golden blonde¹

we have got to stick together you know?

elena fernandez is the younger sister of barcelona defender jana fernandez. she too, like her sister played for barcelona. she is the captain of the spanish u-19 squad. born on december 26th, 2003 the 18 year old is one of the most promising young defensive midfielders in the world. due to the signing of keira walsh to barcelona's squad, elena has been loaned out to the english team arsenal to continue her development.

late august 2022
"i am sorry elena, there are just not enough minutes to be distributed. with you, patri, ingrid, and now walsh, we cannot find the minutes. we know that you are not one to be left on the bench the entire season. arsenal will be a great opportunity for you." jonatan says hugging the young girl.

"i understand." the girl tries desperately to keep her voice even. she only knows barcelona. she has never lived someplace else. she grew up here, with jana, with the girls.

when she returned to her apartment in barcelona, her façade broke immediately when jana asked what was wrong. she could never hide much from her.

"hermana, what happened?" jana asks as she sees the tears in her sisters eyes. elena had stumbled through an explanation, filled with tears and her sister whispering condolences the entire time.

days had passed, elena was more or less a walking zombie. the numbness of the news had not escaped her yet. she had said goodbye, temporarily, to her teammates the day after the she heard the news.

"i'll miss you el, but you will do great. arsenal is a great club for you to be at." alexia had whispered.

"england isn't ready for you, i love you little one." mapi hugged elena softly.

ingrid presses a kiss to elena's forehead ever so gently. "don't be a stranger okay? they're going to be amazing, frida tells me so much, they are going to grow on you i promise."

the day after she said goodbyes to her teammates, she had spent packing a suitcase. jana insisted that she needn't pack much. london weather wasn't exactly as sunny as barcelona. jana arranged a facetime call with her girlfriend, jill roord, who had played with most of the arsenal girls, in hopes that it would give some reassurance to her younger sister.

"hey el, jana told me the news, how are you feeling?" jill asks as a way of greeting.

"like shit," the younger spaniard retorts. jill lets a laugh escape her, but jana's deathly stare into the camera pulls her back into reality.

"i know, but i promise you that this is the best club you could have ended up at."

"would you not have preferred me at wolfsburg?" elena says slowly, her english was still in the works.

"of course little one, but this is the next best place. the girls there are amazing." elena stares blankly at her sister's girlfriend, still not fully believing her words. "you know lia wälti? she's their defensive midfielder. she is extraordinary, you'll learn so much from her." jill continues, fondly recounting numerous memories from her time in england. "kim little, jordan nobbs. these are midfield legends el, you're going to be fine. they're all like family at arsenal. it'll be like you never left spain." jill finishes smiling.

elena is only somewhat comforted, but she's grateful that jana and jill made some time to tell her about the arsenal girls. at least this way, she'll have less to worry about.

early september 2022
saying goodbye to her sister at the airport was one of, if not the most difficult things elena had to do. tearful goodbye messages were exchanged, and jana's words were instilled into elena's mind.

"i am here if you need anything. anything okay? if anything happens you call me, no matter what time of day, i will always be here for you. i love you el."