Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Ace attorney. The rights to those characters belong to Capcom and Capcom alone. I own nothing!
Confrontation.
Thalassa Gramarye swallowed what felt like a lump in her throat.
Her eyes were glued to the tent in front of her, the tent where her worst nightmare lurked and awaiting her to come further even though she seriously frowned upon the idea.
She didn't want to face her past like this, she didn't want to face HIM whilst she knew what she would do to the one thing she cared about most: a little infant who was nearly a whole year old.
Thalassa had come from a long line of magicians and was the only daughter to the world famous Magnifi Gramarye.
She had also come to know two of her father's apprentices, Zak and Valant, and she even liked them both as friends. She got along with Zak way better, though, he somehow managed to show a compassionate side to her whilst he always shown a partial arrogant side to others.
He treated her like an actual person with feelings then a prize to be won.
Unlike her father and Valant...yet, there was one man who had captured her heart and shown her experiences she would not dare to dream of. He had only meant to be a guest star for the show and he had almost immediately charmed her with his bravery and his loud voice.
Alas, the two had run away as Magnifi hadn't liked the trapeze artist who had joined the Gramarye troupe.
They even eloped had started to perform solo acts around the world. They were a huge hit together and Thalassa had always thought it would be just the two of them...until she had discovered that she was carrying his baby. Of course, Thalassa was pleased that the young man she had loved was just as happy about the concept of parenthood and that she was siring his unborn.
They eventually had the little child together and named him Apollo.
Thalassa wished that it would just be the three of them, happy forever...but life wasn't so kind that way.
One day, during a performance, Thalassa had discovered that the love her her life was taken when he was leaping over to try and catch a swing whilst he did a midair flip. However a sudden shot rang out throughout the whole arena and there was an eerie silence in the air -a silence that filled Thalassa with dread as she subconsciously clutched on tightly to her swaddled infant who was quite young.
The sound was loud and Thalassa recognised it easily: a gunshot.
It was a sound so loud that it awoke little Apollo and made him cry his eyes out at the time and Thalassa couldn't help but cry with her precious son, trying to tell him that everything would be alright when she was not entirely sure that it was true.
The man she loved was declared dead when the paramedics had finally arrived and tried to resuscitate him.
Her heart was crushed.
She eventually told her father about her husband's death over a pay phone and she decided to hold her tongue about her son since she wanted to have her precious son meet his grandfather without him knowing that she had a son and telling him to get rid of him before daring to step into Troupe territory.
And here she was, strongly hesitating to enter her father's tent as if she was rethinking about this decision.
She had wrapped her little son tight in her cape which looked remarkably like the night skies, a deep navy blue and dotted with constellations. She vowed to wear it as long as she was a mother, she swore to wear it the day Apollo was born whilst she looked her husband supportively in the eye.
The boy she held was but a tiny toddler with intelligent looking wide eyes which explored their surroundings curiously and he had a head-full of brown hair, especially at the hairline on the front of his spacey forehead.
She wasn't entirely sure how her father would take the news but she didn't have much of a choice anymore but to begrudgingly ask for his help.
Thalassa had tried to live a normal life with her son but she could hardly make ends meet. Her lover was most of the talent in their little duo and all she had was an ability that made it so she could tell when others were lying to her.
What good would that do, other than a parlour trick? Heck, some people even thought of her as a freak show.
She hardly made enough to feed her little Apollo and living in poverty was no life she wished for her son to lead.
The young woman once again swallowed and started to force her legs to move involuntarily. She knew her father knew that she was here and, if she knew him well enough, he would probably know exactly why she was here and what circumstances had brought her home.
She subconsciously held her babbling son a tad tighter to her, starting to get protective of her little boy.
Apollo looked up at his mother and blinked with confusion as he made a little noise to mirror the expression on his face. Bless his heart, he didn't even know what was happening right now. He had no idea that his mother was just about to go face-to-face against her father: the most intimidating man in the whole world.
She slowly entered the tent that intimidated her so and she was greeted with the sight that she had predicted upon realising that the Gramarye performers tent was strangely empty of guests, audience and even staff members.
Magnifi sat behind a desk with his fingers drumming rhythmically against the cold fox glove surface of it. He wore a very cold sneer which was mixed with a darkening smirk, his eyes were shooting shards of ice through her chest like little throwing knives hitting its target.
Both his protégés, Valant and Zak, stood on either side of him a little ways behind where he sat.
Thalassa noted that the two young man weren't looking as empty as her father was -as a matter of fact, they seemed happy to see her- but she guessed that they were both trying desperately to hide their emotions as if to try and match their tones to the very ominous atmosphere that had washed up inside the tent.
She faintly noticed that little Apollo was asleep, sucking on his thumb as it was stuck in his little mouth whilst his lips were puckered around it.
"Nice to see you once again, my dear Thalassa..." Magnifi greeted, sounding surprisingly pleasant and sincerely happy to see her "I thought that I would never see you again."
Thalassa forced a weak smile at her father but tried to hide Apollo in her cape as she subtly cradled him against her chest as if to make sure that he would stay fast asleep.
She was a bit surprised to hear the tone that Magnifi used for her, he sounded just like he did when she was a little child and that brought back old memories but not only that, it actually made her feel scared. Hardly ever nowadays did her father use such a happy tone with her and this made her realise that he was on the cusp of saying something horrible.
Magnifi frowned a bit, as if trying to sympathise with his daughter for a split few seconds "I heard that your husband had perished..." his scowl visibly deepened in distrust as he harrumphed "Hmph! Good riddance..."
Thalassa tried to not gasp aloud but the shock on her face was all Magnifi needed. Did her father just...spit on her husband's memory?
Just why would be he so cruel? She knew that her husband nor her father got along great and they even fought regularly over Thalassa's well-being, sharing their different views on what was best for her.
Ever since their guest star had run away with his daughter, Magnifi had developed a strong hatred with the young man.
The young lady even noticed looks of shock etched on Valant and Zak's faces as if they were just as shocked as Thalassa herself to hear such venom come out of the mouth of the leader.
If the old magician cared, he didn't show it. He didn't even seem to care that his potential grandson was probably listening in on the conversation.
Magnifi then asked shortly, clearly starting to get angry at his daughter "What business do you have with me anyway, Thalassa?"
For the second time, the young lady swallowed a lump in her throat. She knew that it was now or never...
There was no way she could do this on her own anymore, she was wise enough to know when she was defeated and the fact that her starved figure was slightly visible under her cape was probably going to prevent her from leaving, she was very weak so she couldn't muster enough energy to just bolt out the door now.
So, sighing heavily, she slowly revealed the baby Apollo.
A chorus of collected gasps snapped through the air and shocked at this new revelation.
Little Apollo cooed in his sleep and opened his big innocent eyes a fraction, as if sensing that he was suddenly in the spotlight, but then he seemed to not care very much and closed his eyes again and resumed his nap while suckling on his thumb.
He adjusted his position and gurgled softly as he laid comfortably in his mother' caring arms.
"H-How did you...?" Zak asked, stunned by the fact that Thalassa had a baby.
Magnifi didn't even need his daughter to answer the question as he slammed his fists down on the table, almost shrieking with rage as his face turned crimson with fury, smoke blowing out from his ears "It was that brat, this is HIS spawn, isn't it?!"
Thalassa was suddenly overcome with the urge to stare down at the floor as if she were a child being scolded by their parent -which was sort of the case here.
She continued to cradle her baby boy in her arms and she was surprised that this wasn't awaking him already.
He was a very heavy sleeper and it made her glad at the moment, although she feared that wouldn't be the case if he continued to yell like that and she didn't want to deal with a crying one-year-old on top of everything else.
But then the young woman heard words that she never wanted to hear:
"Get rid of it now!"
Magnifi sounded so angry and demanding, Thalassa was stunned into silence.
Never had she heard such fury in his voice like the intoxicating venom dripping off the ivory tips of a cobras fangs. It was enough to make her eyes shoot wide open with fear as she bit her lower lip and clutched on to little Apollo tighter as if he were her lifeline.
She reminded herself of why she was here and decided to shift the topic off of her sleeping little toddler and to also avoid questioning of what to do with him when she had a pretty good idea of what would happen, she would rather die then allow it...yet she was young and she couldn't take on such a huge responsibility herself.
She was back here mostly for the good of her son.
"Anyways, the reason I have come home is because..." She swallowed a big gulp and focused all of her senses on the face of her father "...I want to come back into the Troupe."
Magnifi seemed pretty shocked himself now as his anger melted away like chocolate long held in someone's hand.
He knew how much his daughter disliked the troupe so this was a pretty shocking request for the young lady to confess.
However, after deserting the troupe like that, he just simply couldn't allow her to just come back freely.
He had to set up a bargain and he also knew that Thalassa wouldn't simply just join back in unless she was completely desperate.
His sneer was pointed at the child his daughter had so obviously sired, cradled in Thalassa's protective and loving arms.
"...You must give up that rat if you wish to come back." He proclaimed, suddenly.
Thalassa took a step back and her jaw fell to the floor. Her baby, her beloved little baby, was to be given up? He must be thrown away like mere rubbish?
Her face went chalk white and her beautiful blue eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets, her arms and caving legs shook as if being electrocuted.
She even started sweating profusely.
No...she couldn't allow that to happen! Apollo was her son, her responsibility! She had to fight for him to stay!
However, her response was much more meek as she tried to argue "...P-Please no!"
Magnifi continued, pointing a finger angrily at the toddler "Thalassa, that boy is a nuisance! He is the son of a mere circus freak and shall ruin our great line of magicians!"
"H-He may be born with the Gramarye genes, father, he could prove useful!" Thalassa exclaimed, quickly growing desperate.
"That may be so but he will NOT be apart of this Troupe! He is a mutt in our purebred line of Magicians!"
"B-But, sir," Zak spoke up "certainly you cannot be so harsh to your own grandson! I-I could help Thalassa raise the boy and then...!"
Magnifi snapped, pointing an accusing finger at his apprentice "Silence, Zak! I shall not have such a sordid little mutt in this troupe, he shall be naught but trouble in this group!"
Thalassa couldn't believe her ears as she stared at her father with her jaw to the floor. Did her father just call her son a mutt!? Did he just insult her tiny little Apollo in such a harsh manner?
She could even hear Apollo waking up and crying as if knowing exactly that the bile and hatred was directed towards him.
The little child cried tears of fright as he bawled as loudly as his tiny overdeveloped lungs would allow. He even squirmed in his mother's protective embrace whilst his arms flailed around in a desperate search to cling on to his mother by anyway possible but only to find that loving finger that he knew belonged to his mother.
His teary eyes brightening up like little lights, Apollo's arms reached for the finger offered to him and his tiny digits gripped on to the long pinkie finger and stuck it inside his mouth and he started to suck on it, his own whimpers dying down as the comfort of his mother's warmth had started to calm him down.
Sleepily, he gently rubbed his cheek against his mother's chest in a sign of pure affection.
While the young woman felt warm fuzzy feelings swirl in her chest, she knew that she couldn't focus on that right now.
Thalassa, her motherly instincts taking over, glared daggers at her father and opened her mouth to yell at him and ask how he could say such things about his own grandson.
Before she could, however, Magnifi continued but he was practically spitting out his words now; it was as if he was trying to make himself sound as harsh as possible.
"That mutt is the spitting image of his father! He's no grandson of mine!"
Thalassa was taken aback. Now her husband as well as her baby was receiving a verbal lashing! She could feel the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she glared fiery orbs of anger while she clutched her child even tighter
She found her voice and snapped "How can you say that, father!? Apollo is just a year old and he is your grandson!"
Valant and Zak also spoke up by trying to assist the woman in her plight as Valant spoke up bravely whilst Zak encouraged him "We know you disliked Thalassa's husband, master Gramarye, but maybe you are being a bit mean-spirited?"
While both Zak and Valant were apprentices of Magnifi, they both cared for Thalassa's well-being and hated seeing her suffer. They both felt equally strong feelings for her and wanted only to make her feel happy and also make sure they were worthy for the Gramarye title.
For a second time, Magnifi shot warning glares at the two young men and then started to rub at his temple as if to calm himself down. He sunk a bit in his chair and he let out a big sigh as he let his shoulders fall down in relaxation and he even closed his eyes as if to try and maintain a much calmer composure.
He opened his eyes and, surprisingly, a concerned gleam reflected inside his pale blue irises "...Thalassa, sweetheart, I know you love that child but you are far too young to sire children,"
Magnifi rubbed his head again and scratched at his ivory moustache. He looked like he was genuinely struggling now, despite sending his grandson a serious heated amount of venomous words. He looked back up at his daughter and looked over towards her, smoothing his tone gently as if to try and make himself sound less cross.
"You cannot look after this boy any longer, you appear to be barely feeding yourself. Tell me; do you want to raise your child in an environment where he will be subjected to a spotlight not good for him? We would be travelling a lot for the next several years, my dear, it's no life for a child as young as he."
Magnifi reasoned, surprisingly using a ton of logic in his words of wisdom. He may have disliked the child and its father but that didn't change the fact that his daughter was starving herself for him and she was sacrificing herself for the infant's well-being. Admittedly, he would have done the same thing for his daughter.
He would give up all his magic knowledge should his daughter be on the line.
"Please, Thalassa...do what is best for him and then come home." He pleaded, holding his arms out towards her as if awaiting an embrace from his stupefied daughter.
Thalassa swallowed and choked back a sob. Her father was right, she could look after herself and she couldn't raise her beloved baby boy in such a manner. It wouldn't be fair on him, he didn't deserve that kind of life. The performers life just wasn't made for him.
Even if the Gramarye troupe offered their assistance, which she highly doubted would happen even if Zak had volunteered to assist, she doubt that the environment would be good for a baby of a year old.
So she looked down at Apollo, tears welling up in her eyes, and she hugged him to her chest and allowed the tears to fall.
'...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Apollo...' She thought, her body convulsing in hard wracks as she started sobbing.
Now that her father had mentioned this to her, despite the verbal lashing he had directed at the boy, she just couldn't put her child through such stress and there was the fact that if she chose Apollo over this chance; she would be put back on the streets and it would be selfish of her.
Apollo would starve to death, as would she.
Thalassa finally looked up at her father and felt her heart break in two separate pieces. She would have to give up the only thing she had left of her lover, she would have to give up her darling child for any hope of a future.
She broke down and collapsed on to her knees and just cried aloud, holding her sleeping baby tightly and biting her lip.
It was the only thing she could do to keep herself from asphyxiating her sweet little Apollo.
She looked down at her son's sleeping face one more time, gently pulling him away from her chest and gently pulling away a fold of the boy's face and she looked at him with tears trailing down her pale cheeks.
He looked suddenly so angelic and so charming. What her father said was true, he was practically a little clone of her late husband!
But she looked at her darling baby boy and gently stroked his forehead, feeling the youngling's brown hair tickle her delicate palm. He grunted softly in his sleep and subconsciously gripped her finger tighter, still holding it from before.
What broke Thalassa's heart more than anything was that she was now having to leave her son all alone in this world.
She cradled little Apollo in her arms and craned her neck, lowering her head whilst swallowing her sobs, and she delicately planted a warm loving kiss on his spacious little forehead.
The young woman cuddled her baby boy and let the world around her fade into a black abyss. Right now all she could focus on was her child, nothing else mattered anymore. Thalassa realised that this was probably the very last time she would ever see her beautiful son and she was terrified of the darkness that bleached her once colourful world.
Once again, she heard her very own voice in her head apologising as she hugged Apollo once more and peppered his cheeks with butterfly kisses.
'I am sorry I can't be there for you...my poor, poor baby...'
A/N: Sorry, I have a bit of writers block at the moment. I'm a bit under the weather still and I have plenty of time on my hands.
Anyways, this is my version of how Thalassa had made the decision to give up Apollo. I hope it was not rushed or anything, I worked for several days on this. This could also be considered as a prequel to "Origins of Justice", and I hope you all like this.
Please review and tell me what you think.
-Chloemcg