Author's note: Cross posted on AO3.
Summary:
A story about family, the grief of loss, the power of being underestimated, the difference between the truth and the Truth, and the undeniable resolve of Arabella Figg.
~oo00oo~
Chapter 1
Prologue
The Listener
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―==(oIo)==―
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"Why don't you tell me how things started," they asked.
It was dark here in this little corner. They only just were able to fit themselves together. There was more confidence than menace in the query. It was as though they knew I would tell them the whole tale. As though it was never an option to do otherwise.
"It is quite a long story. Some–no most of it is unbelievable. You will think that I'm lying to you. You'll think I'm making it up. But it will be true. What is the point of telling such a long story, if the listener won't believe it."
There was a look shared between them. A look that said what was known was already unbelievable. A look that implied how far something would have to go for the listener to not believe. But the listener was undaunted by what she had said, the story would be told.
Sighing, she shifted in the hard, uncomfortable chair. "I suppose I might as well get comfortable. This is going to be a long story… It's not even that it covers a great deal of time, though I suppose that's rather subjective. It's because in that small span of time, so much happened."
Giving the listener a serious look she started her tale with a sardonic smile, "It all starts on the day I was born. A Christmas baby…"