Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter Sixty-Three: Vulnerability

Those were all such selfless, feminine acts, and those were the reasons she wanted him so badly. But she knew that there was nothing good about being selfless. All it did was encourage abuse.

Pollyanna was the proof of that. She had agreed to selflessly sell herself to Klein so that her mother could live in luxury, and all it brought her was pain and misery.

But Eory had made her smile. He had made her feel alive, and he had shown her a kind of unconditional love that she hadn't experienced since her father died.

Is there value in that? Pollyanna wondered with her eyes glistening.

She didn't know if there was. All she knew was that she felt abandoned and betrayed by her charge. She felt like he had dragged her into the light, blinded her with it, and then casted her aside like she was nothing, simply because she couldn't offer him the one thing a woman was good for.

She was drawn out of her reverie by the sound of lovely singing.

She turned her head and saw Eliita singing a song for all the recruits. Everyone began joining in, and eventually, the dwarfess climbed up on the table and started dancing. All the recruits clapped when she clapped, and all were smiling and laughing gaily.

A smile twitched at Pollyanna's own lips. She has such power over them...

Feeling left out and wishing that she knew how to be as boisterous, attractive, and feminine as Eliita was, Pollyanna decided that it was time for her to leave.

As she headed for the door, the singing gradually became louder and louder. Pollyanna heard a scream and a loud clatter. With her hand on her blade, she turned around.

Eliita had been dragged down by her ankle onto the table by a large, human man. Terran unsheathed his blade as three more men climbed up on the table.

Eory watched, petrified in fear, and then he foolishly jumped into the fray—trying to help Eliita.

A black-haired human approached from behind, grabbing Eory and dragging him away.

Pollyanna turned away with her heart thudding.

Klein ripped her wedding dress, he shoved her against the wall.

She left the room despite Eory's cries for help and a sharp pain piercing her heart. Let him handle himself. If he wishes to be a man, he needs to know that no one will come to his rescue any longer.

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Flowers.

That's what Pollyanna thought of when she thought of her father.

She remembered a day so clear and bright—perhaps the only perfect day that she had ever experienced—that she sometimes doubted it was real. It was one of those memories that Pollyanna had tucked away long ago like so many memories of her father, because she knew they made her weak.

About a mile away from their house was a patch of wild flowers on a grassy hillock. Her father liked to take her there when he had time. Together, they would pick flowers and rearrange them in ways that were pleasing to the eye.

Father, being sweet and kind like he liked to be, flattered his daughter as she created a pretty design with the flowers.

"Pollyanna, you have such a knack for this!" He exclaimed as he watched his daughter pick the flowers and form them into a complex, colorful design. "Where does this wonderful talent come from?"

Pollyanna snorted as she grabbed a handful of yellow flowers and completed the outline of the design by placing them between two pink flowers. "Come on, Daddy. This isn't a talent. This is just for fun."

Father frowned. He held out his arms. "Come here, Pollyanna."

Pollyanna placed three more flowers, and then dashed over to her father and plopped down in his lap. Together, they looked up at the blue sky and enjoyed a gentle breeze. Pollyanna found that she was incredibly calm and sleepy as Father wrapped her in his strong arms.

"I have a question for you, Pollyanna. Why is it that you never say thank you to compliments? Why do you deny them?" Father asked.

"I don't think I should take a compliment if I don't deserve it, Daddy." Pollyanna whispered sleepily.

"What makes you think you don't deserve it?" Father asked.

"Mother says that I should only receive compliments when I've done something of value. I don't think arranging flowers is something of value..." Pollyanna answered.

"Who says it isn't of value? It's made us smile, hasn't it? That's worth something, isn't it?" Father replied.

Pollyanna thought as deeply as a child her age possibly could, and then she replied, "But it didn't make us any money... I doubt that it will help me get married in the future, either."

Father laughed. "You think so seriously for a girl your age! Don't worry about money or marriage yet. Just concentrate on the things that make you happy for now."

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As Pollyanna headed for the gate and waited for the other recruits to arrive, she thought to herself, I've never had the chance to focus on the things that make me happy...

She realized just how much she would like to arrange flowers again.