Double
-dedicated to Whilily-
: i :
Once upon a time:
Her screams fill the hospital room, and the gnome nurses hold her hands to lend her magic, when her natural stores are used. They are screams of pain, but joyous pain.
He can not wait to see his child for the first time; his son will be brilliant and beautiful just like his parents. His son will continue the family business.
A final cry; and then a first cry.
He turns to see his new son and sees instead—
disloyalty, dexterity, and the drive to dominate dancing in dark eyes
dangerously determined
...and disappointing
—a daughter.
: ii :
Twice upon a time:
The figure floats in a room of water, silver wires and tubes weaving in and out of her like snakes. Though her eyes are open wide and the chamber is flooded with light as well as liquid, she sees nothing, her mind less than that of an infant. Her long, limp hair drifts seaweed-like. She is nearly fully grown, though she has not yet left the bright womb.
The instructions were quite clear: she must be perfect in every way.
Calculated years ago, the time comes for her to emerge. An unnatural silence greets her birth.
A/N: Linked 100w drabbles about Opal and her clone, comparing/contrasting their births.
Simply dedicating this fic to Whilily doesn't quite repay/show due appreciation for all the back-breaking labor she puts into the fandom. So: everyone must hug Lily!