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connan-l · 4 years

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Quiet moments — Chapter 1: Michel and Maria

Fandom: The House in Fata Morgana

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationship: Michel Bollinger & Maria Campanella

Summary: A collection of unrelated short one-shots containing interactions between two The House in Fata Morgana characters.

Content Warnings: Very brief mentions of child prostitution, child abuse and suicidal ideation.

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Link on Archive of Our Own

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Notes: I just love making characters who wouldn’t normally interact, well, interact — and I also love giving attention to side and minor characters no one care about, so that’s how it happened. I wrote this on a whim and have no idea when I’ll be able to update it though, so don’t expect anything from me.

This will take place literally anywhere among the main game, Requiem and Reincarnation, so beware of spoilers!

I used the ‘Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings’ on AO3 just by precaution, but I don’t think there will be much to warn about, really. And if there is, I’ll put a content warning on top of the chapter anyway.

Takes place during Door 8, after Yukimasa told his story and Michel went to speak with Maria.

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Maria sat next to him and started talking, as promised. Despite being her usual assertive, confident self, she seemed a bit reluctant to discuss about her past — not because she was especially distrustful of Michel (although she still seemed pretty skeptical about everything he had told her), but because it just was her nature, he guessed. Given she was a young woman who grew up alone in a poor, dangerous district, it was only to be expected.

“I’m not actually born in this country, y’know?” She said suddenly.

“You’re not?” Michel asked, but he was not all that surprised. After all, Maria had been an Italian woman in the third door, so although a lot of things had changed in this era, it wasn’t odd that she wasn’t French.

“Yeah. I don’t really remember much about my hometown, though. I left when I was like, five or six maybe. My family… I think they must’ve been merchants or something, and they were travelling here for business. But they got into an accident and died. I had no one else, so I went into an orphanage here. I was a newly-orphaned foreign kid who barely spoke the language at all, so it was pretty rough at first…” She smirked. “But that’s when I met Pauline. She was a foreigner too, so although we didn’t come from the same country, I think maybe we felt some sort of kinship and that’s why we ended up clinging to each other…”

Michel tried to picture the two little girls in his mind; a mischievous six-year-old Maria and a tiny Pauline awkwardly following her around, none of them truly speaking the other’s languages but still trying to understand and play together… This mental image made him smile gently.

“Then you know the rest. Got fed up with the orphanage, ran away, ended up here and started working at the brothel… but anyway, you wanted to hear about Morgana, right? Bet you don’t care much about some ol’ whore’s childhood, haha.”

She laughed light-heartedly — as if she was talking about someone else, a character in a story, and not about her own difficult past. Michel winced instinctively, and hoped it didn’t show too much on his face. Maria had already briefly told them earlier about the abuse she experienced at the orphanage and that she became a prostitute when she was still just a young child. This life seemed so detached and so far away from the one he had lived that he struggled to imagine what it must’ve been like.

“There were… no other options for you at the time?” He asked softly, tentatively. “Maybe you could’ve gone to another orphanage, or…”

Maria narrowed her eyes with an annoyed expression, and Michel understood immediately he had said something insensitive.

“Which options?” She snapped back. “No way on earth I would’ve gone to another orphanage, I was done with that shit. It was the brothel or starving on the fucking street, so the choice was quickly made. Not everyone can be a noble rolling in dough like you, my dude.”

“Wha— How do you know I’m a noble?”

“Well, you just have that aura, you know? Your manners, the way you speak, you seem well-educated… You’re like that cute blonde pipsqueak — it’s just obvious we don’t live in the same sphere.”

Michel wondered if it really was that obvious, or if Maria was just very acute. Maybe it was both. He remembered, centuries ago, that Giselle had told him something similar, too — that he had a ‘regal’ aura, though back then he could never say if she was teasing him or if she was serious.

“I really… don’t consider my life to be that bad,” Maria whispered, her voice unusually quiet. “I mean, obviously it’s not great. I’ve been through some shitty times, I won’t deny that. I certainly wouldn’t complain if one day my good pal God took pity in me and decided to make me rich.”

She looked up in front of her — towards the horizon, her eyes vacant, and started to rub her naked arms. Michel couldn’t tell if it was because she was cold or because she tried to comfort herself from some bad memories.

“But… the simple fact that I am still alive right now makes me feel pretty damn lucky. Not everyone can say the same. So many of my friends — good, nice folks — didn’t get the same chance…”

The more he listened to her, and the more Michel felt kind of… uneasy. Had he ever felt like he was ‘lucky’ to be alive? Even during his darkest times, when he was locked up in his room at the Bollinger estate or during the ten years living in that haunted mansion, he couldn’t remember a moment where just the fact to be alive felt like a blessing. It rather felt like a curse, honestly. He couldn’t count the number of times he thought about dying, about all the times he almost made a suicide attempt — but how every time, old, fond childhood recollections of his brothers would come flocking back and make him hope that, maybe, just maybe, things could get better. But the idea that others may have had worse than him — like the dead girl who he tried to ignore for years and never attempted to understand, because understanding her would mean actually seeing her like a person and not like a formless cackling witch — thus that he should feel lucky never once crossed his mind. Back then, he was way too deep into his own pain and suffering that it never seemed relevant — until he met Giselle, that is.

And now that he thought about it… Michel certainly couldn’t say he had an easy childhood by any stretch of the imagination — especially not after his fourteen years old — but he still had been lucky enough to have been born into a noble and rich family. Aside from those two terrible years he spent being abused by Aimée, he couldn’t recall a time where he felt hungry or missed of anything. The same couldn’t be said of Maria.

Maybe she truly was good at reading people, because she seemed to instantly guess his train of thoughts and added: “Hey now, I didn’t say that to guilt-trip you or anything. I’m not interested in pity, anyway.”

“I wasn’t…”

She sighed. “If you nobles really feel so bad, then actually do something and use your power and money for a good cause, instead of ruminating. Some peeps could really need that.”

“Well… I am technically… not exactly a noble anymore…”

“Oh?”

“I was disowned.” And then I was killed, he thought. But I can’t exactly tell her that. “So I don’t have any power anymore. Though… even back then, I never had any actual power… everything was decided by my father and older brothers…”

“Hmm… Is that so… That sucks,” she declared, before crossing her arms. “So you had brothers?”

“Yes, but…” He took a deep breath. “We… something happened, and… They…”

Michel hesitated. Should he really start talking about himself right now? To Maria, of all people, who he only (technically) first met yesterday? But then he looked at the woman next to him in the eyes, who was silently and attentively listening to him. And he felt the need to continue.

“They betrayed me. And… they’re dead now. They died… a long time ago…”

He felt his chest tightening as soon as he mentioned his brothers, and his hands trembling a little. Maybe he shouldn’t have started talking about them after all. Mell and Nellie’s debacle had already reawakened some bad memories, and right now he needed to stay focused on Morgana and Giselle and—

Suddenly, he felt a soft, comforting pressure on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Maria looking at him with understanding green eyes as she was gently holding his shoulder, like an old friend would do.

“I dunno what happened to you exactly, so sorry if I asked something I shouldn’t have…”

“No, it’s fine…”

Maria looked away, wincing a little. “Though I… can relate. I had… well, I’m an only child, but… I did have someone I considered a brother once. And he… also betrayed me.”

Michel frowned, and was going to ask her more details… but then Maria looked at him and smiled.

“He died a long time ago too.”

It was… a strange smile. There was something nostalgic in it. Bitter, maybe. But also tender. Gentle. It wasn’t a smile he’d ever thought he’d see on the face of that rambunctious woman.

“I’m… sorry,” he said, stupidly, not being able to think something more eloquent.

She shrugged. “It’s okay. Like I said, it was a long time ago. I’m over it now.”

Michel could tell by the way she looked away and the sound of her voice that it was a lie. Maybe it hurt less — just like the intense pain of his brothers’ betrayal had slowly faded with time. But it wasn’t something you could just ‘get over.’

“Well, your brothers were idiots,” she suddenly said, and Michel arched an eyebrow.

“What?”

“It sounds like it’d be nice to have you as a brother, so they must’ve been idiots to betray you. I mean, you seem like a handful, but I’m sure I’d have a lot of fun teasing you. Too bad I wasn’t born as your sis. In another life maybe?”

Maria gently punched Michel in the shoulder with a wide grin and a wink, which earned him a chuckle. He wondered how much his life would have changed if he had had a sister in it, especially a sister like Maria. Would it have made things better? Or worse?

He couldn’t tell. However, he certainly wouldn’t refuse to have her as a sibling in another life.

#The House in Fata Morgana #FataMoru #Fata Morgana #Fanfiction #Fanfictions #Quiet moments #The House in Fata Morgana Fanfiction #FataMoru Fanfiction #Michel Bollinger #Connan's Fanfics #Connan's Posts #Door 8 #Door 8 (The House in Fata Morgana)#Maria Campanella #Michel and Maria #AO3 #Archive Of Our Own #Text #Writing

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kingsmakers · 5 years

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So 2018 has been a rollercoaster but I have to say, it’s been one of the best years of my life. I started a new job, wrote and delivered a reading at my best friend’s wedding, got published for the first time, moved into an even bigger and better house, travelled interstate and internationally, got my first tattoo...safe to say, I’ve accomplished heaps! There are a bunch of people who’ve contributed to my life for the better this year:

@skyqueengriffin my writing soulmate. Honestly girl, where would I be without you? We constantly push each other to do our best and I don’t think I’d have finished Nanowrimo without your support. It means so much to have someone who’s truly enthusiastic about my stories and characters, and who I can also chat about real-life stuff with. I can’t wait to see what 2019 has to offer us (fingers crossed I can come see you!)

@yourpalmoony I know we don’t chat heaps on this platform but I’m gonna tag you anyway. I’m glad that we’ve managed to keep in contact. I feel so comfortable chatting to you about anything, and I’m still super proud of how much you’ve done with your writing this year. I miss seeing you on my dash as often, but I’m also so grateful we still have places where we can chat.

@fraysquake my fellow Aussie angst queen! I’m so happy we’ve had the opportunity to catch up in person twice this year. Living in Sydney and closer to Melbourne means I hope we definitely manage to do that a bit! I love exchanging spoilers and talking about our devious plans for our poor characters. I can’t wait to see what new adventures 2019 will bring both of us!

@susiesamurai again I know you aren’t around on Tumblr a lot lately, but I’m glad we still chat! I honestly love that we can talk about anything and everything and that no matter how long it’s been since we last talked, we can just launch into conversation. I’m hoping that 2019 is a super positive year for you, I know things have been rough for you and I want you to know that I think of you a lot and care about you heaps.

@missjanuarylily you are such a blessing. You’ve been having a tough time and I hope things improve for you soon. You are so inclusive and always accepting of everyone, trying to make sure people feel welcome here, and I appreciate that so much. When it feels like people don’t care about my content or stories, you’re always there to convince me otherwise. Thank you so much for being you.

@have-fun-storming-the-kastle I still find it amusing that we were chatting before the Tumblr days and here we are again, egging each other on with sly “do it” motivation whenever the other has motivation for a new plot bunny or story idea. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can convince each other to do in the new year!

@emiliachrstine my fellow Marvel addict. I’m also so glad that you’ve joined in on ocappreciation, I can’t imagine the blog without you now! Your edits are always something to aspire to and you’re one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. I’m looking forward to fangirling over your content and writing in 2019 and beyond.

@nellie--crain we haven’t been talking a whole heap lately but I miss our chats and crossovers so much! I hope that you’ve been doing better, and that 2019 has nothing but good things in store for you. I definitely need to pop into messenger and talk to you again soon, we have some awesome brotps.

Shoutout to: @chantelroyal, @feralcherry, @kisaageckos, @musiciatee, @gcldnsyren, @jamezvaldes, @drbobbimorse, @huntsthemoon, @itscapokaybye, @cptainsrogers, @twofacedharveydent, @missecharlotte, @httpscoot, @cassercole, @whindsor, @angelsanarchy, @god-dammit-barb, @recklessyouthinme

I’m so sorry if I missed anyone I’m horrible and usually do, so please just call me out if I missed you. I hope all of you have a spectacular new year and that 2019 has so much love and positivity in store for you! Thank you for being such a big part of my 2018 (and the years before that).

#maddie talks #happy new year!#i appreciate all of you so much #thank you for being here for me #in whatever capacity

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