Author Note: Sorry for the slow update these past two weeks. I'm dealing with a lot of writer's block and barely spending any time for myself because of school. This is going to be a chapter of seeing Ophelia talk to both Javier and Maria about Claire and the reason why they are here. Remember chapter six?
(A few weeks ago)
"Ophelia, calm down. It's going to be okay." Javier says calmly as his wife paces back and forth around the room.
"I can't, Javier! This is all my fault!" Ophelia cries in a panicked state of mind.
"Shhh, Ophelia. This isn't your fault. But you need to calm down, or you'll wake her up." Javier replies, trying to reassure his wife.
Ophelia stops pacing and faces her husband but still looks panicked. "Oh Javier, what should we do?" She cries hopelessly and sounds desperate.
Javier gently places his hands on his wife's shoulders."You have to tell her about your family's history. You need to inform your mother about this." He answers.
Ophelia shakes her head frantically. "Javier, I can't do that. I've tried so hard to keep Claire away from this. Oh, Javier. I'm scared... Scared for our daughter's life. The more she knows, the more trouble will come for her." She cries, tears streaming down her cheeks. But she didn't know Claire was listening. Ophelia looks down and trembles from her crying. "I've brought this upon our little girl, and she's going to suffer horrifying consequences!"
Javier sees the fear and panic in his wife. He knows what's going on, and he knows how she feels. He remembers when Ophelia told him about her family's "secret" and why she left Huntington at 18. They were seriously dating and talking about the future, including having children. But Ophelia almost broke down and cried.
Ophelia wants to have children. But because of her status as a Firstborn, she's afraid about giving her first child the same burden she has, living a life of hiding something inside of them from the world and being ashamed of it. She told Javier about her gift, the necklace she wears daily, why she left her family, and what would happen if she had a child. Ophelia starts to break down at the end and apologizes to Javier.
"I'm sorry, Javier! I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this. You deserve a woman who isn't a freak and will give you children who aren't like me." Young Ophelia cries out in their small apartment on their couch.
But Javier wasn't turned away by that conversation 18 years ago. Nor is he now. He grabs Ophelia's chin and forces his wife to look at him. "Listen, Ophelia. I love you. I love you, Claire, and Enrique with all my heart. I told you the day I proposed that I would be faithful, an amazing father, and always love you until I die. You may drive me nuts sometimes, and we may fight and argue, but I kept my promises when I married you. You have given me two wonderful children, a beautiful house, and a smart, beautiful, and ambitious wife who I love with an amazing gift." He says softly before giving Ophelia a peck on the forehead. He sighs and looks thoughtfully at her. "But you have to tell either Claire or Maria about this. Since Claire was born, I knew she was special and would do wonderful things when she became a woman, but since we learned Claire was a trollhunter, I was so scared for her safety. Now, she tells us she has magical powers and maybe even more dangerous than before. If you don't tell her, we'll lose her again and maybe never see her again." He says seriously.
Ophelia stares into her husband's eyes. He's right. She has to tell her estranged mother and daughter about everything, or she might lose her one and only daughter forever.
Now, Ophelia stands before her mother's office door, never thinking she would be standing after 20 years. She asked to talk to her before the trip started, and after what happened tonight, Maria said they could do it now as everyone went off to their rooms to sleep, but before she could do so, she checked in with Javier and checked on her children. Javier is excited and proud of his wife for talking to her.
She checks up on Enrique, who sleeps soundly in his crib next to his parent's bed in their room. Her heart softens as she watches her son smile at a beautiful, innocent dream, but it's not the same when she checks on her daughter. After three soft knocks on her door, she enters Claire's room with no response. Her heart aches, and guilt takes over as she sees her only daughter in the fetal position, looking calm but not smiling. How could she see and treat her son differently from her daughter? How could she spend all her energy on her second child and neglect her first? She notices NotEnrique sleeping beside Claire, curled in a little ball like a cat.
The conversation between her and Claire hits her memory when seeing her girl's face. It sends a punch in the gut. How could she tell her daughter about wanting to make her an independent woman who makes their own decisions? She does want that, but instead, she's dropped most responsibilities of taking care of her son onto her daughter, who has never taken care of a child and is a child herself. She's still a teenager and has problems with school, friends, and hormones. Ophelia is the mother, and it's her responsibility to take care of her children. Not her first child, who is already stressed enough. Looking at her daughter was painful. She wants to tell Claire how proud she is of her but knows that Claire wouldn't think to believe that. Ophelia shakes it off. She waits at her mother's office door. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.
"Come in!" She hears her mother call out.
Ophelia looks around her and sees no one. She sighs and looks up at the ceiling, but takes a deep breath, straightens up, grabs the knob, and turns it. The door clicks, and she pushes the door to see her mom standing up and sorting out papers on her desk.
The room is big. Not as big as some of the other rooms in the manor, but suitable for an office space. Kinda a bit much for one person. The walls are orange-yellow like every other part of the manor, with many portraits of family members and paintings from Olivia, Lucas, Sebastian, Ophelia, other family children, and Maria herself. The floor is dark wood, the furniture is light brown, and a vast window shows outside at the front of the manor.
Ophelia remembered always going into this room when she and/or she and her sibling(s) got in trouble or talked to Mom in private. Ophelia has lost count of how often one of her siblings or Papá tells her right before she walks in the door, "Some day, that office will be yours." But Maria never put that pressure on her daughter.
She looks up and smiles at her daughter. "Thank you for coming, Ophelia!" She says kindly, turns to her, and opens her arms to hug her daughter, but Ophelia backs up.
"I'm only here for my daughter, not for you." She says sternly, crossing her arms.
Maria drops her arms and sighs in disappointment. "Oh, Ophelia. Always trying to get to the point. Just like when you were little." She says, remembering her daughter 30 years ago.
Ophelia rolls her eyes. "Both me and you know why we're here. Javier and I agreed to this, and I have questions."
Maria's eyes widen slightly, but she nods as she understands her daughter's request. "Alright. What do you want to know?" She asks calmly.
"Everything," Ophelia says flatly. "I want to know what's wrong with this family, our secrets, and what's happening. I know you're hiding something as much as you do." She says accusingly.
Maria sighs, crosses her arms, and studies her daughter from head to toe. "Alright. What do you want to know first?"
Ophelia takes a deep breath. "How did you find Claire after she was missing for almost two hours on the beach?"
"You know how I found her," Maria smirks. "A portal opened 10 feet in the air, letting water and her fall out. She didn't swim."
Ophelia blinks. She didn't hear that. She thought, like everyone else, what Maria said. Claire swam back to shore, but hearing the word portal made her think Claire used her magic to save herself. Not as heroic as swimming back, but still brave. "Do you know?" She asks hesitantly.
Maria nods her head.
Ophelia's eyes widen. "How long have you known?" She asks more quietly.
"Ophelia, I've known about Claire's gifts since I first saw her as an infant. I saw the gleam in her eyes the first time I held her."
Instead of being more shocked, Ophelia laughed. "Mom, stop it! Claire never had magical gifts like you believe we Firstborns inherit at birth. You're acting delusional." She says sarcastically and pessimistically.
Maria huffs and stares at her daughter with stern eyes. "Don't you dare talk to your mother like that young lady!" She snaps. Ophelia huffs as her mom just scolded her like it was 26 years ago. "Do you always give that demeanor to Claire?" Maria asks seriously, knowing the answer to her question.
Ophelia scowls. "That's none of your business! She's my daughter, and I'm trying to do what's best for her." She says defensively.
Maria raises her eyebrow. "Oh really? Always disapproving of what she did. Always scowling at her for not being "perfect" in your eyes. She is your daughter, but she's also my granddaughter. So don't give me that attitude, Ophelia Morgan López!"
Ophelia growls. She hates it as much as Olivia hears her maiden name. It makes her feel sick and reminds her of the chains she escaped 20 years ago, but Maria is right. Claire did show her magic powers from when she was younger, and she didn't treat Claire right since she was ten, and she is her mother. She wasn't there for Claire then, but she will be now. Ophelia takes a deep breath to calm down. "Ok, fine, but how is that true? Claire hasn't shown her gifts since she was eight years old." She says flatly.
Maria takes a deep breath. "Well, someone must've told her that having magical gifts was bad."
Ophelia rolls her eyes. "I was trying to protect her as a mother! She would be ashamed of how she was born and hide who she is if she still knew and had them now!" She protests.
"But it seems like she knows them and can control them with impressionable feats. Can you explain that?" Maria asks sternly.
Ophelia sighs. "A few months ago, Claire met another wizard who is with us and looks around the same age as her. Douxie is his name."
Maria smiles. "Ahhh, now I see why he acts suspicious, and I thought trolls and wizards didn't exist anymore: thanks for not seeing either of them in 40 years." She says softly.
Ophelia blinks, her eyes widen, and she almost trips. "What?! Why-why would you say that?" She says hesitantly, looking as pale as a ghost.
Maria giggles and shakes her head. "Ophelia, I've been watching Claire from afar since you guys left when she was 12. I can read a person based on their aura and/or personality and read through their minds. That's how my gifts work. Yours is controlling and trying to manipulate people's behavior and/or choices since you were five. Don't pretend to hide that I know Claire has been hanging around with trolls underground and wizards across time." She says flatly.
Ophelia is speechless. She didn't figure out Claire's double life until Barbara asked her to come to her house to force the kids to tell the truth, but Maria figured it out as soon as she saw her granddaughter yesterday. Out-smarted, but her mother and Ophelia felt angry about that and confused about how Maria does this.
"And I believe since the day she met the trolls and after last night, Claire is in danger," Maria adds.
Ophelia becomes paler and trembles a bit. "You-you know what happened outside?" She asks warily.
"Ophelia, this is my house. I saw the whole thing from the front window after you, Javier, and Barbara ran out. I saw the trolls, the kids, and a monster trying to take my granddaughter away."
Ophelia sighed as she relived how the monster, an hour ago, stalking her child, leaped towards her. She can't even imagine what would happen if they grabbed Claire if it weren't for her magic. "According to Claire and Jim, that monster is a Half-Troll, who has the mind of a human and the animalistic nature of a troll. That monster was intended to take Claire and talk about something called the Arcane Order."
Maria freezes and stares at her daughter with horror in her eyes. "Are you sure that's what you heard?"
"Yes! And they said something about 'by the end where everything began' when the "Arcane Order" comes for Claire. Whatever the hell that means?" Ophelia scoffs and rolls her eyes.
Maria grows pale, looking worried, and braces herself, placing one hand on her desk and the other on her stomach. "Oh god. Claire is in more severe danger than I thought."
This makes the hair on the back of Ophelia's neck stick up. "What do you mean?" She asks with worry and panic. "Do you know something about this?"
Maria sighs. "You might want to sit down, Ophelia." She orders her daughter. Ophelia nods without argument, not wanting to upset her mother and hear more. Maria takes a deep breath to continue. She waves her left hand, and orange magic starts glowing from her palm. She points toward a bookshelf behind Ophelia, and one book's spine in the center of the five self starts glowing orange. It's The History of Magic and Human Kind. The book slides out and flies over from Ophelia to Maria. Maria waves her hand to open the book to a specific part. Maria grabs her reading glasses from the table.
"The Arcane Order is a trio of demigods who wish to maintain the balance between magic and mortals, but they actually cause nothing but agony to humanity and magical beings. They lost faith in the balance and sought to destroy both worlds and remake them as their own. I didn't think they were real, but it seems like they are." She says with fear but a bit of dignity, looking at the book.
Ophelia gasps and stares at her mom in horror. Claire never told her about this. Why didn't she? She can't comment, protest or ask anything.
"And these beings are the ones who are after Claire. And soon. What the creature meant 'by the end where everything began' is on the 21st. The day when our family bloodline curse began."
"What will they do when they find her?" Ophelia asks, shaking in fear, not wanting to think of the inevitable again.
Maria sighs and looks up at her daughter with sad eyes. "I think you know what will happen if they find her." No words need to be said of the answer.
Ophelia feels like she's been punched in the gut. Her head starts spinning, and she feels lightheaded. She covers her mouth and looks at the floor. She can't believe this. This is a mother's worst nightmare. Hearing their child will be hurt, killed, or worse, by someone or something, let alone demigods who want to destroy the world. Ophelia feels distraught and tries to breathe, but her mind duels with her denial. No! This isn't real. This isn't real! This is just one of Maria's delusions since she was little. This isn't true. The curse, the Arcane Order, the Firstborn gifts. None of it is true!
"Yes, it sadly is true, Ophelia, but there is a bright side to this," Maria says seriously.
Ophelia snaps and gets up to look at her mother angrily. "A bright side? Mom, you just told me that this evil group of demigods is after my little girl, and I can't do anything about it! How is there even a bright side to this? Claire may be a witch and have a teacher! But this is too big for her! And even if this is true, how can I protect my family from this? I don't want to lose my baby girl! She doesn't deserve this! She deserves a life where I want her to live a successful life as an independent woman with no powers, no worries, and nothing stopping her way! Not this! Not this!" She says before falling to the ground, sobbing quietly.
Ophelia finally caved in and admitted the side she's been trying to hide for her whole life. She doesn't want this. She regrets not telling Claire about her powers. She regrets hiding everything. She regrets being a horrible, neglectful mother for seven years. She regrets it all. She doesn't blame Claire for anything, not for meeting Jim, the trolls, or the wizards. She blames herself.
Maria sees the fear, panic, sadness, desperation, and distraught of her first child. She walks up to her crying daughter, kneels, and places a hand on Ophelia's head. "Shhh, shhh, shhh, Mija. Don't put this on yourself; it's not your fault. Claire figured out part of the puzzle already." She says softly but sadly.
Ophelia shakes her head and looks up with tears coating her eyes. "But it is my fault. I should've told her a few years ago, but I thought she would call me crazy as I did with you. I should have... I should of..."
"Shhh! It's alright—Claire's safe for now, but the danger is coming. You can't protect her, but if you want to help her, stand up with your back straight, dry your eyes, and listen to what I'm about to tell you as a mother." Maria says seriously, interrupting.
Ophelia knows that she needs to do this as a mother to her daughter. She still doesn't like the idea of going back to her childhood stories, but she has to do this. For Claire's safety. Ophelia nodded, got up, stood straight, and dried her eyes. She takes a deep breath and looks at her mother with fear but determination. "Ok. What do I need to know?"
Author Note: Oh my god! Maria knows about trolls, wizards, and what's going on with Claire and her situation. Well, everything thanks to Ophelia opening up and spilling the beans. And not sorry for that cliffhanger. We need to get going. But fear not. We will have all the answers soon. Please review.