Parvati woke up with a start, hearing the yells of her sisters coming down from the hall. She sighed as she closed her eyes again, only for them to snap open when she heard crashing noises. With a groan, she got out of bed and opened the door, glancing irritably at the direction the sound came from. Her bare feet made no sound as she went over to investigate the noise while her other sisters had also come to check on the commotion. It seemed as though Sekhmet and Kali had fought again, while Artemis just whimpered and screamed alongside them, grabbing a chair and throwing it. “Can you keep it down? I’m trying to sleep!” All three of her sisters looked at the youngest daughter. “Oh, so your beauty sleep is more important than Mother’s demands?” Sekhmet sneered. Kali gave her a dirty look. “You probably woke Mother up with your yelling, Sister dearest,” she said. “Ah shut it, you foul breathed pig!” “No, you shut it, you ignorant whelps!” They immediately turned on her sister, Durga, for that comment. Parvati couldn’t help but be a part of the yelling, each sister accusing each other of being the lowest of the low. “ENOUGH!” They all froze and looked at the approaching Amazoness that carried herself with pride. She looked at each of her daughters haughtily. “Is this what I wake up to? Bickering? You know very well how much I need to sleep, with you all giving me constant headaches.” “Sorry, Mother,” they all said. They tried not to give each other dirty looks as their mother walked past them. “Breakfast should be waiting for us. If you’re late, you won’t get anything!” All of them immediately scrambled to be the first to get to the dining room. They pushed and shoved each other, trying to outdo the other in some way, shape, or form. Inanna was the first to arrive and looked to her mother for a kind word. None was given and no matter how long she waited, she wasn’t going to get a response. The other sisters came in, dashing to their respective seats and plopping down into them. Men came in, bringing forth the food cooked just for the Amazonesses. They paid no mind to the servants as each of them waited for their mother to say grace to the goddess Kali. As her mother’s words droned on, Parvati couldn’t help but glanced at her sisters from the corner of her eye. No doubt they would be doing that too. Once her mother finished saying grace, they began to dig into their food. One of her sister’s made a noise of disgust as she pulled out a single strand of hair from her mouth. “Mother, they put hair in my food!” Durga complained. “Very well, I’ll make sure the cooks are punished. Just finish your food.” “Alright, Mother…” The rest of the breakfast was spent eating in relative silence. They knew not to speak out of turn, or their mother would get angry. Once that was done, each one left to go train with each other, in pairs that their mother picked for them. This time, she was training with Artemis. Her older sister began to flap her hands in the air, earning a disgusted look from the younger sibling. She was no better than idiot men, in her opinion. She didn’t hesitate to charge forward while her sister fumbled with her weapon, immediately knocking her to the ground. “Get up,” she said coldly. Artemis began to cry and throw a tantrum on the ground. “Sister, stop that! Stop crying!” She just bit down on her clothes as she continued the tantrum. “For the love of- GET UP!” She squealed and covered her ears from the sound of yelling, tears still streaming down her face. “Honestly, I can’t spar properly with you,” the youngest sister said, walking away a little bit. She froze as she saw her mother’s stony expression before checking behind her to see if Artemis had finished with her tantrum. To her dismay, she hadn’t. “Useless girl,” her mother said, glaring at the second youngest sister, “And you, Parvati. You should know to never turn your back against the enemy. You would be dead in seconds if you continue doing that!” “Yes, Mother…” “If you want to live, make sure your opponent stays down, even if you have to check and kick them in the process.” She knew the implications behind those words. The young woman immediately turned around, marched up to her sister, and gave her a savage kick that sent her sprawling. “Stop crying and get up. We need to continue training,” she hissed. Artemis began to rock back and forth as she cried, not wanting to get up from her spot. She looked back to see that her mother was leaving them alone. She kicked her sister again out of frustration, causing her to squeal. “Up. Now.” Another kick sent her scrambling up, still crying. She’s a sorry excuse for an Amazoness, Parvati thought to herself as they began to fight. It was frustrating to fight with her sister when she couldn’t do it properly, but that was how the time was spent until a servant came to them saying that lunch was ready. She immediately dashed to the dining room without a thought to her sibling. She immediately sat down in her spot and noted she was second to last. She couldn’t help but feel their prying eyes, but that feeling went away when Artemis came in late, right in the middle of their meal. “You’re late,” their mother observed, “You will not be eating lunch with us today, Artemis.” She gestured to the servants and they immediately took the bemused girl away. They all pretended not to notice and continued eating. It was sad, but this was the truth of the world. If you tried to go against it, the world will cruelly fight back. Parvati needed some fresh air, so she decided to take a trip in town. She had several servants follow her in case she tried to pull something. It made her uncomfortable, being around men. The 16 year old just wanted to sightsee and not pay attention to family drama and the servants were of no help. She looked upon the town made of Amazonesses with a distant gaze, not really seeing anything worth noting at this point. She and the servants walked around town as Amazonesses with their slaves walked around. Looks like she wasn’t the only one to do so. She cast the dismal thought of not being special aside, for she had something her sisters didn’t have. Magic. It was practically unheard of for an Amazoness to have magic, but she somehow had the ability. And for that she was proud, proud of the power she had. It opened the way to endless possibilities and she couldn’t wait to let her magic loose. The sun was beginning to sink as she returned home with her servants. She dismissed them and walked to the backyard and into the forest. She looked around to make sure there was no one there before she began to practice using her magic. “Flames that flicker in the darkness, surround your enemy and dance to the beat of their heart!” she chanted, “Flame Dance!” A ring of fire surrounded a nearby tree and began to close in. With a wave of her hand, she immediately dispersed the flames so that the tree wouldn’t catch on fire. She did this a few more times until she felt too tired to continue. Heaving a sigh, she went back into the house for some rest and relaxation. Of course, that never happened. She bumped into one of the servant boys who told her that Indila had something to say to all her children during dinner. She nodded and immediately went on her way, despite how tired she felt. She realized she was late to dinner, so there would be no food for her. She plopped down in her seat and sighed as her mother began to address her daughters. “So then, my daughters,” she began, “I’m sure you know that I’ve been getting old and that I should discuss who gets what when I die.” Parvati thought she could see Sekhmet and Kali sit up straighter. “However, I deem you all unworthy to inherit anything in your current state.” They immediately deflated as Durga spoke. “Current state? What do you mean by that, Mother?” she asked. Their mother pressed the tips of her fingers together, making a steeple with her hands. “What I want from you is to prove your worth. I want you all to go out into the world and bring me something from a dragon, as proof of killing it yourself. Not only that, but I want you to find a man and bring him to me so he’ll serve you as your, ahem, husband. The first one to do all that inherits everything I possess.” Sekhmet swallowed her food down the wrong way and began coughing harshly. “What do you mean by that, Mother?!” she exclaimed once she was done coughing, “I’m the eldest! I should be the one to-“ “You’re nothing but an old nanny goat, Sekhmet,” Kali said, “I will be the one to find a dragon, kill it, bring home a man, and inherit the fortune!” The two began to bicker as Parvati, Durga, and Inanna turned to look at their mother. Artemis was too busy making noises and playing with her food to take much notice. “Don’t worry, Mother, we’ll accomplish your task as quickly as possible,” Inanna said gently. Behind her eyes, Parvati could sense greed and ambition. They all knew it, they wanted to inherit their mother’s fortune. But not Parvati, not really. She saw this as a chance to get away and start a new life elsewhere. Perhaps as a monster hunter, but who knew what lay ahead in the future? She excused herself, knowing she wasn’t going to get any dinner, and went to her room to pack her things. Once that was done, she plopped down onto her bed and fell fast asleep. When she woke up, she was acutely aware that some of her sisters were missing. She would be one of the later ones to leave. Shouldering her bag, she gave one last glance at her old home before beginning her journey.
