by Moose Tyler
After evening dine, she bathed, put on her water suit, and ate the rest of the perishables, leaving only a few figs and some fruit for morning. She laid down on the blanket for a few heartbeats but changed her mind and did one last workout before retiring for the night.
As she lay in the dark, she thought of Ursula. She was in solitude herself, crafting stolen cloth into tunics and facing the cane if she got caught. Amaria had never gotten the cane, but Gypsus said she knew a girl who had. Gypsus said the pain was so bad that the girl prayed that the Great Mother take her life.
Amaria sat up and knelt before the fire.
It’s been a few moons since my last prayer. I hope all is well with Thee. Amaria sat still for a few heartbeats. Starting prayers always felt awkward. She chose a generic approach. Bless Themiscia, Great Mother, and the queen. Watch over her as she guides us through this uncertainty. Amaria bit off a piece of her fingernail and spat it out. And watch over the mission. Protect Sakina in safety and peril. Give her courage and strength to act with honor. Let her heart rejoice in Thee. She looked at the flames for a few heartbeats before closing her eyes and settling into her invocation. Bless Sakina’s advancement, if it’s Your will, but please guide Ursula, Great Mother. You see what she’s doing. Give her sense to look beyond her purse. Or present her with another opportunity. I know wealth is something citizens strive for, but the cane is nothing to mess around with. She opened her eyes and looked at the sky. I know You know. She looked at the ground before closing her eyes again. She sat still for a few heartbeats. Telsa’s face appeared in her mind. Oh, Great Mother, watch over Telsa. She needs Your protection now more than ever. Give her wisdom and strength as she prepares for her role as counsel to the queen. Protect her. Please, protect her. And Penelope, too. Give her peace and strength to handle her mother’s sickness. Watch over Niam. Take her gently back to Your womb. I also hope Fi feels better, too. She opened her eyes and looked at the fire. Protect Mother. Give her good health and may she live a thousand cycles. She stared into the fire and was quiet for several heartbeats. I know I’ve asked for a lot, but I also need Your help. I’m happy for P, and Ophea and Jax – bless them too by the way, but my heart is jealous. I want them to succeed. You know I do, but I want to succeed, too. Amaria felt a tear slide down her cheek. I feel like I can’t do anything right with Wanje. I’ve fallen out of favor, and I don’t know how to fix it. What more can I do, Great Mother? I gave up my weapons. I’ve been delivering the berries – by first light, I might add. I even smiled at Marlee on my return this morning. Why am I not fit for duty? Jax is more fit than me? She held up her hand. Forgive me. Jax is a good warrior, but is it because I’ve yet to apologize? She put her hand in her lap. You’re going to have to give me strength to manage my wrath with that one, Great Mother. I don’t think I can alone. She looked at the ground. For all she knew Zora had also been assigned duty until after Day of Praise. She looked at the sky. Please give Wanje patience and compassion with me during our lessons, and grant me insight so I can understand her teachings and make better choices. She closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled deeply for a few heartbeats before wrapping up. Bless Gypsus, Sheila, Ellamille, Pandora, and Polly. The leather she gave me is a blessing. She thought some more. She felt like she was leaving someone or something out, but she always felt that way about her prayers. Bless the warriors and sages and all creatures big and small. All in Her Name.
Amaria lay back down on the blanket and watched the fire eat the wood. She stayed awake a while before sleep finally conquered her worries.
The next morning, when she untied the knot and the last load of berries smacked the ground, Amaria stood straight, stretched out the muscles in her back and shoulders, and walked away from Gilda’s farm.
“Bring the horse,” she heard Marlee shout.
Amaria smiled and thanked the Great Mother that this part of her punishment was over, even though, if she were to put aside her pride, carrying the berries for the healers had proved to be an excellent workout.
She returned to camp and bathed. She caught a fish and swam to the bank. Using Little Blade to pluck out the bones, she ate it raw for morning dine. After she dressed, she tidied camp and got in a few more bow drills. When she heard the midday horns blow, she packed her satchel, restored the campsite as best she could, slung the pack on her back, and trekked towards civilization.
The common area was less busy at midday than it was at morning or evening dine, but Amaria hoped a few citizens would be there. Ursula was the primary target, but she also wanted to find Polly and return the leather strap. She walked through the archway and over to the main stall. Cecile served the few citizens in line. When Amaria approached, Cecile looked up and called for Sheila.
Sheila waddled to the front. “Amaria! Where have you been? Your mother is worried. She’s been here thrice looking for you.”
Amaria knew she was going to get a sermon from her mother when she got home. She should have left a note or sent a bird, but she couldn’t worry with that now. “Do you mind if I leave this here a few heartbeats?”
Sheila nodded. “Fine, Dear.”
Amaria removed the pack. “Thanks, Sheila.”
Sheila waddled away. “Yeah, yeah.”
Amaria removed the blue band and leather strap and put the satchel at the end of the table. She grabbed a cup of juice before searching for Ursula. She saw Bridget and Polly at a table close to the archway with some other citizens. She approached, and the talk stopped.
“Amaria,” said Bridget, “we were just talking about you.”
“You were?”
Bridget nodded. “Do you know Amber and Shayla?”
They smiled.
Amaria smiled back. “Nice to meet you.” She looked at Bridget. “So, what’s the talk?”
“Everyone is sad this is your last day.”
Polly nodded. “Yes, we’re mourning.”
“All but me.” Amaria gave the leather strap to Polly. “This was a blessing.”
Bridget snatched it from Amaria’s hand. “What in Hades.” She whacked Polly with it. “I’ve scoured my trunk at least six times looking for this.”
“Found it,” Polly said, laughing.
“When did you—”
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble,” said Amaria. “I just wanted to return the leather.” She gave Polly the blue band, “and thank you for loaning it to me.”
Polly was caught off guard by the gift. Her hands trembled as she took it. She looked at the others then at Amaria. “Thank you.” She put the band around her head.
“It looks nice,” said Amaria. She looked around the common area. “Have you seen Ursula?”
Amber laughed. “The question of the day.”
“Who else is asking?”
She pointed at another table. “Calandra mostly, but others.”
Amaria looked at Calandra sitting at a table closer to the fruit stand. Cat and four others were huddled around her. Amaria wanted to interrogate them, but she would wait and talk to Ursula first. “Anyone else?”
“A couple of fishers, but no one’s seen Ursula in days. No one I know anyway.”
She nodded and looked at the archway just as Zora walked through. Amaria was shocked to see her, and judging from the look on Zora’s face, she was as stunned to see Amaria. The whites of her eyes were bright against the black soot covering her face. It looked like she had just come from the bowels of the mining hills.
Zora scanned the rest of the room before moving to the serving line.
“She looks rough,” said Shayla.
Amaria watched Zora push past the few citizens in line. Cecile turned around, and Sheila waddled to the table.
“Hauling coal for miners takes its toll,” said Amber.
Shayla laughed. “Even on a warrior.”
Amaria looked at the girls. “What?”
S
hayla stopped laughing.
“Hauling coal can take its toll,” Amber repeated.
“I heard that. Do you mean Zora is hauling coal for the miners?”
Amber nodded. “The way you were hauling for us.”
Amaria smiled. Zora had not been assigned duty like Penelope and the others. She had been serving punishment, and now here she was, covered in soot, alone in the common area. At least part of Amaria’s prayer had been heard. Thank you, Great Mother.
Zora shoved past the citizens at the fruit stand and sat at a table away from other diners.
“Well, I have some business to tend to,” Amaria said to Bridget and Polly. She looked at Amber and Shayla. “Hope we meet again.”
Amber and Shayla smiled.
“Great Mother be with you,” Bridget said.
“Don’t be a stranger to the Farmlands,” added Polly.
Amaria bid the table farewell and walked across the common area. Zora looked up when she approached.
Amaria glanced at her plate. “That looks tasty.”
Zora set the rib down. “What do you want?”
“I came to apologize about the scratch I gave you the other night.”
Zora picked up the meat and gnawed on it.
Amaria continued. “It was not sisterly of me, and I meant you no disrespect.”
“Yes you did.” She picked up another rib and chomped down. She looked at Amaria.
She forced a smile. “May the Great Mother bless you, Zora.”
Amaria turned and walked away. Her fake smile transformed into genuine happiness. Punishment served.
She drank the juice and tossed the cup in the pail on her way to the main stall. She grabbed her satchel and slung it on her back and started to walk away.
Sheila yelled from the back. “Hold it right there.”
Amaria turned around.
She waddled to the table and handed Amaria a bird leg. “Here.”
The leg was huge, probably a youngling from the northern nests by the looks of it. “Thanks, Sheila.”
Sheila nodded and walked away, and Amaria left the common area. She felt more settled now that she had served her punishment and was ready to have her next lesson. She headed home to see her mother, unpack her laundry, and get a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. Tomorrow was Day of Praise. She would need to be at the western dock early to say farewell to Sakina before she and the investigation party set sail at first light.
The fanfare at the western dock was miniscule. Only a handful of warriors came to watch the investigation party cast off. After a lengthy sermon on the importance of communicating Amaria’s whereabouts, her mother had told her the night before that Tesla would not be at the docks because she was scheduled to recount her prophecy for the historical scrolls. Euphora and Anthea were acting as witness.
Wanje and Bekos stood on the dock while Helen and Olivia handed supplies to Sakina and Sandra in the boat. Amaria watched them secure the last of the preparations. Sakina and Sandra climbed out, and Helen said something to Sakina. She nodded before walking over to her family.
When she approached, she seemed calm, like the southern waters during the harvest season. If Amaria had been preparing to set sail on an unprecedented mission such as this, she would have been flopping all over the place like a snake with a severed head, but she wasn’t preparing for the mission. She was just there to support her sister.
Sakina smiled. “You shouldn’t have come, either of you. I hope you don’t miss Day of Praise just for me.”
In General Studies, and even before that, Amaria always went to Sacred Meadow on Day of Praise and listened to the sermons. Her mother made her, but Amaria hadn’t regularly attended since she had started Warrior Training, though her mother still carried on the tradition.
“This is more important, Sakina.” Mother handed her a satchel. “Just a few things.”
Sakina took the bag and looked inside.
“Soothing cream, lasting berries, and the like,” Mother explained.
Sakina closed the satchel. “Thank you.” She looked at Amaria and smiled. It felt warm. “Take care,” she said.
What wrath Amaria had for her sister seeped out of heart. “Be safe. Genesis won’t be the same this cycle.”
Sakina winked. “I’m just happy I don’t have to give gifts.”
Amaria laughed. She wished she had something to give Sakina, but she hadn’t wished that until just now. She untied the leather around her calf and pulled out Little Blade. “May it bring you fortune as it has me.”
Sakina looked surprised by the gesture. “I can’t take Little Blade, Amaria.”
Amaria shoved it in Sakina’s hands. “I’ve gotten a taste for giving away weapons, Sister. It feels good to lighten the load.” She wasn’t being entirely honest, but she wanted Sakina to have it, though she wasn’t sure why. “Consider it an early Genesis gift.”
She took Little Blade and put it in her satchel. “Thank you, Amaria.”
Helen whistled loudly.
Sakina gave Amaria a hug. “Goodbye,” she said.
“Great Mother be with you,” said Amaria.
Sakina released and turned to Mother. “Goodbye, Pathenia.”
Amaria would have laughed had Sakina not looked so serious. She had never heard her sister use that name before. Amaria looked at their mother. She looked bewildered as Sakina hugged her. Sakina released her grasp and sauntered down the dock to join the others already congregated near the boat. Mother watched her go in silence.
Sakina and the others formed a line. Wanje prayed over each and backed away for Bekos to take a turn. Bekos lingered near Sandra for a few heartbeats before moving on to Helen. Her prayer lasted longer. When Bekos finished whispering in her ear, Helen bowed. The sage moved on to Sakina. She lingered as long as she had with Helen, and Amaria desperately wished she could hear what was being said, but in the small cove of the western dock, the waves crashed violently on the rocks.
Bekos wrapped up the formal blessings, and Helen and Olivia climbed into the boat, taking the lead and rear positions. Sakina and Sandra jumped in the water. They gripped the wood slates that stuck out from each side and pushed as Olivia and Helen paddled in unison. Amaria counted the heartbeats. First light broke. The waves lapped at the rocks, and the boat rocked wildly. Sakina and Sandra leapt in and secured the middle positions, as if they were a team competing in a four-stick boat race at the Harvest Festival.
In fifty-five heartbeats, they had cleared the first set of waves and settled into a calmer patch. Sakina stood and waved before whooping a war cry. The few warriors on the dock yelped in unison. Amaria waved and hooted along with the others.
The boat disappeared in the distance, and the spectators dispersed and returned to their horses. Amaria and her mother stayed on the dock.
“I should have given her the yellow bow,” said Amaria. “What good is Little Blade?”
Mother smiled. “Little Blade will remind her of home and family while at sea, which can be a powerful weapon.”
Amaria nodded. “Did you have a Little Blade when you were on the boat to Themiscia?”
She shook her head. “But, I knew I was not returning. If I had a Little Blade then, I would have used it to kill myself.”
Amaria stared at her mother in disbelief. She had never spoken in such a manner. To take one’s life was a sin against the Great Mother. It was spitting her gift out, half-chewed. “Would you have really?”
“No, Darling, because I didn’t have Little Blade. I had you and your sisters instead. You weren’t reminders of the past. You are the future, which is just as powerful a weapon.”
Bekos and Wanje walked over, and Amaria stood straighter and took a deep breath as they approached.
“May the Great Mother bless your daughter on her trip, Pathenia,” said Bekos, looking a
t Amaria as she spoke.
Amaria looked at the ground and bowed.
“She is brave and will serve our tribe well.” Bekos extended her hand.
Mother held Bekos’s hand and bowed. “May the Great Mother watch over all the warriors on this mission.”
Bekos crossed in front of Wanje and stood close to Amaria. “Come closer, Child, let me have a proper look at you. After all, you will be a warrior—in how many moons, Wanje?”
Wanje smiled. “Fewer by the heartbeat. Pathenia, may I have a word before I speak to Amaria about her lesson.”
Mother nodded. “Certainly.”
Wanje pulled her aside, and they talked quietly.
Bekos inched closer to Amaria. Her hair was black with white streaks, and it hung straight as an arrow from her neck to her waist. The top of her head looked ratted and tangled with bird feathers and talons poking out all around.
“Tell me,” she said, clutching Amaria’s arm. Bekos’s hands were calloused, but her palms were cool. “How is your training?”
“It’s much harder than Warrior Training,” said Amaria, looking down at the sage. One of her eyes was pale, the same color as the bird eggs used during Genesis, except around the center. There, the blue got darker. Her other eye was golden brown, the color of honeycomb.
“I’m sure Wanje is training you well,” she said.
Wanje broke into the conversation. “I am, and we are due for another lesson.”
Amaria smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I believe the child is pleased,” said Bekos. “Are you sure you have been training her properly? My students would not be so anxious for a formal lesson. Formal lessons require physical pain.”
