Part seven
"No, Cara," Ares said firmly. "No. No. Sit down, young lady."
Clare watched from the counter as her daughter stomped away from the dinner table, leaving Ares fuming. She did not say anything as the god rose from his chair and walked over to where his daughter busied herself with her toys. She began to brush out her doll's hair, ignoring her parents. She didn't not care when her father appeared beside her and leaned down.
Ares picked up Cara by under her arms and carried her back to the dinner table. Her legs dangled and kicked in protest as she squirmed.
"Mama!" the little girl looked at Clare.
"Don't look at your mama," Ares said, putting her down in the chair. "Finish your food."
"No!"
"Now," Ares' eyes darkened.
"No," Cara pushed her plate away. "I hate chicken! I hate corn! I hate..."
Cara paused to look at the plate. She couldn't recognize the green veggies next to the corn.
"Zucchinis," Ares informed her.
"I hate zucchinis!"
"No, you don't," Ares pushed the plate back towards her. "You need to finish your dinner and then you may play with your toys."
"I will play with my toys now," Cara glared. "And I won't eat dinner."
"Fine," Ares threw in the towel. "Starve yourself then. Clare, bring the ice cream. You and I can split that."
"I want ice cream," Cara sat up.
"Ha-ha," Ares laughed. "Nope."
"Mama, I want ice cream!" Cara began to cry.
"Only if you finish your dinner," Clare said calmly, taking the ice cream out of the fridge.
"I don't want the chicken," Cara whined. "I want ice cream."
"No food, no ice cream," Ares shook his head.
"Yes, ice cream!" Cara yelled.
"My house, my rules," Ares raised his voice.
But it did little to make the little fighter back down. Cara's eyes darkened like her fathers as she grabbed the spoon on the table and geared up to fling it against the wall. Clare noticed right away and snatched the thing away.
"Go to your room, Cara," she said.
"No."
Agitated and exhausted, Clare placed her fingers against her daughter's temple and put her to sleep. Ares casually reached out and caught the little girl in his arms.
"Oh my god," Clare sighed, rubbing her head. "I can hear my thoughts again."
"I'm going to go put her down to bed," Ares said.
"She can't keep going to bed on an empty stomach."
"Then what are we going to do?" Ares tried not to snap. "She's not one of my soldiers. I can't hang her upside down. The more we put her feet down, the more she pushes back."
"She's four!" The frustration in Clare made her want to tear up. "She can't handle a four year old!"
"We were doing just fine," Ares shook his head. "Before Athena showed up."
"What are we going to do?" Clare sank down onto the chair beside the table.
"We'll figure this out," Ares said. "Call Rye. Tell her we'll need an IV to keep this monster fed while she's asleep."
