**_Loriene_**

“I was just trying to be what you wanted—“

My mother slaps me across my face, sharp, a slice through the air and upon my cheek. The stinging starts after a few seconds, but I can’t seem to move my head, move any part of my body, really.

“How _dare_ you embarrass me! HOW DARE YOU!” My mother grabs my face between her hand, nails pressing against the softer parts of it.

“Mother,” I sob, “I’ll try harder next time—I’ll train my magick harder, I swear!”

“Shut up, child,” she hisses, letting go of me and shoving me against the wall. She snatches my training wand and holds it between the fingers on both of her hands.

My ears widen as I reach for my only treasure, a show of my worth. “MOTHER!”

She snaps my wand in halve.

So precisely.

Without wariness.

I stare as she drops the halves to the ground. The ancient wood crumbling to dust from the loss of its magick.

My mother walks away, leaving me there, her heels clicking with the swish of her skirts. “Women shouldn’t have magick anyway, makes them improper. I’ll talk to your father later; pack up and say your goodbyes to everyone.”

The door shuts, like the sealing of a grave. My cheek finally spreads the pain, bringing me to tears. My wand…my wand.

I’m nothing without my magic—nothing. Just a female to be tossed around and around, by people who thought they were greater, more worthy.

How ironic, the man of my family wanted me to grow, to become powerful in the skill of magick. But my mother never wanted me to, only if it stained her reputation anyway.

How horrible. How cruel.

“What monster gave birth to my mother,” I whisper into the chilling silence, “And am I a monster too?”

***

_(YAYAY! More Living Is A Strange Thing lore for meee! Yes, this is Rayburn’s aunt’s (one of his aunts) “backstory” of sorts. You know her if you read that one thingy, or two, that I featured her in._

_Thanks for reading and have a good day!)_