His Girls

Ellie peeked over at Rebekah, who was strangely quiet on her little stool as she did her needlework. Ellie put down her own needlework, peering over to see how Rebekah was doing. She nodded in satisfaction and kept working.

"Mama?"

Here we go, Ellie thought, setting Connor's shirt in her lap. The silly Ox tore it...again. "Yes dear?"

"Am I an ugly savage?" Rebekah asked, biting her lip.

Ellie stiffened, feeling rage boil up inside her. If one of those no good travelers called her little girl that she was going to go down there and deal with them personally. "No, darling, you're not. Why?"

Rebekah set her needlework in her lap, biting her lip. She looked like she was about to cry. "I...I was waiting for you while you were talking to Mrs. Corinne yesterday and a man asked if I was."

Ellie huffed, but she knew getting angry would not help Rebekah at the moment. She set Connor's shirt aside, standing up. "Come on, we're going for a walk."

The warm, summer breeze whipped Ellie's hair around as she walked out the door. She sighed and reached into her pocket for her ribbon, but it wasn't there. She rolled her eyes. She would just have to deal with the wind. She held out her hand for Rebekah, leading her daughter toward one of the meadows near the manor. They stopped at one full of wildflowers and Ellie bent over, picking a blue one. "Let's make a bouquet darling."

Rebekah halfheartedly picked a flower. Ellie's heart sunk at the sight. She sat down, spreading her skirts around her. "Come here little squirrel," she said, patting her lap.

Rebekah sat down, twirling the flower in between her fingers.

Ellie rested her chin on the top of Rebekah's head. "Now, why are you letting this bother you?"

The eight-year-old bit her lip, fiddling with a leaf on the flower. "He called Raké:ni a savage too."

Rebekah looked up at Ellie, looking even more upset.

Ellie sighed, smiling sadly. "Beka, you are going to meet people like that no matter where you go, no matter what you do. You're father knows this and he deals with it in his own way."

Rebekah pouted. "What does he do?"

Ellie shrugged. "Nothing."

Rebekah's eyes widened. "He doesn't fight back?! It's unfair!"

Ellie shook her head. "That would just fuel the fire dear. And if your father did fight back every time, he would be letting them win."

Rebekah sighed.

Ellie rested her chin on Rebekah's shoulder, pecking her cheek. "You're not a savage. And you're the prettiest thing I have ever seen."

Rebekah sniffed, wiping at her nose.

"And don't let any good for nothing man tell you different. Men like that usually don't look at the beauty inside either." Ellie reached for another cluster of wildflowers, picking them. She handed them to Rebekah.

A grin started to creep onto Rebekah's lips.

Ellie brought her lips to her ear. "You're beautiful inside and out," she whispered before pecking her cheek again.

Rebekah's grin turned into a smile and Ellie knew that she did her job.

---

Connor frowned when he walked into the manor to hear silence. That wasn't normal, considering Rebekah was at a chatty age and Ellie was usually doing something while she was there.

He used his special sense, seeing that they walked outside. He followed the trail, stopping in a copse of trees when he saw them sitting in one of their favorite meadows. Rebekah was on Ellie's lap and they were picking at the wildflowers around them.

He grinned, leaning against the wide trunk of a tree.

He didn't know what he would do without his girls.

*****

I felt like I didn't do enough Mother/Daughter moment's for Ellie and Rebekah so I decided to fix that problem. I based this off of a personal experience. I was a little older than Rebekah here but the same type of thing happened. It was sixth grade, the dark age, and I had just got my glasses. Like any kid going through puberty, I was a little chunky and I felt like a walking zit.

A boy about two years older than me called me fugly one day and I had no clue as to what it meant. I asked one of my friends and when they told me what it meant I was devastated. I already had self-confidence issues and that was a huge cannon ball in the hull of my ship. I went home, almost in tears, and my mom happened to be sitting in the kitchen. After two hours of encouraging, she finally got me to open up and tell her what happened. She basically told me what Ellie said.

"You're beautiful and don't let any man tell you different."

She then gave me the best piece of dating advice I could have received. "If a boy isn't willing to know how beautiful of a person you are, he isn't worth your time."

Guys, this is why my mom is my hero. She got me through the dark ages of middle school when I was dealing with shit like that. For that reason, I salute her; and I also hope to be half the mom she is.

Sorry for the personal story, but this idea struck a soft spot and I had to talk about it.