When Joy and Sadness had their child, all of the couple's friends swore the earth shook. Joy and Riley together were a nigh unstoppable force. If Sadness weren't around to be a grown up, their house might have burned to the ground. Riley could get herself deep into mischief. And Joy was usually nothing less than an accomplice.
"Psst! Hey Mommy!" Riley whisper yelled at Joy.
"What is it dear?" Joy asked, putting down her grading pen and looking over to Riley. Riley danced over to Joy and whispered something in her ear. Joy grinned, nodded to Riley, then they both snuck out of the room.
Sadness knew this day would come. Her two girls, betraying her. But she was prepared. She had two weapons in her arsenal. Her mother senses could be used to a certain degree, but Joy had them too. That's why she had her secret weapon, not even one Joy knew about. Her weapon: her sweater. The perfect armor, the thick yarn made it practically tickle proof. So when Joy and Riley snuck around the corner, she was ready. She let them get close to her, thinking they were still undetected. And when they attacked her sides, she gripped them and giggled, pretending to try and keep them away. But when they let their guard down, she struck. Twirling around, she got the spot no one could resist. Armpits. Riley was immediately down, paralyzed by laughter. But Joy was an adult, and she had seen her fair share of tickle fights. But Joy had a tickle zone no one else knew about, it's discovery bringing one of their pre-Riley lovemaking nights to a grinding halt. Even as Sadness reached for it, Joy's eyes widened and she said "You wouldn't da-"
Sadness scratched behind Joy's ears.
And that was all it took. Soon both females were on the floor, begging for mercy as Sadness tormented them, switching from their feet to their arms to their stomachs to keep them off balance.
"Who's the Queen?" She called out, grinning at their laughter.
"You are Momma!"
"You dear! It's you!"
"That's right it is." Sadness replied before ending her assault. "Now," she said, hauling them to their feet. "you BOTH have homework to do." Joy and Riley slunk off to their separate rooms, defeated.
But no Queen rules forever.