Nixiesocean: You have no idea how happy all these reviews make me! They make me all fluzzy inside! (yes, I know, "fluzzy" inside. But you know, I think Fluzzy should be a word.)
It's so hard to respond to all these reviews. :tear: It's makes me so happy!
Rush of Waves: You know, you can tell me how wonderful this chapter was at school, so, you know, I'm not going to respond… wait… I just did… crud…
minor: Thanks for the ideas! I'll keep it in mind. We all love helpful hints!
Narnialover: Er… thanks…
Traceykiwilee: Thanks, hopefully, I'll be able to slow this galloping horse.
KT Liz::Huge grin: Thanks!
x-baby.doll-x: I refuse to delve into such a sensitive topic! You'll find out soon enough!
Sandra Starck: Are you German? No problem, btw. I understand. German I is still a little bit confusing. Hopefully, my grammar is good enough for you to be able to read it easier.
hazeleyedbeauty: Hahaha! But cliffhangers rock! Though… I hate them too…
Book junkie from beyond: 1, I'm not telling whether or not it happened or if it's a premonition. 2, I'm really sorry you can't read my story::tear, tear: 3, thank you!
Whew! Lots of reviews! I'm so happy for all of them! Congrats, reviewers, you have surpassed my other favorite story in reviews with half as many chapters! Yay!
Chapter 10: Toughen Up!
I was on my knees, stunned. Surely, this was a dream, I would wake up next to Brian. He'd be there to comfort me with this dreadful nightmare. Surely, something this traumatic couldn't possibly happen to me. Not, me. I ran away from the other Amazons to escape being forced into reproduction. Now, I'm here, in Calain, a princess to a missing prince. I stood on shaky knees. Tears flowed down my cheeks obscuring my vision and probably turning my nose red. The birds, oh happy birds, chirped unawares to the tragedy that has befallen the royal family. They would sing such a sorrowful song if only they knew… oh, if only they knew.
I went to my, our, bed. I couldn't bear it. The sheets weren't made; they were strewn about, like Brian had been drug out of bed. I touched his pillow, there, on it, was a single strand of his hair. I gently picked it up, holding it ever so lightly between my fingertips. I looked down, there, a locket hung between my breasts. Brian had given me the locket the day after Bard's Day. I suspect her had it made just before I was so forcefully taken away.
The walls, that used to be a beautiful shade of blue, suddenly seemed dimmer. My eyes looked back to the golden locket with a spear and a sword crossing in an 'x' fashion. I touched it. I felt like if I concentrated hard enough, I could see Brian telling a smith what to make on it, I felt like I could see his face through it. His laugher was held inside it, pressed so I could hear it forever. I opened the small heart. I gently placed the hair inside on a clip. I shut it with a soft snap. I dried my eyes and wandered to my stack of books. Where had Kiera been in all this? Her room was untouched, save the practice swords and some sheets of parchment. I heard another muffled squeak from a small room behind the personal library. I believed that was where Brian and Captain David spoke so long ago…
I put my ear to the door, suspicious now. Nothing except stifled cries and pleads. Some were in my language. Convinced, I opened the door. There, in the darkness, sat Kiera. She was tied up with silken rope to a chair. Another silk piece was tied around her mouth. Her eyes were relieved at the sight of me. I went over, carefully taking the gag off.
"Lilka! They took the prince!" She squealed. She grew sorrowful. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know enough- they took me from behind. I couldn't fight. They took the prince. They have him, Lilka!"
I pressed a finger to her lips. She took the hint and quieted. I spoke in soothing tones. "Peace," I said in our language. "I know," I admitted in Fr'ain. "They used the same tactic on me." She was stunned I could be taken by surprise; then again, I was too. "They took him away. They plan to kill me off." She looked horrified. "Believe me, Kiera, I don't plan to let Lady Sera," she recognized the name, "Take the throne unlawfully. I'll need your help, and secrecy."
"Anything, my lady." She said. I was untying her. The goldenrod yellow walls were almost green in the dying light. "What is it?"
"In about six months, I'll have a major handicap." She said truthfully.
"Six months…?" She asked. Realization dawned on the handmaiden's face. "Oh, Gods, why now?" She moaned. "Not when you'll need to defend yourself!"
"That's why I'll need you to teach my Women's Divison Amazon tactics." I said softly. "I'll need you to train them, as any good Captain, you'll need to descipline them, make them run like I did you." She looked unsure. "Please, Kiera. The only other person that could do it is pregnant too!"
"You mean Kayla?" Kiera asked innocently. I nodded. "I'm not sure I can… who'd listen to a servant?"
"Not any servant, Kiera, but the princess's handmaiden!" She stood and grasped her arm. "I can be there, but Kayla told me I couldn't do vigorous activity, like sparring or running." I admitted. "I can help you discipline the women, but you'll need to do the real action."
"I will if you'll be there, Faru."
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I swear the princess has gone mad! Me, a handmaiden, teaching a bunch of raggle-taggle women to fight! What does she plan to do, wage war on the second most powerful noble family in all of Calain? Doesn't she understand what kind of civil war this could produce? I looked at the woman in question's pleading and desperate face. I could tell she wanted this to happen. I brushed a lock of hair back.
"I will if you'll be there, Faru." I said quietly. Her look of triumph was unmistakable.
"Thank you!" She said in a hushed tone. "A day or so Captain David told me the girls were here, all thirty of them." Thirty! "Thirty is a typical Amazon attack group." She explained. "Come on," She tugged my arm. I allowed myself to be drug from the dark room and out into the hallway. She sniffed, trying to keep it from showing she had been crying. We stopped at the next intersection. "Do you know where the barracks is?"
I nodded. "Are they sleeping with the men?" I asked disdainfully.
"No," My lady replied. "They're in tents right now. A new female barracks is being built. I required it for my women." Her women. Not at all possessive! "Now," she explained, "Mornings will be spent exercising and doing sparring. Afternoons will be with me learning the language. You may attend too. Evenings will be spent sparring and exercising again."
I repeated the schedule to myself silently. "So," I asked wearily. "When do they get freetime?"
"Week-beginnings-"
"Sundays." I corrected. She didn't even glare at me.
"Sundays, and then only the mornings." She replied. A half-day! She wanted to work these women to death! We just exited the palace. The sun shone brightly, as if all the days before were only a dream ago.
"Only a half-day?" I asked, trying to make sure she meant what she said.
"Yes." She said seriously.
"You're going to kill them, working them so hard." I replied.
"They'll need to toughen up, Kiera." She said, looking me in the eyes. I knew she was serious, the way her stare hardened.
"Yes, ma'am." I replied, giving her a typical Amazon salute. We had arrived in the females' tent-area. Women laughed and joked around the fire like men. "Here we are." There were more than thirty girls here. More like a hundred. Lilka, my mistress, nudged me forward. "Attention," I said quietly. No one looked at me. I tried again. "Attention." About two people heard me and looked my way. Finally, with one look at Lilka, I breathed deeply and spoke. "ATTENTION!" I called. Everyone except two girls, who were still laughing, looked at me in rapt interest. I walked over to the two girls, both of which had no care in the world about me, or my mistress. "Girls?" I asked. It was all too easy to slip into this role… "Could you tell the rest of the camp what is more interesting than your first day of camp?" Neither looked at me. "GIRLS!" They heard me and turned, uninterested. "Is there something I said you didn't understand?"
"Yes," One giggled. "I thought we were being trained my an Amazon. Not a handmaiden!"
The other nodded her head vigorously. "Indeed, you look nothing like an Amazon."
I narrowed my eyes. Now was the time to start enforcing my rules, however uncomfortable it might make me. "So, you want to be trained by an Amazon?" I asked nicely enough.
"Yes." The first retorted.
"Really?" I leaned down, placing the palms of my hands on my eyes and making my eyes level with hers.
"I told you, yes." The girl replied. She seemed spoiled.
I stood erect. "Does anyone else have a problem?" I called out to the camp. They stayed silent. I turned back to the girl. "No? Good. What's your name?"
"Mollie." She said, glaring so intently at me that if Lilka hadn't practically ordered me to do this, I'd be gone already. "Of Straese."
"Well, Mollie of Straese, you'll have to deal with disappointment." I said. "Drop to your hands and knees and give me five push-ups." She snorted. "DO IT!" She laughed aloud.
"You can't expect me, a lord's daughter, to drop to my hands and knees to a commoner?" She snorted. "You have some nerve!" She raised her hand to smack me. Lilka's training had quickened my reflexes, though they weren't nearly as sharp as hers. Her hand flew to smack my cheek. I grabbed it in my hand. "Let me go!" I held her hand tightly.
"Your princess has ordered me to teach you girls some Amazon fighting-styles. Now, if you can't respect my authority like Mollie of Straese, you can leave now." Mollie of Straese still couldn't get her wrist out of my grasp. "Now, everyone drop and give me five!" Ten girls refused to get their hands dirty. Mollie and her friend were two. Lilka had taught me what the Amazons did with disobedient warriors. "You ten that are still standing, get against the wall, NOW!" They didn't move.
"We're not here of our own accord, teacher," The term was obviously derogatory. One girl, not Mollie, stood to speak, the girl had guts. "We're here because our mothers told us to. We've been here about a week doing nothing. We're fine with that."
"And today, my fine girls, that will change!" The others had finished their push-ups. "Give me ten!" They reluctantly started again, glaring resentfully at the still standing girls. "We're going to keep doing this until these girls will drop their pride and give me some push-ups!" Many groans were heard. "You ten, drop to the ground. Bury your noses in the dirt." Three obeyed. Mollie and her friend weren't among them.
"We won't lower ourselves to commoner's work." Mollie yelled.
"You'll have to learn to," I replied. "Because here," I was walking among the rows of girls who were doing push-ups. "There is no status. Here, there are no ladies, no wenches and no commoners. We're all women trying to prove to men that we can take a hit and keep going!" About ten girls had dropped to the ground with exhaustion. "GET BACK UP!" I yelled at one. She hurriedly got back up, her arms shaking from the effort.
"You're in no position to order us around, commoner." A girl snarled, one of the seven that stood.
"I have every authority, soldier." I replied, coming up to her. "Do you refute the order of your next ruler?" She was quiet. "Bury your nose in the dirt, like the other three." I told her, my face coming near hers. She dropped without a glace in my direction. Six still stood defiantly. The ten push-ups had been finished. "Ten more girls, six still stand."
"Ha! They're little sheep!" Mollie's friend mocked. "We'll not be lowered to such drudgery."
I came up to her. "Get down, bury your nose in the ground, girl." I used to term so angrily, I guessed she thought heartily about obeying. But a gesture from Mollie heartened the girl and she still stood. "Anyone who wants to get off easier better drop themselves to the ground and bury their noses into the dirt." Three more dropped. Mollie, her friend and the other girl who spoke with guts still stood. "You two, names."
"Calia of Damion." The gutsy girl said.
"Dyama of Straese." Mollie's friend spoke so softly, I betted Mollie had coerced her into coming.
"Mollie and Dyama of Straese and Calia of Damion, you are dismissed. Take your bags and leave this instant." Mollie sneered.
"You can't make us leave. We'll stay and we'll do what we want." She said, coming towards me.
"Mollie! Dyama! Calia!" Lilka's voice rang out. I almost glared at her for taking my chance to exercise authority. "Come to me." She spoke with such power; I wondered where she had learned to be so commanding. Then I thought about her missing husband- the prince. She had attended those trials with him… The girls reluctantly went. Lilka was dressed in typical Amazon garb, something she had ordered made from the royal seamstresses. I looked back to the other girls. "Keep doing push-ups till we get back." There was one girl who admired me, I noticed. "Name?" I asked before leaving.
"Eya of Wayan." Wayan! The Captain had been from Castle Wayan!
"Are you related to Captain David of Wayan?" I asked.
"Yes, ma'am. He's my cousin." A cousin, eh?
"You're in charge, Eya of Wayan, until I come back, understand?" She emphatically.
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The three girls followed me. I had to intervene. They weren't the type I had asked for. Kiera soon came, jogging quickly to catch up. We entered the stables. I turned. They stopped, the girl called Calia bumping into the girl called Dyama who then bumped into Mollie. They lifted their heads. "Why are you girls here?" I asked.
"I'm here because my mother made me," Mollie scoffed.
"And you?" I asked Calia of Damion.
"I'm here for the same reason and Dyama and Mollie." She agreed.
"Ah," I noted Kiera standing the doorway, leaning up against the frame ever so lightly. "Well, I've got news for you three." I drew out a slender stick. "You can stay, and submit to Kiera's leadership or you can leave quietly and not come back to this camp."
Mollie laughed a high-pitched laugh. "You can't make us leave. If you looked more convincing, like the paintings we have of Amazons, maybe we'd obey you and the lapdog." She had guts, this Mollie girl. "I think it's high time you two common folk drop the act and tell us the truth."
I knew how to react to such an insult. I'd seen Brian do it to some servants. "You are speaking to the Crown Princess, Mollie of Straese!" I informed her quietly. "And you speak lies, a thing I do not permit. I am an Amazon, from the legendary Isle of the Amazons. You will react your rash words or I will have to dismiss you in shame."
The reaction to my statement took a bit to sink in. When Mollie's eyes took in my features, she blushed. "Forgive me, princess." She said. "I was out of line."
"Indeed you were." I replied. "Now, will you submit to Kiera's leadership or will you leave?"
"We'll leave." They did, quickly.