by Robin Roseau
Senai glared then turned to Queen Malora. "Are you going to let her continue to do this?"
"Maya coordinates the distribution of the tithe," Malora said. "Fifteen years ago, I did not allow her the vengeance she demanded, but I also told her I would not interfere if she kept luxury goods from you. She is quite steadfast in assuring you receive the goods you need. I will add you receive as many goods now as you did in the years immediately preceding the event in question. Any increase in our tithes is due to her efforts, and I am not going to second guess what she does with them."
"Then I challenge you!" Senai screamed.
Everyone stood up, all at once. I didn't think it was an expected reaction. Malora was about to answer, but I reached over and set a hand on her arm.
"No," I said. "I was the injured party. Does anyone deny that?" No one said a word. "My sister does this for me. If you want to challenge anyone, it is I. If you win, Maya will forgive the village of the events from fifteen years ago, and she will share the tithe fairly, more or less. Agreed, Maya?"
"Agreed," she said.
"If I win, you will agree to carefully consider Maya's earlier suggestions. Furthermore, if you enact her suggestions wholeheartedly, and the situation for companions living in Green Arrow improves dramatically, then in three years, Maya will forgive you. And all your problems will, over time, resolve themselves."
Senai didn't answer right away.
"The other choice," I said, "is to challenge the queen of the Amazons to a death match. She will accept and demand you appear in Queen's Town one month from today. We know what happened the last time someone from Green Arrow did that, and at that time, the woman involved had at least a little support from the other village chiefs. How much support do you believe you have? Do you really think you will be our queen? I guarantee you will not leave the Queen's Town training circle with air in your lungs."
Senai still didn't answer.
"You have your choices," Malora said calmly. "Challenge me, and it will be as Chief Beria indicates. Challenge Beria, but it will not be to the death, and if you maim or kill her, I will have you whipped to death. She has suffered enough at the hands of this village. Or drop this entirely. It is your choice, Senai."
Senai still didn't answer.
Maya spoke. "Senai, you did not make this situation. You are doing your best. I do not wish violence between Amazons. The real foe comes from the east. And so I will meet you part way. Back down. Enact my suggestions or come to me with others to consider. If I am satisfied, and with Chief Beria's approval, I will slowly, over time, begin to forgive this village."
Senai looked at Malora. "I would be a poor queen." She looked to me. "I have not seen you fight."
"Nor I, you," I said. I shrugged. "Unless you want this a death match, there is little harm necessary. I would not choose to kill an Amazon, but if that is what you want." I shrugged again. "It sounds pretty stupid to me."
"Is it your intention to punish this village as well?" Senai asked.
"No. My duties are to facilitate our war with the demons. I would do nothing to cripple our ability to do so. And my sister has not crippled you, either. You have done so yourself. She simply refuses to reward you for doing so." I shrugged a third time. "Perhaps you see it differently. We can settle this on the training grounds, although all that will prove is that I am a better warrior than you are."
I caught Nori's smile.
"I grew frustrated and heated," Senai said. "I withdraw the challenge and apologize for my behavior."
"Very good," I said. I took my seat, and slowly, so did everyone else.
"I will consider your advice," Senai added, looking at Maya. "I do not believe I am thinking clearly enough to do so at this time."
Maya nodded. "It is not easy for me to come here. If you wish to discuss this issue in greater depth, we may do so back in Queen's Town. There may be value in seeing how other villages conduct themselves." She paused. "I do not wish to belabor the points I've made, although I feel while you may understand my words, you perhaps do not understand the feelings behind them."
"You are a companion," Senai observed. "Your perspective will be different from that of a warrior."
"I am not only a companion," Maya replied. "I am the senior companion, and the well being of all companions is my responsibility. I also do not care for the phrase, 'only a companion'. If companions have such little value, why are you so upset that I do not help you obtain them?"
Senai studied her for a moment before responding. "You make good points, Queen's Companion." She turned to Malora. "Did we have more to discuss? If so, I would like a short break."
"This trip was to provide an introduction to Beria," Malora said. "It became something else, but I think this conversation needed to happen. You have met Beria and seen perhaps a glimpse of her composition."
"And you have a long ride to Broken Knife."
They both stood up, and a few minutes later found us back at the stable. The companions collected our horses, and soon we were on our way. We rode about a mile before Malora halted and climbed from her horse.
"Chief Beria, please dismount."
I slipped from my horse, and a moment later Rora was there, holding the reins. I turned to Malora, and seconds later she pulled me into a tight hug. Maya joined the hug and whispered to me, "Thank you."
Nori stepped over, and all she said was, "Malora, you were right."
"Of course I was," Malora said.
"About what?" I asked.
"You."
"Going to add to that?" I asked.
"No," Malora said. "We aren't."
Companionship
It was nice to be home at Lake Juna. The weather had turned wet and muddy during the last day or so of our trip, early spring having arrived. The opportunity to be clean and dry was welcome. I was greeted warmly, and cries of "Chief Beria! Chief Beria!" never grew old.
Glorana and Frida had done a good job taking care of things while I was gone. There were a few minor issues requiring my attention, but my village did well running itself. Badra hadn't yet moved me back onto the patrol schedule. She and Tamma were out on patrol, and I didn't want to meddle with her duty to manage the schedule, so I could look forward to at least a few days of peace and quiet.
Which was good. I wanted to see for myself how our three newest members were settling. I first asked Glorana and Frida about it.
"It appears, well," Frida said. "They used your hut while you were gone." I could tell. There were subtle signs: my chest in a slightly different location from where I kept it, the bed made up differently than I had left it. I didn't mind. If I had, I wouldn't have offered the hut in the first place. "They've been attending training, but we have been gentle on them so far. Lia applies herself, although her stamina on our runs has been low. The girls see it as a game. We haven't knocked any sense into them yet, but I believe you will need to."
I nodded. I would talk to Lia about it. I couldn't let them disrupt our training, after all, and so they must fit in. I'd wait until I'd witnessed it myself before saying anything to her.
"Lia has taken over as head cook," Glorana, "tentatively, subject to your approval."
"How is she doing?"
"It took her a couple of days to grow accustomed to our requirements," Frida replied. "But the past week, she's done very well."
"We've made sure she's had help. The companions all seem to like her. Yalta has been complimentary."
"And the girls?"
Glorana smiled. "They're very endearing." Glorana was typically rather gruff, so to see her heart warmed said something. "They have perhaps a little more influence on training than is wise, and they are learning they can wrap their newfound older sisters around their fingers with a dimpled smile and pleading look."
"What my sister means to say," said Frida, "is that they have wrapped her around their fingers. When the weather has been good, she has been teaching them to ride."
Glorana shrugged and offered a
sheepish expression.
"Do they help with chores?"
"They assist their mother," Frida said. I nodded. That was probably what I should expect at least for another year or two.
"Lia insisted on being taught all the chores of a companion," Glorana reported. "Yalta added her to the schedule."
"In addition to kitchen duty?"
"Yes," said Frida, "but she has a reduced schedule for the other duties. We did not interfere."
Nor would I.
"All right," I said after a moment. "Anything else?"
"Well," Frida said, "You haven't told us about your trip. Nor have you explained why your hair is this color."
I laughed. "The rest of the wager I lost when Nori put me in my place. I am obligated to return to Queen's Town for refreshing as needed. You will all see me coming, even in the dark, for at least the next month."
"We have heard stories of this hair color," Frida said, "but we did not realize it could be made so shocking."
"Oh, you haven't seen a thing," I said with a grin. I reached behind my head and began pulling out the braid, finally letting my hair settle over my shoulders. They both stared.
"Oh, my," Glorana said.
"Queen Malora was quite amused," I said, "as was my sister. She was probably remembering the last time her hair was this color."
"I hope you weren't planning on going hunting," Frida said. "The game will see you for miles."
We grinned at each other.
I wore my hair down for the rest of the day, earning a variety of comments, most of them fairly reserved. But at dinner, when Lia saw my hair, she began laughing, and her girls thought it was the funniest thing they've ever seen.
"I wouldn't laugh too loudly," I said to them. "I dare say each of you will wear this color at some point or another."
"I do not believe I shall be so foolish as to make such a wager," Lia said.
"Perhaps not, but this also tends to be an effective punishment for more amusing violations of the rules, and everyone needs to be reminded of the rules from time to time."
"You wouldn't!" Lia said.
"Break a rule and you'll see," I said.
"And what happens when you break a rule?" Lia asked. "Do we all punish you?"
"I make the rules," I replied. "And so the only way I get punished is when Queen Malora catches me."
"Or if Beria's sister catches her," Aura chimed in. "Maya complains to the queen, and the queen comes up with something amusing."
"Pshaw," I said. "That hasn't happened in- Hmm. When was it?"
"Last summer," Aura supplied. "You went out and checked rabbit snares."
"Why would checking rabbit snares get her into trouble?" Lia asked.
"They were her sister's snares," Aura supplied.
"Technically, they were snares shared by all the companions of Queen's Town."
"What happened?" Lia asked.
"Yes, Chief Beria," Aura asked. "You came back with the most amusing decoration upon your face, but you never told us the entire story."
I sighed. "I'd been stealing their rabbits for a week. I was trying to get Maya to come up and complain. She hadn't been by to visit for a while. Instead, every companion in Queen's Town laid in wait for me near one of their snares. Their warriors actually let them skip training that afternoon, so they were earlier than they would usually be checking snares. They caught me and returned me to Queen's Town for justice."
Aura smiled. "Skipping a portion of the story?"
I glared at her. "And just how do you know that?"
"You don't really believe I haven't heard the story from the other side, do you?"
I sighed again. "They set a snare for me," I said. "I couldn't tell you why she has it, but Maya has a fishing net. They had it laid out along the path to several of their snares, the ones that had been most productive for me. It's a steep path in a couple of places, so I had to leave my horse and walk. I had no warning at all; they had disguised the net in the dirt. Suddenly the net sprang up around me and I found myself hoisted from the ground. Moments later, the forest was alive with laughter. I pulled out my knife and was going to cut myself free, but from below me, my sister said, 'Cut one strand and they'll drop you.' I was a good six or eight feet off the ground at the time, and I didn't care to drop that distance while tangled in a net."
Lia was smiling, as was pretty much everyone else.
"She took my knife and sword from me, then they lowered me down, and while still wrapped in the net, they trussed me up then threw me over the front of Maya's horse for the ride back to Queen's Town. It was not a comfortable ride."
"And then what happened?" Aura asked.
"They dumped me at the Queen's Feet and demanded justice. But there wasn't any evidence. I had one rabbit hanging from my horse's saddle, but they couldn't have proven it was from one of their snares. I could have claimed being out for a walk."
"Yes?" Aura said. "You came back with that decoration, so I know Queen Malora judged you guilty and passed sentence. How did that happen?"
"I confessed."
"It wasn't that simple though, was it?"
"You can't possibly know whether it was that simple or not."
She smiled. "Are you sure?"
I sighed. "I was still trussed and wrapped in that net. Maya asked for a moment alone with the prisoner. Then she told me what punishment she was going to demand if I was judged guilty and asked if I was absolutely sure she didn't have more evidence. Malora wouldn't have done it for a few rabbits, but it had all been in fun, anyway. They'd gone to a lot of work to catch me, so I let them have the rest of their fun."
"What was she going to demand for punishment?" Lia asked.
"The punishment I received after confessing was also dictated by my sister," I said. "I was made to confess how many rabbits I had illicitly acquired, and then she demanded I return that many skins times three. Plus I was given a temporary decoration on my face."
"Not dyed hair?" Lia asked.
"No."
"What was the decoration?" Aura asked.
"You're not too old to spank," I told her. She only laughed. "They had a skin dye. They dyed the words 'Rabbit Thief' across my cheeks. You could still see it a week and a half later."
The girls found that especially funny.
"Maya threatened to have it tattooed if I didn't confess."
"Oh," said Lia. "She wouldn't really have."
"I'm pretty sure she didn't have any evidence."
"She did," Aura said. "That was the second day they got out of training early. The day before, they all watched you. There were seven eyewitnesses, Chief Beria."
I laughed. "I thought she was bluffing. Aura, did she tell you what she really would have done to me if I hadn't confessed?"
"Maya knew you'd confess if Queen Malora asked for the truth, so they never settled on a real punishment. Some of the ideas were pretty outrageous."
"When they were done and untied me, Malora asked me why I'd done it. She pointed out I'd get caught eventually. I told her I had been counting on it, but thought the companions would complain to Maya, and Maya would come see me about it. I would make her stay a day or two then offer restitution."
"Really?" Aura said. "Maya didn't tell me that part."
I shrugged. "Queen Malora ordered me to stay the night, and then she and Maya came home with me the next day and stayed a week and a half. So I got what I wanted. I got to spend time with my sister."
"Awww," said Lia. "That's sweet."
"I spent weeks snaring rabbits to pay my debt." I paused. "It probably wouldn't have taken that long if Maya hadn't been checking my snares for me." I turned to look directly at Aura. "I wondered how she knew how to find my snares. I don't mark them in a fashion she should have recognized. No one at Queen's Town should know, but somehow she did."
"Oh shit," said Aura.
Everyone turned to her.
"I've been waiting for nine months to see who knew a little too much about that s
tory," I said.
"Oh shit," Aura said again. She began to look wildly around the dining room, but I knew she wasn't going to go anywhere.
"It didn't take long to figure out someone told her where my snares were and how to find them."
"Chief Beria..."
"The real question is this: did someone inform the companions of Queen's Town that someone was stealing their rabbits? They caught me at least a week faster than I thought they would. I was meticulous in leaving no tracks, and so the only reason they would wonder what was going on was the reduced productivity of their snares. I didn't take all their rabbits, after all, just the ones I could reach quickly. Normally, when a snare stops producing, you move it, but they caught me before they'd moved more than one, and that one was probably due to be moved, anyway."
Aura clamped her lips together, which I thought was probably wise, at least for the moment.
"The question you should be asking yourself, Aura, is whether I confronted the Queen's Companion. You should perhaps ask yourself did I catch her in the woods with a brace of rabbits, my rabbits, and then tell her I'd seen her steal eight of my rabbits. You should ask yourself what deal she may have struck to avoid justice from the chief of Lake Juna for poaching rabbits in our territory. You want to wonder whether I would have asked for a full confession, including the names of any co-conspirators."
"Oh shit," Aura said, then clamped her mouth shut again.
"Now, maybe I confronted the Queen's Companion; maybe I didn't. Maybe she named co-conspirators. Maybe she didn't. Care to gamble, Aura?"
"I told her," Aura said.
"Told her what?"
"How to find your snares. But she blackmailed me!"
"She did, did she? And what information did she have that was sufficient to blackmail you?"
Aura looked at her hands. "That I was the one who told them you were stealing the rabbits."
"I find it unlikely that Maya would blackmail you, Aura. That's not her style."
She sighed. "It might not have been blackmail. She only said I was already in it up to my neck. She said if you were going to engage in pranks, and I was going to interfere, then I shouldn't hold back."
