand and the makeshift shield, barking out orders like she were a commander on the battle-field. She felt as if she were someone else, Somewhere Else. "No, no you're footing is off my boy! Are you dancing to a Minstrel's tune? Or are you training?"
Freawine frowned at his Mother's tone "I want to learn, I want to train with a sword. A real sword! These are like wooden pegs!" A question echoed in her mind; 'Am I trying to make a boy into a man too soon?' Motherhood, Fatherhood, neither were easy paths. Dropping the training weapon to the ground, she dragged a hand over her face, replying "You have the blood of the Eorlingas in you. Eorglinas protect their own. You are my son and because you are my son, I want you to be able to defend yourself." She tried to put it in a way, that the boy could understand. She did not know if all Mothers thought this way. But she was thinking several thinking ten years into the future, twenty years into the future. Where would her boy be? How could he live fruitfully if he didn't know how to watch over and seize what was rightfully his?
Raising a child is never easy even more so when doing it alone. She was half a person without her husband. It was the shortest and only marriage she ever had. A marriage she would rarely if ever mention to the public. Orome had a twisted sense of humor, it would seem to be her fate, that she would be caught by only broken and confused men. Her late husband was no exception. She hadn't an inkling of how long she was staring off into the abyss, but her boy's voice took her back to reality. "Mother, Mother are you alright? I'm getting bored. Are we going to keep sword-fighting? If I strike you this time, will you forge me a real sword?"
A weak chuckle escaped her lips "No, my eager one. I understand your excitement. But until you learn to respect a weapon, you cannot wield it. Besides, I am a Jeweler, not a Smith. These swords are wooden, real swords, are made of Iron or Steel. You wouldn't be holding a toy, Freawine, a sword can be used to defend or to take a life. I do not expect you to understand all of this now and that is alright. Each lesson will bear fruit in its own time."
The boy sulked, followed by a shake of his head. "Can't you be more than one thing? You're a Noble too aren't you Mother? We are Nobles?"
She heaved out a sigh at those words "Oh my child, I would give you the world if you'd only stretch out your hand. And if all things were possible. Yes, we are from a noble house, but it is not the name that makes a person, rather it is their actions. I hope one day you will see, why I no longer rally people under my banner to die for me." It was then she was reminded of the simple mind of a little child.
"Well, I don't know about those other things, you just said. But I have you as a Mother, so everything will be alright." Aellwenn's heart sank at those words. Could she really live up to his standards? She could only hope.
