#mia finally telling alcina what the fuck happened because i've been sitting on this idea since i started thinking about this ship

[highlifeboat]

Alcina had had enough.

Enough of the worrying.

Enough of sleeping by herself.

Enough of watching her wife become a shell of her former self. Of Mia locking herself in the guest bedroom for hours, or days, slowly wasting away while Alcina and her daughters took care of Rose. While she drove herself mad with sleepless nights and paranoia. It had to stop.

It had to stop before Alcina lost her wife for good, one way or the other.

“Mia, we have to talk.” She stated, opening the door a little more forcefully than she had intended. Her wife jumped as she ducked into the room, eyes wide and looking just as gaunt as ever. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were incredibly loose fitting on her skinny frame. “I need you to tell me what’s going on.”

The brunette stuttered for a moment, anxiously pulling her hair. “Nothing….” She muttered, refusing to make eye contact. Sounding just as small as she looked curled up on the bed. “Nothing’s going on. I’m fine….”

Alcina nearly rolled her eyes. “Yes, you’re the pinnacle of health… When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Or left this room for anything other than bathroom needs?” Mia pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything. “You’re worrying me. All of us. The girls are incredibly concerned, as is Zoe, and Marg-”

“I thought you were mad at me.” Mia interrupted, suddenly sitting up right.

The taller woman swallowed. “I was….” For a rather silly reason when she thought about it. She still wasn’t sure what about her wife calling Marguerite ‘Mommy’ struck such a nerve, she just knew it didn’t sit well with her. Even less so when her own daughters started to call the woman ‘grandmother’. “Which is part of why I need to talk to you.” Her wife sighed, suddenly interested in her own hands. "I need to know what is wrong. I need to know why you're so…." She trailed off, trying to think of the word.

"Fucked up?" The small brunette finished for her, raising an eyebrow.

Alcina inhaled.

“Stressed.”

A strained ‘hmm’ came from her wife as she pulled her knees to her chest. “I-It’s just… hard. Seeing her… here.” Mia muttered. “But it’s not your problem. I… I need to get over it on my own…. A-And I’m trying! But it’s… so hard…”

“Hon-”

“I-I mean, I thought she was dead!” She continued. “I thought-I thought I’d never have to see her again. A-An-d if she’s not, th-then what about the… the others… I just-I can’t-can’t-W-What if-” Mia held her head as her breathing picked up. “What if-he-and… D-Dadd-y-”

Alcina gently cupped her face. “Breathe, darling.” She said, pushing the hair away from Mia’s face. “Just breathe, it’s okay.”

“B-But… But it isn’t!” The smaller woman shook her head, moving out of Alcina’s hands. “None of this is okay! I-I shouldn’t… be like this! I should have gotten over it-I WAS over it! I-” She pulled her hair, letting out a frustrated groan. “I just-I never…. I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry I k-keep making you worry about me. I-I’m sorry I’m f-fucked up. I’m so-orry I k-keep h-hurting you.” Her shoulders shook as she started to cry, face buried in her knees. “I’m sorry th-th-at I… I r-ru-ined e-every-th-ing….”

Alcina’s frown deepened. She sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her wife into her lap and placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “You didn’t ruin anything, darling.” She said quietly. “I still love you. I never stopped.” She gave her another soft kiss. “Please, I just want to know what changed when… she showed up. What happened?”

Mia’s cries slowly calmed into a mess of sniffles. “I-It’s… a long s-story.” That would be even longer if she couldn’t stop stuttering.

“I’ve got time.” She hummed, tangling her fingers in her wife’s messy hair in some effort to provide comfort.

She seemed to weigh her options for a moment. “...You aren’t going to like it….” She mumbled, starting to pick the skin around her fingernails. Alcina gave her a small, encouraging smile. She swallowed.

And Mia told her everything.

From the basic details of the initial mission, to the boat crash, to Eveline. The Bakers, save for Zoe, getting possessed. The fucked up family dynamic. The verbal and physical abuse they threw at one another, and at her. How they locked her in the basement for days. How Daddy would beat her for not eating dinner, or Mommy would choke her until she turned blue for being where she shouldn’t have been, or how Lucas locked her in his fucked up escape rooms, or slammed her against walls and tables, because Eveline said she was bad. How, even if she knew it had all been Eveline, seeing Marguerite again just sent her spiraling back.

How she felt a spike of terror shoot through her body when the woman looked at her.

How she felt guilty.

How it was all her fault.

And by the end of it, Alcina was a mixture of horrified, and completely pissed.

Her hold on Mia had gotten progressively tighter throughout the story, eyes narrow as she thought about everything her wife had told her. She could hardly believe she had allowed a woman who had caused her wife so much suffering to stay within the walls of her home. That she had been too busy being upset at Mia over something as stupid as calling another woman ‘Mommy’, she hadn’t considered the rabbit hole went deeper than that. The matriarch cursed herself, glaring threateningly at the door as if she were daring Marguerite to walk in. The very thought made her give a low growl.

“Alci-” The small squeak of her wife’s voice pulled her back into the moment. “You’re… hurting me.”

Alcina inhaled sharply, loosening her hold on the woman. “I’m sorry, darling.” She murmured. “I just… can’t imagine having to endure all of that….”

She shrugged a little. “I… I kind of deserved it….”

“No!” She sighed when the smaller woman flinched. “You didn’t.”

“But-”

“You didn’t.” Alcina repeated, holding her wife’s head against her chest. “It wasn’t your fault, Mia. You didn’t know it would happen.”

Mia didn’t say anything, just hid her face against the larger woman as a second wave of sobs came from her. Alcina let out a soft hum, stroking her hair and letting her cry.

She would have to have a long discussion with Mrs. Baker. Later.