Once Upon a December

[Nina Lehnsherr]

"Heart, don't fail me now," Singing had always calmed Nina. It was why she'd come to America; to sing. "Courage, don't desert me!" And she was good at it. She'd sang in New York and San Francisco! She'd even opened a few local shows. Not enough that her name was known outside of the circles in the music industry, but enough that it made her proud of herself and what she'd done in a short time. "Don't turn back now that we're here. People always say life is full of choices. No one ever mentions fear . . . " Looking back she watched the boat that took her out to the island disappearing. No turning back now.

Turning she began walking toward the center (Please! Let this be toward the center and not her getting lost somewhere!) As she did, Nina looked up and saw birds. Smiling Nina used her powers and one came down to land on her hand. After a short conversation she began taking the directions the bird gave her.

Nina's shoes were once to clean until she began the walk. Once she entered the clearing she begin to notice that she might have over dressed for the place. People began staring at her as she walked toward the center of the clearing. Her clothes were neat and clean. Very unlike her mother, who always dressed in well worn clothes. It was one of the few ways they had been different before her mother died.

Nina came to a stop there in the center and wondered if she should walk up to one of them. She smiled brightly at them, but then it faded as they didn't smile back. Then she saw it--or more accurately, him. Magneto. Her smile came back for one second, and she inhaled deeply; before everything came back to her mind and she grew nervous. He floated down from the tower like building behind him, and approached her.

She felt her belly twist and flop as he grew closer, and knew her eyes were wide. Here he comes. "Hello," she greeted when he was close enough, and while she meant to do it in English, it came out in Polish. Her language. Her mother's language. . . . her father's language of birth. She repeated it again in English, though her accent stayed. "Hi."

Erik Lehnsherr

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

Genosha was truly becoming a safe place for mutants. A sanctuary. Not in the same way Charles' school was, but in a way that suited the Brotherhoods ideologies. There were occasional instances where they would go and help their fellow mutants, without creating a path of havoc and chaos but for the most part, this was now their home, and their numbers grew each and every day. When he was told a stranger approached, Magneto immediately made his way down, the quickest way possible. He looked at the young woman and . . . something about her made his heart beat harder in his chest. He didn't know what it was about her, just . . . something. Something inexplicable.

And then she spoke Polish and Erik wondered if that was all it was. A familiarity for a fellow person from Poland. He longed to reply to her in such, yet, the memory of his home and those he lost from it far too strong. Besides, he was to be transparent in front of all other mutants who gathered around to see the unfamiliar person. With her second statement, it was clear she spoke English -- how much, had yet to be determined. "What brings you to Genosha?" He asked, knowing that people came here for all sorts of reasons. And he wished to make her motives clear from the very beginning, before welcoming her. For unless they were a threat, he did not reject any mutant who came here for refuge and to live in a safe haven for their kind.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

He spoke back in English and asked her what she was doing here. That was both the easy answer and the hard answer. She was here for him! She glanced around at everyone staring at her. The one with spiky hair and the one with green hair even whispering to each other while staring at her. She couldn't do it here. She needed to talk to him alone before telling him what she'd come here to say. "I'm here to stay a while. I hear all mutants are welcome?" She asked, smiling up at him.

Yet that wasn't the only reason. She was here to meet HIM, not because he was the leader of this group of. . . . very scary goth looking people--but because she was the daughter of Magda and Erik. His daughter. And she knew he didn't know. "And to talk to you!" She said a little too excitedly. "Can I talk to you in private?" She asked, looking around again and then smiling hopefully up at him.

She hoped that he'd say yes. Nina bit her lip while waiting for his answer, and trying not to bounce with excitement. Her Dad was here! She was face to face with the man she'd only heard about and see on the TV!! And he was . . . So much bigger in person!

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

She spoke of all mutants being welcome, revealing that she perhaps was one. It wasn't exactly something people tended to lie about. It was more likely a mutant lied about not being one, than pretending to be one. "This is true," he assured. Despite whatever made him pause about her, he was not going to reject a fellow mutant.

She seemed innocent enough . . . and excitable. For whatever reason. The way she spoke to him . . . he couldn't explain it. She wanted to speak to him in private and he could practically feel the unease from a few of the others. It didn't take an empath or telepath to recognize though feelings. "What is it about?" A general idea, so that the others would not have to feel uncertain. While it welcomed mutants, there was always that initial unease that came with bringing in another member to this faction. A potential threat. While Magneto did not get that vibe from her . . . it was not to say that others were not wary.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina knew that she shouldn't expect him to live up to her grand ideas of what she thought meeting her father would be like but she also didn't want it to be like this. Out in the open where they were watched...and maybe glared at by his friends. She wanted to be embraced here! She should have baked something! Brought something for them to eat! THAT would have soften this!

"I'd rather not say here." She admitted, smiling up at him, trying to show him she meant no harm. She wanted to step closer but was afraid too. The idea that he might step away was scary to her. She'd build him up so much in her head. She wanted to make this a good thing for them both! Lifting her purse a little higher on her shoulder she tried in Polish again. "It's important." She added on, hoping that by using his language of Polish that he would know they were kindred spirits! That he could trust her! Nina pushed back her hair, and bounced on her toes once.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

The more she wished to speak to him in private, the more uneasy others grew. Magneto remained fairly stoic, but he knew for the benefit of others, he could not just privately speak to this mutant when her presence effected them all. He glanced at Selene for a brief moment and slightly shook his head, knowing what she was planning on doing. But he wasn't about to enter another person's mind when surely, they could talk this through.

He looked back at the woman. "While we accept all mutants into the Brotherhood, we do ask that intentions be made clear, to us all. So I would have to insist, that you tell me what it is you would like to speak to me about." He would try again, not to argue but to reassure the other mutants. Even if he could just get a hint as to what the subject was. There was something different in the way she approached them. No. The way she approached him.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina watched as he looked to the other girl and shook his head. Had she missed something? Were they talking to each other in their heads? Or did they just know each other well? She hadn't thought before but . . . what if he had another family? What if she was about to ruin everything? What if he had everything he wanted and he didn't want to know? Her mother said that he was a good man, and Nina had to believe that he was. She had to believe that the man her mother loved until her dying day was a man of honor and would not turn her away. That this was the right thing to do.

She shifted from one foot to the other, clearly nervous. Her eyes went to the other girls before back to her---her father's face. How did she tell him now? How did she get him along after his refusal? She didn't want to tell him here with everyone watching. Nina looked around at everyone once more before turning to Magneto. "My name is Nina Eisenhardt." She explained, and watched his face for any reaction. "I am Magda Eisenhardt's daughter." There it was. Not the full truth but the base of it. The foundation of what she needed to tell him. That her mother loved him, and that she was here to find out of she could love him too. If she had a place with ehr father or even if they could be a family. He was all she had in this world in the terms of blood. And after so many stories she wanted to meet the man. "I came to talk to you."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

Eisenhardt. Magda Eisenhardt. The name was enough to make him freeze. Made everyone else fade out from the distance. Leaving his sole focus on her. On what she had revealed. That was why there was something about her. It was a familiarity . . . because she looked just like her mother. And her age . . . so many years ago they had been together. And now, Nina . . . no. Surely not. His mind was hardly processing everything, and he knew that he had to grant her request, without question.

It was no wonder she desired to speak to him alone. This was not a conversation for everyones ears. "Come with me," he told her, already turning to walk towards his quarters. He didn't acknowledge the others. He didn't even look at them. Her name -- both their names -- played over and over in his mind. He had not spoken Magda's name since parting ways with her. Some memories were too painful to talk about. Once they reached his quarters, he waved open the door, and waved it closed all the same. He practically had to brace himself to turn around and look at her . . . and all he could do was stare. She looked so much like her mother, it made the breath catch in his throat. And his voice go dry. Magda had a daughter. So she found someone to be with. A husband perhaps. She deserved that. A family of her own. She deserved to be happy. 

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina wondered what he'd say or do once she gave her mother's name. She was a little surprised that he gave into her request, but so glad he did! The others looked displeased but she followed him as he lead them to the building he had floated out of. How was it that her mother used to describe his powers? Magik. Like magik.

She watched him use it to open the door, and with wide eyes she watched it close again behind them. He didn't look at her right away, so she used the change to look around his home. Or what she assumed to be his home. She looked for signs of love or family or anything soft. Trying to see what sort of man he was and life he lived. She turned slowly around to take in the whole room as she looked up and down over it. When she came back to look at him, he was looking at her. Nina smiled at him, and tried to find the words that she'd traveled thousands of miles to say. "Thank you," she told him for allowing her to come here and talk to him.

Nina took a deep breath, and gave a nervous chuckle. "I've come so far and now that I see you . . . " She smiled again and pushed her hair back. "I . . . . I grew up on stories about you."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

She had come to see him. She had grown up on stories about him? Why? Because . . . it was Magda. Because their parting had not been due to lack of love between them. He still loved her, and always would. Even if they could not be together. He couldn't help but wonder if the woman was a mutant, and that was why she was here to see him. So many questions raced through his mind, and yet, he was still trying to process the name revealed to him, that he had not heard or spoken in so many years. He didn't even know how much Magda had told her about him. But the thought caused him to feel a little bit of pride and honour, that she spoke to her daughter about him.

"She has a family then," he said, a bittersweet thing, his words both a statement and a question. He hoped she found peace, stability, a life beyond the wounds of war and genocide. He hadn't been able to provide that for her, and she deserved nothing less. "How is she?" He asked, his voice quiet, but heard. His tone having softened from what it was out in the clearing, to now, in the privacy of Magda's child. A part of Magda that stood before him. How could he not instantly love such a being, even if it was not his own . . . it was hers.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina's mother had never found a forever love, but she'd fond a forever home. And put her love into that and her daughter. "She had me," Nina explained a lot with so few words. No husband. No other family. A sad smile on her lips, because even after eight years she missed her mother. Missed her dearly. She liked that her father seemed affected by her mother. Her mother had been so affected by him for years, and Nina had oped that he loved her too. His voice and tone hinted he might! Which was also sad. That they'd loved each other and hadn't been together.

"She's . . " Nina began and hesitated. "We were in Italy when the flu went through. The big one that made the news." It had been one of the new strands and doctors had struggled with fighting it. A lot of people had died before getting the correct treatment. "She never recovered. She died eight years go." Nina's voice was soft, and sad. Yet she said it without crying to trembling. She had her mother's strength to her. Just as she had had her heart. "I'm sorry to tell you." She added on after a moment.

She gave him a moment to hear the news before softly stepping closer and going on. "She spoke of you often. I know she missed you. It was how I knew about you. Know so much about you." Because Magda wanted Nina to feel like she knew her father. "I didn't know how to find you until now." Which was why she'd waited eight years for this. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a photo of her and her mother, taken not long before the big flu came. She held it out to him. Her mother was smiling so brightly and happy. They both were. Nina had always thought she favored her mother, but her mother always said she had her father's eyes.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

She had a daughter. Apparently, no husband but a daughter. That seemed like more than enough. To know that Magda had someone to love and be loved by with her . . . made Erik happy to know. That she had built a family of her own, after losing the entirety of it in Auschwitz. He could never be that for her and sometimes . . . he did regret it. But knew that he was not the man she needed him to be at the time. The thought of seeing her again suddenly entered his mind. But, as quickly as it entered, it shattered. Because as Nina started to explain the fate of her mother, Erik could already feel his heart breaking over where this was going. "She died eight years ago." Erik paused for a moment before turning around, his hand casually reaching out to press against the nearby desk, to keep him braced and standing. The news broke his heart. She had always been the epitome of hope, innocence, love. Now, she was gone. And he hadn't been there. His head lowered a little as he closed his eyes, the first tear falling that was followed by another.

He couldn't remember the last time he had cried, especially in front of someone he had never met before. Yet, he felt like he already knew her . . . because she was a part of Magda. He could feel her moving closer as she continued, telling him she spoke of him often. His hand on the table slightly trembling, because the metal of it was. In the height of his power, there were still those circumstances that threatened to crumble him. Yet this time, the rage and anger he felt . . . was more at himself. That he had not done more to help her. The subtle shaking of the metal ceased when he felt her reach into her bag, trying to focus on something else. It may have stopped the trembling but it did not stop another tear. Magda was dead and he felt as if a part of him had died with her. Despite not even being with her for so many years.

He slowly turned around, trying to blink back whatever emotion he could, as he looked down at the picture. His eyes fixed on it, but he couldn't bare to touch it. He knew his eyes were moistening again as he clenched his jaw to bite back more tears, this time, to some avail. He finally looked at Nina again, his tone returning to what it was once. Stoic, but his recent reactions betrayed that composure. "She deserved to be happy." Erik had wanted nothing more for Magda than to find true happiness. "I'm sorry for your loss," he added, words thick with sincerity. He knew the loss of a mother, and it was not an easy one to endure.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

There was fear in his reaction at first. Fear of his powers that took the table, and of what might happen next. But when he turned to look at the photos, Nina could see the tears on his face. And in that instant the fear was replaced with love! Someone understood! Someone finally understood what it meant to live in a world without her mother in it! The reassurance that she needed that her father did love her mother, and it had not been one sided came up in her! Nina jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his middle, holding tightly to Magneto. She too had tears on her cheeks for both her loss, and for his! Nina buried her face into his chest and held tightly.

Her father was morning her mother, and she couldn't help but to find it sad and hopeful all in the same moment. Ever fear she had about coming here rested. This was the right thing! This was were she was meant to go! She needed the hug, and she felt that he did as well. That they could both use the healing touch. For him it was a stranger, but for Nina it was the first time she'd hugged her father, and the emotion of remembering her mother and hugged her father bubbled up as she cried softly into his shirt. Stupid pointless things crossed her mind in that moment. His smell, his strength, the reminder that his man had saved her mother--the idea that she was finally home after eight years was trying to find her place.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

Magneto recognized the rarity of tearing up in front of a stranger . . . but now suddenly hugging one. And it was a very heartfelt one at that. Yet, with Nina's reaction and the tears that he felt on him from her eyes . . . it was not an embrace Magneto even considered rejecting. She had lost her mother. They had both lost someone they loved. Her father did not seem to be in the picture, and it didn't appear Magda had any more children. The least that he could do, was welcome her here, especially if she had no where else to go. He slowly moved his arms so that they wrapped around her, returning the gesture though perhaps not with the same intensity.

There was an odd sort of comfort he found in her embrace though; feeling Magda's presence through her daughter. And suddenly, the hug made sense. It was what Magda would have done as well. Always there to comfort him, and one of the few people he'd let comfort him. "You truly are you mother's daughter," he said quietly, meaning it more as a compliment than anything else. He didn't know how much she had told Nina about him. Enough that she felt safe to come and meet him at least, and that was more than he ever could have hoped for.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina pulled back at his words and smiled up at him, the complement from her father--the man her mother had loved for years--warmed her to her core. "Thank you for that," she whispered, loving that he thought so and not even sure what he meant by it. But it made her feel close to her mother. Like her mother still was her in her heart.

"I am also my father's daughter." Nina explained looking at him. "I . . . I lied outside, and I am sorry for it but I didn't want to do this out there. My name isn't Eisenhardt. My mother gave me my father's name." Nina took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "You see, she tried to find you but never could. So she named me Nina Edie Lehnsherr . . . after my father." And there, it was said! The reason she'd came to see him and hide her name for a few moments! The reason she came to find him after eight years from loosing her mother. Not to tell him about her mother but to meet him. To find her father. To learn about her family.

She held her hands out, as if presenting herself before dropping them back down and waiting for his reaction. "I'm your daughter."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Tag: Nina Lehnsherr
Note: Better layout coming soon!

Peace

WAS NEVER AN OPTION

Magneto wasn't sure where she was going with the conversation when she spoke of how she was her father's daughter. But . . . the more the spoke, the more clear it became. Even if deep down he knew the direction of the reveal, his mind had not quite processed it in him. Not until she said the words. Revealing her name. Revealing that she was his daughter. All he could do was look at her, the words playing over and over in his mind. Magda had a daughter. His daughter. And he did not doubt that she had tried to look for him. But . . . seeing the young woman in front of him now. It was overwhelming. He wasn't sure how to react. What to say. What could he say? A child whom he had no role in, despite being of his own blood, despite having his last name . . . yet, he didn't know her.

And she was smiling at him. Smiling, indicating that she was not upset with him. Or at least upon first impression. That she was . . . happy, to be related to him. Saying his name with pride, coming all this way to see him. Magda had made it a point for her to know her father and, it touched Erik's heart in a way he had no longer thought possible. But now, here she was. Saying that she was his daughter. "Yet, I know nothing of what it is to be your father." The words holding emotion, an underlying tone of . . . remorse, almost. Anyone could aid in the creation of a life, but not everyone could be a father. And, he had not been to her.

[Nina Lehnsherr]

Nina waited for him to react and watched him closely. She knew it was a lot to take in. He just found out that her mother was dead, and that he had a daughter. This was why she wanted to talk to him alone, and not out there. Because it was a lot to take in, and this moment needed to happen where there wasn't eyes on them. A private moment between father and daughter! Nina, like her mother, was some what of a toucher. When he spoke about not knowing what it was to be her father, she reached out to touch his arm! She was touching her father's arm, and the idea was so new to her that she felt nervous.

"My mother explained you didn't know." Her words were soft, and heavy as the emotion of being this close to him was setting in. Erik Lehnsherr was her in the same room as her! It was a good feeling, but a heavy feeling all the same. "It wasn't until people talked about the nation here, that I knew how to find you." She did't plan to soften it more than that. While she never blamed her father for not being around, she had watched her mother love him from a far. She was here to build a future where he could know her, and her him. "I wanted to know you. I wanted to meet you."