The rain poured heavily from above, battering down against the gathering of mourners. A Sea Elf and his daughter stood at the front of the crowd, staring down at the coffin in the hole in front of them. Usually, the rainfall would feel pleasant against their scales, but in a time of great sadness such as this, it just felt like the sky itself was hopelessly crying along with them. The father clutched his daughter’s hand tightly. A single tear rolled down his cheek, not that any of the gathered could tell among the raindrops. The only one who did notice was his daughter, who looked up at her father sadly…her only parent now…
In an odd way, the little half-elf was glad her father was crying, too. She didn’t want him to pretend for her. She didn’t have her mother anymore, but he also didn’t have his wife anymore. She didn’t want to be sad all on her own. They only had each other now.
~~~
“Gwen, come downstairs! There’s someone I’d like you to meet!”
Guinevere finished tying her hair up and grabbed a belt to put on, tugging her pants on as she hurried towards the stairs and fastened the belt. Gwen jumped up and hugged her father tightly. It had been about seven years since her mother had passed. It was still hard for them both, but they had each other. They were each other's rock. All they had was each other, and that’s all they needed.
“Ah! There she is!” Her father cried happily, hugging her back.
“Who did you want me to meet?”
“Well, I met a nice lady a few weeks ago and…well we’ve really hit it off. I’ve invited her over to meet you.”
“O-oh, right.”
“Of course, if you don’t like her, then I will take this no further. You have just as much of a say in this as I do.”
“Well if she makes you happy, then I like her already!”
“That makes me so happy to hear.”
Then there was a knock at the door. Her father went to answer it as Gwen took a deep breath. A stepmother. It had been seven years but…was she ready? She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by the door being opened.
“So this is the daughter I’ve heard so much about, Thieren.”
A human woman stood in the doorframe. Her father clearly had a type. She looked quite tired, like she hadn’t had a good night’s rest in years. She also looked shifty and on-edge. Like she couldn’t wait to get into the house. Gwen tried to erase the thought from her mind, assuming that she was probably trying to fish for reasons not to like her because it wasn’t her mother. She had to give this woman a chance, at least for her father.
“Hello madam, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh please, no need to be so formal. My name is Rosa”
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Rosa. I’m Guinevere.”
“Oh yes, I know. Your father has told me all about you.”
Gwen’s father ushered Rosa inside, led both of them into the dining room, and then they all sat down to talk. Gwen felt a little awkward. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about this woman, but continued to try and ignore it.
It would all be fine, right?
~~~
“Gwen, dear, could you-”
“I got it!”
“Okay, one…two…three…up!”
Gwen heaved and helped her stepmother lift their dining room table. Her father quickly rolled out a long, beautifully made rug underneath it, then gave the two girls the okay to put the table back down. They both sighed with relief at the soft thud of the table against the ground. Gwen and her stepmother walked over to Thieren, then turned to look at the dining room, which was now fully redecorated.
