"No, although your mother might have shown you one. They don't really reach Maadre, but when she took you to Danae to meet me, you might have seen a few."
"Right, you were still on Shariman's galley." She remembered what she'd read in her mother's diary. Her father was a pirate when he'd run into the then Amazon princess and her best friend. His captain hadn't attacked the Amazon ship, since there was some kind of alliance between them, but still – it had been an interesting adventure for the two young Amazons, meeting dashing foreign pirates and spending some time with them.
Marlen pondered. "Do you think I should go?"
"I don't know," her father replied. "You know your mother didn't want you to grow up at the Amazons' court. She wanted you to be free from bonds with royalty to spare you what she went through for the love of the Queen."
She frowned. "Can't I go there as an Amazon? Must I depend on the Queen's generosity?"
"Yasmine had no relatives, your only referral there is Julianna," he answered with a sigh. "You're Yasmine's last living daughter and you can inherit her things, but." He stared at her. "Remember, that's the Queendom of Maadre. Men have no rights and no voice. They will probably assume you've lost your virginity, but they might also decide to put you through the Rite – just in case."
Marlen blushed. Her mother's experiences with sex weren't positive, according to her journal. Yasmine admitted the first time she felt pleasure in a man's arms was with Xavier the pirate. That was why she'd wanted her daughter to grow up with her father, so she'd learn to deal with men sooner and better.
She focused on her father and smiled. "I grew up with Ritchie, think I'll let a couple of girls order me around?"
"I guess not." He hugged her. "Follow your heart, Marlen. Whatever your decision, I'm with you."
"Thank you, Father," she answered, squeezing him. Gods, she'd miss him!
2. RENA
"Keep your lance up! Protect yourself!"
The blonde girl was much faster than the brunette who was still learning.
"Enough, I surrender!"
"All right, sister, let's rest."
The sun shone over Maadre, capital of the Amazons Country, and the summer made both girls sweat. They found refuge in the barracks, much cooler than the sunny courtyard.
"You're good, Rena," the brunette said after downing a goblet of water and catching her breath.
"I'm the Queen's daughter," the blonde replied proudly. "But you're very good too, I mean, you're a beginner, but you can almost keep up with me!"
"I might have been raised as a girl, but I did have a step-brother to bicker with – and a father," Marlen said, relaxing after the exercise. Her education hadn't included weapons, but since she'd reached the Queendom of Maadre, she'd started to train with Princess Rena – the blonde girl who had pierced her with her stare in her father's office one year earlier.
The two girls were the same age and got along fine, to the happiness of Queen Julianna and the disappointment of Alexia, the curly redhead. Marlen was getting used to the absence of men in her life – the Queen's Apartment was off limits for her, and Rena didn't have any men in hers – and sometimes missed her father who wasn't allowed to move to Maadre, since not only was he of the wrong sex, but also a foreigner who might instill unhealthy thoughts in the heads of local men.
Rena and Marlen were very different, but shared their knowledge as much as they could. They'd had different educations and exchanged tips as if they'd grown up together. The only subject they didn't touch was men – not even relatives. Rena didn't know who her father was and even if she had brothers, she'd long forgotten them and they didn't live at the palace anymore.
Marlen was fluent in the Amazons' language by now. She had adapted to the Queendom of Maadre even if she wasn't sure she could call it "home" yet. Rena wasn't a blood relative, but she had offered her friendship and Marlen thought it was rude to refuse her. She didn't have any other friends, not even Alexia – who'd been Rena's inseparable friend before her – therefore she didn't mind the princess calling her "sister".
Marlen was still an introvert and if training with Rena meant she could end up on one of those black-sailed galleys and travel the world with the Amazon fleet, she'd be happy. Her father's blood demanded to go back to sea – much like Xavier had done after leaving her on the Amazon ship that had brought her here.
Her natural shyness meant most people thought she was haughty, but she didn't care. At least nobody had tried to seduce her. Not even Rena. Friends was fine, sisters even, lovers never.
Her mother's diary had told her about the true relationship between Yasmine and Julianna – not only best friends but also lovers – until Yasmine had fallen for Xavier. But her duty to Julianna meant she had to choose. And it had broken her heart.
Marlen knew she looked like her mother and when she re-read her mother's secret diary, she imagined a young Julianna like her daughter Rena. Marlen had grown fond of the Amazon princess, but it was sisterly love – she'd never have sex with a woman.
Rena adored her, but Marlen wasn't completely smitten by the Amazon society. She'd grown up in a male-dominated Kingdom and she didn't like the way most Amazons treated their men – brothers or servants, not to mention the slaves. Sometimes she missed her step-brother Ritchie, and Lucas – a shopkeeper's son who had moved out of Noavaria, following his father's business. She wondered if Lucas or her suitor were married now – or even Ritchie, who might have found his soul mate during the past year. And she missed her father and couldn't believe Rena had grown up without knowing hers – one of the men of the Queen's Apartment, probably, who was still there, a prisoner of his position.
Marlen thought back to the strange spring of the previous year when the Amazon Queen had shown up at her father's cottage. He was no longer a pirate since he'd settled and married Olimpia, managing his wife's shop at the capital while living on the outskirts – which had suited Marlen, until her real mother's past had caught up with them.
Being summer, it was well over a year since she'd left Noavaria, but she still remembered faces and voices she'd been trying hard to forget. She'd had word that Olimpia – the sweet step-mother – had passed away the previous summer, hence her father had taken to the sea again, selling her shop since Ritchie didn't want it. He'd bought a ship with that money and was now wandering the seas, trading. Marlen wondered if she should join him soon.
"Why are you so thoughtful today, Marl?" Rena interrupted her musings.
Marlen sighed.
"Men," Rena deducted. "Why do you keep thinking about those abject beings?"
"Your contempt for men makes me sick," Marlen snapped. "You ignore your brothers and even your son – you don't care about him or anyone else."
"They're not worth caring for." Rena shrugged. "What do you know anyway, I bet you're still a virgin."
"What if I am?" Marlen retorted. "You have no idea of what men can teach us!"
Rena scoffed. "I do, I can see it on you."
"And what do you see? I wasn't forced to have sex at fourteen and breed to please the Goddess. I will get married someday – if and when I find a man to love. And I'll give him children and I'll love them all!"
"Pshaw!" Rena snorted. Men were the only thing they'd better not talk about if they didn't want to bicker endlessly. Rena hated men, while Marlen was very attracted to them. Her imaginary lovers got bolder every day, but a part of her hoped she'd soon be able to try the real deal – not through a Rite without foreplay with a masked man, but a real discovery. Hugging her pillow must be different than holding a warm body.
"Rena Simona Julianna, sometimes you're impossible!" the brunette complained.
"Marlen Delora Yasmine, sometimes you're really dumb," the blonde mimicked, using her full Amazon name instead of her father's family name.
Marlen attacked her. As a child she'd often wrestled with Ritchie, so at least in that she was better than the princess. She easily pinned the blonde belly-down to the ground, blocking
her back with her knee and twisting her arm.
"Say that again!"
"Let go, Marl!"
"Ask for forgiveness or I'll break your arm!"
"All right, damn you, let go, I'm sorry, all right?"
Marlen let go and Rena pulled herself up, massaging her arm.
"I swear sometimes I really don't get you," the Queen's daughter said with a frown.
"It's because we're different, girl," Marlen replied. "We grew up in different places. And we're like day and night. We should have stayed away from each other."
"No, no!" Rena protested, hugging her. "What do you mean we're like day and night, and who would you be? Not night, since you sleep like a log!"
"It's just a saying," Marlen muttered. Rena's displays of affection always embarrassed her. "I need to bathe, see you later."
"Fine, I won't follow," Rena retorted.
Marlen left without looking back.
***
Rena hugged her knees, depressed. Any girl would have given anything to be with her, but the only one she wanted rejected her. Maybe she wanted her for that very reason. Alexia's adoration sometimes got on her nerves.
Marlen was the only one who didn't spoil her, who dared contradict her and had a mind of her own, having grown up in a foreign country. But as time passed, Marlen was becoming grumpy with her, probably aware that hers wasn't only sisterly love.
Sometimes Rena hated Marlen for her pride and self-assurance. Sometimes she adored her for that very reason and the strange mindset of a woman who had grown up in a male-ruled country.
Rena didn't like naked men, while Marlen seemed very attracted to them, unaware of the true power of that ugly thing between their legs. The few foreigners allowed at the court enjoyed talking to Marlen but kept well away from the Queen's daughter.
Rena didn't know if she loved or hated her friend and rival – since she'd noticed how fond her mother was of the newcomer.
She got up with a sigh and put away the practice weapons, then went back to her rooms. She undressed and dived into her pool and lingered in the water, thinking about her friend's body she had seen only once when Marlen thought she was alone in the baths.
She shouldn't be forced to spy on Marlen to be able to see her naked, for the Goddess's sake!
She climbed out of the pool and dried her body, wearing a dark blue tunic that contrasted with her golden mane and pale skin, and tied on her sandals.
She quickly brushed her still wet hair and went out again. Servants and noble maidens greeted her with smiles as she passed, but she barely replied. She slumped on a triclinium to brood in the inner garden of the palace – way cooler than the training courtyard – and mused about her love-hatred for Marlen.
Her mother found her there a few hours later.
"What's wrong, Rena?"
"Nothing, Mother." The princess sighed.
"Marlen told me you were here all alone..."
"And what does she know?" Rena snapped, jarred. "She's a foreigner!"
"No, she's one of us who studied abroad," Julianna chided.
"And failed! She doesn't understand anything!"
"Funny, Marlen says the same thing about you," the Queen said, amused. "I guess I'll have to keep you two apart for some time."
"Oh, no, Mother!" Rena protested. "I..." Now she was confused. She hated Marlen, why did she feel that pang at the thought of not seeing her?
"I know the symptoms," Julianna said. "You're in love with Marlen."
"Yes, I want her," Rena admitted, frustrated. "But she..."
"Unrequited love has many forms," Julianna replied. "I should have forced Yasmine to tell me where Xavier had taken her daughter. And then I should have left Marlen where she was, but you insisted on waiting for her... You will be Queen, Rena, you need a best friend who will always be by your side, like Alexia. Leave Marlen alone. In the fall you shall both sail away on two separate ships to complete your education."
"Oh, Mother!" Rena protested, dismayed.
"Marlen agreed without objections," the Queen chided.
"Of course, she looks forward to getting rid of me!" Rena snapped. "As you wish, Mother," she added humbly, hanging her head.
Marlen was running away... Rena managed to hold the tears until her mother was gone, then had a hysterical outburst to give vent to her frustration.
3. INSOLENT YOUNG MAN
Commander Rena, daughter of the Amazon Queen, rode the chariot through the crowd with her golden mane shining in the sun and the armor still on, escorted by her personal guard.
Rena was very happy with herself. She had come back to the country that had so badly raised Marlen as a conqueror, to enforce an old treaty between her ancestor Jessamine and the then Sannish King – ignoring the fall of the Sannish Kingdom to the Varian Empire under her grandmother, Queen Doriana, and then the birth of the Kingdom of Noavaria when the Empire had collapsed. There was no royal family sitting on the throne of Noavaria at the moment, therefore Rena had managed to convince her mother they should claim those lands.
It had been a quick campaign that had allowed the Amazons to gain a colony over the sea, a first step into the biggest continent of the world. Although Julianna knew she wouldn't be able to keep the lands beyond the sea for long, she had humored her daughter who now triumphed in the streets of Noavaria.
Rena was about to meet the Council that would sign the treaty on behalf of the fallen royal family – which had made the conquest possible, even easy, since the king had been killed and his heir had vanished a year earlier during a skirmish with a neighboring kingdom. The hotheads who had tried to put up a resistance had been taken care of and the population didn't seem to mind if they became an Amazon colony.
Before leaving her conquest in more capable hands, Rena wanted to see Marlen's father again. She hadn't seen her friend in two years and the rejection still hurt. When she saw Marlen again – soon now – she'd tell her...
Why doesn't he bow to me like everybody else? Rena stopped her chariot to glare at the brown-haired young man who stood still in the crowd of bent backs, staring defiantly at her.
"I'm Rena, princess of the Amazons, and I want respect," she snapped.
He scoffed. "You have a way of earning respect," he mocked. "I won't bow to a woman even younger than me."
"My age shouldn't concern you, I'm the commander of the Amazons army that has just conquered you!"
"We all know you have that command because you're the Queen's daughter," he retorted. "Nobody leads an army at twenty, unless of royal blood. Besides, respect should be earned, honey, and for that a pretty face like yours isn't enough."
He made a mock salute and turned his back on her, leaving without turning back. Rena was too startled to react. What an impudent being! But he shall pay!
***
She saw him again at a ball in the former royal palace. She was the guest of honor, but all the local nobility and Council members were attending. The Amazon ambassador told her who he was – Mikis, twenty-one, rebel son of a local landlord.
"His father's desperation," the elder woman told the princess. "He often disgraces his father on official occasions. He's the black sheep of the family, and not only for his black clothes. They say he consorts with pirates and beggars, which makes his father cringe."
"I see." Rena observed the black tunic and breeches Mikis wore. "Do you think his father would be happy if I tamed him?"
The ambassador smiled. "Let's ask him."
Lord Dekaimenon listened to the complaint of the princess with a worried look on his bearded face.
"I apologize for my son's behavior, he always shames me," he said. "Unfortunately he's my only surviving heir... but I'm thinking of leaving everything to my daughter, since she has more brains."
"Considering he has problems with authority, why don't you let me take him to Maadre?" Rena suggested. "We are very good at taming men."
"You tempt me, Princess. Indeed all my attempts so far were in vain. And since his b
rother's death, he's worsening every day."
"Let me do it, then."
"He's all yours," Lord Dekaimenon agreed with a frown.
"I will not kill him," Rena promised, satisfied.
Mikis was restrained and dragged onto Rena's ship where he faced the princess's triumphant smile.
"I bet it's your way of having me in your Apartment," he said, sarcastic. "Although I've heard it's either empty or full of bored men. Which is it?"
"You shall find out soon," she replied coldly.
"Even if it's bored men who fuck each other, I don't care much. Although you might want a baby from me anyway."
"No way, I don't need foreign blood in the Queendom of Maadre!"
"Or you just hate men and kill them for pleasure like your legendary first queen!"
She slapped him. "You're my prisoner and I'll do what I want with you," she threatened.
"And what would you do with a hated man?" he asked, still mocking.
"I don't know yet, but you'll regret shaming me in front of your people!"
***
Mikis didn't feel too good when he was shackled in the lower deck of the Amazon ship. But he had insulted Rena until he had lost consciousness.
He sighed with relief, relaxing against the wood – hard but better than the whip. The blonde girl was very cruel. She had a certain charm, though. A gorgeous sadist. He wondered if all the Amazons were like her.
Maybe he'd been too rash, though. His father must have had enough of him if he'd allowed the princess to take him away – where men had no rights and no voice, and he'd probably be used like a breeding stallion. Not by Rena, though.
At least he'd gotten rid of Stavos and his dumb girlfriend. He was on a ship, headed for the fabled Amazons Country. He wasn't afraid. Not even of the cruel blonde who enjoyed torturing him.
He drifted off to sleep in spite of his uncomfortable position and aching back.
***
Rena watched Mikis sleep with a frown. He looked handsome with his boyish face and luscious lips. Short brown hair and a good-looking body – no chest hair, right muscles in the right places in spite of the relaxed position... He was young and strong – could be a good stud. Although he was so impudent, disrespectful... but at the same time he seemed honest, since he didn't pretend friendship – quite the opposite. And he didn't stare at her with lust like the others. But he was still a man.
Amazon Fall Page 6
