Disclaimer: The characters are Marvel's, not mine, and are being borrowed without permission, but it's not for profit so please don't sue.
Rating: PG, I guess - it's a fairytale.
Feedback: Anything. Please. (If you spot any factual errors or gross mischaracterisations, pretty please let me know so I can fix them.) This is my first official fanfic. Just warning you. :)

Mama's Fairytale
by Loki'sRose

Tell me a story, Mama.

Which story do you want to hear?

A new one. One Ah’ve never heard before.

My darling child, I don’t think I have any of those left.

Find one, Mama. Please, for me?

Oh, very well. Once upon a time there was a young woman –

Was it you, Mama?

It might have been. The woman could be anyone she wanted to be. She went to a far-off land to find a happy ending.

Did they speak English in the Far-Off Land?

No, my darling child.

French, Mama?

No. It was a different language. An old, beautiful language. The woman liked it. One day, the young woman met a man.

Was he handsome, Mama?

Not especially.

Rich?

Oh yes. Very rich. He lived in a castle, near a village in the mountains. There were plenty of mountains in that Far-Off Land. And the woman went to live with him.

In the castle?

Yes, my darling child. It was a beautiful castle, made all of stone, with stone steps and stone towers and stone walls. It was a big, safe castle, and no-one could go in unless the man let them. And the man married the young woman, and they were very happy.

And did they have children, Mama?

They had one little boy. But the little boy didn’t look like the other little boys who lived in the village. From the moment he was born, every person who saw him, all the doctors and nurses, screamed or fainted.

Was he ugly, Mama?

He was beautiful. He had soft blue skin and big yellow eyes.

Like yours, Mama?

Oh yes. And he had little pointed ears and a long blue tail. He looked like a little blue elf. But the people in the Far-Off Land thought he looked like a demon. And they got scared.

What about the baby’s Papa? Did he get scared?

The young woman was afraid to tell him, darling child. The people in the village wanted to kill her baby, and the man had lived near this village all his life. So had his father and his grandfather and so many great-greats, back to before the castle was built. The villagers knew he wasn’t a demon. But the woman had only been in the Far-Off Land for a little while. And if the villagers thought her baby was a demon, they would think she had to be one, too, and try to kill them both.

So she ran away, Mama? Away from her husband and the safe stone castle?

She did. She took her baby and ran away. But the villagers knew what she looked like, and they followed her. Now the young woman knew that she could be anyone she wanted to be, she could change so that nobody could find her, nobody could recognise her. But they would always be able to recognise her little blue baby boy. So she left him behind.

But Mama, she loved her baby! Else, why didn’t she just stay and let the people kill him? She wouldn’t just leave him behind!

She had to, my darling child. She was only young, and she couldn’t think of any other way. So she put him down by the river, wished him luck and life, and became somebody else. She left the Far-Off Land, and didn’t go back. Not ever again.

Was she happy, Mama?

No. But she was safe.

Did she have other children?

Yes, another little boy, as perfect as normal can be. But he hated his mama and papa, and ran away. When he was older, he tried to get people to kill them, and everyone who was like them.

Like the villagers in the Far-Off Land did?

Just like that, my darling. Because they were afraid. And the woman, who was not so young anymore, decided not to have any more sons. So she found herself a daughter.

What did the daughter look like, Mama?

She had big green eyes, and brown hair with a white stripe in it.

Like mine, Mama?

Yes, my darling child. And the woman loved her very much.

And did that make up for the little baby she left behind?

My darling child, nothing makes up for those you leave behind. Never leave anyone behind, my darling, keep them with you, always, even if you hate them, even if they hate you. Stay with them. Whatever the cost. Never feel regret.

Ah promise, Mama. Ah won’t leave anyone behind, no matter what ... Auntie Destiny, is something wrong?

I felt a chill, dear, nothing more.

Shall I bring you a blanket, Irene?

Thank-you, Raven, but it’s gone now. I’m fine.

Was it very cold, Auntie Destiny?

Like winds off Antarctica.

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