Hindsight is 20:20, as they say. But Madeline's vision had never been that great.
Blind-sided by the Supernatural, Madeline finds her carefully structured and idealistic world ripped from under her after a chance encounter in the depths of the fore...
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As Madeline stepped out the forest line, she felt a sense of hyper-awareness. What she was about to do, to vocalise for the first time, was something she'd sworn would never leave her mouth willingly. But she'd made the conscious decision to act responsibility, to govern with pride, and humility, with fierceness and kindness, with a toughness and a sense of delicacy, to govern with understanding, and forgiveness.
She couldn't be a Queen who understood, and forgave is she was incapable to forgive the mentally ill. If she were too stubborn, to set in her own emotional investments in the situation to make an external decision, to understand that sometimes, some people, are subject to forces beyond their control, to manipulation, and people who would take advantage of their naivety. Sometimes, mistakes happened.
Madeline nodded her head, encouraging herself to continuing stepping forward. One foot at a time. She looked at the sign before her, practically studied the words, "Veritas Institute for the Mentally Vulnerable." The Place they'd sent her father to "recover".
It was strange, she wasn't sure when she'd started referring to the man as her father, or when she'd stopped associating him with the actions of his twin. She was completely lost as to when she no longer harboured feelings of resentment, and when she failed in her attempt to appear stoic towards the man who through his kindness, his naivety, and trust of his brother, had changed the entire course of her life.
But she no longer blamed him.
Madeline wasn't sure what had caused it. Was it the progress reports, the ones that listed all the ways in which he repented for his crimes. Noting his remorse, and the tears he shed over every life he shattered. His guilt for those lives that were lost at the hand of his brother, and those he was responsible for through a series of manipulative actions.
Or was it the letters that the staff had been sending her. The letters he wrote to his victims. They came daily, for almost three-months she'd received apologies, explanations, and complete admission of guilt. She couldn't bring herself to despise a man who was slowly restoring himself to what he used to be. She couldn't even pity him, all she could do, all she had done was forgive him.
She sighed as she entered the building, pausing to allow for checks of her identity and person. She felt Xavier's standoffish nature as they stood there, waiting admittance. He was again in a domain that he had no control over. Grabbing his hand in an attempt of comfort they followed the attendant down various hallways, before pausing before a single door. She gulped, noticing they were both staring, waiting on her.
She nodded, chewing her bottom lip in nervousness. Madeline knew that she had endless room in her life for her biological father, forgiveness now came so easily to her. She understood, she knew that he didn't expect forgiveness, and he probably didn't want it. He blamed himself for her mothers death, and although she'd initially done the same, she couldn't bring herself to hold onto that feeling.
