by Robin Roseau
"I think Maya's getting tired," I observed.
"She's panting a lot," Nori replied.
"Are you going to make her run afterwards?"
"Naw. I want to go swimming."
"I didn't get a run in."
"You could get a run in now. I can declare a winner when you're done."
"God," Maya yelled from below Malora. "Would you declare the damned pin already?"
"You could call it yourself," Nori replied.
"I have, four times," she said.
"She's pinned you an even dozen by now," Nori said.
"I was distracted."
Nori looked at me. "It really is kind of warm."
"And she lost the wager. Thank you for that."
"Do I get to play?"
"Of course. Want to be captain?"
"Hell, no."
"We could do something different."
"Oh?"
"Make our companions be captains."
"Hello!" said Maya.
"Oh come on," I said. "Even you could squirm out of that one. Now you're not even trying." I turned back to Nori. "What do you think?"
"I think Maya likes the game too much, and I wouldn't want to ruin her fun," Nori replied. "I suppose I should declare that pin."
"Why start now?" I asked her.
"Good point."
We looked at the two wrestlers, barely moving now. Finally Nori knelt down and said, "I can't believe you're waiting for me." She slapped the ground. "Satisfied?"
Malora slowly climbed from her companion. "Good match," she said.
* * * *
Malora had asked me to visit with her after dinner before the evening bonfire. I wondered if I was in trouble, but I couldn't remember doing anything I wasn't willing to get caught for. I knocked at the door and was invited to enter.
I stepped in to find Malora, Maya, Nori and Rora.
"This feels vaguely familiar," I said. "Should I collect my companion?"
"No," Malora said. "Come on in, Beria." Moments later, we all settled to the ground, and Maya handed me a mug of cider.
"Definitely familiar," I said.
We settled in, making small talk for a minute before Malora got to the point. "Beria, what are your aspirations?"
I frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No. Why do you always wonder if you're in trouble?"
"Because no good conversation started out with the question, 'what are your plans for the future'."
Malora smiled briefly. "I'm serious."
"And I'm stalling while I think about it," I said. "And I don't know. You're asking me what I want to do as an Amazon?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't know. I guess I'll do whatever job you want, Queen Malora."
"So you don't covet Balorie's position?" Malora asked.
"Or mine?" Nori added.
I frowned. "If either of them decided to retire, or move, or something, I guess I would hope to be considered, but there are older warriors here-"
"Which of them has displayed the leadership you have?" Malora asked immediately.
"Bea."
"No," Malora asked. "Bea is a very, very good team player. She brings joy to our village and cheers our hearts. I suppose that is a form of leadership, but it is not the type we're talking about."
"Clara-"
"Is tired," Malora said.
"Vorine and Omie."
"Yes, good examples. They both love to train. Why is it that Omie asks Nori when she needs help breaking a bad habit in your companion?"
I sighed. "Because Omie can't bring herself to do it."
"Why didn't she ask you?"
"I don't know."
"Could you have done it?"
"Of course. It's a bad habit. It could get her killed."
"Are you good enough?"
"To teach my companion? Yes. But I'm not as good as Nori."
"I am better at helping to break bad habits," Nori said, "but that is because I have been doing so for a long time. But I do not know how much longer I will beat you in bouts. You are already winning points from me, and I think within the next year or so, you will be consistently winning bouts."
I stared at her. She had always seemed almost like a goddess to me.
I turned back to Malora. "I don't covet the jobs you have mentioned. I would do them, and I believe I would do them well. I would do them because they must be done, and I would want them done well." Then I looked at Nori. "If you tell me you're retiring, I'm going to be angry."
She smiled. "I'm not retiring."
"Good. Queen Malora, I would do these jobs, but it would be some time before I would do them as well as the people currently doing them."
"Perhaps. More so Nori's than Balorie's."
"I've only co-led a few patrols."
"I know. The only reason you aren't leading them on your own is because I would prefer you to co-lead a few demon fights first. But circumstances may be catching up to us."
"Is something wrong with Balorie?"
"No, nothing is wrong with anyone."
I glanced at Maya. Her face was frozen, not in a frown, but she wasn't smiling. And when I looked closely at her, I saw her eyes were red and splotchy. No one else looked upset, and Maya was leaning against Malora, clutching one of Malora's arms around her. Maya was upset about something, but she wasn't giving me clues what it was. No one else was upset, but I thought they all knew why she was.
"Something is going on," I said. "Could we speak plainly?"
Malora smiled. "Your sister loves you."
"I know she does."
"Beria, Amazon villages are placed on the rivers between the plains on our east and the plains on our west."
"The rivers are a source of water," I observed.
"They are also pathways the demons have been known to follow. By placing the villages on the rivers, it helps to intercept the demons who would torment the people west of our home."
"It was only luck that Ralla caught that one last year," I said. "And luck again that Jasmine remained a companion."
"Yes," Malora said. "That was the first in a while. The Amazons have been too sparse for us to patrol everywhere."
"The villages are at full strength," I said. "More or less."
"All have at least ten warriors, most have twelve, and a few others have fourteen, like Queen's Town," Malora agreed. "We have fifty-four warriors without companions, and that remains a challenge, but one that is much improved since you joined us."
"You mean since Maya did," I said.
"Yes," Malora said. "I find myself able to do something I have wanted to do for some time."
"Take a vacation?"
She laughed. "Well, yes, but perhaps not this year. No. I find I am finally able to establish new villages on some of the other rivers passing through our forest."
I looked at Maya. She wasn't looking at me.
"You want me to go to one," I said. "And lead patrols, or maybe be the training leader there. That's why Maya is upset."
She turned to me. "I will only be able to say this once, Beria. If you want the job she is about to offer you, then you must take it."
"Is this what you and Malora fought over?"
She nodded.
"I see." I sighed. "Where?"
"Not far," Malora said. "To be honest, I would rather send you to solve a bigger problem, but I do not know if my relationship with your sister would survive. You would become the next northernmost village from here."
"The river between here and Black Oak?"
"Yes. Do you know it?"
I nodded. "I've done some hunting up there. It's where I got that bear last year. The river is fast."
"There is a slow section," Nori said. "And a small lake."
"Very small lake," Maya said.
"There's a beautiful building site along the south," Rora said. "Where the stream leaves the lake."
"I don't remember a lake," I said.
"It's somewhat closer to the ea
stern plains," Malora said.
"Closer to the demons."
"Yes."
"I see." I looked at my sister. And I looked at Rora. "Why don't you carry the same expression my sister does."
"A mother expects her daughter to move on," she replied. "And Nori and I would be going with you at the beginning."
"Ah. You would build the huts, and Nori would be the village chief."
"Not quite," Malora said. "Rora would build the huts and you would be the village chief."
Chief
I looked at my village. My village. It felt weird to say.
It was really only a half a village. Six huts instead of the normal complement of twelve. Six warriors, five companions. But it had a full size kitchen and a dining hall bigger than the one at Queen's Town. We'd used all the building materials Maya could obtain, but Rora would build more huts in a year or two, sooner if we grew to need them.
My village.
The lake hadn't had a name. To call it a lake was generous. It was a widening of the river, but there was a natural, sand beach, which was unexpected. I'd never swum at a sand beach before. I missed our pools, and I hadn't figured out where the fish were. But our brothers were coming to visit, and they were bringing a small rowboat with them and a variety of fishing gear. They'd figure out where the fish were and how to catch them.
But as I said, the lake hadn't a name. Malora told me I could name the village subject to her approval.
We received word that Juna died over the winter. It had been sad news. And so I asked Maya if she felt we could call the new village Lake Juna. Maya had loved it, and the moment Nori heard it, she insisted Malora approve. Malora had, of course, approved. And so both the lake and the village were called Lake Juna. We wrote back to Gallen's Cove and told them, and we'd received numerous letters thanking us with renewed promises to continue to tithe and asking what we needed most.
And so, in addition to everything else Gallen's Cove tithed, I was getting a new rowboat and some fishing rods sized for the size fish we could expect. I thought that was generous. I hadn't picked the name even expecting to tell anyone, much less have them respond in this way.
Malora loaned me Nori to help get going. I needed Rora, anyway. Aura had become a warrior, and she asked permission to come with me. I worried I was taking Maya's friends from her, but Maya told me to take who I needed. She then immediately acquired a new companion for Aura, a sweet girl that Ping sent us. Her name was Lindara, but she usually shortened it to Lin.
Malora then told me I could interview anyone else who was interested. Two days later, she introduced me to a woman named Badra and her companion, Tamma. I decided Malora wouldn't have introduced me if I shouldn't take it very seriously, and I had found I really liked both of them. I wasn't sure how long Tamma would remain a companion.
Morana, one of the girls that were taken from Gallen's Cove the day Maya was, had recently become a warrior. I remembered her, barely, and so she had come to Queen's Town. She didn't have a companion yet, but she was handling the voice well, and I thought she had a good attitude. We had sparred, and she seemed competent, so I invited her to join us. Maya assured me she'd get Morana a companion as soon as she could. For now, the other companions at Lake Juna would need to fill in.
The last slot was somewhat a surprise. Ree, Vorine's old warrior, asked to join us. Malora told me Ree was a quiet but solid warrior, and Vorine was surprised but pleased, and so I had accepted immediately. Ree had a companion named Pallie.
Even the older warriors were happy to have me as village chief. I didn't understand why, but Malora told me quietly, "Not everyone wants to lead. Badra is reliable but laid back. Ree is dependable but quiet and doesn't care to be the center of attention."
"You're saying I'm an attention leach?"
She laughed. "No. I am saying you are a natural leader. It comes from that question you always ask yourself."
"What Would Maya Do?" we said together.
Lake Juna was not quite midway between Queen's Town and Black Oak, perhaps only another half hour from Backbend Gulch where the village companions enjoyed snaring rabbits. We agreed for hunting purposes that the little river that cut through Backbend Gulch would serve as the boundary between the two villages. I hadn't worked out anything with Chief Valan at Black Oak yet. But we could also hunt east and west of our village, and Malora assured me disputes were unlikely. But she suggested I negotiate with Chief Valan sooner rather than later.
With only a half village, we weren't expected to patrol in quite the same fashion as the other villages. Malora wanted us as a block to demons using the river. And so we would supplement the patrols of the two villages on either side of us. We would alternate, sending two warriors south to Queen's Town for a cycle and then one warrior north to Black Oak. Then we would switch, sending two to Black Oak and one to Queen's Town. Who I sent where was up to me.
Once we grew, we would take over our own, narrow territory, which would reduce pressure on the two villages beside us. We would coordinate through Ralla. That was a year or two away.
I looked over the village once more then stepped into my hut where Narsana waited. "Hello, Chief Beria," she said. She'd taken to calling me that at every opportunity. I still wasn't used to it.
"Is everything ready for tomorrow?" The village was mostly deserted. Nori and Rora were here. Everyone else would arrive along with Queen Malora tomorrow. There would be a dedication ceremony and a bonfire tomorrow evening. Malora and Maya would return home the next day.
* * * *
I still wasn't sure how I felt about being away from Maya. We would see each other a lot, but I was used to seeing her nearly every day. And I didn't understand why Nori wasn't the village chief, but when I pressed her about it, she would only say, "Malora wants you, and I agree with her."
"Is it because it's only a half a village?" I asked Nori.
"No."
"Is it because she wanted to get rid of me?"
"No! That's ridiculous."
"You would be a better chief," I said.
"Beria, you will be a fine chief. I am an excellent lead trainer. I am an excellent second in command. I could be a good chief, but frankly, I don't want it. I might have, once upon a time, but opening up a new village is a job for someone younger than I am. You're close enough to Queen's Town that you can pop down if you need advice, but Malora made sure you started out with good people. Everyone here is dependable, and you don't have any problem personalities to deal with. Eventually, you will, but you will be established before it becomes a risk."
"But-"
"Beria, this is what Malora wants. She is queen. She has very, very good reasons. She discussed them with me. She discussed them with your sister. Maya's only objection was watching you move away, and then Malora put you in the closest village instead of the one she really wanted you to run."
"Where was that?"
"South of Green Arrow."
I stared. "I would have declined."
"Maya pointed that out."
"I could not have been a good neighbor."
"Malora kicked herself as soon as Maya pointed out the proximity to Green Arrow. This was actually her third choice. There's another river north of Broken Knife. It's a bigger river, but further away."
"The braided river?"
Nori nodded.
"I have memories of that river."
"I thought you might."
"I prefer this location."
"That was Maya's point. And thus you get a half village instead of a whole one, but it will be a full village within three years, four at the most."
I nodded. "Not so long, and a lot to do."
"Yes."
* * * *
I pulled Narsana into my arms then thanked her.
"You're welcome," she said. "Beria, can we talk for a few minutes?"
"Of course."
"Do you like me?"
I froze. "Yes, of course I do. You're a wonderful girl."
&nbs
p; "Girl," she said. "Not woman?" She rolled over to face me. The light was dim, but we could see each other even in the dark.
"You'll be a woman next spring," I said. "But I feel I will always see you as the girl I first met. I'm sorry, Narsana. I love you, but it is the way I would love a little sister."
"Oh," she said. "All right."
"You're not upset?"
"I didn't understand why you didn't try to kiss me."
So I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"Not like that!" she giggled. "You know what I mean."
"Some warriors have that kind of relationship with their companions."
"Like Mama and Nori."
"Yes. And like Omie and I did."
"I remember how upset you both were when you became a warrior. Do you still miss her?"
"Terribly," I admitted. "But she has Aren now, and they are happy together."
"Will you love someone like that again?"
"I hope so," I said. "Even though it hurt so badly when Omie and I couldn't be together anymore, I wouldn't give it up to avoid that pain. I will always love her, and she will always love me."
"Sometimes I hear Nori tell Queen Malora she loves her. Nori was Queen Malora's companion, wasn't she?"
"Yes. Long ago."
She paused for a moment. "Do you sometimes wish I was older?"
"Why would I wish that?"
"Is the reason you don't want to kiss me because I'm so much younger than you are?"
"Omie and I were six years apart, and she thought it was a lot. You and I are ten, and that's definitely a lot."
"Queen Malora is a lot older than Maya."
"Yes, but Maya was twenty-two, and the difference doesn't seem as big then than it does now with you at fifteen."
"Okay," she said. "I thought maybe there was something wrong with me."
"You, my dear girl, are perfect."
"You can say that the next time I get into trouble."
"You never get into trouble."
"First time for everything," she said, grinning.
And that was the last time we had that conversation. Years later, when she had her own companion, I knew they became lovers, but she and I never did.
Oh, I loved her. It was impossible not to. She was sweet and kind, of course, but she was my companion, and what she did for me meant I couldn't help but love her. I very much enjoyed having a little sister.
