by Tiya Rayne
The soldier I shot with an arrow is helped up from the ground, before he goes he turns back to me and mumbles. “Uhh, sorry, about earlier.” He then turns and walks away.
Augustus comes to my side. “My apologies for my actions, Lilly.”
“It’s not your fault, it was bound to happen sooner or later.” I pat his chest.
“It seems like nothing we do will help them come together.”
That bothers me.
“By the way,” Hyland says beaming at me with pride. “That was a great shot. How did you do it?” he asked bewildered.
“What? I missed.” I proclaim before giving him a small smile.
He laughs. “You are one feisty broad.”
* * * * * * *
Although I left my practice in good spirits, I was still bothered by the comment that the general made. I could not endure the fact that they would never accept each other. And it wasn’t just because they needed to work together. It has always bothered me that people can rule out others for nothing more than being different. Being from a different region, or background is not a sufficient reason to distance yourself from anyone. I knew that if they got to know each other they would see the value in each other.
I was so annoyed by this, that not even Bartus’s list of approved baby names could take my attention. Avalia seemed shocked when she handed me the paper of stupid names and I didn’t rip it up. I just couldn’t focus on anything other than the soldiers.
That’s why I came up with a plan to fix this little problem. If Uncle Buddy was here he would say, “Lilly-Bee, this best not be another one of your cockamamie ideas.”
To that I would say, “It certainly is, Uncle Buddy. It certainly is.”
For this plan to work I had to acquire the help of some friends. Five friends in particular.
“Lilly, I really think we should go back and get the men for this.” Miriam states, not for the first time.
Dressed in long hooded cloaks was; myself, Lydell, Cleo, Miraim, and Kema. And although not in a cloak, I had even convinced Tipper to join us. Tipper was in her bird form flying over my head.
“The little scared elf is right, I do not like you being out here amongst these soldiers. I do not trust them.”
“You don’t trust anyone and I’ll be fine. Plus, I brought you for back up.” I could feel Tipper preening at my compliment.
There are three things this Familiar loves, eating, the boys, and feeling needed.
“Relax, Miriam. We are all the backup Lilly needs.” Cleo states.
We move through the crowd of soldiers without being noticed. It would ruin my plans to be spotted too soon, or worse yet, someone notifies Assassin that I am here. He and my other guards are having a meeting with Avalia. It seems a lot of diplomats and other important people will be in the kingdom for the naming ceremony in two days. Everybody wants to know what regal names I will be naming the boys. If they only knew.
Just as we slip behind some tents something catches my eye. It’s one of the women from the Eastern Kingdom. She seems to be sneaking off somewhere. When I first noticed the beautiful women in all shades of brown, I thought they looked so meek and docile. They kept their heads down while scurrying around the Eastern men. They wore long bright colored robes that resembled the Japanese Kimonos. Their hair was covered in colorful wraps like the headdress of an African woman. Their eyes were heavily lined with dark liner like the pictures I’ve seen of Egyptians. It was their eyes that first drew my attention. Even though they seemed quiet and meek, their eyes were the complete opposite. They had intelligent eyes that blazed with fire. That is what I saw in the eyes of the young girl that went into that soldier’s tent. I did not see brokenness or submission. I saw strength in that smile she gave me.
It is that smile and those same eyes that cause me to stray a little from the plans I originally had.
“Lilly where are you going?” Miriam asks after I turn to follow the girl.
The girl from the soldier’s tent heads towards the woods near the camp ground. She glances over her shoulder every now and again, but she never notices us. When we finally catch up to her I am floored by what I see. Twelve or more of the females are together in the woods. They are dancing… no it isn’t dancing, it’s fighting. It is the most beautiful form of fighting I have ever seen. It looks like a cross of dance and martial arts. The way they wield those swords is amazing.
“Whoa!” Miriam must agree with my thoughts.
“They’re good.” Cleo adds.
“And fast.” I admonish as I watch them move swiftly around each other.
When they finally stop they pose with their blades up over their heads and their bodies low. And, as if we were at a performance and not sneaking up on people, the girls and I immediately start to clap.
The Eastern women look startled by our appearance and start to back away.
“No, don’t leave.” I rush. “That was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?”
They look around and finally one of the girls step up to speak. It is the same girl I followed here and the one that caught my attention back at the campsite.
“It is called Yawana Ngo. The woman’s dance. And we made it up ourselves.”
“You taught yourself to fight?” I question.
“I thought the women of the Eastern Kingdom were only interested in lying with their men?” Cleo asks.
Though her words were kind of rude, I know she wasn’t saying them to be mean.
The Eastern girls laugh.
“Although we do love taking pleasure from our men, we do have other interest.” The girl answers with pride and not an ounce of shame. I don’t blame her, I too recently discovered I loved sex. Especially with a very handsome elf. Immediately I blush as I think of Assassin.
“What’s your name?” I ask the round face girl.
“I am Kalani.”
“Well Kalani, I’m Lilly. This is Cleo, Lydell, Miriam, and the bird is Tipper.”
“Human, you are the worse at secrets.”
I shake my head at Tipper’s untrustworthiness.
“We know who you are, Lilly.”
The look on their faces is as if they have met a celebrity.
One time, Cousin Lizzie and I, thought we met Johnny Depp in Wal-Mart. Turned out to be just some creepy look alike. Before we figured it out we were both fangirling over him. That is what these women look like now.
“You are our hero,” Another one of the girls step forward and says.
She’s shorter than me and has startling honey colored eyes. They look amazing against her beautiful dark chocolate skin.
“The way you stand up to the men, and you don’t even mind showing them how strong you are.” She shakes her head as if what she says I do seems so farfetched.
“You can do it too.”
The Eastern women laugh hysterically.
“We are forbidden to even hold a weapon unless we are handing it to our men or cleaning it.” Another girl speaks out.
“That is why we have to hide to practice Yawana Ngo. We disguise it as a dance so the men won’t know what we are doing.” Kalani explains.
“The Eastern men treat their women like delicate flowers. They worship our bodies, but not our minds. They ignore our strength.”
Which is a huge mistake on their part because one look at these women and I could see their strength. With the talent I saw tonight, the Eastern Kingdom would have a formidable army if they had these women on it.
Light Bulb Moment.
“How many of you know this type of fighting?”
“All the women in the Eastern Kingdom. We are just new trainees. Most of the older women are far better than we are.”
Hard to believe.
“Do you think the women of the Eastern Kingdom would like to come here and join our fight?”
Apparently they were extremely excited about this idea. They squeal while jumping up and down.
“But,” Kalani starts. “The men will not le
t us join.”
“You leave that to me. I just need you to get more of your women here as fast as possible.”
“I know a maid that can trace you back to the Eastern Kingdom tonight.” Miriam offers.
“If you can get me there, I can have you many women that would love to fight for you, Lilly.”
“Thank you, Kalani. But you aren’t fighting for me, you are fighting with me.” She smiles and nods.
We left the Eastern women in the care of the maid Miriam mentioned. I was already feeling better about our goal tonight. By the time we arrived at the Red Door tavern where the soldiers hung out, it was crowded inside.
Just like in the campground, the division was obvious. The Western men were on one side of the room laughing and talking boisterously. The Eastern men were on the other side of the room seeming to watch the Western men with disgust and contempt. The Southern men were at the bar looking as official as ever. I sauntered right up to the bar and pulled down my hood. I could hear the murmurs and the shock at my appearance in the room.
“Women should not be in a tavern.”
The first to speak was a man from the Eastern Kingdom.
I turn to him with a sweet smile on my face. “What’s your name, soldier?”
He seems to get flustered at my question. Relax dude, this isn’t what you think.
“My name is Nyfir.” He says proudly with a wink.
“Well, Nyfir, my daddy’s name was Ellis. And since he’s not here, I think I’ll have a drink.” I turn to the bartender. “What’s the strongest drink you have?”
The bartender looks from me to the general of the Southern Kingdom as if he needs his approval.
“Hey,” I say snapping my fingers to get his attention. “Don’t look at him. I asked for a drink.”
“What are you trying to prove here, human?” the Southern Kingdom’s general asks.
I turn to him with that same sweet smile. Mama always said you can catch more bees with honey than you can with vinegar. So I put the honey on my face and the vinegar on my tongue.
“My friends and I just want to drink with the boys.”
The chuckles go around the room.
“Well, you see, human, there are no boys here, and we don’t drink with women.”
“You are right. What was I thinking calling you boys?”
“You weren’t thinking.” Someone calls out.
The men laugh.
I join in their laughter. “Correct again. You see, not long ago I met a boy in the Southern Kingdom that was the bravest, strongest, and wisest kid I’ve ever met. And it would be unfair to his legend to put you in the same room as him, not to mention the same group.”
The laughter immediately dies.
“So let me start my sentence over. I came to drink with a bunch of whinny, overrated, alcoholic, and highly too sensitive men.”
All surrounding noise stops. I can almost feel Miriam’s heart beating out of her chest.
The Southern Kingdom’s general’s eyes glares down at me.
“You only speak this way to us because you have protection.” He snarls.
I laugh in his face. “Do you see any of my body guards tonight?”
The general looks behind me. There was only Miriam, Lydell, and Cleo. Tipper was in her spider form buried somewhere within my massive curls. Because he only saw women he didn’t know that I had all the protection I needed.
“Why are you here?” The general asks.
I take a seat at the bar leaning my back against the wooden counter.
“I thought about what you said earlier. You are right, we are not a team. But I figured you guys were just afraid of the others, maybe they intimidate you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ve heard some women like cowardly men.” I shrug innocently. “Not my thing. What about you ladies?” I look to my friends.
“Nope.”
“Never!”
“Not even close.” The girls chime in with their own mischievous smiles.
I notice we ruffle a few feathers, just as I thought I would.
Men are so predictable.
This tactic is an Aunt Millie special. She pulls this all the time to make Uncle Buddy go to his doctor check-ups. The entire week before his appointment she calls him every cowardly name in the book. One time she even told him how Barry Sanders – who I later found out was an ex of hers – always gets his check-ups on time. That’s why they found his colon cancer early and was able to treat it right away. She told Uncle Buddy that if he died from some unforeseen illness, that at least she knew Barry Sanders would have many years left to keep her company. Uncle Buddy immediately leapt to his feet saying how he was going to kill that weasel Barry Sanders. Nevertheless, the trick worked. For the first time ever, Uncle Buddy made his own doctor’s appointment.
“There is nothing cowardly about me, Human.” One of the Western Men shouts. “You should come see.” He was a pudgy man with a worn face and long beard.
“Let me kill him.” Tipper pleads. “He disrespects you.”
“Calm down, Tipper. I can handle this.”
I knew that to get these men to do what I wanted, I had to be bold. I could no longer be shy and quiet Lilly. I needed to be tough and quick-witted. So, I cock my head to the side and channel the most evil and quick-witted person I know. Cousin Lizzie.
“That is what your mouth says, but I don’t think you could hold your liquor long enough to find the correct hole.”
A chorus of ooh’s go up.
The pudgy man turns beet red.
“I can hold my drink just fine.”
And here was my master plan.
“Want to bet on that?”
It is the general from the Southern Kingdom that responds.
“What kind of game are you playing?”
I smile a knowing smile. I had them right where I wanted them.
“A drinking game. One man from each camp goes up against me. The last one standing wins the bet.”
The men laugh out in deep belly laughs. I let them mock me.
“Are you serious?” One man asks.
“I heard the girl was dumb but I never thought she was this bad.” Another soldier says.
“Does this mean you’re too afraid to take the bet?” I asks not letting their words deter me.
The old Lilly would have taken offense to their remarks. She would have let it get her down. I was called dumb and many more things when I was a young girl. However, the new Lilly, knows who she is and doesn’t care what some random person thinks of her. I have the love of my children, the love of a good man, and the love of myself, who needs others opinions.
“What do we get if we win?” Another voice shouts.
Here is the huge gamble, in order to make them take the bet seriously I had to offer up something big. And there is nothing bigger than my wager.
“You get me.”
A few whistles go off and I realize what I’ve just said and how it must have come out.
“Not like that,” I explain. “Each of your kings want me in their pockets. They want something from me. You win this bet, and you can personally take me to your king.”
Hook, Line, And Sinker!
That was the greatest thing I could have offered these soldiers. They all know how badly their kings wanted my attention. The Southern Kingdom maybe more than others.
“Now if you lose….”
“We won’t lose.” The general says.
“But if you do, I have a few demands. First, no more drinking during the day,”
I turn to the men of the Western Kingdom. They shout their disapproval.
I continue on. “Second, you have to start helping out around here. That means training the new guys.” A few more disapproving outburst. “Third, Eastern Men, you have to get your heads out of the books and start paying attention to the training. We need your knowledge, but we can also use your force. Plus, let us in on what you guys are working on. We could use your insights on the battlefield. My f
inal request,” more grumbles of disagreement. “I challenge you to make at least one friend outside of your camp.”
This time the chorus of disgruntled soldiers take longer to die down. I don’t let it discourage me. I had a plan and I meant for it to work.
“In two days….” I shout over the noise when it seemed that it would never stop. “There will be a celebration for the soldiers before the naming ceremony. You can start there. All I ask is that you get to know one person that does not fly under your kingdom’s banner.”
They grumble for a few more minutes.
“What do you say?” I ask holding my breath.
“I say you have a deal, under two conditions,”
I didn’t really care for conditions, but you have to negotiate in times of war.
“What’s your conditions?”
“The winner also gets a kiss from you, and we get to pick the drink.”
“Surely you will let me kill him.”
I ignore the Familiar.
“Here’s the deal, you get to pick the drink and keep your lips. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate me giving out his kisses. And if Assassin knew you even asked for one, he wouldn’t be too happy.”
The general’s face turns ashen at the mention of Assassin. I love dropping my man’s name.
“Fine!” He quickly amends. “Then the drink of choice is Barrel wine.”
The roars that go up is deafening. Apparently Barrel wine is well liked.
“Lilly,” Miriam panics, grabbing at my arm. She bends her head towards me. “You can’t do this. Barrel wine is the strongest drink we have in the Locke. Few men can handle more than a few glasses.”
Miriam thought the same way that most people think. That consuming alcohol is all about how big you are. What she and these men don’t understand, is that I’m from the country—born and bred. There are a few things we are good at, making your money stretch, protecting our own, and Alcohol. Before I could walk I was taking sips of whiskey. My mama used it to cure everything from chest colds to coughs to aches and pains. And if I can handle my Uncle Buddy’s homemade hooch—and that stuff is pure lighter fuel—then I can handle this stuff.
