Amazon Chief

by Robin Roseau

  Maya whispered to Malora. Malora whispered to Nori. Nori whispered to Rora. And the four of them said together, "Of course we'll help. Please get up."

  I moved to them, and we all hugged. I'd been doing a lot of that.

  "Please stay as long as you can," I said.

  "We will," Malora said. "Ralla and Jasmine will arrange our land for us, right next to theirs, and we'll build a home in the spring."

  "We'll talk more then."

  "Of course."

  I stepped away and wiped away the tears.

  "Tenda, Lilith, and Haldara. Are you here?"

  They all stood up.

  "I suspect you are anxious to return to your homes. Are you able to linger a day or so?" They were, and so I could talk to them tomorrow.

  I looked around. "At this point, I intend to follow the fine example Queen Malora has presented. I expect no drastic changes beyond the heartbreaking departure of those we love. Questions?"

  Bea stood up. "Is Maya going to play her fiddle?"

  "I certainly hope so."

  She did.

  * * * *

  I met with Tenda, Haldara and Lilith the next morning.

  "I need to know your plans. First, none of you are currently village chiefs. Which of you has that aspiration?"

  They shrugged. "If you need us, we'll serve," Tenda said, receiving nods from the rest. "But I wasn't planning on asking." The other two agreed.

  "Queen's Town is in need of a head trainer," I said. "Which of you wants it?"

  "Don't look at me," said Haldara. "I'd be terrible. Point me at the demons, Queen Beria."

  "Queen Beria, I'm already talking to Ralla about the patrol coordinator," Lilith said. "I can help teach wrestling, but I'm the wrong one to teach weapons."

  I turned to Tenda and smiled.

  "I can't teach staff, and I can't teach how to defend against it."

  "Vorine and Omie can do that, and I am here to help. You are the best with a sword I have ever faced. Will you teach us?"

  "Yes," she said.

  "Thank you. Coordinate with Nori. I'll want you to move here as soon as you can, but housing is probably an issue for a while. I should warn you. You'll be the training leader and a trusted advisor, but Omie is my second in command."

  "Of course," Tenda said. "She's a good choice."

  * * * *

  I lay in Lia's arms that night, exhausted. "So much to do."

  "You'll figure it out." She kissed me. "I love you, Beria."

  "And I love you, Lia."

  Part Five

  Epilogue

  I served as the queen of the Amazons for twenty years, almost to the day.

  * * * *

  I turned to the winner of the tournament. "Congratulations, Annalise! I am so proud of you."

  "Thank you, Queen Beria," she said loudly. I was still 'Mother' in private, but in public, she tended to use my title.

  I was so proud of both of them. Annalise had turned into an excellent warrior, and Joelle was a good warrior, but she was the thinker. They'd been co-chiefs at Lake Juna for the last seven years, and they both had companions who loved them well.

  I scanned the crowd. Omie was there, and Lia. Lia looked at me nervously, but Omie looked as proud as I was.

  The others? Give me a moment and I'll tell you.

  I turned to my daughter, smiled at her, then looked out over the crowd again. "Annalise and I will have one more event for you. She doesn't know about it yet, so now I have to clue her in." I drew her to the back of the ring and turned her to face me.

  "If you think you are going to dump that damned job on me the way Queen Malora jammed it down your throat, you are insane. I will not fight you, Mother."

  I laughed. "It's time, my dear. I've been training you for years."

  "And who else did you train?"

  "Your sister, who will become your closest advisor. And a few of your step-sisters." Malora and Maya had been sending us Amazons for years.

  "Joelle is a better choice."

  "Joelle is a good second in command."

  "I knew I should have thrown my last three fights. I'm not doing this, Mother. Furthermore, if you make me, I won't release you from service. You foolishly let Queen Malora and Maya leave, but I'm not that stupid."

  "Hey! That's your queen you're talking to."

  "I remember what happened. I was only ten, but I remember. That horrible woman challenged you."

  "No one here is going to challenge you," I said. "I learned that lesson. Maybe it's wrong, but I haven't let problems fester."

  "I presume Mama knows?"

  "Of course she does. And so do about half the people here, the ones who were here twenty years ago. Come on now. Try not to beat me up too badly."

  "I'm not doing this!"

  "Honey, I'm tired."

  "Do not try that line on me. You're barely fifty. Malora was older."

  "Yeah, but she was Malora, and she was the first to say she waited too long."

  "Mother, I am not challenging you."

  "You know you're going to, so get your negotiating over."

  "You stay on for two years."

  I thought about it. "I'll stay until autumn and if you want us back in the spring, we'll come back for next summer."

  She sighed. "You're going to Gallen's Cove, aren't you?"

  I nodded. "Right next door to my sister."

  "Who are you taking with you?"

  "You can guess, but you'll have your sister and Narsana and all your friends still here."

  "Not all. You're going to take Omie, and Bea left two years ago. Give me something, Mother."

  "How about a hug and the fight of your life?"

  "I should use Haldara's two hander."

  I sighed.

  "I wouldn't suppose we can wrestle." She grinned.

  "I'll be using a staff," I said. "And you're going to have bruises."

  "Big talk for an old lady," she said.

  "Try not to break me, honey. Your Mama and I are so proud of you."

  * * * *

  We turned our horses up the lane. Over the last twenty years, it had become familiar. We hadn't gotten very far when the dogs noticed us and set up a racket, but they were too well behaved to harass the horses. Then there were children of every age appearing from multiple directions.

  One of them took up the cry. "Mama! Mother! It's Queen Beria and Lia. Mama! Mother!"

  I helped Lia to the ground, then climbed from my horse. Omie and Aren settled to the ground beside us. Four of the children stepped forward. I couldn't remember their names. It frustrated me.

  "We'll take your horses," one of them said.

  "Be careful of the bay in back," Aren said. "She bites when she's tired."

  The kids pulled our horses away with promises to bring our things in once Mama decided where we were staying.

  The house door opened, and a familiar sight stepped forward. She screamed my name, and then turned her nose back into the house. "Malora! Get your old ass out here! You wouldn't believe who is finally here."

  Maya hurried down the steps and threw her arms around me. "Oh Beria, I've missed you!"

  A minute later, an elderly woman with grey hair, walking with light assistance from a cane, stepped from the house.

  "Well," she said, "look who finally showed up. We expected you weeks ago."

  She worked her way down the stairs, and I pulled her into a tight hug, then stepped away. "That cane looks familiar."

  "A gift from the village," Maya explained. "They saved it for me after Juna died. Can you believe it?"

  "How are you doing, Queen Malora?" I asked.

  "Damn it. I told that child to drop the entire 'Queen' thing. She damned well better have saddled you with it for the rest of your life, too."

  Lia grinned. "She sure did. She wasn't going to, but I threatened her with dire consequences."

  I looked around. "Where's Nori?"

  "Oh, she and Rora are off on some project," Malora com
plained. "The woman is a hundred years old and refuses to slow down. She'll be here by dinner."

  "She's not a hundred," Maya said. "But sometimes she complains like it."

  "You know," said Omie, "A woman could get a complex. Where's my hug?"

  Loose Ends

  It was several years ago that Maya began to pester me, both in letters and when we'd see each other. She showed me the stories she had written, or at least the first two. She says she may have more someday.

  "Beria," she said. "Your story is even bigger. You have to tell it."

  "I couldn't," I said. "Not like this."

  "Sure you could."

  I put her off for two years, but then I begged her and Malora to visit. She wrote back and said, "We'll come in the spring on one condition: you promise you have a story to show me." And so I had promised.

  They arrived in the spring, as early as they could, and I loved them for it. Malora spent hours greeting everyone, but Maya took me aside and said, "Show me, or we're leaving in the morning."

  "Maya-"

  "You promised, Beria. You have never in your life broken a promise to me."

  "Hey!" I complained. "I used to say that about you."

  "Then I promise if you don't show me, we're leaving tomorrow."

  I sighed and let her see what I had written. She read everything, tsk-tsking from time to time. Hey, she was the schoolteacher, not me. Finally, hours later, she finished, and she frowned.

  "I told you I couldn't do it."

  "And I told you that you could. But honey, you started in the wrong spot. You need to start at the beginning."

  "I did. Well, I started where you left off."

  "But that's not the beginning for you. You need to start at the beginning for you."

  "That's back in Gallen's Cove," I said. "The beginning is the day Nori took you away."

  She smiled. "Then that is where you should begin."

  "But you already wrote about that."

  "Yes, but you'll tell it differently, and what was important for me to tell may not be as important for you."

  I paused. "I don't want to write about all of it." She and I both knew what that meant. "I still carry the scars."

  "Then don't," she said. "But Omie is a big part of your life, and you need to let people see that. When you come this summer, show me what you have."

  * * * *

  I know you're wondering. What happened during those two decades? Well, that tale is for another day. There were adventures, and Maya and Malora had a few as well.

  You're also wondering what happened to everyone else. You're not the only one. Maya finished reading the story last night and tsk-tsked at me. "What happened to everyone? What happened to Bea?"

  "You know what happened with Bea," I said, "she-"

  But Maya put her fingers over my lips. "Don't tell me." She tapped the paper. "What happened with Bea and Vorine? Did Annalise become Haldara's companion?"

  "You know who-" but she covered my mouth again and tapped the paper.

  "But that's another two hundred pages, and my hand hurts."

  She smiled. "You need to tie up the loose ends. Don't leave them hanging like this."

  "Yes, Maya."

  So, I should start with Bea, but for that, I'll have to back up a long way, to when I'd been queen less than two years.

  * * * *

  I opened the chest. I had no idea who it was from, but it had been shipped to me via Howard's End.

  Nestled inside was a note to me, and below that, a brown bear skin. I stared at it, then opened the note.

  Dearest Queen Beria,

  I regret to inform you that the love of my life passed away three weeks ago. At your coronation, Ralla was ill, and we knew it was our last trip. She wanted to see everyone one more time. She was very proud of you.

  Ralla always intended these skins to be yours, but I will tell you, they really helped this past winter. Ralla and I talked about it, and we agreed they should be yours. I hope they will keep you and Lia as warm as they kept Ralla and me.

  With all my love,

  Jasmine

  * * * *

  About two years later, Bea began asking to take trips. Sometimes she went to see Malora and Maya. Other times she wouldn't say where she was going, but she would be gone for two or three weeks. When she got back, she sighed a lot.

  Then she worked double and even triple patrols in between, and whenever she felt she'd caught up on her obligation, she'd ask for permission to be gone again.

  We missed her terribly while she was gone, especially as she took Joelle with her.

  This went on for nearly two years. But then one day when she was due back, there was a knock at the door of the hut.

  "Come in," I called.

  Bea stepped in, and I screeched in joy. "Come here, you!"

  "Queen Beria," she said. "I know my trips have been difficult for you. I have a request."

  "No!" I said. "You can't retire. Bea!"

  She smiled. "Who wants to retire?" She stepped further in, and I saw she was holding hands with someone. I assumed it was Joelle, and I wondered if they'd been going away so her Mama and I wouldn't know the relationship had turned romantic.

  But then she pulled Jasmine into my hut.

  "Queen Beria, I know I have a companion, and I don't want to give her up. I love her. But I love Jasmine. And she loves me."

  "Queen Beria," Jasmine said, "If you'll let me be with Bea, I would like to return to the Amazons. I grieved Ralla for two years, but she made me promise to live a full life. I'll always love her and remember her, but she would have wanted this. Malora and Maya agree and have blessed this, but you are queen."

  "My daughter knows about this?"

  "It's not like I could hide it from her," Bea said.

  "Joelle, get your ass in here!"

  She stepped in. "Hello, Mother."

  "Do not 'Hello, Mother' me. Are you willing to share your warrior?"

  "Please, Mother. They're in love, and Jasmine is teaching me things Bea can't. I won't be a companion forever. Bea will need someone then."

  I smiled. "Jasmine, welcome home. Joelle, as far as I am concerned, they are now both your warriors, whether Jasmine is a warrior or not. She has a lot to teach you."

  "Yes, Mother," she said.

  I turned to the wall of my hut. Ralla's bearskin hung on the wall, filling the entire space. We used it only on the absolute coldest of nights. Mine was on the bed. I stepped to the wall and took the skin from the wall. I walked to Jasmine and pressed it into her hands. "I think Ralla would like knowing her skin was keeping the two of you warm."

  Bea and Jasmine stayed with us in Queen's Town until just three years ago. They're now back at the inn south of Gallen's Cove. Lia and I see them every day.

  Bea still giggles when she wrestles. She even convinces Maya to wrestle from time to time. Malora is long retired from wrestling, well, outside her bedroom with Maya, anyway.

  * * * *

  The day Annalise turned thirteen, Haldara showed up in Queen's Town. She'd been finding reasons to pop in, and it was always good to see her. But she arrived for Annalise's birthday, and she brought a present.

  We had a bonfire, of course, and then after, Haldara asked to speak with Lia and me. We retreated to our hut, and Lia said, "Haldara, I'm sorry, but no."

  Haldara looked crestfallen. "I'd treat her well, Lia. I'd train her well, too."

  "I know you would, but I can't stand for her to be so far away."

  I smiled. "You two play nice, I'll be back."

  I stepped out of the hut and headed to Gaylie's hut. I knocked. "Gaylie, can you and your companion meet me in Lidi's hut?"

  "Yes, Queen Beria."

  At Lidi's hut, I knocked and waited for permission to enter. Lidi was surprised to see me. Gaylie arrived a moment later with her companion. The two of them had been handling the head of our local patrol between them, but I had several problems to solve.

  "Black Oak needs a vil
lage chief," I said. "So does Lake Yara. I do not care for the choices at either location. Both chiefs have been begging me since I became queen for permission to retire, and I have been putting them off. Neither of you are under any obligation, but do either of you wish to be a village chief? If not, I'll keep looking."

  "Chief Lidi. That sounds okay to me."

  "I don't want to lose either of you. You are loved here. But you'll never be chief here unless you challenge me-"

  "Never!" snapped Gaylie.

  I smiled.

  "You can stay here. Or head to one or the other village. But I sort of would like an answer from at least one of you tonight."

  "I'll go," Lidi said. "I like it here, but I have friends at Black Oak, too."

  "I'll take Lake Yara, then, if you're offering both positions," Gaylie said.

  "I am. Thank you. Your duties here will transition to Haldara."

  "Haldara?" Gaylie began laughing. "Lia told her 'no', did she?"

  "Yep."

  "Then I don't mind making room. I'm glad Annalise can stay here with you and her sister."

  "Thank you." I hugged them both.

  I returned to my hut with Annalise in tow. The temperature in the room was cold, but Haldara hadn't left.

  "Haldara, Queen's Town needs a head of our patrol. Do you want the job?"

  She immediately began to grin.

  "Lia, I'll be good to her," Haldara said. "I'll need help training her, but we have that here."

  "Annalise," Lia said, "Do you want to be Haldara's companion."

  "Yes!" she said. She ran and hugged her mother, then her other mother, then Haldara. "I'll be the best companion you've ever had."

  "You can start tonight," I said. "Where did my companion put you up, Haldara?"

  "Tent," Haldara said.

  "We can make room here," I said.

  "A tent is better," Haldara said. "Until there's a hut available."

  "Annalise, you begin immediately. We'll do a ceremony in a day or so. Congratulations."

  Twenty minutes later, Lia and I were alone in bed.

  "Put your hands away, Queen Beria," she said. "You and I have to talk."

  "What?"

  "What did you do with Lidi and Gaylie?"

  "You mean Chief Lidi of Black Oak and Chief Gaylie of Lake Yara?"