Now that the topic becomes more important for Penthesilea, I should probably say something about the laws she follows. In her home tribe, all children were sired by a slave who was sacrificed afterward. However, the men in her new home would probably object to all the sacrifices and furthermore, slaves are rather rare. So she can make use of an old law: a slave can be ransomed from the sacrifice by an amount of gold equaling his worth. The better the slave, the more expensive his life. And of course, the Goddess will always prefer a sacrifice and pour out extra blessing. Nevertheless, one of the strictest laws is that Amazons are forbidden to have more than one child with the same man, with one exception: a queen may choose a slave as her consort. Serkon appeared in front of her in the right moment. “Shall I get you a drink?,” he asked seeing her anger. “Yes.” Him not posing any uncomfortable question was reassuring and she settled quickly noticing Boras talking to a few others. With Serkon fetching her a drink, she went over to him. “Boras! You’re here, too? What a pleasure!” “Guess I can’t escape my duties and have to keep an eye on my young clansmen. The greater is the pleasure to see you here. Surely, you’re not here to watch over someone’s behavior as I do?” “Not counting that Serkon invited me, not really. I decided to see for myself how you’re feasting.” In this moment, Serkon returned with her drink. Soon, some of the men she taught at the drill ground had spotted her and turned up for a talk. But while it was obvious they were interested in her some of them just appeared to enjoy her company or being seen with her, knowing they hadn’t any chance to become more than a friend at very best. It was a weird situation for Penthesilea, too. As she had grown up in a tribe of women, she wasn’t used to being surrounded by men mostly and in addition, all of them being free. Despite that, she had to admit she relished being the center of attention and played on it coquetting with the men. In the meanwhile, Boras was amused by the young peoples’ behavior and therefore took only little part in the conversation, watching them most of the time. When had he been that young, flirting with his wife who was a priestess more than a wife now and got insanely jealous as soon as she knew a woman was near him? This time, she hadn’t even a reason. Having two daughters and one of them old enough to marry, he still delighted in the beauty of young women. But the self-assured princess from a foreign land was like a daughter to him. How much did he wish his own daughter to be like her, radiant and witty. Instead, he had to worry about an appropriate husband. Briefly, he had considered Serkon, sure the king would make a stunning son-in-law but dropped the idea as quickly. If he died without his wife giving him a son, tribe Borathion would have fallen to Serkon and cease to exist. The last thing Boras wanted to even if it meant to settle for less. It wasn’t surprising he was eager to learn about Penthesilea’s plans in this regard and seized the opportunity when she had got rid of her admirers. “Most of the rulers still hope for an heir since Evandros and old Jason are the only ones whose wives have already born a son. In your case, I believe you would prefer a daughter?” “Good guess, although not difficult to know.” She smiled. “I know Zeuxippe tries for many summers now. Are you in a similar hurry to get things clear?” Now, he had her full attention as well as her suspicion. It made him feel honored that she replied anyway though it wasn’t a private matter among nobility but included a political aspect, too. “I haven’t been thinking much about it yet as in the moment I don’t have a tribe any daughter could inherit. However, I will be up to it in the near future but believe I can push it aside for today.” She took a big swallow of her drink, emptying the glass. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you by my curiosity. But some of the leaders are quite desperate about their situation and I wanted to know how you intend to deal with it.” The way she watched him made him clear she had understood his hint. “You haven’t offended me. It’s only that I haven’t expected that question so soon.” In her head, she went over the list of partner candidates for herself. Haimon. It was tradition for an Amazon to have a slave sire her children, but was he the right choice? Then, there was Ranos of Morones, much too giggly and too young, as well. He behaved almost like a boy when she was around. Iasion was a spur-of-the-moment person but happy-go-lucky, as well. No traits fitting for a future queen. The priest, Alexandros, had the behavior of a womanizer and regarding Serkon’s careless attitude when Alexandros gave her that rose, everyone knew it. Brawny Julianus of Morones had quite an impressive physique, yet already a wife and daughter too and was all too cocksure of himself. It was the same with the Arythions she knew: Echion simply was out of question, Evandros, too. Simachion had the essential ambition and patience but didn’t meet her physical ideals with his slender figure. Besides, he never smiled. His friend, Amphion, wouldn’t be able to live up to any expectation and was with priest adept Chandra, as it appeared. Or they had only drunken too much to care that they were kissing in front of so many people. Phineas, Boras’ right hand, was the only man who had been able to draw the attention of one of Zeuxippe’s Amazons. But he just wasn’t the type of man Penthesilea could imagine to have a child with. ← Chapter 9 Chapter 11 → This chapter has extra screenshots in the gallery
8 Comments
7/10/2017 03:56:12 pm
Oh je... It's really not easy. But what about Serkon, Penthesilea? ;)
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7/11/2017 04:30:51 am
Just let me say... Sometimes she doesn't see the obvious :D
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9/3/2017 10:20:28 am
Goodness, you had me cracked up! His disguise didn't only fool you since I forgot who he is until it dawned on me again two weeks ago. xD
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10/3/2018 10:04:02 am
Hmm. I guess Serkon definitely wouldn't be a bad choice, BUT his status as a king is something that could play out bad for her. He could easily absorb her and her children into his own tribe, he has the respect and the means.
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10/3/2018 02:31:11 pm
What else to say apart from that's a very present danger?
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Usually, I'm terrible about skipping other people's comments and frequently ask questions that have already been answered. So I'm apologizing in advance for that. I just want to read the story--not the comments. BUT Maladi's comment caught my eye. OMG Mr. Priest dude is Don Lothario? LMAO. Brilliant.
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9/16/2019 06:44:55 am
Haha, don't worry that's also a thing I tend to do as well 😄 Especially with stories that have lots and lots of comments, not like this one
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