Quills: the Rise of the Northern Matriarch-Chapter 57: Change

Allurai had ordered Leilanna to pay financial restitution after she heard about the various incidents in their home and her behavior towards Clan Quill. When Janel had come to her about Leilanna's behavior and Nora's collapse, Allurai was furious. Janel had recommended she undergo regular psychological counseling for what he said were several mental health disorders and a personality disorder. Janel explained her past abuse of her brothers and other males stemmed from an inferiority complex and that she admitted to having learning difficulties. Her spousal unit began to go through counseling as well.

Allurai blamed herself and briefly relapsed, dwelling on all the times her sons avoided coming home. How they would have a hard time looking her in the eye and would often leave the room quickly after their sister joined the room. It wasn't just Liem, they all shared a terrible, ubiquitous experience. Allurai herself suffered from depression, and she imagined that it had an impact on her children as they grew, but they also would be predisposed to it. They had all been dealing with her neglect, abuse from their own sister and the same gloom that seemed to strip her of her own ambitions. How strong must they truly be? She did not know how she would make up for not being there. Allurai began to spend more time with her other children, leaving Leilanna to her own self-discovery. Hopefully, it will not be too late for either of them. None of her duties felt like they had as heavy weight as Motherhood. She felt upset. At first, the reports of her being rude and unsightly to Janel were reported.

She had to petition to have Leilanna's Matriarch tools disabled to a juvenile tool set as she dared to physically punish a doctor who had done nothing wrong. Allari compensated Janel for his experience and discretion. There was nothing worse than seeing a trusted employee let down. Leilanna was placed under house arrest by her afterward. Her spouses lived separately from her due to her emotional issues. Daven lived with them. Her attitude changed quickly, and she seemed remorseful. But that was after everything had been taken away from her. Time would tell whether Leilanna would truly change her behavior.

Meanwhile, the relationship between her and the rest of her family, including her spouses, had flourished. The family dinners had never been so lively. Her nearly grown sons returned to visit. They worked in the same area as Liem when work started on the nursery, allowing her to see a brand-new side of him. If he had been born female, Allurai was certain that she would have been able to retire from working the business side of her job. One could simply not take over their mother's political career. Especially a son.

It was regretful, since the quick development of his son's ventures was astounding. He had some connections with Sedai and Halid, which made things easier. Clan Quill had started to thrive with more unique Northern products being introduced. They had an infant line in which they had already created different styles of close contact carriers. She had also designed 'bibs' to keep their clothing clean and 'soothers'. She designed gender-neutral baby clothing that had easy access for changing diapers, among other innovations to existing products to make their ease of use improved and allow more infant-parent bonding. Nora had successfully imparted the steps of refining Cane syrup into a product she called 'granulated sugar' which was lighter and easier to transport than drums of Cane syrup. Further refinement was being tested in their food laboratories set up by Cerez as there were other varieties that could be made with Cane. Brown and Turbinado sugars had different flavor profiles. Caster and icing sugar had further processing.

Ordering new ingredients for her to identify and process had become fascinating to them. She approached each new food that they introduced her to excitedly and thought of the ways it could be used. Asked about its discovery, what climate it grew in. Cerez felt like he was in his element with her. He was excited about building their food empire together. There was not a famine to solve, but Nora had started to see that agriculture in the Northern Hemisphere had been abandoned. Plant species that had been created by their ancestors were not present here. Nora was communicating with the agricultural team on the process of cross-breeding one of the plants that she found exciting in the database that was not taken advantage of yet by these people.

Brassica oleracea is a plant species with various desirable cultivars, such as different types of cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brusselsprouts, and kohlrabi. The individual planned to accelerate the traditional breeding process that had taken humans thousands of years to develop these vegetables. She unexpectedly found herself craving the greens she was accustomed to and desired to introduce more broccoli varieties. Despite the fear of becoming unpopular with children worldwide, she was determined to make broccoli more widely available. These vegetables were able to be cultivated in colder climates, which made them ideal for the swaths of abandoned northern arable land. Nora was startled by sudden fetal movements. Perhaps her children were already taking their revenge.

"Whoa. Holy crap. They are moving so much, come quickly and feel it." Nora exclaimed, as multiple palms covered her stomach.

"That is amazing. I wonder if they just became aware of each other," Kadir said thoughtfully. As he did, the girls seemed to have heard his booming voice and started stirring more.

"They are eager like their mother." Liem laughed. Allurai smiled over making an effort.

"My granddaughters are going to be great athletes like their fathers." She got up to her feet, her large stomach not a hindrance to her. Allurai placed a hand on her stomach, feeling the activity and smiled. Her grandchild was in there. Another female to bring prestige to her line. Her luck was unheard of, next to Nora's.

"She is lazy in comparison to you two. I hope that does not mean she will be a slacker." Allurai laughed. Her daughter seemed to be quite calm in comparison and stretched instead of kicking her. "Liem and Leilanna were very active, maybe it was because I was younger like you are now," Allurai said.

"Daven did not move as much either," Leilanna shyly added. Liem had him nestled in his arms. "This one is a handful, I wish he would nap. He just keeps looking around and trying to move his head to see who is talking." Liem said as he stroked his little head.

"Come on now. Your father will be back soon." Liem bobbed up and down, rocking his nephew.

"Here, give him to me, I know just the trick." Leilanna said. She stood and shuffled him into her arms. She laid him in his carrier and started lightly brushing Daven with her silky veil. His eyes started drooping immediately.

"Great. We will all just have to wear Nora's veils when ours do not want to sleep." Liem said with a chuckle. He was testing her quite methodically. Leilanna had not overreacted to the joke or acted like he had insulted her.

He knew that she was trying. Allurai had pleaded with him to try to be open-minded about recalcitrant Leilanna. Allurai had so pitifully weeped to her son about her daughter and his sister, saying that she deserved a chance to make amends and correct her behavior. Liem was pretty much forced to accept and try. Cerez and Kadir did not have it in them to interact with her, and she knew it. It was mostly quiet, she hung her head in shame anytime they looked at her. She had asked to apologize to them in front of Janel, but no one was ready to hear her. Leilanna would have to live with the consequences and show genuine improvement and remorse before anyone would hear her out. She had a history of being manipulative, she had used tools on Janel weeks ago. She was working on getting to live with her son again as a privilege. She had visits with him now.

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Allurai looked on with pride at the progress that her son and daughter were making. Years of resentment would take years to resolve. It was not just Liem that was affected, it was her other sons as well. She would have to show significant change for some of them to return home more frequently. She began to see traces of her son that she feared being lost by the neglect he felt. Liem was still quiet and very cautious around them. He had dropped his guard. She was elated when she heard him laugh just now. He agreed to work on their relationships as a family. He begged her to listen to Father and talk to her sons. She was getting back the closeness she used to feel and felt a comfort that she forgot existed. The world inside their home became more important to her than the outside complaints and negotiations of the outside world. The birth of her newest child would be happening soon. Her back throbbed. She was unsure whether it was time. She had never carried a female this long. She was hesitant to break the atmosphere and prepared to leave the room. She stood up and yelped in both surprise and pain.