#things were iffy with Miranda a few months ago

[erraticfairymagic]

[cosmic-has-moved]

Long Lost Kin - Chapter 4 - Teen Years

Link to Ao3 version: [HERE]

It had been a while since Dion was exposed to the truth, his reaction being better than Alcina had expected and she planned on telling Mother Miranda about it to avoid more drama.

 She gave him the space he wanted and did tell the girls to do the same, but she has seen them sneak in and out of his room most nights, their expressions always the same, worry.

 He would still come to dinner, but he would distant himself and avoid social interaction.

 One night she decided to catch one of them and ask them how he was doing, the next one to visit him being Daniela. She stopped her daughter after she walked out and asked her how Dion was doing, she was honest and said that he seems distant compared to how he was a month ago.

 “A month ago?” Her mother questioned, that was way before the talk.

 Daniela looked at her almost hesitant to answer but still did, “One night I snuck into his room to see Voe. I saw him curled under the sheet, it sounded like he was crying but wanted to be quiet about it.” She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. “I didn’t want to scare him, so I left.”

 The sudden revelation she got made her feel a deep sense of guilt. Of course he’s still mourning, how could she be so stupid to think he was over it. And even worse she unknowingly gave him more unneeded baggage, this needed to be fixed.

 She thanked her daughter for the information and made her way to her bedroom.

 Collecting what she needed from her room and walking back out, holding a pillow and thick blanket. Alcina didn’t even knock on Dion’s door as she walked in and closed the door, she walked over the side of his bed where he rested and laid down on the floor with her bedding. Her head resting on her fluffy pillow on the carpeted ground while her blanket covered her body, she didn’t even bother changing to her sleepwear.

 The Mistress laid there for what felt like hours before Dion made a move, sliding his hand out from under the sheet and letting it dangle near Alcina’s. Slowly she lifted her hand up and held his, she never too into account how tiny and rough his hands were.

 “Get on up here, carpet isn’t comfy.” He said tugging on her hand. “It may be awkward, but I know you won’t leave even if I ask.”

 The woman smiled softly before getting up and getting on the other side of the bed, keeping a fair distance between the two, if you count a couple of centimeters as a fair distance.

 …

 It was very awkward and Alcina’s feet dangling off the end of the bed didn’t help.

 “I’m not mad at you or anyone.” Dion said quietly, making Alcina sigh internally in relief. “It’s just taking my brain some time to fully wrap around the info dump you gave me.” He rolled over on his back and looked up at the ceiling before sighing heavily.

 Miss Dimitrescu nodded at him and crossed her arms. “Would talking help break the tension? I can tell you about neat little information about us, like our powers, weaknesses, anything I know.”

 He stayed quiet for a few minutes before finally responding, agreeing to the offer. So she did, she told him about the abilities given to her and the others by the cadou, but also the weaknesses from it. During the conversation, Alcina noticed that Dion looked at her in great interest.

 “Wait.” He butted in, “If this cadou can do these things, why hasn’t Mother Miranda shared it to scientist? That kind of thing could be great with helping people in need.” He asked almost in an angry tone.

 “She’s.” The Mistress sighed, “It’s complicated, but I am sure she has her reasons.”

 Dion just squinted his eyes at her before shaking his head and rests his arm over his eyes. “Christ, this is something right out of a fictional book.” He said before quietly chuckling followed with Alcina chuckling along.

 Patting his head while smiling, she jokingly said “Sometimes fact seems more fiction than it should, it’s almost funny the more you think about it.”

 The teen groaned “Please at least tell me you can breathe fire?”

 That question caused Alcina to cackle before answering, “Sadly no.” She laughed more as he groaned loudly in disappointment.

 “Now let me explain my daughters.” She added, Dion looking at her in disbelief before slowly frowning upon a small realization and laying his head back down.

 Alcina than went on to explain how she got her daughters and the cadou process for them, going into great detail on how their abilities work and what harms them. Dion’s posture changing to a more comfortable one while listening, his expression changing from that of interest to suspicion.

 “And that’s practically it. Other than being able to change what species of bugs they can turn into, that’s it.” She explained before looking back at Dion, frowning at his expression.

 “Your daughters have been using my likeness for bugs to get extra lovely treatment.” Was all he muttered before his Aunt burst out into cackling laughter at his revelation.

 “They have their ways of getting more cozy treatment.” Alcina explained while wiping a tear from her eye. “Besides that, how are you feeling?”

 Dion looked up at the ceiling with a neutral face. “If I have to be honest, a bit better after you talked more about it. Still iffy on Mother Miranda, but if you trust her, than I guess so can I.”

 Satisfied with the answer, she looked up at the ceiling. “Well I’m glad, Dion. I don’t want you to feel unsafe here.”

 “Well with you and your bug encyclopedia daughters, I’m pretty safe.” He said laughing with his Aunt joining along.

 The Mistress left his room and was glad to see her little cousin less tense than before, now all she had to do was make sure he fully mourns.

 ___

 After that night and the morning came around, the tension around the air had lifted a bit and the casual chats with Dion returned.

 The girls weren’t too happy about being outed by their mother about their little trick with Dion, but he mentioned that he didn’t mind it. He still played with them in their bugs forms and even took them out on food trips during the very cold days, they only had to stay snuggled up in his flannel jacket.

 He even found out that they can safely separate their limbs when returning to their human form, granted he learnt the hard way when he saw a lone hand gripping onto his hoodie. The daughters of course got scolded for doing that to him, even if they didn’t mean to scare him.

 Among other things after that, Dion had decided that he’ll spend some time with the other lords when he can, mostly spending more with Miss Beneviento, The Mistress did wonder if it was because they had a lot in common or if her cousin secretly had a crush. Well at least if they enjoyed each others company, everything was alright.

 As for Mother Miranda, Alcina had informed her via phone about the situation and the Priestess almost sounded disappointed, but still thanked Miss Dimitrescu for the information before ending the call. Well at least she didn’t have to worry about Dion getting taken by her now.

 But one of the best things to have happened, happened recently.

 While Alcina held little Voe as Dion cleaned her tank, the snake began nibbling on the Mistress’s thumb. She asked Dion about it and he informed her that that is how she tells someone she deeply trust them, Alcina was too prideful to admit that she was ecstatically happy to know that.

 Even the daughters got the nibble treatment from the snake, Daniela being loudly proud about the achievement.

 ___

 Crouching down to enter the young boy’s room, the Mistress entered and saw Dion furiously putting clothes in a suitcase. This worried her instantly.

 “What are you packing for?” She asked as he grabbed his axe and shoved it in the bag.

 “My father’s workers called me over back to Russia over company ownership, because the new owner that my father had look after the place, had died from alcohol poisoning.” Zipping up his bag, Dion opened up his desk drawer and rifled through it. “They need me over there to confirm who the new owner is by me signing some papers.”

 This caused the woman to frown, surely that should’ve been done over phone. But other than that, this worried her even more. “So you have to go back to Russia?” She asked softly with sadness in her voice, hoping he wasn’t staying there.

 “Only until everything is sorted out.” He said before getting out his passport and stuffing it in his bag. “I’m terribly sorry for the sudden leave, I just found this out this morning and they wanted me there yesterday.”

 She grabbed his shoulder “When will you be back?”

 “Hopefully in two days or less, it depends because of how tight the security is over there.” He answered before grabbing his packed things and walking over to Voe’s tank. “Voe’s feeding is tomorrow, so can one of you feed her.”

 He patted his pet a few times before closing the tank and walking back over to his Aunt. “Of course, I already know where you keep her food.” Alcina said before watching him leave his room, her closely following him. “Will you be alright, flying on your own?”

 They both walked down stairs, Dion reassuring her and also reminding her that it wasn’t his first flight alone. Miss Dimitrescu still felt concerned, but knew he would be alright.

 After wishing him luck and farewell, she watched him leave the castle.

 He’ll be fine on his own.

 ___

 It’s only been nine hours since Dion left, he had called her an hour earlier to tell her that he had landed, she was glad that he had thought to call her.

 Alcina sat at her office peacefully doing her work, only stopping to take a sip of her wine. But a knock at the door had caused her to stop and call in the knocker, it was Cassandra.

 The second eldest child walked in with an annoyed expression on her face, this wasn’t good at all.

 “Mother, have you seen Daniela?” She asked before crossing her arms and moved her hip to one side. “It’s her turn to pick a movie and we can’t find her anywhere.”

 Frowning, her mother spoke. “Not even in Voe’s tank? Or even in the upper part of the castle attic?” She asked, Cassandra shaking her head. “She better not be outside again.” She said before her office phone started to ring, her picking it up to see who would be calling.

 “Hello?”

 “Hi.” To Alcina’s surprise, it was Dion. But he sounded exhausted.

 “Dion, is everything alright? How did the signing go?”

 “I just arrived at a hotel… With company.”

 “Heeeeeeeeyy.” Said an awfully familiar voice, that that only belonged to a certain red haired lady.

 Sweet fucking Jesus, Daniela snuck in to join Dion’s trip.

 Without even getting more air in her lung, Mistress Dimitrescu shouted.

 “DAAAAAAANNIEEEEEELLLLLAAAAAAAA!”

 It took a while as Alcina scolded her younger child over the phone, Cassandra and possibly Dion trying their best to hold in their laughter.

 “And when you get back home, you are grounded and will be cleaning the bathrooms!” She yelled as she slammed her hand on the table, interrupting Daniela’s stuttering. “And no buts! You know how dangerous it is for you to do that and you still did it!”

 Beep!

 Looking at her phone is disbelief, Alcina could barely get out a proper sentence before finally getting one out.

 “SHE HUNG UP ON ME?!”

 The phone rang again and she immediately answered, hearing Dion at the other end with Daniela apologizing in the background.

 “Daniela panicked and hung up.”

 Letting out a long sigh and exhaling deeply, Alcina spoke calmly. “Will you be alright with her while you’re there? I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you put her in a jar and sending her over here.”

 “Everything will be fine, she’s already made herself home.” There was a loud crash and Dion sighed. “She found the food menu…”

 “Can I get some ribs?!” Daniela asked excitedly in the back. “I have no idea what any of this says and I only recognize the word steak and kill!”

 Another sigh came from the poor teen, Alcina felt his pain. “Do you have anything that’ll… Sedate her?”

 “Purchase sleeping pills and sneak them in her food or drinks. If that doesn’t work, a TV mostly definitely will.” She quickly answered.

 “Thank you, Aunty. I’ll see you soon.” He said before hanging up.

 “So.” Cassandra spoke as her mother lowered the phone receiver. “We’re free of Daniela for a few days?” She said with a smirk as Alcina glared at her.

 “Only until Dion gets back, and you better not do anything to her stuff.” She crossed her arms. “I barely heard the end of it a while ago when you and Bela went through her room.”

 After letting out a long groan, the brunette nodded before leaving the room.

 Having sometime to collect herself, Miss Dimitrescu went back to work and prayed for Dion, he would need it when it comes to Daniela.

 ___

 Just as Dion left for the business trip, he was back two days later before they knew it. Granted he was carrying a rugged up Daniela on his back and seemed exhausted, but overall he was in one piece. He even brought a bag of gifts for them, most of them were candy but they still loved it.

 After prying the girl off of his back and leaving her on her bed, Dion explained how everything was sorted and other events that happened while they were there. They even stopped by the markets after the flight before heading home.

 While Daniela was well behaved and stayed clear of extremely cold weathers, she did have moments where she nearly got them kicked out and even nearly ate one of the hotel workers. She also loved to eat blue rare steak and nougat chocolate, so there was that.

 “So she just stayed in the room while you were gone?” Alcina asked while walking with him to his room, already dreading the damage her daughter had done.

 “Not really.” He answered as he placed his luggage on his bed. “She wanted to see around the city and I didn’t want to risk her harming someone, so I brought her some thick winter clothes and walked her around.” He chuckled. “I did take her to an old arcade I knew and we had a blast, she’s weirdly good at ball throw games.”

 Sighing in relief after hearing that her daughter hadn’t done anything too bad, the Mistress sat on his bed as he put his things away. “Well I’m glad you two are alright, even if her company was unexpected.”

 Dion laughed as he got Voe out of her tank and cuddled her, “I wouldn’t have caught her if

she hadn’t tried to use the shower.” He sat next to his Aunt and let his pet rest around his shoulders. “Do your daughters do that often?”

 “Too often.” Alcina answered with a groan. “But it can have it’s perks, especially when lycans are out during their hunt.”

 The young boy nodded and looked at Voe. “I’ve never seen a lycan before, what do they look like?”

 A smirk formed on the woman’s face, “Well they’re usually more sighted in the forest between Miss Beneviento and Heisenberg’s home, only ever come out when necessary.” She crossed her legs and tilted her head. “how about we go visit them tomorrow? They know not to go near me.”

 Dion’s face lit up and he smiled. “If that’s okay with you, than let’s go see some lycans.”

 Happy with the answer, Alcina nodded and made a mental note of tomorrows plans.

 ___

 Just as promised, the Mistress took Dion out late at night the next day. She made sure that he was prepped with his rifle, just in case the beast tried to do something they shouldn’t.

 She had to be honest, she was worried for his safety. But with his promising hunting skills, he may be alright.

 The walk over to their hunting grounds was quiet and peaceful, only ever hearing the sounds of distant running, that was a sign of their presence.

 She halted and held her arm out in front of Dion to stop him, the faint sound of growling now clear and closer. They’re here.

 “I mean no harm, just came to show you off to someone.” The Mistress said loudly, eyeing the glowing eyes between the trees. “You know the rules.”

 The teenager shuffled back a bit, readying himself as a few of the lycans crawled out from behind the trees. Alcina could sense the fear emanating from him, she couldn’t really blame him for that.

 The furry beast snarled at the Countess and circled the two, they were hesitant to attack but still wanted to seem fearless. They were familiar with the tall lady, but not the teen, they wanted to get a closer look.

 As soon as one got too close for comfort, Alcina got her claws out and glared a golden stare that caused them to back away.

 Dion tilted his head and frowned after getting a good look at them, all fear vanishing from him. “They’re less scary in person.” He said, breaking the suspension and making Alcina chuckle as a few lycans whined.

 “The darkness makes them more scary.” She added as her claws retracted and a smirk grew on her face, to the animals dismay.

 Crossing his arms and squinting his eyes, he moved his head back up. “They’re cool, yes. But look more like house puppies. He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe I’m just a snake person.”

 The lycans just stared at Dion before all huffing and going back, the motion causing the two brunettes to burst into laughter. Dion doing his best to say his apology to the wolves, even if they waved him off.

 “Well.” Alcina wiped a tear from her eye. “That turned out better than expected, even if we did just insult them.”

 “I honestly expected them to look like a fluffy version of a raptor, but I just got classic werewolves.” He said after calming himself from the laughing fit. “Do they turn others with a bite or scratch or?” He looked at her questioning.

 She shook her head, “No, they usually turn others by either giving blood or Mother Miranda helping them turn someone through.” She averted her gaze and cleared her throat. “Other methods.”

 It didn’t take long for the teen to realize what she meant, he squinted his eyes and looked at her in utter disgust. “Really? Like that?”

 She nodded. “Yes.”

 Rubbing his face and groaning, Dion sighed. “Well at least the blood transfer makes sense.”

 The Mistress chuckled and patted his back, “Well now you you.” She turned and walked with him. “Now lets head back home, we’re having dinner soon.” She smiled warmly as he excitedly followed her.

 Several minutes had gone by and the two got to the forest near the castle, Dion spoke up to break the silence. “Earlier, your nails.” The two of them looked at each other. “Is that one of your abilities? I’ve never seen it until now.”

 Smiling and lifting her hand up a but, Alcina smirked as her claw came out. “These? They are part of the mutation, it’s quite nifty to had.” She retracted them and rubbed her palm. “Though I did have trouble controlling them when I first got them, but Miss Beneviento helped me with that.” She said while moving her gaze away from him, almost embarrassed. But Dion chose not to probe as for why.

 “Well that was nice of her to do. Are you two close?” He asked, curious of their relationship.

 Going back to her normal expression, she cupped her chin in thought. “Well she is someone I do respect and she is comfortable enough with me to show her face to me, so I guess we are pretty close.” She lowered her arms and looked at him. “We’re both women of high standards and when you’re surrounded by ruffians like Heisenberg, we try our best to support each other.”

 Dion laughed followed with his Aunt laughing along. But their laughter was cut short as the teen stopped and grabbed his rifle, even Alcina could feel an unwanted presence near them and it sure as hell wasn’t the lycans.

 Getting her claws out and glancing around, she yelled out. “Show yourself!”

 Only silence responded to her.

 Until an arrow came flying out from one of the tree branches and nearly hitting Dion’s foot, before Dion himself back away and swiftly aiming his gun where the shot came from. He didn’t even hesitate as he shot the tree branch and watched as the shooter fell from the tree and hit the ground with a thud and groan, glancing at Alcina as clawed at the incoming bullets.

 “These damn hunters!” She growled as a group of hunters came out and began shooting more ammo at her. Moving in front of Dion to shield him, did they not care that a child was with her?

 “You all just refuse to listen, don’t you?!” She snarled at them, pissed off that these hunters still have yet to learn that they can’t stand a chance against her. “And you dare try to bring harm to a child!?”

 An older guy, most likely their leader, ordered the others to keep shooting as he got out a hunters knife and poured some sort of liquid on it. The smell of it confirmed that it was poison.

 After giving the signal to his men to stop shooting, he bolted to the Countess with a battle cry.

 Preparing herself to swipe, she was shocked to see Dion pull her back behind him and swiftly shoot the elder man above the throat, blood splattering in the cold air. The other hunters immediately running after hearing the bang, but Alcina’s claw put a stop to them quickly.

 After killing the men and cursing herself for letting one escape, she went to check up on Dion. The old man had collapsed on top of the teen and she kicked him of her cousin, her eyes widening upon seeing the blade diagonally deep into Dion’s stomach.

 He groaned in pain and used his elbows to sit up, completely unaware of the wound. “The hell was that?” He asked before shaking his head and looking over at the body, his face going pale upon seeing what he had done. “Did I…”

 He yelped in pain as Alcina picked him up in her arms and ran, only than did he see the blade handle sticking out of his stomach. He still had yet to process that he had killed someone, now he had to process this!

 Through ragged breathing, Alcina stammered out reassurance and making sure he didn’t lose any dangerous amounts of blood. “I know what kind of poison the blade had and already have antidotes for it!” She said as she ran close to the castle and kicked the door wide open.

 The colour from Dion’s face was slowly vanishing as he seemed to get weaker and weaker, even coughing up blood. He didn’t even react when the maidens were quick to assist his wounds and rest him on an infirmary bed.

 His Aunts shouts were getting more muffled as the anesthesia that was given to him slowly knocked him out.

 Miss Dimitrescu paced back and forth as the servants worked on Dion’s wound. Only snapping out of it when her daughters swarmed over to their mother, in great worry at the sight of Dion’s blood on her dress. She didn’t even notice the blood.

 The three demanded to know what had happened, in which their mother hesitantly told them of the attack from the hunters. The girls were quick to be furious, but they couldn’t do anything that wasn’t already done.

 All the four could do was wait.

 ___

 It felt like hours since Dion was put into the infirmary, but one of the maidens had walked out and informed the Mistress about the young man’s condition.

 The medicine they gave him had worked flawlessly, but he would most likely get a nasty scar. All that mattered though was that he was okay, he was alive.

 The girls didn’t hesitate to barge into the room to check up on him, Alcina following behind them.

 There on the bed laid Dion, he was still unconscious but his breathing was normal. The girls nearly laid on him but their mother was quick to stop that, mentioning that he had a stomach wound. They were sad but understanding.

 Alcina looked over at the container that held the weapon and gritted her teeth, the poison they had used to coat it was similar to the death flower daggers’. It seems they’re getting closer to figuring out what kills her, and it nearly costed a childs’ life.

 Though that did bring a thought into her mind. Since they’re blood related, would he possibly have the disease?

 The idea shook her, she knew the symptoms and how painful they were. He shouldn’t go through something like that, he may have high pain tolerance but it’ll still hurt.

 “Mother!”

 Bela’s voice brought her back to reality and she looked over at her daughter, Dion was stirring awake already.

 His eyes squinted open but closed again as he groaned, going to sit up.

 “Oh no you don’t.” Alcina said as she gently laid him down. “You are way too early to be awake, little one.” She ignored his muffled protest and tucked him in.

 “You sir, are injured and was poisoned.” She sat down on a chair next to his bed as he huffed. “All you need to do is rest.”

 “Mother’s right.” Daniela said with sad expression. “You could’ve died.” She rested her head on his knees.

 “I really don’t” He managed to get out through sloughed words before passing out again, that didn’t take much for him to go back to sleep.

 Letting out a sigh and laying back in her seat, the Mistress dismissed her daughters off to their rooms and to let Dion rest. Watching as they begrudgingly obeyed their mother, Alcina remained in her position, keeping an eye on Dion as her slept peacefully. It’s not as if she needed any sleep, she didn’t mind.

 ___

 As the light of the new morning light seeped in through the windows of the castle, the maiden workers of the castle began doing their duties.

 Mistress Dimitrescu rested on the same chair next to where Dion was resting, her arms crossed and her head tilted on her shoulder, her hat long fallen off of her head.

 It wasn’t until a maiden came in to give mister Baros fresh bandages that she woke, slightly ashamed that she fell asleep so easily as she put her hat back on.

 She let the servant do her job of patching her cousin up and giving him his medication, Alcina got a good look at the wound and noticed no eye catching changes to it.

 The maid left after finishing with Dion’s wounds and medicine, leaving Alcina alone with the boy. He looked so peaceful when sleeping, she couldn’t help but smile when looking at him.

 She had thought of staying there for a while more, but needed to do a few things, one of them including changing her clothes. So she got up of her chair and gently stroked Dion’s hair before leaving the room.

 Lady Dimitrescu had informed her daughters on Dion’s condition first, both of them happy to know that he’s doing alright, before she went into her room to change clothing and to her office to begin her work.

 While scribbling onto many pieces of paper, her dial phone suddenly rang. Stopping her work and picking up the receiver, she answered.

 The caller was Miss Beneviento, or really just Angie talking for her. The doll had asked about Dion since he hadn’t answered Donna’s phone call and was worried, Alcina was honest since she saw no reason to lie.

 The doll repeated what the Mistress to the dollmaker, Angie making sure to add the fact that he was poisoned. Alcina mentally sighing at the doll knowing full well that’ll worry the poor woman.

 “That’s all!” The doll squeaked out before hanging up. Well at least the call was short, she could now go back to her paper work.

 “Mother!”

 Never mind.

 The Mistress stopped what she was doing and watched her eldest daughter walk into her office, a happy expression on her face and a photo album?

 “Mother, look what I found in Dion’s belongings!” Bela exclaimed as she swarmed to her mother and opened the book next to her. “It’s photos of Dion when he was little.”

 Oh work can surely wait.

 “Give it here.” Alcina said as she eagerly took the book from her child and went through it.

 A lot of the photos seemed to have been taken by the uncle, only three of them by his parents. The ones with his uncle showed how happy and full of life Dion was, even if his little baby hands was hugging a live alligator head.

 But the only thing that caught her eyes was how cute baby Dion was, he was such a chubby baby with thick locks of hair and adorable beady-eyes. Those were definitely being kept on her desk.

 “I even found an unopened letter with his name on it.” Cassandra mentioned as she placed said letter in front of her mother. “It’s even seal with a fancy wax stamp.”

 Picking up the envelope and examining it, the seal design gave the Mistress chills. It was the Dimitrescu old family crest, a dragon holding a shield with two swords crossed behind it.

 The design of the crest was changed to the current one due to her mother changing it after father left with it’s rights to it, and Mother Miranda having control of the designs. Now that she thought about it, her scumbag of a father most likely passed down the original crest to the other family, that was the only reasonable outcome.

 Glancing away at the symbol she read the small letters below it, it read:

 “To my little cub, Dion.

 Open this letter once you feel you are ready to.

 Sincerely, Your Uncle Gios.”

 Alcina slowly placed the letter down, thinking of opening the letter, but chose not to for reasons that it’s only for Dion and Dion only to open.

 “Thank you, Cassandra. But please don’t go through his stuff again.” Alcina said before closing the photo album, her daughter huffing in annoyance before nodding her head and leave the room.

 As she left, the Mistress looked at the envelope again. A smirk on her face.

 “Little cub?” She mumbled before letting out a small chuckle. “How cute. Might nickname him that for now on.”

 ___

 Finishing her work for the day and stretching her body, Lady Dimitrescu walked out of her office to go check up on Dion.

 As she arrived at the infirmary she was surprised to see that he already had company with him, Donna Beneviento being said company.

 The woman sat next to the now conscious boy, who was eagerly eating a plate of food with meat, creamy soup and bread rolls.

 Donna looked over at the Mistress and waved at her, before getting up off the chair and

walking over to her.

 “I wasn’t made aware of your visit, Miss Beneviento.” Alcina said while crossing her arms. “You must’ve been worried about him.”

 Donna lowered her head a bit before moving her hands to sign. “I enjoy his company and he’s a wonderful person, so I wanted to visit him to see how he was holding up.” She looked over at the teenager and continued. “He seems to be doing alright.”

 Alcina chuckled, “I understand your worry, Donna. But the nurse said he’ll be fine, only getting a scar out of it.” She said before walking over to him and sitting down on the chair. “He just needs to rest here until his wound is healed.”

 Dion frowned at his Aunt as he swallowed his food, “I’m right here and awake, ya know.” The two women laughed softly as he drank his cup of milk. “And I’m feeling fine to walk around.”

 That instantly stopped Alcina’s laugh and caused her to glare at him, “Oh no you aren't, you’re going to have to go easy as to make sure your organs don’t spill out.” She brushed off Dion’s annoyed protest. “And I will strap you down to this bed if I have to.”

 Letting out a huff and continuing eating, Dion spoke up. “Okay fine, I’ll stay. But don’t expect me to have fun.”

 Donna Sat on the side of the bed and placed her hands on her lap, speaking softly to him. The Mistress noticing a slight blush on the teens’ face. “Don’t worry, the faster you can heal, the quicker you can get out of here.” She said, Dion smiling and nodding at her.

 Alcina blinked in quiet shock at Donna’s sudden voice, she’s heard her speak a few times but never in front of more than one person. She honestly felt happy that Lady Beneviento was comfortable around Dion to freely speak to him.

 Watching him finish his food and licking the plate clean, Miss Dimitrescu spoke. “I would’ve given you dinner last night, but the blade had cut your stomach and it needed to heal a bit first.” She tilted her head. “And judging by the fact that you’re not in pain, it appears that the nurse did a fantastic job.”

 Dion gave her a thumbs up while gulping down his drink, before placing the cup down and licking his lips. “My body healing process is fast, so my stomach will be a-okay.” He said getting a laugh out of his Aunt.

 “Whatever you say, little one.” She ruffled up his hair. “Now rest up, I’ll get one of the maidens to take care of you. If you need something, just ask them and they’ll get it for you.”

 He nodded and watched as she grabbed his plate before leaving the room with Donna, who wish him well.

 As they left the room, Alcina thought it would be relaxing to start a conversation with the small woman.

 “I’ve noticed how close you two have gotten, it’s good to see that.”

 Donna lowered her head and softly spoke while signing. “Like I said, he’s good company and we have similar taste”

 Alcina smirked, “I think he has a little teenage crush on you.” She held in her giggle as Donna stopped in her tracks and looked up at the tall woman, even with her veil Alcina could still see the panicked shocked expression.

 “Oh no, that won’t do. I don’t want to break his heart for refusing.” She stuttered out, causing Alcina to no longer hold in the giggle. “I’m an adult and he’s a child, that will surely not be right.”

 “Calm down, Miss Beneviento.” The Mistress patted Donna’s back. “It’s just a teenage crush, he’ll get over it when he’s older.”

 “Still.” The dollmaker lowered her head. “I never took crushes into account. I hope he’ll understand when I have to refuse him.”

 Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, Alcina smirked again. “Just say you’re with me, I’ll even back you up.” A sudden hit from the short woman made Miss Dimitrescu snicker. “Oh come on, like you haven’t forgotten the time you helped me with my.” She moved the veil away from Donna’s face and pressed her thumbs against her lips. “Claws.”

 All Donna could do was stare at the tall lady flustered, before moving her hand away and walking off. “That was years ago, my feelings long gone and changed.” She stopped and looked back at the Countess. “It was fun, but you know why we couldn’t stay like that.” She turned her head back. “I don’t want to be hurt again.”

 Alcina looked at her with a saddened expression, “Times have changed, Donna. Don’t be afraid.” Was what she could say to Lady Beneviento before she left.

 The Lady sighed to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “I forgot about her past relationships…” She shook her head after mentally kicking herself and walked off. Making sure to get a maiden to keep an eye on Dion.

[hamilficsfordays]

New Beginning—Chapter Two: The New Normal

Disclaimer: I don’t know Lin, nor do I know any of his friends or family.

Also posted on Ao3

Summary:  Alexa is first introduced to Hamilton, in its final preview weeks.

Rating: T

Words: 2870

Askbox / Masterlist / Chapter One / Chapter Three

The next morning, the Miranda household routine continued as usual

Vanessa was up first, off to shower before work, Lin up shortly after to cater to Sebastian’s needs. The house was quiet.

“I left plenty of milk in the fridge for the day,” his wife announced, coffee in one hand, a case file in the other. “but maybe try something solid. We bought that really expensive baby food and haven’t used it yet.”

Lin nodded, accepting her instructions as she kissed both her husband and son goodbye.

“I’ll see you later. Text me if anything happens.” she glanced down the hallway at the closed door to Alexa’s room. “I do mean anything.”

“It’ll be fine,” he reassured her. “Don’t worry.” With that, he kissed her once more before nudging her towards the front door. “Have a good day at work. Go be the lawyer this city deserves.”

As the hours passed, there was still no sound from Alexa’s room. A knock at the door pulled Lin from any concerning thoughts.

A man dressed in a UPS uniform handed him a large package with his name on it, but a return address in California that he didn’t recognize.

Upon opening the package, there was a small card at the top among an array of needles, tubes, syringes and a large case of medicine.

It was Alexa’s, a month’s supply of medication to keep her immune system under control.

He cleared a shelf in the fridge, placing the case of medicine in its own space.

A quick glance at the clock on the kitchen stove revealed that it was after noon and the teenager had not left her room.

Lin figured it couldn’t hurt to knock, but when he approached the door and did just that, there was no response. Another knock, the same result. He hesitated to open it, intent on preserving her privacy, but after a third knock, the hesitation had vanished.

The room was humid, the air conditioning off despite the excruciatingly warm temperature Alexa was still asleep, curled into the fetal position with her book, open, under her arm.

From the doorway, he could see her bruises had gotten worse overnight, her skin covered in purple blotches. She was in pain, no doubt.

He headed back to the kitchen, grabbing an unopened bag of mixed vegetables from the freezer and a dish towel, before carefully placing the bag across her ribcage. She groaned, both of her eyes blinking open.

“Well at least your eye has gotten better.” he pointed out, turning the air conditioning on before sitting in the desk chair on the far side of the room. “You know it’s after noon, right?”

“It’s also summer.” she reminded him, pulling the bag and dish towel off. “This is the first time I haven’t been forced to wake up at six am in like, a year. God forbid I take advantage.”

“Leave it,” he instructed, directing to the frozen produce. “It’ll help.”

She rolled her eyes. “How would you know?” She attempted to sit up then, wincing before settling back down.

“You’re not the only one who got beat up for reading.” he admitted.

Surprised by this confession, Alexa hesitated but carefully placed the ice back over her ribcage as she slowly sat up, resting against the headboard of her bed.

“Good.” he smiled. “We’re making progress. While we’re at it, it can get really hot in here. You should probably keep the air on while you’re home.”

She could feel the beads of sweat on the back of her neck, running a hand through her hair.

“I uh,” she paused, embarrassed. “I didn’t know how to turn it on.”

“Oh,” he was taken aback by this, but quickly tried to pass it off as normal. “Yeah, they probably had central air down in Alabama. No window air conditioners in sight. He glanced around the room. “We have a remote control for this one.”

Catching sight of it on the table, he tossed it her way. “The machine itself is kind of iffy but… the remote is pretty self-explanatory.”

“Thanks, I guess.” she placed it on her bedside table.

“So… V left for work a while ago and I don’t have to leave until four… are you hungry?”

“Leave for what?” she questioned.

“I have a show tonight,” he explained. “I usually like to get there by five.”

“Y-” she paused, recalling the memories from the day before. “Aren’t you a writer?”

“Writer… actor…” he shrugged. “Sometimes it goes hand in hand.”

“You’re performing something that you wrote?”

“Just a hobby of mine.” he teased, reminding her of the harsh comment she had made the day before. “So… breakfast?”

“Um,” her eyes glanced elsewhere, embarrassment on the rise. “Can I…” her voice trailed off. Though she was conditioned growing up to believe that the arts were an impractical and unreliable career path, she couldn't help but be curious about what being a successful artist looked like.

Not as if she would ever admit it.

“What’s up?” Lin asked, sensing her hesitation.

“Nothing, nevermind.” She adjusted the frozen bag slightly on her abdomen before lying back flat on the bed.

He paused for a moment, attempting to read her body language. He knew there was a chance he’d get chewed out for asking, but spoke up anyway.

“Do you want to maybe come with me?” he offered.

“I mean, if you’re forcing me.” she stated, not meeting her eyes as if doing so would force her to express emotion.

He nodded once. If that’s what it took to get her there, he could play along.

“Alright, we’ll leave in a few hours.”

-

The Public Theatre wasn’t that big, but the set of Hamilton seemed to climb far from the stage anyway. Having worked on the production for about six years, Lin was brimming with pride to see it come to life. He brought Alexa to the stage a few hours before their call time to show off the revolving turntables that defined the entire show.

“Shit, that’s like, so un-ironically hip-hop.” she noted.

“I know.” Lin nodded, hardly able to contain his excitement as it matched her own. “That’s what they’re supposed to be.”

He hopped off the stage while Alexa stood in the spotlight, briefly examining the view from the stage. He watched her face light up, how her presence seemed to shine. There, at center stage, was the first time he’d seen her genuinely excited. He snapped a photo of her from behind, careful not to show her face. He wasted no time opening twitter.

[@Lin_Manuel: Enter stage right: @VAMNit and I’s new pride and joy. Our foster daughter, Lex]

The tweet blew up immediately, prompting Lin to turn his phone off to begin preparing for the night’s performance.

“So while you’re here, let me introduce you to the cast of this like, so un-ironically hip-hop show.”

Lin brought her through the backstage area, passing by each dressing room and introducing her to each respective cast member. First Pippa, then Jonathan, Leslie, Daveed, Renee, Oak and a few female ensemble members before they reached one of the last dressing room.

He knocked briefly before opening the door.

“Hey Jas, I want you to meet—oh.”

They both stopped in the doorway, seeing both Jasmine and Anthony in the room, on the couch, sitting rather close to one another.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was interrupting.”

“What? No.” Jasmine pulled back, straightening out her hair.

“Nah, you’re not interrupting anything.” Anthony gave a polite smile.

It wasn’t hard to pick up that they were hiding something, and the teen noticed almost immediately. Still, she said nothing.

“Okay... well guys this is, Alexa. She’s staying with me and Vanessa. I was just introducing her to everyone.”

“Nice to meet you.” they both said at the same time.

“Hey could y’all maybe keep this on the down low?” Anthony requested, putting his arm around Jasmine. “It’s kind of early and we don’t want everyone on us about this yet.”

“I won’t say anything.” she finally said, glancing up at Lin. “It’s not my place to tell. I don’t know about him though.”

“I saw nothing.” he insisted. “Your secret is safe with me.”

When it came time for curtain, Lin had someone escort her to a seat in the middle of the third row. As the other seats started filling in, she was on her phone, watching the notes on Lin’s twitter post grow by the second. Most of them strangers, but occasionally the rare celebrity or a major news outlet would like or retweet it. She made a mental note to tell him not to ever reveal her identity on his twitter. The last thing she wanted was a slew of attention from strangers.

It’s not like she did anything to deserve it.

As the curtain raised and the music started, Alexa realized she didn’t know much about Alexander Hamilton, but as a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, she found him rather relatable.

There was applause when her father stepped into the spotlight for the first time, causing her to slowly sink down into her seat.

Having a foster parent that was even kind of notable was a new experience. It wasn’t a huge deal (it wasn’t as if they were on Broadway), but as the writer, composer, lyricist, and star of this show that appeared to be sold out, he’d be the first parent of hers who had any results come up during a google search of their name. A result that wasn’t a criminal record.

Still, the notion that she lived with someone that might get recognized on the street made her pretty uncomfortable.

She let the thought go, settling into the production.

The audience remained engaged over the three-hour production, laughing and crying respectively. It wasn’t until the final song that emotions began to run high towards the middle of the third row.

Company, except Eliza: The orphanage.

Eliza: I established the first private orphanage in New York City.

Company, except Eliza: The orphanage.

Alexa could feel her heart speed up as she heard the words for the first time. She could feel tears forming in her eyes as the song progressed, a sob eventually escaping.

At the end, the cast proceeded through their curtain call, lining up across the stage. The audience was on their feet, Alexa in tears as she stood, applauding furiously.

As she headed backstage, she made a beeline for Lin’s dressing room. He was having a conversation with the conductor for the show, when she hugged him, unannounced.

He hugged back, attempting to mask his surprise.

Alex could see how pleased his friend was. “Hey, I’ll just call you in the morning. Great job, man.”

“Yeah, you too.” Lin smiled, waving goodbye to his friend before turning his attention back to his daughter.

“Lex, are you crying?”

“I just… I wasn’t expecting that. I’m usually really good with history; I need to brush up.”

He hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head. “It’s okay to feel emotional, it’s a really emotional show.”

“I’m not emotional.” she finally said, pulling away, wiping tears from her eyes. “I just wasn’t expecting it is all.”

“You don’t have to feel ashamed for having emotions.” He reminded her.

“I’m not.” she insisted a third time. “Not emotional, I mean. I’m fine.”

“Okay…” He knew bringing it up a fourth time would probably get her more irate than upset. He decided it best to just drop the subject. “Just give me a second to get my street clothes back on and we can take a cab home.”

“Okay,” she nodded, stepping out into the hallway. She turned to closed the door but hesitated before doing so.

“Hey, Lin?”

He turned his cell phone on, glancing up at her. “What’s up?”

“Thanks for taking me. I uh… I learned a lot. About the arts,” she paused. “And Hamilton.”

He nodded, reassuring her that he knew what she was trying to say. “I hope I at least opened your mind to other possibilities.”

She could admit that the idea of being a successful artist didn’t seem as impossible having seen it being done. A fact that she thought would be best to keep to herself.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” she confirmed, closing the door behind her.

-

As the summer went on, her creative break out slowly began. She would sit in the house of the Richard Rodgers Theatre in early July with her MacBook, slaving away on pieces that Lin would only catch glimpses during their twelve-hour tech rehearsals. Happy to see her productive, he wanted to encourage her even further.

“Hey Gen,” he caught her attention one afternoon during a five-minute tech rehearsal break.

She glanced up from her computer, giving him a confused look.

“Did you just call me Gen?”

“Yeah.”

“Like… Gene Kelly you musical freak?” she teased.

“You—” he paused, surprised at her words. “How do you know who Gene Kelly is?”

“How would I not know?” she shot back as if it was obvious.

“I mean…” he struggled to think of an explanation.

“I was in middle school chorus,” she explained. “My teacher liked playing older movie musicals on slower days. She was a big Singing in the Rain fan. We think she had a thing for Gene Kelly.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “I mean it’s one of my favorite movie musicals, so I get it.”

“So Gen doesn’t mean Gene Kelly?” she confirmed.

“It’s short for genius,” he explained, sitting in the chair beside her. He glanced at the screen, eagerly following the words on the page. “What are you working on?”

She slapped the computer shut then. “It’s not ready yet.”

“You know, I would show my early work to family and friends all the time. It’s a great way to get feedback. It’s how Hamilton came to be.”

She sighed, her hands covering her face. “It’s not worth the attention.”

“Part of being an artist is being confident in your work.” he pointed out. “If you don’t think it’s worth the attention, it’s going to show.”

She shrugged, staring down at her closed laptop. “I don’t know.”

“How about this?” he offered. “You show me some of your work, I’ll show you some of my work. Unfinished, just like yours. You’d be surprised how long the writing process takes before it makes it to Broadway.”

“Or, you could see something I wrote and let me go to opening night,” she suggested, smiling. “I know you guys set a date for the first week of August, and I—”

“Lex,” he started, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?” her smile had faded completely, she was obviously upset with him.

“Listen, you’re free to see the show to any day after that, I just don’t think opening night is the best idea.”

“But why? You’re always saying you want to expose me to the arts more—”

“Yeah, by taking you to the Met, not opening night.”

Alexa didn’t respond, only glared at him.

“There’s going to be a lot of celebrities and cameras there and I’m not sure we’re ready to have you put in the spotlight like that.”

“I can avoid cameras.” she insisted. “I do it all the time.”

“Not to mention, during the after party, it’s just going to be you in a sea of drunk adults.”

“So?”

“So that’s not the best place for a sixteen-year old to be.”

She sighed, crossing her arms. “I’ve been around way too many drunk adults to be upset by them at this point.”

“V and I were going to hire a sitter that night.” he informed her.

“I’m sixteen, I don’t need a sitter.”

Lin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Lex I don’t feel comfortable with you being there. You can stay home with Sebastian and the sitter. I’m sorry, but that’s my only offer.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be sure to get plenty of writing done that night. Not that you’ll ever see any of it.”

“Okay everyone, back to places!”

The stage manager called for everyone to return from their break. Lin attempted to kiss the top of her head only to have her pull away before promptly returning to the stage.

Alexa opened her laptop, pressing on with her work,