When Amihan was told that Emre had already chosen the rightful man to father her child, she didn't know exactly how to react. Time flew too fast for her and her sisters, and so much had happened...
The four of them were tested as to who will succeed their mother, Mine-a as queen of Lireo. A trial where she emerged as the victor, and while she won fair and square, it was also the reason why her eldest sister, Pirena did not accept this and loathed her more than ever. Her lust for power grew stronger as well, which pushed her to steal the fire gem and betray their family and kingdom.
Just like Alena and Danaya who were given the water and earth gems respectively, Amihan was entrusted with the air gem in which she swore an oath to guard and protect at all costs. On that same day, she was also crowned as the new Hara ng Lireo.
As the new queen, one of her first tasks was to lead a war against Hathoria. Their rival kingdom where she once again came face to face with their king and her father's murderer, Hagorn. She could never forget the image of Prince Raquim dying in her arms, while his killer, his mashna-de and men triumphed over the death of the last living Prince of Sapiro. And while the young queen was burning with desire to slay the Hathor king, she did everything she could to make sure Pirena (who sided with Hagorn) was never harmed, something she promised to the Queen Mother.
Even if it was letting herself get hurt to protect her treacherous sister.
And now, to ensure the safety and well-being of the throne, Mine-a sought the help of bathalang Emre so the god may grant Amihan a suitable engkantado. A man of royal origin who'll give her a daughter, an heiress and future hara of their kingdom.
The young queen knew how important it was to sire an heir, but was she truly prepared for this? Since childhood, she and her sisters were taught many things that sang'gres were supposed to learn: magic, combat, military tactics and politics. But the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom were far heavier and more difficult than she imagined, she was still in the process of getting used to herself leading and making decisions for Lireo. Bathalas! She just came of age, it hasn't even been a year since her coronation, and now she was expected to give birth to a child whose father she has yet to meet.
It was overwhelming, and it terrified her.
Of course it was truly an honor to succeed a well-loved queen like Mine-a, and there is nothing she'd ever want other than a daughter of her own. But she wished she had more time to prepare herself for motherhood, she wished this happened when she has already established herself as a leader (not just because she passed ynang reyna and the council's test), when she has won Pirena back to their side, when she has successfully bring the long and overdue justice her father rightfully deserves. But alas! It was one of the many things that were beyond a queen's control, no matter how powerful she was.
Amihan shook her head. This isn't the mortal world, and she's not human either. She is a diwata, a queen and has responsibilities to fulfill, she is expected to abide by the laws and traditions of Lireo just like her mother, and the queens before her.
"Is something the matter, Amihan?" Mine-a asked her. She must have noticed Amihan spacing out. The queen mother had been discussing with her about the preparations to be made to ensure the pagtatagpo will go smoothly, and Amihan's child will be conceived as planned.
Amihan blinked, "Huh? We were talking about Alena's mandirigma lover ynang reyna?"
"I was asking you about the dress you'll be wearing tonight," the queen mother pointed at the array of clothes her damas were holding, "Which one do you prefer?"
Amihan cleared her throat, immediately composing herself from the embarrassment. She took one look at each and every gown and chose, "The gold and white one ina," said the young queen.
"An excellent choice mahal na hara," Ades, the punong dama complimented. After choosing the veil that she'd match the gown with, the damas went on to their other tasks, leaving mother and daughter alone in the latter's room.
"You've been absent minded the whole day anak."
Amihan looked down, "Poltre ynang reyna," was all she could answer. She kept fiddling her fingers, a mannerism Mine-a was very much familiar with. The queen mother knew that something was bothering her second daughter, "You know you can always tell me anything, right Amihan?"
The young queen looked up to her mother, eyes were on the verge of tears. For a split second, Mine-a thought she saw the child version of her daughter. But then again, she was still quite young and had her whole life ahead of her. After losing her father and reuniting with her mother and sisters in Encantadia, Amihan has formed a close relationship with all of them (even with Pirena at some point), especially Mine-a. She knew her mother would listen and understand her the most, it's just that she felt ashamed. She didn't want to sound like a whining little princess, such behavior is not fit for a queen. "I am your mother Amihan, I'll always be even if you are the queen now, you can always confide in me…you and your sisters," Mine-a must have read her mind. Hearing those words gave Amihan assurance, it gave her the courage to finally speak.
"Ina, you said you were around my age when you became queen of Lireo and gave birth to Pirena, were you truly prepared?"
Mine-a wasn't surprised with that question, but answered her nevertheless. "Truthfully, I wasn't," she said, "I became a queen and a mother under different circumstances."
Amihan's brows furrowed, "What do you mean ina?"
"We had it planned, your father and I," the queen mother admitted, "We were supposed to get married, build our own family, spend the rest of our lives together but…" she stopped herself at that point, seemingly debating whether or not to continue that part of her story, Amihan waited. "Emre had other plans for me, Raquim and I had to put aside our own to follow bathala's will…and I wasn't ready for any of it, no."
"Then…how did you do it? How did you manage to run the kingdom, protect the mother gem and raise all four of us at the same time?"
Mine-a shrugged, "I allowed myself to grow."
"I'm not sure I understood that ina."
"I went with the flow of life, Amihan. I allowed myself to face even the most difficult challenges, I forgave myself for every failure and mistake that I did, and took every lesson I learned from everything I went through in my heart."
Amihan sighed, "I wish I was brave as you ina, I wish I had your wisdom and grace. All my life I've been taught everything I need to know, but to tell you the truth I…I am overwhelmed, afraid, what if I can't be a good queen like you? What if I can't raise my daughter the way you did? What if I can't do all of it?"
"You are different anak, and I can't promise that your time as monarch and motherhood will be easier than mine, if anything, it gets more difficult the moment your child is born," she caressed her daughter's cheek, "But you are not alone Amihan, your sisters and I will be with you and guide you all throughout your reign, and help raise your heiress. We are here for you Amihan, always."
Mine-a's words comforted Amihan, although the beginning of her reign was more eventful than expected, she was grateful for having a chance to talk to her mother.
A conversation she very much needed in times like this.
Encantadia revisited: Amihan's POV
(by: Iris)
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So YouTube decided to recommend Encantadia videos 5 years after it ended. Going through the first few episodes, I took notice of how Kylie delivered Amihan's reaction when Mine-a told her about the man Emre handpicked to be her child's father. When I was doing the 4R's series, I freaking hated Kylie's performance in that episode (sorry, Ky!). But looking back at it now, I kinda understand now why Amihan reacted that way, I'm not entirely sure about this but if I would interpret that scene, this is what I think Amihan had in mind.
This fanfiction is based on episode 14 of Encantadia 2016, and in this timeline, Ybarro and the rest of the Enca-verse (except Apitong, duh) have yet to discover that he's actually Prince Ybrahim of Sapiro. But the screenshot was actually from the earlier episode (12 I think?), basta 'yung first battle between Lireo and Hathoria under Amihan's leadership hahaha!
Another thing, if y'all watched the original Encantadia saga, I'm pretty sure you already know what happened to Raquim and Mine-a 😶.
This has a continuation, but I decided to cut it because I wanted to highlight Mine-a and Amihan's mother and daughter moment.
