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.
“Is that not what I said?” Maddalena asked, raising a brow in confusion at the woman crying. “I do not… I would understand you regretting an unhappy marriage. That's not a new one or uncommon even from what I remember.” she tried to explain. “But the way you treat Daisy… It's obvious how much you love her. I have seen children whose parents regret having them and nothing between you and your daughter even closely resembles that.” she assured.
(HEYYYYYY so I'm back ❤️)
Anna blinked and forced herself to stand up straighter. Listening to Maddalena's words, she understood and took a slow, deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry," she apologized after a moment. "I'm not myself at the moment. I'd blame the wine, but… Anyway, you're right. Daisy is the last thing I'd ever regret. I love her more than anything, and I only want the best for her."
Anna's brown eyes softened as she took in the woman across from her. "Surely there's someone in your life that you feel that way about?" she prompted gently.
(YAY!!!! Welcome back! ❤️)
Maddalena nodded, understanding that it likely wasn't just the wine. “You don't have to apologize. As I said, it's obvious how much you care about your daughter.” she assured. “I… I’m almost a little jealous. Those in the pantheon are not exactly close with each other. It's more like a group of political members than anything else.” she explained, answering Anna’s question at the same time.
(❤️❤️❤️)
Anna sighed and smiled a bit at Maddalena's reassurance. Though she frowned a bit at the goddess's further explanation. "I'm sorry," she replied sympathetically. "Pardon my forwardness in asking this, and you don't have to answer, but… do you have a family?"
“It's just the way it is for us.” Maddalena shrugged, used to the fact. Of course, that didn't mean she necessarily liked it. “Not in the way you are familiar with or are thinking of.” she chuckled. “Most of us appear out of one primordial force or another and are fully “grown” with all the knowledge we need to perform our duties.”
Anna arched her eyebrows. "Oh… that's interesting." Then a small smile appeared on her lips. "To be fair, I definitely could imagine you wreaking havoc as a young child," she quipped. "Even with my small knowledge of your abilities."
Maddalena chuckled and gave a small nod. “While I have never been a child in the way you or your daughter have been, I am usually able to change my form and have disguised myself as one.” she admitted, remembering how she made many believe she was weak, helpless, or completely innocent. “Though during my early years, some of my mischief was more chaotic than it is now. Less planned out. My skills as a thief were more practiced later on.”
Anna shook her head, still trying to process everything that this woman was capable of. "That's… Wow." She shook her head and leaned heavily on the counter. "It makes sense though," she added quietly. "That you would become more mature over time, even if you never had a childhood."
She closed her eyes and leaned on the counter. "Maybe I did have too much to drink," she mumbled.
“Mature?” Maddalena laughed. “That’s not a word many would use when talking about me.” she admitted truthfully. “Cunning, certainly. Intelligent… Perhaps. But mature? Not as likely.” the former goddess stated simply. Though she raised a brow at Anna’s soft confession before taking stock of both their conditions.
Normally she, and the others, had a very strong tolerance for mortal drinks. But now that she was also mortal… “Perhaps we both have.” she nodded.
Anna shook her head and laughed softly. "I may have used the wrong word," she admitted. Being both drunk and tired was a bad combination for her. She was totally exhausted and was barely able to keep track of what she was saying.
"Why don't you go upstairs?" Anna suggested, setting her glass down in the sink. "Sleep in my bedroom. It's the second door on the…" She trailed off for a moment, thinking. "On the right. I don't mind. I'll stay down here."
“Oh, no. I couldn't do that to you.” Maddalena shook her head. “It's your house. I’m just a guest. I’ll stay down here.” she insisted. Despite her rank as a goddess, there were plenty of times when she had slept in rough settings, either alone or with some small group of her mortals. Mostly thieves or troublemakers just trying to survive together.
"Please," Anna urged. "Truly, I insist. It's been… difficult for me to sleep there recently." She was embarrassed to admit it out loud, but it was the truth. The room still reminded her painfully of her former husband, and more often than not, Anna fell asleep while working over the kitchen table.
Maddalena raised a brow at the insistent tone but nodded slowly, not in the mood to argue. Perhaps because of the wine… “Alright then.” she replied, unsure if there was a personal reason for Anna to continue to offer or if it was some “new” mortal tradition. “Could you show me the way then?” she asked.
Anna pressed her lips together, then nodded. “Follow me,” she murmured, heading up the stairs that Daisy had a few minutes ago. She led the way down the hall, motioning to the first door on the right. “This is Daisy’s room,” she said before heading to the door right after it.
She put her hand on the doorknob and exhaled slowly before opening it. The bed was made, and there were two nightstands, one on each side of the bed. It looked like the room genuinely hadn’t been used in a while.
Maddalena followed silently up the stairs, giving a nod when Anna pointed out her daughter's room. Which was the main reason why she had asked the woman to show her where the room was.
“Thank you.” she said calmly as Anna opened the door. Though she couldn't help raising a brow at how unused the room seemed to be. “You have a very nice room.”
Anna noticed the brow and internally winced. It was obvious that for a bedroom, it wasn’t very lived in. “Thank you,” she managed to say quietly. “I hope it suits your needs. Do you need anything else? A change of clothes? Some food?” The woman was desperate to be helpful.
“Anna.” the former goddess interrupted. “I’m a thief and have been considered a criminal during many of my visits. As such, I've slept in streets and alleys.” Maddalena explained. “Your room and the kindness you have shown me is more than enough.”
The woman was taken aback slightly, but in a positive way. Anna frowned, then smiled weakly. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “You’re welcome here as long as you like. If there’s anything I can get you…” Anna trailed off, not wanting to seem overbearing.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” she added before slowly walking back down the hall.
“You don't have to apologize.” Maddalena replied, dismissively. “But I will ask for your assistance if I have a need for it.” she added as assurance. “Sleep well.”
Anna nodded quickly and left. As she walked by Daisy's room, she paused and peeked through the crack in the door. Daisy was asleep across her bed with her laptop beside her.
Quietly, Anna slipped in and took her laptop over to her desk to charge it. She did a double-take though at what was on the screen. It wasn't her daughter's homework, it was a video of a man running across four lanes of highway traffic and not getting hit. Anna frowned. It was probably made up anyway. Things like that didn't happen in real life. Anyone could edit anything on the internet. She closed Daisy's laptop and went back to her daughter's bedside. Making sure not to disturb her, Anna pulled up the comforter to cover Daisy before bending down to kiss her forehead softly.
With that, Anna turned off the lights and shut the door behind her. Then, she made her way downstairs and poured over her paperwork for her latest case at the office. Another glass of wine was in her hand as she worked, and this one she only sipped on sparsely until she was asleep over the table.