Usual disclaimers apply.
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Chapter 34
"Oh for the love of the gods!" I looked at Eve and glowered. "What are you doing, little bit?"
"Blending into my surroundings," Eve shrugged in all of almost naked glory.
"And how are you going to do that?" I posed. "You're a white kid wearing panties in the middle of the woods."
"Soon, I'll be in camouflage," Eve smirked at me as she sat by the small mud puddle we'd come across. Taking a big handful of mud from the puddle Eve began to paint her body with it.
"You know that's going to itch," I supplied sitting down resting my back against a large tree watching her.
"I'll be fine," Eve argued. "Besides I need to learn to blend into my surroundings. That way I can get the drop on my enemies."
"You do know that you're Eli's messenger, right?" I asked. "Peace, love, yadda, yadda."
"Doesn't mean I have to let people hurt me or those I love. I'm not going to walk the world with scrolls saying, live like Eli did. I mean Eli got himself killed. Geesh Sam."
"What do you know about Eli's death?" I asked as Eve focused on making sure the mud was blending well.
"I know that Ares killed him and he wouldn't let Mom fight for him. I think that was mean of him. It hurt her."
"It did," I wrapped my arms around my knees. "But she had to allow it if she honored what Eli preached and believed."
"It doesn't mean it was easy."
"How did you get so smart, little bit?"
"Apparently I take after my older sister." Eve stuck her tongue out at me and giggled. "How do I look?" she asked spinning around.
"Like a tree," I deadpanned.
"Perfect." Eve giggled and then pulled her satchel onto her back. "Sam?"
"Yeah?" I asked as she and I began to head down the path again.
"Do you think I'll be a good messenger for Eli? I mean Callisto picked Mama for some reason and I know she wasn't nice in her life. How come she picked me to carry part of her soul to come back and let Mama be her Mama too?"
"How do you know about Callisto?" I asked trying to deflect the question for now.
"Kids talk," Eve stopped and looked up at me. "And I asked Kassandra. One of the girls said Callisto had to stop Velasca…"
"Sheesh, that old stuff?" I muttered. "I wish some of these mothers would keep their mouths shut."
"Not everyone is happy that Mom is queen."
"I know." I took a deep breath and stopped walking. "I'll answer your question when we get into the tree house. I don't know about you but I'd like a drink and a snack."
"Sounds good," Eve agreed easily shimming up the rope ladder in front of her.
Pulling myself into the treehouse behind Eve I watched as she flopped into one of the beanbag chairs and waited for me. "Hurry up, Sam. I'm hungry."
"Hold your horses." Finally getting into the treehouse I opened my locket and waited for my magical satchel to appear. Opening it I pulled out our food and set it up on the large blanket that also came from the bag. "There one large snack fit for a kid with Mom's appetite and me," I teased.
Grabbing a slice of bread and some summer sausage, Eve added a piece of cheese and another slice of bread. "Why doesn't anyone else make sandwiches here?"
I shrugged as I followed her lead on the food. "No idea. I love this one though."
Eve nodded, "So are you going to answer my questions?"
Sighing I grabbed a free bean bag chair and got comfortable by removing my boots. "I'm not sure why Callisto chose you, Eve. My guess is because you were already given to Mama by Eli's god and she wanted to give Mama another chance at being a parent as much as she wanted another chance to grow up happy. As for being a good messenger for Eli, I think you'll be a great one. I just think that you'll find your own way of being a messenger for peace." I finished my sandwich and took a large swig of the juice we'd brought with us. "I also think that you may not do it in the traditional sense of wandering around and preaching peace. I'm not sure how it will work out, but I know that it will."
Grabbing more food Eve sat back in her own chair and nodded, "I guess so. Not much I can do about it, right? Just like when the Fates sent you to us. You couldn't stop that. Not even Mama and Mom could stop that."
"Too true," I agreed. "I told the Fates I wouldn't come back you know. Not unless they promised me that I'd have my parents back when it was all over."
"You did?" Eve's eyes grew wide. "What did they do?"
"They gave me the stone that returned Mom and Mama's memories. The stone that only you could seem to access." I smiled at my little sister and grabbed a slice of nutbread. "Even as an infant you were bringing peace to people in your own way, little bit."
"I guess I've always been an overachiever," Eve quipped.
"Do you even know what that means?" I asked.
"It means that I'm good at everything I do," Eve answered in only the way a small child could with no trace of modesty.
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Eve and I had returned from our night in the treehouse and had easily returned to our normal, daily lives. The weeks flew by and before I knew it we were only a month away from celebrating the twins' birthday.
Daphne had settled into life in the village and Yaya had truly begun to treat the girl like a daughter. I still wasn't thrilled to have Daphne in the family, but managed to keep a lot of my jealousy at bay by keeping my distance from Daphne as much as possible.
It had actually been peaceful in the village, but I should have known that nothing in my life could stay that way for long. Our peace was shattered one early afternoon when loud hoof beats moving fast entered the village. "Someone get Xena and Ephiny!" A deep voice yelled and I changed direction for heading towards the barn towards the voice.
"Xenon!"
Calling his name caused my cousin to look at me, and he met me under the large oak. "Daphne's father was hurt badly this morning. We need Aunt Xena."
"What about your healer?" I asked.
"There's nothing more he can do." Xenon ran his hand over his face. "He says that he saw Aunt Xena fix this type of injury years ago when she and Aunt Gabrielle first came here."
I nodded. "Damaged ribs. I'm sure Mama can help."
Turning as I heard running footsteps Mama wasted no time on pleasantries. "What's wrong, Xenon?"
"Daphne's father is hurt. We need your help."
"And your healer?" Mama pressed.
"Has done all he can. Please Aunt Xena," Xenon looked into Mama's eyes. "I'll even give you a ride."
"Who am I to pass up that offer?" Mama replied knowing that the man must be hurt badly if a centaur was offering his back to her. Even if that centaur was Xenon.
Easily sliding onto Xenon's back, Mama looked down at me. "Fill in your mom and Ephiny. Meet us with Daphne at the village as soon as you can. Let's go, Xenon," Mama commanded not giving me a chance to respond as they disappeared in a cloud of dust.
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The first thing I noticed as we rode into the village of centaurs and men was the quiet. There were no children playing, the hammering from the blacksmith was silent, and everyone seemed to be moving as quietly as they could.
Dismounting from Mavri, I waited for Mom, Ephiny, Yaya, and Daphne to do the same. "It's too quiet," I heard Ephiny whisper to Mom. Hearing Mama's footsteps, I waited next to Mavri as she came into sight. She was wiping her hands on a clean linen and her tunic was covered in blood that was not hers.
"Xena?" Daphne quickly moved to her and looked up into my mother's face. "How is he? How's my dad?"
Mama took a deep breath and put her hands on Daphne's shoulders, "I did everything I could, Daphne. His ribs were broken badly and two of them punctured his lung. I did everything I know how to do, but I couldn't stop the fluid building up. I am so sorry."
"No!" Daphne yelled and moved back from Mama. "He's not dead. He can't be. Please…." Daphne collapsed into Mama's waiting arms and Yaya moved to her, quickly taking Mama's place. Seeing Daphne find immediate comfort in Yaya made me wonder when things had changed between them. It was obvious that she was comfortable with Yaya, that her grief wasn't the only thing driving her to seek comfort from my grandmother.
Moving towards Mama, I stood next to Mom. "What happened?" I asked.
"He was helping the smithy and the horse they were shoeing kicked him at the wrong angle. Broke his ribs and two of those ribs punctured his lung. I couldn't keep the blood out. I just don't have the equipment here that might have helped."
"He needed a hospital," I muttered.
"He did. And a surgeon. Not a reformed warlord with battlefield remedies." Mama sighed while looking at Daphne and Yaya. "She's truly an orphan now."
"She has your mother and us," Mom spoke up as Ephiny joined us. "Eph?"
"Xenon says that they're getting the funeral pyre ready. For the short time he was here Metius made an impression. A positive one for the village. He will be missed."
"Xena," Yaya's voice made us all look in her direction. "Daphne would like to see her father one last time."
Mama nodded, "I'll take you if you like."
Daphne shook her head, "Cyrene can take me. Where is he?"
"At the healer's," Mama replied softly.
Taking Yaya's hand in her own Daphne slowly began to walk in the direction of the healer's hut not looking in our direction again.
Mom took Mama's hand and I watched as she led her away from us towards the small lake near the village. Ephiny and Xenon also left to spend time together and I finally decided to find Andy and give him a hard time about dating Zivah. I really had begun to like him and hoped that he might be more than just a good time for Zivah.
Andy and I had spent the better part of an hour talking about various things when I heard a commotion coming from the healer's. Running that way I was surprised to see Daphne glaring up at Mama. "I don't want to leave yet. I want to stay with my dad."
"Daphne, there is nothing more we can do for him," Mama's voice was gentle. "The centaurs want to give him a proper funeral and they need to mourn tonight in their own way."
"He's my father!" Daphne shouted. "I want to stay!"
"Xena." Tildus stepped forward slowly. "The child may stay. Galantis made himself at home in our village and we welcome his child."
"See, I'm staying." Daphne crossed her arms and started at Mama.
Mama's reply was cut off by Yaya, "We're staying, Xena. Daphne needs to do this. and I will stay with her."
"But Mother," Mama tried.
"I've made my decision, Xena. This is what's best for Daphne and we will see you tomorrow."
Yaya put her arm around Daphne's shoulders and followed Tildus as he led them towards a different area of the village. Wondering what tomorrow would bring, I moved closer to my mothers and leaned into Mama. Her arm came around my shoulder immediately and I was once more grateful that I was still a few inches shorter than her. "Mama?"
"Hmm?"
"What was that all about?"
"I'm not sure, little one." Taking one of Mom's free hands Mama looked down at me. "Let's go home. We'll come back tomorrow for the funeral."
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Two weeks had passed since Galantis's funeral. Daphne had become more withdrawn from Mama and seemed to be taking full advantage of Yaya's mothering than she ever had before. Mama seemed confused at the behavior but after having a chat with Mom, she seemed to be content with giving Daphne her space.
I for one, though not happy that Daphne lost her father, was glad to have my mama all to myself once more. Without Daphne trying to get Mama's attention so often, I had her to myself once more. The feelings from our time in the cave had come back and we had started to develop a new routine which not only included sparring on a regular basis, but other skills she thought I should have. One of which was deciding to team together against the village for the Halloween pranks in a few months.
We were getting closer to the twins' fourth birthday and as I watched them I still saw them as the freest ones out of my siblings and myself. No path had been set for them. They weren't the savior of Olympus, Eli's messenger of peace, or the future seer, they were just Emily and Zoe. I felt envious of them at times, not only did they have each other, they had no expectations other than those of being Amazon princesses.
I was heading to the practice field for my daily session with Mama when I heard a clash of staves and Daphne screaming. Not yelling anything in particular but a long scream. Something akin to the Callisto yell I had gotten Mama to recreate one time when I was around eight. I had gone around the house for weeks doing my version of the yell. It was only when I had caused Mom to jump as she took a pot roast out of the oven, causing the said roast to fly across the kitchen, did I stop. Grinning at the memory of the flying roast, I shook it from my head as I found my feet carrying me as fast as possible to the practice field.
Stopping short, I found Mama blocking Daphne with a staff as the girl attacked with a vengeance. She was screaming and obviously was seeing nothing other than anger. Mama was allowing Daphne her blows but even I could see that the placating wasn't going to stop Daphne at all. If anything it was making her angrier.
"Mama!"
"Stay back," Mama called. "This is between us."
Fighting my urge to step in and knock Daphne upside the head, I instead watched what was going on. Mama wasn't in any danger, I knew that, but I wondered how much she would put up with before she put Daphne in her place. As I waited for the attack to stop, a crowd began to gather. The larger the crowd the stranger it became as the only sound was the constant clacking of the staves.
Daphne was finally tiring and I saw the opening before she did. Daphne's staff went flying and Mama finally reached out and pulled Daphne to her. My feelings of jealousy left completely as I heard the slap. Mama's eyes flashed as she held her cheek and the crowd collectively gasped.
Mama narrowed her eyes and reached out grabbing Daphne by the scruff of her tunic. "I've had enough, Daphne," she growled. "I know you're upset but this has gone far enough."
"Leave me alone!" Daphne kicked out and managed to connect with Mama's knee. "It's your fault!" Daphne yelled as she wrenched from Mama's grasp.
"I did all I could!" Mama grabbed for Daphne again only to stop when she heard another voice.
"Girls enough!" Yaya strode through the crowd and entered the sparring ring. "Everyone disperse now. This is between my daughters and myself. Move!" I had never heard Yaya be so commanding and the Amazons around me seemed to be in shock as well.
Finally moving I stood on the fence. "You heard Cyrene, ladies, move it along."
Seeing the look on Yaya's face made most of the women move and I hopped from the fence. "I meant you as well, Samina." Yaya's voice was her no-nonsense one and I blanched.
"But Yaya," I tried.
"Right now. This is between my daughters and myself. You do not need to be present for this."
Huffing I glared at her and slowly turned and headed back towards the village.
Waiting until Sam was gone Cyrene finally turned back to her daughters. "I want to know what happened today."
"Daphne is angry," Xena began.
"Because you won't leave me alone, Xena!" Daphne glared up at the taller woman. "Just leave me alone."
"I can't do that!"
"I said enough!" Cyrene grabbed each of her daughter's by an ear and tugged hard. "The three of us are going to sit down and discuss this like the family we are or I am going to be using my spoon and then we will talk." Pulling both Xena and Daphne with her Cyrene ignored their protests as she marched them both towards her hut.
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I was still pouting when I heard chuckling behind me. Turning, I grinned and watched as Yaya led a still protesting Daphne as well as Mama by their ears through the village. "She is never going to live that down," I snickered as Rory came up to me.
"Remind me never to tick Cyrene off," Rory chuckled.
Hearing running behind me I turned just in time to grab Eve before she barreled towards Mama. "Whoa there, little bit. You do not want to be involved in that."
"I just had to see," Eve panted. "Mama's in big trouble with Yaya isn't she?"
"Looks like it," Zivah commented coming up behind us. "So what do you think is going to happen once she gets them home?"
"No idea," I shrugged. "I'm just glad I'm not Mama right now."
"I think we're all glad that we aren't your mama," Mom's voice made me turn again and I looked down into her green eyes. "What did your mother do?"
"I'm not sure actually," I answered slowly.
"Mama and Daphne were hitting each other," Eve piped up. "Some of the older girls said Daphne slapped Mama and Mama wasn't happy. Then Yaya showed up and made everybody leave."
"Daphne slapped Xena?" Mom asked.
"Yeah," I sighed. "Daphne kept attacking Mama with a staff. Mama finally had enough and disarmed her. That's when the slap happened."
"I see," Mom began to walk towards Yaya's hut with determined steps.
"Should we try and stop her?" Zivah asked.
"Are you nuts?" Eve looked up at us. "Even I know not to do anything when Mom has that look on her face."
Looking down at my sister, I couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Glaring at me Eve shook her head. "What? It's true. Did you see that look? Mama might want to run from her instead of Yaya."
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"You actually think Gabrielle will be let in by Cyrene?" Ephiny asked as she leaned against a tree watching the scene on Cyrene's front porch.
"I think our queen is about to get her tail feathers roasted in front of the entire nation if she doesn't stop pushing Cyrene," Eponin answered dryly. The woman then cringed and winced. "She never even saw that spoon coming."
"Nope." Ephiny shook her head. "Oh, that's gotta sting."
"It must, too bad our queen is a little stubborn," Eponin agreed.
"A little stubborn?" Ephiny asked watching as Gabrielle was pulled into the hut by her ear only to be escorted out a few moments later rubbing her backside.
"Well, looks like Cyrene is even more stubborn." Eponin shrugged. "Shouldn't you follow Gabrielle? You know, as regent make sure she's okay and all."
Turning to look at her wife, Ephiny glared, "Are you crazy, Ep? I am not about to approach the queen when she looks like that. The best thing for us right now is to slowly move away from our vantage place and pretend that the queen's wife isn't getting her tail lit up by her mother."
Shrugging once more Eponin nodded, "Good plan. What say we round up all the kids and take them out to the pond until Cyrene has had her discussion with Xena and Daphne?"
"I say it sounds like a plan." Ephiny agreed ducking her head as she heard a loud thud and a muffled curse coming from the hut in front of them. "A very good plan," she assured as she took Eponin's hand in her own pulling them away from whatever was going on between Cyrene and her daughters.
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Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been nuts in my neck of the woods.
I hope the update was worth the wait. Thanks again for all the support.
Shameless plug: Book 3: Truth and Consequences of the Mockingbird Chronicles has been published and is available on Amazon under my pen name of Alexandra James and my co-author, Stardawn Cabot.