|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:48 am
Henry was so brave and strong. He deserved magic way more than she did. She watched as her brother came to her rescue, watched as he kicked the youma away. Eupheme had called for his help, but she didn’t want him hurt, either!
She reached for his arm with her free hand, shrinking away from the youma, trying to decide if she could manage to kick it if it got too close but--
They didn’t need to worry about that. There was magic. A lot of magic. Something pure and strong. And then the youma was gone.
Eupheme stared at the woman in surprise, but quickly reached over to wrap her arms around Henry as she whimpered about her ankle.
The woman said the youma was gone and they were safe, but it had still been really scary and Lucasta could have been hurt.
“Thank you,” she sniffled quietly, because that was polite. She was grateful that she apparently saved them.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:49 am
The youma might be gone, but Henry couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet. The woman who saved them was a stranger; Henry didn’t need magic to know that she was magic, too, and a stronger sort of magic than Abby. There was something about her that seemed so forceful, untouchable, even though she was short and thin, and pretty, too.
Besides, Abby was hurt. Henry tried to get a look at her ankle. She might need a bandaid, or to go to the doctor. He hoped it wasn’t broken.------------ “Ganymede…” Lucasta said, coming up by the children.
She did not let herself sound guilty. She did not express any reluctance, or regret. Eupheme was safer with her starseed awakened, with her power at her disposal. She was emotional due to her age, probably a bit reckless, too, but she could be taught. With time, she could be molded into a proper Senshi, guided along her path in a way that was safe, in a way unlike Ganymede had been, left on her own for so many years.
Eupheme had a Mauvian who would not abandon her, and a mother with the power to protect her.------------ A mother who was a target. A mother who, by virtue of being Royal, courted danger. If the Negaverse ever knew of Eupheme’s connection to her, if they realized who she was...
Abby. Eupheme. Ganymede had quickly lost her belief in coincidence. From the moment the memories revealed themselves to her, she suspected, and yet nothing could prepare her for it — to see Abby awakened, bearing the name of a girl who flitted through Liesel’s memories. Ganymede remembered a girl who looked like Serge, with a smile in the place of his scowl.
She never knew what became of Eupheme once Serge and Liesel were dead, but here she was, reborn, the daughter of Valhalla once again.
“It’s okay,” Ganymede repeated her reassurances.
She tried to control her voice, tried to reign in the terror, tried not to show that she was horrified, that all she could think was what the Negaverse might do to Eupheme the second they knew…
But Abby and Henry were scared. They were upset. Now wasn’t the time to scare them further. Later, she would impress upon them both that all of this must stay a secret, but for now they needed comfort.
So Ganymede stretched her senses and felt for any other auras. She looked around the park to make sure they were alone. Satisfied that they were, she let her transformation fall away. Paris continued to knee in front of them and put a gentle hand to Abby’s foot.
“It’s okay, it’s Mommy,” she said. “Let me see. You can let go of the magic and you’ll be back in your normal clothes.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:50 am
Ganymede, Lucasta said. She seemed comfortable with this woman, and if Lucasta could trust her, then surely she was someone she and Henry could trust as well.
And the reason why was very clear after a moment, and Ganymede’s appearance changed again and she was--
“Mommy!” Eupheme gasped and-- oh, she could do that too? She closed her eyes and took a breath, letting the magic fade away so she could reach out to hug her Mommy.
Oh…
Oh, they were probably going to be in a lot of trouble.
“That thing-- that youma came out of nowhere! I’m sorry, it was my fault. I made Henry come with me to the playground. I just got bored and wanted something to do,” she tried to explain, remembering that she absolutely didn’t want Henry in trouble for what she did.
“And then he had to protect me and Lucasta can talk but… Mommy, you didn’t tell us…” she trailed off with a frown. With a free hand she reached for Henry’s so she could hold it tight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:51 am
Henry clutched at Abby’s hand.
He thought he should be shocked to see Mom there, to watch her fade from a stranger into someone they both knew so well, but there was a familiarity about it, like maybe they’d seen her that way before — a long time ago, before memory. She used to take them somewhere, some place just for them, where they could run around a wide field or play in an enclosed garden, and no monsters could find them.
“I’m sorry,” Henry said, voice no more than a whisper. “I tried…”
He tried to be brave. He tried to protect Abby, but he wasn’t magic. He was just Henry.------------ “It’s alright, I’m not mad,” Paris reassured them both.
She would’ve been, without the youma. They both knew better than to go off on their own. Even if there’d been no Negaverse, the city wasn’t a safe place for two seven year olds to be wandering around on their own. Anything could happen…
Paris hugged them both, pulled them close one by one and gave them each a tight squeeze, then held them together. She pushed Abby’s hair from her face, touched Henry’s cheek, and tried to offer them both a smile, tried not to cry, even though her eyes were wet, even though her thoughts were racing.
“I’m just glad you’re both okay,” she said, struggling to smile. “We’ll go home and get your ankle cleaned up. I’ll explain everything. I—… We couldn’t tell you before, because it would be dangerous for you to know. Those youma serve bad people. Daddy and I have been trying to stop them for a long time.”
Her voice was hushed, in case anyone else should find their way into the park. She kept glancing around to make sure they were alone.------------ “Abby is safer this way,” Lucasta insisted. “I could sense this morning that her starseed was ready.”
She did not flinch away when Paris turned a glare on her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’d already gone,” Lucasta explained. “I followed them. You aren’t the only one who considers their safety to be a priority.”
She could tell that Paris didn’t agree, but her bonded chose not to argue. Paris swallowed down her complaints for the sake of the children. Now wasn’t the time to debate how Lucasta should have handled the situation. An argument certainly wasn’t going to change her mind.
“And Henry?” Paris asked, holding the twins close.
Lucasta met her eye and shook her head.------------ “I’m not magic,” Henry whispered.------------ Paris shook her head, too, and pressed a kiss to his hair, then to Abby’s.
“You made me a mom,” she told them. “You’ll always be magic to me.”Guine FIN unless you've decided otherwise since we finished in docs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
