Fragile 4

"It appears she had quite the shock." Janel tsked, frustrated. Leilanna had such a sharp tongue. It was not a problem that Nora was different. The way she acted was not problematic, she was direct, helpful and refreshing to be around. She treated her spouses as equals. Janel furrowed his brow as he treated Nora. She had been doing so well with her anxiety. She was healthy. Janel's eyes narrowed. 

"It is not like she has not gone through enough. Can you imagine confronting a woman after she has had a medical appointment and has received concerning news and stressing her out on purpose?" Cerez said. 

"Wow, that is so awful. She is still the same old Leilanna, it is unsurprising that she did not better herself or improved herself with age." Janel insulted Leilanna in front of Liem without care. Leilanna was mean-spirited, sexist and spoiled. She really changed for the worse when Allurai stopped punishing her after her depressive illness. She started being malicious to her brothers when Allurai did not see her. He noticed the difference between their behavior when he counseled them as children. Liem changed from a friendly and well-mannered boy to a quiet and withdrawn husk when he was around her. 

"How is she?" Liem said with a sad and guilty look on his face. He had made a grave error today. He was truly no better than his own sister at the moment. He was only trying not to delay the inevitable. She had not had any anxiety attacks recently. The problem was she was prone to them, and he knew that. Liem hung his head.

"She should be alright. Just try to keep her stress levels low. Lighten her work load. I will have to speak to Matriarch Allari about this incident since Nora is still her ward and she had harm come to her. Leilanna was the aggressive party and was a named part of the Allari Clan. I think I can justify intervening," Janel said. He knew it might bring Allurai stress, but it was time again to bring it up now that she had done this. Janel felt offended on behalf of Nora. He assessed her health quickly. She was still healthy. It was nothing but a panic attack this time. Her spouses were there to catch her this time. Janel would need to work with her on coping with panic attacks. Janel withdrew a small balm from his case. He unscrewed the cap and waved the camphor scented contents under her nostrils.

"Haaah, Haaah." Nora gasped and panted. She regained consciousness and composure and found herself surrounded, lying on the atrium seating. Her eyes darted around in panic, remembering the confrontation from before. Her eyes welled with tears. Janel felt his heartbreak.

 "Nora? Do you know where you are?" Janel said. 

"Yes, home. Janel, you are here?" Nora said, her weak voice full of confusion. How did he get here so quickly? 

"I will always come running for you, Nora." Janel said as he wiped away a tear. Janel laughed nervously. "You scared me Nor." Janel said. 

"I have already bothered you. I am sorry I was just troubled by a situation earlier and got emotional. I feel alright. I promise to rest for the rest of the day. I am sorry to have caused a commotion." Nora apologized profusely, as usual. Kadir and Cerez observed their deep friendship, their doubts about the future slipping away.

 "That is good to hear. Do not let the things people say bother you. I am here. Your spouses are here, Allurai is here, and we all love you dearly. So do not worry about anything. You are our treasure, alright Nora?" Janel patted her head affectionately like a loving father. It was both a surprise and a relief for them both to see someone else who had formed a caring bond for her outside their relationship, since she had no other family. You did not see those from the lower classes often opening up that much to a Matriarch or even an Alphem.

"I will tell Allurai that we will just be sending out for dinner tonight and staying in," Liem said as he turned to Kadir. "Janel, would you like to stay for the meal? I know it has been a long time since we have celebrated together?" Liem asked.

 "I would love to, but I have some work to do, unfortunately. Another time, for sure." Janel answered, looking at Nora with concern. Liem, Cerez and Kadir were all worriedly looking down at Nora. 

"How about taking her to bed to lay down while I prepare some Liotte and a snack for now?". Cerez said, walked out of the main room briskly, fuming into the kitchen. He wanted to knock his friend out, but it would just worsen the situation and upset Nora further. He checked the kitchen medical kit before turning on the equipment and starting to mill around the kitchen. Cerez waited for Liem to finish talking with Janel. He knew with time he would feel less angry. At least when this shock passed, she would not have to live in fear of them anymore. It broke his heart when he learned how truly alone she really was. He tossed a rag in frustration and started to angrily chop vegetables. Liem walked into the room and started to work alongside him. 

"The only reason why I have not hit you is that it will upset her," Cerez said, breaking the silence. 

"It was a terrible way to encourage her. I feel so guilty," Liem said as he sniffled. "I am sorry. I know that it was something that we decided to wait to ask her about. We agreed upon it, I just thought she could handle it. She is stronger than you think," Liem said as he apologized. 

"It is not strength, it is resilience. Do you understand the difference between having no choice but to survive something, versus taking on a challenge? She is very fragile. She just started to feel confident." Cerez said, frustrated. He pulled out the meat from cold storage and started venting his rage while tenderizing it.

"Cerez, it is both. She is not as weak as you think she is." Liem said, defensively.

 "Now she is all of that, pregnant and scared. That sick woman takes pleasure in cutting people down, in belittling everything about them. If you do not file a formal complaint about Leilanna, then I will." Cerez said as seasoned and then hammered the meat again. Liem flinched, Cerez was intimidating when he was angry. He watched as the meat flattened with every pound. He had taken a few of his punches before, Cerez had been holding back his strength when they had fought in the pit.

"I will be. If we could leave now, I would", Liem said solemnly. 

"Leaving has always been our answer to everything. It is time to face this. Leilanna is a grown woman now. It is time for your mother to realize it and time for her to face some actual consequences for her behavior. She was more at fault than you are," Cerez bitterly said. He leaned his hands on the counter. "Well Liem, are you going to be that obedient and quiet son? Or are you going to take a stand, use the freedom and power that you have now?" Cerez looked at his friend. "I am done with the insults. You claim that you want to change the world. Be brave, Liem." Cerez smacked the counter in front of Liem to emphasis his point. 

"Fine. We will definitely need to spar tonight. Tell Kadir." Liem said in a low tone. Liem drew in a deep breath, locking eyes with Cerez. Liem felt his eye twitching from the stress. He was right. He was part of the cause of her fainting.

'How could I change the world or protect his family if I cannot even stand up to my own sister or mother for her. Any other spouse would protest such treatment of their Matriarch. Why have I not?' Liem thought as he stormed out of the kitchen and quickly made his way out of their home to the main lobby. He was on edge from guilt and rage. His parents did not know about his temper. 

"Liem? What is wrong?" Dareem said as he saw Liem making his way towards the office. Liem remained quick and balled his fists and licked his lips and quickened his pace. "Liem?" Dareem shouted. The momentum and rage from all the past incidents emboldened him. It was not long before he was at his mothers office door. She was not ready for him. 

***

"Can I ask you some questions?" Nora said as Kadir laid her on the comfortable seat in the main room. "How long have you known?" Nora finished. 

"Liem told us not long after our ceremonial rights. We knew you were different coming into the partnership. After I knew it, it did not make me feel any different about you. You have a great heart, Nora. It does not matter where you come from. Cerez and Liem very much feel the same." Kadir softly spoke to Nora. He rubbed the small of her back with his large hand. He felt her stiffen from surprise. 

'What do they mean by knowing I am different? Should I clarify this or wait?' Nora thought.

"We finally found the person of our dreams. You are more special than being just a mother, or leader of a future clan. You are much more than that; you are a partner that we can share our dreams with honestly, that treats us equally" Cerez added as he brought in a pitcher of Liotte and glasses. He set the tray down on the table. 

"Here, have something to drink." Cerez poured her a glass of Liotte. She could see that Cerez's eyes were red from crying. "I was really worried about you. You scared me." Cerez said. Liem came into the room with a platter of food for their meal. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he seemed more collected. He seemed energetic. Cerez surmised that the talk went well. Allurai Allari was a smart woman and must have expected some sort of backlash from what she witnessed Leilanna do in the main hall earlier. However, the events afterward would greatly impact her. Vida should be reaching out to her shortly. Kadir had not yet returned, so he must be formally complaining as well on behalf of Clan Quill like he did earlier.