Disclaimer: I only own the amazons and their horses. No songs featured are my own unless otherwise stated.
Chapter 3
Arlia looked behind her as she scouted ahead of the entourage. She was getting impatient. It was said that they were there to show off the might of the Roman Empire, though she doubted that the natives would take much notice of a group of seven women. But that was what she loved about being an Amazon. Men would think you were weak, until they either were dead from a well placed sword-thrust, or with a knife to their throat. Mind you, the last time she had been here the natives hadn't underestimated her, and she wouldn't like to take any risks. Giving one last sigh she wheeled her horse round and rode back to the group. All she had seen up ahead was a forest, but that she distrusted most fearfully. Two weeks of travelling and sleeping rough was taking its toll on men and horses, though not the Amazons or their horses. The horses were used to long journeys made in haste. Haste, she thought, this is not haste. And why are we needed if there are armed guards meeting the Bishop. So she and her women were going to ask permission to leave as soon as the Bishop had his armed escort.
"Anything?" Bremusa asked.
"Nothing, just trees. I hate this godforsaken weather." Arlia cursed.
"Don't take the Lord's name in vain." The bishop turned.
"Like I care what you think." Arlia whispered sticking her middle finger up at the bishops back.
"Be careful, he might not let us go." Bremusa giggled with her leader.
"I think he will he's already getting tired of Reseda." Arlia brushed a hand back to the younger girl.
Reseda wasn't the youngest of the group. By all rights she should have left with the group that had left. But Rome had seen to the fact that she didn't. There was a story of how Arlia had saved her in her first year as a leader. She had had a twin, but her twin had been executed by the Romans. Her crime, refusing a Roman officer. She had been forced to watch, and she had killed a few guards to try to stop them from killing her sister. But they had still executed her sister, and Arlia had had to intervene to stop her from being killed. Arlia had taken her in and become like a sister figure to her. They had learnt fighting skills off each other, and the younger girl had the makings of a great leader. Time was no problem for her; she had been forced to serve for fifteen years, to complete the service that her sister never did finish. That was just the first inkling of what Rome was truly capable of where the Amazons were concerned, though Arlia didn't yet know it.
They soon reached the bottom of the hill where the forest was. Separating the forest from the ground was a stream which gurgled its way merrily to wherever it ended up. Looking back Arlia saw the armed guard and smiled. They were typical male knights, Sarmatians most probably. But she had no more time to examine them as at that moment a group of woads emerged from the forest.
"Now we get to meet the locals." Reseda whispered, before sliding off her horse.
Arlia back flipped off Yildiz and soon had her twin blades drawn. The knights spurred their horses as the first of the woads reached the Amazons, and were quickly dispatched by the women. Arlia gracefully dodged one blade, moving swiftly to dispatch another with one swift movement. At this point the knights joined the battle. But she didn't have much time to dwell on that fact, as there were a lot of men coming towards her, looking for an easy fight. Well they wouldn't get one, she thought while sizing up the men. Then she launched herself into an attack, each of her twin blades singing out until there were no more left. She turned to see one of the knights about to be killed by a woad from behind, so she took out her throwing knife and threw it. The woad gurgled in surprise, making the knight turn around. She felt something shoot through her body, but quickly brushed it away and finished off the few opponents that came her way. She smiled as the last of the woads left at her friend Reseda, who had a pile of dead behind her, their faces mangled by the sharp charms braided into her hair. Reseda smiled back dangerously.
"You have quite a score." Reseda nodded to the pile of bodies that Arlia had left.
"Yes and the one with my knife embedded in his neck." Arlia walked over to the man to find the knife missing.
"What's wrong Arlia?" Reseda asked, seeing the concern in her leader's eyes.
"That was the knife my father carved for me." Arlia signalled the spot where the knife had been.
"We can get you another." Reseda said trying to be sympathetic.
"I don't want another one. I want that knife!" Arlia turned to see one of the knights.
"Childish aren't we." He said, holding out the knife.
"You wouldn't understand." Arlia snatched the knife back.
"I think you should try me." The knight leaned casually back against the wagon behind him.
"My father carved it for me." Arlia snapped.
"You keep it with you when you go away from home?" The knight teased.
"No, if you must know her father is dead. She is the last of her tribe." Reseda slapped the knight, catching him off guard.
"I am sorry I meant nothing by it." The knight bowed his head before walking off. Soon another knight came over.
"I was told you were the leader." He said, looking at Arlia.
"That I am." She inclined her head in response.
"I am Arthur Castus, leader of my bands of trusted knights." Arthur introduced himself.
"And I am Arlia leader of the fox tribe of Moon Riders." She used her formal title.
"Pleased to meet you Arlia." The leader of the knights smiled.
"And you, though I have one question to ask you." Arlia shouted at Arthur's retreating back.
"What is that my lady?" Arthur asked.
"Where were you when the battle started?" She shouted, making the rest of the knight's laugh.
"Watching you lot fight." Another knight shouted.
"Well, that should have given them a shock." Reseda muttered as the two walked to where their horses were quietly cropping grass.
"Why are you here then?" A black-haired knight asked.
"Doing our job, what do you think?" Reseda smiled at the man.
"By the way I'm Galahad." The knight introduced himself.
"And I'm Reseda." Reseda returned the favour.
"My lady Arlia let me apologize for my actions earlier." The knight from earlier came up, "May I introduce myself, I am Lancelot."
"A pleasure to meet you Lancelot." Arlia smiled a chilling smile.
"Watch out for him!" One knight bellowed.
"I believe you have an enemy there." The knight who had yelled said as Lancelot walked past.
"I wish I hadn't though." Lancelot muttered to himself.
"Don't worry; she'll warm up to you." Bremusa smiled at Lancelot.
"I hope she does, she looks formidable." Lancelot sighed.
"Not Arlia, although she is good at bearing a grudge. It's Reseda you have to watch out for, she's the lethal one." Bremusa smiled friendly at Lancelot.
"And don't I know it." Lancelot rubbed his cheek, where the hand mark was.
"What her?" Galahad asked, shock written on his face.
"Yes her." Bremusa nodded.
"But she was nice to me." Galahad protested.
"Reseda holding a conversation?" Bremusa snorted.
"What, is that uncommon or anything?" Galahad asked, thoroughly surprised.
"You don't know her love." Bremusa smiled down from her horse at the younger man.
"I wish I did though." He muttered to himself.
Arlia easily mounted Yildiz, swinging herself back into the saddle with ease and grace. The others did the same, leaving knights and soldiers wondering how they managed it. With a click of her tongue she set Yildiz off, followed by the others. Her brown hair was thick and fell in waves to her waist. Her greeny-grey eyes complemented her hair perfectly, and would have made her face look friendly, but for her face. It was long and her cheekbones stood out slightly, emphasizing the tattoos on her cheeks. She was also thin, bordering on dangerously thin. She had never cried in a long time, since before she left to join the Moon Riders. She hadn't wept for her family; she felt it was weak to cry. She kept the sadness inside and turned it into bitterness, life had given her a hard hand. But she had played it and played it well, she had channelled all her energies into the Moon Riders. Her way of thinking was, if you are cold work harder, if you are sad fight harder. She had lived her whole life virtually alone, not twin to know her as well as she knew herself. She had built almost impenetrable walls around herself, only those who she let could get close to her. But even the closet to her didn't really know her. There was no-one who understood her, no-one tried.
"My lady Arlia?" A voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry, I was thinking." Arlia turned to see the knight she had saved earlier.
"I would like to thank you for saving my life." The knight bowed his head.
"No problem...?" Aranwe asked.
"Gawain." The knight answered,
"I think you should learn to watch your back!" Reseda shouted at Gawain, who bowed his head in acquiescence.
Arlia looked over at the younger girl. Her black hair was thick and wavy, falling down to her waist and perfect for hiding the charms in her hair. Every now and then one caught the sunlight, which reminded you they were still there. Reseda had stormy purple eyes, which darkened or lightened depending on her mood. She was fairly slimly built, though not as dangerously slim as Arlia was. Her cheekbones were soft, and were complemented by her jawbones. The whole look of her was of a sweet respectable lady. But under the surface Reseda was a regular psychopath. Wherever there was a fight you could be sure Reseda would be there somewhere, if she hadn't started it. She was also very restless. She hated to be sitting around if there was something to be done, she would do it. That's why she wanted to go on the missions so much. She had once said to Arlia that she didn't know what she would do when she left the Moon Riders. She thought she might settle down, but that would be too quiet for her. She wanted to carry on having adventures long after she was free. But she wanted to visit her mother's homeland, and then she said she would see what happened after that.
"Hey Arlia, I think you should see to Marpessa and Xanthe." Bremusa shouted.
"What's wrong with them?" Arlia shouted back.
"Minor wounds!" Bremusa shouted.
"Later!" Arlia shouted back.
Looking at her oldest friend Arlia smiled. Bremusa was the tallest, only just taller than Arlia herself. She had long straight sleek black hair that was mid-back length. Warm brown eyes complemented her sun kissed skin. All of the Moon Riders had sun kissed skin from being out in the sun so much, but Bremusa was the darkest. She wasn't exactly what you would call well rounded, though she had curves in all the right places. But what Arlia thought was the best thing about her was her soul. It was kind and caring, always willing to give someone another chance. Bremusa believed that everyone could have something made of them if they were given a second chance. That was where Arlia and Bremusa most differed. Arlia believed that if you failed once, you didn't have a second chance, whereas Bremusa did. Bremusa also encouraged people, whereas Arlia was comfortable to sit back and let you get on with it.
Xena and Myrina were the ones who you couldn't quite classify. They were good all-rounders, though they weren't the best. Arlia didn't know why she chose them. But then she remembered. They were both jokers, and could make the best out of any situation. The two were identical, with blonde hair and blue eyes. They wore all the same things, and had the same length hair. The only way to tell the two apart was the way they acted. Myrina was chatty, and told a lot of jokes, while Xena was quieter and tended to play practical jokes, which she then strenuously denied she did, even when it was obvious it was her. The other twins Xanthe and Marpessa were also identical, though Xanthe wore her hair shorter than Marpessa. The two both had black hair and brown eyes. Xanthe was loud and full of energy, while Marpessa was more reserved. That made up the trope of Moon Riders.
Arlia was looking around her at the scenery. It was so different what she was used to. She hadn't seen such forests and trees before. And the sky seemed to almost always be cloudy and grey, which discouraged the amazons somewhat. She was used to clear blue skies and the sun beating down on her. She was glad she had thought to pack the Moon Riders woollen cloaks, as they offered good protection from the wind. She thought of the wide open plains where she grew up and almost cried. She had lost her home, almost everything, apart from Yildiz and the belongings she had from when she was thirteen. She had managed to rescue a few things that the fire had not consumed, but not many. She was now the last of her tribe. Even during the Trojan War had there never been this few Mazagardi. Well, maybe there were only three at the most, but there was more than just one. The tribe had grown in numbers again until they were a prosperous people again. Then Arlia thought of the blue-black and silver horses that had all been taken by the Romans, when they were hers by right. She decided not to trust this Arthur Castus, he was a Roman, and as such was the bringer of all of her troubles. She looked up when Galahad rode up, and sat waiting patiently until she paid him some attention.
"Are you Mazagardi?" He asked with no vice in his voice.
"I am the last yes." Arlia bowed her head in acquiescence.
"Maybe not the last." Galahad spoke cryptically.
"What do you mean?" Arlia snapped.
"Tristan has claim to Mazagardi blood through his mother." Galahad explained.
"He has no claim. Even if his mother had claim to Mazagardi blood it would make no difference to him. He was not adopted back into the clan, and as such he has no claim on the lands, what little are left." Arlia explained, reining her temper in.
"And the horses?" Galahad enquired.
"The Roman have them, they would see that I am a pauper. Even if I had them, I would not let Tristan have them, whoever he is." Arlia spoke, anger blazing in her eyes.
"I would not believe that of my people, leaving a lady landless and penniless." Arthur said as he rode past.
"There are many things you do not know about Rome. It is corrupt to the very core." Arlia spat.
"Take that back!" Arthur commanded.
"No! It is the truth, you have not been in Rome for many years, and I have lived under its shadow for most of my life. It is corrupt. Its corruption has touched many of me and my women." Arlia explained hotly.
"How so?" Arthur asked.
"It has taken my horses and land, and as repayment left me with a group of Moon Riders to command, do not get me wrong, I love my work, but it is a poor substitute for my lands and horses." Arlia spat bitterly.
"Paulagus would not allow this outrage!" Arthur exclaimed.
"He is in no position to fight for me. Reseda is serving an extra five years for her sister refusing a Roman and they kill young women who would become Moon Riders if they become too dangerous. They killed my family and tribe and kept their lands and my service as payment for a treachery we did not commit. There now Arthur tell me what you think of your Rome now then." Arlia finished.
"I cannot believe this." Arthur commented quietly.
"Get used to it." Arlia spurred Yildiz on.
Arlia felt the bitter shock of everything shoot through her veins. And to think that once she had been the daughter of a high ranking Mazagardi family, highly sought after on the marriage market. Now look at me, she thought. Only Yildiz and a few personal belongings to call my own. No wonder she was bitter. Her life had been one hard knock after another. She was strong though and she knew in the end she would find release in death. She wished it would come quickly for her, so she could embrace it and leave this mockery of a life behind. Looking down at her belt where all her potions hung she sought out one particular one. White poppies were well known for their properties. They would bring a peaceful sleep to anyone who took it. It was most often used on the most seriously wounded and dying, for whom there was no hope. Maybe there was no hope for her, but she would carry on living. Then something hit her. The Romans were trying to break her, but she would not give them the satisfaction of lying down breaking. She would live and prosper, even if it was just to spite the Romans.
"Arlia, we are nearly there." Reseda's voice broke into Arlia's reflective mood.
"Good." Arlia smiled.
Author's notes: So here's another chapter up. Well, well. I hope you like it. If there are any more questions you would like to be answered please get in contact, as I will be all too happy to oblige. Bye for now. Here's another chapter updated. Bear with me, I still have to sort the rest out.
