"Thank you," she said eventually. She turned to Nori. "I like my gift. You were never that attuned to me."
"I was eight years younger than Maya is now when I joined your service," she said. "And you were also younger and not so willing to share your needs."
"Quite," she agreed, and I smiled.
"Tell me, Nori," Malora said. "How did you know Maya would suit me?"
"Yes," I said. "Was it the way I threatened to kill you?"
"You didn't threaten that until later," Nori said. "No. Maya was the only one who dared to stand up to us, and she did it at the very beginning. Well, that's not entirely true. There was an old lady who stood against me. And this one. But this was the only one who stood against us with her body, who risked herself to save others. I knew someone so fierce, if she could be turned to your side, would protect you just as fiercely."
"If Riva hadn't selected my sister-"
"I was still wondering how to take you, but I couldn't let Riva have you. That would have been a disaster, and I had already agreed we would only take three. If I hadn't already promised to Miari, Riva and Narana, I could have claimed you."
"Based on what?"
"You were the only one encouraging your elders to defy us, but it wasn't until we tried to take your sister that you defied their authority."
I shook my head. "I think this is becoming a bad topic. Is there dessert?"
The two Amazons laughed. "Yes." And Malora slipped a small piece of fruit into my mouth. It was delicious.
When we were finished eating, I asked where to clean the plates. Nori pointed then said, "Follow the other companions. They'll show you."
I took both trays, leaving behind a small plate of fruit they could continue to share. When I returned, most of the fruit was gone, but the plate had moved to my place with two choice pieces of fruit waiting for me. Malora offered me one as soon as I sat down, then gave me the second some time later. A companion stopped by our table and took the plate, freeing me from tending to it.
"Is that common?" I asked.
"It is kindness," Malora said. "And unrelated to rank." I nodded understanding.
We waited a little longer, and then Malora declared it was time. "Please wait with Nori. I must start the ceremony, then I will take you from her."
Ceremony
Malora rose from the table and stepped away, walking all around the assembled people, speaking to none, but all eyes turned to follow her, and something about her step displayed her royalty. I stared and then caught Nori smiling.
Malora stepped past us and continued, heading for the woods. Nori stood up, pulling me to my feet, and set me onto the path to follow Malora.
We weaved our way through the trees, coming several minutes later to a clearing. A bonfire stood in the clearing, not yet lit. Malora led her troop of followers to the bonfire, then Nori pulled me to the side as Malora walked thrice slowly around the unlit bonfire. By the time she was done and turned to us, the last stragglers were stepping into the clearing, finding places to stand. I noticed that all the new companions in their white shifts were standing at the front of the large semi-circle, their warriors casually resting a hand or sometimes two upon their new companions. I stood with Nori at my side not touching me, but then she brushed my arm once to get my attention and raised an eyebrow. I nodded once, and she faded away. I waited for Malora to join me.
"Amazons!" she said, scanning the crowd. "Tonight is our most important of nights, the joining of warriors and companions. This is a bond that is most sacred for us. To an outsider, a companion appears as a servant, even to some as a slave." She smiled at me, and I realized others were staring at me for a moment.
"But we know better!" she said. "The warriors appear to be the strength of our tribe, with their strong arms wielding the steel that keeps the demons at bay, but we would be nothing without our companions offering us their strength, and their love. They mend our wounds and soothe our nerves."
She smiled at me and paused, then said nothing for a while, finally shaking her head to clear the cobwebs.
"My apology," she said. "Those of us who are warriors understand why our nerves need soothing, and tonight I join with a new companion. I have not had one in some time." She looked at me. "You have your work cut out for you."
I nodded understanding.
"This ceremony is important, official recognition of the bond we share, but the bonds themselves are very personal, and the needs of each warrior are unique. And so, we do not all speak the same vow. The vows between warrior and companion are vows to each other, and the rest of us stand witness, but the vows are for each other. And so, warriors and new companions, step forward and be recognized."
But she held her hand out to me, palm facing me, and I remained in place.
One by one, Malora introduced each warrior and asked the warrior to introduce her companion and offer a reason why she chose this companion.
When Miari introduced Morana, she said, "She was so frightened, but her eyes were clear, and in them I saw my hope."
Narana said of Olive, "She is young, but she comes from a place by the sea, and I think I will enjoy hearing stories of the fish and the gulls."
Finally, they were done, and still I stood by the side. Then Malora held her hand to me, and I crossed the clearing to her, taking her hand.
"I am Malora, queen of the Amazons," she said. "I have been a warrior for twenty five years, fighting more demons than anyone else still living. This is Maya Softpeace of Gallen's Cove far to the west. She is older than any new companion in my memory, a teacher of children, and thus someone with far more patience than anyone else here. She will need that patience when dealing with me."
There were chuckles.
Then she leaned closer and said very quietly, "That was a reason for them. But this reason is for you. I need your fire. I need your strength. I need your compassion and kindness. I ask much of you. I am sorry."
I looked into her eyes, and I saw worry. I reached up and smoothed her forehead. "Do not be sorry," I said. "But will you be kind?"
"Yes," she said. "I promise."
"Then you will have my fire, perhaps more than you can take, and my strength, and my compassion, and my kindness."
Relief filled her face. "We seem to have offered our vows prematurely, and everyone is watching me." She leaned away. "Again, forgive me." She spoke for a short while about trust, and then she said, "Begin."
I had no idea what she meant, but she pulled me to her and turned me to face the audience.
"Close your eyes, Maya." I pressed them closed. "Remove your shift. If it is too difficult, I can do it for you."
I struggled with it, not hesitating, but my arms didn't want to lift, and Malora helped me from the shift. I knew eyes were watching me, but I knew this was important to her.
And then she began dressing me in new clothes, one garment pulled onto my body at a time. When she was done, she made final adjustments then said from behind, "Turn around and face me."
I rotated slowly, feeling for her with my hands until I was facing her.
"Open your eyes, Maya," she said.
I opened my eyes, and Malora stood before me, no one else immediately in view. I sensed movement to either side, but all I looked at was Malora.
"Do you like the clothes?" she asked.
I looked down, and I was dressed as an Amazon. The clothes fit amazingly well. I smiled. "Yes," I said. "How?"
"Magic," she said, with a grin.
"Seriously."
"Seriously, I measured you while you slept. Everyone else got a proper measuring yesterday."
"These clothes were ready?"
She nodded.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome. There is one more part. We are to offer our vows. We seem to have done that already, but I would ask to do it again."
I nodded.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"I wasn't. I am now."
Her smile br
oadened. "I, Malora, Queen of the Amazons, vow to be your warrior, your protector. I vow to train you in the ways of the warrior while shielding you from danger. I vow to be your friend, to listen to your needs, and to share with you my own. I offer this vow to you and only to you."
I smiled.
"That is a deeper promise than you may realize," she said.
"I think I understand," I said. "I do not know my vows."
"Promise me what you can."
"I, Maya Softpeace, formerly of Gallen's Cove, offer myself as your companion. I will do my best to ease your daily needs, to ease your heart, to ease your soul. I will hold you when you cry, feed you from my fingers, and caress your cares away. I offer my fire, my kindness, my strength, and what compassion I carry so that you may lead this tribe and protect the lands of Morehama." I paused. "I offer this vow to you and -"
Malora held two fingers over my lips. "No," she said. "I'll explain more later."
I nodded.
"Thank you, Maya," she said. She paused. "I am going to hug and kiss you now."
I nodded, and then I moved into her arms.
The kiss was chaste, little different than one I might share with my mother, but it was symbolic, and Malora whispered into my ear, "Thank you." She was shaking, and I held her more tightly.
"Are you all right?"
"There's a lot inside," she said. "I've held a lot in for a long time. Thank you. Thank you, Maya."
Again, I thought the demons might be real. And I wondered how terrible they were.
When Malora broke the hug, she turned me, wrapping her arms around me again, and I saw many of the other warriors were hugging their new companions, and a few had been crying, although they tried to hide it.
"Queen Malora?"
"No. Just Malora."
"I didn't think-"
"I didn't realize I needed you this badly, Maya. Please, call me by only my name."
"Malora, these are hardened Amazons."
"Yes."
I turned in her arms so I could whisper in her ear. "I will protect you."
"Oh Maya," she said. "You can't. All you can do is put the pieces back together when I come to you later."
"Then that is what I will do."
She kissed my forehead and turned me around. Each pair of partners was having their individual moments, a sanctuary or privacy in a crowded clearing of people.
Then, one by one, each pair finished, turning to face the assembled Amazons. Nori stepped forward then and said, "Companions, you have a sacred duty. Be strong. It's time to celebrate!"
Everyone laughed, but then Nori raised her voice in a high, warbling cheer, and soon it was joined by all the assembled Amazons.
Then, still warbling, Nori gestured. A woman strode forth carrying a torch and thrust it into the bonfire. Nori lifted a hand, and the warbling became a loud cheer, instantly becoming silent as she dropped her hand.
And then, for about the fifth time, Malora whispered into my ear, "Thank you, Maya."
* * * *
The celebration ran deep into the night. There was no wine, but someone rolled in a cask of beer. When I asked Malora if she would like some, she declined but asked instead for water.
I met everyone, literally everyone. I remembered as many names as I could. I was practiced at remembering the names of my new students, and I tried to apply the same methods I used on their names to remember the names of the Amazons. Remembering which warriors were paired with which companions was easier; the Amazons were easy with their touch, and it seemed the companions were constantly touching their warriors.
When I asked Malora she said, "Touch is comforting. Does it bother you?" She had been touching me a lot.
"No," I said. "I was only curious."
"We are aloof with outsiders, and we are somewhat aloof with each other much of the time, but tonight was an important celebration, and everyone is more relaxed than usual."
"So tomorrow you will not touch me?"
"If that is your wish," she said.
"I didn't say that."
"Then tomorrow my touches will be no different than they are tonight," she said. She moved closer, stroking my arms. "It is only touch."
"When I first met your warriors, I would not have expected this tenderness. I would especially not have expected it from their queen."
"Oh, we are very fierce," she said, and even without looking over my shoulder at her, I could hear the grin. "As I said, tonight is special."
"You are treating me like a lover, Malora."
"You have said this does not bother you."
"You do not deny it?"
"No. There is a very fine line between companion and lover, Maya."
"I noticed there is one bed."
"It is a very large bed."
I didn't respond, and after a moment she said, "I will have a second bed installed, but it is too late tonight."
I thought about it, and I could hear the disappointment in her voice when she offered it. "No. As you say, it is a very large bed, but if you are one to steal the covers, then I will ask you to resolve the situation."
She laughed in my ear. "You could follow the covers to the thief."
"I could crowd the thief all the way out of her own bed. I have sharp, uncomfortable elbows."
She moved her hands down to my elbows. "They are lovely elbows, Maya."
"You can say that after stealing my covers and finding both of them buried in your back."
And then I yawned.
"All this talk of bed has made you anxious to climb into one?"
I shrugged. I wasn't going to be the one to say we must leave. "I would not care to break up the party."
"No one wants to leave before I do," she said, "although a few have."
"Are they in trouble for doing so?"
"No. Come, let us slip away."
"Slip away" was not so easy for the queen of the Amazons, and it took us another twenty minutes before we finally arrived in her hut, now our hut.
"This is your home now, Maya," she said. "One of your responsibilities is to manage our home."
"Cook and clean?"
"I was thinking decorate."
"You want me to decorate?" It was difficult to see in the dim light, so I could not judge the current decoration, and I had paid little attention earlier.
"I want you to understand you have the right to make changes. If you desire drastic changes, I would ask you to warn me in time for me to talk you out of them if they are too severely against my own tolerance."
I thought about the way she put it. "You made it sound like I have more authority over your home than you do."
"It is our home," she said, "and you do. And I hope you will adjust our home so it is comfortable for both of us. But we can talk more about that in the weeks and months to come. I am tired. Even with your nap, I bet you are as well."
"Are there duties for me tonight?"
"None I wish to teach you." She stepped away from me and began to disrobe, setting her clothes aside. It was too dark for me to judge where they should go, and so I didn't try to put them away. I stepped out of my own, and together we moved to the bed. She climbed in on the left; I took the right. We turned to face each other.
"There have been such changes for you," she said. "You have gone from the safety of your ocean cove to the dark forest in the foothills of the mountains. You are amongst strangers with unexpected customs, and you find yourself in the bed of a woman you barely know."
"Yes," I said. "A woman I thought I would wish to kill."
"Do you still wish to kill me? Or perhaps only Nori?"
"No. Neither." I paused. "Why did you not allow me to echo the vows you offered me?"
"Ah. You were about to offer your companionship only to me."
"Yes. I thought-"
"We have warriors without companions. We have companions who will become warriors and will not yet have companions of their own. You do not understand, but they will need help. It may no
t be that you will offer comfort to anyone other than me, and there is no obligation for you to do so."
"But Nori has no one when her heart hurts."
"Not her heart. Her soul. You are not here to comfort anyone's heart, although perhaps you and I will grow to share that bond. You are here to comfort my soul, and perhaps the souls of others."
"I do not understand entirely, but I believe I understand. Will you be jealous?"
"Only if you comfort their hearts."
"I will need to learn the difference."
"It is my soul you have been comforting so far. My heart is not so raw."
"And you do not wish comfort for your heart?"
"Perhaps I do as well, but I do not believe I wish such comfort from you until you stop wondering if Nori and I have lied to you."
I rolled onto my back, staring at the dark ceiling. "I do not believe you have lied."
"But you wonder if perhaps this is all an act. Perhaps we are all coddling ourselves and fooling the villages."
"I imagine war is very brutal."
"I imagine it is," she said. "Two armies facing each other, angry steel between them. Our war with the demons is different."
"I have seen no one who looks maimed in battle."
"I have scars," she said. "So does Nori. You washed some of my scars today. Did you notice them?"
"My hands found places," I said.
"Roll back," she said. "Give me your hand."
I rolled onto my side, offering a hand. She took it, setting it on her stomach. "Can you feel it?" She moved my fingers back and forth, and I felt the knotted tissue.
"Yes."
"I was gored. I should have died. It was my third direct fight with a demon, and I froze. If I'd been alone, the demon would have had me then."
I moved my hand over the scar.
Then Malora took my hand and moved it to her leg, rubbing my fingers. "Training accident."
"Not a demon."
"No. It is my only scar from training. I have two others from childhood. One on my foot." She lifted a foot to me, squirming as she did so. "Along the bottom."
I couldn't find the scar amongst the callouses.
"You can look in the light," she said.
"What happened?"
"I was wading through a stream and cut it on a sharp rock. I was seven or eight. There's an accident from a knife when I was eleven, but you won't feel it over the callouses from fighting with sword and staff. It is here." She took my finger and traced it over her left palm.
Amazon Companion Page 9