Turning Tables

Chapter Two

I hung my head, twiddling my thumbs as my mother set off on another rant.

"Do you know how many duchesses ride horses all day? One! You!"

My mother shook her head, dissappointed.

"Alright. I'm taking your privilage away from you, before you completely embarrass the family! No more riding!"

Her voice was final.

I looked up from my muddy finger nails and glared at my mother's back as it receeded into the parlour next door. My face wore an expression of shocked, blazing fury.

No more riding? I thought.

I glanced at my father as my eyebrows crawled further and furthur up my forehead. As I recovered from my shock, I was blown by another wave as my mother appeared right in my face and the biggest shock of all when I saw the items in her hands.

In one hand she held a long, ugly brown dress with a small train and a white trim. The waist looked suspiciously small. Along with the dress my cruel mother held a deadly corset. If the past ages had taught us anything, we should have learned that corsets are evil. Except, it probably wouldn't have stopped my mother anyway. In the other hand, she held various accessories, including a ridiculous head dress that was the same ugly puke colour as the dress.

"It's about time you learned how to be a real lady. I would have started this on your last birthday, when you reached the appropriate age, if your father hadn't persuaded me against it. This time, there's nothing anyone can do about it!"

And she's right, I thought, as I glanced over at my father, who was staring out the window and looking particularly unpersuasive.

"No riding is just the start. You'll learn to sew and dance and eat and talk-" I rolled my eyes. "-and you shall improve your reading and writing-"

"Oh come on Mother, you know how good a reader I am! I love it already isn't that enough-"

"No it most certainly is not enough. You need to be the best at everything out of all the duchesses if you are even going to stand a chance at impressing a suitor."

My mounth gaped open, like a chasm, revealing my obvious shock.

Oh Yelasmi don't act so shocked!" I cringed at my full name. "You knew it was coming sooner or later. Maybe now you'll understand." She dropped all the items into my lap and picked up my riding boots, where they left two perfect footprint replicas on the crisp white carpet. I knew she would hide them in the cupboard in their bedroom, but that didn't make me any less angry and she carried them away.

I turned to my father, who was sitting in the large, red velvet arm chair. I was speechless and hadn't closed my mouth since my mother had announced I would need to impress a suitor. My father shook his head sympathetically, while shrugging his shoulders.

"It has been almost three years since Ilazmiacova got married, and if your mother hadn't said anything you may never have... settled down."  He shurgged again and pulled himself out of the arm chair. It was sometimes easy to forget that my 63 year old father was the Duke of Ligos.

My sister had married Exorgizo, who was in line to become the Duke of Megalos. I liked my visits to their manor, as I had always been close to my sister and Exorgizo had always been kind to me. But the best part of visiting them was seeing my two-year-old niece, Madden. I walked her throught the gardens and let her stroke the horses.

Mia, which I had called her since childhood, had always been calmer than me, less boisterous, but she was my best friend. I had been devastated when she left, even though I knew how much she loved Exor. Mia was always so ladylike, the perfect daughter. I often grew jealous of her and how much everyone loved her, especially my mother, but my jealousy could never last because I loved her so much.

But now my mother wanted me to be like Mia?

Fat chance.

But it looked like I had no choice.