Later that evening...
Diana was now out of her armor and dressed in her lighter garments. An airy, short, light purple tunic, which was expertly tailored for the princess’ quite tall, shapely, tanned, perfect physique. She leisurely rode her ebony, white-maned horse down the same white beach the Harpies were cremated on earlier in the day. She didn’t feel much for archery contests or seeing who could throw a javelin the farthest tonight. No, she preferred to spend this time alone.
<“Oh, look how Apollo’s sun sets!”> Diana smiled having stopped halfway along the beach.
The sunsets, like the sunrises, are always utterly astonishing here. Salmons, pinks, and oranges, mixed with sea-greens and light blues, all thrown into a boundless and intricate cloud-filled sky.
The white sand of the beach took on all the pastel colors and even the white mane of the princess’ ebony stallion was now a soft peach tone. In the far distance, above Poseidon's churning sea, Diana watched a grouping of seagulls as they screeched and cried. They were looking for a late night meal and would flap their long, white wings then dive in the glittering, dark blue waters for unsuspecting fish.
Diana dismounted from her relaxed horse and slowly floated upward high into the cool air towards the never ending, jewel-toned horizon. Once the area immediately below the princess became more ocean than shore she had to stop. It was forbidden for her to leave the island... ever.
As she hovered stationary in the colorful sky, her full, overflowing, raven hair danced in the wind. Diana hugged her curvaceous body and her brilliant blue eyes longingly stared at the seagulls not too far away.
<“How I envy you,”> Diana said, melancholy to her singsong voice. The seagulls squawked and continued to take turns diving into the gem-lit ocean. <“You can come and go whenever you please. Soar to every corner of the world if you desire. By the gods... how I envy you.”>
At that moment, an authoritative voice called Diana’s name from down below on the beach. It was Queen Hippolyta. The Queen was dressed in her deep purple, long royal robes, on her own wild horse lined up with her daughter's ebony stallion.
Diana turned towards her mother and lightly descended from the cool, calm air as if taking one large, casual step from the sky to the ground. Her sandaled feet graced the fine sands and she was once again next to her horse. Queen Hippolyta dismounted from her wild tan steed, slapped it on it’s rear, and let her horse run loose along the beach. Diana held her own horse’s reins and lovingly brushed its black side with her gentle hands.
<“Your younger sister, Drusilla, was asking where you went,”> Queen Hippolyta said standing next to Diana. Side by side, Diana was a couple inches taller than her mother and stood close to six feet in height. <“And Mnemosyne has prepared your supper for you, Daughter.”>
Diana blankly stared at the waves as they began to pick up and started to spread further on the shore. <“Those Harpies earlier in the day were just hungry. All they wanted was food. So I’m choosing not to eat today out of respect for them.”>
Queen Hippolyta’s dark olive, ethnic looking face was clearly annoyed, like she’d heard similar things from her daughter in the past. She crossed her athletic arms, almost rolled her dark blue eyes and replied, <“Very well Daughter, do as you wish.”>
he two women stood there, silent for several tense moments. Diana proceeded to brush her black horse’s side while her mother pushed her bare, calloused feet into the chilled sand. Not too far away, the waves rolled on top of one another sending more and more water to the shore.
Completely out of nowhere Diana nonchalantly asked, <“Why do you think the gods gave me powers?”>
<“Each woman on this island has powers, Daughter. The very purity of this place makes us five times as fast, sharp, and quick compared to regular mortals.”>
<“Yes,”> Diana agreed, <“but my powers were given to me directly at birth by the gods. My abilities are much more immense in scale, possibly rivaling that of the Olympians themselves. Why would the Greek gods give me such power?”>
Queen Hippolyta pointed towards the southern end of the island.
<“You know what happened earlier. I believe the gods blessed you with such great gifts so that you could defend our homeland from the terrors of Doom’s Doorway. All the evils of the world exist beyond that vaulted door and it appears to be weakening.”> Hippolyta took a deep breath, raised her chest, and proudly added, <“You are to be our island’s champion.”>
<“Is that all I’m worth?”> Diana asked disappointingly. <“Catching stray Harpies, Gorgons, or whatever else that should escape?”>
<“No Daughter, one day you shall be queen.”>
<“But that’s not for over another 400 years,”> the princess replied clearly frustrated.
<“My child, you have barely lived over 23 years while I have existed for three millennia now. To me 400 years seems like nothing!”>
The sun had almost set and the cloud-filled sky’s hues deepened to dark oranges, gray-greens, and blood reds. The crashing waves roared then aggressively rushed up onto the shore and slammed into the two women’s long, lean legs and the hooved feet of the princess’ quiet horse.
<“But don’t you think my powers would be more beneficial if shared with the outside world?”> Diana passionately asked.
Hippolyta’s face looked quite angered. <“Why must all of our discussions in the past several years always end up about “man’s world”?”>
<“Because I’ve never gotten to see it Mother! I’m the only one here who has never even glimpsed the outside world. Even Drusilla was five before she was brought here.”>
<“Be thankful for that, Daughter. “Man’s world” is cruel and violent. A pure, young woman like yourself, untainted by man, makes you most special.”>
<“But Mother, perhaps men have changed. So much time has past, surely--”>
<“--Men never change, Daughter. Never!”>
<“But there is a whole world waiting for me, Mother. What if I don’t want to be the champion of Themyscira? What if I don’t want to be queen? Do I not have a say?”>
<“As your queen, you do as I command.”>
<“And as my mother?”> Diana angrily interjected.
<“As your mother, you heed my words.”>
<“Even if it’s not what I truly want?”> Diana challenged, looking her mother directly in the eyes.
Queen Hippolyta’s face was fully tensed and red like she was going to explode. She aggressively threw her heavy, deep purple cape over the front of her toned shoulders and showed her back to her daughter.
<“Is this what you want?”> Hippolyta yelled as Diana could see a multitude of lash marks, thousands of years old, that ran across her mother’s broad back. The queen threw her cape back over her shoulders then proceeded to hike up her flowing purple robes.
<“And this?”> Hippolyta barked, her inner and upper thighs exposed, covered with scars as if she had been forced upon a long, long time ago. The queen let her robes fall back down and grabbed the dark blue, steel shackles on her wrists . She shoved the tight restraints right into her daughter’s face and loudly shouted, <“This is what you want?!”>
Diana watched the anger, frustration, and pain on her mother’s face and waited a moment to calmly, softly speak. <“I didn’t mean to upset you Mother.”>
Hippolyta listened to her daughter’s soothing words and composed herself a bit. She shot back, slightly less angered, <“Good, then do not mention this nonsense about you seeing “man’s world” ever again.”>
Queen Hippolyta immediately turned to her right and loudly whistled between her clenched teeth. In seconds, the queen’s wild tan steed arrived at her side. In one easy, fluid motion, Hippolyta mounted her horse. The queen aggressively reined her horse so her back was to her daughter’s. Not another word was exchanged that night between the two women as Hippolyta gave her horse a muffled yell, tugged deeply on his reins, then rode off along the darkened beach.
****
