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She had called him daddy on the day of the coronation. She had called him father when shooting bolts at him. Sometimes she acknowledged him, sometimes she acted like he was a stranger. In a way, however, they WERE strangers. Madoc realized with a start that he didn't know what her favorite color or foods were. He didn't know what clothes she liked to wear, he didn't know what she did for a living, he didn't know what music she liked to listen to. Well, she had never stayed for long. She was always off to some place, even when he tried to get her to stay. It wasn't HIS fault. 'Oh, yeah, look at this park! It's my favorite-Lincoln Park. My dad used to take me here all the time.' she said. Madoc raised his eyebrows. What? Her father? He'd never- Justin. Justin. My father. Justin.
It suddenly crashed into him. That even though he was Vivienne's biological father, the man who had raised her was Justin Duarte, and then he'd died, and there was no other man, because his one biological daughter had always avoided him, avoided acknowledging their bond. 'I loved playing catch with him. And when I was tired, he would take me for ice cream. Vanilla ice cream-my favorite. While Mom took care of Jude and Taryn.' Madoc bit his lip. He was very uncomfortable now. The car was very cramped. He wanted to get out and run away. (Run away? How odd. He never ran away from things. Emotional troubles-he pushed them down, not ran away.) Vivienne swerved to avoid accidentally running a dog down and cursed. (Push down, run away. Run down, push away). He had never apologized to them for killing their parents. His apologies came in the form of raising them as his own, insisting they live like the Gentry Faeries. Teaching them swordplay and strategies. Giving them ball gowns and faerie food. 'I don't really like killing. It's a you thing.' she said. 'Of course, you wouldn't know anything else, would you? You can only kill, pathetic monster.' 'Vivienne.' he said. 'I've had enough. Stop this.' She snorted. 'Of course. Run away from emotionally charged conversations. Always the Madoc I knew.' When she had yelled at him, about Justin and Eva, he had always yelled back and told her to shut up. Walked away. Distracted himself. He never cried. (Though he'd blinked quite rapidly when standing near Eva's cooling body. Very rapidly, more than usual.) 'I never-' he said, then stopped. He couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? (That was a lie. He couldn't lie.) 'You never WHAT?' Vivienne yelled. The car was going to fast for his liking now. 'Never WHAT, Madoc? Never wanted to talk about them? Yeah, you never DID acknowledge what you did to us.' 'I have you everything, but you never took it.' 'No you didn't. You took what you wanted from my mother and then took even more from the three of us. Took everything from the three of us.' 'Vivienne, please-' 'NO.' she screamed. The car slammed to a halt and Madoc lurched forward. 'Get out.' He blinked. 'What?' 'Get. OUT!' she screamed, blinking back tears. 'I don't know why I took you on. I never win. Just get out and find your way back. I don't care.' He sighed and got out, staring at the car zooming away morosely. And then he realized where he was. The house. The house where it all happened. He grit his teeth. VIVIENNE! Then it hit him-Eva would've done something like that. A silly, lighthearted prank-well, not really, but she would have done it in a lighter manner. He remembered Eva and her reddish brown hair streaming behind her as she squinted her eyes and threw her head back when laughing. She had been a perfect mix of Jude and Taryn-Jude's daring and cunning and Taryn's soft femininity. He knew that he was so dedicated to the twins because they reminded her of him-more specifically Jude, who could have been an adopted Vivienne. His own Vivienne, however, had his eyes and ears, but she also had Eva's brown hair and a lighter shade of her skin. And now Madoc really saw some Eva in Vivienne-her snark, her boldness, her carefree nature. And he wondered how he hadn't seen it before.
So this is what a car looks like, Madoc thought. He had forgotten what they looked like. The models that Eva had showed him were 'old-school' and 'practically ancient', as Vivienne had put it. She had screamed with laughter when he asked about cars, using his fairy terminology.
Heather had politely smiled, but Madoc could tell that she was holding back laughter too. Her trembling lips conveyed as much. Madoc internally groaned. He was banished to the human realm, and he needed to brush up on his already scanty knowledge of it. And Vivienne seemed to delight in showing him how terrible he was at it. Laughing at every single thing he did wrong and condescendingly showing him how to do it better. He grunted in annoyance. 'This baby right here,' Vivienne patted the car, 'is a Toyota. Great model, very nice for a secondhand car, and holds four. Though with you in it,' she added casually, 'it'll probably be quite stretched, so be careful.' Madoc chose to take it as a compliment. His daughter was complimenting his muscular physique that could flatten any of these odd, lightning-speed, roaring vehicles. And anyway, the car was somewhat roomy at the back. He was studiously avoiding going to the house where it had all happened years ago. He would NOT remind himself of that time. Everything was better now. Jude and Taryn liked Faerie, and Vivienne- Vivienne, ironically, had been the only one who hated Faerie. She only stayed there for her sisters, and the moment she got a real chance to, she dropped everything and left to live in the human realm. Madoc had wondered at her loving a human girl. Just like him. And not understand her. Just like him. (And unintentionally hurting her. Just like him. Only this time, they were both well and good, while his hands were bloodstained and Eva lay six feet below). He had wondered how Vivienne would deal with Heather's death, but decided not to point it out. Vivienne was only 20 after all, and when she had lived centuries as he had, she would gain more experience. Oriana had chosen to come with him. What a wonderful woman and wife. Prim, thoughtful, proper, careful to consider he next move. Not like Eva, who was a restless whirlwind and broke more than one rule of faerie etiquette. (But then again, that was why he had liked her.) The human realm, however, was different from Faerie. No servants, no big grand mansions, only their little apartment in the building adjacent to Vivienne's, as she had absolutely refused to get him a flat in the same building as hers. He had already started playing politics with his neighbours and was making wonderful progress. He avoided telling Vivienne about this. Oriana rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'What will you do to the human world?' she had jokingly asked him. Maybe I'll take it for a spin, he thought, just like Eva did with my world. He had asked Vivienne to take him around the city to see what to catch up on. Now he stared at the glowing neon signs, recalling the ones from the 1970s, when he'd travelled around the city. He looked at the small stores whirl by. Vivienne wasn't even driving slowly-she simply drove ahead, telling him about the city and its modern developments. 'My goodness, humans really do evolve fast.' he said. 'I haven't been here since-well-' He fell silent. He hadn't been there since that fateful day-when he had killed Justin and Eva. 'You haven't been there since you killed my parents,' Vivienne said cheerfully. The car sped up. Madoc opened his mouth and closed it again. It shocked him that she said that, even when he had internally acknowledged it. My parents. My.
(Part one, since the whole thing is too long to post)
So, we talk about Vivienne not being there for her sisters in Elfhame and letting them get bullied by the other children of the Gentry, but I raise you this-
Vivienne WANTED to go back to the human realm, but Jude and Taryn wanted to stay in Elfhame, and when they were actually able to finally go to the human realm, Jude and Taryn hated it and wanted to go back, which broke Vivi's heart and immensely saddened her, because have we ever considered what Vivienne wanted?
Jude also recalled how angry Vivienne was when she and Taryn finally 'gave in' to Elfhame. I think that Vivienne thought that by choosing Elfhame, Jude and Taryn didn't just choose its perquisites, but also its perils, so one side of her mind decided that she didn't need to protect them so that they could learn a lesson. The other side of her, however, felt guilty that she wasn't protecting them, so she stayed for them. And so this cycle continued-angry one day, guilty the next. Just a theory of mine.
She met her in a mall courtyard.
Vivienne was simply walking around, window shopping. She occasionally bought something if she felt like it, or if she thought it would annoy Madoc, or to gift to Jude and Taryn, though they seldom liked such presents-maybe because it reminded them of their brief childhood in the human realm and they had no use for it in Faerie.
She usually glamoured herself to have round ears and brown eyes, though sometimes she let her natural features shine through. Some humans saw through it-rarely adults, sometimes children, who were not believed, though she smiled at them. If an adult really did see it, they convinced themselves that they were hallucinating. Sometimes, however, she let her real features show to enjoy the look on people's faces. Some of them would come up and ask her about it, and she would be vague about it.
This time, she wore her real features. She was feeling somewhat bummed out after a fight with Madoc and Oriana and wanted some comfort food after window shopping, one of her favorite things to do.
She wandered along the aisles, looking at glittery sticky hands, beautiful porcelain mugs, comfortable-looking sweaters and beanies. She smelt the aroma of Chinese food and Subway. She ran her hands along the grainy counter tops. And she sunbathed on the wooden benches while listening to her favorite music playlists on her phone that she had magically obtained-there was a whole lot of glamouring involved, too many complications all for a simple phone.
And then she saw Heather.
The first thing she noticed was a smudge of blue ink on her nose. Then she noticed her beautiful eyes, the color of darkest amber. And finally, when she spoke, Vivienne was afraid that she was talking to someone else.
'I want to draw you.'
Vivienne blinked. 'What?' she said, looking around, but there was nobody else. The girl was talking to her.
'I want to draw you. You're beautiful!' the girl said, gesturing towards her face. 'You're absolutely breathtaking-ethereal.'
Vivienne blinked rapidly and blushed. 'Oh-um, thank you. Thank you very much.' she giggled.
VIVIENNE. STOP GIGGLING LIKE AN IDIOT.
'I'm an artist,' the girl said, sitting next to her. 'I love drawing things. What's your name?'
'My name? Oh, it's Vivienne.'
'Ooh, French! Meaning full of life, very spirited.'
Vivienne laughed. 'Yeah, that's me. Very vivacious. Though my sisters call me ferocious.'
The girl laughed too. Her laugh was beautiful-very musical. 'Your eyes and ears-they're beautiful! How did you do them like that?'
How did I do them like that? Vivienne thought. Oh-she probably thinks that they’re fake products and contact lenses.
‘It’s a bit difficult, but I get it right in the end.’ she said, smiling mysteriously. At least, trying to smile like she was an enigma.
The girl laughed again. Her laugh really was music to the ears. ‘Oh, cool. Are you cosplaying or something? Or are you just doing it as part of a makeup routine, or do you just like the look?’
‘Oh, um, I just like the look.’ Vivienne said.
No, I do not like the look. In fact, if I could, I’d trade them for rounded ears and brown eyes in a heartbeat. Madoc would be so mad.
‘Wow. How’d you get your parents to approve? Mine are a little bit strict.’ she said.
Vivienne swallowed. ‘Well, my mom is dead, and my father and I aren’t on the best terms, so I usually stay away from the house. He doesn’t pay much attention to me anyway, so.’
She couldn’t lie, so she’d have to twist her words with this mystery girl-but she’d have to be much more subtle, since humans were not like the fey. They could probably see through lies much easier, since they could actively lie, something Vivienne wished she could do at times.
‘Ohhhhh.’ she said awkwardly. ‘Well, that’s sad. Um. So, do you come here often?’
‘Yeah.’ Vivi replied. ‘I love window shopping and then getting food to eat. It calms me down, every time.’
‘That must be nice-being able to find something that will calm you down, no matter what.’
‘It is.’ Vivienne agreed. Especially after she had come back to Elfhame after trying to leave forever.
‘So………….may I draw you? You look fascinating. Not to objectify you or anything,’ she hastily added.
‘Yeah……..wait, what’s your name?’
‘My name? Oh, it’s Heather.’ she said. ‘I’m gonna start sketching-are you ok with that? Just tell me if you’re uncomfortable.’
‘No, I’m ok. You can start,’ Vivienne assured her.
Heather started drawing, looking at Vivienne and then back at her notebook. Vivienne, in turn, secretly stared at Heather-she loved her bunch of pink curls, her gray glasses that kept slipping off her nose, her lovely eyes that were a lot like Jude and Taryn’s, her rounded ears, her clothes that also had drawings on them-beautiful, intricate designs. She didn’t know if she’d meet her again, but she wanted to stay in touch with her-someone actually her age.
‘Did you draw those?’ she asked, gesturing towards her clothes.
‘What? Oh, yeah, I sometimes sketch on my clothes, though it drives my mom crazy. I love tie-dye shirts because I can make whatever patterns I want-I also like to design my clothes.’
‘You can design your own clothes? That’s brilliant!’ Vivienne said. She normally wore human clothes, even when in Elfhame, but she sometimes wore faerie clothes, that were also intricate and delicate and simply designed for beauty, and she had a feeling that Heather would love those.
No way. You can’t tell her about Elfhame. She’d go mad. She wouldn’t believe you. She’d think YOU were mad.
‘Thank you!’ Heather smiled. Her smile was beautiful, like her laugh-it changed her face so much, Vivienne wished she’d smile forever, though she’d have so many wrinkles if she did. ‘My mom knows how to sew and all that-she taught me!’
‘Your mom is brilliant,’ Vivienne offered, then was pleased with Heather giggled and offered another thanks, saying that she’d be sure to tell her mother.
Was Vivienne ever aggressive like Madoc? That her redcap nature, though somewhat tempered by her human nature, played a role in her pre-Elfhame childhood? Was that why their parents and the other adults were so worried, apart from the cat eyes and fairy ears? Do you think that Eva saw Madoc in Vivienne's eyes and shrank from her? What about Justin? Do you think that they homeschooled her to keep themselves safer? Do you think that she was angry and ferocious at Madoc, then saw that he liked it, then tried to calm down and be nicer and go against her fiery nature and not learn battle strategies and swordplay in order to displease him?