They let us catch our breath, and then we had our first introduction in unarmed combat. As we had this morning, we worked with our warriors, which meant my training partner was Malora.
I acquired even more bruises, but I kept my mouth closed and didn't whine. We finished with another run: two more welts for me.
By the time we were done, I was exhausted and most of my muscles hurt. I could no longer pay attention to whether it was only my shoulders that ached or my entire body.
At dinner, I didn't serve Nori and I didn't share a plate with Malora. Nor did I allow her to touch me when I could avoid it.
She confronted me in the hut later. "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm sure you are aware of the condition of my body," I said. "So I am not sure what you are asking, Queen Malora."
"I told you to call me Malora."
"Yes, Queen Malora."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"What have I done to displease you? Have I shirked my duties? If so, please tell me so I can resolve the issue."
"You're being a bitch."
"Have I been disrespectful? If so, it wasn't intentional."
"Do you honestly not understand why I'm asking these questions?"
Of course I knew why she was asking, and I wasn't going to lie about it. I didn't answer.
"That's what I thought," she said. "What is going on? Answer me."
"If you tell me what I am doing to make you angry, Queen Malora, I will strive to adjust my behavior."
"I am not angry!" she said.
"You sound angry."
I turned away. I didn't want to play this game. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want her attention. I wanted her to leave me alone so I could go home.
She stepped up behind me and set her hands on my shoulders. I stepped away from her.
"That's what I'm talking about," she complained. "You didn't pull away last night."
"Last night I believed the way I was treated for the first several days of my acquaintance with Amazons was an aberration. I no longer believe that." I turned to face her. "You expect me to be nice to the woman who is abusing me?"
"In what way am I abusing you?"
"Shall we produce a little more light and count the marks on my body?"
"You're angry about our training methods?"
"I don't recall saying I was angry," I said. "I don't recall raising my voice. I don't even recall complaining, well, except this morning. I didn't say a word, but you wouldn't leave it alone."
"But you're angry."
"But I want to go home!"
Damn it. I hadn't wanted to tell her that. I wanted her complacent.
Her voice grew quiet. "You agreed-"
"To let you abuse me? I don't remember that part. In fact, I remember your assurances you wouldn't. You can't have it both ways. You can't hit me and then expect me to treat you tenderly afterwards. As you will not allow me to leave, and I know if I attempt to flee you will catch me and punish me severely, I am forced to remain here. As your prisoner, your bounty, your prisoner of war. I will wash your clothes and serve your dinner. I will follow your orders. I will jump when you bark. But do not think for a minute I will accept your abuse and offer you love or comfort afterwards."
I turned away from her. "If I have other duties tonight, I do not know what they are."
"I don't need this from you tonight," she said, venom in her voice. She stormed out.
Aching and tender, I disrobed and climbed into bed. Exhausted, I tried to sleep, but my body hurt too much, and I tossed and turned, moaning a few times.
I don't know how long Malora was gone. She stood next to the bed, looking down at me. "Are you awake?" she asked quietly.
I tried to feign sleep. She waited a moment then said, "I know you're awake."
"Then why did you ask me?"
She sat down on the bed. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I hurt too much."
"I brought ointments," she said, "one for the welts and another for your muscles. I will need to touch you. I am telling you what I will do; I am not asking permission."
"So when I won't voluntarily allow you to touch me, you will force yourself on me?"
"This is part of my duty as your warrior. Are the welts all on your bottom?"
"Yes."
"I will be touching you there."
"You will not." I sat up.
She made a disgusted sound. "I'm not trying to molest you. I am trying to comfort you."
"Brilliant," I said. "Beat me up and then use it as an excuse to fondle me."
"Why can't you just..." she trailed off.
"What? Be a complacent little slave?"
"Damn it, Maya!" She began pacing. "It will feel good."
"Is that how you justify your treatment of me? Oh, I'll just fondle her naked body later. That will make it up to her."
"You are infuriating!" She sat down on the foot of the bed, sitting sideways, a foot or two from my feet. I could just barely make out her profile in the dark.
"I don't know what you want from me, Malora," I said quietly. "But I don't think I have it in me to give it."
She took a breath, held it, then let it out slowly. "Maya, I want you to trust me."
"You and Nori have worked very hard to make that difficult."
"I know. But consider this. If you pretend to trust me, then I will lower my guard, and you can slide that knife through my ribs when I become complacent. Or maybe I'll prove trustworthy. I would think both of those outcomes are better than the current path we're on."
I stared at her. "Was that a joke?"
"Trust me, Maya. Please. I have nothing nefarious in mind. I seek only to ease your aches and talk to you while I do so."
At first, I didn't say anything. To be honest, if she could make me hurt less, I was going to let her, but I was still angry. I slid back under the covers, digging my feet under her on the bed, and rolled onto my back. "I don't know how many more chances you're getting, Malora. Don't waste them."
"Thank you," she said. She shifted her position on the bed, coming closer, and pulled the bed covers from my body. "It's going to be a little cold, which may be shocking, but after the shock, it will feel good. I know what I am talking about." She paused, then she said, "Here it comes."
I jerked in shock from the chill, then she was rubbing the cream in, and I had to admit, at least to myself, she had been right. It felt good.
I couldn't believe I was letting her rub my ass.
She took her time, probably spending more attention than necessary. I decided to let her.
"The rest are muscle aches? Anywhere in particular?"
"Everywhere."
"Probably not everywhere, but I understand. I'll start on your back. This will also be cold, but only for a moment."
The ointment was cold, but then she began working it in, and that felt divine. After a few minutes, I stifled a moan of appreciation.
"I want you to listen to me."
"Mmmm."
"We are pushing you hard. We know we're pushing you hard. We know what we're doing."
"Then you must know how I would react."
"I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about keeping you, Neela and Aura safe. Neela is a recruit like you, but Aura is a volunteer. But both want to be warriors. Neela was upset when we took her from her home, but she has been very resilient."
She kept massaging, moving to my arms. "I'll work your neck and shoulders again at the end," she promised. "Does this feel good?"
"Yes."
"The demons are real."
"Maybe."
"They are real. And while I hope you never see one, you probably will. And you must be as prepared for that day as I can make you. You will not work hard enough if I am gentle with you. Every warrior here has been through what you are experiencing, and while none of us enjoyed it at the time, we understood it was necessary. And it is."
"I should not be here to need your training."
&n
bsp; "Perhaps not. If your elders had tithed properly over the years, and if everyone living more than two days from the mountains hadn't grown complacent, we would not have resorted to the methods we used. I regret those methods, but until you can improve on them, you may not criticize."
I thought about that. "I will criticize all I want when they affect me, but it's not like you care what I think."
She sighed. "I cannot coddle you while driving Aura and Neela the way they need to be driven. I cannot make those exceptions for you. So there are two overwhelming reasons why I must drive you very, very hard."
She moved down to my legs, not saying anything further. Then she even massaged my feet.
"They don't hurt," I said.
"But it feels good, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
She worked on my feet for a few minutes then said, "Do you want me to do the front of your legs? If they are at all sore, there is only one proper answer."
I rolled over, and she used more ointment to massage my legs. Then she moved up so she was kneeing over my face, and she returned her attention to my shoulders.
"You're good at this," I admitted.
"Thank you," she said. "I've had a lot of practice." She worked quietly after that, paying more attention to my arms and even reaching around to the back of my neck and my skull.
"Ohhh," I said. "I wanted to remain angry."
"Roll back over," she said a short while later. "Your back had a few more tight places."
I rolled over slowly, feeling far more relaxed than I had earlier. She set her hands onto my back, finding the last few knots, and her hands were little slices of heaven.
"I want to ask you something. Imagine three years from now, you are the only thing standing between a demon and your sister. Will you have wanted me to train you as hard as you could take?"
I sighed. "Yes."
"Aura may very well face that situation. You will not, but you could easily find yourself between a demon and one of your sisters here. You and I could be facing more demons than I can handle alone."
"Then we run."
"What if one of us is hurt too much to run? What if we are partnered with your students, and one of them is too hurt to run? Can you not imagine such a scenario?"
"I thought you didn't intend me to ever be a warrior."
"I don't. I will do everything in my power to keep you from becoming a warrior, Maya, but I still must train you. If nothing else, you must not be the weak link that your sisters must protect. They must know they can rely on you. Do you understand?"
I sighed. "Yes."
"We do not do these things to be cruel or capricious."
I thought I probably already knew that and had no response.
"Do you understand?"
"I always understood," I replied.
"Do you forgive?"
"Are you going to whip me tomorrow, too?"
"Only when you run slowly."
"And are you going to apologize tomorrow night?"
She laughed lightly. "Yes."
"And the night after that?"
"Yes."
"And next week?"
"Yes."
"Next month?"
"And next year, and the year after that, if your body still aches after training."
"And does your body also ache?"
"Yes," she said. "But not the way my soul does."
I drew quiet.
"I would very much enjoy if you did this for me, Maya. But I do not need this from you. You need it from me. But I need other things from you."
I hesitated before responding. "Malora, I consider your training methods abusive. I do not forgive you for them. But I understand you feel they are necessary. When I hurt, it will be difficult to not be crabby, and it will be difficult to set aside the memory of the training ground. But if you are gentle and soothing to me, I will try."
"And so, when I come with my ointments and strong hands, will you forgive me?"
"Not forgive, but do my best to set it aside."
There was a brief pause before she said, "All right. I enjoy doing this. It helps my soul, but only for someone who appreciates it, someone who wants my soul to heal. I need your kindness, Maya."
I shifted slightly, waving a hand at her. She took my hint and placed one of her hands in mine. I squeezed for a moment, then held her hand. She continued to stroke my back with the other, then withdrew and worked on another knot she had discovered.
"Thank you," she said.
I think I dozed, because the next thing I knew, she was slipping into bed with me.
"Thank you," I told her. "Did I sleep?"
"A few minutes. Feeling better?"
"Yes."
"About us?"
"Yes."
"Will you let me hold you, at least for a while?"
"Yes."
She pulled me into her arms, spooning me, and we slept.
* * * *
My next days followed much like the first. Malora and Nori gave my shoulders a few more days to finish healing, but otherwise they were relentless with their training. I collected more welts, and at night, Malora eased them away.
I learned my other duties; most of them were not difficult, and many were duties I had done for myself for years.
It took Varda and Bea two days to admit defeat. They actually became adept at moving around the village, still bound, although it was clear that sleep had been elusive. Finally they approached Malora after breakfast the morning of the third day.
"Queen Malora," Bea said. "We beg you to release us."
Malora pursed her lips. I set my hand on her arm, and she turned to me.
"This puzzle intrigues me," I admitted.
"You wish to sample it?" she asked, an eyebrow lifted.
"I am not saying that, but I admit puzzles interest me."
"Are you asking permission to solve this one?"
"I can envision several ways to engineer an escape," I said. "I do not know which would work."
She looked back at the two bound companions. "I am not convinced they have settled their dispute. I am not convinced I wish to release them until they have."
"We've agreed we have both been in the wrong," Varda said.
"Each in her own way," Bea added.
"We each blamed the other for originating the dispute."
"And we realized we both played our parts."
"I can't say I like her," Varda admitted.
"And neither can I," Bea agreed.
"But we will give you no more trouble."
Malora turned back to me. "What do you propose?"
"May I ask them questions?"
"Yes."
"I envision four ways to achieve freedom. What have you tried?"
"We can't reach the knots," Bea said. "Any of the knots."
"We tried to hook them in tree branches."
"I tried to reach the knots with my feet."
"What else?" I asked.
"We tried to slip the staff out between us. We pressed against a tree."
"We spent hours at it," Bea added.
"The ropes grew tighter on our wrists," Varda explained.
"That was my first thought," I said. "And I didn't know if it would work. What else?"
"That's it," Varda said. "We tried hooking the ropes, and we tried sliding the ropes off the staff."
"You didn't try to break it?"
"We discussed it but decided it was too strong, and we would only get hurt attempting it."
I turned to Malora.
"They might be right, but Nori and I would have spent hours attempting it."
I stood up and stepped to the two girls, examining the knots. There was evidence they had tried to hook at the ropes, but none they had attempted to fray them.
"They didn't attempt my trick," I said.
"What trick?"
"Rubbing the ropes against a sharp object. I used a sharp edge of a boulder. Nori stopped me and punished me for it, or I would have gotten free.
"
The two of them looked chagrined. "We should have tried that first."
"I suggested it," Bea said.
"You did, but we agreed to my idea first, and then you didn't bring it up again."
"I should have."
"Well," said Malora. "You have two methods to try. Do you want to try them, or do you want me to untie you?"
"I would like to try," Bea said.
"I would be happy to be freed," Varda said. "But will let Bea decide."
Bea looked at Malora then over her shoulder at Varda, then once more to Malora. "Will you untie us, Queen Malora?"
She smiled, stood up, and spent a minute or two untying them enough they were free of each other. "You two can help each other with the rest," she said. "Then you may wish to clean up."
They were both beyond ripe.
"I'll take care of the staff and ropes," I said. "I want to organize the shed anyway."
Malora smiled. "Training begins in ten minutes. Sit with me."
So we sat back down and she slid my tea towards me.
"You like puzzles?"
"Yes."
"So this would not have been punishment for you?"
"Was it meant as punishment, or was it meant to enforce cooperation between them."
"A bit of both. There are other puzzles as well."
"I will be frustrated if the solution is based on things I don't know."
"I will keep that in mind." We finished our tea, and I cleaned our things, then we proceeded to the training ground.
* * * *
I'd been there a week when they introduced me to a bow. I had never used one before, and I was poor at it, but at least I received no "incentives" to try harder. We also began practicing with wooden swords.
As best I could, I made my peace with Malora and her methods and, to a lesser extent, Nori, although I didn't return to serving her, at least not then.
Malora gave me a horse, and I learned to ride, and I learned to care for my horse and Malora's.
The next morning, I learned a new style of fighting: wrestling.
I knew I was going to hate it as much as the rest of the training. Well, I didn't hate the bow, but I was sure I was never going to be good at it. I knew I was going to hate wrestling.
Nori collected the warriors, but she sent all the companions with Malora, and we assembled on the other side of the storage shed. Malora urged us to sit in a half-circle "Omie and Vorine, I need you for demonstrations, and then you may stay here or join the warriors."
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