Amazon Companion

by Roseau, Robin

  * * * *

  Nori went on patrol the following week. I was frantically working to clear my debt, but managed to finish the mending for Ralla and got caught up on the mending I owed Karena. I was also collecting a tidy supply of rabbit skins, and Malora assured me I was preparing them properly.

  Ralla joined me for two of the trips to check my snares the days Nori was gone. I saddled her horse and not my own, then climbed up to ride in front of her.

  "Companions ride in back," she said.

  I smiled. "Wherever you want me," I said. "Or I can bring my own horse."

  "No," she said. "And perhaps this is better." She climbed behind me, and I pulled her arms around me.

  "Don't let me fall."

  She laughed.

  We had a nice time.

  * * * *

  I continued to hate training, but in every other way, I was fitting in. I began playing the borrowed fiddle around the campfire, and some of the women danced to the jigs I played.

  Malora was ruthless during training, but gentle, very gentle, at all other times. She thanked me for every little thing I did for her, as did everyone else. Serra even thanked me for my help in the kitchens, even though I was only doing my duty.

  Nori came home from her patrol, and the next night was a night for a bonfire. Story time arrived, and she stood up.

  "I have a story, and tomorrow a new competition. The story is brief. The day of our last competition, I applied a firm foot lock on one of you, and you broke the hold."

  The women murmured at each other, then Lidi said, "I do not recall you wrestling that day, Nori."

  "You were not present when I wrestled," she said.

  "It was not a proper foot lock if someone broke it," Lidi said. "Or you allowed her to escape."

  "It was a proper foot lock, and I most certainly did not release her willingly."

  They all began talking at once, everyone wondering who had done it. Finally Benala stood. "Are you going to tell us?"

  "I will narrow it down. It was one of the companions."

  "No!" Benala said. "That is not possible." She turned to Omie.

  "It wasn't me," she said. "I apply submission holds, but I'm not any better at escaping them than most of you."

  "It wasn't me, either," Vorine added.

  "Then who?" Benala asked.

  "Stand up," Malora whispered into my ear.

  Slowly I stood. No one noticed, and they continued to argue about it. I took two steps forward and waited.

  "Were you there?" Benala asked. "Did you see who wrestled with Nori?"

  "I was there," I said. "There was a wrestling hold of some sort, but I could not talk about the quality of the hold."

  "It was one of my best," Nori said. "The companion did not recognize what I was doing, and she made little effort to escape. I held her for-" She turned to me. "How long did I hold the companion's foot?"

  "A minute, perhaps," I replied.

  "Whose?" Benala demanded.

  I smiled. "Mine."

  There was an uproar.

  Malora stood. "I was there," she said. "I was sure my companion was to regret allowing herself to be caught. My companion broke the hold. I did not see how."

  "Allowed herself to be caught?" Benala said, almost a yell. "Allowed? I can catch her right now."

  "Allowed," I said. "I believe I taunted Nori, actually."

  "We wrestled," Nori said. "Eventually, I tapped out."

  There was another uproar.

  Malora held her hand, and they quieted.

  "Who doubts this story?" Malora asked.

  Every hand went up.

  Nori spoke. "I explain all this because I would not want anyone to claim a sucker's bet," Nori said. "Tomorrow afternoon, training is at the pools. There is to be a competition. All of you against Maya."

  "One at a time!" I said.

  They laughed.

  "Every one of you raised your hand, so tomorrow, come with wagers. I will back any wager Maya can not pay."

  "No," Malora said. "She is my companion. I will back the wagers."

  Nori bowed briefly to her.

  After that I sat down. Malora joined me a moment later and wrapped her arms around me. I kissed her hand and leaned against her.

  * * * *

  Morning training was light. I complained quietly to Malora. She raised an eyebrow.

  "Everyone knows she's going easy on me so I'll be fresh later. I don't need to be coddled."

  "You need to win. She put her reputation on the line for this."

  "One or two may swim better than I do, and I got lucky escaping her foot lock. If someone uses a different hold, I can lose. If she expects me to beat everyone, that's too much pressure on me. I'm going to lose a few."

  Malora didn't respond to that. "I'll make sure she understands that."

  "Will you compete?"

  "No."

  I smiled. "Chicken."

  "Wrestle with me here and now, and I'll wrestle in the water with you later."

  "No, thank you," I told her.

  * * * *

  The afternoon session came, and we collected at the pools. People were eyeing me carefully. Nori collected everyone closely and then said, "Maya gets a short break between matches. You are wagering individually. It is not all or nothing."

  "We are wrestling in the water?" Aura asked.

  "Yes."

  "Is it deep?"

  "Yes."

  "I can't swim."

  "If you ask," I told her. "I will teach you at least enough you won't drown. Although not today."

  "Who else is a poor swimmer?" Malora asked. Four hands went up. "Nori, do you think this is something we should resolve?"

  "Perhaps one afternoon training session a week should be down here," she said. "But your companion needs a proper workout to build stamina." She turned to me. "Suggestions?"

  I gestured to the rapid water of the flowing river. "Ten minutes in that and you'll have to fish me out." I paused. "I won't do it unless you really are prepared to fish me out."

  She smiled. "All right. And maybe we can come up with other games to play."

  I nodded.

  "She's going to swim out there?" Lidi asked. "That's insane."

  It was pretty fast water for swimming.

  "I can last longer out there than you can in a wrestling match against my warrior," I said.

  That earned laughter.

  "How do we wrestle in the water?" Neela asked. "How are we supposed to pin someone?"

  "Submission holds or..." she turned to me.

  "Being held underwater for a count of fifty. You can always tap out if it's too long for you. Note that it does not count if you are swimming around underwater."

  Omie was smiling. "I am allowed to use submission holds on a new companion, Queen Malora?"

  "Yes, Omie. Do not break her."

  "I wouldn't think of it," she said.

  "If this goes on a long time, I may need an opportunity to warm up every few matches," I said. "Otherwise I won't need much delay between them."

  "Cocky," said Benala. "I am a fine swimmer." She smiled at me. "You need hides?"

  "You may arrange wagers with my warrior," I said. "I will accept whatever she decides, but I want all wagers made before the first match."

  I began to slip out of my clothes. Everyone else clustered with Malora, and I ignored them, diving into the pool instead, I moved out to the middle and began floating. The water felt good.

  I lost track of time, bobbing in the water, but then I heard Nori's voice. "Maya!"

  I straightened. "I'm sorry. My ears were under water."

  "Aura is your first match."

  "All right," I said. "One second." I swam to a shallower section. "You can stand here, Aura."

  She climbed slowly into the water, wading towards me, then stopping a few feet away. She looked at me.

  "You're not going to drown me, are you?"

  "I can't let this take too long," I said. "I won't dro
wn you. Tap out if you get scared."

  She nodded, coming closer. Then she launched herself at me suddenly, perhaps hoping to clutch me and force me under. I caught her about the middle, turned, and bore her down, pushing away from the shallower area. She struggled, but as soon as she lost her feet, she got scared. I spun her around, tossed an arm over her, and then began towing her into deeper water.

  She squirmed around, but she had no leverage, and it didn't occur to her how easily she could escape my arm.

  "I can't swim," she said.

  "I know. I have you."

  "Are you going to hold me under?"

  "I'm going to dunk you. Ready?"

  She did what every poor swimmer does. She took a huge breath, pushing out her cheeks, and plugged her nose with one hand. I pushed her under, holding her for about five seconds, before pulling her back up. She came up sputtering.

  I let her catch her breath.

  "To be honest," I whispered, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with you. I don't want to make you afraid of the water."

  "Is it deep here?"

  "Very," I said. "Fifteen feet or so."

  "If you let go, I'll drown."

  "I won't let anything happen to you. How long do you think you can hold your breath?"

  "I don't know. Fifteen seconds?"

  "Let's try ten. Take a big breath now." I waited until I heard her breathe in, and then I dunked her. She began struggling immediately, but I held her down for a count of ten before pulling her back to the surface

  She panted, and it had only been ten seconds.

  "When we wrestled, I didn't give up," I told her. "And you're a better Amazon than I am. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

  "I couldn't even get free."

  "It's time to end this. You can tap out, but otherwise I'll hold you down until Nori calls it. Hold your breath now." She clutched her nose, and I pushed her down. She lasted about twenty seconds before she began tapping frantically at my arm. I pulled her back, and she was still tapping when she surfaced.

  "No more," she said. "Please, Maya. I don't know how to swim."

  I turned us around and began towing her to shore.

  "Tap out to Maya," Nori announced. "Omie is next."

  "Let me drop off the non-swimmer first," I said. I towed Aura all the way to waiting hands, which plucked her out of the water. She turned to Gaylie and clutched at her.

  I swam out towards the middle of the pool. "Ready."

  Omie didn't wait. She dived in, and it was a good dive, but she came to the surface immediately, and I could see she was, at best, an adequate swimmer.

  "Stop a distance away, Omie," I said.

  She came to a stop about ten feet from me, treading water, burning energy. I relaxed in the water, conserving my energy.

  "I presume you intend a submission hold?"

  "Of course."

  "Will it hurt?"

  "Yes. That is why someone submits. I promised to use only the ones that hurt, not the ones that maim. You wouldn't know how to avoid damage. You may surrender from the pain or I may hold you under."

  "That's what I wanted to know. This isn't worth crippling me. Are you confident you have enough choices?"

  "Of course."

  "Very well," I said. "Come and get me."

  The moment she began moving towards me, I splashed water into her eyes, knowing she would close them, and then I slipped under the water. I found her legs thrashing madly around, and I knew I could easily tire her out. I tugged her under then swam away, surfacing a ways away.

  She spun to face me, swimming madly, inefficiently after me. I swam her in circles, letting her tire herself out.

  "Stop and fight!" she snarled.

  "You fight your way. I fight mine."

  But I let her get closer, and when she was slightly outside lunging distance, I splashed in her face again. She was ready this time and shielded her eyes, then lowered her hand, not expecting the second splash. I caught her straight in the eyes then ducked under her, swam behind her, then came up silently behind her, shoving her down with hands on her shoulders, then further down with my feet, pushing myself away from her before she could react. In case she tried to come after me before surfacing, I swam away, keeping at least a half breath of air at all times, but she came up where she went down, sputtering.

  I moved closer while she was still sputtering, before she had fully recovered, and I pushed her under again. She tried to grab me, but I squirmed away, avoiding her fingers. She came up sputtering again. I immediately ducked under myself, dropping deep, then grabbed her legs and pulled. She came down into the water, and I climbed up her body, pushing away as I pushed her deep, then I waited, watching to be sure she was okay.

  She struggled, but then she came back to the surface, and I swam away a little, surfacing at the same time, watching her. She coughed out water and turned to face me.

  "Stay and fight," she said, but she was panting at me.

  "I would, but I don't know what moves you can do, Omie."

  "Stay and find out."

  "I'm right here," I said. "Catch me."

  "This isn't wrestling! Stay and fight."

  I smiled. "In a fight, are there no times you retreat to maintain the best ground?"

  She began swimming after me, and I let her swim around a little. Her inefficient swimming was tiring her out, although I thought it would take far longer than I wanted if I hoped to win through her exhaustion.

  I splashed her, and she buried her face in the water to watch me, but instead of ducking under, I launched myself at her, pressing down on her head, and began climbing on top of her. It may have been a mistake, but she hadn't taken a large breath, and I thought I could handle whatever she did longer than she could stay under water.

  I climbed all the way over her back, pushing her down with my legs, and when she tried to surface, I wrapped my legs around her, directly under her arms, and my arms around her neck, and I held her under, my own weight too much for her to break the surface.

  She grabbed me, of course, but her first attempt required her to have leverage she didn't have.

  Fifteen heartbeats had elapsed.

  She took a different hold, grabbing one of my feet and twisting, but all that happened is we thrashed around in the water.

  Twenty heartbeats.

  Then she found something that hurt, and she began applying pressure.

  Twenty-five.

  I gasped from the pain.

  Thirty.

  She tightened her hold, and it was excruciating.

  Thirty-five.

  That was a long time to be down without air, and she hadn't been prepared. I was impressed she wasn't in a panic.

  She pulsed her grip, each pulse hurting, and I screamed into the water.

  But I didn't release her, and then she released the pressure on my foot and was tapping.

  I pulled her to the surface, rolled her onto her back as she gasped, sputtering, and held her there, both of us breathing hard.

  "Didn't it hurt?" she asked.

  "It hurt a great deal," I replied. "But you promised not to damage me. You were against a time limit. Good match?"

  "Yeah," she said. "Good match."

  "Need a tow to shore?"

  "No, but thank you."

  I released her, and she paddled slowly to shore.

  "Do you need a break, Maya?" Nori called.

  "Who is next?"

  "Bea."

  "Bea, can you swim?"

  "Yes."

  "Any time, I'll wait here." I floated gently, my arms away from my sides, but I watched Bea. She dived in, making a splash, and as she approached, I could see she swam at least as well as Nori. But with Bea, I wasn't worried about any fancy holds.

  I watched her approach, and she tried my own trick, splashing water at me and ducking under. I put my face in the water, and she appeared out of the murk, heading for my feet. I pulled them up, scissored my feet into the air, and dived down into the water, st
raight for Bea, but she didn't see me, and I latched onto her back, wrapping legs around her middle and grabbing her arms, pulling them above her head and backwards.

  She began looking around frantically and tried to pull her arms from my grasp, but I latched my legs tightly and held on. We bobbed to the surface from our own buoyancy, and I took a breath of air.

  I held onto her like that, waiting for Nori to call time, ignoring Bea's fingers snapping in the air.

  "She's tapping out!" Nori yelled. "She's tapping out, Maya!"

  I pulled her to the surface and held her steady while she sucked in air.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't recognize you were tapping out. Nori had to tell me."

  "It's okay," she said. "Poor match. I'm sorry."

  "You weren't expecting that."

  "No, not at all. You can really swim."

  She turned to face me. "You should know that Omie is coaching her sister, and Benala is listening intently."

  "What did I win from you?"

  "Kitchen duty, but the better hunters are offering skins."

  I smiled. "I guess everyone knows what I need."

  "Varda is also suckering the companions into wagers for how long they think they can last against you. I lost."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It's okay," she said. "The wager is for two minutes. It starts from first contact of any sort. Use that however you want."

  "Anyone you think is a threat?"

  "Ralla is being very quiet and I think the wager she made is small. That's either because she doesn't think she can win or because she doesn't want to take too much from you when she wins. And Karena is insanely confident, but she always is."

  "Thanks, Bea."

  "Are you two done out there?" Nori yelled. "I have your next match waiting, Maya."

  Bea began swimming in, and Nori said, "Ree is up. She claims to be a poor swimmer."

  "How poor?" I asked.

  "Poor enough I won't swim way out there," Ree called to me.

  I began moving closer to shore, but something about the way Nori said it made me leery. I stopped ten strokes in the deep water. Ree climbed into the water delicately and waded out until the water was to her chest. She stopped and waited for me.

  "Nori, what is the rule if they don't come after me?"

  "You can't stay out there all night," Nori replied, earning chuckles.

  "So the big strong Amazon warrior is going to stand there and wait out the scared little school teacher?" I asked.