Emily's Saga

by Travis Bughi

  “Emily, these are my friends,” Adelpha pointed. “This is Iezabel, the best shot with a bow of any amazon ever.”

  Iezabel smiled, revealing gums with her grin, at Adelpha’s flattery. The woman seemed a good decade or so older than Emily, but her eyes were sharp and her fingers were long. As she nodded, Emily noticed that Iezabel’s nose hooked down at the tip but wasn’t so distracted as to forget her manners.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Emily said.

  “Likewise,” Iezabel replied, and Emily hoped it wasn’t a lie.

  “This one here is Hanna,” Adelpha pointed to the one who’d spoken just prior, “and the two beside her are her twin daughters, Kirke and Leda.”

  Hanna gave Emily a smile, too, and although no teeth were shown, it was warm and motherly by any standard. This one was heavyset—wide hips and shoulders, plus a thick chin—yet her ears were small. Her daughters were about Emily’s age. They had both inherited their mother’s ears and curves, but were slim about the waist. Emily felt envious, but the warm smiles she was receiving from all three of them helped dash those feelings away. She forced a smile back.

  “Hello,” she waved. “So, which of you is Kirke, and which one is Leda?”

  “I’m Kirke,” one said.

  “No,” the other one shoved her playfully, “I’m Kirke! You were Kirke last week.”

  “You’re both trouble,” Hanna scolded them. “Don’t play tricks with the poor girl. Be nice.”

  “Trouble, huh?” Emily said. “I can call you two trouble.”

  Both smiles on Kirke and Leda grew from courteous to mischievous, and Emily’s matched them. She hoped that was a sign she’d just made two friends.

  “So, Adelpha,” Emily swung the conversation back. “Who is this Belen? The one arguing with you so much?”

  “She’s Stefani’s best friend, more or less,” Chara said. “If you remember, Stefani is our beloved queen, Adelpha’s aunt, and she absolutely hates my guts. Belen and Stefani were born the same year and thus grew up together. Ever since Stefani became queen, Belen’s taken to badgering me and my surrogate daughter as her role. I didn’t expect such opposition from her on this event though. She’s usually quite prone to violence.”

  “My thoughts, too,” Adelpha admitted. “I was about to knock some sense into her before you two showed up. Speaking of which, nice little speech you gave there, Emily. With insults like that, you’ll fit in just fine.”

  Emily squinted, unsure whether Adelpha was being sarcastic or serious. If serious, it was a compliment, which was not something she’d expected from the amazon princess. In the end, Emily shrugged and hoped that was a good enough response.

  “How did your interview with the angels go?” Adelpha asked.

  “It was amazing, honestly,” Emily replied. “I wish I could explain how it felt to be in their presence. They have this aura about them that pulls at your soul, and I found myself telling them everything I could without hesitation. They told me that the vampire, Count Drowin, probably wants to use the basilisk poison to kill other vampires to gain power.”

  “He could use it to paint a picture of a dainty, hairless ass for all I care,” Adelpha said. “It’s that crazy woman who wants me dead that I’m after. I’ll be straight with you, Emily. Although I don’t doubt what you heard, I hope she was lying. I sincerely hope that the traitor isn’t one of us.”

  “I just hope that everything goes well tonight,” Emily replied. “I’d hate for something to happen to us while we’re on the ship.”

  Iezabel and Hanna both raised their eyebrows and glanced at Chara. If they were attempting to send a cue, though, the old woman needed none.

  “What do you mean, us?” Chara mocked. “You’re not going anywhere, Daughter. You’re staying with me tonight, helping Margret fight the ever encroaching dust.”

  “What? Why?” Emily replied. “Is it because I can’t shoot a bow yet? I don’t have to fight, but I’m the only one who knows what the samurai looks like. Not to mention I think I’ve had more than my fair share of danger since I left home. If you’re worried about my safety, you’re a bit too late.”

  Chara’s face did not change, and Emily looked about the table for support. She soon realized none would be found.

  “Emily,” Chara explained, voice taking a softer tone, “you were lucky to have survived last night at all. Yes, you can’t shoot a bow, but you also don’t know how to fight with a knife nor how to walk silently. Last night, you made as much noise as newborn wyvern.”

  “I’ll be better this time! I didn’t realize I was supposed to be quiet, and last night could have happened to anyone. Trust me; I’ve hidden from a banshee before. I know how to be quiet.”

  Neither Chara nor Adelpha were impressed, and Emily knew she was being headstrong. They were both right; tonight would be dangerous, and she knew little of how to defend herself, yet that did not stop her from wanting to join. At the very least, she felt it necessary to prove she was not afraid. At the most, she had been totally honest. She needed to be there, because only she knew what Okamoto Karaoshi looked like.

  Well, she and the traitor.

  The conversation was dismissed when their eyes caught Heliena stepping out of the darkness to make her way towards their table, attempting not to be noticed and failing horribly at it. Other amazons nodded to her as she passed—a few let their gazes linger on her. Emily found she could not take her eyes off the girl. The grace in her steps and flow of her body had a way of making Emily’s blood rise. When she finally did reach the table, Margret arrived with drinks in hand.

  “Here you go, ladies,” Margret said, setting a drink down in front of all but Chara. “You might be a bit young, Emily, but amazon law trumps angel law in this tavern. A grown woman is always entitled to a drink before a fight.”

  “Even when she’s not allowed to join?” Emily asked, glancing at Adelpha.

  “Even then,” Adelpha nodded. “Drink up. This is the last fermented liquid you’ll see before Themiscyra.”

  Adelpha scooped up her own mug and took a big swig just as Heliena pressed against the table opposite her. Emily peeled her eyes away just long enough to realize she was the only one acknowledging Heliena’s presence. The others, Chara included, seemed busy trying to find something of interest in their mugs or along the walls. Heliena seemed not to notice this and patiently waited for her sister to set her drink down.

  “Heliena,” Adelpha said, sounding surprised. “Thank you for supporting me.”

  “You’d do the same for me,” Heliena replied, voice hushed.

  To Emily’s ears, both of the women spoke with a forced tone. Adelpha drummed her fingers on the side of her mug, looking side to side as if thinking of something else to say.

  “Would you like a drink?” she asked.

  “You know I don’t like it.”

  There were two things that surprised Emily as she watched the sisters make their short conversation. First off, Emily didn’t have a sister, only brothers, but the interactions should not have been all that different. However, there were very few similarities between Emily’s relationship with her brothers and the relationship between Adelpha and Heliena.

  For one, Adelpha was actually being nice to Heliena. Until now, Emily had yet to see Adelpha make any attempts to be cordial to anyone. Not even Chara was spared Adelpha’s rash attitude and lack of compassion for the other’s opinion. What was interesting beyond that was how little this kindness affected Heliena’s mood. Despite Adelpha’s warmth, Heliena remained distant, cold, and relatively unaware of the effect her mood was having on the patrons sitting around the table. Meanwhile, Chara was still making every attempt to look elsewhere.

  Emily looked down into her wooden mug and swirled the liquid around, which seemed to release a strong scent that was unlike anything she’d smelled before. If she’d smelled water like this on the Great Plains, she’d think it spoiled and would throw it out. However, now, with a quick shrug, she lifted it and drank
the ale. The moment the bitter, burning sensation traveled down her throat, she coughed, gripping her chest, and spat to relieve the disgusting taste that filled her mouth. Adelpha laughed.

  “Takes some getting used to, but after enough of them, you’ll order it every time you walk in.”

  “I see why you don’t like it,” Emily said to Heliena through her coughs. “I’m Emily Stout, by the way. Thank you for helping me back there.”

  “I know who you are,” Heliena said, curtly.

  Emily balked slightly and blinked. Heliena’s words had almost cut off her own, and Emily had not anticipated any hostility. When she looked around at the others at the table, she wondered if perhaps she should have.

  “I mean, we all know who you are,” Heliena said, her words warmer now. “You came in the other day, remember? We watched you leave with Chara. I was just saying I know who you are.”

  “Oh,” Emily nodded. “Yes, of course. Sorry.”

  “No apology needed,” she waved a hand. “I’m Heliena, Adelpha’s younger sister.”

  Emily reached out a hand instinctively, and Heliena took it. They shook momentarily, and Emily noted the silky smooth touch.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Emily said.

  “I came here because I wanted to offer you something,” Heliena said. “I thought that if you were going to join us tonight, you should have some proper amazon clothes. Those farmer shoes will make too much noise on the docks and wooden boat planks. You and I appear about the same size, and I happen to have a spare set of clothes.”

  “She’s not coming,” Chara spoke up.

  “Which I overheard,” Heliena continued. “Still, though, my offer stands. If you’d like, you can borrow my clothes until you can make a set for yourself. It’s a long way to Themiscyra to wear pants and a thick shirt. A skirt, vest, and sandals will be much more comfortable, and you’ll probably feel more at ease, too, not sticking out like a bugbear amongst centaurs.”

  Emily didn’t catch the analogy, but she did like the offer. She looked to Chara who had finally turned to look at Heliena. The old woman squinted first but then blinked and shook her head. Then she smiled.

  “Thank you, Heliena,” she said. “That is very kind of you.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” Emily added. “Thank you very much! When can I have them?”

  “Now would be best,” Heliena said, “before we have to leave.”

  Emily excused herself from the table and rose alongside the beauty. Heliena gave her a smile and led her across the tavern and then up the stairs to the rooms above. Emily left her mug, not at all eager to swallow another drop of the stuff.

  “I have to admit, I heard more of your conversation than what I let on,” Heliena said as they reached the top of the stairs.

  “I’m not surprised,” Emily replied. “It’s not like we were trying to be secretive.”

  “Yes, well, I thought the points you brought up were quite valid,” Heliena turned back. “I can’t help but agree with your side of things.”

  Emily’s ears perked up, and she met Heliena’s blue-eyed stare.

  “Adelpha and Chara aren’t thinking about this rationally,” Heliena continued. “You are the only one who’s seen the samurai and knows his face. What if we get on the ship, and he has two samurai guards? He could just switch places with them, and we’d be none the wiser until we got back to you. By then, the knights will be rallied, and it’ll be too late.”

  “That’s exactly what I was trying to explain!” Emily exclaimed.

  “Sssshh,” Heliena put a finger to her lips. “We don’t want others to hear.”

  Emily clamped shut and scrunched her shoulders. They reached the second floor and began to walk down the hallway between rooms. Heliena passed to the third on the left and opened it. Inside there were two cots and a window looking out behind the tavern.

  “Why are we being quiet?” Emily asked. “Aren’t you going to convince Chara and Adelpha that I should go?”

  “Honestly,” Heliena sighed, closing the door once they were both inside, “I can’t take the risk they won’t.”

  She locked the door and turned to put her back to it. She pressed up against it, like a maid begging to be kissed, and looked stunning doing it. Emily couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not, but it reminded her of how awkward she felt. Emily folded her arms and silently wished that Sir Gavin never see this beauty for himself. He might never look at that little girl from the Great Plains again.

  “It’s imperative that you’re with us tonight, so we can capture the true samurai,” Heliena said. “If not, we’ll lose our chance to find this traitorous woman, and that does not bode well. As you may have noticed—if not, Chara will surely inform you soon—Adelpha and I are not exactly close.”

  “Oh, I gathered that,” Emily smirked. “Don’t worry. My teeth were nearly chattering down there.”

  “I won’t bore you with why,” Heliena pressed on. “That’s not what’s important right now. What is important is that, when the fingers start flying that there’s a traitor in our ranks, I’ll be among the first to be accused. It’s the natural order of things. If she had died last night, I’d be the one who’d gain the most, and no one will hear my pleas that that is a responsibility I don’t care for.”

  “Yet you expect me to listen?” Emily said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t know you, Heliena.”

  “And I don’t know you, either,” Heliena countered, coldly.

  She stepped forward, closing in on Emily and coming within a hand’s width of her face. Emily resisted the urge to step back. She wasn’t scared, but certainly uncomfortable. Heliena’s tone didn’t help, nor her intoxicating aroma. She smelled like fresh flowers.

  How is that possible? My word, she is beautiful, Emily thought.

  “I don’t expect you to believe me,” Heliena said. “I’m just explaining why it’s important that you come tonight. I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince Chara or Adelpha, either. That old hag won’t let you go unless you follow right next to Adelpha, and if I know anything about my sister, she would never allow someone to follow her who couldn’t handle herself. See, you need a better and simpler way to get onto the ship. It wouldn’t be good for you to be part of the actual attack, but I think you’d serve better as part of the distraction.”

  “I don’t know how to be a distraction,” Emily said.

  “That’s why you’re going with me.”

  Chapter 20

  That afternoon, the amazons hatched their plan. Adelpha did most of the talking and formulating, taking and receiving tips from others, mostly Chara. Thanks to Gavin’s information, they knew which ship to look for when they reached the harbor. It would be the only large vessel that didn’t have cargo, the only one allowed to stay docked at night. Emily felt a twinge of guilt for Gavin, feeling that she was betraying the trust he’d shown to her, yet unable to stop what was coming. Okamoto Karaoshi carried information vital to the amazons, and angel laws were nothing but suggestions to these women. They were out for blood. Emily just hoped that Gavin would forgive her this, assuming she ever saw him again.

  Once the ship was located, the attack would begin. There would be two groups: one approaching from the dock and the other from the sea. Adelpha would lead the attack from the water, while Heliena and Belen would lead the attack from the docks. Emily was glad that Heliena had joined the dock attack. She didn’t know how to swim.

  The first step would be for the amazons on the dock to take out the front guards. A few arrows to the throat would do the trick, and then those amazons would sneak onto the ship, working from the top down to find Okamoto. At the same time, Adelpha would lead her party from the shore. In the cover of darkness, they would swim quietly through the water and use ropes to climb into the bowels of the ship through the cannon portholes. From there, they would disperse and search for the samurai. Together, working from both ends, they would clear the ship and find the man who plotted against them. Once he was
captured, they’d flee the city immediately. If all went well, they'd be out of Lucifan and beyond the jurisdiction of the knights and angels before daybreak. Then, they’d find out just how talkative this samurai could be.

  At the end of the planning, Adelpha made it clear that there would be only one surviving witness: Okamoto Karaoshi. Any arrows shot must be retrieved as well. The less evidence they left, the better, and hopefully when they returned to the city next year, they could deny any wrongdoings.

  There was still plenty of daylight left after the cheering finished. So, the amazons went to sharpen their weapons and arrow tips. Adelpha enjoyed another mug of ale with the others, though Emily graciously declined a second round of the bitter drink. After a lifetime of bread and water, Emily was all for trying new things, but ale unfortunately did not make her list. She did accept a spare set of clothes from Heliena, though, dressing in a leather skirt, vest, and sandals for the first time in her life.

  She’d been delighted at first. Tossing away her old farmer’s clothes seemed like the last effort needed to bury her past. Emily had delightedly stripped off her dirty pants, overalls, and linen shirt and slipped into the skirt and vest, realizing for the first time just how heavy her old clothes had been. Compared to her farmer’s outfit, caked with layers of dirt, she might as well have been naked in these amazon clothes. The skirt and vest were a mere fraction of the weight she’d carried her entire life. Emily had felt extremely underdressed and had tried in vain to pull the skirt down to hide more of her legs.

  Yet she was an amazon now, both in spirit and in look, until she realized her favorite working shirt might be off her body, but it had left its mark on her skin. The amazon clothing exposed parts of her that had never seen the light of day, leaving a clear tan line on both arms, shins, and her neck. Next to those lines, she was horribly, embarrassingly pale.

  At first she was worried this would make her assimilation with the amazons more difficult, but after weathering a tavern full of laughter and some hearty jokes, she was happy to find that there was no pressure or hostility from her future companions. After they had their fun, they left her alone and began to exchange stories in anticipation of the night’s activity. Indeed, few of them were as callous as Adelpha had been when Emily had first met her, including Adelpha herself.