Earl Wessex, right-hand man to the King of Sundrania and Morrigan's father was well known across the kingdom for his beauty and kindness that matched no other in the land.
Earl had fallen in love with only one woman; Morrigan's mother but, she had unfortunately, died during childbirth, leaving Earl to tend to their daughter alone. He directed all the love he had for his late wife towards their daughter, giving her the best he could while juggling his royal duties.
Many women of all positions and types had tried to court Earl in the past but, they had all failed shamefully. While he was sought for among women, men envied him. Some could even go as far as calling him a fool for rejecting so many women, saying that he was just wasting the beauty he was gifted with and was not using it to its best advantage. Of course, no one dared to say such things to his face, unless they wanted their head off their head.
His beauty was well known among the servants of different mansions and of course, his own household as well. They thought that if women of the high society couldn't woo him, who were they? So, they remained satisfied with merely admiring the man from afar. Never in their right minds would they ever approach him.
"Leave us!" He ordered.
Janet took another bow and rushed out of the room. In fear that her Lord might have caught sight of her reddened cheeks.
When she left, the man took one last good look at his daughter who still had no intentions of getting down if she wasn't going to be allowed to do as she pleased.
Many times, issues of Morrigan wanting to dress and be like her father - a warrior - had come up but, it hadn't escalated this much, it had just been random tantrums here and there.
Earl knew the approach his daughter needed was not going to be a harsh one as she was too stubborn. Just like her mother. He needed to play a game of wits but he had no idea what to say or do.
Feeling defeated, Earl caught sight of the silk white dress beside him. The dress was nothing extravagant nor too simple, its design was right in the middle. It was a high-neck dress that had embroidery at the bottom, reaching up to the half-cut with flounce styled sleeves.
The dress reminded him so much of his late wife and his daughter who had taken after her in every way. The only thing Morrigan used to resemble him was the green-colored eyes. He was missing Morrigan's mother more and more everyday he watched their daughter grow.
"Aubrielle's favorite color was white" he stated unknowingly.
"Really?!" Morrigan replied in an excited tone.
Earl looked at his daughter who looked intrigued by what he had just said. This was the opportunity he was looking for.
"Yes! And she loved dresses even more" her eyes widened a bit more in excitement. "She loved dresses so much that she wore them every day and was very happy wearing them. She looked best in white dresses, just like this one. I'm sure you'd look beautiful in one too. Just like your mother"
The little girl's heart lit up in excitement by the mention of her mother. She had never seen even a picture of her before and had only learned about her from her father and had clung unto everything he would say about her mother. More than once had he mentioned how she looked just like her mother and she believed. Now, he was saying that she loved the color white and dresses? Why wouldn't she believe? He was her father and he had no reason to lie to her. But wearing her mother's favorite things meant she would have to put an end to her rebellion.
Earl who noticed his daughter's interest slowly dying down said "Well, I'm going to see Uncle Lazarus for lunch and you can only go in a dress"