“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.
Maddalena sighed and all but collapsed on the bed once she was alone. She was no stranger to stressful days but this… This day was standing out in the running for most stressful. Mostly because of what happened before meeting Anna. After wasn’t so bad… Though it had been a while since she had someone talk to her this way.
She sat up briefly to take off her boots but hesitated to change out of her clothes. Anna was obviously too short for the former deity to borrow anything from and, until she knew more about the mortal world currently, any attempt at thievery would be unwise. She needed a plan. Aside from her obvious goal, she was curious about how things had changed and her best way to get answers was asking Anna… and perhaps her daughter.
She sighed again and lay on top of the sheets and decorative blanket and closed her eyes, not quite sleeping but certainly resting. It was a technique she had mastered a very long time ago. Eventually, she was sure she would sleep but she would need to relax more for that first.
(Hey, so I was reading back through this one and caught this little nugget in your one response…)
“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.
(And it got me thinking, what if one of the pantheon gods tries to trick and seduce Anna with his powers, and he almost has her, but then Maddalena comes in and it’s like, “bro wtf really?!” And kinda saves Anna?)
(Also wanna time skip to the morning?)
(😮 YES! Love it! And a time skip is fine with me.)
(Yay!!! :))
The next morning, Anna woke up with her body aching. She winced and sat up, rubbing the back of her neck and stretching out her body after sleeping in the cramped position at the table all night.
She prayed Maddalena favored better in the bed just as Daisy descended the staircase yawning. The girl froze seeing her mother. “Mom?” she asked, confusion in her eyes. “You slept down here again?”
Anna sighed and rose to her feet. “Yes, darling. I gave my bedroom to our guest.”
Daisy turned away so her mom couldn’t see the smile rising on her face. “So how long will she be staying with us?”
“I’m not sure,” Anna replied with her lips pursed. “As long as it takes, I suppose. I’m not going to kick her out, if that’s what your asking.”
Daisy laughed quietly and pulled orange juice out of the fridge. “I know you wouldn’t kick her out. You’re too nice for that, Mom.”
Anna felt the unintended blow lane right across her chest. She knew what she was, naïve, a pushover, too trusting for her own good. But the fact that Daisy pointed it out without hesitating…
“Are you going back to school yet, darling?” Anna asked noncommittally as she headed over to make her coffee. She was trying not to show the impact of all the wine she’d consumed last night.
Daisy looked over with a slightly incredulous look. “Mom… it’s Saturday.”
Anna blinked, then turned away to rummage through a cabinet. “Yes. Right.”
Maddalena almost didn't want to get up. She wanted to believe that yesterday had been nothing more than a bad dream. That she was still home, that she still had her powers, that she hadn't been abandoned… But she could feel it. Her power had been restored from their use, but no further. The bed she was laying on was nice but it wasn't hers. She sighed and finally forced herself up. Her sleep had been… well enough overall thanks to her host sharing the wine and she was pleased to discover that any ill effect from it was minimal.
She took a moment to freshen up her clothes before heading downstairs. “Good morning.” she greeted politely as she saw Anna and her daughter.