Underneath Our Stories

“You see, when two protagonists love each other very much—”

“Ugh! Mum! I don’t want to hear about that!” Cassidy interrupted, waving her mother away. 

“But it is of the utmost importance!” responded Lady Eliza Harrington, the most popular heroine of the historical fiction genre, and mother of Cassidy Jones. “Usually, the child of two protagonists can never reach the same level of success as their parents. However, your father and I believe you have the potential to excel if you only apply yourself in your studies.”

“Mum’s right, sweet pea,” chimed in Alex Jones, Cassidy’s father and well–known protagonist in his own right. 

“What if I don’t want to be a protagonist?” Cassidy shot back. 

She was met with silence. 

Lady Eliza was quite perplexed. “Well, what else is there for you to be?”

“I could be a deuteragonist, or a–”

“A deuteragonist?” Lady Eliza gasped. “Alex, has our daughter lost her mind?”

“Look, as long as she’s not an antagonist, I don’t mind,” said Alex, trying to remain neutral.

“I don’t think I wanna go down that path yet, but maybe I should pick a genre before I pick a role?” Cassidy sighed, knowing that nothing short of protagonist would satisfy her mother. “I’ve been liking my sci–fi classes the most, but I’m still keen on horror.”

Lady Eliza shot her husband a pained look, but he was of no help. “Have you any idea of the kinds of tortures horror protagonists must go through? Have you considered that horror deuteragonists have one of the highest rates of mortality out of all known fields? I believe they come second only to mothers of world–wearied heroines?”

Cassidy had learned to tune her mother out whenever she began to blow things out of proportion. But something in this ongoing rant caught her attention.

“— before I found historical fiction!”

Lady Eliza rarely spoke of her early career, and as a kid, whenever Cassidy had tried to enquire about it, she always found a way to change the subject. 

“What did you say?” Cassidy asked, wishing she had been listening, just this once. 

“It does not matter. Clearly my words mean nothing to you.”

“Mum! That’s not fair, please, I’m listening now.”

With a dramatic sigh, Lady Eliza repeated herself. 

“Before I found my place in historical fiction, I used to be…” she hesitated, glancing at her husband who didn’t seem too bothered by the admission she was about to make to their daughter. “… a side character in the erotica genre.”

The lady’s face scrunched up in shame. Cassidy’s jaw all but fell off her face. Her mother — this prim and proper woman from 1861 — used to be an erotica character?

Cassidy didn’t even know what exactly being a ‘side character’ in the erotica genre meant, but she surmised she would not get any more details from her mother. 

“So yes, Cassidy. Now you are aware of my past, and now you know why I do not want you to end up in places that are not good for you.”

“Mum,” Cassidy began. She didn’t really know what to say, but she had to say something. “You– there– there’s nothing wrong with what you did. Work is work.”

“I know, but– that industry– We had our occasional guest stars from horror, and… well…” she dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief she always kept in the folds of her dress. “I vowed I would never let any child of mine end up in such a vulnerable position. Being a protagonist comes with power, and that is something that can protect you.”

Cassidy sighed, wrapping her mum in a hug. A moment later, the strong arms of her father enveloped them both. 

“I’m proud of both of my girls,” he smiled. “Cass, if you don’t want to be a protagonist right now, that’s okay. You have plenty of time to figure it out, and we’ll be here for you no matter what.”

Lady Eliza sighed. 

“And you, my love,” Alex turned to his wife, kissing her forehead and cupping her cheek. “You’re the strongest, most amazing woman in my life. Even though it’s hard to think of our daughter struggling like we did, we have to accept that we can’t make all her choices for her. All we can do is love and support each other as best as we can.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes but grinned. “Spoken like a true protagonist.”