"You will train her harder than any amazon before her, five times harder, ten times harder".

Hippolyta was trying very hard not to regret the words she had spoken to her sister mere days ago, her order to train her daughter harder than anyone had ever been trained, but it was proving very hard for her.

It was hard seeing Diana be put through such brutal trials; seeing her take a hit, a punch, seeing her stumble and fall to the ground after being bested by Antiope in the training fields. It took everything the Queen had to not scream at Antiope in those first days "Stop! She's too young! Cant you see she's hurt!" But she didn't, because she knew Antiope was right and she knew Diana would never forgive her if she stopped them. Diana had to be trained; after all, the child was a weapon.

But Hippolyta was still her mother so they both had to tough it out, no matter how hard it was.

After one particularly gruelling training session Diana's muscles were so sore and achey she headed straight for the bathing pools afterwards to soak in the warm water, but even afterwards it was obvious to Hippolyta that she was still suffering. Bless her though, she didn't complain, or cry or beg Antiope to stop, not ever. She wanted to prove that she could be a tough amazon just like the rest of them, and she didn't want to show weakness in front of them. She wanted to prove that she could be more than just their Princess, the favourite child of the amazons; she wanted to be a warrior no matter what.

When Hippolyta and Diana were having their evening meal that night it was obvious to the queen that her daughter was exhausted, she could barely chew her food and it seemed as if she was about to fall asleep on her plate.

"Diana!" the Queen exclaimed, and Diana snapped her head up suddenly and looked all around as if she was unaware of where she was whilst swallowing a piece of bread that was hanging out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry…" she said quickly, thinking she was in trouble.

"Go to bed Diana" the Queen said with concern in her voice "You're exhausted".

Diana was far too tired to protest so she simply pushed her food aside and said "Yes mother" before standing up to leave, kissing Hippolyta on the cheek to say goodnight before leaving.

The Queen sighed, most of her appetite was gone now, there was too much on her mind. "Surely this will get easier, for both of us" she thought to herself.

Hours later when Hippolyta herself was readying herself for bed she passed by Dianas bedchamber and noticed her door was slightly opened so she stepped in to check on her daughter. Her heart almost broke to see her little girl practically passed out on her bed, she was still in her day clothes and had only managed to get one shoe off before sleep had taken hold of her.

"Oh my poor Diana" Hippolyta whispered before sitting gently down on the edge of the bed and slipping the other shoe off her daughters foot. She was so dead to the world even the Gods themselves wouldn't have been able to wake her; she didn't even stir when Hippolyta pulled the blankets over her and tucked her in properly. It struck her at that moment how it felt like an age since she had done this, put her child to bed. Diana hadn't needed her mother to put her to bed in a long time, and there had been no bedtime stories in years.

Her heart suddenly hurt and it felt like she couldn't breathe, something was painfully clear to Hippolyta at that moment, Diana wasn't her little girl anymore, she was growing up.

Tears began forming in the queens eyes. She could still remember the day she was born like it had just happened yesterday and she could still feel the agony of bringing her into the world. It pained her when she thought about how her daughter had come to be, her tryst with Zeus, he was not gentle at all when he had pressed himself into her and there was absolutely no pleasure in the act. It was his will to conceive a weapon with the queen of the amazons and Hippolyta told herself that she couldn't love the being growing in her belly.

But all that changed once she saw Diana for the first time, she remembered feeling such an overwhelming sense of love for her baby, the only baby that would ever be born on the island. When Antiope had placed her in her arms she was in love immediately and she felt ashamed of herself for ever thinking those terrible thoughts. "How could I ever believe I wouldn't love you?" She said to herself as she gazed with love at her perfect little girl.

She remembered the wonderful feeling of breastfeeding Diana, how the bond between them had been forged during all those times, she remembered her first smile and when she would take her to the bathing pools when she was still a baby and they would bath together, those were her first swimming lessons and she remembered her squeals of delight as she was splashing around and playing in the water. She remembered the absolute joy of putting her baby girl to sleep every night in her little cot, watching her suck her thumb as she slept and the beautiful smile she would see on her face when she woke in the morning, always happy to see her mother. "Hello my love" Hippolyta would say as she bent over the cot watching Diana reach her little arms towards her, begging to be picked up, which Hippolyta was always more than happy to do.

Every moment seemed to be a joy when Diana had been a baby, or maybe Hippolyta just preferred to remember it that way, even the more unpleasant tasks like changing nappies, wiping up drool and pacing around for hours with her in her arms when she wouldn't settle down to sleep, "please Diana, please go to sleep. Even an amazon has to sleep" she would say as the baby continued crying. Even the sleepless nights with Diana were a joy, it was all a joy.

She remembered every single wonderful, silly, exasperating moment of raising a child. The absolute look of triumph on Dianas little face the first time she pulled herself up to stand, how she was unsure on her feet but when she had managed it she had raised her arms up in triumph at her first victory. Watching her crawl, then toddle, and then run around the gardens of the palace chasing the peacocks that roamed freely around the whole island. "Diana my love, stop chasing the peacocks, you'll scare them to death" Hippolyta had called after her so many times, and each time she would just smile at her mother sweetly before seeking out a new adventure. Even each of the times she escaped from her lessons was remembered with fondness. "How many times now Diana?" she once asked with a sigh as she caught the little girl on one of her escapades, and the child had replied with a cheeky smile, "I haven't been counting mother".
Hippolyta's most treasured memories were when Diana was still small, when her tiny hand fit entirely into hers and she wouldn't want to leave her side even for a moment. She was barely out of nappies when she had taken her riding on her horse for the first time, she remembered sitting Diana on the saddle in front of her, one arm tightly held around the little girl and her other hand on the reins as they rode slowly together. Diana had loved it immediately and she had begged her mother for her own horse after that day.

There had been times when Hippolyta couldn't fathom the fact that this child was supposed to be a weapon, she was so small and helpless and her hands were so tiny that it was unthinkable to expect her to ever wield any kind of sword. In many ways Hippolyta still saw Diana as that tiny baby she had held in her arms, that was one of the reasons she was so reluctant to let her train, it was her maternal instincts, she just didn't want Diana to be hurt. She still remembered a time when Diana couldn't have been more than 5 in mortal years, when she was exploring the Island and had run down some steps too eagerly and tripped, falling and scraping her knee on the stony ground. Oh how she had cried, many of the Amazons had rushed to her but she couldn't be consoled by anyone except her mother, and when Hippolyta had arrived on horseback she was alarmed at her daughters distress.

"Diana!" she had practically screamed, seeing her childs bleeding knee and the tears on her face. "What has happened?" she asked, beseeching the women who were standing around her, but when Diana had cried "It hurts!" and clutched her knee she didn't care about how it happened, she just scooped up the little girl in her arms and took her back to the palace. It was only after much care and many kisses that only a mother can provide that Diana had stopped crying and had fallen asleep in her mothers arms, exhausted by her injury. It was holding her at that moment that Hippolyta thought about the absurdity of placing the power of a God into this child, a child who could be hurt so easily.

Even now as she watched over her tired little girl she still couldn't believe that she was created to be a God killer. This same little girl whom she had carried in her arms, whose hand she had held as she took her first steps around the island.

Hippolyta cried silently as she watched Diana sleep that night, her heart was breaking as she took in that fact that Diana was growing up. Was it really all over? All the times she had bounced her on her lap when she was a baby to make her smile, all those nights they had spent together braiding hair and giggling and telling stories before bedtime? Maybe it wasn't the training that Hippolyta was really objecting to all these years, maybe it was because Diana wasn't just something that had been created to defeat Ares, Diana was her daughter, and maybe Antiope and Menalippe and the other amazons did love her like she was theirs but Hippolyta was the one who had carried her and birthed her. She was her mother, and as her mother she couldn't bear to see Diana be hurt.

Hippolyta wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to regain control of herself, she reached out and stroked her daughters hair gently, smiling as she did so, thankful that she still had this night to be her mother. "Diana…" she whispered as her fingers ran through her soft locks, "You are my greatest love, my beautiful Diana".

The End

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