[Rybinsk] unfold (Dema)

Alyona didn't finish her thought, but Aldemar didn't need her to. He nodded, understanding and agreeing. Having a daughter was quite possibly the best and most challenging thing that had ever happened to Dema, and he had survived political uprisings, panther attacks, natural disasters, and the creepiest of crawlies during his globe-trotting adventures. Nothing compared to the stress he felt day in and day out about Venera. And he couldn't begin to imagine how much weight Alyona must have been under considering her daughters. In the spotlight, in danger, and having to put up a good show no matter the weather. It made him anxious to contemplate it.

"Well, I'm sure she will come around. You are doing it to keep her safe. Peace of mind, or, at least, as close as we can get to it, right?" Aldemar understood why Aglaya might push back against having a stranger on her heels from now on, but her safety was paramount. And hopefully, his nephews would be well versed enough not to annoy the young witch endlessly.

On the subject of gracefulness, Aldemar chuckled brightly. "So... are you saying the bar wasn't that high, to begin with?" To be honest, he wasn't even sure what he was implying, but he felt like teasing her regardless. He liked being light and playful; it reminded him of his youth. And Dema was always chasing that feeling.

"Tell you about what?" The nostalgia escaped him as he heard the change in her tone, instantly he was worried again and put down his food to give her his full attention.

Although Alyona didn’t voice all her concerns, barely finishing her thoughts, she could sense that Aldemar was on her side. It felt good that he understood even without too many words and that he offered as much help as he did. Admittedly in her situation there wasn’t a lot he could do but even a little help was far better than none at all.

Another humourless laugh escaped Alyona as her friend said that Aglaya would come around eventually. She clearly hoped for it but she had a feeling that her daughter would not like the idea much. Then again the healer didn’t really know how her eldest child was feeling these days. She had no idea what was going on inside of her and suddenly she felt guilty that she hadn’t made more of an effort to find it out. Surely Aglaya needed to talk about her recent experiences and her fears.

“Yeah…” she said distractedly, forcing a little smile onto her face. “I hope you’re right.”

While Alyona usually appreciated Dema’s playfulness she was now struggling more to actually go with it. The situation wasn’t light and cheerful, after all. She refilled their glasses with vodka again, feeling like she’d need to have another drink before long.

Of course Aldemar picked up on her change of tone and the unfinished sentence. Alyona looked at him for a second or two and then stared at the glass in front of her. She hadn’t touched any food yet and right now it had little appeal. Quickly she took the glass and took a sip.

“She didn’t tell me that she has a stalker who has been threatening her for who knows how many years.” She blinked a few times, fighting with herself not to break down crying in front of her old friend and quickly downed the rest of her drink.

“I hope you’re right.” Alyona had said, and a genuine smile rose to Aldemar’s weathered face once more. “Me too,” he joked, his voice taking on that sing-song sort of tone he often fell back on when he was trying to make a difficult situation more manageable. If he could spare Alyona one inch of the pain she felt, Aldemar would have felt as though he had made a difference.

The old man worked to get things unpackaged and organized around them even as Alyona nursed her drink some more. Wordlessly, he used magic to levitate the bottle closer and refill their cups. Few things in this world could ease pain, and while it didn’t work in the long run, Dema knew full well how powerful a bit of alcohol could be.

“She did not,” He said, his voice slightly aghast as he sat back in his chair. Dema crossed his legs, one foot resting on the opposite knee, and watched Alyona through the steam of the food between them. “Do you know why she kept such a secret?” He asked, sipping on his drink and waiting patiently.

Alyona watched as dema unpacked and organised the food for them. It was nice that he did that without expecting her to help. She had so much to handle already that even such a little gesture meant a lot. It meant that for a minute or two she wasn’t in charge. Nobody was expecting her to prepare things for everybody.

She knew that, by now, she had drunk far more than she should have. There was no point in stopping, though. If anything, she hoped, she’d soon reach the stage where she’d feel numb and indifferent. However, the healer had a feeling that this would not happen tonight. She would not feel light and relaxed. The alcohol just seemed to make her facade crumble, resulting in strong emotions that were impossible to suppress.

Shaking her head, Alyona looked at her friend. Her expression was pained when he asked her if she knew why Aglaya hadn’t confided in her. She hesitated to speak, feeling that her voice would not obey her. It took her maybe a minute until she responded and her voice indeed sounded different than usual and less stable.

“I have no idea,” she shrugged helplessly. “I suppose… she doesn’t trust me; doesn’t trust anyone… I really don’t know. I have failed her. I should have realised something earlier…” Her voice broke off and she swallowed hard, trying to control herself so that she wouldn’t end up crying in front of her old friend.

Having children was both one of the greatest blessings and the ultimate curse, Aldemar had discovered. It was such a fantastic experience to see a child grow up and surpass you, but it was also endlessly stressful. On the one hand, a parent wants to push their children to succeed, to get everything out of life, but on the other, that means numerous risks. And worrying about a child never stops. Not when they get older, not when they attend Durmstrang or graduate, and indeed not when they become "adults" and compete in professional athletics.

Aldemar imagined worrying about Aglaya was Alyona's full-time job, on top of her other professions, and he could only assume the stress that came with that. And now, to make things even more intense, there were legitimate fears stacking up on top of all of the ridiculous worries that came and went. Aglaya had been targeted, attacked, and needed protection. It wasn't just boogeymen haunting dreams; it was real monsters.

"All you can do now is think about the future. It does us no good to torture ourselves with the past." Aldemar could feast on what-ifs and oopsies for months if he let himself, and it would be a dark few months indeed, but the wizard did his best always to look forward. To use every mistake and wrong choice as a reason to be better prepared next time. Everything was a lesson.

"Come now, eat before it gets cold," he said softly, waving his hand at the food he wasn't sure he'd seen her touch yet. "I remember how you loved showing up to dinners late back in school," He wiggled his eyebrows sarcastically and then smiled. Aldemar waited a moment, ushering again with a gentle nod, but nothing about his tone was demanding. He was here for encouragement, a shoulder if needed, and he hoped to get at least a laugh out of her by the end of the night, but that was a tall order.

Alyona nodded but she didn’t fully agree with what her friend told her. Of course, she had to live in the present time and prepare for the future so nothing like what happened would ever happen again and tormenting herself thinking about the past was only leading to her drinking way more than she should. However, she felt she had to analyse the past, figure out how it had come so far, and work out who was responsible for these horrors. She just couldn’t let go fo this,

“I am thinking about the future,” she said quietly, her expression worried, “I am concerned that nothing I do will suffice. That I cannot help enough. Even if I employ bodyguards, if we increase the safety measures even more… As long as we do not know who is responsible for this all there’s still danger.”

Aldemar encouraged her to eat and Alyona appreciated it. It was nice that someone cared about her, too, when her sole focus lay on her daughter and her husband was staying away from both of them.

She helped herself to some food as he mentioned her showing up to dinners late back in school. A slight hint of a smile spread across her features as she thought about it. “Yeah, even back then I was busy,” she offered, thinking of the times when not getting a top grade in exams was her biggest worry.

Aldemar took small bites of his food and bided his time, eating around the corners as Alyona continued. Of course, he understood what she meant and that by thinking of the past, we prepare for the future, but he hoped she’d find a way to look forward to more than just the terrible things. That one day, she might be able to think about Aglaya’s next competition with more than just worry and fear. It wasn’t just her daughter who had been hurt that day; it was everyone around her. This beautiful sport the family had pioneered was tainted, and that was such a shame.

“Have the ministry done a proper investigation? Do they have any leads?” Aldemar asked between bites, a bit of sauce running down his wrinkled chin. While he didn’t have a great lot of faith in the government, police, or ministry, Aldemar trusted that they would at least look into it when a gem of the nation was attacked. He dabbed at his chin with a napkin and then pulled for his wand, his soup was already growing cold, but it wasn’t because of the conversation. Not all delivery services were the same, and Aldemar wondered if something had been lost in translation over the floo. He waved his wand quickly, reheating the soup with a wordless spell, and looked toward her food.

“Would you like me to reheat yours, as well?”

“No,” Alyona responded quietly. “We haven’t reported the incident. The risk that it would get public was too big. We… I didn’t think it would do us any good. I have worked with private investigators who get a lot of money to keep quiet, though. I cannot risk this going through the papers. I mean…” Alyona looked at Dema pleadingly now, hoping that he would understand and support her way of tackling things.

“I cannot risk the sport getting negative publicity. The entire family is always fighting for its reputation. Just imagine what this would mean for the sport, for the flying school, for my family…” She shook her head, seeing no real alternative for her actions.

“Not even all family members know. Barely anyone does… I just… I feel we cannot trust people and if it gets out… I don’t think Aglaya would do well in the role of the victim. She has gone through enough. She doesn’t need to be confronted with these horrors over and over again, don’t you think?” She sighed deeply. Her head was spinning with all the thoughts and emotions. It was hard to figure out the best way of handling the situation. “Or am I so wrong? Am I failing her after all?”

Aldemar understood where Alyona was coming from, and he wanted her to know that he supported her. Not because he thought she was right, but because it was her decision to make, not his. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she continued, but nothing about his face showed disapproval in her words. After she’d finished, Aldemar weighed his thoughts carefully. Quiet deliberation was the mark of a great man; his mother had always said.

Eventually, and after a hearty sip from his glass, Aldemar cleared his throat and began to answer his questions. “Consider this,” He started tentatively, sitting forward in his chair and meeting her gaze sincerely. “If you insist on keeping all of this a secret, what sort of message does that send to young Aglaya?” While he understood the need for a parent to protect their children from outside forces, there was only so much they could do. And while Aglaya should have to play the part of a victim, the awful was that she was one.

“Will it do more harm to pretend it never happened?”

“She doesn’t want to talk about it,” Alyona said weakly. “She pleaded with me to keep it quiet. I…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “I think I only know the tip of the iceberg. I believe she has received threatening letters for a while and always kept it quiet. It feels like she would not want anything about this out in the news.”

Alyona sat back and thought about Aldemar’s question. Truth be told, she had no idea which approach was the better one. Everything felt wrong these days. She wanted to protect her daughter and yet she knew that it was not in her power to achieve that all alone.

“She isn’t ready to talk about it yet. She is trying to get back to normal and it’s so hard to watch her…” Alyona closed her eyes, as they threatened to water with tears. “She’s still so feeble and fragile. I don’t think she’d be able to cope with it if journalists confronted her with the story.”

Aldemar nodded along, still careful to keep any judgment from his features or tone. This was between Alyona and her daughter, and he was only here for counsel. In the end, it would have to be Aglaya's decision, and he respected Alyona for giving her the time and space needed to make such choices. "Oh, lordy," the wizard said, unable to keep the shock and worry from his wrinkled face, as Alyona explained that the situation might be even more dire than she was previously aware of.

"That is certainly understandable," Aldemar had never been in this situation, but he'd been a celebrity once, and he knew all about the pressure and the loss of privacy. He could relate, and he felt for the young witch. "Those blasted paparazzi have no shame, probably for the best to keep the secret for now. At least until Aglaya has rebuilt some of her armor." If young Aglaya was anything like her mother, Aldemar had no doubt she'd be stronger than ever in the wake of this trial.

Turning his weary eyes to the food on the desk between them, Aldemar frowned slightly and glanced up again. "Alyona, my dear, please eat something."

“Yes, the paparazzi are horrible. Even worse are the articles that are written and the speculations that arise from that. The sport is already hard enough as it is. One mediocre performance and the journalists will discuss the demise of a star but this now… it’s even worse.”

Alyona nodded as Aldemar agreed and said that Aglaya needed to rebuild some of her armor. Truth be told, the healer wasn’t sure her daughter would ever be as confident and strong again as she had used to be, but she didn’t want to voice this concern as speaking her thoughts out loud seemed to make them more real.

He mentioned that she should eat and she nodded. She had no appetite, hadn’t really had any in a while now, but she was clearly hungry and she helped herself to some food, eyeing her glass occasionally, tempted to get a refill.

“Thank you, truly, for being here for me tonight,” she said after a moment of silence. “I appreciate it so much. There are not exactly many people I can talk to openly these days.”