A few moons later. “Stronger!” “Ugh!” Lyta groaned with pain, rubbing her hurting arm. “Dad, that’s unfair. I don’t have either bulges of muscles nor his exerience.” Serkon kept a straight face. “No attacker will ever ask for your age. You may have seen only 16 summers but you must fight like any other warrior if you want to survive.” “He’s your bodyguard for a reason, by the Goddess! If he wasn’t the best you wouldn’t have afforded him loads of gold to come here! It isn’t fair to demand that I beat him! You never fight against him yourself, I bet you’re afraid to lose!” Confidently, she blurt out her challenge facing Serkon. The latter one gave her a lenient smirk. “Ask anyone, they can tell you that I have beaten him already.” Vince chuckled quietly at the harmless dispute between father and daughter and assured himself with a short glance that everything was fine where his younger son Lykos tried to persuade his brother to make use of the thick straw men that were meant for sword practice. However, Leo preferred to explore the dense bushes and spacious buildings of the new drill ground alone and tried to shake off his pursuer without disappointing him enough to complain to their father or the king. “That was when I was a little child, dad! And once! Have you ever fought him again after that? Still, you’re too afraid!” Instead of an upcoming threat, a constant smile played at the lips of the king of Dekanos. “Why should I fight my own bodyguard? You don’t make sense, Lyta. Now try again to destabilize him or you will never advance your skills!” “Ugh. Mother would at least let me face an equal opponent!” Despite her complaints, the youth readied herself to attack the black-haired man anew and Vince’s attention was drawn away from his sons. “Your weakness is the greatest advantage an opponent can gain. Penthesilea knows that very well.” “Hey, I’m almost as strong as her already!,” Lyta objected vehemently. “And also in advantage because she lacks half a head of height to be even with you.” “Stubborn mule,” the princess mumbled ill-humored. “I can hear you well, Lyta! Vince, attack her.” Serkon’s friend reacted smoothly, starting with one of his slighter moves and concentration in order not to hurt the girl. They had practiced for quite some time when Penthesilea returned from the thorough inspection of her new place of work. Awhile, she watched the two fighters. “It’s too huge. We have by far more space than we need for the few warriors who can afford to come here.” The king shrugged. “I’ve told him but you know Alexander. He meant too well and has too much gold to spare.” “The place will seem empty even after we will have moved the training here. Not good to supervise them.” “You’re ungrateful. Instead of being glad that we don’t have to use the small old drill ground any more, you just nag about the new one.” “What about an own fight later, you must be taken to task for that.” Playfully but firmly, she jabbed him in the ribs but Serkon didn’t even flinch. “Do you aim at giving your daughter a bad example by being beaten?” Before she could counter with a biting response, Leo raced toward them calling for Vince breathlessly. “Dad, dad, there’s a stranger at the entrance!” Vince and Lyta interrupted their fight for a moment. “A stranger?” “Yes,” the excited boy sputtered while his brother finally arrived as well, “Her clothes are sooo weird and she looks like a warrior.” “A female warrior?” Serkon lifted his brow. “The last time an Amazon lost her way and arrived here she caused trouble. I don’t know if I like these news.” Penthesilea shot him a frown. “We must greet her appropriately. The last Amazon who came here caused trouble because no one deigned to make her familiar with the local culture.” “She showed no particular interest to delve into it either.” “By the Goddess, if you two keep arguing Vince and I will go alone and welcome her,” Lyta declared, running out of patience. Serkon laughed heartily at the brash remark. “You seem to receive an awful education from your mother, my dear!” “Let’s go!” Otherwise the stranger would reach them before they had even set off, a rudeness they could not afford while still being in the dark concerning her rank. “Greetings,” Vince addressed her first, representing the higher-ranked ones. “You have reached the lands of High King Alexander of Arythion. What led you here, and where are you from?” The grey eyes of their counterpart traveled over the three nobles’ faces and swayed hence and forth between Serkon and Lyta for a moment. When the woman raised her voice, it was powerful and dignified, the expression of true self-confidence. “My name is Amadahy Blessing Moon, creator of said tribe and royal champion of her Majesty queen Hawika Wahine.” Suspecting that her equals were those who had remained silent in the background, she turned to Penthesilea. “And with whom do I have the honor of speaking?” “Penthesilea, daughter of Thestia the Great, princess of Santrake and queen myself. These are Serkon, son of Nikomedes and king of Dekanos and my daughter and heiress Hippolyta, princess of both our tribes.” “Thestia.” Amadahy Blessing Moon slightly tilted her head and a soft smile curled her lips upward. “Thestia’s younger daughter, I assume.” “Yes. My sister Xanthippe rules Santrake whereas I have come here to find new sisters.” “An honorable intention.” In Penthesilea’s back, Serkon shifted his weight to the other leg. “With which I am already familiar. The moon before the last, I was given the honor to be guest at queen Xanthippe and her daughters’ fireplace in behalf of my mission.” Penthesilea gasped in surprise, unable to hide her excitement. “You have met my sister? And she has daughters? Under these circumstances I insist that you accept my hospitality as well and tell me everything about her. I haven’t received news about her for many, many suns!” “Well, I could use a few days of rest well.” Her apologizing gaze sought Serkon. “And I will be glad to stay with sisters again. As a close relative to great queen Thestia herself you undoubtedly know some captivating stories worth telling. Also, I am most intrigued to learn about how a princess of Santrake happened to live here. So excuse me, king of Dekanos, that I will accept her offer before you even came to make yours.” “Don’t forget, Alexander will want to greet her soon,” Serkon remarked short-spoken. “May the Gods bless you, creator.” Immediately after he had finished, he gave Vince and the boys a sign. Both women watched them leave in silence. “He is upset because you paid me more attention… But he will be over it soon, I promise. He has had a lot of contact with Amazons already and knows our ways well.” Standing at her mother’s side, Lyta felt a brief peek flying over her. “If I insulted him unknowingly, I will apologize. I did not mean to.” “You didn’t,” Penthesilea assured. “Now, please accompany us. It is still quite some way from here to reach my compound.” Only a moment before the huts appeared on the horizon, the daughter of Thestia was reminded of something. “Amadahy, I hope you will not mind the… smallness of my tribe. The local kings wouldn’t allow the usual proceeding to recruit tribe members. We… are actually four. My daughters, my provider and me.” Spoken, it sounded even more ridiculous. What did she think inviting the creator? Four people, the size of a little family, while her counterpart was a descendant of the famous warriors of Blessing Moon. “It is alright.” Something flashed in Amadahy’s intelligent eyes. “When my mother died, she barely left me a tiny village, two slaves and plenty of determination.” “Since then, my tribe has grown and gained reputation again but we aren’t many… I appreciate your care for my comfort, but it isn’t necessary. Few people will feel more like home to me than a huge number of them swarming the air around us.” Penthesilea breathed a sigh of relief. “Welcome then in my modest home!” When they arrived at last, Io stood up from the bench with an enormous effort and headed toward them before Protego was close enough to help her up. “Io, my provider and dearest friend. She will give birth to her second child soon and we pray for a girl.” At the short introduction, the provider smiled feebly, her face pale and she herself conspicuously worn out. “Then I will pray for that, too. You may take place, Io,” Amadahy assured warmly, putting one hand on the black-haired woman’s shoulder before turning to the carefully approaching girl. “Well, and you are the other princess, I presume.” Despite her shyness, Phyllis giggled. Penthesilea nodded, happy that the little one had taken such a fast liking for the other queen. “Phyllis. Our youngest tribal daughter. And this-” Vigorously, she gestured Protego closer who had kept a safe distance. “-this is her father, our breeding slave.” They had dined and sat around the whipping flames of the blazing fire when their attention was drawn to the entrance. Two figures slowly distinguished from the dark background of the forthcoming night. “Haimon,” Penthesilea explained, slightly worried in secret. “He is breeding with one of the other Amazon queen’s warriors but can’t see the honor in siring a child. His spirit is… rebellious, as is his behavior.” “Hekuba,” she addressed the woman accompanying him, “send Zeuxippe my regards when you return.” “Of course, my lady.” “And you, seat yourself. We have a high-ranking guest, creator Amadahy Blessing Moon.” A chilling glare traveled over Amadahy, followed by a contemptuous snort and a brief distorting of the mouth. The arrival settled next to Io, with as much distance to the others as possible. The entire time until Penthesilea suggested to go to bed, he kept silent, sullenly staring at the fire. “If you’d like to have company for the night, you may choose either slave,” she proposed her fellow queen. It was a host's duty to provide for any needs of her guests, particularly when it came to those in important positions. In an instant, Protego’s arms cramped around his daughter. Haimon clenched his fists and grit his teeth, ready to jump up at the next word. Amadahy noticed the sudden tenseness very well. “That is a kind offer, but I have sworn myself to renounce this kind of company after the sacrifice of my most appreciated master slave.” Suddenly, an unspeakable sadness entered her until then open face. “He gave me triplets, but has been lost to me since then himself.” For a moment, the crackling fire was the only noise perceivable. Then, the creator from afar smiled warmly. “Do not let the past dwell over the presence. Lusio has been dead for a few summers now, but his children delight me these days. To grow up with a father is a gift the Goddess doesn’t bestow on everyone.” She looked at Phyllis. “Be grateful for that every moment of your life, young Phyllis.” For response, the girl snuggled closer to Protego who lifted his gaze to meet the creator’s one in amazement for not more than the blink of an eye before he dedicated it to his daughter again. “Thank you,” Penthesilea said without even knowing what she thanked for. It was… just an impulse, it felt like she should. Again, silence fell over the small group until Phyllis yawned heartily. Io fought her way up to a standing position. “Let’s get you into bed, shall we?” The girl nodded. “Can dad come with us?,” she asked timidly, peeking at Amadahy as if the latter could ensure her mother’s approval. And it indeed seemed like that. “Meanwhile, Hippolyta and I will make sure that your accommodations are adequate.” “Please inform me when you have finished. For so long, I will enjoy the calmness. It has been some time since I have been able to relax.” While the others left, Amadahy leaned forward and watched the flames flickering into the night sky. For a while, she simply enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere that laid over the compound. It reminded her of home, and she almost believed to hear her daughter Pavati’s joyful laugh, to see the boys chase each other while she sat next to shaman Tiva. Her mission for the queen had almost come to its end, and while she was on the way back to report about the situation of the outer Amazon tribes and the number of warriors they were willing to place at Hawika’s disposal, her heart longed for her own little tribe and home. Yes, it would be good to return for a few moons and not fulfill any services for the queen during that time. Although her duty was important and she took much pleasure in it, no tribe could spare its creator for long. Silently, she thanked queen Hawika for giving the royal members of her court the opportunity to attend to their own affairs. A deep voice interrupted her longing. “That slave, Lusio.” The redhead spoke without averting his gaze from the fire. “Why did you kill him if you liked him?” “Are you supposed to pose such questions?,” she asked, not without a hint of humor. When he didn’t answer, she sighed. “As a creator, I have to make many decisions and some that I do not like. Sacrificing Lusio was one of the hardest.” She stopped. “But I will not debate that with you. I was told that you have killed a man in an accident, so the entire matter is much more complicated in your case than you might realize.” He kept silent, probably thinking about her answer. Interrupted in her pleasant thoughts, she decided to go and examine her quarters for the night. “Wait!” Completely unexpected, Haimon jumped up and clutched her wrist. “You’ve said you’ve been in love with him. If you could have saved him, would you?” She locked his flashing blue eyes to hers, seeing the enormous desperation that had made him dare to touch her in such an unbecoming way - touch her at all. Secretly though, she regretted to have only one answer for him. The only one that was true. The only one she could take the responsibility for to give away without meddling with Penthesilea's affairs and possession. “If she loved you the same way I loved Lusio, you would know.” Thank you very much to roseinblack65 for sending Amadahy on this very important mission... If you don't know the creator (or queen Hawika), read the Blessing Moon tribe and pammiechick's tribe Wahine. I'm terribly biased about both stories and authors, so read them necessarily if you have the time to! ← Chapter 42 Chapter 44 → Poses by Natalia Auditore, Wistful Castle, joannebernice (blessed be your facial expression packs!), MrsRacooney, nagallz, A-luckyday and matchagreenmidori
3 Comments
10/3/2019 01:17:37 pm
That's surely the best, and this story can't follow all of the rules to the letter anyway since they are shaped for a surrounding made up by other Amazon tribes, not male-dominated ones 😉 So we don't take all of them so strictly
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