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thedoppelgangerThe thing about the Firstborn is, well … they’re the Firstborn.
Most of them are insane. Most of them are gone. All of them are very old and all of them are very dangerous. But they’re still the Firstborn, which means the laws of the Fae come from them – Light or Dark doesn’t matter because they were the First. They were the ones from which all Fae came, and they are affording the respect even the Ash or the Morrigan do not deserve, because without them the Fae as they know it today would not exist.
Tatia knows this, honors this, and respects this. She just wishes Amara didn’t have a brain like a bag of cats.
Amara is also the farthest thing from Tatia’s mind, having not had a visit from her in centuries. She’ll call every so often, or travel through with the other Firstborn, but an actual visit with the sole purpose of visiting the family that she left in Tatia’s hands once she was old enough to be a matriarch hadn’t happened since Katerina had her Dawning, and that was before America decided they wanted to be their own country. She hadn’t even come to her wedding to Elijah.
At least, until Tatia receives a panicked call from Isobela at her office, saying that her seven year-old daughter had vanished into thin air.
One quick locater spell and the combined powers of two doppelgangers later, Tatia and Isobela are barging into the Bronx Zoo, searching desperately for that familiar little girl. Instead what they find is a woman with their face, wild curls falling every which way around her, standing barefoot in the middle of the pathway, holding a small girl by the hand.
“Mama! I saw the zebras!” Elena darts across to Isobela and the other woman scoops her up in her arms tightly. Tatia, on the other hand, is less than pleased.
“You can’t just kidnap her and take her to the zoo.”
“Who are you?” Isobela follows up with, holding her daughter to her tightly as she does. “Which doppelganger are you?”
The woman’s brow furrows, before glancing over to Tatia. “I am Amara. Don’t you tell your descendants about me?” She sounds almost hurt by the prospect, whether it’s that Tatia hasn’t told them about her, or that she’s being accused of kidnapping, Tatia can’t be sure.
“Amara?” Isobela blinks. “The Firstborn?”
“See? I have told them about you.” Tatia takes a step closer, reaching out for the other woman’s hand. “But just because they’ve been told about you, doesn’t mean you can take Elena wherever you want without talking to her mother first.”
Amara pouts slightly at that. “She said she wanted to see the zebras. I didn’t think it would do any harm.”
“I know,” Tatia sighs softly. “Just … call next time.”
They both glance back in the direction of Isobela, and Amara tips her head to the side with a kind smile. “She’s going to be important, Tatia. She has a wolf’s heart.”
It’s hard to tell if Amara’s being literal or not, hard to tell if she means something cryptic beyond the words that seem so simple, but Tatia is going to take it to mean that Elena has the qualities of a wolf – loyalty, strength, love – at least until she’s told otherwise.
“We’re all special in our own way.” Tatia glances back to her. “We are doppelgangers, after all.”
“More than that,” Amara says ildly. “Every bridge needs planks.”
“Planks. In a bridge.” Tatia stares at her progenitor for a moment, before sighing and taking her arm to walk her to the car. “Come on. I’ll make you some tea back at the house and you can spend more time with Elena.”
The older Fae hums idly at that, before wrinkling her nose. “Is Katerina still married to that awful Tuatha de Daan? The terribly moral one that’s the son of the Morrigan?”
Tatia rolls her eyes as she keeps walking, gesturing for Isobela to join her. “You’ve spent two thousand years playing creepy fairy tale games with Silas. I really don’t think you’re one to talk.”
She makes a bigger face before taking a few steps ahead of her. “I still think he’s dreadful.”
“And here we thought you didn’t come to the wedding because you got lost.”
“Oh. No, I did.” She shakes her head before skipping off to the car. “The Grand Canyon is so much bigger than it used to be.”
749 words
Most of them are insane. Most of them are gone. All of them are very old and all of them are very dangerous. But they’re still the Firstborn, which means the laws of the Fae come from them – Light or Dark doesn’t matter because they were the First. They were the ones from which all Fae came, and they are affording the respect even the Ash or the Morrigan do not deserve, because without them the Fae as they know it today would not exist.
Tatia knows this, honors this, and respects this. She just wishes Amara didn’t have a brain like a bag of cats.
Amara is also the farthest thing from Tatia’s mind, having not had a visit from her in centuries. She’ll call every so often, or travel through with the other Firstborn, but an actual visit with the sole purpose of visiting the family that she left in Tatia’s hands once she was old enough to be a matriarch hadn’t happened since Katerina had her Dawning, and that was before America decided they wanted to be their own country. She hadn’t even come to her wedding to Elijah.
At least, until Tatia receives a panicked call from Isobela at her office, saying that her seven year-old daughter had vanished into thin air.
One quick locater spell and the combined powers of two doppelgangers later, Tatia and Isobela are barging into the Bronx Zoo, searching desperately for that familiar little girl. Instead what they find is a woman with their face, wild curls falling every which way around her, standing barefoot in the middle of the pathway, holding a small girl by the hand.
“Mama! I saw the zebras!” Elena darts across to Isobela and the other woman scoops her up in her arms tightly. Tatia, on the other hand, is less than pleased.
“You can’t just kidnap her and take her to the zoo.”
“Who are you?” Isobela follows up with, holding her daughter to her tightly as she does. “Which doppelganger are you?”
The woman’s brow furrows, before glancing over to Tatia. “I am Amara. Don’t you tell your descendants about me?” She sounds almost hurt by the prospect, whether it’s that Tatia hasn’t told them about her, or that she’s being accused of kidnapping, Tatia can’t be sure.
“Amara?” Isobela blinks. “The Firstborn?”
“See? I have told them about you.” Tatia takes a step closer, reaching out for the other woman’s hand. “But just because they’ve been told about you, doesn’t mean you can take Elena wherever you want without talking to her mother first.”
Amara pouts slightly at that. “She said she wanted to see the zebras. I didn’t think it would do any harm.”
“I know,” Tatia sighs softly. “Just … call next time.”
They both glance back in the direction of Isobela, and Amara tips her head to the side with a kind smile. “She’s going to be important, Tatia. She has a wolf’s heart.”
It’s hard to tell if Amara’s being literal or not, hard to tell if she means something cryptic beyond the words that seem so simple, but Tatia is going to take it to mean that Elena has the qualities of a wolf – loyalty, strength, love – at least until she’s told otherwise.
“We’re all special in our own way.” Tatia glances back to her. “We are doppelgangers, after all.”
“More than that,” Amara says ildly. “Every bridge needs planks.”
“Planks. In a bridge.” Tatia stares at her progenitor for a moment, before sighing and taking her arm to walk her to the car. “Come on. I’ll make you some tea back at the house and you can spend more time with Elena.”
The older Fae hums idly at that, before wrinkling her nose. “Is Katerina still married to that awful Tuatha de Daan? The terribly moral one that’s the son of the Morrigan?”
Tatia rolls her eyes as she keeps walking, gesturing for Isobela to join her. “You’ve spent two thousand years playing creepy fairy tale games with Silas. I really don’t think you’re one to talk.”
She makes a bigger face before taking a few steps ahead of her. “I still think he’s dreadful.”
“And here we thought you didn’t come to the wedding because you got lost.”
“Oh. No, I did.” She shakes her head before skipping off to the car. “The Grand Canyon is so much bigger than it used to be.”
749 words
