Blinding Light: A Sleeping Beauty and Snow Queen Remix

Chapter 1

A/N: Viviana Morales^

"Viviana Morales get up this instant if you want your coffee to be warmer than the snow outside!"

Viviana stifled a yawn behind her hand, rolling to the side and falling out of bed, her maroon magic catching her before she could hit the floor.

Preisha, her familiar, gave her an unimpressed look.

"Ay! ¡¿Qué quieres de mi?!" [What do you want from me?!] She snapped at her familiar.

Preisha was a marmalade tabby cat familiar, but she specialized in fire and pyrotechnics. Which made sense, considering how destructive Viviana's own powers were.

In a way, Viviana wished she had fire powers. Having burnt hair almost seemed like a blessing compared to what she could actually do.

"Hurry up or you'll be late... and berated in Spanish." Preisha replied through their telepathic link.

Viviana grumbled under her breath and hurried down the stairs, knowing Preisha would pack up her backpack for her and even smooth out the creases in her uniform skirt.

The stairway in the Morales' house was cramped and steep. So it was not surprising when Viviana fell, more than walked, into the kitchen.

Elena Morales did not even look up from the wordle on her phone when she heard the crash behind her. Viviana was not accident-prone or clumsy, unless she had just been woken up.

The mornings were often filled with snappy comments, crashes, and whispered curses until Viviana got her coffee and made her breakfast.

"Hola, Mama!" [Hello, Mama] Viviana called to her mother, sipping her coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Elena Morales nodded distractedly at her daughter, her eyes darting back to her phone. She had one guess left for this word, and she was determined to get it.

Viviana wiggled her fingers and her breakfast started making itself. The toast threw itself into the toaster, the eggs cracked themselves into the frying pan over the stove, and her plate haphazardly floated through the air. Magic left her hands free to grab a glass of orange juice and peer over her mother's shoulder at whatever word she was attempting to guess.

Her mother got it before she even registered the letters.

"Ha! Natal. Strange word."

Viviana sighed. "You think all English words are strange, Mama."

Her toast and eggs flew through the air on the plate, narrowly missing her mother's head before skidding to a stop on the table in front of her. She started eating quickly, praying that Preisha had been able to get the wrinkles out of her uniform.

"Do you have anything after school today?" Her mother asked. "I have a double shift at the clinic, and I won't be home until late."

Elena Morales worked as a nurse in the children's clinic. She wasn't able to be home all the time, but she did her best.

Viviana didn't mind. At least Elena wanted and loved her.

Her own parents had not. Perhaps they had known about her powers of destruction before she'd even begun to show them. It was possible.

Either way, she had ended up at that same clinic Elena worked in, alone, at only a month old. Elena had taken care of her and attempted to find her parents, with no luck. By the time she was supposed to be sent into foster care, Elena simply adopted Viviana herself.

Viviana was under no illusions. She had known from the start that Elena wasn't her mother, but she had always called her "Mama" anyway.

"Don't worry about after school." Viviana said, sending her plate flying toward the sink. "There's supposed to be a presentation, and Jeanette invited me over to her house to sleepover."