Amazon Companion (8 page)

"As you have seen, I am not one to hide from the truth. Will you enact retribution for sharing it?"

"No."

I thought about it. I didn't have many
options. But if they hadn't been lying, then yes, I owed them. We all did. "I will serve you," I said. "Two years. But if I am unconvinced these demons exist, you will return me home with restitution for your lies and any ill treatment I have received."

Her face burst into a grin.
"Agreed," she said immediately. "You will now vow to live by our rules. Disputes are handled in the training grounds and only in the training grounds."

"That means you don't stick a knife in my ribs," Nori clarified.

"I will not ask you to promise no attempt to escape," the queen said. "I don't believe you would keep that promise, and I do not wish you to be an oath breaker. But you will be punished for it."

"I will
, as best I can, live by your rules as I understand them. I reserve the right to attempt to escape. I will attempt no retribution for what has happened before tonight." I looked at Nori. "I have not forgiven her for my treatment."

They both studied me.

"One last requirement, " said the queen. "If you attempt to escape, and you are caught, you will surrender rather than raise arms against an Amazon."

"Even if she raises arms against me?"

"Yes. She would be enforcing the law. You would be breaking the law. Maya, if you raise arms against her, I am obligated to execute you. And so you are going to promise to surrender."

"I will promise to use no deadly weapons against an Amazon unless attacked unfairly."

The queen studied me. "You walk a dangerous line."

"As you said, neither of us wishes me to be an oath breaker. If attacked unfairly, I will defend myself."

She nodded, then smiled. "I am pleased to accept you as my companion, Maya," she said. "There will be a ceremony when we return home."

"I have two other requirements
and a warning."

"Oh?"

"You will retract your threats against Gallen's Cove and my family. I cannot serve someone who would punish innocent people for actions beyond their control. They didn't force me on you; you stole me."

She studied me, not responding.

"A just woman does not punish the innocent," I said. "Are you a just woman or not? If not, I will not serve you."

"Your other requirement?"

"It's almost the same. If you have a problem with me, deal with me. Do not blackmail me by hurting someone else."

"If they are compatriots," she started to say.

"I am not talking about someone foolish enough to go along with me. I am talking about using someone completely innocent to achieve compliance from me."

"All right," Malora said. "I probably shouldn't have threatened Gallen's Cove in the first place.
"

"Nori too," I said.

"Agreed," Nori replied.

"And your warning?" Malora asked.

"My agreement is based on your promise I will not be abused. If you break that oath, I will feel free to break mine."

Her expression clouded. "You doubt my honor?"

"My experience with the honor of Amazons is, shall we say, somewhat clouded." I looked pointedly at Nori, who looked at me passively. "What small trust we have right now is fragile."

Malora sighed and glanced at Nori, who said quietly, "I am sorry, Queen Malora. She has a point."

"Trust will take time," Malora said to me. "I will not abuse you."

"I will serve you, Queen Malora."

She smiled and turned to Nori. "She is going to need slings for a few days. I have one in the chest, but we need another."

Nori rose and crossed to the chest, looking back at Malora for permission. Malora nodded, and Nori knelt in front of the chest. It was wood, with metal hinges, plain and somewhat battered, but appeared sturdy. Nori opened it.

"On the left, near the top," Malora said.

Nori sorted through the contents finally withdrawing a sling. She turned to me after closing the chest. "This is probably going to hurt. We can do one arm and let you recover while I find another sling, or I can find the second sling first."

"Which would you choose?"

"I'd take one now," she replied.

I nodded. "Left first then," I said.

Malora rose and stepped to my side. Nori adjusted the sling, eyeing me carefully. I was smaller than the queen, and she had to shorten the straps.

"Ready?" the queen asked.

"Will I need the gag?"

"Do your best, and I will forgive you if you are not too abusive," she replied. "Are you going to be abusive?"

"No," I said. I shut my eyes and nodded.

It hurt, but not as badly as earlier. I let them do what they wanted, and then Malora was caressing my face. "Not so bad."

I opened my eyes. Her touch felt good. I offered a tentative smile.

"It is not just the companion who offers comfort to the warrior," she said. "There will be aches and pains from training. I will help to ease them."

"You're going to give me massages?"

She laughed. "Most likely, unless you learn far more rapidly than anyone could expect."

I looked for Nori, but she had left the room, and I turned back to the queen. "When do I start my duties? I don't think I can do so much as a foot massage right now."

She smiled. "You've already started. You are talking to me. Once you are settled with your other sling, we will go find dinner together. Your other duties will begin as you are able."

"Who will teach me?"

"I will," she said.

"You?"

"Warriors are not all alike. Some prefer things done in a certain way. I certainly prefer things done in a certain way. I can not expect you to know this if I do not teach you."

"I will make mistakes."

"If they are unintentional, we will not fight."

"We will fight?"

"Probably. Two women living in close quarters may at times fight."

"And afterwards I will receive a whipping?"

"Fights between a companion and a warrior rarely turn into a whipping," the queen said. "I may, however, invite you to the training ground and offer a particularly severe training lesson."

"To put me in my place?"

"To remind you we both have duties. And because you will learn to fight better while having some of the fight taken out of you."

"And when you are in the wrong?"

"I am the queen," she said. "I am never in the wrong."

I sighed, then saw she was smirking at me.

"Maya, what a companion offers her warrior is sacred. No warrior worthy of respect abuses her companion."

"Riva said-"

"I heard what she said. I believe she was trying to anger you."

"Big mistake."

The queen smiled. "Quite. I think I am to be quite pleased she made such a mistake."

Nori chose that moment to return, entering without pause. She had the sling fitted for me already, and she stepped to my side.

"Ready?" Malora asked me. I clamped my eyes shut and nodded.

As a companion, I was worthless for the first few days. Malora was forced to wait on me rather than me on her. By the first morning, my hands worked, but I was entirely unwilling to do anything with my arms but leave them in their slings. Sleep was uncomfortable, but better than with my arms bound behind my back.

We rose early, and she helped me, and then we stood back as others disassembled her pavilion.

"Would this normally be my job?" I asked.

"It is too much for one woman," she replied. "You would have help. It will become your duty to oversee the proper packing. I will teach you."

Malora also had to feed me that first day, just as Nori had previously. By dinnertime, my hands were working properly, but my shoulders were still in deep pain.

That night in our pavilion, Malora told me, "I would like to examine your shoulders. I would need to remove your clothing and then would need to touch you. It may not be pleasant
."

"You promised they would recover in a few days," I said.

"They will," she said. "But I am cautious."

I nodded. "All right."

She worked carefully, removing both slings, then pulling my tunic from my body. That part hurt. I was wearing a wrap for my breasts, and I realized I was somewhat ripe. It had been days since a bath.

"Um-"

"Everyone gets a little ripe on the trail," she said. "We have pools when we get home. They are cool, but they can feel good, and we can prepare a hot bath when necessary." She paused. "With some companions and warriors, it is common to bathe each other."

"When they are lovers?"

"Not necessarily. You must decide if you would accept being bathed by me or continue to grow increasingly ripe."

"A queen would bath me?" I asked.

"A warrior would see to the needs of her companion," she replied. "Right now, perhaps that means a damp cloth."

I had avoided looking at her, but finally I lifted my face. "No one has-"

"No one?"

I shook my head. "Well, my parents when I was very young."

"I will be gentle, Maya."

And she was. I felt better when she was done, although I blushed when she unwrapped my chest and bathed my breasts. When she was done, she examined my shoulders, and that hurt, but not as much as it would have the night before.

"Nothing is dislocated, but there is swelling. I don't like it, but I do not believe it is serious. However, you may not be doing your more strenuous duties immediately."

"You promised-"

"Your arms will heal," she said. "I still promise."

I nodded. Then she wrapped my chest using cloth from her wooden chest. "Your tunic needs laundering as well," she said. "I have nothing that will fit you properly." She paused. "We can't wash it and expect it dry by morning."

"Perhaps air it out overnight," I suggested. "It will be better than if I sleep in it."

She nodded and replaced the slings. Then we both climbed into our beds and chatted until we fell asleep.

* * * *

The first two days of travel, I rode in front of the queen. The Amazons had an ingenious system with a second set of stirrups for the companions, although most of the companions riding double with their warriors appeared to ride behind the warrior. "You get the front due to your arms," Malora informed me.

The morning of the third day, I had more movement in my arms. Malora refused to let me do anything for myself, but I found I could hold my cup of tea without assistance, and that helped put me in good cheer.

We sat in the grass together, watching others pack her pavilion. "Tell me. Have you ridden a horse before?"

"I've been riding for a week, although I'm not sure that's what you would call it the first day."

She smiled at me. "Have you ridden alone?"

"No."

"You may continue to ride with me as we return home, if you wish, but I have a horse for you. I will expect you to learn to ride it, but you may delay that for now if you desire."

"Is it a gentle horse?"

"It is less spirited than mine. I believe you will be able to retain your seat, but there is no dishonor to ride with me." She paused before continuing. "I like holding you, perhaps more than you like being held."

"Then why do you have a horse for me?"

She shrugged. "This is your choice, at least for now."

"I would like to ride with you at least until my arms are stronger."

She nodded, and I couldn't tell if it was the answer she had hoped for, or if I had disappointed her.

But when it was time to go, she helped me atop her horse, swinging up behind me and wrapping her arms around me, then encouraged me to lean against her if I wished.

She was warm and comfortable.

I was feeling somewhat more companionable that day; the first day of travel with her had been difficult, but she had been treating me kindly, and I was growing to trust her.

I was growing to like her. She was intelligent and challenged me.

"Where are you from?" I asked her.

"Grigg's Crossing," she said. "It is a small village, hmm." She pointed to our
left, north of us. "Perhaps two hundred miles that way, a half day's ride from our forest."

"You were a companion?"

"Everyone was a companion," she said.

"To the old queen?"

"No," she said. "To a warrior named Dart."

"Dart? Seriously?"

"It was the only name she ever used," Malora said. "She refused to answer questions as to how she came by the name. It may have been her parents, it may have been a childhood nickname."

"Was she particularly fast?"

Malora laughed. "No. She was big and very strong, but perhaps she was small and fast in her younger days."

"Were you, um. Taken? Like I was?"

"No," she said. "I competed for the honor."

"Does it make you angry that I did not want to be here?"

"It makes me frustrated that the western villages are so protected and do not respect what we do. They call us liars with no evidence."

"Perhaps you should bring some of the elders to see these demons themselves."

"We've offered. They have declined our invitation. It's not like we can conjure up a demon on demand, anyway. It might be next week you will see one, or you may not see one for your two years and will need to rely on other evidence."

"I understand."

"What would you be doing right now, if you weren't here?"

"Teaching the children," I said. "Five days a week. The sixth day I plan the following week. The seventh I am obligated to rest. The village elders decreed I worked too hard."

Malora laughed.

"I'm serious," I said, offended.

"I have no doubt you are," she said, still laughing. "And now here you are, lounging about day and night, lolling in my arms, not lifting a finger."

"Hey, I can lift a finger," I said. "Just not a lot more than that."

"Quite," she said, offering a gentle squeeze with her arms. "What do you teach?"

"Everything," I said. When she prompted for more, I told her then
she asked more questions, and more, and she listened to the answers.

Finally I looked over my shoulder at her. "But we're talking all about me."

"Yes," she said. "You are doing your duty to me."

"How is that?"

"Anchoring me." She paused. "You have a scar," she said. "Here." She brushed my side. "How did you get it?"

"Boating accident," I said. "I was seven and took a skiff much further from shore than any seven-year-old with a desire to become an eight-year-old should go."

"So you have always been foolhardy."

"Quite," I said, picking up on the word she liked to use. I even made an attempt at her accent.

She laughed lightly.

"Are you ticklish?" she asked.

"We're not going to find out today," I told her.

"Are you?"

"Yes. You?"

"I used to be. No one has successfully tickled me in some time. Once you are fully healthy, you are free to try."

"Do I get a prize if I succeed?"

"Perhaps. Do you know how to hunt?"

And so we talked, and the miles disappeared behind us. We reached a wide plain, and in the far distance, I saw clouds.

"The clouds hide the mountains," Malora said. "We will reach the forest tomorrow and be amongst the trees for lunch."

"How long after that until we are home?"

"Another day."

"A vast forest."

"Yes."

"What's it like?"

"Home? Or the forest?"

"Both."

"The forest is rich, set in the foothills of the mountains. We get more rain than falls here but far less than you would get in Gallen's Cove."

"Is water scarce?"

"No. But past the forest, the land dips into a long valley, and it is dry there, and then the mountains begin."

"Where the demons live."

"They do not live in the mountains. They live in the volcanoes."

"How can they live in the volcanoes?"

"They form a portal to their own lands. When they raid, they take prisoners."

"They take prisoners into the volcanoes? They would burn!"

"No. I do not understand it.
They disappear. They do not burn."

"Have you been there?"

"Yes." She paused. "We will not discuss this further today."

"Tell me about your home.
"

"I need you first to tell me about yours." Her voice caught and when I looked over my shoulder at her, her face was clouded. "Please, Maya. Tell me about your home."

"My home is now your home, Queen Malora."

She tightened her arms around me and lowered her chin to my sh
oulder. "Then tell me what it would be like if we were to we visit your mother and sister."

"And my father and two brothers," I said.

"Nori did not report a father or brothers."

"They were fishing."

"Ohh," she said. "Oh. That makes more sense. We did not know. Then also tell me about that, but your home first."

And so I told her about the house, becoming homesick in the process, but when I turned around, her eyes were closed and brow furrowed. "Queen Malora?"

"Please keep talking, Maya."

"Is this what a companion does?"

"Yes. Please keep talking. Happy thoughts."

I began to wonder if the demons were real.

* * * *

The forest was dark, as implied by its name, the trees tall, and underneath it was like dusk at noon.

"Is it always like this?" I asked.

"Yes, but our home is in a clearing. There is sunlight."

"Spiders?"

"Some. Nothing is poisonous. There are bear and lions."

"Lions?"

"They can be fierce," she said, "especially after a harsh winter, but they avoid us. We are better hunters than they are."

"I have much to learn."

"I will teach you." She paused. "You are too old to hope to be a warrior, Maya, and I would keep you from that life if I can."

"But you will teach me anyway."

"Yes. Of course."

"And it is your wish that I remain your companion then, and not become a warrior?"

"That is my wish for all my companions," she said. "So far, I have never had that wish fulfilled. I hope you are the first."

"Did you just ask me to marry you?"

She laughed. "The bond between warrior and companion is at least as close as most marriages."

"Even without the sex?"

"Yes."

I found that unlikely, but I would learn over time I was wrong.

* * * *

We arrived at home, a collection of huts the Amazons called "Queen's Town." It wasn't a very creative name, but it was descriptive. I looked around as we entered the village and saw only slightly more than a dozen huts. I looked over my shoulder to Malora. "I was expecting more homes. There aren't enough for everyone here."

"Not everyone lives here," she said. "Those who do not will stay for the ceremony tonight and return to their homes tomorrow."

"My students?"

"Which ones?" she asked. "Point them out." I pointed to Morana and Olive.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "
Miari lives two days to the north, Narana a half day to the south. You will see your friends again, but you will not see them very often."

I closed my eyes, absorbing the information, then nodded. There wasn't anything I could do about it.