forum Learning to be human

Started January 03, 2023 by @FanfictionFanatic-The-Elder group

tune

Maddalena watched the silent exchange with just a hint of envy as she realized how much she missed that kind of bond.

She nodded at Daisy’s explanation, glad that she was helping their side of the discussion. “We would start with unarmed techniques, mostly to stun and wound, possibly maim… and some disarming tricks as well as how to turn an enemy’s weapon against them.” she answered, feeling that was a good enough start. Anything beyond that would depend on how well they did and how long she would be here.

Anna inhaled steadily as she listened to Maddalena's description of what their "training" would consist of. "Oh God," she whispered, leaning against the wall for support. Daisy stood up quickly, but Anna waved her off. "I'm fine," she murmured. "I just…" She sighed. "Alright. It won't hurt to try."

Daisy immediately beamed, then tried to look more serious as she nodded in agreement.

Maddalena raised a brow at Anna’s reaction to, what she considered, the bare minimum of training. Especially since she didn't even mention weapons training or anything serious. “Do people not teach others how to protect themselves anymore?” she asked curiously.

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but Daisy beat her to it.

“No,” the girl said, rather sharply. “They don’t. And I would like to learn how.”

Anna stiffened. “Daisy…”

Daisy looked at her mother and arched her eyebrows. “Do you remember how easily-”

Anna’s eyes widened, and she winced. “Don’t say it.”

“-how easily that woman overpowered me?” Daisy finished, a bite in her words. “She was just a housekeeper.”

“I sincerely doubt her only job was to be a housekeeper,” Anna retorted.

Daisy’s eyes narrowed. “You know what I mean.”

“I tried to come after you-” Anna began.

“And you were manhandled like a child and shoved down onto the carpet!” Daisy yelled, cutting off Anna’s words and stopping her cold. “Don’t think I didn’t see it. I was trying to get to you too! There was nothing either of us could do! Don’t you want to change that?!”

Anna blinked. Her heart was racing, the memory coming back in full force, and she leaned entirely on the wall for support as she began to feel lightheaded. “We agreed,” she whispered, “to never talk about that day again.”

At once, Daisy knew she’d crossed a line. She took a small step toward her mother, but Anna was already pushing away from the wall and moving toward the stairs. “Mom!” Daisy called after her, but she was ignored. The master bedroom door shut soundly, and Daisy sank back into her chair. Her eyes were unfocused and teary, and her cheeks were red and warm. “I messed up,” she whispered softly.

Maddalena blinked at the ferocity of this conversation. She hadn’t intended to start an argument but… She had to admit the topic was interesting. But unfortunate. The fact that both of them had been attacked more than once and hadn't considered self-defense before didn't seem very smart to her.

“Come here, Daisy.” she said gently, reaching her arms out. “I don't know if you messed up or not and I know a few things about messing things up, it’s how I ended up here…” she reminded. “But I'm sure we can find a way to fix this.”

Daisy couldn’t help it. She broke down into tears and rushed into Maddalena’s arms. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she sobbed. “She was right. We agreed not to talk about it again. I hate Nikhail!” She cried into the goddess’s shoulder, trembling with emotion.

Upstairs, Anna shut herself in the bedroom she and Harry had shared for years. A wave of panic and pain struck her, and she covered her mouth to keep in her own quiet sobs. She’d resented herself that day. Not being able to see the trap until it was too late. Not being able to protect Daisy. Forced to look into Nikhail’s eyes as he told her how smart she was right before he betrayed every ounce of trust she had in him. It made her stomach turn violently.

Maddalena hugged the girl close, letting her vent her emotions. There weren't too many times she had held a child like this but she knew that Daisy needed this. "You don't have to explain. Your mother told me what happend with him." she assured. "He won't hurt you again and I will teach you how to fight back." she promised, though she knew she would have to talk to Anna soon as well.

Normally, Daisy would’ve been embarrassed to have been coddled. But she pressed her face into Maddalena’s shoulder and whimpered. As the goddess’ assurance, Daisy sat up quickly and stared at her, tears still tricking from her eyes.

“She told you?” the girl asked in disbelief. There was no way Anna spilled the entirety of what had happened that day. “What all did she say?”

Maddalena nodded slightly at the questions. “She did, though she admitted it wasn't everything.” she answered. “She told me that they had met through their work and became close. Though he was an evil man who was putting on an act so no one would suspect him… Until he kidnapped you and your mother.” she sighed, glad that that man was dead otherwise she would be tempted to destroy him herself. “I believe she mentioned that he was trying to get to your father as well and… That you nearly drowned.”

Daisy swallowed heavily. "Yeah, that's basically it. Nikhail offered for us to spend the day with him. I never really did like him. Mom was the one who kept him in our lives. But we were at his house, and I was watching TV. She and Nikhail were talking, and then she backed away and said we had to go. Nikhail's housekeeper grabbed me and dragged me away. Mom was going to come and get me, but another man… I don't know who he was… came out of nowhere, and he shoved her to the ground. I don't know where they took her, but we were separated. And… my dad saved me. I don't really remember it. Mom told me I passed out, and Dad revived me after he pulled me out of the pool. I was tied to a chair with a weight on the bottom. Mom was too, but they only pushed me in. Not her."

Maddalena nodded as she listened to the girl’s side of that story. “Your mother didn't go into that much detail with me. But she did tell me that they held a gun to her head. Perhaps that is why they didn't push her in after you.” she explained gently, still holding Daisy comfortingly.

"It was a lot worse for her," Daisy sighed. "I mean, I don't think I ever really liked Nikhail. My mom was the one who kept inviting him over to the house and convincing me to give him a chance. Try and get to know him. Go to the park with him. Whatever. And… yeah. They did. Mine too. But she kept twisting and pulling away from them. She fought every step of the way. And when they finally got us in the chair, there was another guy who had his hand around her neck and his gun aimed at her head. I didn't do anything because I was too afraid he would actually pull the trigger."

She shivered in Maddalena's arms. "I shouldn't have said what I did. I still have nightmares about it, but that day was a lot harder on my mom than on me. I think she was in love with him or something."

Maddalena nodded as Daisy continued, not saying how close she had gotten to her mother’s secret. “You did nothing wrong at that time. It was very likely that he would have.” she agreed before casting a glance up at the ceiling. “Whether you said the wrong thing or not is between you and your mother. But… you know, she still has nightmares about it too.”

(Hey sorry I’ve been lacking with responses, I’ve been trying to find motivation and also I have been doing a lot of character stuff 😅)

Daisy shook her head and shivered at the goddess’s words. If anything that day had gone differently… she didn’t even want to think about it. But as Maddalena continued, Daisy’s blue eyes spilled over with tears.

“I did,” she whispered. “I definitely did. It wasn’t her fault. We were tricked. Both of us. As much as I never really liked him, he tricked me too. Either one of us could have seen the signs.” Her eyes widened with worry. “She does?” Daisy asked quietly. “Did she tell you that?”

(It's ok, I understand struggling with motivation. Good luck with the character stuff.)

Maddalena nodded at the questions. “Yes. She told me last night. Though she may have been hoping I would forget but I didn't drink that much.” she added with a slight chuckle before meeting Daisy’s gaze more somberly. “I know that he tricked… practically everyone, from my understanding but, obviously, this betrayal was worse. I do not blame either of you for what you said or did just now.” she assured, gently drying the girl's tears. “Or what happened then.”

(Thanks 😅 I have Anna and Farah done along with another character, so progress! :))

Daisy blinked quickly, trying to force herself to stop crying. How pitiful she must look. A sad excuse for a daughter as she blamed her mother for something neither of them could have seen until it was too late. They’d been like sweet, innocent mice in the cat’s claws.

As much as she tried to stop it, more tears welled up in her eyes at Maddalena’s words. She hadn’t meant to betray her mother. But she had. They’d made a promise not to purposefully remind each other about Nikhail or what he’d done to them. And she’d broken it. “I wish I could say sorry,” she whispered. “But she’d probably furious at me.”

(Yay! Progress!)

“Let me talk to her first.” Maddalena suggested. “I’m sure she regrets what she said as well but I might be able to get her to calm down. She may need as much assurance as you did.” she smiled softly.

Daisy nodded at the suggestion. “That might be best,” she agreed, wiping at her face to dry up her tears. “Thanks. But… can you tell her that I’m really sorry? And I didn’t mean what I said. And I love her.”

The girl’s blue eyes looked at Maddalena with earnestness. She had never wanted to make Anna angry. She’d only wanted her mother to see what good the training would do for them.

“I will tell her.” she nodded, smiling assuringly as she met the young girl’s eyes. “I should probably go now. The sooner I talk to her, the less likely she will pretend that everything is alright.” Maddalena sighed at the thought of Anna trying to brush the problem aside instead of facing it and talking things through.

Daisy nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "She… She does that a lot." After the conversation she'd just had with Maddalena, it was far more than even Daisy realized.

Upstairs, Anna was still in the master bedroom, quiet sobs racking her body. She had been thrown back into a vicious cycle of memories that each made her panic and ripped her apart. Finally, she calmed down enough to sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall across from her. She felt weak.

Maddalena nodded and slowly let go of the girl, stroking her hair gently. “You finish your breakfast.” she smiled softly before turning to head up the stairs.

“Anna?” she called, knocking on the door. “May I come in? We need to talk.” she announced firmly but not unkindly.

Daisy nodded and watched as Maddalena walked up the stairs. She hoped that whatever conversation her mother had with the goddess would go well.

Anna jumped at the knock. She hadn’t even heard footsteps coming. Curbing her panic, she brushed stray hair behind her ears and replied, “Yes.” Time to face the music.

Maddalena was relieved that Anna didn't turn her away and let out a breath before entering. “I won't ask if you are alright but I think you should talk to me. You’ll feel better if you get these feelings out in the open. But before you start, Daisy asked me to tell you that she is sorry for upsetting you, she didn't mean what she said, and that she loves you.”

Anna didn’t look over as Maddalena entered. Her gaze remained fixed and focused on the wall. She obviously wasn’t alright, but she didn’t want to talk to Maddalena right now. There were too many details swarming in her mind. Though the second the goddess brought up Daisy, she gained Anna’s attention. Her head turned, and her brown eyes studied Maddalena’s face as she spoke.

It took a few seconds, but Anna’s resolve and expression crumbled. She looked back at the wall. “I wouldn’t blame her if she were to be angry with me,” Anna half-spoke, half-whispered. “I deserve it for what I allowed to happen to her.”

Maddalena sighed and walked over to Anna’s side. “You didn't allow anything to happen. You were taken by surprise by a terrible man.” she assured. “The fact that he tricked you does not reflect on you. And for what it may be worth, I am sorry for what you both went through.”