by Robin Roseau
"No, actually, you're not. Relax. We're going to have a nice ride, spend a little time with Maya and Queen Malora, and be back in a few hours."
"Are they expecting us?"
"No. I imagine they'll be moderately surprised to see us."
"Am I in trouble?"
"No. Relax, Lia. Tell me a story."
"A story?"
"I left Gallen's Cove when I was thirteen. I've lived here ever since. Tell me something about what I missed in life."
I kept her talking for most of the ride, turning around only to ask questions. By the time we arrived at Queen's Town, she was talking far more animatedly and, I thought, perhaps no longer angry with me. But as we rode into Queen's Town, she grew quiet.
We were noticed. Three minutes after arrival, while I was still seeing to the horses, Omie burst into the stable. She enveloped me in a tight hug.
"You were just here yesterday," she said.
"I just missed you that much," I told her. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment then separated, turning away. I would always love her, and I thought perhaps she felt the same way.
"Is this your new village member?" Omie asked me.
"Oh, sorry," I said. "Lia, this is Omie. My warrior."
"Oh," said Lia. "Chief Beria has talked about you." The two clasped hands for a moment and exchanged pleasantries.
"Are you here all night?" Omie asked.
"Only through afternoon training," I said. "Are Vorine and Nori here?"
"Yes," she said.
"Good. I'll find you in a few minutes. I need to speak with Maya and Queen Malora."
"We're right here," said Maya from behind me. I turned around to see her and Queen Malora standing in the doorway. "What are you two doing here?" But she closed the distance and hugged me. "You're hair looks great."
I laughed. "Thanks." I buried my fingers under her hair, and she pressed against me. "Thank you," I said after a moment.
"That can't be enough."
"Later."
We separated, and I said, "I came to show Lia something, and then I want you to tell her about what happened on your way home from Howard's Den the first time."
"Ah," said Maya. She glanced at Lia, who was shifting from foot to foot and not looking directly at anyone. "Right. Lia, how are things going at Lake Juna? Have you settled in?"
"I thought they were going well," she said. She stressed the second word.
"Lia has taken over as our head cook," I said, "and her meals are very popular. The children seem well-adjusted, and I am pleased she has joined us."
Lia looked at me, not responding right away, pursing her lips, then said, "Chief Beria is not pleased to have us disrupting her training schedule."
"Ah," said Malora. "New companions. Maya, do you remember your first day?" She didn't wait for Maya to respond. "She and I had quite the fight that evening. That did not mean I wished to return her to her home."
Lia looked at me with apparent speculation but didn't respond.
"Well," Malora said. "Shall we show Lia what Beria brought her to see?" She turned around and led the way to the dining hall, Maya slipping next to me to wrap an arm around my waist.
Lia and Omie took up the rear, and I heard Lia ask Omie, "So. Do you have any good Beria stories?"
I looked over my shoulder. "She does," I said, "but she isn't going to share them because her loyalty is to her former companion."
"My loyalty might be to Beria," Omie said, "but that doesn't mean I don't mind embarrassing her from time to time."
"But you're not going to do so today, are you, Omie?" I asked.
"Naw. Your hair is embarrassment enough." She grinned at me. "It's not the first time she has worn that color."
"As I recall," Malora said from in front, "You wore that color for the same offense Beria did."
"Queen Malora likes pink hair," I said. "We found it incumbent upon ourselves to provide her with opportunities to enjoy it."
We arrived at the dining hall. Malora turned around and said, "Omie, would you assist Beria. The case is a little heavy for one."
"Of course." She passed Lia off, and Omie and I headed to the storage room, where we would find the head and hands of Maya's demon. They were kept in a wooden chest.
"How bad is it?" Omie asked.
"I am trying to train them gently," I replied. I relayed what I had done this morning.
She nodded. "That's not bad."
"I don't have anyone I want to devote to their training. I don't want the companions to be held back. And I need to be involved in training the warriors and older companions, or they're going to suffer. If I had Nori, I'd be fine. She could train the warriors and older companions, and I could train Lia and her daughters. But I don't have anyone remotely like Nori."
"She is one of a kind," Omie agreed.
"Have you and Vorine ever felt it held you back training the companions instead of focusing on your own training?"
"If we wanted to be a village chief, perhaps," Omie said. "But we like it here, and we'd be happy staying right where we are. We're well beyond good enough for what we have to do."
I nodded. While we talked, we also pulled the chest out from its storage on a lower shelf. A moment later, with Omie in the lead, we left the storage room and headed back to the dining hall.
By the time we got there, Nori and Vorine were there.
"Good," I said. "I wanted them, too."
Omie and I set the chest on the floor. Lia was talking to Maya about something and wasn't paying attention to us, so I bent down and opened the chest. Staring upward at us through glass eyes was the demon, Lathana Jara Marquine. Maya had killed it a few months before coming to entice me to join the Amazons. One of the women at Broken Knife had preserved it.
The demon was beautiful and hideous at the same time. Its mouth was closed, but Maya had told me the tongue was long and forked, like a snake's. The creature was covered with iridescent scales and had horns that were over two feet long. Nestled between the horns was the small box that held the demon's four clawed hands. I withdrew that box then carried it to where Lia was sitting between Maya and Nori. I slid the chest to Maya; I knew she would pick the right time to open it.
I had interrupted the conversation, and they all turned to me. "Is that what we're here to see?" Lia asked, gesturing with her nose to the box.
"Part of it," I said. I returned to the chest on the floor. There was a section of leather in the box. Omie and I spread it on top of one of the tables. Then, lifting together, we pulled the demon's head from the box and set it on the table.
"Lathana Jara Marquine," Maya said quietly. And then she opened the box with the hands and set them each on the table in front of Lia.
Lia stared for a while before looking at me. "I've seen that before."
"Look at the hands," I said. "Look at the claws. Be careful, they are very sharp."
"Go ahead," Maya said. "You may pick one up."
"I don't think so," Lia said, her gaze dropping to the four hands in front of her. "They have claws on their feet?"
"They do. We didn't preserve the feet. They have four hands." Maya picked one of them up. The hand was partially closed, and she wrapped it around her upper arms. "This creature picked me up and carried me for miles as if I was nothing, her upper hands holding my arms, and her lower claws held my ankles."
"How did you get free? You told us, but I don't remember."
"Nori saved me," Maya said, and she reached around Lia to clasp Nori's hand for a moment. "Malora and most of her army chased after it, but Nori, moving faster, ran around it."
"Well, I rode a horse for part of the way," Nori said. "I only ran the last four miles."
"Lia," I said. "Pick up one of the hands."
She looked at me then at the hands, including the one Maya still held. She shook her head.
"Why are you showing me this? You said I'd never have to fight one of these."
"Your daughters may," Malora said. "Lia, it
can't hurt you."
Maya pulled the claws from around her arm. She reached out with it for Lia, who shied away from it. But Nori was there, and she picked up another hand, and Lia didn't have anywhere to go. She froze, and Nori and Maya, together, began caressing Lia's face with the hands of the demon.
"No," Lia said. "No. Stop!"
"She caressed me like this," Maya said. "She transferred her hold so she had a hand free, and she caressed my face like this."
"Stop it!" Lia said. "Please stop."
Nori and Maya withdraw the hands, setting them back on the table in front of Lia.
"Go look at it," I told her. "Look closely."
"Why are you doing this?" she yelled.
"Go look," I said, "and then we'll put it away. Look closely."
"No."
"Nori," I said.
Nori picked up the hand again and began reaching for Lia.
"All right!" she screamed. "I'll look."
She climbed from her chair and approached the head cautiously, stopping five feet away.
"Oh no, not like that," I said. "Get a real good look." I stepped up beside her. "We won't let it hurt you, Lia." I took her hand. She flinched, but then she squeezed tightly and clutched at my arm with her other hand. I drew her closer.
"Do you see the scales?" I asked.
"Yes," she whispered.
"And the horns. They are so sharp. Can you see?" The tips were well above her head, but she should be able to see how sharp they were. "The demons come in different colors. This one is actually quite beautiful, in a horrible sort of way. Some of them are not so attractive, but they are all fearsome and all very, very big."
She stared for a moment, then said, "There. I looked at it. Please put it away."
"Nori and Omie," I said, "would you put it away please?"
Wordlessly, they took care of it. Maya packed the hands, and then Nori added those to the chest. They carried it away, and I moved Lia back to the bench at the table.
"Why did you show me that?" she asked again.
"Lia, you will never have to fight one of those. You will probably never see one. I don't believe Jasmine has."
"She hasn't," Malora said. "Ralla doesn't take her on patrol."
"Why are you trying to give me nightmares?"
"Because, Lia, we have a problem and I am going to need your help solving it. You will never face one of those, but if your daughters remain with us, they both probably will."
"They're just little girls," she said, barely a whisper. "They have years."
"I know," I said. "I am not worried about them now. But I do not want to teach bad habits that we suddenly must change when they are twelve or thirteen."
"They're doing the best you can expect."
"No," Nori said from the doorway. "They are not."
Lia looked up at her. "You haven't even seen them since we arrived."
"I don't have to. I have never had a new companion do the best she could without more incentive than I bet Beria is applying. Never."
"Maya," I said, "will you tell Lia about your first trip home from Howard's Den?"
Maya nodded. "I'd only been a companion for a few months." She smiled. "Do you remember, Malora? That was the first time you dyed my hair."
"I remember it well," Malora said. "She was a beacon in the night."
Maya told the story. She had told it so many times that she could wrap her audience in the palm of her hand. She took her time and had Lia enrapt long before the story was complete.
When Maya finished, I reached over and turned Lia's chin back to face me. "That is how good I need you. I don't need you good enough to fight demons, but I insist you be good enough to handle bandits. And I need to know you'll be steady in a fight."
"I still train," Maya said. "Twice a day. But they have grown easier on me. A little easier."
"I train!" Lia said. "I don't know why you're angry with me, Beria."
"I'm not angry," I said. "I am trying to impress upon you why for this afternoon's training, we are going to treat you like any brand new companion."
"You haven't been?"
"No," Nori said. "She has not."
"Why do you keep talking as if you've been there, Nori?"
"Beria, am I wrong?"
"No, Nori."
"But-"
"Lia, you're going to be very angry with me later. I have a point, and I am only going to make it once. You do not have to worry this will ever happen again."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"The same things that every Amazon has gone through," I said. "I have one lesson to teach you."
"So teach me."
I nodded. I looked at Nori. "You're still better than I am, but it's my responsibility."
"I am not only the chief trainer for Queen's Town," Nori said, "but for all the Amazons. I believe you should ask me to do this."
Maya whispered something to Malora. I didn't hear what, but then Malora said, "Actually, Chief Beria, I believe I am going to insist it be either Nori or me. I'm sorry."
I inclined my head. "Of course," I said. "I shall urge her in one way, and you in another."
Lia didn't look remotely happy about the conversation.
I turned to Omie and Vorine, sitting quietly together. "I will be her warrior today. Would it disrupt your training schedule to include her?"
"No," Vorine said. "We're happy to have you." She glanced at the doorway. "People are waiting to come in for lunch."
"Invite them in," Malora said. "If you have questions, Lia, we can answer them later."
Lia turned to me. "Do you expect me to serve you?"
"No," I said.
* * * *
Lia was fine when we began stretching, although her nervousness was evident. Twice I'd caught her chewing her nails, and a third time she had a section of her hair in her mouth.
"How does someone who historically kept her hair so short develop that habit?"
"I am reverting to my pre-teens," she said, pushing her hair away.
Margie, Clara's companion, was leading stretches. "Hush, you two," she said. "Pay attention."
"Sorry, Margie," I said. When Margie asked for another exercise, I looked at Lia then said quietly, "Good. It should feel good."
Lia nodded.
Finally Margie said, "Now we run."
"Bea," Nori said, "Set a pace for the warriors and advanced companions. Omie, will you set the pace for the younger companions?"
Lia turned to me.
"Omie, I wish to offer Lia a wager. Please give me a moment."
"Of course, Beria."
"I'm not wagering with you."
"You have said you are trying as hard as you can. If I can prove you are not remotely trying as hard as you can, then I win. I absolutely promise you'll know."
"Fine. What do I get?"
"I will allow Omie to tell you stories about me."
Omie chuckled.
"And if you win?"
"You promise to forgive me by the time we get back to Lake Juna."
"All right," she agreed.
I helped her to her feet, and as soon as Omie saw Lia look at her, she turned and began running, setting an easy pace at first. "Keep up with Omie," I said.
* * * *
"You let them whip me!" she screeched in the stable later. "And now I have to sit a saddle besides."
"Worse, you have to forgive me, too."
Lia glared at me.
"Tell me why."
"The lesson I had to teach you. You thought you were giving me everything. You weren't. You had more in you long after you thought you would collapse if you ran another step. You made it around the field four more times, and then you caught your breath and trained hard with the staff besides. I am very proud of you."
She didn't respond.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes," she spat. "If I had known this was how you intended to treat me, we wouldn't have come."
"I know. And it's not how we
're going to treat you. I told you, this was just the once. Everyone else here was treated to Nori's whip for the first few weeks."
"And are you bringing my daughters here tomorrow?"
"No. And I am trying very hard to make sure they have the right habits before they become companions, so they never need Nori chasing them with a whip."
"I don't know what you want from me."
"Two things," I said. "I want you to forgive me. And I want you to help me think of games that will challenge your daughters, so they will apply themselves. I cannot treat their lack of attention like I would four years from now, so we have to head it off other ways."
"Why not wait until they're fourteen?"
"That may be the solution," I said. "But that is as much as admitting I don't believe they will stay."
"Why?"
"If I believe they are going to stay, then I absolutely must do everything in my power to make sure when they see their first demon, they are ready. Lia, do you understand that? Do you want them undertrained? I would think you would want them trained the best we can."
"Of course I do!" she said. "Oh hell."
I smiled.
"Am I forgiven?"
"Yes. Damn it." But she smiled.
"Good," I said. "Will you ride with me?"
"On one condition."
"Oh?"
"Tell me an embarrassing story."
I laughed. "Of course."
"Embarrassing to you, not your sister!"
* * * *
We didn't have all the answers, but we spent the ride thinking about both games the girls could play as well as rewards and punishments. We arrived back at Lake Juna, and I helped Lia down from the horse. She walked oddly for a moment and rubbed her bottom. "It still hurts."
"We have ointment," I said. "Tell any of the companions the demon chased you with a whip and they'll know what to do."
"Does that happen to every companion?"
"In my experience, yes. It may be that other villages have other ways of providing incentive."
* * * *
After that, we made training into a game for the girls, coming up with different games, complete with rewards for doing well. We continued to chase them around the field, and if I caught any of them, they all shared some unpleasant punishment that Lia and I worked out together. I wouldn't have admitted it to her, but it amused me to no end that she was taking punishments she had devised herself.
