III: Pizza

[Word Count: 600]

Awkwardness and alienation ruled their interactions with their lost child. Neither she nor Oritel seemed to come any closer to Bloom, not even when she moved into the palace permanently.

In a way it couldn't be helped.

Bloom grew up unaware of her nobility and outside of Dominion society. But Marion wanted her daughter to feel she had a place in Domino and that her parents truly wanted her. It wasn't just because she was their only heir. Marion felt she owed it to Bloom after orphaning her…abandoning her.

However Marion realised she was terrible at conversing without her aristocratic preconceptions getting in the way. It was difficult to not be dismayed by Bloom growing up on an ignoble, magic-hating backwater. Thus she constantly worried about coming across as overbearing, appalled or disinterested in Bloom's life before their reunion. Before Bloom, she never entertained how her nobility could present barriers in personal relationships. Marion never needed to.

Her concerns deepened as she noticed Bloom's reservations about her princess-hood. Bloom seemed comfortable enough in her friends' company. But the same could not be said when she wasn't with them. Alone, she seemed unmoved and even disillusioned by the world of royalty.

That was how a stranger behaved and it hurt Marion more than anything. More than losing almost two decades of her life petrified in Obsidian. Something she needed to rectify. She had already lost her chances with one daughter. She didn't need to fail twice.

Her old friend Faragonda tried to reassure her that these things took time. At first Marion believed it and thought every day routine would eventually facilitate further familiarity. But months later there was little progress and she believed she had to seize the opportunity to become closer.

A part of Marion felt stupid for thinking about improving relations with her daughter like it was tactics or strategy. But she couldn't see any other way to approach it.

So one night she decided to visit Bloom. Unannounced. In the middle of the night.

Marion ordered the maids not to enter her daughter's chambers under any circumstances. Since Bloom showed herself to be uncomfortable with servants routinely tidying up her quarters, Marion thought the added privacy would help ease Bloom into the aristocratic lifestyle.

When she got there Bloom's room was no pigsty but it was a mess. She found her daughter sprawled on the bed between discarded cans of caffeinated energy drinks and pizza boxes. Some empty, some still with half-eaten slices. Her hand on a stack of documents that Marion didn't pay much heed to.

Why would Bloom waste money on such junk food? There wasn't a shortage of food in the palace.

But raising her concerns about Bloom's…eating habits the next morning was probably a mistake.

She later overheard the maids gossiping about Bloom spending less time in her chambers as a result of the Queen's chiding. The palace was a big place. It wouldn't be surprising if Bloom found some hidden nook to continue her binge eating.

In the end Marion couldn't help but think that it was a symptom of something else. Though Bloom tried to have some culinary manners she noticed her daughter always ate as if no one was going to give her food ever again.

Another look that Marion hated. The only people she saw with that look were starving unfortunates displaced by the war. Her daughter wasn't a refugee. She was her daughter.

Or maybe she was just reading too much into it like she always did. Maybe her daughter just really liked pizza?

Her estranged, pizza-loving daughter.

Author Notes: After reading some of the reviews left on my previous drabbles I think I need to clarify a few things, mainly for "Unprofessional". I was drawing on the historical custom that nobles/very upper class people refrained from showing open attachment to their offspring in order to maintain a tradition of respect. The whole point of having nursemaids and governesses raise their children was to facilitate that idea. This attitude was pretty prevalent from medieval times right up to the Victorian era (especially in that era). Obviously there were exceptions to that rule and this cold attitude in raising children has changed since then. But it's worth remembering that even fanfiction doesn't have to mirror present real life (and its issues) to a tee. And Domino is a planet that has been ruled by monarchy for as long as it's possibly existed so some medieval attitudes may not have gone away…

But for "Unprofessional" also remember that it's set in a time of a war that's lasted for years and as such Marion and Oritel haven't had much time to spend with Daphne, let alone their newborn daughter. That drabble was meant to show Marion being reminded that she really wants a better future with and for her children. She also realises her adherence to royal expectations was just to cope with the stress of ruling and even more so with the Ancestral Witches' war. It's also touching on how Marion is afraid of loving people too dearly because she doesn't believe she could handle it if she loses them…a theme that will be explored in later drabbles I hope.

Nonetheless I get pretty sad if some people can't get a grasp of my interpretation of a character so I'll do my best to make Marion more understandable if I can. I'm also going to be jumping around a lot with drabbles in terms of timeline so if that's going to interfere with your ability to grasp Marion's character I'm really sorry. Please continue to read the author notes if you want more insight into my writing…

ANYWAY for this drabble in particular is just highlighting the division Marion feels exist between herself and Bloom. It takes place after Domino's restoration but before Daphne gets her body back. I was also able to get this drabble out sooner than expected because the draft has been lying around for a few months so yeah. This is still no indication about when the next drabble could come out either so don't get your hopes up.