Mom Needs A Break After Battle: Part One

The girls leapt from the carriage as the afternoon sun poured over them and ran across the snowy front castle courtyard to their mother, the two little ones already bawling, Lily quiet but composed, and Rose punching Hunter in the arm as she ran by.

“Ow! Can you not see I’ve been stabbed in the shoulder, you crazy she-beast?!” Hunter cried out, gesturing towards the red stained patch of gauze on his shoulder.

“Should have thought of potential stabbings before you sent us away!” Rose shouted back as she embraced her mother.

“She’ll be alright,” Alec said, placing his hand gently on Hunter’s other shoulder. “Been a long day, and I can only guess how annoyed she is about being taken out of the fight like a damsel in distress.”

“To be fair, my plan wasn’t to fight when I got them out of there.”

“What was your plan?”

“An excellent question. Wish I had an answer.”

The two men laughed briefly as Samara caught their eyes.

“Over here, boys. Join the family,” she said, gesturing them forward. They embraced the girls, the whole Willingham family together again.

“Hell of a debut,” Riktar said, popping another medicinal herb pill as he watched the family reunion.

“Indeed,” Brigot said. “The king will be in meetings for weeks about the lapses in security today.”

“Which means so will I. Maybe I should have let spider legs kill me…” Riktar sighed before walking towards the Willinghams. “Hey. I’m gonna go drink myself into oblivion. Before I go, however, there is something I want to say. Samara, you fought damn well. I know half of it was the sword instincts helping you, but it still takes guts doing what you did today.”

Samara nodded, blushing severely. “Thank you, Riktar. I only fought to get back to my family.”

“Yeah. And speaking of them. You two gents. One hacked an entire mana network, the other fought a terrorist they knew they couldn’t beat using my sword. Not bad. This whole damn family might have futures here.”

Riktar stretched, several things inside of him cracking and popping. Then he waved and walked slowly off.

“Mommy, can we go to our rooms now?” Violet asked, her voice fighting between anxious and sleepy.

“Of course. Long day. Let’s all go and get some rest,” Samara said. She ushered the kids forward, Hunter and Rose leading them, as she slipped her hand into Alec’s.

It was shaking.

He squeezed her hand, tightly, firmly, the hidden language between them letting her know he wasn’t going anywhere.

*

It was a strange, slow burn before the family fully got to rest. Hunter and Rose took over trying to cheer the youngest up. Daisy was promised a full day with the real horses, and when she said she usually gets shooed away Hunter told her he would keep the barn tenders at bay while she escaped with a pony.

Violet was far easier. Rose said she’d get her into Mira’s closet.

“I don’t think you can promise someone else’s clothes,” Hunter said.

“No, but you can,” Rose replied, her eyebrow arching.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

His reddened face belied his statement.

Lily sat at the large table in the communal area, the food brought from the palace kitchen going cold around her as she stared at her sketchbook. The drawing from months ago had progressed, no longer a single heroic figure but three. A woman, a boy and a princess, each standing before an oncoming storm of dark figures.

“Are you okay?” Samara asked, sitting next to her and brushing her bangs from her eyes.

“Are you?” Lily asked, not looking up.

“Of course I am. I’ve got you. I always will. You believe me, right?”

Lily stopped her sketching. Her hands were still. Her eyes weren’t.

“Someone tried to kill you today. Kill all of us. And it won’t be the last time.”

Everyone went quiet. They tried not to look at the quietest Willingham. Samara, however, did not hesitate to make eye contact, turning Lily’s face to meet hers.

“Yes. It will happen again.”

Lily blinked, not expecting such honesty from her mother.

“But I proved today I can deal with it, right?”

Lily nodded reluctantly.

“And you proved you could be brave, right?”

Lily nodded again, smiling a bit.

“There. See? We can survive this. Soon people will be trying to kill us and it’ll simply be another Tuesday,” Samara said, patting Lily’s hand. “Now, everyone finish eating. Then off to bed. No baths tonight. I don’t think anyone is up for fighting Daisy.”

“I’m definitely feeling bitey tonight,” Daisy said.

The family laughed, the tension easing if only a bit. Hunter gave her a subtle nod, as if saying good job at being the hero. She nodded back, her intention slightly different.

Not the hero. Only mom.

Those two things did not seem too far apart right then.

*

Samara barely lasted a minute when she and Alec were alone in their room before she collapsed. Her face was buried in his shoulder, her arms grasping him, holding his shirt as if he might evaporate.

“Samara…”

“No! D…don’t say anything yet! I n...need to be only me for a m…moment!” she cried into him, her voice hitching as hot tears stained his shirt.

“Okay.”

He went still.

He held her.

The Hero.

His hero.

“I never asked for this! I don’t want this!”

“I know, love.”

“But I’m glad I have it.”

“You are?”

“I saved so many lives today. Those tanks would have…I stood before four of them and took their shots directly and all I could think was…if I wasn’t there, Hunter might have gotten the sword. He’d be standing in front of the hospital. And what if…what if he wasn’t strong enough? So I made myself stronger. I had to. To protect everyone. And it worked.”

“It did. You were brilliant, Samara.”

“You too. If those tanks had fired again…but you had my back. Right when the world needed its Hero, her husband saved her in an incredibly specific way which only he could. Seems a little like fate, doesn’t it?”

Alec pushed her away briefly, wiping her tears.

“You know I don’t believe in fate. I believe in us. The sword picked you because you are you. Clearly it was a good choice.”

Samara laughed and kissed him gently.

“Goof. Thank you for being you.”

“Easiest thing I had to do today, Samara.”

They laid down, pulling the covers over themselves, as close as possible. Samara looked up at the ceiling, her brow creasing a bit.

“Still…I have to fight a dark lord or something. This will get harder. I think I should pick Hunter’s brain more. The Sickening and all, it’s going to bring out a lot more weirdos.”

“Yeah, but it can wait a few days. For now…”

He rolled on top of her, causing her to squeal.

“Mister Willingham!”

“Mister Willingham is my father. And he would not approve of what I am about to do, ma’am.”

She laughed.

They kissed.

The light went out.

The night went on.

*

She looked up at the castle from the city below. The police and knights were swarming, still dealing with the remnants of the terrorists. The woman barely cared about them anymore, however.

Their malevolence had been mildly amusing.

Her eyes flickered and shimmered with an ancient, simmering power.

Then she smiled.

“You did good, lady. Real good. And I’d place my bets on you for the foreseeable future. You’ve got the power, and the heart, no doubt about it. But you’re still, at the end of the day, a woman.”

Her fingers cracked.

“A wife.”

Her neck snapped.

“A mother.”

Her teeth clicked.

“A bundle of vulnerabilities. It is always so much easier when you heroes have families. This time…I do not think I will wait until I reach full power. I will strike when I feel confident. I…”

“Miss? Are you okay?”

A knight stood looking at her. The woman turned around, her eyes normal, her face a bit confused as whatever dark forces living within her hid once more, her memory of them blank.

“Yes. Bit of a headache. Long day…” she said.

“We can all agree. Luckily we have a Hero!”

“Yes…luckily…” the woman said sleepily, walking slowly away.