Epione: The Atlantean Amazon

Chapter 23: The Truth After

(image of Thanatea and Epione's old home. Enjoy!)

"My mother was Thanatea?" I asked in shock.

Queen Hippolyta nodded and closed her eyes. "It was painful to think we almost both lost you to Steppenwolf. None of us wanted anything to happen to you both but we failed. We are sorry."

I was still-mouthed. I didn't know what to say. So many questions just littering in my mind and I had no clue on what to do with any of it. I was perplexed and angry but above all, I was shocked at how easily and how long they kept lying to me for all those centuries.

"How did you hide it all these years?" I asked.

"It was not easy," She said. "There's a lot we did to hide that information. We had to make sure of only very few of us knew and that it did not leave the royal circle."

She added. "We also had to limit your contact with the sea so that the suspicion of your Atlantean blood was never raised. We never wanted you to meet any of the seafolk unnecessarily."

"But what about my participation in the war?" I asked. "It would have been an easy move for them to identify me as I did somehow meet them."

Queen Hippolyta kept quiet but the lasso glowed brighter and she was compelled to speak the truth. "We assumed it was minimal because they would never think that someone who attacked them, especially an Amazon, would ever be one of them."

I was shocked by the darkness of the meaning of the words coming out of my Queen's mouth. "My Queen, I do not know what to say." I said but deep inside, I was feeling livid. Hippolyta seemed to understand that I was in a deep whirlpool of emotions that I was in and she let go of the lasso.

"I know you have many questions, Epione, but we both may be in an immediate state of shock as I have not expected to see you again and well," Queen Epione paused. "You may be in great grief of what you have learned. Therefore, I welcome Themyscira to you and to the Prince of Atlantis to sanctuary where you may rest and relieve yourselves for the next few days. I will be entertaining your questions by those times."

I simply nodded and did curtsy before leaving the great hall in silence and going directly to my old home, Chazen following me. I opened the door to my small house and sat in one of the benches there and remained quiet. Chazen was opposite towards me and sat in silence with me, watching me.

We kept quiet for an hour before Chazen rose and said he'll check on the Flounder and the little girl. I only nodded to him when he left and remained in contemplative silence. So, my question has been answered, I am Atlantean. I have Atlantean blood, and yet I am also an Amazon, I have Amazon blood.

You would expect that I would be happy with that and just make peace with the fact that I already have my confirmation but no. It doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel bad. I feel nothing.

"Why?" I whispered to myself. Why did they lie to me for so long? Why did all of those things had to happen for me them to tell the truth? Would it have taken my supposed death for them to ever tell the truth to me? Why?

These questions keep ruminating in my head and I could not help but cry. Tears fell onto the cemented floor of my home and the tears pooled into a puddle, making me a mirror and giving me a gaze of what I look like. My eyes were puffy, my face looked exhausted and my lips were chapped from all of the things I had to endure for the past few days.

After crying, I rose from my position and walked around the house. I reminisced every single thing that happened here. This was where Thanatea and I lived in. It is where I grew up and it was where I have lived all my life. It was a decent house, not quite quaint but not extremely large either. It was a typical home of a royal Themysciran guard.

I looked at the table where dust accumulated after months of being unattended and held a vase there which had wilted flowers. Thanatea always made sure that there were fresh flowers that every day. She didn't miss a day where she put flowers there.

I held the vase in my hand and a sudden rush of emotions came over me and I screamed before shouting throwing the vase across the wall, smashing into pieces. I stared into the wall before falling to my knees and breaking down and hugging myself.

I woke up to the sound of someone talking and shaking me awake. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Chazen looking at me, looking worried. "Epione, wake up. What happened?"

"I... I fell asleep." I answered quickly, my mind still foggy from the emotional turmoil and break downs.

"I'm not talking about that." He said. "I'm talking about the broken vase and you lying down on the floor."

I looked down and saw the small pieces of broken vases and I tried slowly stood up. "I broke the vase," I admitted unfiltered. "I shall clean it up."

"No, no," Chazen said. "I'll do that. Just sit here for the meanwhile." Chazen then went out of the room and I looked for a chair and sat there. Chazen returned with a broom and a wooden dustpan and swept the pieces of broken vase.

We stayed together in silence until I broke it. "Chazen, why does it feel like this?" I asked.

He paused his sweeping and looked at me. "What feels like what?"

"I thought that if I knew who I was, I will figure out what to do. I thought that if I were to learn why my purpose was taken away from me, I would find another one, but truth be told," I shared. "It feels as if there were more questions that plagued my mind the more my old questions were answered."

I looked at him and felt so much pain as I talked. "Why?"

Chazen kept quiet and stared back at me silently. He tried to open his mouth but it closed it back again. He sighed. "I don't know, Epione. I've never been through what you have." He admitted. "There's no way going around this, but what you're feeling is an intense pain that I've never known. I don't know how to console you. I'm sorry." He whispered the last word, sounding as defeated as my will to even want something from him.

I didn't want my pride to get in the way of what I want anymore. I want comfort. I want security, now more than ever that I've risked so much for something I didn't realize would take so much out of me. "Just, please, hold me." I said as I reached my arms to him and begged with my eyes.

Chazen hurriedly put away the dustpan filled with broken pieces and came over to me and embraced me tightly, engulfing me in his arms and laying his chin on my head. "It's okay, it's okay." He soothed. "I've got you. I've got you."

He hugged me as I sobbed into his chest and wailed loudly. He kept shushing me and whispered sweet nothings into my ear while he also kept caressing my hair. We were in that state for a while before I fell asleep again but this time, I fell asleep on Chazen.