Wanda and Amanda

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

During another break, Wanda and Amanda managed to meet up for some food under the guise of auntie dearest and her beloved niece. Speaking of family, she finally drops the bombshell that the digging she's been doing on Amanda's real name has born fruit. It's...not what was expected and it's not met very well.



Wanda managed to grab a table at the bustling resturant and sat with a sigh. Her feet were on the verge of protesting the stiletto heels she was imposing on them and a break was well-deserved. She had been watching the guards closely, trying to see if she could catch a pattern from their activities. But right now, all she wanted was a very large sandwich and a drink.

Luckily the restaurant was one of the less up-market ones - Amanda's 'cover' as a British backpacker would have caused her problems if she'd tried to go anywhere with a dress code. Seeing Wanda in the corner, she grinned briefly and came over to her table. "Hey, auntie," she said cheerfully, for the benefit of those around them. "All gambled out?"

There was an answering grin at the cover. "For now, at least," she replied, snagging the younger woman a menu and sliding it over. "There is always later, though. Tired of seeing the sights, I suppose?"

"Dead on me feet," Amanda replied truthfully - she was bone-tired from days of magical preparation on an already-unstable powerbase, and it was starting to show. "Spot yer favourite niece lunch? I could eat a horse."

More amused than anything, she agreed and soon enough they had enough food to sooth both appetites. Wanda eyed the amount of food and looked impressed. "And I thought I ate a lot," she commented, watching Amanda start to devour the food in front of her.

"Fast metabolism," Amanda managed through a mouthful of sandwich. "Part of me natural talents." She'd forgotten what it was like, talking in code, but it was comin back to her easily enough. All the euphemisms for magic and mutancy. "It'd be somethin' of a family trait, right? That grandmother of yers?"

"Yes, on top of an also fast metabolism. Not so much from those talents but also from all the outside work. And you come to appreciate food when sometimes it is rather scarce." She paused and glanced around. Well, now was as good as time as any. "~I think this may be better to discuss in,~" she said, glad that in Las Vegas no one gave you a funny look for speaking another language. "~Speaking of families...~"

Amanda raised her eyebrow at the switch to Romany, but nodded in agreement. "~You've found something then?~" she asked in the same language, her pronunciation a little clumsy from lack of actual teaching. "~Something about my... parents?~" The word felt strange coming from her.

She made a mental note to start teaching Amanda the proper way to speak Romany. She had a good grasp, all it needed was a little work. "~Yes. Between my trips to Cambridge and a few tips from some friends when I went back home, I believe I have.~" And she couldn't believe she has been able to sit on this this long. What it signified was mindblowing. There was a pause. "~Like I said, I believe I have—do you still want to hear it?~"

Swallowing nervously, Amanda laid aside the remnants of her sandwich, taking a swallow of orange juice to clear her throat. "~Tell me,~" she said, her voice tight.

Wanda simply nodded. "~Your name is Romany, like I believed. It was an older, rarely used name these days and you are too young for it to have still been widely in use. I researched the name, starting with libraries and online sources. Once there, I dropped e-mails and lines to my contacts among my people. Eventually, I was able to trace it back to Germany. And here is it where it gets complicated, I am afraid.~" She paused, trying to think of a way to break it to her without being too abrupt.

"~Complicated. Why aren't I surprised?~" The humour was more defensive than anything else, and Amanda realized she was twisting a paper napkin around her fingers, systematically shredding. "~I was born in Germany, then?~" she asked, preferring to focus on the small things first. "~So you found my full name?~"

"~Yes. Your full name is Gemile Svardos. That is not the complicated part.~" Oh, this was going to be interesting. "~I spoke to Kurt a while back about families. When he was younger, he had a sister taken away from the caravan by what he said were government officials. His mother is Margali Svardos.~" Wanda stopped to let Amanda take in all that amount of information.

"~Svardos? But that would mean...~" Amanda's eyes widened. "No," she said in English, pushing back away from the table in her chair. "No bloody way. Yer tryin' t' tell me one of the people who was there when I was sold has been at the school all along?" She realised her voice had risen and people were staring, and she made a conscious effort to control herself. "~It can't be true,~" she said at last, shaking her head firmly. "~There's got to be a mistake.~"

"~Calm down,~" Wanda said simply, gently not unkindly but with the type of voice that she used to get the attention when she led her caravan. "~I did not say sold, Amanda. According to Kurt, they believed the man who came was from the German government. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for Gypsy children to be removed from families at that young of an age. To be modernized.~" It looked like she wanted to spit in irritation, to curse the ground as they would in the older days. "~Is it that hard to think that the man who 'bought' you lied about he got his hands on you?~"

Amanda blinked at the tone, and reined herself in. "~Rack lied, all the time,~" she said slowly. "~But he was always so straight with the specifics, gave me all the details...~" A thought occurred to her. "~The scars. Wagner's scars. He says he did them himself, but what if they're like mine, what if...? No, this isn't true, it can't be... If I was taken, why didn't they look for me, why did they leave me to that?~" The words were spilling out rapidly, a jumble of Romany and English as Amanda's agitation increased.

"~Amanda. Deep breaths, my young friend, and calm down. We cannot afford to risk something being noticed. I understand why you are upset, I would be too.~" Leaning back, she calmly ordered a drink for Amanda, not really caring that she was underage in the United States. A few words about a family problem cleared up the concern on the waiter's face and soon a small drink was set down in front of her. "~Drink, this will help calm your nerves. I think you would have noticed if the scarring on Kurt was magical by now. And I do not know what they did, Kurt sounded very saddened, said he did not remember much about his sister. From the sounds of it, he wished he did. Listen to me, Amanda. When you are on the road, as a Rom, traveling from place to place you are at the mercy of the local governments. Even in these 'enlightened' times, we are not welcomed in most places. On top of the fact that I did more digging. There are no records of you in the system as being taken away by the government. Meaning that Rack, seeing your potential, lied. A great deal. But I do not know all the answers. Kurt would know more.~"

Amanda knocked back the drink in a gulp - scotch burned her sinuses briefly, shocking her back into something that resembled sense, and she realised how close she'd come to blowing the whole show. "I'm sorry," she murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose. "'S just so much t' take in..." Switching back to Romany, she went on. "~Maybe you're right. But that doesn't change the fact my b... that Wagner's a religious nut who has a thing for carving up his skin.~" The mulish look Manuel would have been familiar with was appearing on her face. "~I should go - I need to think, process all this. Away from cameras and prying eyes.~"

Wanda frowned but didn't press the issue. Kurt may have...bizarre religious beliefs but that did not detract from the fact that he was a kind, gentle soul. One who had helped save her life. "~My help is here if you need it,~" she replied, reaching for her own drink. She didn't clarify if the offered help was for here or concerning the family matter. "~Think, rest. And be careful.~ Do not spend all your money in one place, my dear niece." In the end, this, right now, had to be all about the act.

"Same to you." Amanda rose, looking far less cheerful than she had been when she came in. "Thanks, 'auntie'. I'll see you later, yeah? We can talk 'bout this then."

She nodded. "Of course. Go, have some fun." As she watched Amanda turn and nearly flee through the crowd, the waiter stopped by and smiled a little.

"I have one about her age. Kids these days, so grown up. Here you go, let me get the bill."

"Thank you. ~And you do not know the half of it.~"