Maddalena nodded, perking up at the better understanding and thinking how useful this human’s experience would have been before she got banished. But of course, they wouldn't have met if it had happened that way.
But before she could share her thoughts, the young girl entered the room and Maddalena was left watching another conversation between the two. Though it was quite humorous to hear the girl assume that she was her father's new girlfriend. It did raise the question of what happened between Anna and her former husband.
“Your daughter has a sense of humor.” she chuckled once they were alone again.
Anna arched an eyebrow as she put the glasses down on the island. "She likes to think she does," the woman muttered quietly, pouring a healthy amount of wine into each glass before sliding one over to Maddalena.
Really, Anna was embarrassed that Daisy had brought up Harry coming over and thought Maddalena to be his new girlfriend. And she was even more embarrassed by the fact that Daisy knew she got the wine out whenever Harry was due for a visit. She hadn't thought she was that predictable. But obviously, she was.
Still, she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. "So… I'm not sure how to start a conversation like this," she murmured over the rim of her glass.
“Neither am I,” Maddalena sighed as she accepted the wine. “Normally when I visit I use a disguise, a pseudonym, and I don't often have to explain my background… But normally I don't arrive in a crater, barely conscious, or bleeding.” she admits, taking a sip.
“Perhaps a good place to start would be to ask if you are familiar with mythologies.” she suggested, actually curious even though she found using that word felt mildly insulting.
Anna was glad Maddalena let the topics from Daisy's conversation drop, though she was positive they would be brought back up later. Harry was always an… interesting subject for discussion, and she had a feeling that when Maddalena was done sharing her past, Anna would feel compelled to share a bit of her own. Especially since the woman was so nervous to do so.
Anna lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip as she thought over Maddalena's question. She swallowed the liquid and spoke. "A bit," she answered. "But likely not as much as I should?" She arched her eyebrows, trying to anticipate the direction that the conversation was going in.
Maddalena smirked at the question and nodded. “It's likely. Very few mortals know the whole story to those so-called myths.” she scoffed slightly before taking another sip. “But as long as you have some understanding of them; such as Greek, Roman, Norse… I believe those are some of the most well-known, then I should be able to explain myself more clearly.” she said almost expectantly.
Anna sipped again from her wine and pursed her lips at Maddalena's terminology. Mortals? Well, she wasn't wrong. Anna was a mortal… but she'd never been addressed as one before. "Yes, I do," she said, nodding at the mythologies mentioned. "I'm most familiar with the Greek gods and pantheon." Anna was eager to hear Maddalena's explination.
Maddalena nodded and gave a soft sigh. She took a larger sip of her wine. “Well… Just before I arrived here, I was part of a Pantheon. Not an important member, per se, but I wasn't some minor figure either. Just not a very popular one either.” she tried to explain.
Anna listened to Maddalena's words and frowned as she tried to comprehend them. Her grip tightened on her wine glass, and her eyes widened. "You are… a god? Or you were a god? I… I'm not sure I understand. Why are you here?"
“Yes.” Maddalena nodded, answering the first two questions. “Goddess of thievery and mischief.”
“As to why I am here,” she sighed. “One of my… talents, you could say, is causing some degree of trouble. I’m quite a prankster at times. However, this time, even I admit that my mischief got out of hand but I say it wasn't as serious as they all make it out to be.” she explained defensively. “It was their decision to take my powers, my title… my immorality and send me here to earn it back.”
Anna’s jaw dropped open. Maddalena was a god? And the goddess of thievery and mischief, no less. As if Anna needed any more chaos in her life. But despite Maddalena’s explanation, the mortal woman still had questions.
“What exactly did you do?” she asked, the glass in her forgotten for the time being. “And who is they? You’re no longer immortal? How are you supposed to earn back everything that was stripped from you?”
Maddalena was not surprised by the other woman’s reaction. Though she had to admit that she was taking the information better than she had been expecting.
She shrugged at the questions, having expected this at least. “It was just a little mischief. Nothing more than I normally do… However, there was more damage than I anticipated.” she answered since she did not want to go into the details of her accident. “They are the rest of the Pantheon, more specifically the ones who make decisions that affect everyone. And when they decided to punish me they stripped everything from me… Well, most everything.” she admitted, holding her hand out, palm facing up, and summoned a ball of fire the size of what Anna would recognize as a baseball. “Pathetic, isn't it?” she scoffed at the sight before extinguishing the flame. “As to your last question, they didn't say. Just that I am to be mortal until I am able to reclaim my title.”
Anna frowned. If by now Maddalena hadn't explained the details of her mischievous plot that had gotten her kicked out, she clearly had no intention of telling Anna. But that didn't mean she still didn't want to know. Graciously, she let that subject drop.
Her eyes widened, and she took a step back from the fireball hovering above Maddalena's palm. "Pathetic?!" she asked incredulously. "Are you serious?" She blinked several times, shocked by the image. Though she was surprised to hear that there had been no explanation of how Maddalena was to return to the Pantheon she was a part of. Usually, in the stories Anna had read, there was a quest for this kind of thing. But Maddalena had no such luck.
"So… what exactly do you intend to do?" she asked, her hand trembling as she raised her wine glass to her lips again.
“Yes, pathetic.” Maddalena nodded, narrowing her eyes. “Normally that sort of thing would be nothing more than a parlor trick. I’m supposed to be able to do so much more.” she explained, trying to keep her voice from quivering. “If I wanted, I could easily incinerate more than this entire street without even using fire.”
The former goddess sighed and leaned back in her seat, mindlessly swirling her glass of wine. “I… I don't know yet. I need some time to come up with a plan. But I have every intention of reclaiming my rightful title and power.”
Anna's eyes widened, and she nearly choked on her sip of wine. The glass was set down as she reached to brace herself on the island. "Oh, my God," she breathed quietly. So this woman had been very powerful. More powerful than Anna could fathom. She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, my God," she said again while her mind tried to process the information.
She looked up at Maddalena and found it in herself to arch an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the attitude your Pantheon wants you to have?" she asked cautiously. "Maybe that's part of the reason you're here as well. In my opinion, this also isn't the kind of situation you make a plan for. You have no instructions, correct? Other than you will be a mortal until such a time as you can reclaim your title. Maybe you're supposed to embrace being mortal. It might give you more of a respect for your abilities when you get them back."
“Yes. Exactly.” Maddalena nodded, once Anna had stopped choking. “Mischief and thievery may be my specialty but I am not limited to just such things.” she pointed out.
“What do you mean?” she asked, arching a brow of her own. “The Pantheon hardly ever cares about me and the feeling is mutual. Why would they care about what attitude I have?” she scoffed. “Besides, I’ve disguised myself as a mortal many times. I know what it's like; how to survive, how to disappear, and how to avoid trouble. It's not my powers that they fear. It's my skills at mischief.”
Anna was about to reply when she heard a quiet cough come from the other side of the kitchen wall. Her eyes widened, and she stalked over to the wall in time to see Daisy's retreating back hurrying up the stairs.
"Daisy May Clayton!" Anna called, freezing her daughter in her steps. "Come back down here this instant."
Irritation flitted across the girl's face before she turned and begrudgingly made her way back down the stairs until she was on the last step and at eye-level with her mother.
"What do you think you were doing?" Anna demanded, trying to keep her anger as contained as possible. "Eavesdropping on a very private conversation… I'm very upset with you, young lady."
Daisy glanced into the kitchen and arched her eyebrows at Maddalena. "Can I see your magic?" she asked, which only made Anna more upset.
"Daisy, you shouldn't be mixing in with all of this," Anna began.
"Mom," Daisy countered firmly. "Stop trying to keep me from things. I'm tired of being sheltered all the time." With that, the teenager brushed past her mother and stepped into the kitchen. "Can I see?" she asked again.
Anna stood behind her, her face a mixture of pain and concern.
Maddalena couldn't help but smirk as she followed Anna to the doorway and leaned against the frame. She wasn't surprised that the child had been listening, perhaps even before she came down to get her drink. Though she had to agree somewhat that the girl didn't need to have the world hidden from her. She had seen the lengths mortal parents went through to protect their children and even respected it but there was always a time when children stopped being children and needed to face the reality of how the world was.
“And what would you like to see?” she asked with her usual mischievous smirk as she held out her empty hand. “A light show?” she asked as small bolts of lightning danced between her fingers. “A sudden snow?” she asked, snapping her fingers creating a flurry of snowflakes to dance around the room. “Perhaps a disappearing act.” she suggested as the snow stopped before it could leave too much water behind and former goddess was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
Daisy's eyes widened at the spectacular demonstration of Maddalena's abilities. "Woah," she breathed as the snowflakes settled in her dark hair. Then she whirled around with a grin, trying to find out where Maddalena had gone.
Anna watched the performance and winced. Great. She can turn invisible too. She reached for Daisy and held her daughter protectively.
"Mom!" Daisy moaned, rolling her eyes. "Would you relax?"
“Over here, dearie.” Maddalena cooed, now standing harmlessly near the sink. “Unfortunately, my powers are limited for the time being. As I’m sure you heard.” she added with a knowing smirk as she took another sip of her wine.
Though she nearly rolled her eyes at Anna’s defensive action. “Your daughter has a point. I may be many things but I am not one who would bring harm to someone who has been so generous to me.” she assured. Yes, she was mischievous, unpredictable, even dangerous but she was not cruel. Especially when she had no reason to be.
Daisy grinned seeing Maddalena reemerge. She broke free of her mother's grip and approached the goddess. "I did," she agreed excitedly. "Is that all you can do?"
Anna straightened at Maddalena's words. "The same cannot be said for people I've previously allowed in my flat and close to my daughter. So forgive me for being protective of her," she stated shortly.
Daisy whirled around and widened her eyes. "Mom," she hissed. "He's gone. Dad promised us that he was dead, remember?"
Anna's fingers curled into fists, and she shook her head. "I don't care. I won't let what happened before happen again."
Maddalena chuckled at the girl’s interest and shook her head. “No. I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve. But, for your mother’s sake, perhaps we should save them for another time.” she winked, not wanting to admit that her little display had left her with a slight headache.
Her brown eyes widened at the bite in Anna’s voice. But as she listened to the mother and daughter talk, she grew curious and nodded in understanding. “No. The same can not be said for others.” she agreed. “And I can not blame you for your reaction. But I can assure you that I mean you and your daughter no harm.” she said more sincerely than earlier.
Daisy's eyes widened with expectation. Then she let out a reluctant sigh. "I guess you're right," she agreed, looking back at her mother. Slowly, she approached Anna and gave her a hug. Anna's expression softened immediately, and she wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter.
"You know I only want to keep you safe," she murmured quietly.
"I know," Daisy replied, relaxing a bit in the embrace. "But not everyone is going to be like Nikhail was." Anna cringed and stiffened just at the sound of his name, but Daisy continued. "And why did you even bring her back here if you were just going to kick her out later?"
Anna's mouth opened, but she didn't say anything. Finally, she drew back and studied her daughter's face. "When did you get to be so wise?" she asked with a wry smile.
Daisy grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. It just happened, I suppose."
Anna shook her head. "Go use your newfound wisdom to finish your homework, then." A groan escaped Daisy, but she listened to her mother's words and went upstairs – the whole way this time. Then Anna headed back into the kitchen and picked up her own wine glass again. She finished the contents and moved to refill it. "I'm sorry," she murmured quietly. "I shouldn't have been so harsh on you. Daisy and I… have been through a lot in the past three months. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Maddalena watched the interaction quietly, knowing this was a private matter and not the time to interrupt. Though she had to admit it was a touching scene, even if it was only one she could see in the mortal realm.
“You do not have to apologize.” she shook her head. “You have been betrayed by someone. It only makes sense that you would be cautious around others. Though I have to admit my curiosity as to what happened and who that Nikhail was.”
(Okay, so this is going to be mad spoilers for the "Plot Twist" rp lmao)
Anna closed her eyes and let out a shaky sigh. "Fair enough," she replied, steeling herself to tell the story.
"As I told you earlier, I'm a criminal barrister," Anna began steadily. "Nikhail Julian is– was the governor of White Cross Prison. My last assigned case led me to interact with him directly on multiple occasions, especially when my client committed suicide in his custody. I'm very passionate about the rights of prison inmates and such topics. Nikhail and I had a conversation in which I agreed to be a mentor in the prison's outreach program.
"The more time I spent with him, the more comfortable I felt around him, as one is." Anna exhaled slowly and sipped her wine. "We began to… sort of… see each other. He would come over, and we would have some drinks… and there was one night… I stayed with him in a hotel room." Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. "Don't tell Daisy," she muttered under her breath before continuing.
"There was corruption in White Cross, but at the time, I didn't realize that it was all because of Nikhail. He was pulling all the strings under a false name. He created a trap for my former husband, Harry, and kidnapped Daisy and me to be used as bait." She cringed at the word. "I'd never had a gun held to my head before. I couldn't even count how many times it happened that day. And Daisy almost drowned. We almost lost her…"
Anna drained the rest of her wine fluidly and set her glass down as she swallowed. "That's the shortened version, but… you understand why I have to be protective of her."
(🫢🫣😮 That's a lot to process… how much of that will I need to know for the “Plot twist” rp?)
Maddalena listened to the story both impressed and shocked by what this woman went through. Some of the words were new to her, such as “gun”, but she was able to infer the meaning.
“I understand.” she nodded. “After such a betrayal, of course, you would be cautious of others to defend the one you care about most. I will not tell Daisy that part.” she assured. “And I swear, I will not bring any harm to you or your daughter.”
