Authoress Note - So I know I said that I wasn't going to be updating for a while, but since this chapter is completed, I decided to go ahead and post it up, because why not? Feel free to review if you like.

Chapter 9 - Eileithyia's Ceremony

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"Alright ladies, follow my lead!" a woman's voice echoed over the camp as she raised her sword and brought the steel weapon down with a ferocious slash. A group of teenage Amazons copied her movements exactly, their swords swiping the air as the Weapons' Master looked on. The woman stands back and nods her head in approval, the crisp summer's breeze tossing her soft curls to and fro as she places her free hand on her hip.

"Excellent work girls! Now that you've learned the basics it's time to piece together everything we've learned today. Remember to concentrate... become one with your weapon."

With a clap of her hands the Weapons' Master signaled for the girls to get into stance. Looks of determination and focus were upon each of the young girls' faces as they awaited their teacher's commands.

"Ready! And, step forwards.. strike! sidestep...strike!" In her mid thirties, the Amazon has seen and fought many trials and battles that make her one of the toughest warriors to ever wield a sword. Her combination of snow white skin, and waist length, snow-white tresses stand out greatly, especially amongst her tribe of Amazonian sisters. While many people would consider this a burden to bear, the woman took pride in her appearance, she felt it made her special in a way as it was rare to meet another soul with this unique combination of physical traits. The woman paces back and forth while calling out various commands, watching on intently as the young girls follow her orders. Not bad for beginners, she noted to herself as she stares out at the small group of warriors. After some time, the woman steps forward and raises a hand in the air. but if they're to become elite warriors one day they'll need all the training they can get. "Alright, everyone take five! We'll try a little one-on-one sparring next."

As the Weapons' Master heads over to sit beneath a fruit tree to take a load off, she spots one of the young girls walking up to her. The trainer takes a seat before she stares up at the young brown haired girl and arches a white eyebrow, her sapphire blue irises peeking out behind hooded eyelids. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," the girl replies with a shake of her head. "I thought maybe I could cool down a little if I sat in a more shady area. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. Take a seat."

The teen happily sat beside her as she rested her back against the cool bark of the apple tree above, the aches in her heels beginning to fade away.

"Wow."

"What?"

"That's a pretty bad scar you've got there," came the light voice of the young girl upon noticing the deep jagged scar running down the woman's left arm. At that moment the white haired woman peered down at the marred skin, memories flooding her thoughts as she recalled the incident. She could remember everything like it was yesterday - an encounter with a Roman soldier during an invasion on their village. The battle was bloody and brutal, and they'd lost many sisters during the fight, one of which had been the woman's younger sister. She'd tried everything in her power to protect her, but ultimately failed. Five summers have passed since then, but she could still hear her sister's nightmarish screams as the soldier's sword pierced her through the chest. The gruesome image of her sister's final moments had been permanently etched into her memory forever.

The weapons' master brought her eyes back up and gave a faint smile. "That? That's nothing but a scratch. I've got scars way worse than this. See?" At that moment, the white haired woman turned around to reveal a deep scar that ran diagonally across her lower back. "Here's another one as well," she said pointing to another ugly scar on her left side.

The girl's eyes bulged out in surprise. "Wow."

"There are many more just like these, along with stories for each of them. Soon many more will join them until my time here is done, then I shall finally rest in peace with our fallen sisters."

The small brown haired girl's face paled at the thought of that until she pushed the image from her mind and placed a hand on her teacher's shoulder. "Well, considering your high level combat skills, I doubt that'll be any time soon," she voiced with genuine sincerity.

"Thanks," the Weapons' Master chuckled lightly.

Just as their conversation came to a close, a third Amazon made her way over. Bright copper hair was glued to her forehead, her face and body damped with sweat, and her usual fair skin was now a soft olive tan due to the unforgiving sun beating down upon them all day. The Amazon brushed her bangs to the side and stood in front of the Weapons' Master and her student and said, "Sorry to interrupt your training session, Master Calliope, but the Queen has requested our help to set things up for Eileithyia's ceremony. She wants to meet with us right now."

The woman cast her eyes up to the other tall, willowy woman, issuing her a nod, "I'll be right there, Celia." Without another word the woman bowed and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd of busy Amazons. At that point, the Weapons' Master decided to end the training session early for the day and prep herself while she still had the energy to do so. Amazon funerals did take a while to set up. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she rose up and brought her attention back to the young girl that had joined her moments ago. "Well, looks like we'll have to resume our training session another time, kiddo. Duty calls." As she said this, the woman could already see the disappointment settling in on the girl's freckled, child-like face, which was a rarity when it came to the Weapon Masters' intense training sessions, where most of the Amazon children would be relieved if their training was cancelled.

"What?! Can't you get a substitute this time?" the girl whined

Calliope stared at the girl with a raised brow. "You mean you actually want to continue training?"

"Well how else am I suppose to become as good as you?" The Weapons' Master smirked before she started to gaze around the village for a moment. She then spotted a head of big bushy ringlets in the crowd of Amazons; then a familiar face came into view...

Castalia...

An idea came to her as she watched the woman pass by. "Stay here," she told her student, and with a sprint in her step, Calliope takes off after the woman, eventually catching up to her and falling in step beside her.

Without bothering to look around, Castalia asked, "What is it now, Calliope?" The Weapons' Master wasn't the least bit surprised when her fellow sister seemed slightly annoyed by her, and considering the fact that she'd been asking favors from the War Mistress for the past few days, it was only a matter of time.

"I need a favor."

"Why am I not surprised," the War Mistress said as she came to a halt in her step. She turned around and crossed her arms over her chest giving the Weapons' Master the glance over before she decided to listen at what she had to say. "What is it this time?"

"I need you to take over my training session while I help with the arrangements of Eileithyia's funeral tonight."

Castalia rolled her eyes but then flashed a subtle grin. "Fine, I'll do it, but next time you'll owe me a favor," she informed the village trainer who then nodded in agreement.

"You got it! Thanks Cass!" The War Mistress gave a nod and watched as Calliope turned on her heel and disappeared across the village. She then made her way over to the young teen Calliope was with moments ago and stared down at her with narrowed eyes. The girl immediately got to her feet and swallowed nervously as the woman kept her eyes fixated on her.

"Follow me," Castalia ordered before walking away.

The teen quickly picked up the steel sword resting in the soft grass and rushed to follow behind the bushy haired woman.

Seconds later, Castalia crossed the village and approached the trainees who were all sitting in a group together. Overhearing the approaching footsteps, the students looked up and noticed the absence of their original teacher and flashed confused looks towards one another. "Where's Master Calliope?" asked one of the girls as her eyes roam across the village in search of their teacher.

"She's needed elsewhere so she asked me to finish your lesson for today," the War Mistress answered. "Now, everyone up!" While the girls all stood and spaced themselves out, the young brown haired teen fell in tow with the rest of the young warriors as they awaited their instructions. Castalia stepped in front of them and picked up the cool steel sword lying in the dirt and stood straight up again. A gentle breeze slightly feathered through her bushy hair as she narrowed her light green eyes seriously; that look alone easily sent nervous shivers down a select few of the girls' spines. "Alright then, let's begin!"

...

Healer's hut

Candles and incense were lit around the small space of the healer's hut. Inside, a dark skinned Amazon watches over the remaining three royal guardians, patiently waiting for the women to awaken. In the meantime, the busy Amazon works to prepare a variety of salves and balms to store away for later. As she goes about doing this, a loud knock against the door sounded, slightly spooking her before she halted in her work and walked over to open it. The wooden door opens and in walks the old village nurse, Hestia, carrying a basket full of freshly picked plants, herbs, and spices in her hand. Wiping the sweat from her damp forehead, the salt and pepper haired woman greeted her assistant with a nod, and in turn received one as the assistant kindly greeted the elderly woman before taking the basket of medicinal herbs from her and placing it on a nearby table.

"Have there been any changes in their condition, Zahirah?"

The dark skinned woman glanced over at the tables where the three women were resting, "Afraid not. But they should be up and about at any time today. Lucky for them that they didn't sustain any serious injuries." She grabbed a jar of fresh herbs before making her way back over to the tables, grabbing a stool as she sat and began to clean and re-bandage the wounds of the unconscious Amazons. The elder healer came over and stood beside the young up-and-coming nurse, propping a hand onto her shoulder.

"Well, it seems you have everything under control here, and while you're doing that I'm going to go grab us some lunch. I'm getting hungry."

Zahirah laughed. "Okay."

Hestia left the hut while Zahirah resumed her work, humming to herself as she reached for a handful of fresh herbs. Just as she was about to place them over the wounded area on the Amazon's cheek, the raven haired woman woke up.

Zahirah's mouth fell open in surprise. "Ayako?"

The raven cracked her eyes open and slowly eased herself up, resting on her elbows as she took in her surroundings. She turned her aching head, and Zahirah's face came into view, telling her that she was now in the healer's hut. Last she remembered, she'd been in a duel with a man cloaked in dark blue robes... and lost. She felt a flame of anger wavering inside her as the memory ate away at her internally. Zahirah's honey colored orbs stared on in confusion as Ayako's entire face began to twist up into a scowl, her fingers flexing into fists. She had hoped it was only a dream, but when she pinched herself, the Amazon came to the realization that it was not. Never before had she been bested by one of her enemies, and she was feeling true humiliation for the first time in her life.

"Are you okay?" The sound of Zahirah's anxious voice snaps her from her thoughts and Ayako whips her head around to meet the young nurse's gaze.

"I'm fine!" With all of her might, Ayako forces her aching body to sit up, a sour grunt of determination escaped her lips as she bit her bottom lip and swallowed the pain, ignoring it as best she could. Finally sitting upright, the Amazon swung her legs around and scooted off the edge of the table before sorely limping for the door.

"W-wait! You have to let me finish wrapping your bandages, otherwise your injuries might become infected!" Zahirah called out as a reminder, though one menacing glare from Ayako caused her to regret she'd said anything at all. Instead of pleading with her, she watched the temperamental Amazon take her leave, the door swinging closed behind her.

The young healer kept her eyes fixated on the wooden door and sighed lowly. "One day her stubbornness is going to come back to bite her." Turning her attention back, she moved on to the other wounded Amazons, Hester and Nala, working diligently to treat their injuries.

...

Outside, Ayako sat beneath the apple tree muttering something unintelligible to herself as she bit bitterly into one of its cherry red apples. The echos of the bustling camp seemed to fade away as her mind became consumed with the thought of revenge. She could remember her new rival's face vividly as she swallowed the sweet flesh of the fruit in her hand; hair as brown as molasses, a distinctive scar on one side of his face just beneath those brown eyes that sparked with so much intensity and determination, and a soul that burned a thousand flames.

If she had to be honest, he was greatly experienced in the art of combat as well. Whomever his teacher was had to be a man or woman of great wisdom and strength.

Still, Ayako wanted retribution. Retribution for herself and for the humiliation he'd caused her in front of her sisters. Right then she promised herself that the next time they met, she would be the one standing victoriously.

...

Later that day

The time had now come for one of the most difficult moments of the day; the time to lay Eleithyia to rest. The tribe had fallen into a state of mourning as Amazon women and children, from babies to the eldest of the village, gathered together to bid farewell and send off yet another fallen sister.

The rhythmic beating of drum instruments fill the camp as dancers fall in line with the music, parading around the open area of the village and performing what is known as a 'Mourning Dance'.

Forming groups on two separate sides of the open area, the women watch as four Amazons dressed in ceremonial attire emerge from a single hut and march down the aisle towards a stacked pile of wood with Eileithyia's now mummified body in their possession. At this time, Queen Raziya emerges from the Queen's hut and proceeds to walk down the aisle. The Amazons all kneel on a knee simultaneously as they began to pray in an unknown language. In the Queen's hands were Eileithyia's signature weapons - chobos, and a single long stemmed black rose to honor her memory as a Royal Guardian. The Queen takes the wooden sticks and places them above the fallen Amazon's head, then proceeds to place the rose on top of Eileithyia's chest before chanting a quick prayer. Once she steps away, Amazons, one by one, come up to speak and pay their last respects to the fallen, sharing their personal stories and memories of their beloved Amazon sister, including fellow guardians Nala and Hester.

Moments later, Queen Raziya steps forward again. "At this time we will bid farewell to our sister and proceed with the lighting of the pyre." She turns her attention towards the Amazon assigned over the pyre who patiently waited for the signal. "Light the pyre," she cued to which a voice immediately interjected with a stern - "Hold everything!"

The voice in the background catches the attention of everyone within the tribe, and soon a face comes into view to match. Queen Raziya crosses her arms spotting the source of the outburst, then asks, "Is there a problem, Ayako?"

The raven hobbles over and kneels to a knee. "Please forgive the interruption my Queen," she says, "but there is something important that everyone here should know. In fact, I believe that what I have to say is quite serious as it pertains to the deceased. We wouldn't want to make the mistake of honoring someone who doesn't deserve it, would we?" The raven stands and limps her way through the crowd of surrounding women before turning to face them.

Queen Raziya watches on before she arches a brow in curiosity. "What is it? Just what are you saying?"

Ayako raised a hand into the air revealing what looked to be some sort of book before lowering her hand and flipping through a couple of the pages within. It seemed to be in fair condition even if it did have a few wrinkled pages here and there. But more importantly it contained very valuable and personal information regarding Eileithyia.

"What I have in my hands is Eileithyia's personal journal. This is where she kept her personal thoughts and beliefs. This is also where I have found concrete evidence that proves she was a traitor to our tribe."

The raven watches as murmuring falls over the women, several mouths dropping open in shock. Queen Raziya stands by silently, also recalling Mirabelle's suspicions of the now deceased woman. She didn't know what piece of evidence Ayako had, but she definitely wanted to hear about it.

"That's ludicrous!" spat a short, wavy haired Amazon from the audience. "Eileithyia would never betray her sisters! She was the epitome of a true Amazon warrior, and I doubt she would be so easily swayed!"

"On the contrary, Eileithyia was nothing but dead weight, not just in her position as a royal guardian, but as an Amazon entirely! She was weak! And let's not forget to mention that she conspired with those four outsiders, and ultimately had herself killed on purpose so that she could escape - and I quote, "Captivity". How do I know, you ask? Because I followed her to the jail huts right before the challenges took place and listened in on their conversation. Our nation is better off without people like her!" the raven snapped bitterly. Her gray eyes fall over the pages of the journal once more and she added, "Oh, and did I mention that she even thought of planning and leading a revolt against our Queen?"

It wasn't really a surprise to her when gasps and more whispering filled the camp. But Ayako felt it was her duty to inform her sisters of the secret shenanigans going on within the tribe. Though some people still believed otherwise.

"Why in the world should we believe you of all people, Ayako? It's no secret that you and Eileithyia weren't fond of each other."

"Talia, you foolish girl! How dense can you be," yelled a woman standing across the aisle, a clear sign of irritation on her much more aged features. "What more proof do you want? She has the journal, and she even said that she followed Eileithyia to the jail huts and overheard everything!"

"Indeed I did," Ayako confirms once more, "But don't take my word for it. Why don't you see for yourself, Talia?" The raven tosses the journal across the dirt abruptly, the book landing in front of the petite teen with its pages spread open, covered in the loose soil. Talia hesitates at first, but ultimately picks it off the ground, wiping away the fresh dirt before suddenly whipping through some of the wrinkly and now dirt-stained pages. Others gather around her to behold the journal's secrets. Reading through the confidential matter made many of the women uncomfortable, and others angry. Despite the matter, there were a select few trying to understand why their fallen sister would think, let alone fix her hand to write such things.

"Well... what do you have to say now, Talia?" asked Ayako placing her hands on her hips in a triumphant manner as she watches Talia shut the book closed. She didn't want to believe the woman she once admired and looked up to would consider going against her own tribe, especially for a group of outsiders. The young Amazon raised her head up to see Ayako's eyes glaring over at her with that wicked glint in them. That was the same wicked glint she carried in them whenever she was up to no good. It was obvious to Talia that Ayako waited all this time to reveal this information so that she could stand back and relish in what would be consequences for Eileithyia's actions. Enraged, Talia launches the book at the head of the depraved woman before turning around and pushing past the crowd of women, running off in a huff.

As the book comes crashing down in front of her, Ayako merely smirks. "What a crybaby ..."

"Enough!" came a firm tone of voice. Ayako as well as the rest of the women whipped their heads around to see their Queen staring back at them unamused. By now their leader had heard enough, and only wanted to wrap this segment up. "Give me that book!"

Following the Queen's orders, Ayako picked up the journal and presented it to her. When she took it, Queen Raziya immediately started to thumb through its contents until she found what she so desired. She paused for a short moment to read over something before closing the journal shut. Now with undeniable proof of Eileithyia's actions, it was clear what she needed to do.

"So..." she said as her eyes shifted to Ayako. "You knew the entire time what Eileithyia was up to and yet you still let it happen?" All the attention had been shifted onto her now, and Ayako silently damned herself. She knew she was in hot water now. "Why didn't you come forward and tell me?"

"I..." Ayako felt lost for words and gulped back her nervousness as she tried to come up with a plausible explanation.

"You can't even answer that question, can you?"

Ayako frowned as she hung her head in total silence. Queen Raziya let out a scoff of disbelief before picking back up where she left off.

"Now that I have been presented credible evidence of Eileithyia's actions and know the truth behind these rumors, we can put this whole situation to rest and move on. For starters, Eileithyia will not be honored here today," she announced loudly. "Instead of our traditional ritual, she and her things will be cremated outside of the village." With a brief pause, she quickly spotted a familiar red head in the sea of faces. "Bremusa, I'm placing you in charge of resetting the pyre. Gather as many Amazons as you need to help set things up. As for everyone else here, you may return to your duties for now, but there is something important that I must discuss with you all tonight. We'll meet in the meeting hut around sunset and not a second later. Now, are there any questions?"

The women of the village fell silent, nothing but the sound of the wind rustling leaves, and chirping birds resonate above. Most were too nervous or scared to say anything. Queen Raziya's voice abruptly cut through the uncomfortable silence again, still stern as ever. "Then I hereby declare this ceremony officially over!" Turning on her heel, the irritated Queen walked back to her personal hut as the tribe of warriors watch on without another word.

...

~ Outside the village ~

Outside of the renegade Amazonian village, a funeral pyre burns ever brightly, orange flames dance and sway freely as the blaze eats away at the dead body on the large pile of wood stacked not too far from the village gates. Thick clouds of smoke spread into the air, eventually joined by the smell of burning flesh, the pungent odor hitting the nostrils of the surrounding Amazons as they watch the flames burn fiercely before them.

"I still can't believe all this... she knew better than to " an elder gray haired Amazon spoke earning a few nods and murmurs of agreement in the process. Ayako, who'd been selected against her wishes to help with the pyre, rolled her eyes at the woman's statement as she sat to herself on a fallen log opposite of the other Amazons.

"Well I bet someone here is satisfied," a voice chuckled from behind her. Ayako kept quiet as she peeked over her left shoulder to see an Amazon with caramel hair styled in braids staring back at her. "What? It's the truth and you know it."

She could see right through the woman's attempt at trying to guilt trip her. Ayako wasn't falling for it. Instead she played the innocent act. "Are you implying that I'm taking delight in all of this?"

"I would be surprised if you weren't. Face it, Ayako, it's just as Talia said; You and Eileithyia had some serious animosity towards one another. But what's the reason behind it? Could it be that you were possibly... threatened by her?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm one of this tribe's best fighters and a royal guardian to Queen Raziya, as well as our Queen before her. In fact, I was Queen Aziza's first pick. That alone speaks volumes, but you can believe whatever you wish, Zatarah."

"Humph. It seems to me that our Queen isn't too pleased with you at the moment," the woman retorts with a tone of amusement in her voice. "You won't be a royal guardian for very much longer."

"Ladies! This is not the time to be arguing! We just lost one of our own, and the two of you aren't helping things!" Bremusa's voice scolded over the crackling of the fire. The two women glared one another down briefly before directing their attention to back to the red head. Bremusa internally thanked the heavens as their bickering suddenly came to an end. "That's better," she smiled. "Now let's focus on the task at hand."

"Whatever," scoffed Ayako as Zatarah chuckled lowly.

"You know, with all this stuff concerning Eileithyia it makes me wonder just how long she had been thinking of doing all those things," said one of the younger Amazons. "I mean, plotting a revolt against the Queen is a pretty serious thing. Could you imagine the type of consequences one would have to pay for that?" She tapped a finger against the bottom of her chin as she thought of all the terrifying punishments that would befall someone in that position. An Amazon sitting beside her nodded in agreement as she listened on intently with her own scenarios playing in her head.

"Well, that's something we'll hopefully never have to find out," Bremusa said looking to the setting sun. "We should head back now. It's almost time for Queen Raziya's big announcement, and we can't be late."

With their task done, the women head back to the village for what would hopefully be a better rest of the day. Though there was still one question up in the air...

Why had Eleithyia done what she did in the first place? They could only wonder...

Authoress Note: Stay tuned because chapter 10 is on its way soon! Thanks again to everyone that has liked, favorited, and reviewed this story!