"It would be a bubble," she replied. "The form would change based on my mood. It may be a cage in the corner of my larger bubble, so that I could watch you, or it could be a bubble next to mine, and I would open a door between them when I wished to do so." She paused. "I will offer more if you want, but again, you asked me to be concise."
"I would accept more," I told her.
"Well then, the nature of your cage would depend upon whether you were seeking to please me. If you were seeking to vex me, your cage could be quite unpleasant. If you were seeking to please me, then I would in turn offer you a cage filled with choices for your pleasures: a soft bed, warming foods, and distractions of your choice."
"Books?"
"If you pleased me, yes, I could provide books."
"I have no books here," I said.
She trilled. "Then I could have offered you things your Amazon queen does not. It may be that your mind could form bubbles, but you cannot form a new bubble from within another bubble, and your body would not survive in the soup."
"I could adjust your bubble?"
"If I allowed it, but of course, I would not. And it would be dangerous. You do not know how to form bubbles, and you could burst mine. I would not die, but you would." She paused while I let that thought settle. "Next question?"
"When we fought, did I hurt you, even a little?"
"You gave me small bruises, readily healed. None of you humans are strong enough to cause real damage with your small sticks. Your swords can sting. That is four. One more."
"I believe you expect far more than daily conversation with me. What is it you want over time?"
She trilled. "Oh, another excellent question. I want you, Maya. I want you to love me. I want you to worship me. I will come for you again, and you will return with me. That is what I want. It is inevitable." She trilled again, and I felt pleasure. "I want you, Maya, and you will grow to want me. You will grow to crave my touch." And I felt her stroking me, and I knew exactly what she meant. "And now, tell me of your day."
"In a moment," I said. She had disorientated me with her answer, but now I knew her game. The question to ask myself later was simple: could I beat her?
I took a breath. "I will start the telling with when we spoke yesterday. Can you see where I am?"
"No."
"I am beside a river near the village," I said. "The river is fast here, but there are pools where fish may reside. Do you know about fish and rivers?"
"Yes. If you say something I do not understand, I will ask for clarification, and you will answer."
"We are from different worlds, and such an explanations may be difficult. I will do my best, but I will not spend a day explaining. But then I hold you to the same agreement."
"Oh, yes," she said. "Go on."
"This is where I have been the other days we talked, and I believe this is where I will be most days when I call for you. I have my tools for catching fish, but yesterday I did not feel like fishing after we talked, so I sat for a while before returning to my queen. I served her breakfast, and we ate together. Then we had morning training. We fought with staves, although I wanted to fight with swords."
She trilled a laugh. "I can imagine why. You wish to fight better the next time we meet."
"Few would believe you have anything to fear from me," I told her. "I fought you with staff because I am so poor with a sword, which you will understand shortly. My trainer told me if I wanted to fight with swords in the afternoon, I first must impress her each morning with wrestling or staffs or bow."
"And did you?"
"I did yesterday. I have not in the past been fond of training, and I believe the Amazons were pleased mostly by my willingness to fully engage in my lessons. I did better than I ever have, but still, I lost nearly every bout. Losing nearly every bout is an improvement for me."
"My poor little school teacher. It is embarrassing to lose to girls so young."
"Yes," I said. "I am perhaps a laughingstock, at least to some."
"You are not to me," she said. "You have a beautiful mind." She trilled, and I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Why are you not talking?"
"It takes a moment after you do that," I told her.
She trilled again, and again. "That?"
"Yes. If you wish the rest of the story, you must stop that, or I cannot continue, and our time ends."
"Go on then."
"There was lunch, and then afternoon training," I explained. "We fought with swords." Then I spoke at length about the training. "But in the end, I fought poorly, very poorly. I scored no strikes, coming close only once. My trainer was gentle at first, but as I fought poorly, she struck me. And again. And again. Five times she struck me."
"I would not strike you for fighting poorly," she said. "I would strike you only if you did not worship me. And even then, I have other punishments if you misbehave."
"After we fought with swords, I was required to run."
"Amazons like to run," she said. "So do demons. Demons run faster than Amazons do, almost as fast as your horses. Sometimes I like to come visit and only race."
"Race?"
"I let the Amazons chase me, or sometimes I travel around the home of the Amazons and find someone else to chase."
"Have you been doing that since we met?"
"Oh no. You have my full attention, Maya. What did you do after running?"
I told her, briefly, about the rest of the day. "Finally, it was time for bed. And that was my day."
"Oh no," she said. "You have not told me what you did in bed."
"We agreed that my time with my warrior was not your time. I will stretch that to tell you about training and meals, but I will not tell you of our most private times."
"You will give me at least a taste of a telling," she replied. "I will not ask for details."
"We cuddled, and we made love, and I did not think of you while we did so."
"Was it difficult to think only of her."
"Not with what she was doing to me."
And the demon laughed. I would have expected a harsh, grating laugh, but her laughter was music.
"Well, we have each kept our promise for the day," she said. "Tomorrow you will summon me, and we will play by my rules."
"Yes," I said. "It will not always be the same time."
"The time does not matter. Time in my world and time in yours are not the same. When you call, I will be ready, but I will know how long you have made me wait. Call me when you will be alone."
"There will be days I will not be able to be alone."
"Then we may come to another agreement for those days, but only if you tell me in advance or summon me while you are not alone, and then I may talk to you while you are not alone or I may agree to another arrangement."
"Such as?"
"Summon twice the next day, or perhaps permission to see through your eyes."
"All right. We have talked. Be gone now."
And she left me, leaving with a trill in my mind. It took a long time for the memory of the trill to fade.
* * * *
After that, I spent the next two weeks wondering what I was going to do. Malora grew accustomed to my morning departures from her. She knew I was troubled, but she chalked it up to memories of my near-kidnapping at a demon's hands.
Lathana meted out her rewards for my good behavior. She offered pleasure to me when I called her, "thanking me" she called it, and I grew to look forward to her touch. I found myself excited to call her, knowing what she would do to me. During our talks, if I particularly amused her or did something she ordered, she gave me more pleasure, and I found myself responding more and more quickly to her requests and demands.
At first, I wasn't worried about that, but then she began telling me things she wanted me to do when we were apart. They were innocuous. She asked me to take my hair out of the braid, which I did, and she stroked me deliciously for doing so. After that, she told me she wanted me to wear my hair down when I call
ed for her, and she gave me extra pleasures when I complied.
I didn't know why she cared how I wore my hair; she couldn't see it, after all.
But her requests began to intrude more completely into my life. When she understood I organized the storage shed on the training grounds, she told me I must organize it differently. I held out for three days, and she withheld her pleasure for three days. When I asked her about it, she told me, "You have disappointed me. I made a harmless request, and you have not done what I asked."
And so that afternoon, I reorganized the storage shed, and the next day she rewarded me.
I thought that was petty and harmless, but then she began trying to drive a wedge between Malora and me, and that was when I knew I was in trouble. I had told her how I resented the way Malora and Nori had taken me, so she ordered me to stop serving Nori and to complain to Malora for my treatment. I refused to do either, and again I received no pleasure from her, but two days later, she made another demand, an innocuous demand, and then she rewarded me when I did it.
I knew I was in trouble. I might win some of the battles, but I knew eventually I would lose the war. I had no idea how to fight back. Time was on her side, as I became increasingly dependent on the things she could do to me.
And she hadn't once threatened punishment. I remembered the pain she had given me, and I had no illusions as to how long I would hold out if she began punishing me for refusing her.
I needed to change the nature of the war.
* * * *
"We're done," Omie said, looking at me. "A bout?"
I nodded, still panting. She called for Nori, who came with her sword, ready to fight, but I held up a hand and drew Nori to the side. "This is going to be a strange request, but do it this way. I want to do something different. For a minute or so, treat me like you have been, like you would any other young companion, but then I want you to use your best skill to finish the bout."
"You're right, that's a strange request."
"And I want you to do it five times. Subsequent rounds can be shorter if you want; your choice."
"You won't learn anything," she said.
"I will for the first part, won't I?"
"Yes."
"And if every day we do this, if I can resist your best, even for a few seconds, we will know I am improving. And I will know what it is like to face the best."
"I am not a demon, Maya."
"Humor me."
She shook her head, but we squared off, and Omie called, "Begin."
I launched myself at Nori. She parried me easily, and we exchanged thrusts and strikes. She parried me easily and pressed me back, but attacking with no more than I could handle, testing me. Then I made a large mistake, leaving myself wide open, and she spanked me solidly with the flat of the sword.
"Point to Nori," Omie called. "Again."
I actually almost got a point on Nori when she grew too casual, and I grinned at her. In exchange, she beat my sword away, then did some twisting motion, and the sword flew from my grip. Too quickly to see, her sword rested against my neck.
"Point to Nori."
I collected my sword, and we did it again. And again. Five points total.
"Once more," I whispered. "Let me keep my sword, but really humiliate me."
"That's ridiculous," she said.
"Do it."
"No."
"I need to see it. Trust me."
"Omie," she said, "this last bout has no referee."
"All right," Omie said.
And Nori launched herself at me. I never saw it coming. She beat aside my blade and slapped my shoulder with her sword. She waited just a moment, allowing me to raise my sword, and she reached out and wrapped the top of my hand. Over and over, her sword slapped against me until finally I slumped. "Enough," I told her.
She handed her sword away, then stepped forward and took mine, handing it to Omie. "What was that?" she asked me.
I hugged her. "That was you doing what I asked. Thank you."
I released her and turned to Omie. "Time to run?"
She nodded, and I didn't wait. I ran.
Later, Malora asked me about it. "I wanted to know," I said. "When I can hold her off, I know I'm improving. Don't fight me on this, Malora. Just be happy I am training and allow me my foibles. Now, I have another foible."
"Oh?"
* * * *
"At the end, she humiliated me," I told Lathana, "beating aside my sword and striking me, over and over, until finally I begged for no more."
"I admit, I would humiliate you if you did not please me. Humiliation is such a powerful tool, when applied carefully. Please go on."
"After that, I was forced to run, and run, and run, until I could run no more. In the past, they would whip me if I lagged, but yesterday I did not lag, and so I was not whipped."
She was silent for a moment, and then she spoke carefully. "If you come to me, I will promise not to whip you. You are far too valuable to treat so."
I finished the story, and soon Lathana was gone for the day.
I smiled, sure she was gone. I told the story in great detail and complete honesty, and she believed what I wanted her to believe. I was mistreated here, badly mistreated, and I was a poor warrior. And I was indeed a poor warrior, but perhaps not as poor as she believed.
Winter
Winter arrived, but winter was not a respite from training.
"Good," said Omie to me. "Watch my chest, not my sword. Again."
I attacked, and we fought, back and forth across the ground, and then I slipped past her guard, my sword running along the upper part of her sword arm.
"Hold!" she yelled, stepping back. She glanced down at my sword, still resting along her arm, her own sword well out of line to attack me. "That would have sliced me to the bone!"
I grinned. "I believe it would."
She stepped forward and hugged me tightly.
"Did you let me do that?"
"I would never," she said. "You earned that. But I admit, I am not the swordsman Nori is, or even Vorine. Still, I am very proud of you!"
I stepped away, and I saw Malora watching me. She nodded, smiling. I grinned at her.
"I think we end on a high note today," Omie said.
"Oh no," I said. "Maybe you and I end on a high note, but I must have my bout with Nori or Malora. It is important to me."
She turned to the two of them, watching us. "She doesn't give up," Omie said. "Who is it today?"
"My turn, I guess," Malora said. "I don't like this part, Maya."
"Tough." And I launched myself at her, almost catching her off guard. She let me fight well for a minute, like they always did, then she slipped past my guard and scored a line across my arm, the same as I had with Omie.
She got her five points, some of them stinging badly, and then I said, "now for real," and she attacked.
I fended off her first two attacks, and she stepped back. "Well done!"
"Shut up, Malora," I said. She narrowed her eyes.
"Very well." She came after me, and she was brutal, beating me badly, over and over, until I begged her to stop. She stopped instantly, then pulled me into her arms. "Why? Every day that we practice with swords, you ask for this. Why?"
"I held you off. Didn't I? Those were real attacks, and I held you off."
"Yes, you did. Why did you try to anger me?"
"You must do this my way, Malora. Please do not fight me on this."
"It doesn't make sense, but you are getting better."
"Could I beat a demon?"
She didn't answer right away then finally said, "If you caught it by surprise or if you had help."
"You mean if you helped, but you can kill one alone."
"You and Omie could kill one together, but Omie has had no luck killing one alone."
"Then I am getting better, but I am not good enough."
"You will never be good enough. Hard work will only take you so far."
"We shall see."
We separated, but she said, "You should take time to prepare for our trip. We are busy this afternoon."
"All right," I said. "After my run." I paused. "Make me run fast, if we will not be running for a few days."
"What do you mean, make you run fast?"
"Incentive."
"No!"
"Make me run fast, or you won't get any affection tonight. Please, Malora."
"Fine, start running, and I will make sure you run fast."
I handed my sword to Bea and began to run. I ran, but then I intentionally lagged, and Malora know it was intentional. She caught me with the whip, and I yelped and sped up. Twice more I slowed, deciding that was enough, and then I ran, ran, ran, until finally Malora ran with me and said, "Enough, Maya."
That night, after Malora and I made love, I kissed her and said, "I wish to take a walk and breathe the night air. I am going to meditate for a time."
"You can meditate here."
"I am contemplating something, and I wish quiet. I may not have it while we are gone. Don't worry. I love you."
I slipped from bed and dressed for the weather, and then I slipped away to the place near the river. I had to be careful, as the rocks were slick with ice. I had a pad, and I set it down, then sat down on the pad.
I called her.
She was surprised. "We already talked today."
"I wanted to hear your voice," I said. "Do you have time to talk to me?"
"Of course. I always have time for you, all the time you could desire." She trilled, and I closed my eyes. Her trills were addictive, and I enjoyed them. She knew it, and she did it often.
"You have never summoned me twice in a day, and I detect you left your warrior's bed to seek me."
"She beat me today."
"She did?"
I told her how Malora beat me with the sword, and then when I ran too slowly, she whipped me. "Can you feel my discomfort?"
"If you give me permission to do so."
"It is not bad. Feel." And I rubbed my bottom. "It hurt more earlier."
"Your warrior is unkind to you," she said. "You work hard to please her, and it is not enough for her. If you worked so hard for me, I would trill in your ears and give you pleasures you can only imagine."
Amazon Companion Page 42