Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.
AN: Something I had had in my mind for a long time, but hadn't thought to put on paper. This is just something I'm doing for fun. Warning: Characters will be OOC, though I will try and make them in character, but since this is an AU, then…'shrugs'
04/03/2020 EDIT: So, going back over this, the writing is pretty awful. I like the ideas I started out with, though the execution was rather sloppy. I've decided to give this story a little bit of a rewrite - or as much as I can while still preserving bits of the original plot and intention - and hopefully it's more in-character and flows better as a story now. Of course, since I've gotten used to using present tense when writing instead of past tense, there may be times when I jump between the two, and if I do I apologise for the mistake. I hope that anyone still reading continues to enjoy reading this story; thank you for your continued support.
Prologue:
"Come on, come on! Where are they?" Diana asks impatiently, staring out of the window. She flicks her hair out of her eyes, straining to see when her parents' car turned in. Her brother, Benito, as eager as she, leaps up beside her; he precariously hoisted himself on the windowsill for several seconds before dropping to the ground again.
Undeterred, he shoots his sister a bright smile, navy blue eyes glinting with joy. "I hope it's a boy!"
"No!" Diana scoffs, clearly disgusted. "A girl!"
Their grandmother chuckled as she placed a hand on both their backs. "Both of you calm down. They'll be back soon." Still, it was clear to anyone else that she was just as eager as her grandchildren to meet her newest one.
Both bounced impatiently, keeping their eyes glued to the window. It had been two hours since they had the call, but they were still unaware of the gender.
"I hope they get here soon!" Benito offers.
Then, almost as if on cue, a car pulled up into the driveway. With a cheer, both siblings almost fell over themselves as they raced to the door, trying to shove each other away in an attempt to view the new baby first.
Their mother stepped out of the car, shutting it closed behind her. She walked up to the eager children and leaned down; both obligingly greet her with a kiss on the cheek, then turn to their father, who was now pulling a wrapped bundle from the backseat.
Their grandmother, eyes dark with suspicion, trails more sedately behind the children.
"Where is he?" Benito asks.
Their mother purses her lips. "Perhaps it is best that you do not see him."
"What? Why?" Benito asks. Diana, ever more observant, suddenly grabs his hand. He shakes her off. "What's his name?"
"He doesn't have a name so far."
"Him!" Benito laughs, turning to his older sister triumphantly. "It's a he!"
Diana scowls but stands on her tiptoes nonetheless, trying to get a closer look at the hidden bundle. Their father withdraws it further away from her, causing the girl's frown to deepen. Likewise, her grandmother purses her lips as a cold chill runs through her veins.
What was wrong with the child? Why would they not let the siblings view the child?
When the grandmother turns her stare to the mother, the younger woman only raises her chin in pride and strides back to the house. The grandmother jumps as a warm bundle is shoved in her arms, and watches with alarm as the father storms inside after her while the grandmother absent-mindedly rocks the child.
"What's wrong with them?" Benito asks.
Diana shrugs. Their grandmother forces a smile for their benefit, then carefully shifts the blanket to let the children get a closer look at their younger brother.
"He's so tiny," Diana whispers, awed as she carefully strokes the baby's head.
"As were the two of you," their grandmother says affectionately. The baby squirms, causing the blanket to shift once more. As the elderly woman carefully moves him once again, his back is exposed to the evening sky for a brief second.
The second child, eager and attentive as he is, immediately notices something out of the ordinary. "What's that on his back?"
"Hm?" Their grandmother asks.
"There was something on his back. Like a black mark."
The grandmother carefully brings the child up to her chest, turning him to get a better look at his shoulder. Like the second child had said, there is a dark mark there - almost like a smudge if one didn't look closely. She tenses, and the child lets out a small cry, eyes remaining tightly closed.
"He's crying," the eldest child notes with alarm.
The grandmother carefully rocks the baby again. "Well," she clears her throat and trying to shake off her stupor, "I don't think your parents named him."
This distraction works like a charm. Both children perk up, the black mark already having been flung out of their mind.
"Can we name him?" The second child asks.
The grandmother nods, shooting both a gentle smile. She had been subject to their debates about the name of the youngest child, and almost certainly knows the name they are going to pick; she had had final pick as judge, after all.
Almost as if understanding the importance of the occasion, the baby squirms and open his eyes.
The grandmother freezes. Not just the mark but the baby's eyes…?
Not dark blue, not light blue, not sea blue, not sky blue. Not any shade of blue to demonstrate his magical abilities and lack of ominous bloodline. Quite the opposite in fact.
The second child remains happily oblivious, but the eldest child is likewise frozen to the spot as she stares down into those green green eyes.
Not green.
They couldn't be green.
Her little brother could not be cursed with green eyes, cursed with an unhappy ending as all those with their blood had ended up like. Diana feels like she can't breathe, like all the air around her has stilled and her lungs are no longer collecting enough air. She had read stories from the family archives at the annual family gathering every year, stories that promised death and destruction and the breaking of familial bonds.
Only six other cases of green eyes had been reported in the family, their lives were devastatingly tragic. Almost like those stories her family told their kids: don't be born with green eyes, it will only mean horror and misfortune.
Diana had been scared to death ever since young, and when Benito had been born, she had prayed fervently that he wouldn't have green eyes. He hadn't - he had a lovely shade of sky blue that had everyone cooing and congratulating the happy couple.
"Diana?" Benito asks curiously. "What's wrong?"
Diana blinks, realising that she was now several feet away from the family, having backed away subconsciously. She shakes her head and exchanges a look with her grandmother, whose eyes shared the same horror.
They didn't want it to be true. But when Diana glances down at the baby's eyes once more, the colour almost solidifies, as if confirming its presence.
The baby's - Diego's - eyes are moss green.
