So, I have headcaonned that Marianne and Dawn’s mother aka Heaven to be from the South. Here are some things about her home and her family.
carnations & chrysanthemums// skies and red strings// drizzle
Her days always start before dawn, the moon still fat in the sky and the stars still needed for sailors’ maps. She wakes up her brothers and sisters quickly, rousing them so that family chores can be done before her morning drills. They whine and moan as she kisses their heads before ripping off their blankets, exposing them to the cold sea chill.
“If the sun is up before you are, I’m going to cuff your wings,” she always threatens.
She flies down to the kitchen to help her mother prepare breakfast. Sunshine hair greets her, tied in braid that she wears as well.
“Fish again today, Ma?” she asks while she grabs some seaweed to fry, the oil pot hot in the kitchen’s hearth.
Her mother’s soft voice is barely heard as she chops of fish for the pan, “Well, my squires need their strength if they want to become royal knights.”
“Oh, Ma,” she laughs. “What about some quail eggs? I like those.”
Her mother laughs loud for such a frail woman, her orange wings twitching, but her once healthy and glowy skin is more dull as she stays indoors. “Oh skies, Heaven. If we feed you eggs, the boys won’t have a chance to grow.”
The sun is peeking over the ocean’s low tides, pink and orange, turning the water golden.
She can hear her younger twin brothers finishing up work in the stable, cleaning the rat pens and feeding them well. Berg and Adri, young men built like mountains, are laughing like hooligans. She can see their matching red wings and dark brown hair as they throw feed at each other.
Shaking her head, she flaps her blue and golden wings and heads to the gardens in search of her younger sisters. By the strawberries is maidenly Rose, her pink wings bright against the green leaves. Beside her is the youngest one of all, Tara at Rose’s skirts, her baby wings barely budding from her back
All siblings accounted for, Heaven speeds off for morning drills.
“Again!” the captain shouts, his voice stern over the squires as they train.
“Yes, sir!” they shout back, flying back up the cliff.
They are sopping wet and cold, salt water coating their lips. The sky is blue now and the waters are clam during the transition to high tide.
The captain, who is also her father, is a strict leader. His dark blue wings flaring as he stands tall, the sun against his back. “We are not like those Northern Fairies,” he yells, but his face is smiling, his green eyes twinkling. The recruits laugh, knowing exactly where this is going. “Unlike our landlocked cousins, we Southerners are special. Does anyone know why?”
In the front row, a hand shoots up. It’s Darren from down the road, Haven realizes, a boy she’s known ever since before she could fly. The captain nods to him.
“Well, sir,” Darren starts, his posture smug as he crosses his arms, “We Southerns can swim.”
The captain claps his hands together, his expression excited, his voice booming for all to hear, “Exactly! We can swim!” He gestures to the seas behind him, “Our Mother Ocean has blessed us with wings that can swim! A texture like leather, but softer than silk.”
She can’t help but stroke her wings, she has been moisturizing them every night.
“So do you know what that means, my young squires?”
“No, sir!” the reply unison.
From where she stands in the back, she sees her father’s grin and her stomach drops. That grin looks far too mischievous.
“You’re going to be diving until high noon today!”
Everyone groans before jumping off the cliff again.
It is early afternoon once she’s washed all the sea and sand from her body.
The sun is strong today, warming her skin and she feels that by tomorrow she will be even darker, a trait well loved by her people. She catches a summer breeze and glides down to the port, excited to see what new wares have come from far away lands.
There are ships of all sizes and makes, the citizens all looking more unique than the next. But she sees a small one that is her favorite and dives down to greet the owner.
“Xu!” she hollers as she barrels into a small goblin, “You’re back!”
Xu laughs in her embrace, her bumpy skin rough against her hands, “Whoa, there Heaven! I’ve barely set up shop.”
The fairy spins her round a few times, before placing her friend back on the docks, “Tell me everything!”
Xu clicks her tongue as if she is going to chide her, but barks a laugh, “Come in for a cuppa, love. I got great stories to tell you about the Dark Forest.”
Heaven giggles and wraps an arm around her friend. Some things are just irreplaceable.
It is evening when she returns home, bone tired from her drills and from Xu’s wonderful storytelling.
Her father is outside smoking his pipe, the smell of spicy tobacco greeting her at the gate. He is watching the stars again, his face towards the sky.
“You know,” he says, “We almost named you Star.”
“Oh?” she questions as skips to stand beside him.
He nods, “Yes, we almost named you Star.”
She bumps his side and he chuckles. “Why didn’t you then?”
He pulls her close to him and they both turn their attention upwards, “Because you’re going to be something great. Better than a star.”
“Hmm,” she hums, “You think?”
He squeeze her side, “Nah, I don’t think, kiddo. I know so.”
I’m going to be better than a star.
