by Travis Bughi
Belen and Gaia had been quick to resent Emily from the very beginning. Emily did not understand it at first, but all had been revealed to her in short time. When Emily’s mother had run away with Emily’s father into the plains, Chara had taken in Adelpha’s mother, Hippolytha, as a pupil. Later on, Hippolytha was killed by a basilisk’s gaze, and Stefani would forever blame Chara for the death. Adelpha had not, though, and Chara took to training her while Stefani raised Hippolytha’s other daughter, Heliena. When this happened, Stefani’s hatred for Chara extended to Adelpha, and Belen’s friendship with Stefani ensured that Belen gave neither of them a chance either. So when Chara brought Emily into the group, Emily was instantly rewarded with a daily plateful of insults from Belen and her cronies.
Laugh all you want, thought Emily, you banshee.
“Throw another one, please,” Emily asked.
“Maybe if you tried throwing seeds at it, you’d have a better chance,” Belen called out.
“Yeah!” Gaia agreed. “Try some seeds!”
She cackled again and looked to Belen with a wide smile that sought praise.
“Throw, please,” Emily repeated to Adelpha and then cleared her mind.
Adelpha pulled up another clod and hurled it through the air, just as fast as she always did, and for that, Emily was thankful. Easy targets granted her no favors.
The dirt flew. Emily followed it and judged its speed, its distance, the angle, her own draw strength, and everything else she had done before. This time, though, before she released, she made one final change. She mimicked her dream and breathed out, expelling the air in her lungs in a steady, calming stream through relaxed lips as she released the arrow. Emily’s fingers held still, keeping the bow raised, and hoped that for once, just once, she could get this right.
Miraculously, the arrow struck its target.
The dirt clod was hammered in one side and snatched out of the air as if a thunderbird had swooped down and grabbed it. The off-center arrow and dirt spiraled violently out of control, whipping around at a blinding and whirling speed before they were lost in the tall grass and disappeared altogether.
For a moment, no one said anything. Even Emily blinked twice with her mouth wide open. It wasn’t until Adelpha’s younger sister, Heliena, spoke up that the silence broke.
“Good hit, Emily,” she said.
It was a meek comment, like all she made, which was so unlike Adelpha’s harsh, loud, and bold outbursts. Although Heliena was Adelpha’s younger sister, the two were opposites in almost every way. Adelpha was large, tall, and imposing. Heliena was shorter, like Emily, slim, and amazingly beautiful. Where Adelpha walked with her head held high and always spoke with a commanding voice, Heliena preferred to stand quietly in the back where she wouldn’t be noticed. The fact that’d she spoken up at all, let alone first, was a surprise all in itself. The only similarity really between the sisters was their straight, black hair.
“Thank you, Heliena,” Emily replied.
Emily stole a glance at Belen and saw the look of disdain on her face. The older woman had nothing to say now, only hateful eyes and a hint of hesitation.
Like I said, thought Emily. Laugh while you can. I’m watching you.
Belen was one of the women Emily suspected of being the traitor. The other, tragically, was Heliena.
“Alright, knock that smile off your face,” Adelpha said. “Let’s see you do that again.”
Emily missed it, but the fact remained. She’d made her first hit.
A few of the other amazons shouted some encouragement to Emily. She was still trying to learn all their names and was thankful that amazons didn’t take last names, which would have made the task much harder. Only Emily had kept her last name, Stout, as a token of appreciation to both her mother and father. The others didn’t like it but tolerated it just the same. Most of them already viewed her as a helpless outsider anyway, though a few—all of whom were Adelpha’s close friends—were taking steps to include her.
There was Iezabel. She was already a mother but had come back to Lucifan to have another child. She was cheerful, and her company had always been quite pleasant—not to mention she was the best shot with a bow. According to the others, she could nail a pixie’s wings together while blindfolded, though Iezabel claimed that had been pure luck. Emily had already learned much from her and hoped to learn far more in the future.
Hanna was another woman who had shown Emily kindness. She was older and ready to finish her childbearing years. After countless trips to Lucifan, this would be her last one, and she swore she’d never be pregnant again after this. She was too old now, she claimed, and as proof she even brought her eldest daughters, Kirke and Leda, twins who had been born the same year as Adelpha. When Emily had met the twins, she’d instantly liked them, and the feeling had been mutual. They were rough, curious, playful, and mischievous. They teased constantly and shared with Emily a bond of both age and like-mindedness. In a way, they reminded her of her brothers back home, and she was thankful for that. Emily missed her family.
She did not miss home, though, only the people that lived there. Home had been a prison without bars, because the Great Plains needed no bars to hold her family in impoverished captivity. Emily had despaired of ever escaping until Chara came to their home and offered Emily a key to her prison. Her only regret was that she had left behind her fellow inmates. She’d come back to them one day, no matter how far she traveled.
The amazons continued on to the forest, towards Angor, and Emily suspended thoughts of home. Up ahead was something Emily had dreamed of seeing since she was a little girl.
The Forest of Angor was just like it had been described to her: a grove of trees. However, the travelers had failed to mention the size of the trees. Emily was used to the tiny trees of the Great Plains, which were thin, short, and had smaller branches than leaves. Compared to the giants she saw now, those trees barely qualified as upright twigs. The trees of Angor were massive pillars that extended so far up they appeared to be supporting the clouds. They looked ancient, tall, proud, and almost intimidating. Not even the tower of the angels in Lucifan compared to some of these stocky timbers. They seemed to grow bigger and bigger as the amazons approached the forest, their sheer size leaving Emily awestruck.
She also noticed, as was promised, the forest was so thick that it blocked her view. Emily could not see far off into the distance like she could on the plains. A tree rose every couple of steps, judging by what she saw, and between them were all sorts of bushes and shrubs. The ground was covered in fallen debris, and the tall grass of the plains died away where the shade of the forest began, starved of sunlight by the tall trees and their fallen leaves. In a way, the forest kind of reminded her of Lucifan. The city also had tall, immovable objects that blocked both people’s view and the sunlight, killing the grass that ran rampant around it.
However, there was one astounding difference the stories failed to mention, and it hit Emily like the shockwave of a behemoth’s step. Angor was silent, dead silent. Lucifan had been filled with the sound of voices, carts, and tools at work. Even the Great Plains was never quiet. The sounds of wind blowing and grass rustling were ceaseless.
Not the forest, though. Here, the wind was blocked by all the trees, and there were no people. The forest was a cold, stoic soldier who never moved and never made a sound. In a way, it was eerie. Emily had never experienced silence, but as they approached Angor, the sounds she’d known all her life were leaving her ears. It unnerved her. It even set her teeth on edge. As the amazons made their first steps into the shadowy forest, Emily’s ears rang, and she realized for the first time what true silence really was.
She didn’t like it.
Chapter 2
To think I wanted this so bad, Emily huffed. She hadn’t expected to be struck with a measure of fear when first laying eyes on the forest, yet here she was clenching her teeth and trying not to tense. This place was eerie and decidedly uninviting. Still though, she was her
e, and her curiosity strongly outweighed any apprehension.
She craved the unknown, even the unpleasant kind.
“What do you think, Daughter?” Chara asked, walking up beside her and watching her expressions.
“It’s quiet, Mother,” she replied.
In amazon tradition, all girls who were born to either you or your daughters were also considered your daughters. Therefore, Chara called Emily her daughter and asked Emily to call her mother. It had been strange at first to call her grandmother so, but Emily was getting used to it rather quickly. Emily was even becoming fond of calling her long lost grandmother that. Emily loved her real mother, Mariam, and Mariam had never been cruel, but Chara was the mother that Emily had always wanted.
For one, Chara was much more patient than Emily’s actual mother and had a kindness that Emily was sure had skipped a generation. Chara also encouraged Emily’s quest for knowledge and fostered her desire to explore the unknown, daring Emily to dream big of the world all around her. The women even looked similar with their wavy hair, freckles, and thin frame that followed down to small feet. Chara’s hair had been brown once, too.
Emily enjoyed asking Chara piles of questions. There was so much Emily didn’t know and so much Chara did. Unlike Mariam, Chara answered each one to the best of her abilities.
“Don’t worry, Emily,” she said to her now. “You’ll get used to Angor. In time, you may even come to like it.”
“I hope you’re right,” Emily replied, doubtful.
Adelpha walked up at that moment and gave Emily a mighty slap on the back. It did the trick of snapping her out of her trance and had the added effect of throwing her forward a few steps.
“Are you ready to capture a treant?” Adelpha smiled.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Emily replied, catching herself before she fell.
Adelpha unsheathed her hunting knife and leapt at Emily, sweeping it fast from side to side. Emily rolled out of the way, quickly putting distance between herself and the amazon princess. The fight, although sudden, was not unexpected. Adelpha had been taking every moment of every day as a chance to teach Emily new skills to survive with frequent trips, more than one hard shove, and unannounced knife fighting. Emily had been mad at first, constantly tripping and falling about herself, and not to mention bearing one too many scratches from Adelpha’s hunting knife. Yet just as her bow skills gradually improved, so did her senses and hand-to-hand moves. Her balance was easier to maintain, she walked quietly, her eyes searched around every corner, and her ears were forever listening. Most of all, she was always ready for a fight.
Adelpha followed Emily’s roll with a swift kick, but Emily jumped back again, landed on her feet, and drew her knife. She held it up, ready to defend against Adelpha’s next attack. It came swiftly, another sideways slash that, if properly aimed and executed, would have slit Emily’s throat, but she deflected it.
Emily knew her opponent well. Adelpha was stronger, taller, and had a longer reach. Emily had found, though, that she was also slower. Emily couldn’t hope to blunt Adelpha’s attacks, only to avoid and deflect the blows that came too close. She would have to wait for her opportunity and take it without hesitation, but she never got the chance. As Emily took another step back, she tripped over a well-placed foot and fell flat on her back. Emily hit the ground, disappearing into the tall grass that had yet to die in Angor’s shadow. The air was knocked from her lungs, but she recovered quickly and popped back up to keep fighting. Adelpha was frowning though, looking past Emily to the one who had tripped her.
Emily turned, fully expecting to see Belen or Gaia standing there with a wide grin, but instead saw Heliena. Emily blinked in surprise.
“What was that for?” Adelpha asked.
Heliena didn’t answer at first. She shied and turned, her cheeks turning red.
“Sorry,” she replied. “I just wanted to help. You’re always training her, and I just—never mind. One must be watchful of their surroundings, is all. I’ll leave now. I’m sorry.”
Emily didn’t say anything as the Heliena left. She was having a difficult time understanding Heliena ever since they’d left Lucifan. At first, Heliena had been a strong ally of hers. The two were the youngest of the group, only sixteen years old, and Emily thought that would help them bond. In Lucifan, Heliena had given Emily clothes and helped her sneak out on the amazon raid. She’d even helped protect Emily from harm in the raid on the samurai, Okamoto Karaoshi. They’d thought to capture the samurai because he worked for the traitor’s husband and knew whom the traitor among them was. That effort had proven fruitless, however, as Okamoto had identified only one person as the traitor: Emily. Thankfully, only Heliena had heard, and she’d voiced that lie to no one.
The samurai was now dead, slain by Heliena’s own hand, though Emily had taken the blame for that mistake. She had done so willingly, because Heliena was already suspected of being the traitor by more than a few amazons. The only thing they’d learned from the Okamoto for certain was that he served a shogun, a king of sorts in the East named Ichiro Katsu. After that close affair, Heliena had grown quite distant and cold. Occasionally, she granted Emily light talk or even a compliment, but more and more often, she was taking on an antagonizing role despite it seeming unintentional.
Emily had no idea what she’d done to estrange Adelpha’s sister, but she was trying her best not to make the matter worse. Truth be told, at every slight she received, it made her suspect Heliena along with the others. It was times like that when Emily remembered what Quartus had warned her of: prejudice against those disliked.
Trust in proof, not in feelings, she reminded herself.
“Have I done something to offend your sister?” Emily asked Adelpha.
“If you have, I’ve done it, too,” Adelpha replied. “She’s always been a bit distant with everyone. Me, I understand. Like Belen, Heliena was raised by my aunt to hate Chara. Our relationship never stood a chance, especially considering how mean I was to her when we were younger.”
Emily straightened and looked sidelong at the princess. Adelpha, for once, looked down in embarrassment.
“I believe it,” Emily replied honestly. “You were mean to me when we first met.”
“Well, I was more of a bully to her,” Adelpha sighed, “and none of my kindness these days will make up for it.”
“It’s a fact we’re all aware of,” Chara said, voice just above a whisper. “We’ll talk later, though. Keep moving, girls.”
They entered Angor, and Emily noted the trees were getting bigger and bigger with every step, and the sun was slowly setting beyond them, casting long shadows that extended over and beyond the small hills of the Great Plains. Those hills were flattening out now, getting smaller and smaller, and Emily could see they disappeared altogether where the trees met in force. It was like the weight of the massive wooden giants was flattening the ground around them, and the shadows they cast turned the land into a cavern. The amazons crept into the shadows, and Emily felt the sun’s warm embrace release her to the enveloping silence. Emily did not feel welcome.
It was colder in the forest. Angor’s trees didn’t just block the wind, they blocked plenty of the light as well. The forest floor was a mess of fallen leaves, small bushes, and dead twigs and sticks. Every once in a while, Emily would see a fallen tree. They were either sprawled out on the floor, or had somehow leaned up or fallen between two others. Some trees were tiny, just barely starting out. Others were giants, wider than a behemoth’s foot and taller than a colossus. None of them made a sound. The only thing that could be heard now was the soft crunch of leaves and twigs being crushed under the amazons’ feet.
Emily shuddered.
“How far in are we going?” she asked Chara.
“We go in far enough to reach the first river. Then we follow it all the way south to Themiscyra. That is, of course, after we go deeper in to capture a treant.”
“And that’s in elf territory?”
&n
bsp; “Unfortunately,” Chara sighed.
The elves hated the amazons. The elves were the first to figure out that treantwood made superior bows, and the amazons stole that information from them. Chara had described the story in great detail along their long walk across the Great Plains.
Long ago, the elves had been allies of the amazons. They had taught the amazons how to travel through the forest and even helped shelter them from the other creatures that dwelled there. Xenophobic to the core, the centaurs were a constant enemy that killed more than a few amazons with their eagerness to fight. The threat from the werewolves was also all too real. They were quiet enough during the day when they were human, even friendly enough to trade with, but on a full moon’s night, there was no way to control the bloodthirsty creature they turned into.
The amazons were warriors, but they traveled fast, light, and in too small a group to handle all the dangers of the forest. That was why they had started trading with the elves who lived deeper within Angor. The elves provided protection and assistance, but refused to share or trade their bows. It didn’t take long for the amazons to realize that the elven bows weren’t made from natural wood. Their bows were better, lighter, and could fire at a much greater distance. Yet, try as they may, the amazons could not persuade the elves to share their secret.
Most of the amazons decided to let it go, but a select few hatched a plan. They wanted those special bows for themselves and for the rest of the amazons and so stole one, but as they tried to sneak away with it, one of the elves caught them and roused the others. A scuffle ensued that ended in one dead amazon and one dead elf before enough sensible people intervened to stop the fight.
The queen amazon tried to patch things up, but the damage had been done. The elves had marked the amazons as another hated enemy. That trip, the amazons barely made it home alive. They were so deep into the forest that they had to fight off centaurs first and then werewolves, while being hunted by the vindictive elves.
