Dear readers,
"Devil and Angel" is my new fic. This is AU, starting at the 60's with Miranda's family – only first chapter – but it will come back in flahsbacks. From there, we go for her time at Runway.
Andrea Sachs will appears at the present (2000).
Disclaimer: I do not own DWP and its characters. I only own some that I created in this adaptation. And I do not own any money with the fic...
WARNING: There may be content that can disturb some people, please tread carefully.
1.
NY, 20 June 1963
Pliestry's House
5 pm
Diana Pliestry is a very important woman, for people outside her house, she is a teacher and housewife. She married her husband Phillip around twenty-two years ago and they have two children: Daniel, 21, a very handsome young man and a very shy teenager, Miriam, 15, that is basic completely found on clothes and a big fan of Jacqueline Kennedy.
Philip and Diana bought of them, came to live in America when Daniel were only six and Miriam a small baby. They were young and with a life to live ahead but their plans were far from a married couple and a stable and beautiful American family. Before they lived in London, but the Pliestry's were from URSS.
"Miriam, please, could you stop reading the magazine and come here."
Miriam Pliestry is the most difficult person in the world. She is shy but at the same time has a temper that is able to scare people away when she has decided to do something. She is the boss, doesn't matter where she is. When she wants something, no one is able to stop her, except her mother.
Miriam never had a good relation with Diana. And the opposite with her father and older brother, both very protect about the girl. But Diana, no, she only wants the girl to become her mirror in the world: powerful, able to make people shake with her eyes and deadly wish to end anyone that is weak.
As Miriam listened to her mother's voice, she felt all her blood leaving her veins and stand up. She never remembered her mother being nice with her; it's almost her fault that she is not a boy...
"I am coming..."
As Miriam stopped at the living room, the atmosphere there is tense and she wished the situation was different.
"Yes, mother."
"You know how I feel about your slow steps coming in here. Next time, I prefer you do it faster."
"Yes, mother."
"We need to go out in a few hours. You help yourself with supper. You will be able to find everything in the fridge if you are able to stop reading that magazine of yours."
"Mother, I do wish you'd respect my feelings since you do so well with Daniel."
"Really, Cosmopolitan does not make you what you are supposed to be."
Miriam looked to her mother, questions already running her mind. She is been listening to this since she was what, six or seven years old. Obviously her big brother is what he is supposed to be, but what is it?
Miriam left the room without a second word. She will discover with her brother what she supposed to be at some point. She is not blind or stupid, obvious her family meetings of night are always intriguing her but she have more to do than thinking what kind of thing they are doing. Since it does not affect her and her wishes to be a stylist, she does not care. One day she will be drawing to Cosmopolitan, maybe even have her own magazine.
Deep in her toughs, the teenager did not see her brother passing by at the corridor and meeting their mother. The young man and their mother left the house to meet Philip.
A very loud bang at the door and Miriam is alone. Now she can do what she has been doing for a while, without, she hopes, anyone in the house aware of it. She quickly opens her box, very well closed, with the key she keeps with her all the time, and her world totally changed.
Different sizes of pens, colorful tones that she will play around until finding what she believes is an acceptable drawing. Then she will keep this with the others until she will be able, at the age of 18, to send this to the magazine and leave this house. She loves her father and brother but she cannot cope anymore with her mother.
NY, 28 July 1963
9am
Diana has her last day as a teacher. She discovered, not to long ago, that she is sick, lung cancer, advanced stage, and the doctors do not give her more than 3 months to live. She now decided to leave the university that she has been teaching for almost five years and do what she believes is the best for her husband, son. and even daughter.
Pliestry's House
1 pm
After some hours she is tired and exhausted. The only person in the family totally aware of her health problem is Philip. Daniel is now very busy with his new girlfriend, an American girl, her parents are diplomats and the relation is good to the future of her family.
Miriam realized something odd is happening with their parents, they were never the beautiful loving couple at home, only outside for the neighbors and the world around to see, but at home?! No, and suddenly all these small touches and all, her mother looks more slim and thin than usual but nothing strange apart some moments rushing to the bathroom. Since she is not too young anymore, she totally considered a pregnancy. But whatever it is, she will discover at some point.
Miriam is missing Daniel, he is her big brother but now he did not talk to her as often anymore. Always in a rush, or because of his work as an engineer, he graduated not too long ago, or his girlfriend or things that he told her are "man things". She is wondering if her brother has two girlfriends at the same time. She knows some men do it.
As she is walking into her room she stops dead at the scenario. It looks like a war scene. All her papers, her drawing at the floor, in pieces and her box broken. At the end of the bed, her mother in an expression that says more than she would like to know.
"Do you care to tell me, young lady, what is that?!"
At her mother's left hand the last drawing that she spent almost two weeks preparing. It is the dress that she considers will be her opening doors to any possibility of a job as an stylist.
"You, young lady need to stop this nonsense of drawing. Do you think I never knew this dream of yours? I knew for a long time but I was thinking you stopped it but no. Your birthday is in a few days, you are going to be 16 years old and what are you planning to do with your future?!"
Miriam is seeing everything red. So her lovely mother knew her secret and is playing around for years, what a bitch, a snake always around to bit but never biting and now she simple destroyed her prospects of life.
A very icy voice suddenly came from the teenager and her mother became still. They never had a good relationship but her daughter was never this angry and furious. A tone of voice very similar to hers when they are in their meetings and all men around feel as small as a child. But Miriam never went to any of these meetings, even if Diana's bosses always implied she supposed to be there, as Daniel, since the boy turned 10.
"You do not have the right to do it."
"And would you made clear to me why not!?"
"You are worse than the devil."
"And you are the devil's child. So darling, get used to it."
Miriam takes the paper from her mother's hand and slowly take her backpack.
"Well, I have good news for you. Devil will be leaving this house soon and you and dad and Daniel can continue doing wherever you all do, without the need to lie to me."
"And what do we do?"
"Oh, let me see. Going out late, back almost early morning at least three times a week for at least ten years, that's when I started to realize something was not right. And then going to the loft and staying there for hours, always still when some news about a dead person came to the radio or the television; are you a spy or what? Oh and let me see, you have Russian books there too."
And that's when it all happened. Suddenly a very hard hand touched Miriam's face. It was the first time but it will be the last. And like this, she looks to her mother, a devil's smile on her face.
"Well mother, we are finally on the same page."
Diana left her daughter's room scared. She always knew Miriam was a very astute child but never imagined she knew so much about them. She obvious was a bit careless thinking she were able to control the young woman.
NY, 10 August 1963
Miriam Pliestry is now 16 years old, she is still considered a minor in the USA but she just decided to leave her house. After a talk with her father, understanding all the issues, she discovered that her mother is very ill and will not live for too long. She decided to stay at her house until she dies and after it, she will leave her house, with her father's consent. After this, with her father's authorization, she is flying to London to stay with a friend's family until all the process finish. She will no longer be Miriam Pliestry's.
