Work Text:
The slow creaking of a wooden door opening alerted Gwendolyn to the fact that Rosaline had just returned home. As she turned from the kitchen to face her daughter, she was greeted by the sight of a young disheveled Miqo’te - dirt upon her clothes, her pigtailed braids coming undone, a light bruise upon her cheek.
Gwendolyn wiped her hands upon her apron front, in the midst of preparing a supper she would now have to pause, as she instead needed to question why her daughter had arrived home in the condition she was in.
“Young miss, what happened here?”
Rosaline looked up at her, responding, “Mom, are we a real family?”
Gwendolyn’s daughter had a healthy curiosity by nature, one which she fully encouraged and supported - between being a growing young girl and adjusting to her new life after relocating to Gridania, Rosaline had a million and one questions about anything and everything around her. As a result, she took the utmost care to answer all of her probing questions as respectfully, yet cautiously, as possible. Especially when Rosaline dropped a question as loaded as this one into her lap. She bent down, making herself eye level with the young girl. “Of course we are, sweetie. Why would you think otherwise? Did one of the other kids say something to you?” She was aware of the teasing that occurred at hands of the other kids in town, which devolved into fights that Rosaline would oft get into as a result. Gwendolyn had tried many times to dissuade her from letting their childish comments get the better of her, encouraging her to be the bigger person, but Rosaline only seemed all the more determined to fight back against any kid who dared to cross her. And judging by the look of her, today appeared to be another one of those times.
“One of the other kids, they said, uh, they said that we aren’t a real family because you’re not my real parents. Then I said that you are my real parents, and then they said that you’re not my real parents cause I don’t look like you. So I yelled at them and then they told me to leave the Twelveswood, that I didn’t belong here. So I punched them and said that they should leave. And then they grabbed me and then we fought some more. And then one of the Adders told us to stop fighting and then we ran away.” Rosaline said matter-of-factly, as if she hadn’t just admitted to going against her mother’s wishes once more.
“So you were fighting with the other kids again?” Gwendolyn replied, stern but with no real heat behind it.
“Well yeah! I’m not gonna let the other kids pick on me, I have to defend my honor!” she declared, arms waving around in a tizzy. “But that’s asides the point! Are they right? Are we not a real family?” Rosaline tried to hide the hurt underlying her words, but Gwendolyn knew her daughter well enough by now to see when she was putting on a brave face to mask her true feelings.
Taking a seat, Gwendolyn scooped Rose up and placed her onto her lap, holding her daughter’s small hands in hers as she spoke. “You said it yourself before, Rose, we are a real family. As real as any other family here in Gridania.”
“But then why would the other kids say that we’re not?” she asked. Gwendolyn saw the confusion writ across Rose’s face, her ears drooping slightly at the two seemingly contradictory statements she was being presented with. Gwendolyn took a deep breath as she contemplated how to provide an honest yet delicate answer to satisfy Rose’s curious mind and ease her worries.
“Unfortunately there are some people out there who are very close-minded, who make poor decisions and lash out when they’re presented with something that they don’t understand.”
“Why don’t they just try to understand, then?” Rose asked with the kind of bright-eyed innocence that only a child unburdened by the weight of life’s harsh realities could.
“That would be the better option, now wouldn’t it?” She patted Rose’s head, watching her daughter giggle and squirm as she gently tickled her ears with the tips of her fingers, her mood now visibly improved from when she first stepped through the door.
She ran her hand down to cup at her daughter’s face, smiling at her with a deep fondness. “Family isn’t always the people whose blood you share, Rose. Family is what you make of it, it’s the bonds you choose to forge with others, never forget that. You choose your family, not the other way around. Now... why don't we get you cleaned up for dinner”
As she began to rebraid her daughter’s hair, the door creaked once more - Cedric walking into the house, wiping the sweat from his brow as he greeted his family after a long day’s work. As he laid his eyes upon the scene before him, the signs that Rose had gotten into another fight did not escape him.
“Oh Rosie Posie, are you fighting with the other kids again?” He asked softly, shaking his head as toed off his work boots.
“Yeah… but I was able to pin them on the ground so they couldn’t hit me as much, just like you taught me!” she declared proudly to her father, huge grin set upon her face. At that, Gwendolyn’s face panned over from Rose to her husband, and unfortunately for him, she was much less pleased about Rosaline’s response than Rosaline was.
“Cedric… dear... what exactly have you been teaching our daughter?” Her eyes twitched as she eagerly awaited her husband’s riveting response.
Cedric found that his brow was once more covered in sweat under the scrutinizing gaze of his wife, her murderous intent practically freezing him in place, afraid to make any sudden movements lest he risk bodily harm by her hands.
“Gwen… now let me explain…”
Rosaline smiled contentedly, soaking in the warm ambiance as she tucked into her usual spot at the Rising Stones, enjoying a bit of people-watching after a long day - the air filled with the sounds of casual conversation, of laughter, of people coming and going along their business for the day.
So lost in her memory she’d become that she hadn’t noticed when Tataru walked over to her, only returning to reality at the sound of the lalafellan woman placing a plate a food in front of her - she had uncanny knack for knowing exactly when Rosaline was in need of a warm, hearty meal.
“Head caught in the clouds there, Rose?” Tataru questioned, taking a seat beside her.
“I was just remembering something my mother told me when I was young. I didn’t understand then how right she was, but her words ring truer and truer with each passing day.”
“Mothers always know best, don’t they?” Tataru said, a knowing smile upon her face.
“Indeed they do.”