Chapter X

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Kneeling in a double circle around the statue and raising their arms high in an ecstatic posture, the Amazons chanted in unison before beginning their dance--

The Moon is the celestial Mother.

I am daughter of the Moon

Devoted to Artemis.

My blood is Amazon,

My life is Amazon.

Servant to my Nation

and to my Sisters.

I am daughter of the Moon.

Now the Amazon dancers stood and danced in gently flowing, weaving motions, encircling not only the statue but also the two sets of swords arranged in star formation, while LuLu sang:

I sing of Artemis,

whose shafts are of gold,

who cheers on the hounds,

the pure maiden, shooter of stags,

who delights in archery...

Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks

she draws her golden bow,

rejoicing in the chase,

and sends out grievous shafts...

when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart,

this huntress who delights in arrows slackens her supple bow

and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo,

to the rich land of Delphi,

there to order the lovely Muses and Graces.

No one took any notice of a young man, Homer by name, an aspiring bard training in Athens, who was frantically scribbling down the lyrics of the song. There were others recording notes for reviews, so anyone doing any sort of writing blended into the crowd.

Delighted, Artemis waved her hands and produced two dozen luminous silver shields and matching swords that appeared in the grasp of each warrior. During the rest of that portion of the dance, they rhythmically struck the swords against the shields while the flute, whistle, smaller drums and tambourine were played. Adding to the din were their individual whoops and yells. Faster and faster they danced and beat the shields, louder and louder the music played, until finally each one collapsed on the floor in ecstatic exhaustion and even the musicians sank down out of breath.

And the audience gave a mighty prolonged roar of appreciation...Zara and the rest included, with everyone standing and applauding till their hands ached.

"Do you think they would consider performing in Valusia?" Kull yelled at Iphicles, trying to be heard over the din, as they both clapped enthusiastically with the rest of the audience. "This is wonderful!"

"The Amazons won't, but Twanky might be amenable," Iphicles yelled back. "Ask her after the performance."

Zara pulled them both back into their seats. "You need to be quiet now," she said warily. "What follows is even more spectacular."

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The Amazon Queen Kirios returned to the stage and motioned for the audience to reseat themselves.

For the sword dance was about to begin.

As a stirring war melody played, Twanky and Cleo took their places, then with heads thrown back and arms upraised, began to spring and bound and evidently defy gravity among the deadly sharp sword blades, much to the almost-painful awe of the captivated onlookers. The minds of the dancers were utterly focused on performing the dangerous dance with perfection. Not so much as a stray thought could intervene without creating distraction; a loss of concentration for even an instant would have been calamitous or even deadly.

For the audience, things weren't much easier, no one dared breathe as the two skilled dancers executed their intricate footwork. Everyone leaned forward, wide-eyed; many people were trembling, praying aloud that there would be no mistake. But no one present at the Amazons' outdoor rehearsal, certainly not the Widow or Cleodora, would forget the volatile situation between these two passionate and temperamental women...

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After the Queen had issued her stern command, Cleo had smiled smugly, for she knew what was coming. "Shall I get them?" she asked briskly. "We don't have much time."

"Yes, go, get them," said the Queen. "And be quick about it."

As Cleo left on her errand, the Queen had spoken softly to the Widow with genuine regret in her voice. "I'm sorry, Twanky, but if you fail the test, you will not be allowed to perform the dance. I should have insisted we do it sooner."

Twanky nodded grimly. "I shan't fail, whatever it is."

Cleo had returned with a series of wooden swords and a bucket of blue paint. She placed the two sets of swords into position and carefully applied paint to both sides of the ten swords. She nodded to the Queen.

"I thought you danced with real swords?" Twanky asked in surprise. She had expected to be required to demonstrate her skills and been mentally preparing herself.

The Queen shook her head. "This test tells us who is ready for the real swords." She regarded Twanky gravely. "Zara and Lulu have both failed it twice."

LuLu was near enough to be heard when she remarked, "I'm not one of the better dancers in the tribe anyway."

Teyla grinned and nudged her. "Stick to singing! Artemis has richly blessed you with that voice."

"Right," Twanky said to the Queen with equal gravity and added inwardly, 'So, get painted, get disqualified.' So, Alice Cudlip, if you really don't want to do this..." Yet she squared her jaw in determination, and took her place among the painted swords. She did an experimental 'over and under' to check positioning. "Let's do this, then, shall we?"

"I'm also ready, Your Majesty." Cleo said brightly, as she took her assigned position amid her swords. "Shall we begin?"

"Uh, not quite. One more thing." The Queen motioned to the two women nearest her, Rhea and Teyla, for their sashes. "You will both be doing it blindfolded. After all, you don't need to look down at your feet anyway, now do you?" She smiled at Cleo, as if sharing a jest.

Cleo smiled. "No Ma'am, at least I don't." She tied the required sash around her eyes, then paused for a moment.

'You're kidding,' thought Twanky. But she added aloud in a confident voice, as she took the offered sash from Teyla. "Fine with me."

The Queen signaled the drummer, who began to pound out a rhythm, which quickly increased in tempo. As the group watched the flying bare feet of both dancers in breathless admiration, one of the younger teenage Amazons, a freckle-faced brunette named Litha, asked her Sovereign, "Your Majesty, why are the swords painted?"

The Queen smiled indulgently, for Litha was well known for her inquiring mind. And unlike most of her peers, Litha had been abandoned by her stepfather only two years ago, 'too many mouths to feed' had been his reason, so it was normal for her to not yet understand all Amazon customs.

"You know, Litha, we use real steel for the dance, and if you misstep you cut yourself. So, if you touch these swords, you get paint on your foot, which means you are not ready for such a dangerous dance. You shouldn't feel bad, though; I myself got paint on MY feet a lot when I was your age. And I was born into the tribe."

"Do we do the 'real' dance blindfolded?" Litha asked in wonder. "I would be SO scared."

The Queen shook her head. "NO, but you don't look at your feet. Cleo used to make us all practice that way. 'Heads up, not down. Have courage,' she would say." She hugged the girl. "Don't worry, little one, you have plenty of time to learn all these things."

She shook her head in wonder. "Twanky still has NO paint on her feet; amazing." She signaled the drum to increase tempo, for though she had reluctantly agreed with Lulu's request that Twanky be allowed to dance with Cleo, the Queen was also trying to find a gracious way to countermand that decision.

Twanky, who was already sweating, gritted her teeth and just kept going, as the tempo increased. 'I can do this, I CAN DO THIS,' she thought, moving a foot in time with each word.

The crowd clapped in rhythm with the drum, as the contest continued. The Queen, seeing that neither dancer was disqualified, finally signaled the drummer to stop. Cleo stopped immediately and removed her blindfold, whereas Twanky, ever the inventive, decided to end the contest in a different manner. Without removing her blindfold, she did a front flip over her swords, in a direction away from Cleo so as not to collide with her. Amid cheers, screams and whistles of admiration, Twanky then removed her blindfold. Cleo's jaw had dropped in shock, for as Cleo had no paint on her feet (the outcome she had anticipated) neither did Twanky, even after that maneuver.

"So, I passed your test," Twanky stated between gulps of air. "If there is nothing else, I need to go and help me own dancers now. Can someone find my sandals?"

"Do you have a first name?" Cleo asked with a new quietness. She sensed a kindred spirit, and the need to make amends quickly. "It would honor me to know it."

Although proud Twanky was still miffed that her competence had been questioned, something in Cleo's tone and manner gave her pause, and she bit off her angry retort. "Alice; why?"

"I'm sorry, Alice," Cleo said, and extended her arm in the Amazon gesture of friendship. "I knew I could do this dance. And, in my youth, I saw many dancers maim themselves for their pride." She shuddered at those memories. "Even my own sweet departed sister, before the 'test' was widely used. But you have done it better than I, and I need to respect that. Please forgive me, and please allow me to give honor to Artemis by dancing with you. This performance IS about Her, after all, not our own self-glorification."

Twanky was taken aback, and accepted the offer of friendship. "In all honesty," she grudgingly admitted, "this is not going to be a dance that I'll be adding to my troupe's performances anytime soon. And," gently, "I'm sorry about your sister, I can see why you would be hesitant..."

Cleo interrupted, "Scared to death, actually." Seeing Twanky's eyes widen, Cleo decided to be completely honest. "You conquer the fear with prayer and practice, but it never goes away. Would you honor me further by allowing me to add the flip to my dance? It's a great finale and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it on a stone floor."

Now, it was Twanky's turn to be honest. "I was upset, I probably went overboard." She grinned, and glanced around. "But the audience loved it, didn't they?" She hugged Cleo. "Yes, you are forgiven, and yes, you can dance with me..."

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The tempo of the wild melody shifted, became faster, and over it, almost like the distant sighing of the ocean, the dancers could both hear the gasps, exclamations and audible prayers of the audience. Twanky was listening for just the right measure in the music indicating that it was ending, and when she heard it she flung herself in that spectacular forward flip over her swords--to the sound of a unanimous "O-o-o-h-h" from the audience--landing squarely on both feet directly in front of where Artemis sat beaming. It was only a heartbeat later that she sensed that someone had joined her; Cleo had also attempted the flip and done it successfully!--albeit her timing had been slightly awry. Twanky glanced over and the two women smiled at each other.

The crowd rose to their feet for a boisterous standing ovation. The Widow knelt and bowed before the Moon Goddess, humbled before her sacredness. Cleo assumed the same posture, then the rest of the Amazons remaining on stage followed suit.

"AMAZING," Kull remarked, standing and clapping loudly with the rest of the audience. "Worth the trip! And makes up for all the other problems we had today."

"Nothing like this happens in Valusia, does it?" teased Iphicles. "This almost makes you want to move to Greece!"

"No," Kull objected, laughing. "Not if this is your idea of a normal day. I just want to 'borrow' the dancers, or one of them."

"Perhaps you may be able to 'borrow' Twanky. However, Cleo won't leave the village. I had to beg before I left just to get her to agree to come up to the Amazon castle to celebrate my birthday. And even then I had to promise to keep Liza and her dresses away from her." Zara glanced down. "Cleo must have been too much in awe of Artemis' presence, for she didn't say a word about this one."

Zara and the rest of the audience continued their steady clapping as Artemis embraced both dancers. At Artemis' encouragement, both rose to their feet. And, as Artemis whispered something to both, Twanky and Cleo both burst into beatific smiles.

"And, how do I convince you?" Kull asked, "'Your' Artemis said you had permission to grant the king's request. Come to Valusia for your birthday, next year. Bring your sisters if you like." He 'backpedaled,' "Leave the drum home, I don't want to hear that again, now that I know its true meaning."

"She will have no choice but to leave the drum home," Iphicles retorted jestingly. "Twanky informed us it's a 'right royal pain to move.'" He sobered, "As I am ALSO a king, I also have a request for you to consider."

Zara smiled, "Well, Artemis didn't say whose request I should grant, so I guess I need to listen to both."

As Zara spoke, Artemis looked directly at her, and nodded meaningfully. All the dancers, Twanky's and the Amazons included, with Twanky and Cleo at the center of the group, took the stage for their final bow to the audience. The tumult of jubilation from the audience continued, as one of the dancers left the stage and then returned. She ran forward with a bouquet of a dozen red roses. Confused as to whom to give the flowers to, she hesitated in front of an amused Twanky, who understood the custom, and a perplexed Cleo, who was not sure why the girl was there.

"What's she doing?" asked an equally confused Zara.

Kull looked as puzzled as she did. "An admirer, perhaps."

Iphicles laughed and explained, "It is tradition to give flowers to the best performer. As they both did the swords dance with equal skill, the girl is probably trying to figure out who gets them."

"Well," replied Zara, as she pointed towards the stage. "Then, what is Cupid doing?"

Cupid was indeed standing on stage and he pointed at the flowers, and then looked heavenward expectantly. The dozen flowers, smallish winter blossoms, doubled in number, size, and beauty, as a feminine voice responded, giggling. "Okay, honey, I have plenty of nice big roses all the year round, lots better than those scrawny winter things. But I don't think the Amazon is going to want them."

The shocked dancer, who could barely hold the newly enlarged bouquet of heavy blooms, handed half to both dancers. Twanky, beaming immediately, accepted hers as the crowd cheered and hurrahed again. After a questioning look in Artemis' direction, and an approving nod from her goddess, Cleo did the same. Artemis stood up, gave a nod to the royal viewing area, then she disappeared as quickly as she had come. The audience took her disappearance as a sign that the "show" was over, and began to empty out of the arena. They still murmured about the performance they had seen. The curtains closed, as the dancers also filed off the stage.