“Here, let me help you.”
“NO! I told you I’m fine. Don’t follow me!”
Storgen watched in concern as she hobbled out across the field, disappearing behind an old stone wall.
(14 years ago)
The customer was clearly not pleased as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror with her avian eyes. After an hour of washing, fluffing, and styling with a dozen different lotions, she didn’t look any different than when she came in.
“I was told this was the finest Aisthitikís in the city,” she squawked, the feathers on her neck puffing out in irritation.
The young human stylist smoothed down her white feathers with one hand, while removing the last of the curling rods from her crest. “And you are absolutely correct in that regard. Ómorfo Pouli insists on nothing but the best for her clients and guests.”
An energetic satyr walked by, swinging an incense censer as he went. The colorful smoke filled the air with aromatic fruitiness.
The customer looked the human over again. He had kind eyes and a highly coiffed head of blonde hair teased up like a plume. In fact, it looked so similar to avian plumage, she wondered if he was mocking her by styling it that way.
“No offense, but I would prefer a stylist who actually knows what it’s like to have feathers. Don’t you have any harpies who work here?”
“Of course we do, but they can’t do this.”
He pulled out the final rod, and her crest bloomed like a flower, the feathers curling seductively over one side of her face, with a lovely upsweep at the tips. It framed and accentuated the shape of her face exquisitely. She looked younger, fresher, and livelier. The subtle colors he had used for her makeup made her eyes look crisp and vibrant. Then, before she could even finish being impressed, her crest began to shimmer. Fractal colors of crystal sapphire and ruby began to trace down each feather, moving down each shaft and spreading out through each vane. The colors pulsed like rippling water through the swoop of her styled crest. The effect was amazing.
She looked at her reflection with wide eyes. “Wow…you’re incredible.”
The young man gave an overly dramatic bow. “Thank you, an artist always loves to hear that their work is appreciated.”
Pick in one hand, clippers in the other, he gave her feathers one final check, making sure everything was perfectly flawless before removing the silk styling cloth and pronouncing her done.
The room was a bustle of activity, rows of marble salon chairs and shelves of countless glowing ampules. Perfumes and creams from every exotic corner of the globe. It was a garden of scent and form, a realm of beauty, a kingdom of style.
The squat little satyr walked by again and nodded in approval. “Well done, Kennid. Keep this up and you’ll have your own place in no time.”
“I would never dream of competing against my own mentor.”
“Well, that is a heartwarming thing for you to say.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s naïve and short-sighted, but it is heartwarming.”
“Um…thanks?”
“Before your next appointment, can you go caress some more oil in the steam room?”
Kennid placed his fist over his chest in mock salute. “It will be done, my centurion.”
“And stop doing that.”
While the harpy customer happily paid for her session, her husband whistling in approval, Kennid opened a door of carved mahogany. A wall of sweet steam washed over him as he stepped inside. The room was stiflingly hot for a human, but the lahmians within could not get enough, their glistening scales flexing in pleasure as they lounged on the shaped volcanic stones, their long tails flicking about in satisfaction.
“Can I get you ladies anything?” he asked politely, scooping out a ladle of scented oil and drizzling it onto the glowing crystals that heated the room.
“Maybe about two more hours of your time,” one of the lahmians said, her long forked tongue whipping out to lick her lips. “That massage was amazing.”
“You have hands like a god,” the other woman stretched luxuriously.
“It helps when I have clients as lovely as you two.”
The two women tittered at the praise, watching him with thirsty, reptilian eyes as he set out some fresh towels.
The far wall was solid crystal, providing an unparalleled view of the gated district for the gods and the glittering crescent bay beyond. Normally, foot traffic was limited to champions and priests and the occasional salesman with enough guts to dare and ring a deity’s doorbell. But today there was quite a stir. A group of people flocked to meet a caravan of travelers who had just arrived from the north.
The visitors were tall, with none of the superfluous décor one would expect. Everything they carried was useful or discarded. They wore weapons openly, which was strange for the móda district, and they had dark skin, like creamy chocolate.
“Are those…amazons?”
The two lahmian women frowned. “You don’t want to know an amazon. They are cursed, and they will curse you too, if you are not careful.”
But Kennid couldn’t hear them. His eyes were transfixed on the head amazon. She was younger than the others, but wore authority as if it were a cloak wrapped around her. The history of her people expressed in every movement, the ideals of their culture manifest in every gesture.
He reached down and scratched at the burn scars on his legs. “An amazon…”
She had bright red hair which she wore is two large braids that joined at the small of her back. Her clothes were not selected to flatter her form, yet her body appeared flawlessly sculpted. She wore no makeup, yet her skin was unblemished and beautiful. It was like watching an artistic expression of natural feminine beauty come to life.
“Kennid, are you listening to us?”
One of the lahmians tugged on his sleeve, but he stood there, spellbound.
~
Outside, the royal guard Rodania kept her hand on the pommel of her sword, ready to move in a moment’s notice should any danger present itself. “My princess, I have spoken with the locals, and it would appear fate is on your side. There is a festival this very evening, many of the local champions will be present.”
The young princess ran her fingers through her red hair thoughtfully. “Yes, champions have traditionally always provided the best breeding stock. However I find this Limáni place to be surprisingly diverse. It may be beneficial to browse a variety of what it has to offer. After all, if we breed with nothing but mindless brutes, we risk creating amazons with feeble minds in future generations.”
Rodania gritted her teeth. “Erolina, you are not here to sow your wild oats. This is a sacred rite of passage. You must return to Themiskyra carrying within your womb a worthy child of honorable blood within two months.”
Erolina feigned offense. “And I shall. However…”
“Oh, boy.”
“…there is no reason why I cannot enjoy the execution of my duties, now is there? After all, the scriptures say obedience should be joyful.”
Rodania looked exasperated. “You twist the holy words as always, princess.”
Erolina looked over the men in the crowd, unconsciously tracing her finger over her lips as she did so. But something quickly caught her eye. There was a young man watching her through a crystal window. The moment their eyes met, she could not turn away.
Rodania asked the crowd to part, and motioned down the street. “Come, my princess, we must be off.”
The amazons began to travel, but Erolina remained rooted in place. It took a few paces for Rodania to notice she had fallen out of step.
“My princess?”
Erolina said nothing, only stood there with a strange look on her face. Her red eyes were transfixed. Confused, fascinated, uncertain, and curious.
“Princess?!”
Erolina’s lips parted, but her eyes remained locked. “That man over there. Who is he?”
“Who?”
It took Rodania a moment
to find what she was looking for.
“I’m sure I don’t know, my princess. I would assume he is a local worker. Nothing to concern yourself over. Now come, there is much to do before nightfall.”
Rodania took Erolina by the arm and led her away. Erolina kept looking back until the salon had completely disappeared in the distance.
* * *
Rodania slipped through the crowd of squawking guests, not an easy task in the gown she had been required to wear. On a woman of normal size, it would have looked flattering, but on an amazon it looked decidedly awkward. And her refusal to apply any kind of makeup or wear any jewelry only made her look more out of place.
The entire plaza reeked of perfume. Every face was painted, every dress was glittering. She tried to mask her disgust at it all. The humans preened themselves like a flock of game. It bothered her to no end that this sorry lot was under the protection of Reinala herself, or she would have gladly carved a path though this rout with her sword.
“Ouch!”
Rodania looked down and found a clumsy oaf had stepped right on her toes. The sandals she was forced to wear offered no protection against his weight.
“Sorry about that, my lady,” the man spoke through his wobbling jowls.
Rodania forced herself to smile, trying to smother the desire to decapitate the man.
“No problem whatsoever.”
She found her princess by the most unlikely of sounds. Her laughter. Erolina was amid a group of aristocrats, sitting in a chair and enjoying herself immensely as a man applied paint to her face.
“There, all done,” the young man said, putting away his kit of pigments and brushes.
He backed away and the small crowd ‘oohed’ in approval. Erolina had always been attractive, but fully done up, she was strikingly gorgeous. It even surprised Rodania herself when she saw it.
“My princess,” she bade, “I have been looking for you for some time. The Spear of Holloc will be arriving soon. We must go to the entrance to introduce ourselves.”
Erolina sighed. “All right.”
She placed her hand on the young man’s forearm. “Thank you so much, this was most diverting.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it! I could never have imagined that a face could be painted so skillfully.”
“It’s really not that hard: Lips, brows, eyes, frame your face, it only takes a few minutes. I can teach you if you want.”
“Oh, I don’t think I could ever learn to do something like this,” she mentioned, amazed at her reflection.
Rodania turned to the young man. “I remember you. You are the plebian from earlier.”
“His name is Kennid,” Erolina introduced.
Rodania was extremely displeased at the way the two of them were looking at one another. “Please excuse us, my princess has many duties to attend to.”
As Rodania led Erolina away, the amazonian princess glanced back over her shoulder. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
* * *
The moonlight spilled in as a thick sheet through the window of the second story villa. Hardwood carvings of Holloc, god of dreams covered every surface.
Erolina sat up in her bed, a tapping sound entering her sleep and rousing her. She glanced over at the sweaty champion snoring next to her, and crinkled her nose in disappointment.
The tapping sound occurred again, and her attention was drawn to the window, where a familiar face made her smile from ear to ear.
Kennid smiled back and motioned for her to come. She couldn’t get dressed fast enough, tying back her red hair and tip-toeing over to the window.
She unfastened the lash and leaned in close.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Obviously, but why?”
“To give you this.”
He pulled out something from behind himself, and she found her senses assaulted by the most pleasant bouquet of flowers held out for her.
“Flowers?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you give me flowers?”
“Because I thought you’d like them.”
She held them close and breathed in the scent, relishing the sensation. She had never understood until that moment why human women loved to receive flowers.
“I do like them. I don’t know why I do. But I do.”
“Then you’ll love my next gift.” Kennid motioned for her to follow, and slid down the ladder he had leaned against the building. She happily pursued, giddy with excitement as she closed the window behind her.
The window made a loud clack when it latched, and the door at the far end flew open, Rodania standing guard with weapons ready. She peered into the room and found it empty save for a snoring, sweaty champion.
“My princess?”
* * *
Erolina and Kennid sat together atop a tree, sitting in silence as the sun slowly rose up out of the waters of the mountain lake. In the distance they could make out the hazy shape of the Mítra Arches, the entrance to the Glimmering Caves of Reinala. The water here was so still, so clear, it was like watching two skies, one on top of the other.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s beautiful,” she commented, her eyes sparkling.
“I am not a rich man. I can’t give you a house or a castle, so I figured I’d give you the sky instead.”
She looked at him curiously. “What does that mean? I don’t understand.”
He looked out at the beautiful waters. “Some things you don’t have to understand. You just feel them.”
She furrowed her brow. “But the skies belong to Godfather Lichas in trust. Did you actually manage to force him to sign the rights over to you?”
Kennid stifled a laugh.
“What?” she asked.
“No, it’s nothing,” he snorted, bursting out into laughter.
“What is so funny?” she insisted, getting irritated.
A rustle of leaves caught their ears, and they looked down to find Rodania looking up at them.
“There you are.”
* * *
Rodania strode swiftly down the vaulted stone corridor. The warrior following her was a bear of a man, his shoulders so broad the furs he wore could not help but brush against the cold wet stone of the bastion.
“I thank you for delaying your departure, Chieftain Kérata,” she thanked.
“She better be all that you promised,” Kérata groused. “Even my curiosity will only outweigh my patience for so long.”
Rodania unlatched the baroque metal door, revealing the lavish bed chambers prepared within.
Kérata tilted his head. “What trickery is this? It’s empty.”
“Empty?”
Rodania stepped inside, finding that one of the arrow slits of the tower had been chipped large enough for a person to squeeze through.
“My princess, where are you now?”
* * *
Erolina and Kennid romped through the glade, laughing for joy as they ran. Deer and birds startled at their passing, but they didn’t care. Kennid jumped down into a brook and splashed up at her. The cold water startled her, but with a mischievous grin, she rolled up her sleeves and jumped down in as well, sweeping her hand across the waters and soaking him full.
* * *
The statuary corridor contained rows of frowning busts. Sharp-jawed men with judgmental eyes and disapproving brows. The velvet red drapes and finely woven rugs did little to brighten the corridor as Rodania walked through it. She paused at the guest room and gave a quick little rap with the back of her hand.
“My princess, I have excellent news. Guild Master Aníkanos has agreed to call on you this very night.”
The silence that responded made her nervous. “My princess?”
She threw the door open and found papers scattering. The bed had been ransacked, the sheets tied together into a crude rope that led out over the side of the veranda.
“Gone again?!”
* * *
Ploúsios Estiatório was the pinnacle of fine dining in Agadis. Pearl arches and milky-smooth curves like sea-shells. Iridescent specks within the walls gave off a warm glow, bathing the room in celestial light.
Kennid could not afford such a place, but the table he had set up outside beneath the balcony was close enough to still hear the music from inside, and the wild berries he had picked were as sweet and delicious as anything Erolina had sampled while sitting with haughty counts and countesses.
Deftly, Kennid plucked a berry from the plate, and Erolina closed her eyes, listening to the soft music. To someone who had known only war drums, these sounds were intoxicatingly mellow and relaxing. Her skin tingled with anticipation, then was rewarded as he traced the edge of the berry across her lips.
It was the most sensual thing she had ever felt.
He placed the berry on the tip of her tongue, and she closed her lips around it, making sure to kiss the tip of his finger as she did so. She sucked on the sumptuous berry, her red eyes swimming with emotion as she opened them to look upon him.
Without words, without training, without thought, she knew the time had come. Every cell in her body was alive with expectation. This was greater than any thrill of the hunt, this was more powerful than any joy of slaughter. This was something else entirely, and her heart drank it in. Guzzling this new and exotic emotion in great, powerful draughts.
He leaned in towards her, and his lips touched hers. She received his kiss and gave back twice as strong. She wrapped her hands around him, and lifted him up, dragging him across the table and knocking the plates away as they embraced one another.
As the two of them kissed beneath the moonlight, Rodania watched in disgust from atop a nearby spire.
* * *
Erolina flopped down on her bed and folded her arms petulantly. A stack of unanswered letters on the nightstand toppled over and scattered to the floor.
Rodania’s voice was steady and quiet. She was careful to enunciate each and every syllable. To an outsider, she seemed perfectly calm, but to those that knew her, this was the way she spoke only when she was furious.
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