Amazonia (12 page)

Shale unconsciously smiled
upon seeing her, and it widened at Blake’s return grin.

They remained that way for a
long moment, each only seeing the other. Their surroundings finally crept
back in, and Blake noted Shale’s newfound bandage.

“How’s your knee?”

“It’s fi—” Shale stopped herself
from saying the now nearly automatic response. She didn’t want to lie to
Blake. “It hurts,” she said quietly.

Blake winced sympathetically.
“All right, let’s get you off it. Where are you headed?”

Shale pointed. “Over to that
tree.”

Blake followed her finger.
“Good choice, it’s quieter there.”

Shale nodded. It seemed Kale
wasn’t the only one who thought like her.

“Let me help you.”

“I can manage,” Shale said,
stepping away. She couldn’t handle Blake’s arms around her, though she
wished for it at the same time.

With Blake leading the way,
they soon reached the tree, and Shale was relieved to get off her leg.

Blake sat next to her, but
not too close, giving Shale some space. “I was amazed by you today.”

Great, now she thinks I’m a
complete ass for acting the way I did. Shale couldn’t blame her, Blake
wouldn’t have the first clue as to why she had suddenly left. Blake
probably didn’t want anything further to do with her. Shale drank a
mouthful of ale.

“It took a lot of guts to
stand up in front of everyone and explain what happened to your tribe,
Shale.” Blake smiled at her. “Especially since I know you warriors don’t
like to show your emotions. Thank you for doing that. It’s gone a long way
to helping this tribe relate to both of you. Hopefully things will be
easier from now on.”

Shale wasn’t expecting the
praise, and from the way she had acted, she certainly didn’t deserve any.
Blake should have been mad at her. She had every right to be, and here she
was giving Shale praise. The woman was remarkable. The most remarkable
woman that Shale had ever met, and she didn’t want Blake to think badly of
her. That was the last thing she wanted. Shale would rather risk her
friendship and keep Blake’s respect, than lose both, and that was precisely
what would happen if she kept acting this way. The thought of that alone
made Shale come to her decision quickly. She would tell Blake. She would
tell her everything. Then they could get on with their lives.

“And you amaze me.” Shale
whispered. “Every single day.”

Blake inhaled sharply.
“Shale—”

“I’m so sorry about earlier,”
Shale said quickly. “I’ll explain if you’ll give me the chance.”

Blake nodded. She stood up,
offering her hand to Shale.

Shale was helped to her feet,
and she allowed Blake to keep hold of her hand.

It felt like an eternity
before Blake closed her cabin door behind them, but in truth it was only a
few moments. Being a princess had its advantages, for people had simply
moved aside to let Blake through.

Shale sat on the bed,
nervously chafing the fingers of her right hand together. She wished she
had brought her drink. Then Blake gave her one of those soft smiles, and
her nerves disappeared. “I’m not sure where to start,” she said.

Blake sat beside her. “It’s
all right. Take your time.”

“What happened today, it’s
been building for weeks, my emotions just got the better of me. I’m sorry
you were on the end of it, you shouldn’t have been. I was never angry with
you.”

“I thought I must have said
something to upset you?”

“You did, but you couldn’t
have known.”

Blake looked troubled, and
she rested her hand on Shale’s thigh. “It wasn’t my intention to hurt
you.”

“I know that.”

“What did I say?”

“You won’t understand. I need
to explain a few things first.” She paused, raising her eyebrows at Blake
to see if she should continue.

“I’m listening,” Blake said.

“Kale and I are close, as I’m
sure you’ve noticed. There have been times in our past, a few actually,
where one of us has been seeing a woman, and she’s become jealous of our
relationship.”

Blake nodded her head in
encouragement.

“We’ve learned over the years
not to get involved with women, not in the romantic sense anyway.” Shale
took a breath. “But despite knowing that, I’ve fallen in love with someone,
and this afternoon I was faced with the reality that it could never work.
That’s why I was upset.”

“Someone?”

“I’m in love with you, Blake.
I have been for some time now.”

“Wow.”

“I know it’s a lot to take
in, but I wanted you to know that’s how I...mpfh.” Shale was cut off as
Blake leaned over and soundly kissed her. “What... What was that for?” she
asked in astonishment when Blake drew back.

Blake placed a tender hand on
Shale’s cheek, gazing into her clear blue eyes. “I love you too, Shale.”

“You do?”

“With all my heart.”

Shale smiled fully, lighting
up her face and making her even more beautiful. “Wow,” she repeated
Blake’s earlier sentiment, causing Blake to chuckle.

A moment later Blake’s
amusement abruptly vanished, and a frown appeared. “Wait. You were upset
because you realised it couldn’t work?”

“Kale and I don’t get
involved anymore, because it never works. Why would this time be any
different?”

Blake’s brow creased further.
“It won’t be if you keep thinking like that. And I don’t think it’s very
fair of you to compare me to those other women. What makes you think I’m
anything like them?” Hurt showed on Blake’s face. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” Shale
replied. “But I also know what happened before, and it’s hard to get past
that.”

“Do you want this to work,
Shale?”

Shale didn’t hesitate. “More
than anything.” She took hold of Blake’s hand to back up her statement.

Blake smiled, entwining her
fingers with Shale’s. “Then I need you to tell me what’s happened,” she
said gently. “Help me to understand.”

“All right. I can do that.”
This time Shale knew exactly where to start. “The worst time was when Kale
was involved with a woman named Aeron. Kale was deeply in love with her,
and was fully committed to spend the rest of her life with Aeron. It was
serious, they even talked about having a joining ceremony. I’d never seen
Kale that happy, nor have I since.” Shale shook her head sadly. “But
cracks began to show, as always, Aeron demanding Kale spend more and more time
with her, and less with me. Aeron didn’t like me around, so at one point
Kale and I hardly saw each other, which was hard, but I tried to give them
the space that Aeron wanted. Kale and I couldn’t be apart for very long
though. For us, separation can be quite painful.” Shale needed Blake to
fully comprehend what she was saying. “Most people can’t understand it,
since they don’t have a twin themselves, but the best way to describe it
is to imagine yourself cut in two, and each twin represents one half. We’re
only whole when we’re together.”

“I take it Aeron didn’t get
that?”

“Not in the least. In the
end, Aeron demanded that Kale choose, either her or me.”

“That’s awful, Shale,” Blake
said. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you both.”

“For Kale much more than me.
I felt more guilt than anything.”

“Why? You did nothing wrong.”

“It was my presence that did
it. I honestly think they’d still be together if it hadn’t been for me.”
Shale lowered her head. “Kale still hasn’t recovered from it. And it’s
unbearable to know that I caused that. It was my fault her heart was
broken.”

“Oh, Shale, you mustn’t blame
yourself. I bet Kale certainly doesn’t.” Blake tipped Shale’s face up.
“How long ago was this?”

“Five summers ago. Aeron was
the last. Neither of us have gotten involved since then.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Shale.
Please believe me,” Blake said. “I can see why you’re reluctant, but I
promise I’ll never put you in the same situation as Aeron did. I would
never do that to you, or Kale.” She gently stroked her hair.

Shale was surprised to find
she was no longer self-conscious of her tears in front of Blake.

Blake brushed them away
affectionately. “Better?”

Shale felt like a weight had
been lifted from her shoulders. “Much.”

A thoughtful expression
crossed Blake’s face. “So when I said I was sick of arguing, you thought
that I’d had enough? You took it to mean I was giving up?” At Shale’s nod,
Blake cupped her cheek. “It would take a lot more than Kale’s bad temper
to make me give up on you, Shale.”

Shale was charmed. “Really?”

“Really. I love you.”

Shale smiled. “I love you,
too.” She leaned in for another kiss. As their lips met, all of Shale’s
doubts melted. It felt right. The kiss deepened, and their tongues
caressed each other. When they pulled apart for air, Shale shifted, trying
to get closer still. She wasn’t as careful as she should have been, and
caught her left knee against the bed. Her emotions were still raw, and
Shale couldn’t help the grunt of pain that escaped her.

“All right, enough of the
tough act. Lie back and put that leg up,” Blake said, though her touch
remained light.

Shale didn’t protest, and was
soon stretched flat out on the bed, with Blake lying on her side next to
her. Shale entwined their hands together once more, smiling as Blake
brought her hand up and kissed it. This more than made up for her
miserable afternoon. Shale didn’t think she had ever been this happy. Now
if she could just convince Kale to get along with Blake, things would be perfect.

Blake’s eyes suddenly grew
wide. “Now it all makes sense,” she said. “Why Kale doesn’t like me.”

“It does?”

Blake nodded emphatically.
“Her heart was broken, and she doesn’t want you to experience that. She’s
just trying to protect you.”

Shale was surprised she
hadn’t seen that herself. “She doesn’t want me to go through what she
did.” It was so obvious now that Blake had pointed it out, and Shale knew
in her heart it was true.

“Exactly,” Blake said. “I’ll
just have to prove to her that I’m not like the others. I can be patient.”

Those words meant everything
to Shale. “Thank you,” she whispered. It didn’t express her feelings
adequately though, so she pulled Blake on top of her and kissed her
thoroughly, trying to convey the depth of her gratitude through touch.

Their passion rose quickly,
and soon hands were on bare flesh, craving more contact. A knock on the
door interrupted them.

Blake let out a frustrated
breath. “Ah, the joys of being a princess. Duty calls.” She gave Shale a
short, but sweet kiss. “Sorry.”

Shale smoothed mussed blonde
hair back into order. “It’s all right.”

Smiling at the tender
gesture, Blake rolled off Shale, mindful of her injured knee.

Shale sat up and perched on
the edge of the bed. Even though half of the village had to have seen them
come in here together, and the other half would have heard about it by
now, it was still only speculation as to what they were doing. Gossip
spread fast in an Amazon village, and she wouldn’t give them any more
kindling to put on the fire. Shale knew Blake liked her privacy, what
little she had of it anyway, and Shale respected that.

Blake opened the door, her
unflappable regal persona firmly in place. “Yes, Ardaxa?”

“Forgive my intrusion,
Princess,” Ardaxa said politely. “We didn’t want to start the welcoming
dance without you, or one of our new sisters.”

“Very well, we will join you
shortly.” Blake didn’t close the door as Ardaxa descended the cabin steps.
“I have to go, but you don’t. If your leg’s too painful you can stay here,
everyone will understand.”

“No, I’ll come. It would be
rude if I didn’t.” Shale stood, lifting her arm as Blake moved to fit
underneath. “I’d rather be with you anyway.”

Blake squeezed her waist.
“Sweet-talker.”

“Only with you, but don’t
tell anyone. I’ll never fit in with the rest of the warriors otherwise.”

Blake chuckled as she led
Shale outside. “I won’t. It’ll be our little secret.”

THEY RAN INTO Kale, who was
with Amber, underneath the tree where Shale had previously chosen to sit.

Blake couldn’t help but
smile—the twins certainly thought alike.

Kale immediately sprang to
her feet, but before she could say anything, Shale threw her arms around
her in a fierce hug. Kale looked taken aback, not knowing what it was for,
but she returned it anyway.

When they stepped apart, Kale
nodded to the princess. “Blake,” she greeted.

Blake’s eyes widened in
surprise. That was the first time Kale had ever acknowledged her using her
preferred name. Amber looked smug, and Blake knew instinctively that she
had something to do with Kale’s sudden politeness toward her. “Kale.”

Blake smiled at Amber, who
was wearing a lovely green top. “You look wonderful.”

“Thank you. So do you.” Amber
leaned closer and lowered her voice. “You’re glowing.”

Blake colored slightly. “With
good reason,” she said quietly.

Amber raised her eyebrow, and
laughed jovially. “I bet.”

The twins turned in sync,
wondering what was so funny.

Amber smoothly changed the
conversation. “So, ladies, shall we get something to eat?”

“I left a plate around here
earlier.” Shale scanned the area for the item, but it was nowhere to be
found.

“I’ll bring you something
back, Shale. Why don’t you stay here and make sure no one takes our
seats?” Kale said.

Shale nodded, taking her up
on the offer and sitting underneath the tree. “Make sure you—”

“Bring back plenty of meat, I
know,” Kale finished for her, drawing humorous glances from Amber and
Blake.

“And also—”

“A chicken leg if there’s one
left,” Kale said, a touch impatiently. “I know.”