Amazon Fall

by Barbara G. Tarn

  In a few months she was nicknamed The Tiger, and not only for her pet. Miria exercised constantly, was more a Soldier than an Aristocrat and could beat veterans twice her age. Before leaving Maadre, her favorite sport had been fighting in the Arena and she wasn't going to let province life soften her.

  One day she went hunting with her pet. Her prey was still animals, for her table and her four-legged friend, since she didn't consider men much. She'd had a Rite at fourteen, since she'd been too busy being a tomboy instead of exploring sex, and had even given birth to a boy who hadn't survived, but she hadn't been dazzled by any male beauty yet.

  Chatter and laughter caught her attention along with gurgling water, and Miria moved through the luxuriant vegetation towards the sounds. The tiger, that she'd named Fang, followed her quietly. Staying hidden in the undergrowth, she observed with curiosity four young men bathing in the pond at the foot of a waterfall.

  The four were slaves or servants since they all wore the same bracelet, but their happiness had exploded under the sun as they swam and dove and showered each other with bursts of laughter. Obviously their weekly bath in the pond was something they enjoyed more than going to the public bath in town. They didn't seem worried by the thought of wild beasts hunting – probably knowing that tigers usually hunted at night and it was plain daylight.

  The town must be very close, though, if they'd come that way. Miria didn't know her way very well yet, but Fang always found the way back to the palace for her. The tiger grumbled while she stared at the young men, as if to tell her to get moving, that the prey wasn't interesting enough to eat. Except of course, she didn't want to eat them.

  One of the young men came out of the water and walked towards her, oblivious. Their clothes were on her side of the clearing and he picked up a towel, shaking his head from the water before drying his face and neck.

  Miria stared at his naked wet body, his clean-shaven face, his shoulder-length brown hair, his blue eyes, his sweet smile – and decided she must have him.

  She whispered an order in Fang's ear and the big feline moved quietly while the young man put on his breeches, ignoring his friends' call.

  Miria moved to catch his attention – still hidden in the undergrowth – and he turned her way, startled, but curious. He cautiously stepped into the jungle, trying to see what was hiding among the trees, and Fang leaped in front of him, roaring.

  The young man gasped and backed away, bumping into Miria who had come out of the bushes behind him.

  "Don't worry," she said, showing him her dagger. "I'll take care of that wild beast."

  He didn't have any weapon, so he let her move in front of him. Miria used her most threatening body position – arms wide and ready, blade forward, legs solidly stuck to the ground – and moved the dagger towards the tiger, winking at Fang who roared again.

  Miria stomped her foot impatiently and Fang left with a bored look on its striped furry face, hiding in the jungle again.

  Miria turned to face the young man with a bold grin.

  "Done! As you can see, you only need to show who's stronger. If you show fear, you're dead meat."

  "Thank you, my lady," he said, serious. "I'm sure having a dagger helps."

  "Oh, aren't we smart, boy? Did you see me use my dagger?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. They were the same height and up close he was even more appealing.

  "No," he said, lowering his eyes.

  "So, how are you going to thank me for saving you?" she continued, crossing her arms on her chest. "Show me some gratitude."

  "I can't, my lady. I'm a Public Man, and can do it only at my mistress's bidding. But if you visit me at the Public House, I promise you won't regret it."

  "What do they call you?" she asked, a little disappointed. She knew better than force herself on a Public Man.

  "Sole," he answered.

  "Very well, Sole, see you soon," she said, letting him go.

  She lost interest in the hunt and went back to her palace to inquire on how many Public Houses were in the city. In Maadre there were plenty, but this city was much smaller and there was just one. Miria ignored the puzzled looks of her attendants' faces and sent out her request.

  ***

  "Sole to the palace," the owner of the Public House announced.

  "Me?" Sole asked, incredulous.

  Nobody had been honored that much so far. None of the men had seen the new woman in charge yet. They said she was a tiger of a woman, and they thought she'd brought her own bed slaves from the capital. After all, she was also the Queen's daughter. She probably had an Apartment full of men.

  Sole prepared for the meeting, a little disappointed. What if the blonde girl he'd met in the jungle showed up and asked for him while he wasn't there? Would she wait or come back or simply vanish? Hopefully she won't come today, he told himself.

  The blonde Huntress had caught his attention with her short hair, round breasts and muscled arms – but mostly her dazzling grin – and he was happily surprised to discover she was actually the new woman who had requested him. She was much younger than expected and so beautiful she took his breath away.

  "Forgive me, my lady, if I had known who you were, I would have given you what you asked for immediately," he said, knowing a Princess should never be denied anything. But in his twenty years, he'd never met a Princess who was also a Huntress – and a solo Huntress in spite of her youth. Younger Huntresses usually followed their mothers or hunted in groups of three or four.

  "Really?" she teased. "With that tiger nearby you'd have been able to perform?"

  "I'd forgotten about the tiger," he replied, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment. "And I'm sure we'll be much more comfortable here."

  She giggled. She wore a sleeveless short tunic that showed her long legs. In spite of the short hair, she looked very feminine, reclined on a canopied bed.

  "I've bought you," she said. "You're mine now. You better show me you're worth it."

  "Of course, my lady." He smiled. "What should I call you, Mistress...?"

  "Miria."

  "Mistress Miria, I'm at your service." He couldn't believe his luck. His new mistress was young and gorgeous. He felt already madly in love with her.

  "I've been told you're an expert," she said, serious now. "I hope it's true. I didn't enjoy the Rite, so you better convince me you're a good addition to my bed."

  Sole bowed and she motioned him to join her on the silken bedcover and pillows.

  Sole took her in his arms and kissed her gently, going as slowly as he could to make sure she was very aroused when he gave her what she wanted.

  She moaned and panted and held him tight and eventually fell asleep against him with a satisfied smile. As he dozed off, he felt like the luckiest man in the country.

  ***

  Miria wasn't in love with Sole, but she enjoyed his company. When Fang died of a mysterious sickness, Miria cried on Sole's shoulder. His devotion to her was very similar to the big feline's.

  Those were the last tears of the Queen's daughter. She was nineteen. Sole was her shadow, adoring her in silence. After him, Miria tried other men, but her Apartment remained empty – except for Sole.

  Her mother called her back to the capital and she brought Sole with her. Queen Lionora was happy to see Fang had been substituted by a young man who had even given Mira a daughter, therefore she told Miria she could do as she pleased.

  By then Miria had made up her mind. She'd become a Huntress and start going after Uncatchables. So she left her child at the palace and started wandering in search of those rebellious men who refused to submit to female rule, with Sole as her only companion. Much like she'd done with Fang, her hunts were mostly solitary – Sole was useless outside of the bedroom, but going back to his arms felt good. And he was very good at doing massages on sore muscles.

  One day she heard of a man hiding in the forest north of Maadre, but tried in vain to capture him. She saw him, tried to trap him, but the dark-haired young m
an ran away as soon as he saw her and knew the forest better than her.

  Since she didn't have Fang to help her follow tracks and find the way back, she decided to try something different – again using her only companion.

  "Sole, you will be the bait. Go to him and keep him busy until I manage to restrain and capture him."

  Sole didn't look convinced, but he obeyed, as usual.

  ***

  When the Uncatchable saw Sole walking warily towards him, he didn't run away. He gave Sole the onceover and grinned before stepping forward to meet him.

  He was taller than Sole who stopped, wondering what the rebel had seen in him. He hoped his beloved mistress could get what she wanted before he found himself in an unpleasant situation with another man.

  "Hello gorgeous, are you lost?" the Uncatchable asked, stepping so close that Sole backed away, ending up trapped against a tree.

  "Um... yes," he answered, a little worried by the lust in the other young man's eyes. He wasn't lost, since he was playing the bait, but his concern was real. He prayed the Goddess that Mistress Miria would save him again from the wild beast on two legs in front of him.

  "Have you run away from the wicked women?" the other inquired, caressing his clean-shaven cheek and hair.

  "I don't know," he answered, trying to get away from the other's reach.

  "I promise you'll love it," the other said, blocking him against the tree. He leaned to kiss Sole, but Miria's rope squeezed his neck, pulling him away from Sole.

  Sole watched wide-eyed as the Uncatchable struggled in vain against Miria. Soon the dark-haired young man's arms were tied up and he sent a string of curses to Mistress Miria that made Sole shiver.

  "Thank you, Sole," she said, pulling her prey to his feet with a satisfied smile.

  Sole smiled back, glad she'd saved him from embarrassment.

  "You traitor!" the prisoner said through clenched teeth, glaring at Sole.

  "Move." Miria pushed him forward. "I saw him first, so don't even think you can touch him."

  The Uncatchable thinned his lips and allowed her to lead him back to the closed wagon she was traveling in.

  "Sole, take us back to Maadre," she ordered, entering the wagon with her prey.

  Sole went to sit at the front, feeling relieved. They were going home, and her latest toy wouldn't last, like the others. He was sure of that.

  ***

  The Uncatchable was named Selvatico and Miria enjoyed taming him. The young man still preferred Sole to her, so it took time, but eventually she broke him. She was twenty and became addicted to hunting men.

  Soon Sole was forgotten as she traveled the country looking for the wildest and most untamable men – alone. She usually brought them back to Maadre to resell them either tamed or broken, and never stayed long enough to visit her still empty – except for Sole – Apartment.

  Until she got tired of the new sport and remembered her meek lover. She went to see him, and found him bedridden, sick and heartbroken. He died in her arms, feeling blessed she'd remembered him. Miria never found another man who loved her so faithfully and completely like Sole, the father of her firstborn.

  Amazons

  Part One

  1. MARLEN

  She wasn't in a hurry to get home – her step-mother's home. Not that her father's new wife was an evil woman. Quite the opposite, she was very sweet and they were friends. But Marlen knew her real mother was somewhere else, far far away in another country beyond the treacherous ocean. Her father had told her she could visit her real mother at eighteen, and she was counting the days. She looked forward to sailing to the legendary Queendom of Maadre.

  Marlen was seventeen and had grown up on the outskirts of Noavaria, capital of the eponymous kingdom that had sprung out of the collapse of the Varian Empire. Long brown hair and sky-blue eyes, she stopped on the river shore, longing to get on a barge, reach the sea, cross it and meet the woman who had given her life.

  She didn't have real friends, only acquaintances. Her social life was mostly in her head, where she imagined friends and suitors that didn't exist. Actually, she had a suitor, but she preferred unreachable young men to him. Daydreaming was better than living.

  When she finally reached the cottage, her step-mother – who had a dirty-blond mane like her step-brother – barely lifted an eyebrow.

  "You could have warned me you'd be late, I was afraid something bad had happened to you," she chided.

  Marlen had never been abused by that woman, who had always talked to her like an adult, even when she was a child. Marlen respected her and obeyed with no need for the other to raise her voice.

  "Sorry, Olimpia," she apologized. "I stopped on the river shore to watch ships go by and I didn't realize it was late."

  "Your father has visitors, he told me to send you in as soon as you arrived," the woman said, averting her eyes with a sigh. Even though Marlen was only five the first time she'd seen her, Olimpia never managed to be called "Mother".

  Marlen quickly braided her hair and went to her father's office, excited. A visit! She wondered who it would be, and if they came by river or by land.

  She found him with a blonde woman who was the same age as Olimpia but much more beautiful – golden locks loose on her shoulders and a rich gown with an unfamiliar cut. Marlen's heart skipped a beat as she gaped at the guest who looked like a queen or a faery from the legends.

  Then her eyes glanced at the two young girls who stood behind the gorgeous woman. One was the teenaged version of the blonde, the other had red curls, and both had similar gowns in the same fashion, with dragon pendants around their necks or hanging from their ears.

  Amazons! Marlen couldn't believe her eyes. She'd seen only paintings of them so far – they lived beyond the ocean, had a dragon as a symbol of their goddess and their queens were always blondes, but never married.

  She glanced at her father who was lost in thought. Nobody spoke, but Marlen felt the Amazons' eyes on her. She stared at her feet, cheeks burning, waiting for someone to say something.

  "Father," she ventured, since her father didn't look like he was aware of her presence.

  The blonde woman rose and hugged her with a sigh.

  "I... I don't understand!" Marlen protested, confused. Yes, her mother was an Amazon, but she was sure she wasn't blonde!

  "You're one of us," the woman said, releasing her but keeping her hands on her shoulders. "You're the daughter of my best friend – you look exactly like her!"

  "You know my mother?" Marlen asked, surprised.

  "She knows her very well," her father snapped, focusing on the women. "So well, she didn't even realize sorrow was killing her."

  "Xavier!" the blonde protested.

  "It's true." Marlen's father's voice was sour. "Marlen, this is Julianna, Queen of the Amazons, the most selfish person in the world."

  "Enough, Xavier!" The Queen's voice was shaky and her eyes filled with tears. "I've told Yaz many times she should have you both at Maadre! But she always refused, and only you know the real reason."

  "The real reason was her secret and she took it to the grave," he retorted.

  Marlen had never seen her father so hostile. It was obvious the beautiful queen had no power over him.

  "My mother... is dead?" she realized.

  "She was weak, a silly sickness was enough to take her," her father answered bluntly.

  "It wasn't a silly sickness!" Julianna protested. "But she was sick of living," she added. "Don't blame me, Xavier, I never forbade you to see her, nor did I order you to take away her daughter!"

  "Quiet!" Marlen's eyes filled with tears. She was sick of the bickering between her father and the Amazon queen. "Father, you promised to take me to her when I turned eighteen!"

  "Honey, I wasn't expecting her to die young." Her father looked exhausted now. "She didn't want you in the Queendom until you were eighteen. It's up to you now. She's not here to see what you'll become anyway."

  Marlen clenched her teeth
, glaring at him. They would discuss that later. It was obvious there were things he wouldn't say in front of the queen. She inhaled deeply and averted her eyes from her father's distressed face.

  When the Amazons left, her father relaxed. She started rummaging in his drawers.

  "Looking for something?" he asked, now mildly amused.

  "Did Mother leave something for me?"

  "A diary and a letter. I was supposed to give them to you on your eighteenth birthday."

  She snorted. "I want to read them now."

  "You bossy little Amazon," he teased.

  "Father!" she scolded, glaring at him.

  He chuckled. "Fine." He leaned to touch something under his desk and a secret drawer opened.

  Marlen gasped at the sight of the leather-bound notebook with a folded parchment on top of it.

  "You know what's in there, don't you?" she asked, taking the notebook and the letter. "You didn't want to tell the Queen, but you know why she wanted it this way."

  "Yes." He sighed, looking away. "My only mistake, and Julianna's, was to obey her."

  ***

  Marlen had never seen a harbor. Or rather, she was too young last time she'd been on a ship. She observed with curiosity galleys and galleons of all sizes while her father explained the various flags. Noavaria's port was at the mouth of the river that ran through the capital. A bunch of inns and taverns lined the waterfront with warehouses behind them. Not really a town with inhabitants, just a place to stop on the way to either the capital or the other coastal towns.

  Marlen stopped dead in her tracks seeing her vision materialize – a galley with black sails. She'd dreamed of such a ship for years, and now here it was, real and gently swinging in the harbor.

  "That's an Amazon ship," her father said.

  "I saw it in my dreams!" she said, amazed. "Like a lingering memory or a recurring vision... Did you bring me here on one of these?"