Chrysalis

Chapter 17

Notes: As I had anticipated, this chapter was incredibly hard to write – and once again, I am immensely grateful to you guys for the support you're giving me. You're wonderful <3 and there's no reason to worry about spelling mistakes or not exactly perfect English in reviews, I really don't mind, the mere fact that you decided to reach out to me really means a lot, I couldn't ask for anything more!

Warnings: Usual (for this fic, I mean) depictions of child neglect and emotional abuse.
Dialogues in italic between Francis and Maggie mean they're speaking French.

I really hope you'll enjoy the chapter. And please review :) 

******

Chapter Seventeen

On the last day of school before the Christmas break, Maggie woke up to an unexpected thin layer of white covering every surface. She had to apply a conscious effort to tear her eyes away from the window, and the smile kept lingering on her lips as she got ready for the day. The presence of the snow made everything calmer, almost magical. Even Steve's unfriendly squint at Maggie's passage caused barely more than a dent in her confidence, and everything was forgotten the moment her feet sank into the freshly fallen snow. It was hardly more than an inch, but Maggie's heart fluttered with giddiness. She hadn't truly expected to see snow that year, and only when a weight she hadn't even been conscious of was lifted from her chest, she realized how much she hadn't allowed herself to grieve it.

Maggie's good mood only improved when Arthur's car stopped in front of the fence just as she reached it. Alfred's face welcomed her from the front seat, his nose and cheeks flushed from the cold. He did nothing but complain the entire way to the school, but at that point, Maggie knew him well enough to realize that his discomfort wasn't as acute as his words seemed to imply – nothing more than annoyance at the fact the snow hadn't been enough to close the school. The way he smiled at Maggie was much more genuine.

From Alfred's complaints and Arthur's following remarks, however, Maggie understood that snow before Christmas wasn't a common occurrence, that winter was being unusually rigid. It felt silly, but Maggie couldn't shake off the impression that it was a gift tailored to her.

But in truth, the unexpected snow was only the icing on the cake. Maggie had so many things to feel grateful for that she couldn't even begin to list them. There was the gentle smile Arthur addressed her before driving away, Tolys's warm one as she and Alfred walked into their classroom... Sometimes, Maggie felt like she was living in a dream she would wake up from at any given moment.

Alfred's fingers gently running through her hair as he braided it, however, were solid and real – and much gentler than they had been in the beginning, too. Since Maggie had broken her arm, she had found herself facing the dilemma of how to tie up her hair. Leaving it loose had turned out to be a hassle she had forgotten about, it kept getting trapped under her elbow when she was writing and getting in the way of anything she tried to do. Fortunately, many people around Maggie knew how to deal with long hair. She had been placing her hopes in Feliks, but another unexpected aid had come from Alfred, who had turned out to be eager to help and a quick learner.

The memory of the shame that had invaded Maggie's chest the first time her eyes had landed on the boy still made her skin crawl with uneasiness. She could perfectly recall that mixture of longing and anxiety that had accompanied their first interactions, the joy curbed by the awareness that they weren't going to last. Even after more than two months, any time Alfred's hands touched her hair caused a flutter in her heart and the heat to rise to her cheeks. She refused to analyse the meaning of those impressions, but she couldn't deny that they weren't completely negative. Not even in her wildest dreams she would have dared to imagine how soothing and familiar Alfred's touch would become to be.