Eve and Melody
"Eve, Xenon!" Ephiny exclaimed. She had taken them riding and she had made the mistake of letting Eve transform into a pony. Before she even knew it Eve had galloped off and Xenon had followed.
"Man Xena is going to kill me, I can't believe I lost the heir to the throne!" Ephiny could just imagine the beating Xena would give her despite the fact they were friends, but when it came to their kids they were strictly too mothers and she would be just as angry if Xena lost Xenon and never found him. "Eve, Xenon!" Now that she thought about it, she had lost her own kid too and screamed a little louder. She was missing two kids now in one day not a good thing for the Regent.
"Mama!" She heard giggling and the sound of hooves. She entered a clearing by a spring and saw Eve trying hard to half transform and become a centaur, but her powers weren't developed enough to make the transformation.
"Okay that's enough play," Ephiny told them as she dismounted and went over to Eve who looked very tired. "Come on, you're all tired out. Come on Xenon."
"Mommy?" Xenon asked as they walked back. Ephiny rocked Eve in her arms as she yawned, but didn't go to sleep. She missed Xena and only went to sleep when she was so tired there was no way she could get her eyes clothes. No amount of singing or rocking could put her to sleep, every Amazon had tried and failed miserably. Melody was easier to put to sleep because she had learned to adjust. Eve could adjust too but she was way more aware of Xena's absence than Melody.
"Yes?" Ephiny asked pulling reins of her horse and leading him over a tree root carefully.
"Is Eve my new sister?" Xenon asked. From his tone of voice he had obviously been wondering about it for a long time and feeling a bit of neglect he figured would come if he ever had a sister.
"No, she's not your sister, she's your cousin, she's the daughter of your Aunt Xena."
"Oh," Xenon said just as sadly as if Ephiny had a new baby. "What about Melody?"
"She's Eve's sister and your cousin."
"Oh," He sounded even more dejected.
"Xenon, your Aunt Xena still loves you even though she has children."
"She hasn't visited me."
"Aunt Xena is busy being a Queen and right now something is keeping her away even from her own children. But I promise we'll go see her or she'll come to us when everything is all said and done."
"Promise?" Xenon asked.
"I promise."
"Mommy," Eve said before she began to cry. They reached the Amazon village and young girl came and took the horse away.
"Again?" Solari asked. She was waiting in Ephiny's hut.
"Yep." Ephiny handed her over, it was Solari's turn to watch her now.
"Man, right when its my turn," She mumbled so low nobody heard her as she began to rock and rub Eve's back. Eve cried until she had fallen asleep and than she cried in her sleep even. Later she woke up and seemed to have forgotten for the moment.
"Good afternoon sleepy head. Why don't you get dressed and go play?" Eve nodded. Solari helped her dress in her amazon outfit and soon she was running out the door.
"Hey look it's the princess!" Eve had just bent down to play with some hens. She was very fond of animals just like her mother was. They all ran over.
"Look the great Princess Eve likes to play with chickens how pathetic." They laughed. The girl who had spoken was the girl next in line after Eve if she had no children. Everyone treated her like she was special, and she was. She was going to rule the amazon nation one-day. But no Eve had come along and the special attention had stopped. Now everything was about Eve and keeping her happy. Even her own mother gave Eve more attention now.
"Go away," Eve told her. She had been picked on the girl since day one and she tired of her.
"Make me!" She pushed Eve and the others laughed.
"Go away, Mama say no fight." Eve stood back up and went back to playing with the chickens. The girl pushed her again.
"Awe does the little baby always do what mommy tells her." She kicked her and this time nobody was laughing. Eve was only two after all and they were bigger than her. She didn't have a chance against them.
"Stop!" Eve cried.
"Varia come on let's just leave her alone, she's only two."
"I know." Eve stood up while she was distracted and moved. "Hey come back here you snot nosed freak!" Eve ran and Varia ran after her. The others didn't follow, but went to go tell. Varia caught up to Eve at the forest edge. She pushed her hard and she slammed into the tree-breaking forearm. She screamed and hollered in pain. Something in her reminded her that her mother would not stand for this. Her eyes were on fire when she looked at Varia standing over her with a smirk. Her vision was kind of blurry, but her aim was not off when she grabbed Varia's arm with her good hand as Varia suddenly found herself on fire. She screamed just as Eve had when she broke her arm. Solari came running followed by Ephiny. They put the fire out with dirt and inspected Eve's arm.
"Varia how did she break her arm?" Ephiny asked the girl had burns on five percent on her body. She was very lucky that the scars would go away except the one on her forearm where Eve had definitely grabbed her.
"The girls said Varia was picking on her. Eve was refusing to fight her, but she kept pushing until Eve ran. She probably slammed her into the damn tree trunks."
"Varia you are in a world of trouble when those burns heal. Attacking a two-year-old and the princess at that. I am ashamed to call you an amazon, perhaps it is better you will not rule this nation one day." Ephiny carefully lifted the girl making sure she was uncomfortable in her arms. Eve screamed and made it hard for Solari, but she finally lifted her up without doing damage to her arm. It was a clean break that she could see and that was a good thing.
"How is she?" Eponin asked Solari as she came in with Melody.
"Better for now, an herb knocked her out, but she'll wake up in the next three hours and will be hungry. Here's the herb to put in her food so she'll go back to sleep again. For the majority of the healing we're going to have to keep her a bit drugged so she doesn't make it worse. I do hope Xena gets out of Queens land soon. Eve really needs her mother right now. Eponin nodded her agreement before Solari left. Eponin made dinner and fed Eve first about three hours later. Next she took on the task of feeding the very picky Melody cold tea and mashed peas that she had to make sure were cold or Melody would not take a bite or drink of.
"Don't worry, Mama's milk will be back soon enough. Four weeks without it is no harm done." At her words Melody spit out the peas into her face and began to cry.
"Oh man, you just had to say it didn't you," Ephiny said walking in and picking up Melody. She rocked her.
"Don't worry I will be keeping my mouth shut from now on. The little brat spit peas in my face."
"Serves you right." Ephiny told her seeing that Eponin wasn't really mad about having mashed peas covered in sob all over her face. It came with the territory after all.
"Man I don't know how mother's do it, I don't know if I could handle mashed peas in my face all the time."
"Yes, you can, she spit on you every night she's been here without Cyrene, you've handled it."
"Yeah, but she's Xena's daughter and my niece, I don't know if I could take it from my own." Ephiny laughed as she gave Melody back so Eponin could finish feeding her.
"Well I'll let you in a on a little secret. Babies don't spit up as much as Melody does on their mother. They love the mother way too much." Eponin groaned.
"Than I'm just forever doomed to be spit on by the little princess aren't I?"
"Yes, and peed on too it seems." Eponin felt something-warm running down her arm and onto her top.
"Oh no not again, why does this always happen to me," She cried.
A/n: Please review before continuing.
