by Robin Roseau
Lia snuggled down and curled into me more tightly, then waited quietly.
"Omie calmed me down. Later, everyone was surprised I hadn't left. They made me hang out for a while before I could come back here."
"How were things left?"
"Malora told me the most important thing I do right now is resolve this. She told me if my job as patrol coordinator were in the way of resolving this, she’d allow me to resign. It's not what she wants, but she'll allow it."
I turned my head to look at Lia.
"You'd resign a job Malora wants you to keep? For me?"
I nodded.
"What if you don't resign?"
I looked back at the ceiling. "I called Malora a meddling old woman."
"Oh shit," she said.
"Yeah. I think we're both lucky you aren't sharing a bed with a blueberry."
"A blueberry?"
"Malora is fond of dying Maya and me when we misbehave."
"She'd dye you blue?"
"It's more of a purple, I guess. Yeah. She kept Maya that color for three months once before she relented. That was a long time ago." I grew quiet.
"What?"
"Bad story," I said. "For another time."
"All right."
"In spite of being a meddling old woman, Malora was right. I need a companion. A full time companion, Lia. And I know it's not fair, but I pretty much need an answer soon."
"Like, in the next five minutes?"
"In the next three days."
"And if I can't answer that quickly?"
"I'll go beg for an extension."
"Will you get it?"
"I don't know."
"Tell me about traveling."
I turned to face her. "I need a full time companion. I need you to go with me. Maybe not every single trip. I don't think you'll ever go on patrol, but that's only three nights."
"Is there anything you can do so the trips aren't so many days?"
"If I go more often. It plays havoc with the patrol schedule."
"Tamma's warrior will just need to be flexible," she said. "Can we take the girls?"
"Maybe in another year or two," I said. "They're learning a lot. On the other hand, I heard about an altercation."
"I handled it."
"I know you did. I'm not faulting anyone. I also go to Gallen's Cove every year or so. I would want all three of you to go along. Maya and Malora go, too. Usually there are a few others. It's a little vacation."
"That's on the coast? Is it pretty?"
"I'll take you sailing," I said.
She kissed my ear then set her fingers across my lips. We lay quietly for several minutes. "You're asking me to be gone from my daughters. A lot."
"I know. I can resign. Then I'll be gone on patrol, but you'll stay here."
"And you're asking me to make a permanent commitment. You're asking me to vow myself to you."
My heart started to sink. It was too much. Just like Malora and Nori had been pushing me too hard lately, I was pushing her too hard.
"I'm sorry," I said. I started to roll away. "It's too much to ask."
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked firmly, tugging me back into place. "Don't you recognize negotiation when it slaps you in the face?"
I turned my head to look at her.
"Oh Beria," she said, caressing my face. "I told you I love you. But it's complicated, and we're working it out."
I smiled tentatively.
"We'll try it," she said. "You will not resign. Yet. I may not go on every trip with you. I may ask you to find a way to make them shorter. We may discuss ways of taking the girls. If we cannot make it work, then you will resign. That's my offer."
"Was that a yes?"
"To you accept my offer?"
"Yes."
"Then it's a yes."
I pulled her to me, my heart leaping with joy. She had said 'yes'. I held her tightly, then I pushed her away enough I could kiss her, and then I crushed her against me again. She giggled in my arms. Finally she pushed away.
"We're late for training."
"They can train without us."
"If we're late, perhaps we should be really late."
"Oh?"
"I'm wearing far too many clothes for you to teach me how to make love to you. Perhaps you should do something about that."
And so, I did.
New Love
We got more privacy than I expected. The entire village cooperated. The girls were invited to "slumber parties" several nights a week. Lia and I made good use of the time alone.
Lia was an enthusiastic, creative lover.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, and so I should back up. The day after Lia accepted my proposal, I wrote a note and handed it to Frida along with two deer hides. "I need this in Queen's Town, and whoever you send will need to wait for a response. The note to Queen Malora, the hides to Nori. She'll know what to do with them." She sent Aura and Lindara.
Queen Malora,
Twelve members of Lake Juna would like to visit Queen's Town three days from today. We would like you, your companion, Nori and her companion, Omie, Vorine, Bea, and Clara present. If Gaylie and Lidi can be there as well, it is appreciated.
If this schedule does not work, please advise.
Yours,
Chief Beria
Lake Juna was overjoyed with the news. We had a bonfire the first night. No one was surprised, of course, but we received congratulations. We had told the girls before dinner. Annalise didn't seem to appreciate the upcoming changes, but Joelle seemed pleased. "Will you be our Mama now, too?"
At that, I had to turn to Lia. "Will I?"
"You better be," she said, "or this will be the shortest warrior-companion relationship ever."
I turned back to Joelle. "In private, you should call me Beria. In public, it is still Chief Beria. Even Maya calls the queen by her title. Well, sometimes, anyway."
"And me?" Lia asked. "Am I to call you by your title?"
"Only when making a point," I said with a grin.
And so, we announced everything at the bonfire. Yalta immediately asked, "Does this make her the chief's companion, and I can dump on her the associated duties?"
I laughed. "I am still patrol coordinator for Queen Malora, and Lia will be traveling with me at least part of the time. The two of you will need to work it out."
"Wait," Lia said, "I have to do Yalta's job?"
"No," Yalta said, "I can stop doing your job. Oh, the mischief I can make with my newfound hours of freedom."
"What types of jobs?" she asked.
"Well, managing the companion duty roster, for instance," Yalta said. "Being mother hen to all the other companions. Doing your warrior's laundry."
"You never do my laundry," I retorted. "If I had known that was an option, you would have been."
Yalta laughed. "Nice try. Coordinating for royal visits; managing inventory in the supply room and communicating with the Queen's Companion in Queen's Town. Don't worry. I'll teach you what to do."
"Wait," said Lia. "I get to write the companion's duty roster?"
"Yes," Yalta said, "but you will notice I schedule myself the same as I do anyone else. You'll still be mucking stables."
"Mucking stables?" Lia looked at me.
"Yalta has been going easy on you since you took over the cooking, but I remember Serra used to muck stables, and she was the cook at Queen's Town."
"The chief's companion has to muck stables?"
"Maya mucks stables," I said. "In fact, when I was a companion, and I imagine this hasn't changed, whenever one of the companions had a scheduling difficulty she couldn't resolve, we could go to Maya, and she would trade with us, or sometimes just take the task without asking for a trade."
Then I looked at the girls. "For that matter, it is Amazon tradition that everyone who rides the horses is responsible for their care."
Annalise, now nine, didn't understand the implications, but her eleven-year-old sister, Joel
le did.
"I have to muck stables?"
"Right alongside your mother," Lia said.
"If I have to muck stables," Joelle said, "then I should have my own horse. I'm old enough."
"If she gets a horse, I want a horse!" Annalise said.
"The day your mother puts you on the duty roster alongside all the other companions," I said, "is the day your mother and I will discuss whether you are mature enough to care for a horse each."
"We'll help them," Lena said. At sixteen, she was the youngest companion at Lake Juna, not including Joelle and Annalise.
"They will do the work to care for their horses themselves," I said. "They will do their duty on the duty rosters themselves. I expect all companions to help each other, and I expect older companions to help guide younger companions. But they will do the work themselves, and if they are not old enough, big enough, or mature enough for the responsibilities, they are not old enough, big enough, or mature enough to have a horse."
I hadn't asked Lia about this, and I was worried she might feel I had overstepped my bounds. While it was my duty as her warrior to train her, clothe her, and see to her other needs, it was the duty of the village chief to acquire horses, and I was within my rights to stipulate requirements. I glanced at her, and she nodded once to me. We were good.
I pointed a finger at the girls. "Your mother will decide when that is. She will then come to me and convince me you are fulfilling your obligations and ask me to acquire horses for you. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Chief Beria," Joelle said. She immediately turned to her mother. "If you promise to let me have a horse, then you may give me more chores. But someone will have to teach me."
"Me, too, Mama!" Annalise said. "I want a horse."
"We do not do chores because we expect a reward," Lia said. "We do them because we all do our share. And so we will discuss this later. I think perhaps you will be helping your mother first, and then we shall see."
"But-"
"Chief Beria has spoken," Lia said, "as have I. Further discussion does not need to be in front of all these Amazons."
There were chuckles at that.
There were more questions, and then we received promises of assistance as well, which was deeply appreciated.
* * * *
Chief Beria,
I am unable to completely fulfill your request. Nori, Omie, Vorine and I, along with our companions, will be here on the day you requested. Bea is patrol leader and will not be back by then, and her patrol has Clara and Gaylie. Lidi and her companion have traveled home to visit their families and are not expected back for several weeks. If you require Bea in attendance, then the next opportunity is after the recruitment trip. Otherwise, we will expect you in three days.
Queen Malora
* * * *
We arrived late in the afternoon, after training but before dinner. It was a large retinue of Lia and the girls, Frida and Glorana with their companions, Badra and Tamma, and Aura and Lin. With four warriors and two companions on patrol, Lake Juna was a ghost town.
Yalta and Rahna organized the companions to manage the horses. "Where do we set up camp?"
"Maya will direct that," I said. I took Lia's hand. She took Annalise's, and on my other side, Joelle slipped her hand into mine.
I looked over at her, and she smiled. "We're a family now."
My heart burst with joy. Smiling broadly, I led a path to the dining hall, now moved back outside for the warmer weather. There were calls to us as we approached, and more calls to people not yet present. A moment later, Malora's hut door opened, and my sister stepped out followed by our queen. She and I glanced at each other, then I turned my nose to the dining area before looking back at Malora. She nodded then wrapped an arm around Maya and led the two of them to intercept our route. We all came to a stop a few paces apart.
"Greetings, Chief Beria," Malora said.
"Greetings, Queen Malora," I said.
I glanced around. Nori and Rora were just arriving, and Nori moved to stand shoulder to shoulder next to Queen Malora. Her hand was on her sword. I stared at it.
"Nori," I asked very quietly, "is that why you think we're here?"
She didn't answer.
"Oh no," I said. "I came to ask a favor."
"You brought a large retinue to ask a favor," Nori said.
"God, you're an idiot, Nori," Maya said. "They're witnesses."
"For what?" Nori asked.
"Queen Malora," I said in a loud, firm voice. "I came to request a favor."
"Chief Beria," she replied, "you have served me long and well. If this is a favor I can grant, I will happily do so."
"Oh, I think this favor is within your power. I wish a companion ceremony. Tonight, if at all possible."
Everyone from Lake Juna knew what I had intended. My friends from Queen's Town hadn't, and they began to whoop with joy. Several of them descended upon us, and I was pulled into a variety of hugs.
When finally the hubbub wore down, Malora was looking at me with caution. We all stilled and turned to her.
"Beria, I would be overjoyed to host a companion ceremony. However, I do not believe you came to declare you have three new companions."
"No," I said. "One, but she comes with daughters, and they will be sharing our household for some time."
Malora frowned, looking between us, then her gaze settled on Lia. "Has Beria explained the ceremony to you?"
"She said it's normally held after the spring recruitment, but we didn't want to wait. Is that a problem?"
"What else has she explained?"
"Just that there's a ceremony, but she won't tell me anything else. She said I must do whatever she tells me to do."
"And will you?"
"Yes."
Malora turned back to me. She still wasn't smiling.
"Queen Malora," I said, "if we have to wait, we can wait."
"It's not that, Beria," she replied. "It's that you have brought two very young witnesses."
"It's sort of a package deal," I said.
"But I do not wish them to come to their future ceremonies with prior knowledge."
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think of that. Then I would ask a second favor to go along with the first."
"I will not change this tradition, Beria. Not even for you."
"I wasn't going to ask you to do so. I was going to ask you to adjust the ceremony as necessary so they may be included. It may be the children will witness a portion of the ceremony, but not all of it. Whatever changes you feel are appropriate would please us. If this is not possible, then we withdraw both requests. We will hold our own ceremony, a new one with no resemblance to Amazon secrets."
"No," Malora said, and finally she smiled. "I may need to discuss this with Maya. We would love to hold this ceremony tonight. Congratulations to both of you. Well, to all of you, I gather."
And then she stepped forward, hugging first Lia, then me, then each of the girls. She whispered to each of us. I didn't hear what she said to the others but to me she said, "I am so pleased, Beria. I'm sorry I pushed you, but I thought it was necessary."
"It seems to be turning out well."
With hugs delivered, she stepped back. "Do I need a new patrol coordinator?"
Lia answered before I could, "No, Queen Malora, unless you decide otherwise."
"But I would like to discuss that in somewhat more length," I added. "Perhaps sometime this evening or tomorrow morning before we return to Lake Juna."
"Immediately after dinner," Malora said. "We'll hold the ceremony after that. For now, it's time to eat. Your family will sit with us. We'll have to make some room."
And so, everyone shuffled around, talking all at once, but I heard Maya say to Nori, "You idiot."
I turned, and Omie was there.
"Omie, you remember Lia."
"Yes," Omie said. "I certainly do. Congratulations. I do hope we can be friends."
"I would like that a great deal," Lia said. "And your compa
nion?"
"She invites you to share our hut tonight," Omie said. "I bet Maya is going to offer, but we're offering first."
"We come as four," Lia said.
"Of course you do. We'll have a huge party."
"I'd like that," Lia said. She dropped my hand and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Omie. I didn't hear what they said, but Omie smiled at me.
Then Maya grabbed my arm and dragged me to the table. She hugged me tightly. "I love you, Sister," she said. "Are you happy?"
"Yes."
"Good." She pushed me away and sent me to my seat. Lia sat beside me, but the girls had disappeared.
"Their aunt has them," Lia said. "Or she did, but I'm not sure she's going to be able to retain possession." She looked at Maya. "You may not have either of them yet."
"Next year, I will ask you about Joelle."
"She's only eleven."
"Then she'll be twelve, which is the youngest we accept a new companion. It will be your choice then, and hers. The year after that, I will apply significant pressure. And the following year, it becomes only her choice, not yours."
I looked to my companion. "And now you say, 'Yes, Senior Companion'."
Lia smiled. "Yes, Senior Companion."
"Good," Maya said.
Then Malora sat down, and Nori on Maya's other side, Rora past her.
"You're an idiot," I said to Nori.
"So I understand," she said. "But in my defense, I wasn't the only one who was wondering." She glanced pointedly over Maya's head at Queen Malora.
"Seriously?" I said. "Malora, seriously?"
"I wondered, that's all."
"Then you're an idiot, too. I say that with the deepest respect."
Maya chuckled.
"You just called the queen an idiot?" Lia asked.
"If she thinks I came here to challenge her, she's an idiot."
"I didn't think you did," Malora said. "I only wondered."
"Nori did more than wonder," I said. I turned to her. "Idiot."
"I heard you, Beria," Nori said. "And Maya."
"What do you mean, challenge her?" Lia asked.
"Keep your voice down about that," I said. "Nori was being an idiot."
"Yes," Nori said. "Nori was being an idiot. Could we possibly move on? Maybe to dinner?"
