Preserving the Line: Spec Fic

They look at me out of the corner of their eyes when they think I won't notice. They study the way I am with my own children. Do I seem to put my needs in front of theirs? Is there any sign of overly harsh punishment? I think they fear the strain of madness that we now know runs through my family, but there are too few of us for them to insist that I not bear children, and they do not dare suggest that I bear the children and hand them over to others. We may be desperate, but we are not so desperate as all that. Not even the high council would suggest using a full-blood woman in such a manner. The half-bloods are another matter, of course, but though we have pity for their plight, we full-blood women know how precarious is our position, balanced--

Inspiration: Chalciope, the sister of Medea
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: Could be any number of things, but I don't really find it interesting enough to pursue further. Also, prickly and uncomfortable. Too close to the lives of too many women.