Who: Padmé and Freya What: Roadtrip for volunteering for The Princess Project. Bonding happens. When: Sometime in March Where: A couple different places on the way to and in San Francisco Warnings: Pretty low, though there's mentions of Dreams having a bleak future
It had been far too long since Freya had last been on a road trip of any sort. There’d been a few while she’d been growing up, but not many. So being on a road trip with Padme was exciting. She was a little less confident of being able to be a good fairy godmother-figure when they got to where they were going, but she’d do her best. At the very least, Freya had compassion and empathy, which tended to go a long way.
Though being in a car wasn’t precisely ideal. As much as Freya had come to love her wings, they were rather awkward to deal with when in a car. She currently had them appear invisible lest someone in another car they passed caught a glimpse of the wings.
“I have to say, this road trip is the first I’ve taken in...well, longer than I care to admit because that might show my age,” she noted with a chuckle.
“Whatever, you can’t be more than 30,” Padmé teased, rolling her eyes. “Or maybe 35. Joking, of course. Your skin is flawless, and your tattoos just lend you a certain je ne sais quoi anyways.” It was nice having someone else in the car, someone to sing songs with, or just chat about nothing. She found conversation so effortless with Freya.
Of course, she knew that her Prius wasn’t the most comfortable for such a tall woman, and the drive was rather long….
A sign for a rest-area came up. “Let me know when you need a break? We can pull over anytime, I could use some stretching of my legs too. My tiny, short legs.”
Freya had to chuckle. “I’m actually 35, so you’re not far off. But thank you. The tattoos came from my Dreams. These wouldn’t have been my first choice if I’d chosen to get a tattoo in this life, but I still like them.” She glanced down at her arms. She was still debating on whether or not to use her magic to conceal the tattoos when being the fairy godmother, so-to-speak, for a girl.
“That would actually be good. Though it’s not my legs that are cramping.” It actually wasn’t too terrible for Freya to fit in Padme’s Prius. There were plenty of cars that Freya didn’t fit well in. This one wasn’t too bad as far as that went. It was more her wings didn’t travel well in cars. She could deal with the lack of leg room.
Padmé didn’t know what Freya meant about her legs not being cramped -- what else is there? “No problem!” She’d seen a sign for a rest area so she drove towards it. “What do your tattoos mean? I meant to ask, but didn’t want to be rude. They’re so interesting. Runes, right?” That’s what she thought they were called, she didn’t actually know.
“You know, this may be an unpopular opinion but I’m actually excited to see my dreams. Knowledge is power, and knowing about my past life? Even if it’s sad, it would be better than not knowing.”
Freya was hoping there weren’t many people around at the rest stop. It would make it easier for her to stretch her wings without drawing attention. Even if she left the spell on, it didn’t silence the sound they made when she flapped them. “Some of them are runes, yes. Others are patterns denoting my Vanir heritage. I believe they are also tied to my magic because they do glow when I use my magic.” Which was definitely something, but it probably went with the whole being a goddess thing.
“Knowledge is power, and I believe that these Dreams are also partly to teach us lessons. Perhaps along the lines of not making the same mistakes our past selves did. Or there may be other lessons, it is difficult to say for certain.” Freya hadn’t Dreamt anything that she’d deemed a mistake on her other self’s part, so she couldn’t attest to that at all.
Padme hadn’t thought about it like that before. In a way, it was a reset button, a story of things that had already happened. She liked Freya’s position, and she stated as much. “That’s a lovely way of looking at it! I think you’re right -- we can take it as a way to learn, instead of looking at it fatalistically.”
She pulled into the rest stop and was pleased to see hardly any cars in the lush, green stop. “I have a ...friend. He is really struggling with this. He’s gotten powers from his dreams too, and he keeps talking like he has no choice to follow that path...and I don’t know how to get him to see otherwise.” She sighed. “It’s hard when I haven’t had that ...tragic of a story, like he keeps hinting his is…”
It did seem like the logical reason for the Dreams, even if Freya’s Dream life didn’t completely translate to her life here. She hadn’t fought in a war in this world, and her Dream counterpart hadn’t really made mistakes that would translate to this world. At least, not yet. Though she listened to Padme talk about her friend.
“It is hard to convince people that are that set on not having a choice, but perhaps just continue to be there for him, show him he’s not a lone. He may have his powers here, but whatever framework from those Dreams doesn’t necessarily exist here. There are different rules in this world, and I believe we all have a choice for how to live our lives in this world. Even if we are a villain in the Dreams, we do not have to be here so long as we do not let the Dreams control us with fear and the sense of inevitability. We must control that if we wish to not follow the same paths in this life.”
Padmé smiled. She liked how Freya was always so honest, and thoughtful. Anything the older woman said was surely thought through, and it made Padmé feel better. “You’re right. Fatalism gets us nowhere, and doesn’t help us grow at all. Being aware of the past is one thing, but letting it control us is something else.”
She turned the car off and stretched her arms up. “Well. I’m going to stretch, just as much as I’m sure you need to too. Half way point! Soon, we’ll be in San Fran, and I can already taste the burritos.”
The volunteering had been a good experience for Freya. She always liked to help people however she could. While she wasn’t precisely the most fashionable person, she could definitely help make a girl’s dreams come true. Putting smiles on other people’s faces was something that Freya strove to do as often as possible. Of course, a good portion of her motivation for that was to distract herself from the pain and sorrow she carried within her. She missed her son, but she kept her pain to herself and tried her best to brighten other people’s lives where she could.
Now that the volunteering was done, they could relax and have a little fun before they headed back home. And what better way to do that then going for a walk and getting some ice cream along the way? In part thanks to her Dreams, Freya had a deep love and connection to nature. Her magic was rooted in nature, centering around plants and healing.
“I have to say, this trip has been rather enjoyable in more ways than one,” she commented as they walked along.
Padmé smiled and nodded her head, dipping slightly to lick an errant trail of ice cream. “Yea, it really was! I’m so glad you had fun. I know I did, and it was a nice way to really get back into volunteering. I think I’m going to try to make this more of a priority, instead of just once a year or so.” The walk they choose was a simple trail, but one that made them feel like they weren’t quite in a city anymore. “What did you like best?”
Even before she’d started Dreaming, Freya had felt most at home being out in nature. It didn’t matter if she was simply working in her garden, or taking a hike somewhere. Now that she Dreamt about being a goddess, she had to wonder if that was why she’d always felt attuned to nature. Because her Dream self was tied to nature.
She took a lick of her ice cream as she pondered the question. “I think it was just seeing how happy and excited the girls where to have that experience. I always have liked helping others, giving them reasons to smile. So I think that was the best part for me. What about you?”
“I think the same thing, but I have to say -- being a make up artist. In another life, that might have been my calling.” As much as Padme loved fashion, there was something about make-up that really excited her. Even though she usually preferred muted, classic colours, occasionally she would use a darker lipstick, or focus on the perfect winged eyeliner.
It was probably the one thing that she could say she was really creative with.
“Did you go to prom? I did...it was terrible.” She laughed a little. “My date, he was my high school boyfriend, and I think he expected I’d put out. I think he was pretty surprised when I broke up with him but I could not picture spending any more time with him.” She ate some of her ice cream and continued speaking. “My dad and mom were friends with his parents, we all grew up together, so they expected I’d just naturally date him and live happily ever after but nope, couldn’t do it. He was too much like everyone else, and I don’t want that in my life. I like change. I like challenges. I have no interest in going with the status quo.”
At least not now. Maybe before yes, but now? No way.
“You are a natural when it comes to make-up, I have to say,” Freya noted with a smile. She herself wasn’t one to really do anything with make-up. She never really had, preferring just going natural. She had good skin, so it wasn’t like she needed to cover up any flaws in it. That and she also never felt the need to put make-up on. She didn’t want to wear it, so she didn’t.
“No, I didn’t go to prom. Even if someone had asked me, I would’ve declined. Dances weren’t really my thing, and I tended to prefer doing work around the farm instead. Call me weird, but I preferred digging in the dirt to going to dances in high school,” she added with a laugh. Perhaps it sounded a little sad, or as though she hadn’t had many friends, but it was how Freya had liked it. Focusing on schoolwork and her duties around the farm had been fulfilling enough.
“I’m glad that you realized that wasn’t what you want and ended it before you got trapped in something that made you unhappy. I suppose your parents weren’t exactly happy when you broke up with that guy?” Freya’s parents had never been like that. They’d been too busy instilling a work ethic in her and her siblings to try to matchmake them all.
Padmé gave a little laugh. “No, my parents weren’t happy. They barely tolerate the choices I make, but since I’m not financially dependent on them -- or really dependent on them at all -- they really don’t have much to say.” Her eyes twinkled. “You should see how they go on about the hiking, and the surfing.”
She dangled a hand. “The fact that I have calluses is a personal affront to my mother.”
Freya couldn’t help but to laugh a bit at that. “That’s definitely good that you aren’t financially dependent on them. And even if you were, it’s still your life and not theirs. Though allow me to say that you are such a little rebel.” Freya noted with a bit of a smirk and a glint in her own eyes.
“Good for you. Calluses aren’t bad things, they’re a sign of life and hard work. And sometimes fun.” After all, some activities gave one calluses. Freya had been lucky that her parents were rather lax in that sort of thing. Not to mention progressive. She had to admit it was nice to have a friend like Padmé. Sometimes Freya tended to be so reclusive that she forgot that she did actually like people. This trip was a good reminder to her that she should get out more often and talk to people.