A Mother Holds Her Daughter's Hand...

"A mother holds her daughter's hand for only a little while, her heart, forever."

Anne-girl of Scribblings has just released her novel, Queen Mother, and she's invited us all to participate in a fun mother tag to celebrate the event!

And no, of course I'm not late in posting this. How could you even insinuate such a thing? *cough*

It took me a while to go through my stories to find a mother to use for this tag. And not because I couldn't pick a favorite, but I discovered that I have an appalling lack of mothers in my stories. Really, peoples! In CoaL, the only living mother I mention is Vystera Gransen who makes an appearance for about two chapters, and the mother of pretty much my every other main character in every story doesn't appear in the story as actually living, either. I am ashamed of my overuse of deceased maternal figures. I will fix that this, folks. I will write a good mother story because I love my own mother to pieces and I can't imagine what my life would be like without her.

However, I am not totally desolate. There are two strong mother figures that I can pinpoint, and both are mothers in stories that I have mentioned little here on Lianne Taimenlore. One is from my story The Masked Pianist, and the other from Kianna. At first, I wasn't sure which one to choose, but the one I knew better won out, so, my dear readers, I present to you:

Athlia Baléine from Kianna

1. What do you think she would think of the statement used as the title for this post (Well, mother... a real mother, is the most wonderful person in the world.)? She would probably agree with it muchly. Except, perhaps, when thinking of her husband. That would be the most wonderful person in the world in her eyes.

2. How many children does she have? What are their names? Ages? Two. Both girls. Kianna Ardyn Feuraire and Evenette. I'm assuming that Evenette has a middle name or two, like Kianna, but I don't know for certain what they are, considering she hasn't gotten in trouble yet and invoked the whole-name-summons from Athlia. Kianna is 18, and Evenette is only 11.

3. Could you say she "plays favorites"with her children? If she only has one what is her favorite thing about her child? No, she doesn't. Her children are both different, and each one has her pros and cons, you might say. Kianna thinks quick on her feet and loves adventures and new things, yet she has a terrible habit of keeping grudges. And do I mean keeping those grudges. Evenette is a bit of a priss; she loves all things elegant and sophisticated, but she doesn't like to get her hands dirty. Literally. She's all girl. Athlia loves that Kianna is very willing to help people, at least, those people she doesn't think poorly of, and she appreciates that Evenette strives to obey in everything, just as any daughter should.

4. Would she adopt a child in need if she could? Probably. She's very tender-hearted, and she couldn't stand to see someone go unloved.

5. What does she consider her greatest accomplishment? Raising both daughters without her husband. Galfort Baléine died soon after Evenette was born, when Kianna was about seven or eight. Neither Athlia nor Kianna ever really got over his passing, but Athlia knows that she cannot dwell on the sorrow of his death and forget about the present. It was with great effort that she moved forward after he was gone. 

6. If she could change one thing about the world what would it be? Hatred. Athlia disapproves that Kianna is too quick to form a hasty opinion and base an utter dislike on things and people, and she wishes that there were no such things as enemies.

7. What was her favorite activity as a child? Huh... I really don't know. I'll have to ask her. (momentary interlude) Sitting with her father and doing things with him: talking, reading, singing, etc. She has a very strong sentimentality for family.

8. Give this mother a theme song { cannot be "your mother and mine"}. I would say "Mother Knows Best" from Tangled, yet Athlia is vastly different than Gothel. Instead of trying to hide her children from the truth, she strives to lead her children in truth, just as the Creator commands. "No Matter What" from Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical would be a close second, because no matter what happens, Athlia will do what it takes to keep her family together and united.

9. If she could go one place where would she go? One place? In her world or our world? She's happy where she is at home in Pennin, so I don't suspect that she'd want to leave it anytime soon. However, if Kianna's wanderlust got to her, she might think about going to see some of the other kingdoms (Pennin is one of the twelve kingdoms mentioned in TK, you know) or stay for an extended visit at a good friend's house. She loves socializing with loved ones. In our world (I originally wrote that as my world because that's how I think of it in terms of earth and Pennin, but it sounded too selfish so I changed it), she'd like to visit places such as New England with its rocky coasts and gorgeous mountains.

10. Is there anything more important to her than being a mother? Uh, nope, not really. I would say being a wife, but in my opinion, she succeeded in being the best wife while her husband was still alive.

God bless!