Author's Note: Sorry about the delay! I know it's been well over a month since I've updated. There's this little thing called school that's got my attention recently. I'm sure I might be forgiven if I make it up to you, so here is some new material with more close at hand. Tira Darkheart is never far from my mind and it can be quite frustrating to be locked into a cycle of assignments when she is counting on me to tell her story. That said, enjoy Chapter 12 and know that the next update will be much quicker!

The Destroyer slept fitfully and awoke far too early for her tastes on the day of the Amazon presentation ceremony. Grumbling and rubbing the sleep from her eyes she sought out Sedgik in his hut only to discover that he had been up for quite some time. They shared the breakfast he had prepared from her gifted boar largely in silence. Sedgik wanted to talk more with the Destroyer, but he could see that she had weightier things on her mind and respected her reticence. He watched with interest as she split her meal nearly evenly with Mendi, who had accompanied her. She spoke with the cat more than she spoke with Sedgik, in a guttural-sounding language he could not understand. The fact that she talked with her cat slightly unnerved him, but he was getting used to the strangeness that surrounded his new friend. The Destroyer followed him to the infirmary and spent some time helping him with simple chores before she indicated it was time for her to start getting ready for the ceremony.

"Yes, I think they'll be coming by soon to make sure I'm secured in here and can't pollute the goings-on with my maleness," Sedgik laughed, his face coloring slightly.

"You've probably figured it out long before now, but I don't have any problem with your maleness," the Destroyer responded without missing a beat, peering out at him from under her disheveled bangs and flashing a toothy grin.

"You're no Amazon, that's for sure, even though you could pass for one if you wanted to," the healer noted.

"Well, I need to put on a good show for them today," she groused.

"You can't tell me much about what's going on, can you?"

"Nope." The Destroyer rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then gave Mendi a friendly pat. "I'm gonna leave Mendi here with you. He'll keep an eye on things around here, just in case." I don't like the idea that the Amazons would kill him for an accidental breach of protocol. All these rules and rituals are confusing. I'd like to look after him myself, but of course I can't. Mendi is the next best thing. It'll keep him from being underfoot, too.

Sedgik seemed hesitant. "I hate to ask this, but this is an infirmary after all…is he clean?"

"Cleaner than me. I mean, he licks himself all day. Of course he's clean."

The healer shrugged, realizing that the cat was going to stay regardless. "I can't object to the company. Are you going?"

"Yup. Here goes nothin'."

As the Destroyer made her exit, Sedgik began his rounds, cat in tow. Nearing the end of his task, he poked his head into Eponin's room. "How are you this – oh." The healer sighed and shook his head. The pallet was empty, the warrior's belongings gone. "Why am I not surprised? She wasn't ready yet. I hope she'll take it easy."

"Will you back up? Damn! I can practically feel your breath on my ear."

"S-sorry, Champion," a timid young Amazon apologized as she stumbled backwards from the washtub where an irate Destroyer was immersed in steaming water up to her shoulders.

"She's not the Champion yet," a snide voice corrected from the corner of the thatched-wall hut. The Destroyer and a contingent of junior-ranking Amazons had set themselves up in a private room within the sweat lodge. The Amazons were assigned the duties of preparing their guest for the ceremony that evening, but it was proving harder than they had anticipated. Their charge was irritable and short with them, and it wore thin on the patience of one Amazon in particular. "She's still just Tira Darkheart as far as I'm concerned," Artemisia growled.

"But she'll be our Champion this evening once the Queen Regent announces her, so what's the difference?" another Amazon asked. She leaned against the doorjamb and fingered her wavy brown hair, looking bored. The truth was that she felt nervous around their mysterious guest for reasons she could not quite place, but it was her habit to affect a permanently cocky attitude to hide her apprehension.

"Oh shut up, Amarice. No one cares what you think," Artemisia spat back, causing Amarice to roll her eyes. Although Amarice appeared unconcerned, she resolved to keep her opinion to herself next time. Amarice was one of Artemisia's favorite scapegoats.

"You should all shut up. We don't have much more time, and we need to get through this somehow." Elena coolly nudged the Amazon who had been trying to rinse the Destroyer's hair aside. "Why won't you relax? We're just trying to wash you up."

Because you're all too close! Because I can't stand a bunch of strangers pawing me! What do ya think is wrong, dumbass? Aargh, take it easy. This is no time to bite anyone's head off. I can handle this. She sighed and turned back to look at Elena, who'd had the sense not to lean over the Destroyer's shoulder as the other girl had done. "Look. I'm sorry. I'm wild, all right? I'm not used to having people trying to handle me. I didn't mean to snap, but I'm capable of scrubbing myself off, if it's all the same to you."

"Bet if it was that healer trash you wouldn't be such a bitch about it," Artemisia muttered to herself.

"Suit yourself." Without warning Elena scooped the washing supplies out of the younger Amazon's grasp and dumped everything in the center of the tub, splashing the Destroyer in the face. "Yell when you're done. Don't forget the body oils. The paint won't stick like it's supposed to if you're not oiled enough." Elena began to walk nonchalantly towards the door. Amarice, taking the hint, opened it, and the assembled Amazon girls began to file out. Artemisia was particularly amused at the exchange and smirked wickedly at the Destroyer as she left. The Destroyer, spluttering and wiping her face, missed her chance to respond to Artemisia's insult. She cleared her face in time to see Elena look back at her as she shut the door, being the last one out. Unlike Artemisia, Elena's face showed no trace of ill-will as she glanced at their would-be champion.

She's a strange one. Almost like she knew she was doing me a favor, leaving me alone here, instead of just playing tit-for-tat. The Destroyer looked down at the grooming paraphernalia that had been unceremoniously dumped in her lap and sighed, trying to figure out which bottles were which. Or maybe not. What IS all this stuff, anyway?

The young Amazons were standing outside in a clique, laughing and joking with one another, when the Destroyer finally emerged from the sweat lodge some time later. After considerable effort and trial-and-error, the young woman had managed to come out looking something like an Amazon warrior herself. She had traded her worn skins and furs for an Amazon-style halter that bared her arms and her midriff, as well as a long skirt of hide strips interwoven with colorful feathers. Her hair, considerably tamed by cleaning and brushing, spilled abundantly over her shoulders in natural waves. Her skin glistened with the oils she had liberally applied to herself after her bath. It had the side effect of showing even more clearly the definition in her muscles. As before, she remained barefoot.

"Would you look at that," Amarice whistled approvingly, nudging Lyri, the girl who had unsuccessfully tried to bathe the Destroyer earlier, as others behind them muttered their surprise.

"Tira Darkheart!" Lyri gasped. "Now you look like one of us."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Artemisia opined.

"Your skirt's on backwards," Elena remarked dryly.

"Aw, dammit," the Destroyer cursed, quickly turning her skirt around as the Amazon clique giggled. "All right, so what comes next?"

"It's time for you to go to the elders," Lyri explained, pointing to a secluded structure nestled behind the Queen Regent's headquarters. "They'll make the final preparations before the ceremony. You should hurry. It'll be dark soon."

"What, no escort?" the Destroyer quipped. She felt awkward in the presence of the group of young women. They stood in a clump several feet from her, leaving her conspicuously alone.

"You think you're better than us, think you can parade around like royalty?" Artemisia snarled back, taking a step towards the brown-haired woman.

"I was just kidding, Red, shit."

"Red?" Amarice teased questioningly. Artemisia kicked her hard in the back of the knee causing her to tumble into the dirt. Turning on her heel she stormed off, not even looking back at Amarice or the others, and disappeared among the Amazon lodges.

"This is no laughing matter, Tira Darkheart," Elena chided flatly. "You're being given a formal introduction by the Queen Regent. It's about time we all know who you are and why you're really here."

"Fair enough. You're right. Enjoy the party, girls," the Destroyer said dismissively as she sauntered off towards the elder's den. Garbed as she was, she was barely distinguishable from the Amazons she was leaving, except for the way she carried herself.

Elena shut the door of Solari's hut carefully behind her as she confronted the raging tempest inside. She leaned against the weathered wooden slats and folded her arms as Artemisia threw a tantrum in front of her, overturning tables and tossing weapons and pottery to the floor. The red-haired young woman barely acknowledged her visitor as she continued to wreck her mother's home. At last Elena strode forward and grabbed Artemisia's wrist before she smashed a bowl. "Stop it."

"Let go of me!"

"No, stop."

"You can't tell me what to do you –" Artemisia's protest was silenced by Elena's lips forcefully meeting hers. The aggression that the redhead had been directing at inanimate objects now came down upon her partner. She struck Elena in the arms and back, hard, but the shorter woman did not release her grasp and eventually pushed Artemisia onto her back on her mother's bed. Artemisia stopped attacking Elena, instead pulling her down on top of her roughly and kissing her as fiercely as she had been kissed. The pair tussled briefly, passionately, until their desire and ardor were satisfied.

Afterward, Elena looked down into Artemisia's face, propping herself up on her elbow. "How did you know I would be here?" the younger Amazon asked breathlessly, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, as she stared upward at her lover.

"Why did you go to your mother's house? I thought you weren't talking to her."

"I'm not. I knew she wouldn't be here. She's too busy with the ceremony."

"You should be, too, and now you have to clean this up. We don't have much time. Why did you do this? Why are you so angry?"

"It's that girl, Tira Darkheart," Artemisia replied with a frown. "I hate her. She shouldn't be here. She's not one of us. What business does she have being our champion? Why do we need one, anyhow?"

Elena sighed. "You idiot. Don't you ever listen to anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's obvious that Velasca's returned, and that Artemis sent us a champion to help us fight her."

Artemisia's flushed face began to pale. "Shit. You mean Iphianassa really was that powerful? I knew we should have killed her instead of banishing her."

"I can't believe you didn't know. What else could explain Aunt Eponin's injuries? You are so dense sometimes."

"I keep you around to do the thinking for me." Artemisia smiled and kissed Elena's cheek, but the older Amazon did not return her mirth.

"That won't work forever, you know. You need to learn to make your own decisions." Elena sighed wearily. "Preferably better ones than trashing your mother's house."

"So help me out, oh wise one," Artemisia requested with obvious sarcasm. "What are you thinking right now? You've got this business with the wild bitch all figured out it seems. Let me in on your cleverness."

"No, I don't have it figured out at all. What I can't understand is, why her?"

"You mean because she's an outsider, because it should have been one of us chosen?"

"Come off it. You make it sound like you would have been picked to be Artemis's champion if she hadn't shown up and you're not even a full warrior yet. What I don't see is how we're any better off with her as our Champion. Velasca's still a goddess, still immortal. Even Queen Gabrielle and Xena couldn't kill her. What's Tira Darkheart going to do?"

Artemisia furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "Mom knows. I've been watching her lately. She and Ephiny know something and they're keeping it from the rest of us."

"How unusually perceptive of you. I wonder if they'll see fit to share tonight."

As darkness fell, myriad painted Amazons in masks danced around a huge central bonfire, singing and beating the drums as per their tradition. All of the songs and stories being recounted in the central area, often accompanied by dramatic choreography, were about the great Queens of the past and how they had led the tribes through difficult times with their bravery and decisiveness. Behind the door of the Council's hut, Ephiny heard the familiar refrains and steeled herself. She prayed that she would see her sisters through this crisis as well. Although she was flanked by her faithful right hand, Solari, the group of Amazon elders at her rear were none too pleased with the announcement she was about to make, and they had not been shy about telling her so in the ceremonial preparation meeting. She blocked them from her mind. Instead, she turned to the young woman standing to her other side, doing her best to adjust her unfamiliar Amazon garb. "Tira Darkheart, are you ready? Remember, you don't have to say or do anything. Just follow my lead and stand tall. Show your pride and confidence, and they'll develop confidence in you too."

"And if they don't?" the Destroyer asked. She was already anticipating trouble. A thin sheen of sweat coated her oil- and paint-slicked skin. "What if something goes wrong?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Solari cut in gruffly. "Now come on. Everyone's waiting to find out the truth, and it's long overdue."

On the dais that had been set up between the bonfire and the Council's hut, a sturdy, dark-skinned Amazon ascended the steps and motioned for the dancers to stop. As the warrior most recently initiated into mature member status, Chilapa was designated the escort for the Queen and her entourage. Once the crowd was quieted and the dancers had taken their place next to the rest of their sisters, Ephiny climbed onto the stage, followed by the Destroyer, Solari, and the sour-looking elders who took up positions behind the focal group. Solari, too, melted back into the darkness at the edge of the dais, leaving Ephiny and the would-be Champion alone in the center. Chilapa signaled for silence, then made herself scarce as well, opposite Solari at the margins. Ephiny took a deep breath and called out to her tribe.

"Sister Amazons! As you know, these have been difficult times of late. I regret to inform you that our worst fears have been realized. We have learned that Velasca, the usurper who attained godhood but was sealed away by Queen Gabrielle, has been freed by the traitor Iphianassa who was recently banished."

Gasps and murmurs went up from the crowd, but many of the more astute sisters nodded knowingly. Rumors had been spreading like wildfire ever since the strange events of the past week, and Iphianassa had often bragged of her powers in public.

Without waiting for the din to subside, Ephiny continued. The last thing she wanted was to drag this out. "Because of my concern for your safety and the endurance of our Nation, I appealed to Artemis herself for aid. Although many of you have suggested of late that she no longer hears our prayers and supplications, she came to me in a dream and told me that she would be sending us a Champion. This Champion is here next to me tonight. I formally present to you Tira Darkheart, summoned by the Goddess herself, our guest and ally who has come to our aid of her own free will."

Ephiny subtly nudged the Destroyer with her boot. The young woman came forward hesitantly, but she kept her head up. Her eyes drifted over the seemingly endless sea of faces that gazed back at her curiously. Well, this won't last. Go on, Ephiny. Tell them what I am and let's get it over with.

The Queen Regent continued. "I am sure many of you are asking yourselves why a young woman such as this, who seems much like any of our own initiates, is our Champion. You may not like the answer. I will be frank with you. Tira Darkheart is our only hope, because only she can kill Velasca once and for all. She, and she alone, can accomplish this feat because Tira Darkheart is the Destroyer, born of the Daughter of Dahak and bred to slay immortals."