by Robin Roseau
Omie was waiting for me. "Do you know what you're doing?"
"No," I whispered. "She's good. She's really good. This is the right thing to do, but if I lose, Malora will skin me alive, regardless of what Maya says about it."
"Then don't lose."
Omie took the staff and handed me two swords. I unlimbered with them and then took my place, facing Tenda.
"Thank you, Tenda. My apologies for the delay."
"Thank you, Chief Beria," she replied. She smiled. "This will be a good match."
We split the next two points, so it was three-two, but then Tenda got the next two points as she got into the rhythm of fighting against my two swords. I knew I was outclassed. Oh, it wasn't by a lot. She was marginally better with her one sword than I was with two, but it was by just enough. I was going to lose. Malora was going to have my ass on a platter.
But on the next point, Tenda left an opening. Oh, it was small. It was really small. She did it twice, and both times she did it in a fashion that only Malora and I would see it. And I absolutely know she missed a swing that should have connected. When she gave me the opening a third time, I took it.
"Point to Beria."
"One moment. Tenda, something is loose." I stepped forward, pretending to check something on her shoulder, but then I whispered to her, "What are you doing?"
"Jalad has to lose, and it's not going to be me doing it."
"You're better than I am."
"With swords. How many Amazons would have put the staff away? You had this fight. We had a good match, Beria. Now win this so you can go kick that bitch's ass."
I stepped away.
It is easy to become depressed about humanity. It is easy to see the bad things that people do. It is easy to see the men who abuse Jasmine. It is easy to see the Jalad's in the world.
But then there are people like Tenda and Haldara.
I didn't know if she would tell anyone else what she had done. Malora knew. I knew.
She made me work for the last point. I wanted to win honestly, but when she had bypassed two opportunities to finish the fight, I took her offer.
"Point and match to Beria. Good match, both of you."
Then Malora pulled us both into a hug. "I am so proud of you both."
* * * *
Haldara and Senai both won their rounds, and we were now down to four opponents.
My afternoon opponent was to be Senai. Jalad and Haldara would be fighting. I hadn't been watching Senai at all, and I pulled Nori aside before lunch, admitting my ignorance.
"I never would have expected her to make it this far. Should I be worried?"
"No." She paused. "I shouldn't tell you this."
"Oh?"
"Maya has been giving Senai easy fights."
"Why?"
"So you could be the one to finish her off."
"Senai wasn't even there, Nori."
"Maya is an expert at carrying a grudge. She'll forgive almost anything, but she doesn't forgive when someone hurts you or anyone else important to her. You can bet she'll be watching this fight from the very front. And she wants to see Senai utterly humiliated."
"I don't do that," I said. "Senai isn't my favorite person, but I'm not going to humiliate her."
"I know."
"What weapon should I use?"
"It won't matter. You'll beat her regardless. I'd go in with two swords, because that's your best combination. The closest she'll have trained against that are two separate opponents."
It wasn't the same. Even if they were both really good, it just wasn't the same.
"You should know, Tenda threw the match with me."
"I'm not surprised. She doesn't want to face either Jalad or Haldara. But you threw it with her when you switched to swords."
"I wasn't sure if I could win. She's flat out better than I am. She is the best swordswoman I have faced since you and Malora."
"She's probably better than my best, and Beria, if she's better than you, then she's probably better than Malora's best. But if it were important, I'd have used staff against her. And I wouldn't have switched today. Malora wasn't amused, but she admitted to me it was a fabulous show of good play."
"I shouldn't have switched."
"No, but it worked out."
"I wanted to know, and at least in one way, it was the right thing to do. The only reason I'm even here is because it's important to Malora for some reason."
She sighed. "It is, and you've now screwed up three times. Are you going to do it any more?"
"No. I'll beat Senai. And then I suppose I'll have another fight with either Jalad or Haldara. I can't take either of them casually."
"No, you can't. If you fight Haldara, don't get hurt and make sure you win. If you fight Jalad, be prepared for her to fight dirty. She's going to try to cripple you. She wants payback."
"What a bitch. I gave her a few bruises, and she wants to cripple me? She's a pitiful excuse for an Amazon. Have you been talking to Haldara?"
"No, but I will before her fight. I don't know if I have much to tell her. She knows what she's doing."
* * * *
I beat Senai easily. She was better than I expected, but as Nori had indicated, she wasn't used to two swords wielded well.
Jalad beat Haldara, although Haldara gave her some good bruises. I talked to Haldara afterwards.
"It's all right. If I'd beaten her, you and I would have had to fight again."
"Yeah, but if you'd beaten her, then I wouldn't have to fight her twice more."
"Make sure it's twice more and not once more," Haldara said.
I nodded.
We got a two-hour break before my match with Jalad. If she won, she was the grand winner of the tournament, undefeated. If I won, we'd have our final fight in the morning.
During our two-hour break, Maya found me and send me to the kitchen, "To check on Joelle." When I arrived, Vorine and Gaylie were guarding the kitchen. Aren and Joelle were nowhere to be seen, and Malora and Nori were waiting for me.
"So much secrecy," I said. "Are you going to yell at me about Tenda?"
"No," she said. "I wasn't happy about it at the time, but it worked out. Tenda is owed a pretty big favor."
"Jalad would have beaten her to a pulp, and she wouldn't want to fight Haldara, either."
"Beria, I want to be absolutely sure you understand. You will beat that woman. You will beat her five-zero if you can. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Queen Malora."
"What weapon are you going to use?"
"Swords. I kicked the shit out of her in the first fight with swords. I'm not worried."
"Don't you dare go in there complacent. If she cripples you, I will declare her forfeit and then call a council to decide her punishment, but she probably won't take what she's owed for it."
"You won't just decide?"
"I won't be able to make an objective decision. But it won't matter. She'll cripple you if she can, and you must not allow that."
"Right. Five-zero, don't get hurt. Expect her to fight dirty."
"That means she might 'not hear' when I call a halt."
"I understand, Queen Malora."
"Anything else, Nori?"
"She's going to be swinging hard, Beria, and I doubt she'll pull any strikes."
"I've got this. She's not as good as she thinks."
* * * *
And she wasn't, but she was still good.
She smiled when we stepped into the ring. She was probably remembering she'd won the first bout. She may not remember how much time I spent bruising her. I wasn't going to worry about that. I was going straight for the win.
Malora gave us her typical talk. "I did not like the nature of the match the last time you two met, and I better not see any of that behavior this time."
"Of course not, Queen Malora," I said.
Jalad muttered something. I didn't much care what it was.
Malora called the start and Jalad came after me, her staff swinging
. I deflected twice, and about five seconds into the fight, I scored my first point. I deflected her staff then stepped past her, both swords slapping firmly against her arm and twice more across her back.
She spun around, her staff reaching out for me, but I was waiting for it and was outside range before the staff would have reached me.
"Hold!" Malora yelled. "Jalad, did you have any doubt in the quality of those strikes?"
"You hadn't called hold, and you are the referee," Jalad countered. I didn't like her tone, and I didn't like the lack of a "Queen Malora" on the end of that sentence.
I was going to enjoy beating her.
"Ready, fight," Malora called.
I didn't wait. I reached right through Jalad's arms, right below her staff, and punched her firmly with the tip of my sword, right in the center of her chest. I then brought the second sword down in an arc and would have slammed it in the same spot, but Malora called "Hold" and I froze with the tip of my right hand sword stopped an inch from Jalad's chest.
She shoved me away with her staff. I backed away, watching her.
"Point to Beria. Two to nothing. Fight."
This time, Jalad came after me. I deflected a flurry of swings, backing away towards the whipping post. I scraped my right hand sword along her arm, but it was just a scratch, and Malora didn't call it.
Then Jalad made a swing right for my knee. I manage to deflect it lower, and her staff slammed into my leg at something approaching full strength. I went down, and Malora screamed, "Hold!"
Jalad wasn't going to stop, either. She'd already lifted her staff for another swing, but Malora was there standing between us. "Back off!" she yelled.
Jalad stepped back slowly. A moment later, Nori was there.
"I'm fine," I said.
Nori leaned close to my ear. "That was too close, Beria."
"I know."
She checked my leg anyway. I bit back a complaint. She pressed her hands against the leg.
"It could be cracked, Beria."
"It's not. I got my weight off of it and absorbed some of the energy. That's why I went down. Help me up. I'll walk it off."
She pulled me to my feet then steadied me as I limped around a minute.
Malora turned to Jalad. "If she is unable to finish this match, I will declare you forfeit. This is not a challenge match! This is your last warning. One more strike at a joint, and you are disqualified and will face whatever other disciplinary measures I can envision." Then she looked pointedly to the whipping post. "Do I make myself clear."
"You're getting weak in your old age, Malora," Jalad said. It wasn't said loudly, and I wasn't sure if everyone else heard it, but Nori and I certainly did. "Look, your pet warrior is fine."
Nori caught my eye. "Have you figured it out yet, Beria? Have you figured out why you have to win?"
"I'm not going to let that bitch win. Why hasn't Malora done something about her in the past?"
"She kept her head down."
I took a breath then began bouncing on both legs. My right hurt, it hurt quite a bit, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. It wasn't broken, and that's all that mattered.
Nori cleared the circle and I took my position. "I am ready, Queen Malora," I said.
"I'm done messing around," Jalad said.
"Fight," said Malora tersely.
I beat the crap out of Jalad. I put three swords across her shoulder with as much force as I could. If I'd used a staff, I'd have broken her collar. For the next point, it was a long slice across her neck, and I left a serious mark. Malora didn't say a word. For the last one, I slipped past her staff then punched her twice in the back before raking both swords across the small of her back.
Match to Beria.
Jalad glared at Malora, but I moved in front of the queen, and I saw Omie on the side. She was holding both my swords. My real swords. They were sheathed, but she had them if I needed them. Every warrior from Queen's Town was there, and they were subtle about it, but they each had real steel near at hand.
Jalad stormed off. Malora stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Good job, Beria. Do it again tomorrow, but maybe avoid a second strike to your leg."
I turned around and hugged her.
Last Day
My leg looked horrible. As soon as Lia saw it, she was running from the hut, screaming for Malora. Two minutes later, Malora, Maya and Nori all crowded into the hut. Aren took the girls for a walk, and Nori knelt down to look at the leg.
"It's fine," I said. "It's just a bruise. I'm walking fine."
"It's going to hurt tonight. You aren't going to sleep well."
"I'll survive." I smiled. "Jalad has more bruises like this than I have. Haldara and I both made sure of it." I smiled. "Is there a party tomorrow? I hope Haldara and Tenda don't leave."
"They won't," Queen Malora said. "They're getting awards."
"Lilith?"
"No award, but she said she'd stay until it's over."
"Good."
"Nori, how is the leg?"
Nori poked at my leg and I winced. "Stop that!"
"It seems to be tender," she said. She turned to Lia. "She might sleep poorly. You need to stay with her. Keep the voices away. If she wants to go for a walk, go with her. She might be unsteady. Keep her on safe ground."
"Do you want the girls in here tonight?" Maya asked. "I bet we can find somewhere else for them."
They all turned to me.
"Yes," I said.
"I'll make sure they know to be careful," she said. "No roughhousing."
"They're good girls."
"Then why was Joelle on kitchen duty this afternoon?"
"Um."
Maya laughed. "I see everything, Beria. Have you really forgotten? Did Jalad hit you in the head? Or maybe the ass?"
"Yeah, yeah," I said. "My leg is fine."
"It's not fine," Nori said. "It will heal. It's going to look worse tomorrow. Lia, as long as she can walk without trouble, don't freak out too much, but I'll be checking it."
"I should disqualify her for this," Malora said. "Beria, are you absolutely sure you can beat her tomorrow?"
"Yes, Queen Malora."
"I would rather see you beat her," Malora said. "Nori?"
"Trust Beria," she said. "But if she's limping tomorrow-"
"I can beat her with a limp," I said.
"No!" said Malora. "If she's limping tomorrow, that's it."
I sighed. I was pretty sure I was going to be limping in the morning, but I'd walk it off.
After that, they all cleared out, and a few minutes later, Aren returned with the girls. They were subdued.
"Mother," asked Joelle, "Are you all right?"
"My leg hurts," I said, "but I'm fine. Did you want to see?"
She nodded, so I stuck out her leg where she could see the bruise. She knelt down and stared at it then looked up at me. "Don't let her hit you again."
I chuckled. "That is excellent advice, and I will do my absolute best to follow it."
* * * *
Nori had been right. I slept poorly. I felt bad, as I kept walking Lia, but she told me, "I can handle one bad night. You worry about you. What can I do?"
"Just let me hold you," I said.
"I love you so much, Beria," she said. We snuggled together, and I tried to sleep.
Still, I woke early and a little worn out. Lia was a little ragged, too, but together we stirred. Aren opened her eyes and told us, "I've got the girls." Then she nudged Omie.
We got outside. I took three steps and Lia said, "You're limping!"
"She's fine," Omie said. "Keep it down. She's just stiff."
I flashed Omie a look of gratitude.
We cleaned up then Lia served both of us for breakfast. The three of us sat together, eating slowly.
"Did you want hot tea?" Lia asked.
"No, this water is fine."
"Maybe a hot breakfast is better."
"Please don't fuss," I said.
"What weapons today?" Omie asked.
"Swords," I said. "Steel."
Omie chuckled. "I wish."
We finished breakfast about when Nori showed up. "Lia, is she limping?"
"She was," Lia said. "Nori?"
"I'm fine," I said. "Please stop worrying."
"I wish it was Haldara instead," Lia said.
"So do I," I said. "I'm fine. Nori, I'm not sure it's a good idea for Malora to be in the ring today."
"I know, but she has to be. We're all watching, and Malora isn't that old."
I nodded. "How much time do we have?"
"Two hours."
"We're a bit early. Whatever shall we do?" I looked at Lia. "Ever done it in a kitchen?"
"We're not doing it in the kitchen!"
"Aren and I have," Omie said.
"I didn't need to know that," Nori complained.
"She likes to use the cooking tools," Omie added. "We wash them later."
Nori gave a look that was priceless, and I began laughing.
"You know what I haven't done in a while?"
"What's that?" Lia asked.
"Gone fishing in the river here."
"I don't want you on those rocks," Nori said.
"Oh please," I said. "I'm fine."
"I don't care. Do not make me wake Malora up to make it an order."
"I'd have to wake Malora up to get a fishing rod from my sister, anyway," I said. "Fine. What do you recommend? Perhaps you want me to put my feet up and take up knitting."
"We could go see all the skins I'm going to win when my warrior beats Jalad two hours from now," Lia said. "Mar said a few other chiefs joined the wager."
Nori snickered.
"What?" Lia asked.
"A few other chiefs? It was about thirty chiefs."
"There are a hundred and fifty deer skins in that room?"
"And sixty rabbit skins, but remember, the chiefs who wagered on the second and third place winners will get some of the skins."
"So Jalad's chief is going to win a bunch of my skins?" Lia said.
Nori smiled. "Jalad's chief isn't here, and no one took the time to let anyone else know the village could let someone else wager on her."
"So who gets those skins?"
"It goes based on who wagered, so Haldara and Senai."
"Senai?" Lia said. "From the village where-"
"Yes," said Nori, "but do you think Maya would have let Senai get this far if anyone had wagered on her?" She grinned. "I believe it is a tie between Lilith and Tenda."