by Robin Roseau
"You won't have that with Omie, but you'll be friends forever. Years from now, when you need someone to count on, you absolutely know she and Vorine will have your back."
"Or I'll have theirs."
"Yes," said Maya. "Malora and Nori spent a few years apart, but then they came back together again. They act as one."
I nodded.
"There's something else I need from you," Maya said.
"Just ask."
"I need you to keep coming here to spar with Nori and Malora. It helps to keep them sharp and young. You wouldn't believe the amount of time the two of them spend trying to find ways to stay ahead of you. They need that. Promise me."
"Of course, Maya," I said. I grinned. "Do they really talk about me?"
"More than you would believe," she said.
"Did Nori tell you why I came yesterday?"
Maya nodded. "I told them you'd figure it out. I told Malora to just tell you, but she likes leaving puzzles. She was delighted when Nori relayed the conversation." She paused. "Thank you for having Malora's back."
We hugged again, then once more, then I couldn't make up any more excuses to stay, but I didn't want to go.
"Maya," I said.
"Go on," she said. "We'll have all the time in the world in a couple of weeks." She gave me a little push.
Part Four
Travels
Lake Juna's Amazons were at training when I arrived. They didn't notice me, so I took care of my mount and dropped my things off in my hut before I found everyone on the training ground.
Badra and Tamma were actually home rather than on patrol. I waited for a lull and then called a halt. There was a flurry of activity, welcoming me home. I smiled at all of them. I thought about whether I should wait until training was over but decided that if it were I, I'd be upset if the news were kept from me.
"I'm sorry," I said, "I need Badra and Tamma for a while. After training, I need to see Glorana and Frida."
"We'll find you, Chief Beria," Glorana replied.
"Carry on. Badra, Tamma, with me please." I turned heel and led the way to their hut, letting myself in before them. As soon as we were inside, Tamma stepped to the stove and stirred the fire, adding a little wood. We slipped off our cloaks.
"What can I do for you, Beria?" Badra asked. Tamma had her back turned, so I glanced at her and let Badra see my distress. Badra's expression fell, but she nodded.
"Tamma," I said. "I have a letter for you."
"Really?" she asked, turning to me.
"Yes. Could we sit?" I gestured. Tamma and Badra sat on the bed, and I took a chair facing them. I held her letter in my hand, but I didn't give it to her yet.
"It's from your sister," I said. "It came via Queen's Town, and Maya asked me to deliver it directly." I paused. "Tamma, I'm very sorry, there's bad news." I handed her the letter. "It's your mother, Tamma. I'm so sorry."
"Mama?" she said, fumbling with the letter, finally opening it. She started reading. "Mama?" She said again. "No. Oh no." She dropped the letter in her lap and turned to her warrior. "Badra. My mama is gone. My mama is gone!"
"Oh darling," Badra said, pulling Tamma into her arms. Tamma began sobbing and clutching at Badra. I was going to go, but she reached out a hand for me, and I found myself kneeling in front of her, my head in her lap, crying right along with her. I'd never even met her mother, but her grief was so overwhelming, I cried right with her.
And while we cried, she buried her fingers in the hair at the back of my neck. Even during her own grief, she offered me comfort.
We cried ourselves out, at least for now. All three of us were a mess. We cleaned up, our noses and eyes red. Tamma then asked dully, "Is there other news? Happy news?"
"I don't know if it's happy news," I said. "Ralla is retiring. Queen Malora has asked me to fill the position but wants me to remain chief here at the same time. That's what I need to talk to Glorana and Frida about, and you too, Badra."
"Malora told you to groom a second in command," Badra said. I nodded. "You picked me." I nodded. "She pointed out I'm never here and hate politics."
I laughed weakly. "Uh huh."
"Glorana and Frida are perfect," Badra said. "They're young but sturdy, and while someone might be willing to mess with one of them, no one is going to mess with the two of them."
"That pretty much summed up the conversation."
"Did Ree get mentioned?"
"Yes. Malora told me to groom someone younger."
"Part of your job, Beria, is to train your replacement, to identify talent and nurture it. Ree is part of the present, but she's not part of the future of the Amazons. You must be thinking five, ten, years out. Malora is thinking twenty."
"I've been so focused on making Lake Juna work," I said. "Getting past next season has been a stretch."
"Lake Juna works now," Badra said. "You can have longer vision."
I nodded.
"Beria, I've got your back. Glorana and Frida are the right choice."
"I'm afraid I'm disrupting your patrol roster."
"Don't worry about that," she said. "As much as you can, just let me know your schedule. I presume you'll still patrol, just not as often."
I nodded.
"Is there any other news?" Tamma asked.
I smiled. "Maya is beginning to bug me about a companion."
"Oh?" Tamma said. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her I want someone to love. I want someone to call me 'darling'."
Tamma rotated to face her warrior. "I will continue to patrol with you, but I love you, and I never want to become a warrior."
"Sometimes demons target the companions," I said. "That's how I became a warrior. I was well out of the fight, and the demon specifically ran around the warriors to target me. And Malora always hated when Maya went on patrol, fearful she would become a warrior."
"That's rare," Badra said. "I can leave you out of most demon fights, but if we get more than two, I need you, and depending upon who is there, I might need you for two."
"If you need me, I am there," Tamma said. "But if I can remain your companion, that is what I wish."
"It has been my wish as well, Tamma." They kissed briefly.
I started to rise, but Tamma grabbed my hands. "I would like to know more about your wishes for a companion, Beria. What type of woman intrigues you?"
I smiled. "Smart. She must challenge me. She would need to travel with me."
"Do you want her to be younger? Older?"
"Near my age is best," I said, but if she is a little younger or a little older doesn't matter."
"So within five years? Within ten?"
"Certainly within ten," I said. "Closer if she is younger."
Tamma nodded understanding.
"Perhaps I will go with Maya in the spring after all, but look for a woman who intrigues me. Do you think someone would be interested in an Amazon village chief?"
"I think perhaps so," she replied.
Then I stood up. "Tamma, I'm very sorry about your mother. If your sister needs you, then we would need to work it out, but I'm sure you and Badra could go home to White Pine to lend her any help she needs."
"Thank you, Chief Beria," she said, standing up. She pulled me into another hug, not releasing her warrior. We kissed cheeks, and then I slipped away.
But I thought perhaps I had made a new friend where before there had been some distance between us. How strange, to bear bad news to her and come away as friends.
Outside, Glorana and Frida were hovering around, waiting for me.
"We heard the crying," Frida said. "Who died?"
"Tamma's mother," I said. "Where is Yalta?"
"Lunch duty."
"Come on." I led the way to the dining hall. Lake Juna didn't have a single head cook the way Queen's Town did, and I missed Serra's cooking. Instead, the companions rotated the job amongst them, although a few were terrible cooks and were skipped during the rotation. Yalta was one of our better cooks. She h
ad her hands full when we arrived, but I stepped up to her. "Do you have fifteen seconds, Yalta?"
She turned to me. "Are the voices bad?"
"No, I'm fine." I paused. "Tamma's mother has died."
"Oh no," she said. "Is she all right?"
"She will be," I said. "The companions are the healers of the Amazons. You and Tamma are the closest we have to a senior companion here, so I thought you should know. Badra is with her now."
Yalta nodded. "I will have a quiet word with the other companions, but I am tied here."
"We'll send them in," Frida said.
"Thank you, Yalta," I said. "I knew I could count on you."
"Of course, Chief Beria. Now get out of my kitchen."
I laughed lightly, pulling the two warrior sisters with me. "Send the companions in first, then find me in my hut."
They arrived ten minutes later. I was pouring over maps, one of only eastern Morehama, another of all of Morehama, with Gallen's Cove way on the west coast. I brushed my fingers there, and then a second time on Queen's Town.
Would Lake Juna ever feel like home to me?
The sisters returned, stepping into my hut. "You wanted us?"
I turned to them. "There is more news." I told them about Ralla. "I'm going to be gone a lot, and I need to know things here are handled."
"We'll support Badra. You know that."
"It's Badra who will be supporting the two of you," I said.
It took them a good five heartbeats before Glorana said, "Us?"
"Yes," I said. "When I'm not here, the two of you are next in charge. You know my policies, and you understand the reasons behind them. I know I can count on you."
"Yes, Chief Beria," they said in unison.
"We also need an official lead trainer." They grinned.
"What about patrol?"
"You don't think you get out of that, do you?"
They grinned. "We wouldn't want to," said Frida.
They had questions, which I answered. Then I said, "My turn. You share a companion. Are you satisfied with that situation?"
They glanced at each other then turned to me. "Yalta takes care of our needs," Glorana said. "And there are warriors with far greater need."
"Such as our village chief," Frida added.
"But long term, it would be good to have another companion," Glorana continued. "But we will continue to share a hut. Maybe we can expand our hut."
"Talk to Rora," I said. "If you need to run down to Queen's Town, go ahead. I suppose if I send Glorana with my sister, Frida and Yalta would also go?"
They looked pained, but they nodded. "She must get along with all three of us," Glorana explained. "And thus we must all meet."
"All right. That's all I had."
"For now."
I grinned. "Yes. For now."
"We noticed you didn't comment when we mentioned our chief's lack of a companion."
"Why is everyone worried about that now?" I asked. "First Maya, then today, in the middle of crying for her mother, Tamma asked about it. And now the two of you. Have I become irritable?"
"No," Glorana said.
"We care about you, that's all."
"I'm fine. We have good companions here, and I don't need much. And I see my sister so often, she helps, too."
"How many years has it been since you last slept through a night?"
"Last night," I said, grinning. "I bunk with Queen Malora and Maya most of the time I'm in Queen's Town."
"And when you are traveling, what will you do?" Frida asked. "It is easy to ask your sister to help, or your friends, or the companions in your own village. Will it be so easy when you are in a strange village?"
"I understand Ralla handled it for years. I'm fine."
* * * *
It was a week later. Ralla had come and gone, staying for two nights. She and Jasmine had bunked in my hut, setting up a second bed next to mine. I met with both of them, and Jasmine offered at least as much insight into my new job as Ralla did. I was intimidated but excited at the same time.
"The most important thing for you to do," Ralla said, "Is establish contacts. You want a good working relationship with the village chiefs and whoever is the main patrol leader in each village. Not every village operates like Queen's Town. In some, the chief handles the roster, and there is no clear head patrol leader."
"Ralla also pays attention to the other warriors and even the companions," Jasmine said. "I help with the latter part."
Ralla hugged Jasmine and said, "The job became a lot easier with her at my side."
"At her side, indeed," Jasmine said. "She means with me riding along on the horse with her. Those first few months were rough on my backside."
"You need to learn the personalities," Ralla said. "Most of the time, everything runs smoothly, but when there is a dispute, understanding the personalities involved makes all the difference."
"What sort of disputes can there be?"
"We've had a few villages that are quick to ask to have their patrols covered for them and slow to return the favor. That turns into a game of who helped who last, then neither village is willing to help the other. When it turns egregious, Malora has to step in, but normally I can smooth things over. If Malora gets involved, one village or the other needs a new chief. We cannot allow that sort of thing to fester or it will spread."
I nodded.
"We also have had disputes over hunting territory, which has turned acrimonious a few times. That can be easier to settle by simply laying down the law. One thing we'll do on our tour is ask each village chief to explain the area that village hunts. When you settled here, you and Malora settled a line between you, and you did the same with Chief Valan to your north. As long as it's clear, it becomes easy to enforce."
"You had that one time a stream changed paths," Jasmine said.
"A beaver dam broke," Ralla explained, "and the rush of water cut a new path for the river. The border had been defined as the river, and the new path moved some prime hunting territory from one village to the other."
"What did you do?"
"I enforced the old boundary but then admitted it was going to be increasingly difficult to keep track of the old border and asked the two chiefs involved if they wished to discuss another arrangement. Then I mediated."
We spent two days together, pouring over maps, discussing the issues I was likely to encounter, and the different ways Ralla and Malora had dealt with it.
"Don't I just report them to Malora and do what she suggests?"
"A lot of times, you can just handle it," Ralla said. "Other times she'll ask your opinion. You're much closer to the situation, after all. Even when I know Malora has to handle it, I try to decide what I would do. And then when we talk about it, before she lets me know her mind, sometimes I change my own mind, sometimes I don't."
"She asks questions that focus your direction."
"Right." She looked at Jasmine. "So does my companion."
I smiled. "Please tell me you're not on my case about that now, too."
Jasmine smiled, but neither of them answered more plainly.
I absorbed everything I could, and then Ralla and Jasmine returned to Queen's Town the following morning.
* * * *
"Chief Beria?"
I looked up. It was late in the evening. Malora and Maya would arrive for our trip in another two days, and I was still studying maps and making notes.
"Hello, Tamma," I said. "Come on in." I noticed she was alone, but she was carrying steaming mugs of cider. "Oh, a blessing on your home," I said. "Thank you."
"May I speak with you?"
"Of course. Is this a chair conversation or a cuddle together conversation?"
"This is a 'let me soothe your soul while I ask a favor' conversation."
I laughed and gestured to a little sofa Rora had made for me last year. We moved together, and Tamma settled next to me, her hands moving for my open skin, quieting the voices. We sat together for a while, and I s
ighed.
"Thank you," I whispered. "I sleep so much better after one of your visits. Does the favor you are about to ask involve me losing you for a while?"
"A while, maybe," she said. "Or maybe not. My sister's letter last week -- do you know the complete contents?"
"Maya only told me about your mother. I'm so sorry, Tamma."
"Thank you, Beria," she said. We sat quietly for another minute, then she said, "My sister doesn't ask me to come to White Pine. She asks if she may come here for a while."
"Of course she is welcome," I said. "Does she bring a family?"
"Two daughters. They are eight and ten."
"Their father?"
"Fatherhood did not please him."
We sighed together.
"They are all welcome. We will need to produce an escort."
"I have not told you everything," she said. "I have talked to my warrior. She is uncomfortable escorting my sister and her daughters with just she and I. I am sufficiently trained when it is just the two of us, but adding young children leaves more to watch over."
"Then we will find a solution," I said. "Or did you already have one in mind?"
"We have ideas, but no particular solution we prefer ahead of another."
"You bring me a puzzle to solve then. How soon does she wish to come? It would be easier now or after the spring melt has dried."
"Her letter did not say," Tamma replied. "I believe she would accept whatever opportunity we may produce. There is more."
"Oh?"
"She may wish to stay for more than a brief visit. You may not know this, but when Queen Malora, Maya and Nori came to White Pine, both my sister and I wanted to leave with them. My mother begged for one of us to remain, and so my sister let me choose to stay or go. I chose selfishly."
"Becoming an Amazon is not a selfish decision."
"It was to me. I was unhappy. I have been very happy with Badra. I miss my sisters and little brother, but I made the right decision to come. And Lia made the wrong decision to stay, even though it was our mother's wish, and we would perhaps both be saddened at having deserted her when she asked one of us to stay."
"Does your sister's letter indicate she wishes to become a companion? And her daughters are very young."
