Warrior Maidens

Chapter 4

There they remained, lost in a sea of stars and rolling waves until the sound of sand crushing beneath hooves in the distance brought them from the blissful vastness of their experience. Hippolyta was the first of the two to take notice and broke the kiss. Artemis looked up at her blue eyed goddess as those very eyes scanned the darkness for signs of silvery movement. "What is wro-" she began asking. "Shh… Artemis, do you hear that?" The first thought to cross her mind was that it could possibly be intruders, but as the fog began to clear, she suddenly remembered the security detail she had assigned for the area earlier that night. "Great Hera, I forgot about the patrol." Artemis said quietly against the raven haired queen's cheek. Her head was turned to the side having spotted the oncoming patrol which was still far enough away. Daring another kiss, the queen then gestured for Artemis to sneak off with her into the night.

The two were able to stealthily make their way toward a cluster of tall palms and sweet-smelling hibiscus without being detected. Fitting within the dense foliage left little room for movement, not that they minded. Artemis' back rested against the trunk of one of the taller palms, her arms encircling the queen's slender waist. They could feel each other's hearts beating as their breasts pressed more tightly together after each slow inhale. Hippolyta's warm breath tickled her ear whilst the two remained motionless and cloaked by darkness. The queen could no longer resist the urge to envelope the tantalizing earlobe with her lips. The redheaded general felt her knees go weak again as gentle suction was applied. She downright near collapsed when the queen's tongue licked the curved edge of soft flesh. A sneaky hand slid down her toned abs to play at the hem of her hip-hugging pants.

It was all Artemis could do to stay quiet as the security forces she assigned passed by their hiding spot. "Do you think we will find anything tonight, Hemera?" The brunette rider asked. The two women could just barely make out their passing sister's conversation from their location. "I doubt it. Same as always.", the rider with blonde highlights responded. "Do you have any plans after our shift?", the unnamed brunette asked with a hint of hopefulness. She looked back toward the jutting palms only to be distracted by a hand touching her leg. "Well, I was reading this really good book…" Their voices finally faded as the two continued down the coastline at a slow canter.

Hippolyta waited until she felt that the two riders were far enough away before deftly maneuvering out of the tall flowering plants. Artemis followed suit, quickly catching up to her companion who was now wiping sand from various parts of her body. "I must remember to have a discussion with those two about keeping proper watch." The redhead grumbled while combing sand out of fine russet strands with her fingers. "I believe our sister Hemera may have spotted us and spared us our privacy." The queen replied as she wiped granules from the back of her thighs. "I will never hear the end of it from her." Artemis sighed grumpily, more frustrated that they were interrupted than anything. "Perhaps she did not recognize us?" The queen offered. "Perhaps", she shrugged, flipping her trademark ponytail back over her shoulder. The queen suppressed a knowing smile.

"To the palace, my queen?" Artemis asked, intertwining their fingers. "Indeed, we should make ourselves readily available in case we are needed." She lifted their clasped hands to her lips and kissed each of the redhead's knuckles. In truth, she felt a little uneasy because of their recent recklessness. What if there had been an intruder and not only the Queen, but also the leader of their military were nowhere to be found?

Artemis and Hippolyta walked calmly side by side into the palace toward the throne room. They were discussing the production of the next play, which would be Medea by Euripides, when they heard a scream come from down the hall. Their feet barely made a sound against the polished stone floors as they ran toward the source of the noise and were nearly knocked over by the blonde witch who had kindly offered to repair the throne room earlier. Hippolyta's keen eyes followed the blonde as she ran past, wondering what could have caused her to run away with such fear without stopping to explain what was going on. Artemis on the other hand rounded the corner and bounded into the room the blonde had just exited.

"Animus discidium nex!" a bolt of violet tinged lightning as thick as an arm ripped forth from Circe's hand the moment Artemis ran in. A loud crack reverberated throughout the room as it hit her square in the chest. She tried to inhale a strangled breath but her lungs spasmed painfully and she fell hard on her knees. Hippolyta's sky blue eyes widened in terror. She rushed to her falling lover, catching her before her head could smack against the cold marble floor.

"Artemis, no…" green eyes grew unfocused, struggling to stay open. She tried to touch the rapidly blurring face hovering over hers, but her limbs would not obey. All she could feel was torturous pain scorching through every living cell. "I love you, my queen" she thought, "if only I had told you sooner". She had not the strength or breath to speak. The tears sliding down her cheeks were her only means of expression now. A faint smile touched her lips, even through excruciating convulsions, for she was grateful that her last sight in this world was that of her beloved. Her body grew numb as she felt her soul being ripped away. Her love, her entire world, faded into the oncoming darkness.

Hippolyta could only stare in horror as her lover slipped away from her; forever. "Redimio!" Circe shouted, trying to catch the raven haired warrior off guard. The queen's body acted of its own accord, deflecting the binding spell with the bracelet on her right wrist. The purple blast dissipated harmlessly upon impact. The merciful void of her mind shattered as dreadful reality crashed in. She gently laid Artemis' head on the ground.

"levitas attonitus!" The witch tried again. Hippolyta looked up just in time to deflect the spell with her other wrist. "How dare you!" the queen shouted, her face contorted with pure rage. She leapt at the redheaded witch before she could even blink. Her lithe form twisted in the air as she delivered a solid round-house kick to the sorceress' face. It connected with a nauseating thud and sent her sprawling across the room.

"I will make sure you can never speak foul words of magic again!" she yelled, her voice quivering as unshed tears burned her eyes. The raven haired woman realized that the overwhelming anger and sadness was also causing her limbs to weaken and shake. She struggled to repress her fury and despair. "You should consider yourself grateful, Hippolyta, that curse was meant for you." Circe sneered. The witch's last comment forged her emotions into a frozen steel blade where her heart once was, her veins no longer contained blood, but freezing venom.

"Your jaw still functions, I see. That will be remedied soon enough." The queen responded, her eyes seared with the cold burning hatred of a thousand white suns as she charged toward the villain with a raised fist. Millennia of practicing witchcraft instead of fighting did Circe no favor in this case as she was unable to dodge the second blow. Foul blood blew away and dried on the queen's knuckles from the sheer velocity of her next punch, only to be tainted by more as the blow landed. "Bring her back or I will end you.", Hippolyta growled. If Circe wanted to speak, she could not as her face was being ruthlessly pummeled by a righteously infuriated woman. Every time she opened her mouth to curse, a fist as hard and heavy as a boulder struck her. Finally, she stopped resisting altogether as some unjustly merciful god granted her unconsciousness.

Hippolyta's chest heaved from exertion and unspent rage. Her fist remained cocked by her ear incase the seemingly lifeless woman beneath her began moving again. Thankfully for her, she didn't. Then something strange happened. The redheaded sorceress' roots began to turn a deep purple. The color seeped down every strand, replacing the former scarlet. It was probably the result of being knocked unconscious, but the queen could not imagine why, nor did she really care. She dropped the woman in disgust and rushed back to Artemis' side.

The overpowering misery engulfed her as she pressed her ear to Artemis' chest and listened for signs of life. "If you have not breath of your own and if your heart no longer beats, I will gladly give you mine in exchange, dearest Artemis." Tears splattered onto the unmoving face. She knew there could be no such exchange. The battle with Circe had lasted too long. Any possibility for resuscitation would have passed minutes ago. Still, Hippolyta could not bare to give up hope and only prayed that their timeless existence would extend beyond the grasp of time for just a little while longer. Would the fates be so unkind that after a thousand years of waiting, a meager few minutes would allow her to be taken away so easily? Hippolyta gently opened the still woman's lips and breathed into her mouth, desperately attempting to revive her departed lover. Her chest rose and fell, only to remain still. After a few more attempts she listened for a heart beat, there was none. The queen attempted several times but began sobbing so heavily that she had to stop.

Circe stirred, unnoticed...

Diana was having some trouble navigating with the magical ball Circe had given her. As soon as she flew one way, the arrow would make a sharp turn and point in the opposite direction. After twenty minutes of trying to find the exact location she finally gave up and landed at an estimated five miles away. Unfortunately the entire area was enshrouded by a turbulent dust storm that stretched for miles. She decided to patiently wait in the cockpit until the winds died down to resume her search.

To be continued...

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