Blood bonds

Chapter 180: The sister of Silver Wrath

"I don't care about what helps you and I don't care about what you feel. The only thing I care about is that you do your damn job" she hissed. "You better get used to it since you're a priestess. No one will care about you. They will either try to kill you or use you"

"Is someone doing that to you too?" the little girl asked with concern in her face. "Is someone threatening you, mom?"

"No one would dare to threaten me, you stupid kid" her mother scoffed. "You know why? Because I'm powerful. Because I could take their soul away and with that, their lives. But you? You won't survive out there"

"Why are you working for them then?" Malia asked, just like a curious kid would.

"I'm not working for them, I'm making sure they know how powerful I am" Xena said, pushing Malia back a little. "I kill people when they ask me too and I give them what you create for free. Everyone will fear me and no one will dare to mess with me"

"But-... I don't want to kill people" her daughter whispered in a tiny voice. What did she expect? That her mother was having her make weapons for fun? Of course not.

"What have I done to deserve you as a daughter?" Xena scoffed, locking eyes with her. "At least your sister was a good fighter, even though she had no powers" she said, mentioning Nara for the first time in years. So many years that Malia didn't even know she had a sister.

"My sister..." Malia whispered, trying to remember if she ever had one. "I have a sister?"

"You do. Or you did... I doubt she's still alive" Xena stated, standing back up and drinking a sip of blood from the cup. "Useless just like you"

"Where did she go?" the kid asked, trying to keep herself from crying. She really didn't like that her mother wasn't showing her any love at all.

"I gave her to a relative but I'm pretty sure he realized she wasn't worth it and made her leave" Xena explained. "So either she starved or joined the army to get some blood to drink. In both cases she probably died"

Malia nodded her head. Maybe if she didn't work at all her mother would also send her to that relative. And then she could try to find her sister. Anything would be better than this.

"These are unacceptable" the black haired woman said, crushing another item. "Your power should keep them together. It should prevent them from breaking!"

"Mom... Just let me rest, take care of me and I promise I can make you a good one..." the kid pleaded.

"I take care of you more than I should! I feed you if you do what I ask, you have a roof on your head and you have clothes" Xena stated, picking the kid up by her arm and dragging her towards the door.

Malia stayed silent, not responding to what her mother said even if none of it was true. She didn't have any of these except for the roof at this moment.

Xena opened the front door and threw the kid outside.

"You'll sleep in the cold. Use your power to create something to warm yourself with. You'll see that when you really want to do something, you'll find the power" she stated. "And if you don't, I guess you'll learn to enjoy the freezing cold" she added, closing the door in Malia's face.

"M-mom! Please!" the girl yelled, bonking on the door. She didn't want to stay outside. Not because she was scared of the cold but because of the other people that lived in this village.

"Do your job and I'll consider letting you in" her mother said from inside, not bothering to open the door.

"The people here are scary!"