Amazon Challenge

by Robin Roseau

  Loren and Valen got everyone cleared out, our remaining allies leaving in the morning. Malora and I saw them off with a promise from Malora that we would be by to visit in the near future.

  Balorie sent our patrol out, and we were suddenly short-handed. "We'll make do with three-person patrols. We do it all the time. We have good companions to help us."

  Nori told Malora she should engage in no significant activity for at least two weeks, and a month would be better. So instead of going to morning training, I took her fishing. "Took her fishing" means we sat down next to the river and cuddled, talking quietly.

  I was so in love, and so was she.

  That's where we were when I heard a shout. "Maya!"

  I turned, and there was my sister. "Beria!" She ran towards me, Omie following her, and then I pulled her into a hug. She squished me for a moment. When had she gotten so strong? Then she stepped away and set a gentle hand on my cheek.

  "I heard. Does it hurt?"

  "I've had worse," I said. I hadn't had worse cuts, but I'd hurt worse.

  Omie approached, holding out the letter I'd given her. "We won't be needing this."

  I took it from her. "Thank you. I keep this in my chest. In case, ah, you know."

  She nodded.

  Malora hadn't gotten up, which told me a lot about the condition of her ribs.

  "Queen Malora," Omie said, "we submit ourselves for judgment."

  "Damn it," Malora said. "Why can't any of you hide behind those papers I gave you?"

  "We are Amazons," Beria said. "When we disobey our queen, we take our lumps."

  Malora sighed. "You're going to have to wait a day or two then." She shook her head. "I told you to keep her gagged!"

  "It fell out," Beria said. "After that, we were helpless to her siren song."

  "And you just happened to have her Amazon clothing with you. And her staff."

  "We were well-prepared," Omie said.

  "Right."

  * * * *

  Things settled down. My cheek healed, and Malora's ribs healed, less quickly, and still we hadn't been punished.

  She announced a new tour, to leave in a week.

  Punishment

  The night before the tour was to start, we held a bonfire. The entire village was there, Ralla having organized the other villages to cover our patrol for one day.

  "This is why we overlap," she said. "We cover for them sometimes, too."

  Malora began the bonfire by again thanking everyone for their service to the Amazons and Morehama, but then her expression grew grim.

  "The night before my challenge match, I ordered Omie and Beria to take Maya to safety. I did not want to worry about her safety and needed to focus on Parlomith."

  The Amazons had been jovial, but they grew quiet.

  "I ordered Maya to accept my decision and to go with them, but to ensure her compliance, I also bound her very tightly, even to the point of gagging her so she couldn't use her silver tongue to talk Omie and Beria into disobeying my orders."

  Malora glared at me. "You all saw how well they obeyed their queen. It pains me, but I cannot allow disobedience of this nature to go unpunished."

  She paced back and forth coming to a stop in front of me. "We all know who the ringleader was, of course. It is always Maya."

  "I knew she was trouble from the beginning," Nori said.

  "Silence, you," Malora said. "No one has said anything, but I strongly suspect you knew about this before it happened. I don't believe Omie would disobey me so blatantly without some encouragement. I don't believe this story about the gag falling out."

  Nori shut her mouth.

  Malora glared between the four of us, moving back and forth.

  "You know," she said, "I wasn't going to ask this, as I didn't want to know the answer, but I do not believe that is the right approach to leadership. Nori, did you know they were going to disobey me?"

  "I'm the one who told them it should be Maya's choice, although I also told them I wanted her taken to safety. Yes, I knew."

  "Then you shall take the same punishment as Omie and Beria."

  "Yes, Queen Malora," Nori said.

  I thought about the whipping post, wondering how many strokes I would take. Then I stood up.

  "Queen Malora," I said, "I believe I have two complaints that both predate yours."

  She raised an eyebrow.

  Beria stood as well. "Queen Malora, I also have a complaint that predates yours."

  "Of course you do," said Malora.

  I glanced at Beria and she nodded to me, and then I turned back to Malora. "We believe our complaints far outweigh yours. Furthermore, we believe our complaints set in motion the actions that led to your complaint."

  Malora beckoned both of us closer with a finger. We moved forward, stopping a step in front of her, my sister side-by-side with me. She studied both our faces. We had raised the stakes for her.

  "If I were to drop my complaints against the four of you, I take it the two of you would drop your complaints?"

  Beria and I glanced at each other. She shook her head and Malora sighed even before I could answer. I turned to face Malora. "We would need to discuss that choice," I said. "I believe we would be willing to drop some of the individuals from our shared complaint, and I would be willing to keep the second complaint private between me and the individuals involved."

  Malora glanced aside, perhaps at Nori, but didn't seem to see what she wanted to see. Both of us were playing more to the other Amazons than to each other, but I still wanted punishment for the companions that had helped Parlomith.

  Malora took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. "Let me hear your first complaint. Who are you naming?"

  "My first complaint," I said, "is from events just over a month ago in Green Arrow. I wish to name Queen Malora, Nori, Parlomith, and the companions of Green Arrow."

  "And, I am sorry," Beria said, "my warrior, Omie."

  "Omie?" Malora asked. "Why her?"

  "I do not know what amount of responsibility she carries in the events that transpired," Beria said. "It is a warrior's responsibility to protect her companion. I was unprotected. It may not have been her fault. It may only have been yours."

  "Quite," Malora said uncomfortably. "I am familiar with the events in question. What charges do you bring?"

  "We charge that you, Nori, and Omie took actions that directly imperiled the well-being of two companions," I said, "and that eventually led to one of those companions being brutalized by the chief of Green Arrow."

  Behind me, the women were quiet. Malora looked at me sadly. I was probably digging a hole, but if we were going to be punished, then she should share the misery.

  I looked at Beria, and she said, "You're doing fine."

  I turned back to Malora. "You left us in Green Arrow. You did so when you knew I had ample reason to wish to be anywhere else. You did so in a fashion that did not allow me to object and gave me no appeal. You did so in a fashion that guaranteed we would be forced to remain in danger and with no means of protecting ourselves. You knew the village chief of Green Arrow would enjoy doing exactly what she did, and you left us there anyway."

  "I didn't!" Omie said, jumping to her feed. "Beria, I didn't know."

  Malora held a hand up to Omie.

  "Omie was unaware of the depth of Parlomith's dislike of you, Malora," she said. "Omie had little reason to believe a village chief would act as hatefully as she did. Will you drop her from this complaint on those grounds?"

  I turned to Beria, who nodded. "Yes, Queen Malora," she said.

  Malora looked over at Omie. "You are dismissed from the complaint. Do you stand with your companion at this time?"

  "She does not," Beria answered for her.

  "I am sorry, but it is your warrior's decision. Omie?"

  "I didn't know they were going to do this," Omie said. "Can we please take this somewhere private and talk about it?" She stepped closer. "You two, please, this isn't how this should
be handled."

  "Perhaps Queen Malora should leave us a note with what we should do instead," I suggested. I turned to look at the other Amazons. They were all quiet. I had perhaps raised the stakes higher than intended.

  I turned back to Malora. "Queen Malora, how do you recommend we proceed?"

  She looked at me in relief. "I would like to assemble the available parties for a private discussion. Nori." She didn't wait but instead strode away, walking to the training grounds. The rest of us followed her. Malora's back was stiff, and I wondered how badly I had mishandled this.

  She walked straight to the whipping post then turned around and leaned one hand against it, waiting for us.

  "The punishment for what you have charged us is, well..." she looked at the post. "If Beria hadn't gotten hurt, it would be a light whipping. Because she was whipped, then the punishment needs to match the severity of the whipping she received."

  I hadn't known.

  "You have agreed to dismiss Omie from the complaint, and I would tell you that Nori counseled me against the actions discussed, and so I am the only guilty party."

  I didn't want her whipped; I didn't want anyone whipped. On the other hand, I wasn't willing to stand complacently and accept punishment for doing the right thing, either. "What is the punishment for blatantly disobeying the queen?" I asked. "It must be far worse than missing training, and you once told me it was five strokes if I didn't run long enough. How many is it for disobeying you?"

  "Is that what you want? Each of us to take our turns?"

  "Of course not," I said. "I don't want any of us to take our turns. But you're a hypocrite if you think you should punish us without taking any responsibility for your part, and don't get me started on the companions from Green Arrow."

  "Maya," Omie said, "the companions didn't do anything wrong. Technically, neither did Parlomith. A village chief is free to deliver whatever punishment she wants for whatever offense she wants, and the members of the village are obligated to support her. The chief risks challenge from an offended warrior and the queen, and if she is particularly cruel, she may find her throat slit in the night."

  "I've only had to eliminate one in the past," Malora said.

  "So the companions get away with it?"

  "I believe you intend to punish the village yourself," Malora asked. "Isn't that what you told Nori?"

  "A few lost luxuries aren't sufficient!"

  Beria put her hand on my arm. "They're right," she said. "It's not the companions' fault."

  "Spade has already been banished," Malora said. "And being Parlomith's companion for years was probably punishment enough."

  "They should pay!" I said hotly. "Three of them held me pinned to the ground and bound my wrists while three others dragged my crying sister to the whipping post, stripped the tunic from her body, and tied her there to be savagely whipped. They should pay!"

  "What would you have me do, Maya?" Malora asked.

  "Do to them what they did to my sister!" I screamed. "Whip them."

  Malora looked at me sadly, then turned to Beria. "Is that what you want?"

  "No, Queen Malora," she said quietly. "Maya, I do not want anyone whipped."

  I turned to Beria. She looked at me sadly, and my heart broke. I turned back to Malora. I was still angry and finding myself growing angrier. "So, what do you propose?"

  "Drop your complaints," Malora said. "And when we go back there to address your disobedience, apologize, promise never to do it again, and ask me for mercy." She looked at me sternly, and I thought she was probably almost as angry as I was. But now I knew what she really wanted.

  "I'll make that promise if you do, too."

  "I think, Maya, that you should ask your co-conspirators how they feel about a whipping."

  She was going to blackmail me? As if I wasn't angry enough. "I think, Queen Malora," I said coldly, "that you should ask your co-conspirators how they feel about it."

  She raised an eyebrow.

  "We haven't heard my second complaint."

  She sighed. "Let's hear it."

  "I charge Queen Malora, Nori, Omie, Beria and, although she isn't standing here, Vorine, for conspiring to interfere in the performance of my duties as Queen's Companion. Said interference threatened the life of the queen and the future of the Amazons."

  "Damn it, Maya!" Malora exploded.

  "All of you knew I was going to be tied up, gagged, and led away. None of you warned me. None of you gave me the opportunity to respond. As far as I'm concerned, it's the same heavy-handedness that led to Beria being whipped."

  We glared at each other for a minute, no one saying anything. I ignored Nori and Beria, so I had no idea how they were responding to my latest allegations. This was ultimately between Malora and me anyway, but she had pulled them in when she charged them with disobeying her.

  Malora took a step back and began pacing. I knew she paced when she needed to think. Finally she turned back to all of us. "Nori, Beria and Omie, do you agree you disobeyed orders when I sent Maya away?"

  "Yes," they said together.

  "Do you agree that I am queen?" she asked, and they all nodded. "Is anyone interested in challenging me for leadership?" They scoffed at that. "Do you agree that Maya is my companion?" That answer was obvious.

  She paused. "When we return to the bonfire, will you plead guilty to the charges of disobeying me, promise not to interfere with how I handle my companion in the future, and accept my mercy?"

  They weren't comfortable with that. "She's my sister before she's your companion, Queen Malora," Beria finally said.

  "I'm going to tell you if I think you're wrong," Nori added.

  "Queen Malora," Omie said, "it is my opinion what you did to her was wrong. It was unfair of you to put the rest of us in the position of enforcing what was ultimately a dispute between you and your companion. I hope you won't do it again. If you do, I will obey my orders; we shouldn't have disobeyed. However, I do not believe it is fair or wise to make her own sister decide between the two of you."

  "Damn it!" Malora said again, turned to glare at me. "Do you see what you've done?"

  "I'll take half the blame," I said, putting a hand on my hip. "If you'll take the other half." I turned to the other three. "Agree to Malora's terms. All of you. And if she does it again, follow orders."

  Beria looked like she was about to rebel, but I added, "This is ultimately between Malora and me, Beria. It's time to simplify the argument. Tell her what she wants to hear, and mean it."

  Beria was really too young to be dealing with issues like this. She lowered her eyes and turned petulant. "I'll follow orders," she said quietly. Omie and Nori, with a little more strength, did the same.

  "Now," I said, "You're going to tell my sister you aren't going to make her pick between the two of us again."

  "I wasn't!" Malora responded. "I told her to take you to safety. It's not making her pick when she's helping to see to your safety."

  "She has fifteen years of conditioning to obey me when I tell her to do something."

  "Which is why you were gagged," Malora spat. "You are infuriating!"

  Nori chuckled. "What else is new?"

  "Are you going to whip them?" I asked.

  "Of course not," Malora replied. "Not if they publicly apologize, promise to never do it again, and ask for mercy."

  I looked down and said quietly, "That's all I wanted. I withdraw my charges and will address the remaining issues with my warrior in private."

  "All this was-"

  "Her protecting me," Beria interrupted. "Again."

  "Quite," said Malora. "I wasn't going to whip them, Maya."

  I looked up. "Maybe if you didn't keep everything to yourself I would have known that."

  "Maybe if you trusted me, you would know I wouldn't hurt them."

  "Maybe if the two of you talked to each other, all of this could be avoided," Nori said. "You can both take blame."

  We both looked at her, paused a moment, an
d nodded. "I suppose," I said petulantly. "I guess we should go back and you can pass sentence." I began to turn away, but Malora stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  "Not so fast," she said. "Are you going to apologize for disobeying me?"

  "Of course not," I said. "Are you going to apologize for what you did?"

  She sighed. "No."

  "You two are idiots," Nori said. "Both of you."

  "What Nori said," Beria said. Omie wisely kept her counsel to herself.

  "Malora, you say that I was wrong to disobey you, that when you try to send me away, I should go without argument. Is that accurate?"

  "Yes."

  "Then let us review the times I have disobeyed. The first time, I saved Ping's life and probably Omie's. Does anyone wish to disagree?"

  "No," Malora said, "but you in turn needed to be rescued."

  "There was no way to predict what would happen," I said, "but we know Ping was about to die, and by disobeying, I saved her life. Can you honestly say you would rather I had run away and both Ping and Omie had died?"

  Malora didn't want to answer.

  "Tell me," I added, "do you think I could have lived with myself after that?"

  Malora glared.

  "Go on," I said, "tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I should have let them die."

  Malora didn't say a word, and Nori said quietly, "We know. She is infuriating."

  "Quite," said Malora.

  "The next time I disobeyed you on something like this was when you tried to keep me out of another demon fight. In that fight, I helped you kill yours and I distracted Balorie's long enough for the rest of you to kill it. If I hadn't, Balorie would probably have been killed. Does anyone care to disagree?"

  Malora growled but said, "No."

  "The time you successfully prevented me from disobeying, my sister was brutally whipped. Care to disagree?"

  "No."

  "This most recent time when I disobeyed, I was able to undermine support for Parlomith sufficiently that you were able to enact changes you wanted to make. Do you believe you would have had the political power to enforce those changes if I hadn't been here to speak?"