The Petal of the Rose

by LJ Maas

  The late season weather had remained unseasonably warm, and so the large outdoor veranda situated off the banquet hall served as our banquet hall. Torches and lamps had been lit, and placed around the perimeter of the area. It caused a bright and cheery effect, pushing back the darkness. Gabrielle insisted on musicians. Not raucous tavern music, but something light. As she put it, background music. She was right, as I was becoming accustomed to her being. The harps that accompanied a young man's lyre blended perfectly with the natural music of the cicadas.

  I suddenly realized that a royal change was in order. I was feeling a little forlorn without Gabrielle by my side, and the conversation down at the Centaur end of the table was getting a little dull. Seems young Centaurs only want to talk about the same thing old Centaurs want to talk about, and that's war. Time was, I would have been more than happy with talk of strategy and weapons all night. I was certainly in a bad way because all I could think about now was Gabrielle. Why in the known world did we have to sit on opposite ends of the huge table anyway? Who started that ridiculous tradition? Probably, some King who didn't want to be around his wife in the first place.

  As I sat there, I glanced down at her again. She was nodding at something one of the Amazons said. I felt it just then, just as she must have, for she looked up. She searched the faces at the table quickly; surely looking for the one she felt was calling to her. I would never have allowed myself to believe in that romantic nonsense in seasons past, but now . . . well, perhaps I have become that romantic she accuses me of being after all.

  Gabrielle's eyes found mine, and I looked at her in a way that said I expected her to feel my thoughts. She grinned a bit, and then she did something that caused me to grin back. She winked at me. When she saw my smile, she went back to her conversation as if it had never happened, but I knew it had. I felt that little gesture all the way down to my boots. Now, I have to ask myself. Why is it when I am looking most like a lovesick fool, someone catches me at it?

  "You're grinning like an idiot, Conqueror!" Kaleipus leaned over my left elbow to tell me.

  Well, I could have denied it, huffed it off, or even glared at him in my best intimidating manner. The best thing about growing older, however, is having people who know you so damn well that those tricks are no longer necessary. Kaleipus had become more than an ally over the seasons, and for all my cold-heartedness, I think he always knew something more was in me.

  I looked him in the eye, realizing now that he quite possibly sent Solan here on purpose. That perhaps he'd heard of my ways softening a bit. I smirked at him and arched one eyebrow.

  "She's worth grinning over," I replied confidently.

  "I'll just bet she is," he added with a smile.

  It wasn't the scream I heard next. It was a sound that filtered through the air, just heartbeats before her pained cry, which caught my attention.

  "Gabrielle!"

  I immediately stood up to shout a warning, but the moment I met those green eyes, I knew it was too late. The sound that I heard was the noise an arrow makes as it cuts through the air.

  CHAPTER 15

  THERE IS NO OTHER WAY, LET THAT BE PLAIN

  PRINCESS TIMARA CRIED out. The young Amazon looked down at her chest, to the growing crimson stain spreading across her pale-colored leathers. An arrow protruded from a spot just above her right breast. It's odd the things one thinks about in such situations. I remember thinking that from the position of the arrow, at least the wound would not be fatal. My only words had been to shout, "Weapon!"

  That cry, in the middle of a Royal Banquet, was nearly enough to rouse the entire Empire's army. In an instant, less than the flicker of an eye, really, Atrius and the Royal Guard sprang into a posture of defense. As the entire incident took only moments, I was already moving to protect Gabrielle. Before I was halfway there, another arrow struck the young princess in the center of her chest. It all happened so quickly, not even her Amazon Guard had yet reached the young woman.

  The force of the arrow strike flung her down across the table. Two more arrows in rapid succession embedded themselves deep into the wood of the table. It was with horror that I watched Gabrielle's next action. I was much too far away, especially with not knowing in which direction the attack was coming. Gabrielle quickly reached out and grabbed the young girl's body, pulling her to the ground. The sniper's arrows never stopped. They followed the two women all the way to the ground. Gabrielle threw her own slight figure across the fallen princess, and all I could do was watch as another arrow pierced the side of Gabrielle's body.

  Torava, Gabrielle's personal guard deflected two more arrows with the metal of her blade, just as they would have surely found their mark in Gabrielle's back. Then as suddenly as the attack began, it ended. I could see the fire of torches as my men entered the copse of trees near the palace wall. Either the culprits had been caught or they had left as silently as they appeared.

  My only concern was selfish. It was for the small blonde who risked her life for this Amazon stranger. Melosa and I knelt beside the two figures, fear etched deeply into the older Amazon's face.

  "Gabrielle?!" I cried out to her unmoving figure. She stirred, but didn't completely lift herself up.

  "Son of a Bacchae!" Torava hissed under her breath.

  I followed the guard's line of sight to the arrow that appeared embedded in Gabrielle's side. I'm sure the soldier was cursing herself right now over her inability to stop all of the arrows.

  Again, Gabrielle's body moved. "I'm all right, but the arrow has me pinned to the floor."

  I reached in, running my hand along the shaft of the arrow. It had pierced Gabrielle's dress, and the vest she wore, but Athena was surely making up for the young woman's previous lack of protection. It had lightly grazed her skin, enough to draw an extremely thin line of blood, but nothing more. It was sunk deeply into the terrace floor, trapping Gabrielle's body along with it.

  I ripped the arrow from the floor and pulled Gabrielle into my arms. I examined the arrow as I held her trembling figure against me. I recognized the markings along its shaft, and when I looked up again, Melosa's eyes met mine. There was a rage mixed with pain there that I hoped to never feel within myself. Her eyes dropped to the arrow in my hand, but she said nothing.

  Melosa took her daughter into her own strong arms. The young princess was pale but still breathing. Kuros, who was attending the banquet, was there kneeling down along with us. He quickly examined the girl, but the girl's fate was obvious to even the untrained eye. A steady trickle of blood made its way from her mouth and nose, and her breaths were short and uneven. My best guess was that the first arrow pierced her lung, and the second, her heart. Kuros looked up at Melosa and the slight shake of his head told the Queen all she needed to know.

  "I could try to remove the arrows if you desire," Kuros said quietly. "To make her more comfortable."

  Melosa seemed to be thinking about it for a moment, but Timara raised her hand, as if waving the thought away.

  "No, mother, it doesn't hurt." She coughed and more blood came from her mouth. "It doesn't really hurt at all," she finished.

  Gabrielle moved from my embrace toward the young princess and used her own dress to wipe away the blood on the girl's face. Timara smiled weakly and grasped Gabrielle's hand within her own.

  "Thank you," the Amazon said. "You risked your own life just for me. You are truly everything the people have said you were. I want you to have my right of caste."

  "Timara, think about what you're doing." Melosa responded immediately.

  "Mother, she did what only another Amazon would do. She did what only a sister would do."

  Melosa looked up at Gabrielle, then over at me. My mind was reeling at the political implications this moment had, and I'm sure Melosa had the same thoughts in her own head. She was holding her dying daughter, but she was also a powerful Queen. I'm sure there wasn't a notion about this whole thing that had passed through my mind, that hadn't already occurred to her. She
looked back down at Timara and tenderly stroked her face, nodding her head to concede to her daughter's wish.

  "Will you take my right of caste, Gabrielle?" Timara practically whispered the words.

  "I--I--" Gabrielle looked between Melosa and I.

  "Handing her right of caste down to you entitles you to Timara's birthright, and all she possesses as an Amazon. You will take her place in the eyes of our people." Melosa explained without emotion.

  "It's up to you, Gabrielle to accept or decline," I answered when her eyes met mine. Even I knew that this could change things, but to what extent, I had no way of knowing. "Simply know that it can't change things between us, and it is a great honor."

  I watched as Timara squeezed Gabrielle's hand as a wave of pain must have come over her, and the small blonde looked on in anguish at the dying girl.

  "I'm so sorry, Timara. I'm sorry I wasn't quicker." Tears filled Gabrielle's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Yes, I will accept your right of caste."

  Timara smiled and squeezed Gabrielle's hand once more. "Don't worry, mother, it hardly hurts at all." The young girl assured Melosa. I'd never seen the Queen cry before, but even I had tears in my eyes at the young girl's strength.

  "Ssh, rest now." Melosa whispered, stroking her daughter's face. "Look for your Aunt Terreis when you reach the Land. She'll take care of you."

  With those last words, Melosa commended her daughter's soul to the Amazon land of the dead. It was with a great deal of pain that we watched the young princess take her last breath, and die in her mother's arms.

  Once the young princess was dead, Melosa became the Queen once more. She snapped up the arrow from the ground, and jumped to her feet. We all saw the telltale feathers and markings. It was a Centaur arrow, and I hoped to Athena that war was not going to begin within my own palace. Three of my Royal Guard stepped back, surrounding a confused Gabrielle.

  Melosa tossed the broken arrow toward Kaleipus.

  "This was not the work of a Centaur! We don't murder innocents." Kaleipus defended.

  "You've done it before!" Melosa hissed back.

  "Be reasonable, Melosa," the Centaur explained. "Why would we choose now, surrounded by a hundred Amazons, and in the midst of the Conqueror's army? Think about it. It doesn't make sense."

  "Unless that's exactly what you want us to think! You killed my sister, and now, the despicable cowards that you are, killed my only child." Melosa took a step closer, her anger and grief outweighing her better judgment. "We should have wiped you out ages ago! I'll see that the roads to Amazonia run red with Centaur blood!"

  "Don't push me, Amazon." Kaleipus was beginning to lose his sense of humor.

  These are just the kinds of situations why no one is allowed to carry a weapon to a Royal Banquet. Different peoples, different beliefs, and old wounds that never healed. I was the only one carrying a weapon, besides my soldiers, but that offered me little comfort. Amazons and Centaurs turned loose upon one another, it wouldn't matter if they were armed or not.

  "No one starts anything in my palace!"

  I'd let them both vent, but I didn't want this escalating beyond what I could control. It was preposterous, the idea that Kaleipus would set up an attack when he was hopelessly outnumbered. The Centaur markings on the arrows looked incriminating, but even Melosa should be able to see that it was too easy. I realized just then that her grief was blinding her. Would I be any different, if it was Gabrielle lying on the floor of the terrace?

  "Kaleipus keep your number camped on the East Ridge. They are not to leave Corinth, and under no circumstances are they to engage the Amazons. Melosa, take your daughter and return to your camp. You and your people will have your privacy while you mourn for Timara. You may take her ashes to Amazonia, but not until we straighten this out. Know this," I looked from the Centaur to the Amazon Queen. "I will get to the bottom of this, and I'll have no one declare war in my Empire."

  Melosa stared all of us down, but it was Ephiny who cajoled her Queen into returning to their encampment. Melosa turned to Gabrielle, flanked as the small blonde was by her personal guard.

  "Princess," Melosa bowed her head. Whether Gabrielle knew it or not, Melosa's actions where very important. She was officially recognizing Gabrielle as having taken Timara's right of caste. Without that official notice, anyone of Royal blood could challenge Timara's dying request.

  "I'm so sorry," Gabrielle said softly.

  Melosa knelt beside her daughter and looked up at me. "Hear me, Conqueror," she began. "If I find that the Centaurs are guilty of this crime against me and my Nation, it will be war."

  In a show of strength that surprised me, Melosa lifted her daughter into her arms.

  "Melosa," I responded. "Go and be with your people. Our hearts grieve just the same for your loss."

  "Just the same, Conqueror?" She took one step toward me and I could see Atrius coiled beside me, watching the heartbroken woman with a wary eye. "You hold your only child, as they die in your arms, then you tell me if it feels the same."

  "Come, My Queen." Ephiny quickly intervened before I had the chance to say more.

  The warrior instructed two other women to take Timara's body from the Queen's arms. They led their Queen and slain princess from the palace. Ephiny lingered, walking out last. I saw something in her eyes, something that told me that perhaps she didn't subscribe to Melosa's philosophy about the Centaurs. Then again, perhaps it was only my imagination.

  "Help her to try and see reason," I offered to Ephiny.

  "I'll do what I can, Lord Conqueror." Ephiny returned just before she walked from the palace.

  * * *

  "We searched the entire palace grounds, Lord Conqueror, this is all we were able to find." The Lieutenant placed two quivers, a longbow, and a crossbow upon the table before me. "They were under the trees, the olive grove directly in the line of site of the outdoor portico. I have 3 squads of men searching the woods outside the palace walls for any signs of the snipers."

  "Good work, Berio." Atrius answered for me, dismissing the officer.

  It felt like candlemarks had gone by, when in reality, only moments had past. My soldiers were nothing, if not efficient. They already had the evidence in their possession.

  "You know as well as I that a Centaur didn't commit this crime." Kaleipus's voice was the first to refute the physical evidence.

  "I only know what I see before me, and it certainly doesn't look good," I answered.

  "A Centaur would never be so obvious as to leave all his weapons there, in plain sight!" Kaleipus raged. "It's obvious they were planted to make it look like one of us did it. Open your eyes, Xena."

  "I do have my eyes open, my friend. Yes, it is quite obviously a ruse, but by whom? I agree that it looks as though the items were planted there to cast suspicion your way, but on the other hand, if it were me, I might think it a perfect plan. If I were to leave such obvious clues, everyone would think they had been planted, and I would be getting away with, quite literally, murder."

  I turned toward my Captain. "Atrius, see that Gabrielle is taken to our rooms and guards placed inside, as well as outside."

  "Aye, Conqueror."

  "No!"

  Gabrielle's small cry was fairly muffled by the ring of soldiers already taking her welfare quite seriously. Suddenly every eye in the room turned, first, to me, then to Gabrielle. I'm sure it had been many, many seasons since anyone had said no to me in this palace, if anyone ever had. All eyes focused on me. Seeing me do nothing about the young woman's seeming insolence, all heads then turned and concentrated on Gabrielle. She appeared suddenly nervous. The expression on her face told me she just realized what she'd said to me in front of my soldiers, and our guests.

  "I--I--mean…" she pushed one of the young soldiers aside to come stand before me. "My Lord, I. . . I don't want to be apart from you." Gabrielle said in a low voice.

  I smiled then. I'm not sure why, but Gabrielle's concern had a way of touching me in such a fashio
n.

  "Gabrielle," I touched her cheek. I drew her to me, not caring whether I received stares, or if my soldiers thought less of me. I took her face in both my hands, looking into her eyes. "Gabrielle, what I need to do, I can do better if I don't have to worry for you. Please, do as I say, just this once, eh?"

  She wore an expression of sad resignation, but nodded her head all the same.

  "You promise to take care, Conqueror." She whispered to me. My smile grew larger at the remark that was part admonition, part taunt.

  "I promise, little one," I answered, kissing her on the forehead. "No one will best me today."

  * * *

  "You know that Kaleipus, or any Centaur for that matter, couldn't have assassinated that girl in cold blood like that." Solan defended his adopted family.

  "I only know what I see, Solan. I want to examine the area where these were found for myself. Then, and only then, will I make a judgment."

  "Then I'm going with," my son answered.

  "Aye, I'll go as well," Kaleipus answered.

  "Look--" I started, before hearing the husky voice behind me.

  "Well, I suppose it's only fair that the Amazon's interests be represented as well, then." Ephiny hopped over the low patio wall to join us.

  She hadn't been there the whole time, I would have heard her if she had. Besides, she now wore an Amazon short blade on her hip, so I knew she'd gone back to her tent first. I briefly wondered at my sanity, going out into the forest with a couple of very irate, sworn enemies, but once again, Ephiny seemed almost hospitable toward the Centaur who now stood beside her. She lost points with me, though when she turned to Gabrielle.

  "Princess." She acknowledged. The Amazon practically spat the word in Gabrielle's direction.

  "Keep some civility about you Amazon," I growled, "and remember who it is you're speaking to."