Destiny
I woke up to the sound of the rooster crowing, which meant the start of a new day. I stretched, took a bath, changed into my work clothes, and then started my chores. The first thing I did was feed the chickens, pigs, and horses in the barn. Mother would be the one to make breakfast, while Axel went with our father to hunt for dinner.
After I was done, I went to the kitchen. I tried to greet my mother, who, as always, wasn't too happy with my presence. "Good morning, mom," I said with a smile.
"Here's your grandmother's breakfast; bring it to her," she said in a cold voice.
I wasn't expecting her to say 'hi' to me at all, but I wasn't wrong to hope for it. I handled the plate with care as I exited the kitchen until a confident old woman stopped me.
"Grandma! I was just about to bring you your food."
Grandma looked at me, then walked into the kitchen to sit at the table. "I may be old, but I'm not that old! I can come down and eat my food at the table just like anybody else!"
I laughed, then placed her food in front of her on the table. "Okay, okay, here's your breakfast, grandma. Would you like some tea?"
"That would be nice, dear."
With a smile, I nodded and walked to the kettle to make her some tea. I noticed there was no water in the kettle. "Hey, mom, why's there no water in the kettle?"
She slammed the pot of porridge on the counter, which made me realize my mistake too late.
"You think I'm your servant? Huh? Answer me!"
"N-no."
"Exactly! If you want water, you can go get it yourself! In fact, you can make breakfast and serve it to everyone! I'm going to the market."
I put the kettle down and ran after my mom. "Mom, wait, I was just—"
She stopped and looked at me with pure anger in her eyes. "Oh, so now we're disrespectful? Okay, alright. For that, you can cook breakfast and dinner for the rest of the week."
I just looked at her. Dumbfounded at what I had done.
"Understand?"
"Yes, mom," I said, holding back my tears.
She slammed the door in my face leaving me on the verge of crying. I walked back into the kitchen and made grandma her tea. She didn't say anything, even though she heard the whole conversation between mom and me. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that grandma respects me a lot. She knows when I want to talk and when I want to be alone.
After I finished with breakfast, I was about to wash the dishes when grandma stopped me. I looked at her, and she looked at me with sincerity.
"I'll clean up. Why don't you take a break?" Grandma asked with a comforting voice.
I nodded. I placed the dishes in the sink and went to my room. I walked calmly as not to alarm my grandmother, but my calm walking frightened her enough. When I got to the stairs, I ran to my room, shut the door, and jumped on my bed. I cried into my pillow. I cried over my mother's anger. Why does she hate me?
"Am I that much of a disgrace? I know I wasn't born with powers, but I'm still your child!" My voice squeaked with each cry I gave. "I wonder if the Dragon Tamer had to go through this with his mother. I bet she loved him, much more than my mother loves me."
My cries put me to sleep. I slept peacefully until I heard someone call my name. "Destiny. Destiny." I knew the voice all too well. I opened my eyes weakly to see Axel sitting next to me on my bed.
"Hey," I said softly as I sat up.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay. How'd the hunting go?"
"Pretty good. We got a boar."
"Really?"
"Yeah, wanna see?"
"Yeah!"
I got out of bed and followed Axel downstairs to the kitchen. Father put it in a sack and placed it on a separate counter to gut out the animals he and Axel caught while hunting. Axel opened the bag for me, and that's when I saw it. The boar was giant! Its tusks were at least a foot long, which was kinda rare around these parts.
"Destiny!" I flinched at the sound of my mother's voice. I tried not to show it, so Axel wouldn't worry. But Axel already knew. He followed me into the living room, where father and grandmother were as well.
"Destiny," she said with a calm yet cold voice.
"Y-yes, mom?" I answered, trying to sound calm.
"Your father and brother brought that boar home hours ago, such you should've prepared the meat hours ago. Where were you?"
"I was sleeping."
"Sleeping? I thought I told you to do your chores! But instead, you lounge around!"
I held my arm, and with each hurtful word, she made I squeezed it tighter. She kept calling me lazy, ungrateful, and pathetic.
"Honestly, it's bad enough you're a disgrace and an embarrassment, but do you have to be a brat, too?"
"That's enough, mother!" Axel screamed.
I felt his hands on my shoulders as he pulled me close to him. I looked up at him, only to see anger on his face. His eyes showed determination and a willingness to protect.
"How dare you talk back to me, Axel!"
"Destiny has done nothing wrong. She was tired so went to sleep, it's not her fault. Why do you blame her for everything? Do you have that much hate in you?"
"For that disgrace, yes. Yes, I do. And just for this outburst, that child not only going to make dinner. She's not getting any."
Father just kept reading his book in his chair, pretending not to hear the conversation. Truthfully, he saw me as anything less than human. He acted as if I didn't exist, which was worse than how my mom saw me.
"That's enough, mother. Come on, Destiny. I'll help you make dinner," Axel said, giving a cold stare to mother. He kept his hands on my shoulders the whole time and walked me back to the kitchen. Axel kept his promise and helped me get the meat ready for dinner. We barely talked, and when we did, he would tell me that I wasn't a disgrace. That no matter what, in his eye, I would always be his little sister.
Once dinner was ready, everyone came in and started eating except me. Like the mother said, I wasn't allowed to eat dinner.
"My child, why are you standing there by yourself?" Grandmother said curiously.
"She's not allowed to eat dinner, mother," mom said as she ate her food.
"Poppycock! A growing girl needs food and nutrition! Destiny, have a seat next to your old grandma."
"Mother, I said she's not allowed to eat!"
"And just who do you think you're talking to? You may be the girl's mother, but I am her grandmother, which means my orders outweigh yours!"
Everyone looked at grandma, then looked at mom. She was speechless. Mom had no choice but to listen to grandma.
"Come, dear, sit next to grandma," she said in a sweet voice as she motioned me to sit.
I walked over to the chair and sat down. Grandma passed me a plate of food, and I ate it right away. Axel gave me a glass of water, he smiled at me to drink it. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast, so this was a genuine relief. After dinner, my grandmother told me to go to bed, much to my mother's dismay.
I agreed, knowing it was pointless to argue with her. I washed up and went to bed, but not before Axel caught me with a bedtime headlock.