(Um… like all of it 😂 There are more specific details I left out, but Larson will know either none of it or be tuned in to very little until everything happens. That sounds weird… like, he might be able to catch red flags that appear in Anna's relationship with Nikhail (mainly how relatively fast they move) and things like that.)
"Yes," Anna agreed softly. "Daisy is the one I care about most in the entire world. I only want her to be kept safe, though I worry she doesn't always appreciate my attempts at doing so."
Though she laughed under her breath, refilling her glass yet again, as Maddalena promised to keep secret the hotel room Nikhail and Anna had shared. She normally didn't drink this much, but this day was certainly calling for it. "Thank you. I don't need her knowing that I slept with him." She cringed at the words almost immediately and shuddered. "I can't believe I did that," she muttered shaking her head. "He… He…"
Anna inhaled sharply and leaned on the counter. "Oh my God," she mumbled. "I'm sorry… I don't like talking about this. I haven't told anyone as much as I've told you now."
(Ok. Most likely the second one then. Lars is usually pretty observant and add a touch of jealousy 😉… 😮 He could even come over to her house that night to talk to her about (idk what yet) and finds only Daisy home alone!)
Maddalena shrugged. “She’s a young woman. She wants to experience the world. Unfortunately, there are some things that you will not be able to protect her from, despite your best efforts.” she said plainly. She had seen it happen dozens of times, though she had chosen not to be a mother herself. She’d had her own affairs but never went through the trouble of getting married. Part of her affinity meant freedom to her, though many just saw the danger of her preferred lifestyle when she visited.
“She will not learn of it from me.” she nodded. Though she almost wondered if telling Daisy might explain why her mother was as protective as she was. Clearly, the betrayal ran deeper for her than just the fact that he kidnapped and threatened her daughter. But the former goddess would honor Anna‘s decision to stay silent for now.
“You don't need to explain more. I understand that speaking about a problem can cause some relief. Though you do not need to apologize either. He tricked you.” she pointed out, having seen many males in the Pantheon do similar to mortal women. “The fault is not yours. Just his. And you are certain that he is dead?” she asked, raising a brow.
(Ooooh, yes, yes, and YESSSS!!!)
Anna flinched at Maddalena's words. "Yes, I know," she murmured quietly. "That's what I'm most worried about. But I feel responsible for all that happened with Nikhail. I let him into my life – into Daisy's life – and he…" She took another deep breath. "I still have nightmares. It's petrifying. For the longest time, I didn't feel safe. Between you and me, I still don't. But I need to appear as if I do for Daisy's sake."
The woman stared at the red liquid in her glass before taking a long sip. "I should hope she doesn't learn of it from anyone," she muttered. "I'm humiliated just thinking of it."
Her entire demeanor relaxed and her expression softened at the words Maddalena spoke. "Yes," she agreed quietly. "He certainly made me out to be a fool. And to think I found myself in love with him at a time."
But then her eyes widened, and she tensed visibly. "I-I should hope so," she answered, taking a steadying breath. "I don't know if Daisy and I could remain in London if he's still alive."
(😊)
Maddalena nodded once, acknowledging the woman’s worries. Though she sighed at the added confession. “If I had my full power, I would grant you protection that would prevent such a thing from happening again.” she said, comfortingly. Though, at the moment, she wasn't sure what form that protection would take or how it would work out.
“Perhaps… with your permission, I could stay awhile and help you and your daughter. At least until I can figure out what they want me to do.” she suggested thoughtfully. Her skills as a thief also meant she was good at protecting things, and people, as the thieves she remembered were the ones who only stole enough to survive. Though the authorities at the time often lumped those people with common criminals. However, she did have a certain admiration for “professionals” or even those who had the right skills whether or not they were thieves.
Anna looked taken aback. "You can do that?" she asked incredulously. "Such a thing is possible?" Though part of her was angered by the offer. Why couldn't protection have been granted in the first place? Anna and Daisy had done nothing to deserve the hell they'd been put through. Nothing but have relations with Harry Clayton.
Though when Maddalena asked for permission to stay, it made Anna soften a bit more. Nikhail had never asked her permission for anything. It should have been a huge, flashing warning sign. But then again, Anna never really did listen to warning signs. Harry and Nikhail were both separate examples of that.
"I suppose it's the least I can do, seeing as you have nowhere else to go," Anna said, sipping from her wine again. "Though I must ask something of you if you stay here. I'll feel remiss if I don't say it, so forgive me. Please don't go getting Daisy into trouble."
“Of course I could.” Maddalena smirked. “You said you were familiar with Greek mythology, so surely you know the story of Medusa.” she reminded before giving a thoughtful hum. “However… I would need to think more on how to apply it. Perhaps spending time in your world would help me better understand the best way to grant it.”
The taller woman smiled gratefully as Anna agreed to let her stay. It would certainly be nice compared to the number of times she and others had to make or find their own place to take shelter. Though she chuckled at the condition. “I will not deliberately place your daughter in trouble.” she agreed. “But perhaps I might be able to help her avoid it.”
Anna's eyes widened slightly. Sure, she knew the story of Medusa. The woman who could turn anyone to stone if only they looked into her eyes. But the thought made Anna shudder. She wasn't sure that such protection was one she would even want. It seemed like it would cause more problems than it solved. And hadn't she been beheaded?
But as Maddalena continued speaking, Anna relaxed a bit more. The application of such power would certainly persuade Anna more or less to accept it, depending on what it was. So she nodded her head in agreement. "Alright," she said quietly. "I believe that will work.
"Thank you," she added. "I don't think I'll ever stop worrying about her. She's so consumed by wanderlust… and she's always asking questions. I'm afraid her curiosity may even rival my own." Anna shook her head and smiled to herself. "But I just want her to be happy… and safe."
Maddalena raised a brow at the woman’s expression but let out a sigh when she remembered how quickly mortals distort their history. “Perhaps you should tell me what you know of her.” she suggested. “Your reaction makes me wonder how her story is told now.”
“Your daughter is not the first child I have watched over.” she chuckled. “I believe I can handle her curiosity. You both may ask me any questions you may have, however there may be some topics I chose not to speak of.” she warned with a slight smirk as she took a sip of her wine.
Anna nodded slowly. "I'm not as well-versed as I ought to be, like I said. But what I know of Medusa was that she could turn those who looked into her eyes to stone. And I believe she was beheaded eventually. I'm sure there's more, but I'm sorry to say that mythology is not one of my strongest suits."
Anna arched a curious eyebrow, however, at Maddalena's chuckle. "Oh?" she asked, smiling briefly. "I have some more questions, I'll admit, but I don't want to bombard you."
“There is much more to her story.” Maddalena confirmed. “And there are different versions of it as well. One paints her as a monster who was cursed for betraying Athena but that is not the whole truth.” she said, shaking her head at the ignorance of that version.
“You may ask.” she smiled with a slight nod, already having suspected that the woman’s curiosity was piqued.
Anna immediately looked more intrigued. "What is the whole truth?" she asked curiously. "You know Medusa?" She pursed her lips slightly and lifted her wine to her lips to take a long sip before asking. "I'm not sure I'll get an answer to this… but what did you do? I mean, to be punished the way that you are."
Maddalena smiled at Anna’s questions, at least the first two, and shook her head slightly. “Not personally but I know her story better than most.” she admitted before sitting down. “It's a long story but Medusa was, originally, a very attractive mortal woman and the High priestess of Athena’s temple in Athens. You see, the people who lived there chose to name the city after the goddess of wisdom instead of Poseidon, the god of the sea. And, like most males, he let such a choice bruise his pride.” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Now, I admit, I do not know exactly how they met other than the fact that Poseidon had taken a mortal disguise and met Medusa. Being like practically every male in a Pantheon, he decided to pursue her but one of the conditions of serving Athena was that you had to… remain untouched.” she explained, hoping her implication would be enough. “Medusa rebuked him on those grounds. Unfortunately for her, he refused to listen once he found out what her position was. He followed her to the temple and took his revenge on both her and Athena. I hope I don't have to explain how but Athena was not happy. Poseidon blamed Medusa, saying that she had seduced him and that being at the temple had been her idea.
“Personally, I think he forgot that she was the goddess of wisdom but most, if not all, of the others believed him easily because he was one of the most powerful members of their Pantheon and a king. So, Athena’s hand was forced. She had to punish Medusa… At least in a way that everyone would believe she was being punished.” the former goddess smirked. “The transformation and power was really a gift so that no man could ever harm Medusa again. And I believe she remained dedicated to Athena even after that. Until the son of Poseidon, Perseus, came along and killed her to save some silly princess.” she sighed, taking another sip.
Anna pursed her lips, noticing that Maddalena had efficiently dodged her question, but she didn't bring it up anymore… yet. Her eyes widened, and she listened with interest to Medusa's story.
"Wow… And sometimes I wonder why I'm still attracted to men and not women," she muttered. It took about three seconds for what she said to register in her mind. Then her eyes widened and she blushed furiously.
"I-I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't mean to say that, I don't know what came over me." She quickly took another long sip of wine to avoid talking.
Maddalena spluttered in her drink, coughing for a moment before devolving into laughter at Anna’s unexpected comment.
She waved her hand dismissively as she managed to catch her breath. “No, no. It's alright. I’m actually attracted to both.” she admitted, still smiling. “You have no reason to be embarrassed.”
Anna's blush only deepened at Maddalena's reactions to what she had said. Maybe she didn't have a reason to be embarrassed, but she sure as hell felt like she did.
Though she felt a bit surprised at the goddess's easy admission. Sexuality wasn't exactly a topic that came up much for Anna. She'd never really considered the option of being attracted to women. But was it an option? Or if she was attracted to women, would she just naturally feel it?
She shook her head and refilled her wine glass, her face still flaming with a blush. "Still, I shouldn't have said that," she added, all but brimming her glass. The effects were starting to take a toll, as she almost knocked it over when she reached for it again. The liquid sloshed up the sides and spilled a bit on the counter.
"Oh!" Anna reached for a towel and wiped up the mess quickly.
Maddalena smirked, leaning back in her chair as the easy haze of alcohol settled over her mind. “I don't understand where you mortals found this new desire for secrecy in relationships. I know it is an intimate thing but there is no need for shame.” she sighed as she waved her hand and pulled the spilled liquid into her own cup, leaving nothing on the counter that wasn't already there.
Anna's eyes widened with surprise as Maddalena cleaned up the mess effortlessly. But it was only a brief moment that passed before her glass was lifted to her lips again. "What do you mean?" she murmured into her wine, glancing up at the woman. "Secrecy? Though I suppose the intimacy aspect was instilled in me since when I was a young girl."
Maddalena smirked at Anna’s awe of her very simple powers. “Yes. I mean the fact that you are blushing just because you made that comment on liking women.” she pointed out. “I'm not saying that you have to brag about intimate moments. I hear enough of that from the males in the Pantheon.” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “Your choices shouldn't be something that causes you embarrassment.”
"And yet they always seem to manage," Anna mumbled about her choices before taking a long sip of her wine.
She then hesitated, thinking about how to say her next words. It was a tricky topic they'd stumbled upon. "Well… there are still many people who believe that sexual relations with the same gender are… wrong, in not so few words. There are entire laws being fought about it, which tremendously impacts my line of work. Though, personally, I haven't done much experimenting with women…"
The woman trailed off and drained the rest of her glass. "Not that I wouldn't want to," she added suddenly, the drink beginning to catch up to her. "I'm sure women are lovely. I just… ohhh," she moaned, covering her face with her free hand as a wild blush raged across her cheeks. "I shouldn't be saying all of this. It's humiliating."
Maddalena shook her head at Anna’s rambling. “I suppose there have always been people who believe that. But just because something is “wrong” for them, doesn't mean it's wrong for someone else.” she said simply. Though she couldn't help but laugh again at how the mortal blushed as she tried to dig herself out of the situation. “Anna, Anna. What's embarrassing is how you feel you have to explain yourself. As you said, you don't have experience. There is nothing wrong with that. I understood what you meant.” she assured through her giggles.
Anna was dizzy with embarrassment as the other woman laughed at her feeble attempts to explain her thought process. "Right," she mumbled, still hiding her face. God, she needed another drink.
Forgetting Daisy was home, Anna lowered her hand and reached to pour more from the bottle into her glass until the former was completely empty. Her eyes widened. "Oh," she murmured, still trying to get her flaming blush to fade from her cheeks. "I didn't realize we'd already drunk so much…"
Anna lifted her newly filled glass to her lips, hardly realizing that she'd been the one to drink most of the bottle. Not that she'd ever admit it, but because of her husband's gambling addiction, Anna had turned to alcohol as a solution more often than she'd confess to.
“Perhaps you should slow down.” Maddalena suggested, having noticed how many glasses the other woman had poured… but she couldn't be bothered to remember the number. “I know I'm hardly the one to give advice because… Well.” she chuckled, gesturing to her mortal body and the situation she was in. “But I remember some people having problems when they drink a lot.”
Anna sighed and leaned heavily against the counter to stand. "I can handle it," she mumbled, her words beginning to slur together. "I've done worse things I regret than this." Her eyes pulled to the wedding ring that was still on her left ring finger. Why was it still there? Hadn't she taken it off? "Like marrying a gambler."
Maddalena raised a brow at the way Anna used the counter for stability. “Let's see you say that in the morning.” she teased. “But I doubt you really regret that. Of course, I’m assuming that the gambler is Daisy’s father.” she admitted. “If I'm right then you can't regret becoming Daisy’s mother. It's obvious how much you care about her.”
Anna closed her eyes and exhaled heavily through her nose. "Yes, he is," she confirmed, but her eyes opened immediately at Maddalena's follow-up. "I never said that," she replied quickly. "Harry, I regret. Daisy, I do not. I could never regret her. But Harry…"
Before she could stop herself, Anna covered her mouth and began to cry quietly. Why wasn't it possible for something in her life to go right? Between Harry and Nikhail and work, it seemed that everything was crashing down on her at once.
