Usual disclaimers apply.

Chapter 4

Walking slowly into the kitchen the next morning I was surprised to find Mom making breakfast and Mama nowhere to be seen. "I thought you had a book signing out of town."

"Good morning to you too, Sammy," she returned. "My agent sent me the wrong dates. It's next weekend that I'll be gone."

My face fell and I picked at the toast she'd given me. "You're going to miss Halloween?"

Sitting down next to me and handing me my eggs she shook her head. "Nope, told my agent I was cutting the trip short. Boston can wait. I 'll be back for Halloween."

"Good, it wouldn't be the same without you here."

"I'm glad you agree with me. Hurry up and I'll drive you to school this morning."

"Where's Mama?" I asked finishing up my eggs.

"She has some things to do today so she took Argo out for an early run."

"Oh." I'm sure my disappointment in not being included in the morning ride showed since Mom put her fingers under my chin and lifted it. "You won't be grounded forever, Sam," she said softly.

I nodded and stood up to put my boots on. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I grabbed my coat and bag. "I'm ready to go."

Handing me my lunch, she nodded and walked me to her car with her arm wrapped around my shoulders.

Pulling up in front of the school Mom reminded me to wait for her by the large tree after school. She'd be picking me up today. My mood soured realizing I wouldn't be going to the dojo and I wouldn't be able to try out Mavri's bridle today. Putting her open palm in front of me, she said simply, "Dagger." I sighed and handed my new gift over, noticing for the first time it had images carved in the blade. Deciding I'd have to look it over much better later, I opened the car door without a word and dragged myself to my classroom.

I was quiet all morning and Mrs. Penway kept glancing at me like she expected the other shoe to drop at any time. I was too upset to try anything with her and the more I thought about things, the angrier I started to become.

I had done some more snooping and had found two books by Mom I had never read before. I finally discovered who Callisto had been, Mom didn't even bother calling her something else in the books, but I still couldn't figure out how she fit in with Eve. By the time lunch came around my brain was swirling with images of Eve, Callisto, and my mama riding without me.

Joining Rhys, I said nothing as I unpacked my lunch.

"I thought your mom was on a business trip this weekend," he said noticing the edible food in front of me.

"Her agent sent her the wrong dates. She'll be gone next weekend."

"Ah, school lunch next week then huh?"

"I nodded. It may be gross, but it's better than being poisoned."

He laughed. "Yeah, I still don't know how Xena managed to screw up ham and cheese on white bread."

I smirked. "She has many skills."

"I guess so. What's been bugging you today?" he asked switching to Greek for privacy.

"Mama went for an early morning ride without me," I whined. "She hasn't done that since the year I turned six."

Rhys nodded understanding completely. "It's kind of your thing isn't it? Early morning rides, the sparring after school."

"Yeah, and to make matters even better," I added sarcastically, "She closed the dojo for today and I won't be able to spar after school."

"Harsh."

"Yeah, I think so," I agreed feeling my temper rise again.

"Maybe you and Gabrielle can bake some nut bread or something after school instead." He smiled at me. "And then you can bring me some tomorrow."

I shrugged. "Maybe, I'll have to see how busy she is writing."

"Glad I could help."

"Sure, because you only have my interests at heart," I teased as we stood up and headed outside.

Reaching the far end of the playground I noticed a large sixth grade boy trying to interfere with two little girls playing with their dolls. My temper, so close to the surface, started to bubble over. "I think I'll go knock some sense into Jeffrey Wilcox," I said to Rhys.

He put a calming hand on my arm. "Sam, there are better ways to get Xena's attention."

"I know." I answered before moving to intercept the bully before he could break the little girls' dolls.

"Leave them alone, Jeffrey," I said taking the dolls from his hands and giving them back to the girls.

"Thanks, Sam," they said in unison, standing up and backing away.

"Leave me alone, Sam," Jeffrey growled. "I wouldn't want to hurt you."

I smiled at him. "Come on big boy, I'd like to see you try." For a sixth grader he was huge and towered over me.

Laughing he pointed at me as a group of kids circled us. "I am so going to kick your ass."

Allowing my anger to come forward, I felt a warmth spread through me, from my toes to my head. "Try it," I spat.

"Knock it off you two!" I felt a large hand pull me by the belt off of my perch on top of Jeffery Wilcox. He was gushing blood from the nose, his lip was split open, and he sported two black eyes.

"Let me go!" I screamed wildly swinging. "I'm not done with him yet."

"Oh yes you are," the voice was deep and shoved me back toward the edge of the blacktop. I looked up to see the gym coach glaring at me while Jeffery tried to get up off the ground.

"What in the world happened here?" he demanded as Jeffery tried to use his shirt to stop the flow of blood.

"Jeffrey was picking on some littler kids, so I decided to help them," I said wiping the blood from my split knuckles.

"She attacked me for no reason!" Jeffery yelled.

"You threw the first punch," I countered. "I'm just better at fighting than you are."

Shaking his head, Mr. Lewis grabbed us both by the back of our coat collars and hauled us into the building. He deposited us in the nurse's office, on opposite ends of the room, before heading to get the principal.

The nurse looked at both of us and left for a moment to get the needed supplies. Jeffrey took that time to stick his tongue out at me and call me a coward. Less than a minute later his left arm was hanging limply at his side as he grimaced. Smugly, I sat back down knowing that nobody could prove I did that to him. The only person that knew that much about pressure points was my mama and she wasn't here to share her expertise.

The nurse came towards me with gauze and antiseptic. I stood and politely declined her offer much to her amusement.

"I need to take care of your knuckles," she said.

"You need to take care of Jeffery," I countered. "I'm fine and one of my moms can fix me up at home. In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't touch me."

"Samina!" I heard Mom's voice and quickly turned my head.

"Hi Mom," I tried a half-smile and only got her glare in return. "Damn", I thought, "I'm dead."

Noticing Jeffery's arm she entered the room and quickly undid the pressure point. I looked at her in confusion. "I didn't know you could do that too." The words slipped out of my mouth before the censoring part of my brain kicked in.

Before the nurse could say a word, she grabbed me by the elbow and quickly steered me into Mrs. Gold's office. My chance at escape was now gone for certain.

I slid into one of the chairs in front of Mrs. Gold's desk and waited. Mrs. Gold smiled at Mom and extended her hand in greeting. "Gabrielle, so nice to see you, but I thought you were out of town this weekend?"

"My agent got the dates mixed up," Mom answered before sitting down herself. "How are Max and the kids?"

"Oh they're doing well, thanks. So Xena's not here to handle this one today?"

Mom shook her head. "No, she had a previous engagement so this time it's all me." Mom looked over at me and then back to the principal. "Okay Joyce, what happened this time?"

The principal took a deep breath. "Sam decided to defend two younger girls from a rather large sixth grade student. Now as much as I can applaud the reasoning behind her motives, fighting can't be tolerated."

Mom turned to me, "Is this true Sam?"

I shrugged and looked down at my still bloody knuckles.

Mom turned back to the principal and waited. Mrs. Gold sighed. "There were several witnesses and each told pretty much the same story. Sam rescued dolls that Jeffery had taken from the younger girls. Sam and Jeffery then got into a verbal sparring match before he took a swing at her. Apparently Sam is a little better at defending herself than Jeffery is."

"So I noticed in the nurse's office," Mom responded. "What's going to happen Joyce?"

"Well, some of that depends on Sam." She looked hard at me and I once again dropped my gaze to my hands. "Sam, would you like to tell me what happened today?"

I looked up at her and smirked. "He forgot to duck and I hit him. Repeatedly."

Mom frowned at me and put her hand on my arm. I jerked it back and looked away from her. What was she doing here anyway, Mama always handled my fights. Getting angry again I looked at Mrs. Gold. "How long am I suspended for this time?"

Mrs. Gold looked at me sadly, "The rest of the week."

"Fine," I stood up. "I'll go get my stuff from my classroom," I said before bolting from the office.

Returning from the classroom, I noticed Mom waiting for me in the hallway. I said nothing as I walked past her making sure to leave enough room so she couldn't grab me. Reaching the car I waited until she unlocked it and then opened the back door, throwing my bag in and sliding in beside it.

I was silent as we left the parking lot and drove through town. "Care to tell me what happened today?" she asked.

"Where's Mama?"

I noticed her eyes glancing at me quickly in the rear view mirror.

"She hasn't come back from her ride yet," Mom answered.

I felt the tears come again, but held them at bay as I turned to look out the window. I didn't notice the scenery until we got to the house and before Mom could say anything I had left the car and was halfway to the house before I heard her yelling, "Samina, stop right there."

I gulped and stopped cold. I knew that tone, and decided that the safest thing for right now was to listen to it. I waited until she reached me and then led me into the house before taking me to the bathroom. Having me sit on the toilet lid, she looked at my knuckles and whistled. "You really are your mother's daughter, kiddo." She tended to my wounds as if she'd done this a hundred times before and led me by one bandaged hand back to her office.

She sat on the couch and tried to pull me next to her, but I pulled back. I was still too angry to let her in, I guess. I looked at my hands and back at her, carefully running a lone finger over the bandage.

"I can't tell you how many times I had to patch your mother up after a fight," she said quietly, trying to engage me. "I just never thought I'd be patching my daughter up too."

I stayed silent my eyes following the finger tracing the bandage. I knew if I looked at her my resolve to stay angry, to stay silent would melt and I didn't want to give up the anger yet.

"Sammy, you're too old for this. Now why don't we stop avoiding what got you here in the first place. Tell me what happened at school today." Again I didn't respond and after a long moment I heard her sigh. "Okay, if you need some time before talking, I can understand that. Go up to your room. I'll be here when you're ready to talk."

It was at that moment when I must have lost my mind, for even I couldn't believe what I said next. I snorted before smirking. Yeah, actually snorted and told my mom, "Whatever." Now perhaps I didn't make myself clear that my mom was a bard, or that the one thing neither of my moms would tolerate was disrespect. To Mom, the term "whatever" was probably worse than any curse word that I'd ever dreamed of uttering.

Before I could even blink I found myself face down over her lap in shock. For someone with such small hands she sure does pack a whallop.

It was a few minutes later that I found myself gingerly climbing the stairs, wiping tears from my eyes with one hand, and rubbing my backside with the other.

I had been given specific orders not to leave my room until I was called for. I knew that meant I would finally get the attention I had been wanting from my warrior parent all day. However, I was now questioning my wisdom in the way I decided to get her attention.

Heading to my room I grabbed a pillow, my favorite blanket, and my elephant. I headed to my large closet and entered quickly closing the door behind me. For as long as I could remember I had sought comfort in my closet when I was upset and today was no different. Sitting gingerly on the pillow I remembered what Aphrodite had told me about the necklace and decided that now was as good a time as any to find out its secrets.

Taking it off my neck I looked at it closely and realized there was a small catch near the center of the heart. Pressing it, the heart opened and a small piece of paper came out. I watched in amazement as it turned into a scroll in front of me. Wondering what would happen if I closed and opened the locket again, I tried it. Again, a small piece of paper came out and turned into a scroll. Trying a third time, I smiled when I saw the birthday picture of my moms and me in front of the fireplace inside the heart. The photo was in miniature but it felt good to know it was there. Placing the necklace around my neck once again I heard footsteps coming closer. Knowing those steps would seal my doom, I quickly threw the new scrolls into my new satchel and shoved it all in the back of my closet just as a light knock on the closet door came.

"Sam, could you please come out here?" Mama's voice was soft and as much as my stomach dropped knowing how much trouble I was in, I wanted nothing more than to see her. Standing up I opened the door and flew into her arms starting to cry almost immediately.

Gently moving me towards the bed we sat down and she rocked me as I let all the emotions of the day out. I snuggled into her and I was finally able to calm down some. She still smelled of Argo and the outdoors which almost brought a new batch of tears from me; my disappointment at not being able to ride with her squeezing my insides until I ached.

She finally pushed me back and looked into my eyes. "So little one, I hear you had a rough day."

I nodded not yet being able to speak.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"Why didn't you come to school to get me?" I demanded some of my anger returning.

I noticed Mama's eyebrow go up before she spoke. "I wasn't available."

"You should have been," I said trying now to pull away from her but she held me tight.

"So the disrespect you showed your mom is now going to extend to me, little one?" she said quietly, but in a tone that I knew meant I was very close to the edge of losing my life or at least losing the opportunity to sit down comfortably for a good long while.

"No ma'am."

"I want to know what happened at school today."

I shrugged. "I got suspended."

She sighed, "Yes, I am aware of that. I want to know why you got suspended."

"I got into a fight."

Letting go of my arms she rubbed her face in her hands. I knew I was pushing her, but I was still angry that she had left me that morning and for some reason the part of my brain that dictates self-preservation wasn't working.

She looked at me and gently put her hands on my shoulders. "This is your last chance, tell me what happened at school today."

"You went riding without me." The words flew out of my mouth before I could censor them. I wondered what death would be like. I knew it was possible to come back from the dead, the gods knew my Mama had done it enough times, but still, I wondered if it would be peaceful.

Mama's eyebrow raised again as a look of comprehension washed over her face. "Is that what all this is about, little one? I went riding without you?"

I dropped my eyes and once again started to trace the bandages on my knuckles before shrugging.

I felt her fingers gently tilt my chin until I was looking into her eyes. "Even if you hadn't been grounded, you couldn't have gone with me today."

"Why not?"

She smiled, "For one thing it was a school day and I didn't know how long I would be gone. For another, I had something to do that needed to be done alone."

"You haven't gone on an early morning ride without me since I was six," I whined.

"Uh-huh, be that as it may, being upset that I went without you is no excuse for your behavior today. Now, what happened at school?"

I sighed. "Jeffery Wilcox was picking on some little kids. I decided to step in and help them, and when I did he told me to mind my own business. I told him to leave the kids alone, he threatened to kick my butt and I told him to try it." I paused for a minute before continuing. "That's when he took a swing at me and I proceeded to knock the stuffing out of him. The gym teacher broke us apart."

"What was the damage?"

"Two black eyes, a bloody nose, split lip, and I used a pressure point to make his arm go dead."

Mama took a deep breath. "You used a pressure point? Those are to be used for emergencies and first aid only. You know never to use them as a weapon. How many times have we gone over that Sam?"

"Every time you teach me one or we practice," I answered slowly.

"How long did you wait before you released it?"

"I didn't, Mom did," I answered quietly.

"How long, Sam?"

"I don't know about five or ten minutes," I cringed knowing that Jeffery had been in terrible pain until Mom released it.

Mama stood up and looked down at me before speaking. "Do not come out of this room until I come and get you. Do you understand?"

I nodded as tears threatened to come again. I watched as she left my room, slowly closing the door behind her before I once again headed to the safety of my closet.