"Mama do I have to clean my room?"
Rose stood in the middle of her room surrounded by all her toys and clothes that were on the floor. Lily walked over with a smile and knelt down in front of her. "I know cleaning isn't fun, but wouldn't you like to be able to play on the floor?"
She kicked a few toys around and huffed. "Don't we have maids to clean our rooms? Why do I have too?"
"We do! But don't you think it would be nice to help them a little bit?"
"No."
"Rose!"
"Fine." She groaned and started to pick up some of the toys around her.
"Good girl. Besides it won't take long."
Rose picked up some of her toys and put them back in her toy box while Lily picked up her dirty clothes that didn't seem to make it to the hamper. Sometimes she would forget about how much toys Rose did have, but Thanos would make sure his little one would have everything she needed….or wanted. The one thing he couldn't give her was a yard to play in. But that's where the huge garden comes in.
A sudden feeling of guilt hit her. She might have been forced to marry him, but there was no doubt he gave her everything she needed and wanted. He made sure she was comfortable and even went as far as to keep her upbringing in tact. But she couldn't deny that she was in a one sided marriage. She might be able to speak her mind, but in the end it'll always be what Thanos wants.
Lily sighed and tossed the clothes into the hamper before picking up the rest. She checked to see that Rose was still putting her toys back in her toy box and Sage was fast asleep on the bed.
Little by little you could start to see the floor beneath all the toys.
Once Lily picked up the clothes she helped Rose with the last of her toys. "See, that wasn't so bad now was it?"
"I guess. But it's gonna get messy anyways so why did I have to clean it?" Rose swayed side to side as she looked into her mother's green eyes.
Lily picked up Sage and sat back down on the bed with him in her arms, patting the spot next to her for Rose. "That's true, it will get messy again, but now you won't have to worry about tripping and falling during the night. Or stepping on anything."
"That would hurt." She jumped on the bed next to her and looked down at Sage with curiosity. "He doesn't do much. And mama, are you gonna have another baby?"
She chuckled and raised a brow. "Infants don't do much in this stage of life. That'll change very soon, and he'll be crawling and walking before we know it. And probably, somewhere in the future. Why do you ask?"
Rose fiddled with the hem of her baby blue dress, like she was going to get in trouble with what she was about to say.
Lily placed her hand on top of her wrist, making Rose look at her. "It's okay my angel you can tell me."
"I overheard papa talking about it with Ronan. I couldn't hear much because I heard Corvus coming down the hall and I ran back to my teachings."
Confusion etched on to her face. Thanos wouldn't talk with Ronan on personal matters, it was always work related. So she wondered what the talk was really about, and that would be saved for a later time.
"It was probably nothing, just work related. Now why don't we get Gamora and head to the garden?"
Her blue eyes glistened with excitement and she jumped off the bed. "Yay."
Lily laughed as she got up. "Okay, we need to stop in my room so I can change Sage before we go down."
"Okay mama."
xXx
Gamora opened the door leading into Lily's chambers. She smiled down at her as she let Rose run inside first. The joys of being 4 years old and not a care in the world. Then she held the door against her back, letting Gamora in next and followed after.
She placed Sage on the bed and went to go grab a new diaper. Gamora sat down on the bed and Rose twirled around in the middle of the room, no doubt getting dizzy.
"Lily are you still going to teach me how to fight?"
She stopped what she was doing and looked over at Gamora - seeing the hint of sadness in her eyes tugged at her heart. "Of course I am. Didn't Thanos tell you that, like I asked of him?"
Gamora shook her head. "No, he said that you wouldn't be able to cause of Sage and that Proxima would be taking over."
Lily secured the diaper on and tossed the other stinky one in the trash. She pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning. "I told him I wanted to postpone it until Sage was better. I made a promise to you and I'm not breaking it. And I'm gonna talk with Thanos later and fix this okay."
"Mama what's that?"
"Hold on baby I need finishing talking with Gamora."
"That's a relief, I was afraid what he said was true. I know you have a lot to do with taking care of Rose and Sage and I know I'm not your child….."
"Gamora you are as much as my child as they are. If you ever need or want anything don't ever hesitate to ask, I don't care what it is I will be there."
She walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you! And can I call you mom? I think my mom would be okay with that."
"Of course you can!"
She pulled away with a smile to go back to Sage who happened to be kicking his legs up and down. She grabbed his pants from the bed to put them back on.
The room became quiet, a little too quiet for Lily's liking. She turned around to see what Rose was doing, when she caught eye of her her eyes widened.
"No Rose put that down, that's danger-."
She was too late, within seconds she saw an energy projectile blast hit the the wall near the chamber door. The stones grumbling down to the floor of what was left of the hole. The rest lying on the floor in the hallway or embedded in the walls.
Fear settled in quickly and she grabbed the scepter from Rose's hands. The little one looked up at her and quivered her bottom lip, which tugged at Lily's heart and she couldn't help the anger that dwindled away.
" didn't mean too, I just thought it was like Corvus'. I'm sorry mama."
The tears swelled in her eyes and Lily picked her right up. She grabbed tight to her shirt and started to sob into her shoulder.
Lily closed her eyes, swaying back and forth trying to calm her down. She knew a lot of people heard the blast and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Thanos was making his way back here. And that's what scares her, the uncertainty of what he would do.
But when she opened them, she saw Thanos standing in the doorway with the most displeased look etched onto his face.
