by Robin Roseau
"What about the warriors?" Careen asked.
"These are the duties of companions," Maya said. "We do them cheerfully. It is part of what it means to be a companion."
"Yes, Maya," Careen said after a moment.
"All right," Maya said. "Beria, you will need to report to Serra. Do you remember who she is?"
I nodded and stepped past my sister into the kitchen.
* * * *
That afternoon, we stretched. I was sore from the morning, and I hadn't gotten much of a break, but I didn't complain. Omie helped me with the stretches, and I felt better afterwards. I thanked her. "You're welcome," she replied. "Now we run."
And we ran. I struggled to keep up with my sister, but I did it, although I collapsed to the ground when finally they let me stop. Omie knelt down next to me, barely breathing hard.
"Well done, Beria," she said.
"Don't want to get whipped," I managed to say through my panting. Careen had collected two more cracks with the whip, this time from Nori. I thought Jasmine should have as well, but instead I had heard Ralla urging her to run faster, but she didn't collect her own welts from Nori.
Omie had already been teaching me about wrestling, but I paid attention as she and Vorine explained, asking Aura and Bea to demonstrate. Then Vorine said, "Most times when we wrestle, we wrestle two bouts at a time. But today we're only going to do one bout so you can all watch. Bea, who do you want to wrestle first?"
"Maya, of course," Bea said, standing up and grinning. My sister groaned, but she stood as well.
"Bea, start down," Vorine said.
My sister had never been athletic, and it was very strange to see her settle into position over Bea. It was even stranger to watch the two of them roll around in the grass, neither of them having a clear advantage at first. Then Bea settled over Maya, and I thought it was all over, but Maya surprised me, squirming around madly and keeping at least one shoulder off the ground.
Bea giggled most of the fight, but in the end, it was Maya lying across Bea's chest, and Bea's shoulders pressed into the ground. Vorine slapped the ground. Bea sat up, and then Maya and Bea hugged. I saw Maya whisper something to Bea.
Vorine turned to me. "You are the youngest of the new companions. Who do you wish to wrestle?"
I grinned. "My sister."
Omie chuckled. "Pick someone who hasn't wrestled yet." Then she looked pointedly at Careen.
"Careen then," I said, and Omie nodded to me.
Vorine had me start down, but it didn't stay that way very long. I used one of the tricks Omie had already taught me, and after only a few seconds, I had Careen on her back. I thought she was surprised by it, but I didn't wait. I scrambled on top of her then reached for her leg. Twenty seconds after the bout started, Vorine declared me the winner.
Omie beamed at me. Careen looked upset, but Vorine talked to her quietly for a moment, and then Careen turned to me. "You've had a head start," she said, "but don't get too cocky."
Careen and I took our seats, and then Vorine turned to Jasmine. "Everyone has gone, so you can pick any opponent you want."
She immediately turned to Ralla, her warrior.
"You should pick another companion," Ralla said gently. "Except Beria or Careen, as they just wrestled."
Jasmine spoke quietly to Ralla for a moment, and I heard Ralla say, "You won't win, but if you wrestle with Bea, you'll have fun."
"I don't know Bea," Jasmine said.
"I'd go again," I said.
Jasmine turned to me and smiled. I nodded to her, and she said, "May I wrestle Beria?"
"All right," said Vorine.
I was about to step back into the ring, but Omie pulled me to her. "Don't be so quick with her. I'll explain more later."
I nodded understanding then moved into the ring.
I started down again, and I let Jasmine push me onto my stomach. When she tried to roll me onto my back, though, I struggled with her, and eventually we separated. After that, we traded back and forth a few times, and I even let her roll me onto my back once, but then I kept going, and we rolled together until she was on her back. A moment later, Vorine declared me the winner.
Jasmine and I hugged, and she whispered into my ear, "Thank you."
We wrestled for the entire time. I wrestled at least once with each of the other companions, losing to everyone but Careen and Jasmine. When it was my turn to wrestle with Maya, she smiled at me. "You are going down, little sister."
"Talk, talk, talk," I told her. "That's all you ever did, and I see some things never change."
She beat me fairly easily, but I didn't mind.
I had a blast.
* * * *
"Do you hurt?" Omie asked me that night in our hut. Vorine was talking quietly with Careen as well.
"Yes," I said.
"We have soothing creams," Omie said. "One for the welts on your bottom, and another for your muscles. I will give you a massage if you want." She handed me a little jar. "This is for the welts. Do you need help?"
"No," I said.
"You shouldn't need a lot."
Then she turned her back, although she couldn't have seen much in the dark. I slithered out of my clothing and applied the cream to my bottom. It felt good. Omie told me to wrap in a towel and lie down on the bed, so I did.
The massage felt wonderful, and I fell asleep before she was done, but I woke later, Omie asleep beside me, her arm throw across my back. I slipped from the bed, pulled on my pajamas, and then crawled back in bed. Omie woke and asked if she could hold me. I lay down on my side and squirmed back to her, letting her put her arms around me. We slept, and I didn't wake again until morning.
* * * *
At first, I didn't think I would even be able to lift the staff, but Omie set us to stretching exercises with the staffs, and after a few minutes, I felt pretty good. I collected some fresh bruises, but Omie told me I was learning very well.
That afternoon, we went swimming. I was expecting Omie and Vorine to teach us, but when we arrived at the pools, Maya stepped to the front.
"I am the swimming instructor," she said. She explained about the pools and then forbid any of us from swimming in the open river. Then she turned to me. "Beria, what do you think?"
"Of the river?"
Maya nodded.
I looked out at the water. "It doesn't look too bad."
"If you ever want to try it, either Ralla or I can serve as your lifeguard. No one else. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Maya."
"Beria, this is one rule you do not break. Period."
I looked at the river again. "I wouldn't, Maya. You know that."
"It's not too bad here," Maya said, "But there is a rapids that begins about a half mile downstream." I nodded understanding.
"Careen and Jasmine, I presume you both can swim." They both nodded. "All right. Then we're going to start with laps, and I'll see how you all do."
Careen didn't swim that well. Jasmine was better, but she wasn't as good as I was. Of the other companions, none of them were strong swimmers, although Aura was especially weak. Eventually Maya moved closer to me. "We play games here, too. We don't exclude Aura, but we make sure she has fun. Do you understand?"
"No dunking her?"
She laughed. "No scaring her. If you dunk her, always give her a chance to hold her breath first, and keep it fun."
"I'd rather dunk you," I told her.
"You're always welcome to try. But you should understand, Ralla and I are the dunking champions, and I don't think you'll be competition any time soon."
When the lesson was over, Maya told us we could play. "Ralla, I'm going for a swim."
We'd been swimming, but Ralla seemed to know what Maya meant, as my sister swam out to the end of the pool and into the main part of the river. She immediately began swimming against the current. Ralla continued to swim with Jasmine, but I could tell she kept an eye on Maya.
So did I.
* * * *
T
he next several weeks went much the same. I learned my duties. I learned to run. And I learned to fight.
I loved every minute.
Friends
"Beria?"
I turned around. Walking towards me were Neela, Aura and Bea. It was Neela who had spoken.
"We have rabbit snares," she said. "We check them every afternoon."
"Is that where you go?"
They all nodded.
"They used to be Maya's snares, but she gave them to us, and we added more. Now they're sort of all of ours, and we share the rabbit skins amongst those who go. Would you like to go with us today?"
I grinned. "I'll ask my warrior."
"Actually," said Omie, coming up from behind me, "We're all going today."
"Really?" asked Bea. "Wrestling at Backbend Gulch?"
"Yes," said Omie.
"Woo hoo!" said Bea.
"We'll leave immediately after lunch," Omie said.
"Well," said Bea, "What are we waiting for? Hurry up, companions!"
She wrapped an arm around me and another around Neela, hurrying us towards the kitchens to collect lunch for our warriors. Five minutes later, with everyone seated and eating, Vorine stood up and announced plans.
"Who has dinner duty tonight?" Maya asked immediately.
"I do," said Beria.
"And me," Neela added.
"Do you need them both, Serra?" Maya asked.
"We can make do with one," Serra replied, "if we get one more near the end."
"All right," said Maya. "One of you owes me for a dinner shift and the other owes Serra a pool duty. Neela, pick."
"Dinner," she said immediately.
"I'll adjust the duty roster," Maya said. "Beria, you'll get one of Serra's pool duties."
"I don't understand, Maya," I said.
"You won't get back in time for your dinner shift," Maya explained.
"Doesn't that mean you won't, either?"
"I'm not going. I don't have time for a ride this afternoon. I'll burden the warriors during this afternoon's training."
"No, Maya," said Nori. "You will not. You will go with the companions."
"I don't have time, Nori," Maya said.
"You will make time," Nori said.
"I don't have time," Maya said, drawing out the last word and climbing to her feet from between Nori and Malora, putting a little distance between her and Nori. "You know they'll run late on wrestling, and then I'll have to hurry back to take the dinner duty, and I have my own duties as well."
"Your warrior and I will take dinner duty tonight," Nori said. "You will attend training with the other companions and then assist with the snares."
Everyone had already been quiet, but they grew even quieter when Nori announced she and Queen Malora would be handling the companion's duties for dinner.
"Nori," Maya said, straightening up. "Am I such a burden at training that you would rather send me away even though it requires you to peel potatoes?"
"Maya," Nori said. "It's not like that."
"I don't tell you how to do training," she said. "If you insist I train with the companions, you are the training leader. I would rather stay here and avoid the extra time on a horse. But I don't tell you how to conduct training. Why are you telling me how to manage the companion duties? Have I done such a poor job that you wish to remove this duty from the senior companion? Perhaps you would also like to take responsibility for managing the tithe, and while you're at it, you can write the letters I intended to write this afternoon, begging the western villages to give us what we are owed."
Oh, oh. Maya was angry now.
"Maya," said Queen Malora sharply. But then she reached out and set a hand on Maya's arm.
Maya shrugged off Malora's hand. "Don't 'Maya' me," she said. "She wouldn't have volunteered you for dinner duty if you didn't already know about it."
"You're right," Malora replied. "Nori isn't telling you how to manage the companion duties. I am. And I'm not telling you how to manage the companion duties. I'm telling you to take an afternoon off."
Maya glared at her warrior for a moment, then she spoke tersely. "Yes, Queen Malora." She stressed the middle word.
She was angry.
I wasn't accustomed to seeing Maya angry. Oh, she'd had to yell at kids at school from time to time, and at me once in a while, too, but she hadn't gotten angry, not exactly. She raised her voice to make a point. And yes, like most teenagers, she fought with Mom and Dad a couple of times. But I could count on one hand the number of times I'd really seen her angry.
I suddenly needed a second hand.
She turned her back and turned to the kitchen, collecting a plate of food, and when she sat down, she picked an open place as far from Nori and Malora as she could.
Everyone ate quietly after that, no one looking at Maya.
Did she hate checking the rabbit snares that badly?
Maya finished lunch first. She cleaned up her own plate then leaned between Nori and Malora, bumping both of them, and taking Malora's plate from her. Malora hadn't finished, and she quickly grabbed the last of her food before the plate disappeared.
But neither of them chastised Maya. I didn't even want to think what would happen if I tried that.
Maya didn't touch Nori's plate. Ever since we arrived, she had been serving Nori her meals the same way she served Queen Malora, although she tended to share a plate with her warrior. This was the first meal since we had arrived she hadn't sat next to Queen Malora, usually sitting between her and Nori unless Nori was on patrol.
I didn't know exactly what to do, so I found Omie. She was talking to Vorine. I approached and they both turned to me.
"Beria, do you think you can ready my horse? We'll ride together."
I nodded. She gestured me closer. "And see if you can calm down your sister, but don't push too hard."
"Does she hate wrestling this badly?" I asked.
"No. Well, yes," Omie said. "But she actually enjoys wrestling this way. That was the whole idea. This was Queen Malora's idea. Maya's been working too much and getting snippy with everyone."
I nodded.
"She headed for the stable. We'll give you about five minutes."
I nodded again and turned to the stable. When I arrived, Maya was clearly fuming, muttering to herself while she prepared her horse.
"Hey," I said.
She turned to me. "Ah, they sent an emissary."
"I don't know what that means."
"Diplomat. You're supposed to calm me down."
"Yeah," I said. I stepped over to her and pretended to be checking her horse with her. "What's going on?"
"I don't have time for this!" she said. "Take an afternoon off? It's not like the work isn't going to be waiting for me, so instead of getting the letters written this afternoon, I'll have to do them after dinner. But I had other tasks planned for this evening, so I'll have to do those even later tonight. Which means I will also neglect my warrior. We'll both wake up crabby tomorrow because neither of us is going to sleep well, and tomorrow is going to be shitty too. And at some point in there, Malora and I will have a fight besides, perhaps over dinner in front of everyone else, but more likely tonight in our hut or tomorrow morning when we both are short on sleep. I'm sure you'll hear us. Our fights frequently are at volume."
"You fight with Queen Malora?"
"Of course I fight with her, Beria. She thinks she can tell me what to do."
I almost snickered. Almost. I managed to keep a straight face, but it was an effort, and Maya certainly knew it.
"She's the queen, Maya."
"She's also my girlfriend, and she assured me when I agreed to become her companion that it wasn't another word for 'slave', but some days, I'm not so sure."
Then from behind me the stable door opened, and I presumed it meant the other companions had arrived.
"Beria," I heard Queen Malora say. "Go find Omie's horse. I'm sure it will take you a few minutes to find the right one."
"In other words," Maya interpreted, "Don't come back when you hear screaming."
"There isn't going to be any screaming," the queen said.
"Don't be so sure," Maya said. "Go on, Beria. I guess we're going to have our fight even sooner than I anticipated."
I fled from the stable out into the paddock.
There wasn't any screaming. A few minutes later, I saw Malora and Maya walking away from the stable, Malora's arm over Maya's shoulder. I collected Omie's horse and pulled him into the stable and began to get him ready for our ride. A minute or two later, the other companions arrived, all of them chatting excitedly.
I decided Maya could handle her own fights and focused on my own responsibilities. I finished first and turned to help the other companions, but I kept an eye open for my sister. Omie, Vorine and Ralla arrived first, but I made busy work, and Omie let me alone.
Then the stable door opened again. Maya and Malora entered, Malora's arm still around her companion. I watched as the queen turned Maya to her, and Maya wrapped her arms around her warrior's waist. Malora lifted a hand to Maya's cheek and bent her head.
I'd never seen a tenderer kiss.
I felt someone step to my side, and I recognized my own warrior simply by her size. It had become automatic. I reached over and set my fingers on her neck, but I continued to watch my sister.
I hadn't really thought that hard about it. Yes, I knew they were together, but I hadn't really thought about it. But watching them, there was no question what they meant to each other. I knew they fought; I had just seen the edge of a fight. But I watched them, and when I could see Maya's face, she was smiling, no lingering signs of the fight in her face or her posture.
She was in love. She was clearly in love, and from the way Malora was looking at her, I knew it was mutual.
Then they separated, and Maya turned to us. I immediately looked at Omie, uncomfortable at being caught watching my sister kissing her lover.
"But she's so old," I said.
"Not that old, Beria," Omie said. "You know Benala was my warrior?" I nodded. "Benala said she's never see Malora like this, not since she and Nori-"