Selfless Love

Siblings Quarrel

"Andrew started it!" Victoria yelled.

"No I didn't!" Andrew hollered back. "She started it"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"No!"

"Yep."

"NO!"

Maximilian groaned as she rubbed her temples slowly. At this rate she would have a headache long before her children's apparent screaming match came to an end.

The pair had come running into the library trying to be the first to tattle on the other.

"At this point," Maxi said in a loud voice, trying to speak over her quarreling children."It doesn't matter who started it, I'm finishing it."

Maximilian always spoke with kindness to those around her, especially her children. However, the children, though heavily immersed in their own individual rage, could hear the tension in her voice telling them that her patience was wearing thin. The two Calypse children grew silent.

"Now," she said gently, greatful the yelling had stopped. "Why don't you both tell me what happened? Andrew, you go first."

Her son stood up straight, squaring his shoulders as best he could before pleading his case to his mother.

"I was playing by myself and then Victoria walked in," the young boy said. "She asked if we could play and I said yes but then she started to change the story. I wanted to play knights and dragons and things were fine at first but then she started talking about mermaids and fairies. She ruined it! Those things have no place on the battlefield! We couldn't agree and started arguing."

He huffed out a heavy sigh as he finished telling his side of the story. He looked over at his sister who appeared crestfallen. He wanted to feel better seeing that he had made her sad but he just felt a queasy knot in his stomach as he watched her fight back her tears.

"Victoria," Maxi called to her sweetly, "can you tell me what happened?"

"I...um," she began softly. "I thought maybe the mermaids could charm the enemy with a pretty song so the soldiers could sneak behind enemy lines without getting hurt. The fairies could help the mages find ingredients for potions they needed to help the men who got hurt before the mermaids arrived."

Andrew now looked at his sister, absolutely stunned. That's actually quite brilliant, he thought. His was a game of war, and hers was a strategy of stealth. He studied hard, even though he'd much rather be on the training grounds with his father and the knights. He knew the history and tactics of battles he had read about. He knew that while victory over the enemy was the main objective, it was equally important to minimize the number of personal casualties. His sister wasn't trying to add some girly fantasy to his battle plans, she was trying to save his men.

"Hmm," Andrew huffed, not sure what to say but not wanting to admit that she was right. He began looking around the room, doing anything to avoid their gazes.

Maxi looked between her children. Andrew had crossed his arms and frowned. She knew that look, it was the same look his father got when he was being too stubborn to apologize even when he knew he was wrong. Victoria sniffled and shook slightly as she tried to fight back tears.

"Well if you can't come to an agreement then I suppose I'll just have to separate you," their mother said calmly.

Andrew's eyes went wide. Sure, he didn't always agree with his sister but at the end of the day she was his best friend. He'd much rather play with her than play by himself. They didn't always see eye to eye but he'd compromise if it meant they wouldn't both be sent to their rooms alone.

"You will play by yourselves in-"

"No!" the children hollered in unison.

Andrew looked over at his sister. She had an almost wild look in her eye, and he knew then that she didn't want to be alone either.

He turned to fully face his little sister.

"The mermaids and fairies can help," he said, without even a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Really?!" Victoria cried happily, her eyes shining with joy.

Andrew gave her a half smile.

"Really, Tori."

Victoria ran to her big brother and threw her little arms around him. He gently hugged her back, unable to hold back the genuine smile that spread across his face.

Maximilian beamed at her children who had finally made peace, for now.

Lack of communication, she mused. Seems to be a struggle for all the Calypses.

"Alright," she said softly, "you two run along. You better hurry, the knights and mermaids will need all the help they can get to defeat the dragon."

The young children looked at each other, looked at their mother and then looked at each other again before racing out of the library.

A small smile tugged on Maximilian's lips. She knew how much they loved each other's company and that resolving to separate them would only push them closer together. Hopefully, at least for the rest of the afternoon, her two children had made their peace and could play together happily.

...

...two hours later...

"MOM!"

Like peace between kingdoms, it appears peace between siblings never lasts forever.