Midonia jeered them both as she wrapped her arms in her sleeves and vacated the room. “You two are just awful to me. And stop referring to your grandmother as a dragon!”
Betrayal – Chapter 33

Midonia was neither light nor glib. Her viperous Saxon mother had infected her with social poison, a flair for impulsive conflict. Midonia argued with everyone about everything…. She despised authority, especially the authority of men. She had no love for the Church and never intended to wed… And then Francis Whitehall came along.
Francis was of the notion that the best women were those who covered themselves beneath the darkest shrouds. These ogresses, beautiful or not, were actually safeguarding immense stores of virtue… The sweetest prizes are defended by the staunchest resolve. Midonia was as staunch as they came. a dragon shielding a trove of gems and crystals.
Betrayal – Chapter 16

Francis spent eighteen days wooing Midonia, breaking down her defenses and winning her over. They were wed soon after and their daughter Anne was born nine months later.

Having a child, however, did not make Midonia any less hostile. And when Francis’ Lord, Geoffrey Clayton Wolfe, fell on hard times and the Whitehall family was forced to take to the road and travel Europe, living in tents, attending tournaments to survive, Midonia only got worse.

“Why must you always be so irrational, Francis? Why can’t you change? I hate you this way…Recant that oath you made to Lord Geoff… We must have a castle appointment… We can’t keep living like this… You owe him nothing. We have a family to think about and family must come first. There is no heaven. There are no angels watching over you… It’s an illusion. A lie… Open your eyes. People break promises all the time and they aren’t evil. They are just trying to survive…”
Betrayal – Chapter 16

Midonia was viperous and tried to make Francis’ life a living hell and in the process estranged herself from her daughter.

Anne began to toss and flounder in her crib. Her wee voice grew into a cry, a plea for nourishment… Midonia resisted the calling of the child… She scoffed at the babe in the makeshift cradle… “Why now? I am not in the mood for this shit. You’ll just have to wait. I’m tired.” Midonia walked off into another room alone, sulking.
Anne Whitehall continued to whine and cry, her tummy turning, her spirit learning a bit more every day that her relationship with her mother would always be contentious, filled with petty jealousy and tension. This went on for years. Midonia offered her child next to nothing in the way of comfort and love, so Anne turned to her father.
Betrayal – Chapter 18

Allen M Werner is the author of the epic fantasy series The Crystal Crux