Amazon Chief

by Robin Roseau

  She bent over the front of the horse and gave her neck a pat. "What is his name?"

  "Her name is Blossom."

  The girl laughed. "That is a funny name for a warhorse."

  "She is not so much a warhorse. She came to me with this name, and I believe it had something to do with her enjoyment of eating flower blossoms." I turned to Maya. "I am sorely tempted to let her spend time in Loren's garden."

  Maya looked at me with shock for a moment then began laughing. "And then Loren would be forced to dye your horse, and you with it."

  "I will make sure Malora is not available to tell me to do what I am told," I replied. "Do you believe Loren can beat me on the training grounds?"

  "No," Maya said with a smirk. "Beria, please tell me you're kidding."

  "I might be kidding," I said. "We shall see."

  "Who is Loren and why would you let your horse in her garden?"

  "That, Joelle, is a long story," I said, "but perhaps we shall make Maya tell you sometime."

  "I believe, Little Sister," Maya said, "that you are not in a position to make me do anything."

  "Would you rather tell the story yourself or have me do it?" I asked.

  "Badra, did I ever tell you what Beria was like as a baby? She had this habit-"

  "Maya!"

  She grinned at me. "For every Maya story, I have five Beria stories. Just remember that."

  Oh, I missed my sister.

  Communication

  By the time we returned to Lia's house, our sleeping arrangements had been settled. Zora's back was up, and her lips were tight, but she didn't say a word and was tersely polite with all of us. Lia collected the supplies from us, directing her daughters, then she and Tamma disappeared into the kitchen after settling us in the sitting room, volunteering Zora to entertain us.

  "We missed some fun," Badra said to me. "Who do you suppose intimidated her this time?"

  "Nori is looking pleased with herself. I bet Zora did something stupid."

  "No, look. It wasn't Nori; it was Rora. Zora is shooting daggers at her."

  "Rora is from Howard's Den," I pointed out. "She has little patience for anyone who doesn't show us respect." I studied the situation and wondered whether someone should talk some sense into Zora. I found an excuse to climb back to my feet, then sat down next to Malora, bumping her over slightly to make room on the sofa.

  There wasn't really room, and I was sure all the Amazons knew I'd done it to catch a word with our queen. I whispered into her ear, "Are we going to let Zora simmer and possibly do something stupid?"

  "I am trying to not be forced to notice," Malora whispered back. "Rora and Nori are angry."

  "And if Maya gets involved, that's almost the same as you doing it. That leaves me," I said.

  "So it does," she said. She offered a smile, which I returned before climbing from the sofa, leaving more room for the remaining occupants. I turned to Zora.

  "You have a beautiful home," I stated. It wasn't much of a complement, as I didn't believe she'd had anything to do with it being a home of any sort at all.

  "Thank you," the woman said. "It was my husband's parents' home, but we have been the stewards for years now, and then when Warina died so tragically, we inherited it."

  I stepped closer to her. She tried to move away, but I put an arm around her good-naturedly. "I would like to speak with you," I said. "Everyone here wishes an opportunity to gossip about me. Queen Malora wishes to ask Ralla and Nori how I have been doing with my latest duties, and of course, Maya will have an opinion. So let us give them some privacy to talk about me, and you can tell me more about White Pine." I led her from the room. "Would you like to take a walk about the village, or perhaps there is somewhere else we can talk."

  "I have nothing to say to you."

  "Well," I said more quietly, "I have things to say to you. You can be gracious and make it look like you are answering my ignorant questions, or I can haul you outside the way you're dressed and shout at you in front of your neighbors. I would prefer the first choice."

  "This way," she said instantly. "My husband has an office."

  I let her lead me to a room on the other side of the house, and she closed the door then crossed her arms to look at me.

  "What do you want?"

  "Zora," I said, "your husband and your sister-in-law have had a great loss. The companion of one of my most steadfast warriors suffered the same loss. The Queen of the Amazons traveled four days through the winter to offer her respects, and we will travel another four days to return. Our blood is no thicker than yours. Our cloaks are no warmer. The winter air chills us the same way it chills you. We do not relish winter travel, but we do it because it is necessary."

  "We didn't invite you."

  "Lia did," I said.

  "This is not her home. It belongs to me and my husband."

  "A fact I am sure you have made abundantly clear to her. Your sister-in-law lives in a one-room hut only slightly larger than the room across the entry from here. But of course, she spends a third or more of her nights sleeping on the hard ground in a tent too small to stand up. She trains to fight every day, and I know for a fact her body is currently carrying bruises from that training. She is dressed in the best clothes she has, clothes she made herself from skins she and her warrior hunted together. While we appear rather dashing in our leather clothing, it is not as fine as what you wear, and I dare say not as soft. She arrived on the doorstep of her childhood home, distraught over the loss of her mother, cold, and sore from days of travel, and instead of receiving a warm, welcoming hug from you, she received a cold shoulder and the knowledge you would gladly have left her in the street. What is wrong with you?"

  "What is wrong with me?" She repeated my question, but it was said with sadness, not venom. "Lia and Tamma hate me. They think I am not good enough for their brother. It's bad enough having one of them here, but both of them?"

  "Well, from your behavior so far, I'd say they're right. If I had been in your position, I would have taken every step necessary to prove they were wrong instead of doing what I could to prove them right."

  "You have no right to speak to me this way," she said. "You come in here like you own the place, spreading mud and dirt throughout my home-"

  "I noticed the entrance was quite clean when we returned with provisions for tonight's meal," I said. "Did you clean it while we were gone?"

  "It is Lia's responsibility," Zora said.

  "So, let me guess. She arrived home, and you immediately ordered her to do it. And then Tamma said, 'no, it is our responsibility', and the companions took care of it."

  She didn't answer.

  "Well?"

  "Which ones are the companions?"

  "You know your sister-in-law. Maya was with me. That leaves Rora, the one you were glaring at the most, and Jasmine. Jasmine is slender, a little older than me, with short hair."

  "Ah, short, grey hair. Yes, she said it was her responsibility, and she began cleaning the floors."

  I stared at her then began screaming, "You let the QUEEN of the Amazons lower herself to her knees and scrub your floors? That woman is the most revered woman amongst us and she is like a second mother to me. She is a second mother to many of us. And you had her on her knees scrubbing your floors? What is wrong with you?"

  "I didn't know she was a queen," Zora said. "And I didn't order her to do it."

  "You didn't notice us all calling her, 'Queen Malora'? You didn't pay attention to the introductions? You didn't notice the grey hair? You were introduced to a queen, and you didn't pay attention to which one you should offer the most respect? What is wrong with you?"

  The woman got her back up. "You Amazons are all alike. Just like Tamma. You come in here, acting like you own the place, acting like we all owe you. Oh, look at us, we're big, ferocious Amazons, and if you don't give us what we demand, we'll kill you and take what we want. Just like you took Tamma when she was twelve, tying her hands and dragging her from her mot
her, then turning her into one of you."

  "Are you insane?" I yelled. "She asked to go. ASKED! And Lia wanted to go, too, from the story I was told, but your mother-in-law begged for one of them to stay. As for what we're owed, you have no idea. I personally carry the voices of nine demons in my head. Queen Malora and Nori both carry at least three times that many. My voices were quiet -- my sister sees to that whenever I am around her. But stress wakes them up, and right now they are all talking to me. Do you want to know what they are saying?"

  I didn't wait for her to respond.

  "One of them keeps telling me how much fun it would be to see your guts spill out on the floor. Another one is fond of fire and would like to see this house burn down. Several more are talking about other unspeakable acts I don't care to repeat. I have two telling me my sister secretly hates me, and the first demon I killed keeps trying to tell me my father is not my father and discusses at great length how I was conceived. The companions of my village -- your sister-in-law included -- quiet the voices for me every night before I climb into bed, but the only nights I get more than four hours of peace are the nights I visit my sister's village, and she holds me in her arms while the Amazon Queen holds my sister from her other side."

  Zora's eyes grew wide.

  "You're going to kill me?"

  "Don't be ridiculous," I said. "Maya, and probably your sister-in-law, too, will pull me aside when I get done screaming at you, and they will put the voices back to sleep. And it's not like I'd listen to them, anyway. They're demons. They lie."

  "Nine? You've killed nine demons?"

  "I've helped kill far more than nine, but I've taken nine voices, yes. My point is simple. We give up everything. I gave up my lover when I became a warrior, because warriors cannot share those touches with each other. I was twenty-two and deeply in love. Your sister-in-law is deeply in love with Badra and hopes to never become a warrior, but you know what? She probably will, as much as we try to prevent it, she probably will. And what do we ask you to give up? A warm place for a night or two. A little disruption to your lives, for which we would trade friendship and stories, if you care to hear them. And you can't be gracious?"

  She just blinked at me.

  "You have the queen of the Amazons in that room," I said, pointing. With effort, I lowered my voice. "What an opportunity you have squandered. Now, here is what is going to happen. You are going to go in there, and you are going to apologize for your ignorant, rude behavior. You may consider bending to your knees when you do it, but I understand that may be more than you can handle. You are going to go find Lia and Tamma and apologize for the way you have treated them. You are going to tell Tamma you miss your mother-in-law, even if you don't, and say something nice about the woman. It wouldn't hurt if you can tell Tamma a happy story about her mother, maybe about a time she said something nice about her Amazon daughter. And for the next day and a half, you are going to be the most outgoing, gracious host you can become. You are going to suck down your pride at having been wrong, and you are going to prove that maybe, in time, you might actually be a worthy sister-in-law."

  She didn't answer.

  "I don't particularly care what you think about the Amazons," I added quietly. "But your sister-in-laws lost their mother. I don't know what kind of relationship you had with the woman, but they lost their mother, and you damned well are going to be gracious and kind to them. It's two days. You can be gracious and kind for two days, and then we will be gone and you can say all the rude things about us anyone may care to hear."

  I didn't wait for her response, but if she was rude again, I was going to invite her out to the village green for an hour of training. I stormed past her, leaving the door ajar. By the time I reached the other room, Maya and Jasmine were both waiting for me, and they pulled me into their arms, soothing the voices.

  I took a breath and looked past them to Malora. "I think I may have a future as a diplomat."

  There were several chuckles, and Rora grinned at me. But from the doorway I heard Zora say, "Sometimes, diplomats must be blunt. She was right. I was unforgivably rude. I am sorry. Now I am going to go eat a little crow and tell my sister-in-laws that I miss their mother, too. If you will excuse me."

  No one said anything for a moment. The voices were after me, and I pulled Maya's face against my neck. But she lifted her lips to my ear and said, "Honey, demons lie. You are way, way too much like me to be anything but my sister."

  "I know," I said to her.

  Under her touch and Jasmine's, the voices stilled. I sighed and thanked them both. Then I looked at Malora. "You scrubbed her floor?"

  "We didn't actually let her," Jasmine said.

  "I thought to shame her," Malora said. "She didn't even notice. Is my bearing not sufficiently regal?" She turned to Nori. "Do I not carry myself like a queen?"

  She broke the tension. I thanked Maya and Jasmine again, the voices stilled, and then when Maya sat, I sat on the floor at her feet and pulled them into my lap.

  "Oh," Maya said after a moment. "Oh, yes, my adoring subjects. Yes, Beria, right there. Nori, I have another foot if you wanted one."

  "She's got my feet," Rora said. "Sorry, Maya."

  "I should get back to the kitchen," Jasmine said, "if you're okay now, Chief Beria."

  "I am, Jasmine. Thank you."

  * * * *

  Browbeating the mill owners was fun. Maya and Rora double-teamed them, and they didn't see it coming.

  Afterwards during the ride back into the village, Maya laughed. "It's not like I've never been here before. They shouldn't be that surprised to see me."

  "It's an act," Rora said. "They're trying to make you feel like you're being unreasonable. They already knew we were in town and were expecting us."

  "I didn't know I was supposed to ask for the wood to be dried."

  "I've told you in the past," she said. "The first batch, for those first two huts, had only been dried a week. They probably took whatever they had most recently cut and loaded it on a cart for you. But if they continue to send us insufficiently dried lumber, we'll be back, and now they know I have a pretty good idea of what they could really afford to send us. They don't want me coming back."

  "Rora," said Malora, "Did you really get us enough material for a new hut at Lake Juna plus another entire village?"

  "If they actually deliver, yes," she said. "But you weren't paying enough attention."

  Malora narrowed her eyes. "What did I miss?"

  "You didn't see the decommissioned saw at the second mill."

  "Decommissioned saw? Rora, I told you 'no'. And you know why, as well."

  "It's a small saw, Queen Malora. They were looking for a way to get rid of it. I'll have to build a water mill, but they're sending what I need. The saw is in good condition, although I'll need to tune and sharpen it, but I'd have to do that anyway, even with a new saw."

  "Rora, I told you 'no'."

  "But- I need it. I've always been dependent on someone else for my materials. Now I live in the middle of a vast forest, with lumber standing around waiting for me to make use of it. I see a tree and think of the things I can make."

  "Rora," Queen Malora said simply. "I told you 'no'."

  "But-"

  Then Nori whispered to her.

  Rora hung her head. "I'm sorry. If I may have a small escort, I'll go tell them we can't use it after all."

  I didn't know what the big deal was. If Rora could make our own lumber, and we were getting the saw for free, I didn't understand the problem.

  "Thank you," Malora replied.

  "I'll take you, Rora," I said. I wanted to ask her what was going on.

  Rora turned to Nori, who nodded. She and I turned our horses around, heading back to the second mill we had visited. As soon as we were outside hearing distance of the main group, I asked her, "Why doesn't Queen Malora want you to have the saw?"

  Rora turned her head away from me, not answering right away.

  "What?" I said. "Is the
re some big secret I don't know?"

  Rora turned back to me. "I asked for the mill publicly during one of our bonfires. I had a complete presentation. I laid out all my reasons. And she said, 'no'. I tried to argue with her, and then I pressed for an explanation."

  "What did she do to you?"

  "She told me to see her the next day following afternoon training. When I got there, she, Nori and Maya were there. They told me why she had said 'no'. But she wasn't willing to give her reason to the entire village, and so I do not believe I am supposed to share it with anyone. I'm not even sure I should have said as much as I did. I would rather you didn't ask anyone else about it."

  "Was it a safety issue?"

  "Beria, please don't ask."

  I hated secrets, but I decided I had enough of my own puzzles to solve; I didn't need to pursue others.

  "All right. If my curiosity gets the better of me, I'll tickle my sister until she tells me."

  We arrived back at the house in time to prepare to head for dinner. We got warm baths, which I enjoyed immensely, and the clothes we'd laundered the previous evening were dry, so we had clean clothes to wear. While I was bathing, one of the companions cleaned my boots; I didn't see whom, and when I asked, none of them confessed, so I offered a generic "thank you" for the favor. I suspected it was Maya, but she wouldn't admit to it, and it could have been any of them.

  As a group, we walked to the inn, Maya carrying her fiddle case. Zora and Arden did not choose to join us, but we had Lia and her daughters, and later I would meet Tamma's sister, Challi.

  The inn was already busy by the time we arrived, with villagers standing around, gossiping loudly. The room stilled as we entered, and everyone turned to look at us. Some of the villagers were smiling, but there were a few expressions that seemed unfriendly.