New Beginnings
Summary: For @historical-hetalia-week day 3 (I’m very behind). Aztec starts building her new home in a new place. She makes an unexpected acquaintance along the way.
Characters: Aztec (Tenochtitlan), Texcoco, and baby Mexico. All are OCs.
Period: 1326/1500, for 1000-1500, for the prompt Adventure
Word Count: 2.2K
1326
If Aztec could have guessed where the gods would send her to build a city, this would have been the last place she would have imagined. The little island off the shore of a large lake was not a hospitable place. It was often warm and wet, and the wet mud liked to shift under foot.
When Aztec had come across the prophesied eagle, she had started for several minutes trying to completely comprehend what the gods were showing her. An island with so little to offer hardly seemed like the best place.
But, she was aware that there were powerful cities around the rest of the shore, and she would need to build her own stable base to contend with them. And even then, she knew that she would have to be canny in her politics and aggressive in her own defense.
After a year, there was enough of a start for people to begin to live comfortably. There was still a modest settlement, but it was better progress than the rudimentary homes that they had built at first.
Aztec thought, as she walked between people working on building, that this was a test from the gods to test her resolve. The prophesy had said that there would be shining city on this spot, but she had underestimated the amount of work it would take. It should have been more apparent to her from the beginning since the gods granted nothing without work and sacrifice.
She could feel the blisters on her hands from the day before healing as she ran her opposite thumb over them. Even years of holding a spear and fighting had not given her the callouses to withstand the work of building. Over time it would come, and it would be easier to build the city.
But the way that her skin healed over the blisters so quickly told her that her people were strong even with the trial of having to build a city from the group up. It was reassuring to know that the trek to the lake had not destabilized her, and she felt a certainty in her destiny even with the work.
Mexica had been sleeping comfortably in the fabric sling on her back with his small head on her shoulder. But, as she walked, he started to stir like he was waking. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him open his eyes and rub them sleepily with his little hands.
She knew that within minutes he would get restless, since his energy ebbed and flowed. When he was not sleeping, he wanted to be running around. Once he started the process of waking up, it was predictable that he would want to be on his feet.
She was certain that she would be able to put him down and let him run once she reached her goal. It was easy to let him wander when he wanted to because he still could not get too far away. His little legs were still limited, and it also limited the trouble that he could get into.
She reached her goal: A freshly planted plot on the water. It was intended to be a way to grow crops to avoid the problem of limited land and limited agricultural resources. It had been built by driving poles into the lakebed to extend the arable land. With the slowly growing population, they would need to expand beyond what the island could produce.
She took the boy down and set him on the ground. He immediately turned his little face up to her and smiled. She said, “Just a moment, my jaguar cub.”
She kept an eye on him, but only in her peripheral vision. She focused instead on the beginnings of the new crops. The recent rains had done much for the sprouts. She could see the little green maize sprouts pushing through the dirt.
She touched one as softly as possible. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally pull it out. It was a fragile new sprout and it needed to be treated with care. The little leaves felt soft under her fingers, but also hearty. It was heartening to see that there was growth, even though it was small.
Small growth would soon be able to grow into enough to sustain a city. It would take patience, diligence, and the help of favorable weather. But she was prepared to take the time.
Her attention was on the rows of small sprouts until she heard a splash followed by the sound of childish babbling. The two sounds immediately told her that her attention was needed elsewhere.
She turned in the direction that Mexica had went. Her gaze lighted on him sitting at the edge of the water. She was relieved that he had not fallen into the lake, which would have been worrying.
She let out a relieved breath, until she noticed that there was a pink tail wriggling in his little fist. The little fist was also moving quickly towards his mouth.
She moved quickly to put her hand between his hand and his mouth. He looked up at her with an expression of confusion and said the only word his childish mouth was capable of, “Mama?”
He looked genuinely puzzled that he was not permitted to put a lake creature in his mouth. She gently took his hand and unwrapped his little fingers, and said as she did so, “You must not eat these.”
A slightly alarmed axolotl wriggled out of his hand and fell with an unceremonious plop back into the lake.
Little Mexica looked confused and stared at his mother for an explanation. She kneeled next to him so that she could look him more directly in the eyes and said, “I know you want to see the world, but it should not go in your mouth.”
It was not the first time that she had to say this to him, since he had reached the stage in his young life when he most wanted to use his mouth to test everything. But there were few things that were safe for him to test so indiscriminately.
She wanted to let him run but it seemed that it must be necessary to limit him until he would learn to be more discerning. She picked him up and fit him comfortably in the sling on her back. For the moment he needed to be watched, lest he wander off and try to eat something else ill advised.
He was a little uneasy, but it was only a few moments before he settled.
She intended to return to inspecting the emerging sprouts, but there was the sound of someone approaching quickly. It told her, even before the messenger got close enough to speak, there was something that urgently needed her attention.
She recognized the man as a scout, which meant that someone had gotten close to the settlement when they shouldn’t have. It was confirmed when the scout said to her, “There is a man observing us. We believe he is another city.”
She was glad that the scout was speaking quietly so as to not raise any alarm. She responded just as quietly, “Is he armed?”
There was a world of difference between approaching out of curiosity and approaching as a threat. She waited with bated breath for the answer, thinking of what she would need to do if they were under threat. The scout answered, “He does not seem to be.”
Aztec nodded. It meant that there was not yet something to be worried about. But even a curious tribe could turn into an enemy if not dealt with. She intended to leave no doubt about her strength, and what she was willing to do to stay on her island.
Once the scout had told her the direction of the interloper, she retrieved a spear. Though the unknown person may not be armed, she would certainly be. There was no way that she would approach a stranger without some ability to protect herself, and more importantly protect her son.
The man was standing just outside the settlement, looking as though he was merely curious. Aztec tightened her hand on her spear as she approached. No matter how non-threatening he may seem, she was not willing to take any risks.
She stepped closer, she said, “Who are you?”
He turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, though he had the look of someone intrigued more than anything else. He said, “You are the one who just arrived. Who are you? I have lived on the other bank for a century.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to decide how to take the comment, and eventually decided on saying, “I am Tenochtitlan. The gods granted me this land and I intend to build on it.”
The name rolled off her tongue comfortably, though it was the first time she had introduced herself with the name that she had decided on for her city. It felt like it fit as soon as she said it out loud.
The man had the lightest hint of a smile on his face as he replied, “And I am Tetzcoco. I rule the opposite bank of the lake. I took notice of your presence.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of his answer. If she wanted to hear a threat, it would have been easy. But nothing about his demeanor seemed to indicate that there wasn’t one.
She felt Mexica stir against her back and decided that it was best to be clear. She asked, “So what do you intend to do? Will you attempt to drive me out? I warn you: that will not be easy.”
She tightened her grip on the spear, fully prepared to react to whatever he said. There had been enough hostility for her to expect a fight. He shook his head and said, “I have no desire to fight you. I think that you should be careful, because Azcapotzalco is much closer to you and will not be so kind. They are just there.”
He pointed at the horizon towards the shore. Aztec turned to look, and already began to consider what to do if a threat came from that direction. She heard Tetzcoco let out a soft gasp.
She immediately realized that he had seen Mexica when she turned body to reveal the child on her back. She turned, raised the spear, and pointed it at him, making sure that he would get no closer. She said, “If you get any closer, I will kill you.”
She meant it completely in earnest. If the man took any interest in her child, she was ready to strike. But instead, he raised his hands in a way that clearly communicated that he was not trying to get any closer or be a threat. He said, “Do not worry. I will not touch him.”
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1500
Aztec was exhausted. After a long and very fruitful campaign, she looked forward to being home. Tetzcoco met her in her private quarters while she busied herself with removing her battle regalia.
It felt like she was stripping away the legendary warrior to return to being only a friend and a mother. Tetzcoco had little Mexica in his arms, who seemed to be fast asleep. He smiled at her, since he knew how she looked forward to returning home.
He spoke softly so that he didn’t wake Mexica, “He was trying to stay awake to see you return, but he failed.”
The boy was curled up against his chest, eyes closed. Aztec wasn’t surprised. It was late and Mexica ran out of energy on a predictable schedule. She extended her arms and Tetzcocco deposited the sleeping boy gently in her arms.
She instinctively cradled him against her chest, and he mumbled in his sleep, “Mama.”
Holding him always felt like returning home. Outside she may be a warrior and an empire, but with her son she was just a mother. It was good reassurance that she was building an empire to keep him safe and to give him a powerful position to inherit.
Tezcoco asked, with the air of someone who already knew the answer, “Did our conquest go well?” He had offered to stay with Mexica while Aztec and Tlacopan undertook the battles for this conquest. It was their normal procedure between them to make sure that one of the three was always in the capital, and they traded places when needed.
She could tell by the way that he asked that he already had complete confidence in her abilities. She answered, “It went to plan. I couldn’t have asked for better results.”
Though she had many stories she could tell, she was too tired to do it at the moment. Instead, she asked, “And how was my jaguar cub?”
She glanced down at Mexica as she said it to see that he was happily sleeping against her chest. Teztcoco replied, “He was well behaved as always.”
Aztec softly stroked her son’s hair, proud of him as she always was. Teztcoco paused for a moment before saying, “There is something that I must tell you.” His tone was not ominous, so Aztec was not immediately concerned. But she did ask, “What is it?”
He drew in a breath like he was thinking deeply about what to say. After what seemed like a long silence, he said, “He called me ‘dad’ earlier today.”
He seemed nervous to say it. It seemed that he worried that she would object to it.
But she could understand it to an extent. Teztcoco had taken the duty of looking out for Mexica in stride and did seem that he loved the child like a father would. To a young mind that was enough to make him a father.
She answered, “I can understand his confusion. He knows that you love him. One day we will explain it to him but let him think that for now.”