≫ Summary: In which Maya reflects on her relationship with her daughter over the course of both their lives.

≫ Warnings: Contains spoilers for Seabound. Brief mentions of pregnancy, labor, kidnapping, and child abandonment.

≫ Note(s): Inspired by the song "In my Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride.

***

Maya remembers the day her daughter was born like it was yesterday.

It had been a lovely summer evening, on which the air was still toasty from the sun and a warm breeze stirred the tall grass of Ignacia. Kai, only two years old then, had to wait outside while she delivered. He was anything but happy about that. He wanted desperately to stay with his mother, being the concerned little mama's boy that he was. While he was left to pout outside, Ray remained by Maya's side, comforting her as she screamed and pushed and felt like her body was breaking at the seams. Somehow, giving birth seemed to hurt twice as bad this time than it had two years ago. But all that tribulation—nine months of soreness and sickness, plus FSM knows how many hours of labor—was worth it when she got to lay eyes on her daughter for the very first time.

She was perfectly healthy, and beautiful too, the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world. What love Maya felt as she gazed down at the newborn in her arms, every bit as fierce and affectionate as when she'd first held Kai the same way. It was as if her very heart was beaming with joy, sending warmth gushing through her like the current of a river. And oh, how her breath had been taken away when the little girl first opened her eyes. They were a deep, dark gray, like a storm at sea, shining with innocence but also swirling with something deeper, something powerful. Ray said they were like hers, but Maya thought they were far more intense, far more captivating.

The Master of Water had fallen in love twice in her life: the first time with her husband, and the second with her son, the moment she'd first set her gaze on him. On that wonderful summer evening, she found herself in love for a third time.

The first time her daughter wrapped her little hand around her mother's finger, Maya had sensed something. A sort of energy—not yet very powerful, but still there all the same. No doubt it was elemental energy. It wasn't fire, burning with intensity, radiating off her in waves of heat like it did Kai. No, this energy had a calmer, more refreshing feel, like a splash of cool water on a hot summer day. Her second-born, Maya was sure then, would one day become a water elemental. When she told Ray of this revelation, he wasted no time. He'd forged a mobile out of metal to hang above their baby girl's cot. The decorations were ocean-themed, with little whales and seashells and fish with colorfully-painted scales, dangling over the infant as she lay down. Maya remembers how she'd stare at it in fascination, trying to reach up and grab at the charms with her tiny hands.

The discovery of her power also prompted the family to give their daughter a name. Maya had eagerly suggested Nya, after Nyad, the fierce warrior and first Elemental Master of Water. Perhaps then, she thought, she too would grow up to become something great. Ray found it fitting, and from that day forth, their little girl was known as Nya.

Maya would argue that Nya took more to her father than her as a child. She loved it when Ray played with her, squealing and giggling whenever he scooped her up and tickled her. He would flash his wife smug looks every time, causing her to roll her eyes and swat at his arm. Nevertheless, Maya was attached to her daughter, and Nya seemed drawn to her as well. The elemental power of water connected them, the same way little streams and rivers are connected to the ocean, and it was that link that kept the two close-knit.

When her children couldn't sleep—which happened often, seeing how fussy they tended to be—Maya sang to them while Ray watched from the doorway, a fond smile on his face. The words of her lullaby would roll off her tongue, soothing as a siren's song, washing over them like gentle waves. Kai would always drift off by the end, earning a tender kiss from his mother. Very rarely did it work on Nya, however. She would blink up at her, eyes tired but still shining with a look of curiosity.

"Still awake, my sweet girl?" Maya would grin down at her while Ray chuckled from the doorway. "Hm...perhaps you want an encore."

She would launch into another lullaby then, this one about ocean breezes and the songs of whales and mermaids beneath the waves. Her own mother would sing it to her as a little girl, and it still seemed to work after all these years. Her song of the sea would never fail to lull Nya into a peaceful slumber. Maya would lean down and kiss her forehead then, another surge of motherly affection coursing through her.

"Sweet dreams, little water lily."

In her daughter's eyes, she was a protector, and she would do everything in her power to keep her safe.

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"Aht aht, careful now. Wouldn't want to do anything foolish."

Krux's blade glints dangerously in the evening sunlight. Maya flinches, feeling it just inches from her throat. Ray holds her shoulders as she trembles with fear and rage, but she barely feels his touch. She's too focused on the look on Krux's face, of smug, twisted satisfaction that she wishes more than anything she could wipe away. Her gut churns and she fights the sick feeling creeping up her throat.

"What do you want with us?" Ray practically spits the words out. He sounds like he's trying to sound firm and unafraid but the waver of his voice gives him away.

"You two are coming with me. I could use your smithing abilities for a little project I'm working on." Venom drips from every word Krux speaks. He glares at the couple, eyes alight and burning with raw hatred. "When I'm through with you, you're going to regret ever creating those blasted Time Blades in the first place."

Maya grinds her teeth. "You're a fool if you think we're going to aid you."

"Well...perhaps I'm a fool, then."

Krux's face contorts in a wicked grin. Maya gasps, feeling Ray's grip on her tighten, as he points toward their children with his blade. Kai and Nya, now five and three years old, play together outside their home a few yards away. Their laughter fills the air, smiles on their faces and eyes bright as they chase each other through the grass.

"Such sweet, innocent little souls," coos their ally-turned-enemy. "It'd be such a shame if something terrible were to happen to them...wouldn't you agree?"

A growl, furious and near-animalistic, rips through Maya's throat as she glares at Krux. Despite Ray's tugging at her shoulder, she takes a shaky step forward. "If you so much as think about harming our children, you'll be sorry."

It's an empty threat, and everyone knows it. The reality is that the odds are stacked horribly against the Smith family. "Maya, please." Ray tugs her back, gently but firmly.  "This isn't a fight we can afford to lose."

"You'd do well to listen to dear old hubby," sneers Krux. "So, my old friends, what will it be? Come with me without resistance, or refuse and let your darling children pay the price?"

Maya feels sick to her stomach—-no, worse than sick, like she might die right here and there. If the lives of her children weren't on the line, she would attack that monster without a second thought. She would kill him. She would make him regret his betrayal, make him sorry he ever threatened her or her family.

Unfortunately, the lives of her children are on the line, which leaves her and Ray with very few options.

The words catch in her throat. They hurt to say. Everything hurts. She forces them from her lips anyway, a declaration of surrender that pierces her harder than Krux's sword ever could.

"We'll...cooperate." Her voice is hardly more than a whisper. "We'll do whatever you want. Just...please, don't hurt our children."

"A wise choice." Krux's eyes practically glow with a sadistic sort of glee. "Come along, then. We haven't any time to waste."

His sword remains pointed at the couple's backs as he corrals them away, like sheep toward the slaughterhouse. Tears blur Maya's vision and she stumbles, nearly collapsing as a heavy sob racks her entire body. She feels Ray's hands on her, steadying her, murmuring encouraging nothings in her ear. His words don't reach her. All she can hear is the laughter of her children. It was once such a wonderful sound, one of pure joy that made her heart swell, but now it's a haunting echo that rings in her head, reminding her of all she's about to lose.

She didn't even get to say goodbye, to tell her babies that she loved them one last time.

Don't look back, she wills herself. Don't look back, don't look back, don't—

She steals a final glance over her shoulder.

Her children have given up on chasing one another, having found interest in other things. Kai chases after a butterfly, giggling and growling like a little tiger as he frolicks through the grass. Nearby, Nya stares curiously at a puddle by her feet. She dips her toe in, squealing at the sensation of the cold water, before happily jumping in with a small splash. 

It's the last thing Maya sees before Krux shoves her in the back, sending her stumbling forward with a yelp. Her eyes burn with hot tears, droplets of fire trickling down her face, as she and Ray are led away from the only family they had left.

In her daughter's eyes, she is gone.

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"Mom?"

Maya's head spins. She feels dizzy, disoriented, like everything that's happening is a dream.

It's been at least eighteen years. She'd given up hope of seeing her children again ages ago. She'd long since resigned herself to life as a prisoner, slaving away for the Time Twins alongside her husband until her final days.

And yet, here she is now, standing in the same home she was forced to abandon all that time ago. Ray cowers beneath the glare of their son, who holds him firmly by the collar of his shirt, seconds away from delivering a finishing blow. She recoils at the look in his eyes. They burn with rage, with hate. The room is dark, but the flames of the forge illuminate his face, casting long, unnatural-looking shadows across his features. In this light, he looks older, dangerous, deadly—nothing like the sweet little boy she'd birthed and raised. Maya's heart shatters like glass and she sniffs, swiping at her moistening eyes.

Her son thinks she and his father are traitors, and that hurts far more than a wound from a weapon ever could. 

But her daughter...she says nothing.

"Nya, my baby girl." Maya can no longer hold back her tears. She stares into those stark gray eyes, searching desperately for any sort of redemptive gaze, any sign of forgiveness, anything. "How you've grown..."

Despite her hope, she knows Nya will respond the same way her brother did—screaming and threatening, to make her pay for all the suffering she's caused. Maya wouldn't blame her one bit. She'd abandoned her and her brother, left them to fend for themselves all their lives, lost and confused and completely alone. She thinks of the harsh winters they must've endured with little food, how badly they must've struggled with money and to keep the shop in their possession. 

Wincing, Maya draws a shaky breath and prepares for the worst.

Nya only stares at her, like she's part of a dream she's just walked out of. Then, after a few moments, she flips her hood up. Maya chokes back a sob at the sight of her not-so-little girl. She's absolutely lovely, her face soft and heart-shaped with short hair that frames it perfectly. She never got to see her grow up, to bloom from a little bud to into the beautiful water lily she is now. How she wishes she could go back...

"I..." Nya's voice wavers, as if it's moments away from breaking. Her lip quivers, and in the dim light of the room, her eyes glisten with tears. "I missed you."

She lunges forward, and for the first time since she was three years old, she hugs her mother. The moment her daughter's arms find her, Maya breaks down. She sobs, tears streaking down her face like raindrops in a storm. She holds Nya oh-so-tightly, like she's her anchor, the only thing keeping her from drifting away and drowning. Nya cries too, her shoulders shaking as she embraces the woman she's never known but always missed. Maya rocks her daughter back and forth, the way she did when she was small, and suddenly it's like Nya's still that young and innocent and in need of her mother.

After all this time, they're reunited. Her baby girl's alive, and she doesn't hate her. She doesn't think she's a traitor. She doesn't want her dead. Perhaps she and Kai can help free her and Ray, and defeat the Hands of Time for good. And then, maybe after that, they'll be a family once again.

Nya pulls away from the tight embrace, but her focus remains locked on her mother. Maya sniffs as she meets her shimmering gray gaze, heart aglow and a genuine smile on her face. For the first time in years, her world seems bright again.

In her daughter's eyes, she finds reason to believe again.

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"I'm not a little girl anymore, okay?"

Nya swipes her bangs from her eyes, huffing and gritting her teeth. Maya swallows the lump in her throat. Her daughter has grown up―she knows that―but she never realized just how much until this moment. She watches, staring helplessly at the back of Nya's head, as she stalks away, leaving her alone in the boiler room.

This mission wasn't wasn't the fun mother-daughter romp she thought it would be. She'd stowed away on the Hydro Bounty to help her girl in any way she could. Ray had insisted it was a bad idea; he'd said that Nya was fiercely independent and stubborn (traits she'd definitely gotten from him), and she needed her space, especially now that her elemental powers have gone haywire. Still, Maya hoped she could've helped. Anything she could've done to help her little girl, she would've done...

It's not until now that she realizes her daughter is right.

Nya's done it all: grown up, learned the ways of both the ninja and the Elemental Master, fallen in love, unlocked her True Potential...all without her. She never needed her mother before, and she certainly doesn't now. 

Her daughter is right, and that's why everything hurts so much.

Maya regrets everything. She wishes she could've made Krux or Acronix send her back in time, or tried harder to escape, or just done anything better, so that she could've been the mother she always wanted to be. She squeezes her eyes shut, teeth snagging on her lip. She had no control over what happened to her and Ray. She knows that. All she wanted was to make up for lost time, to be a mother, like she should've been all those years. Not that it matters what she wants―her daughter's made it it abundantly clear that she doesn't want or need her. How could Maya have expected anything different? How could she have waltzed into the Monastery with a smile on her face and expected everything to be okay between her and Nya? 

Maybe that's why it's too late for her now.

She buries her face in her hands, letting tears stream down her face like waterfalls.

In her daughter's eyes, she is a failure.

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"...Wherever she is now, she is in our hearts."

Wu's words ring over and over again, a broken, haunting echo in Maya's head. She stands on the beach, the sand wet and squishy between her bare toes. Water laps against the sand, gently caressing the shore, and the air is crisp and salty as it cools her skin and whistles through her hair. Ray stands beside her with an arm draped over her shoulders. She presses closer, desperate to be near him, as if she would drift away if he wasn't there.

In the dying sunlight, the surface of the water sparkles like her daughter's eyes. Maya sniffs as her own eyes start to itch. Pain is something she's well-acquainted with by now, but never before has it stung so sorely. Every effort she's ever made for her daughter has failed. All that hard work at the start, all the years spent apart and struggles to reconcile, just to lose her again, like sand slipping through her fingers.

Her mind wanders to the last time she and Nya saw each other, the last time they had ever spoken to one another and felt the others' embrace. In her daughter's eyes, she saw everything she'd ever wanted Nya to become: a positive influence, an excellent Master of Water, and most importantly, someone better than her. She wonders what Nya saw when she looked at her that day. She'll never know now, but she can only hope it was something good.

Because now, in her eyes, her daughter is no more.