Authors: Robin Roseau
I nodded. I thought I understand.
"Malora is very lucky, Maya.
All the Amazons are lucky you joined us." She hugged me again. "But we're going to have a huge party at lunch tomorrow, right after that bitch is dead."
"Yeah," I said. I certainly hoped so.
After that, I found Malora, tucking myself under her arm. She kissed my head and said immediately, "My companion and I have some business to attend to. Good night everyone."
No one interrupted us as we headed to our hut. The moment we were inside, she pulled me into a crushing hug.
"Do you know what I want to do?" she asked.
"I can guess.
"
"Let's sit for a while first."
"Of course."
I helped her out of her bo
ots first, then took off my own. Together we settled onto our bench. I curled into her, her arm around my shoulders.
"If anything happens tomorrow-"
Malora started to say.
"It's not!"
"Listen to me. If anything happens tomorrow, Nori is going to need you."
"We're not talking about this."
"We are," she said. "Only a minute, then we can calm each other. Listen to me now, Maya."
"Fine," I said, but I was angry.
"I am going to win. But she is very good, and I need to see to the future of the Amazons, whatever happens. Do you understand?"
"I don't want to think about that."
"Parlomith might win. I might win, but be mortally wounded."
"Neither of those-"
She put her fingers over my mouth. "Let me finish this, honey. Please."
"Fine."
"Nori will need you. It is okay to grieve me, but I want to be clear about this. You are young. You will love again. You will be a companion again. You were born for this. I understand if you need to go home for a while, but when Nori comes for you, I want you to come back here with her."
"I
decide whom I love," I said. "And that is you!"
"I know. You make your own decisions, and this will also be your decision, but I want you to know, if that's what happens, you have my blessing. I've made sure my closest friends and allies know that, too. Maybe it's Nori, maybe it's someone else, but you have my blessing. Do not mourn me forever."
"Did you get that out of your system?"
"Did you hear what I said?"
"I heard you," I said.
"Good. Then I have one more thing to tell you. If I lose tomorrow, then you will stay away until
Parlomith is dead."
I didn't respond to that.
"I've made arrangements, honey. If I lose, you'll be miles away from here before she can turn her anger on you."
"Nori's challenge will be immediate."
"She gets an hour between fights. She can do a lot of damage in an hour. And Nori isn't second. Loren is. Nori's mad about it, too, but she will do what I want."
"How did you get her to agree to that.
"
"
I told her we'd be having this conversation."
I curled closer to Malora. We sat quietly with her stroking me. I was numb for a while, but I knew what she needed, and my numbness wasn't it. It was time to banish the voices, and I had gotten good at it.
I pulled away a little, looking up at her, and I kissed her neck, then began stroking her available skin. I offered my own skin to stroke, and she accepted.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"We'll do this again tomorrow morning," I replied. "There will be no voices to fight."
"No voices," she agreed.
She lifted my lips for a kiss, and then she began to unbutton my tunic, stroking the skin she uncovered.
"There's something I want."
"I imagine," I giggled.
"It's not what you think. I bought something for you. I was saving it for a special occasion. I'd like to see you wear it."
"All right."
She slipped from me, turned up our two oil lamps so we had more light, and went to her trunk. I knew the contents of that trunk, and there was nothing in it I hadn't seen before, but she pulled out a package that hadn't been there earlier in the day.
She laughed at my expression. "Well, I wasn't going to leave it where you would find it. Ping has been keeping this for me."
I had never been in Ping and Serra's hut, so that had been a good hiding place. "Keep
ing secrets from me?"
"A few," she agreed. "I have to keep you on your toes, after all. Stand up and strip."
"So romantic," I replied, but I didn't waste time, taking my clothes off and setting them aside. She admired my body for a moment then asked me to close my eyes. There was rustling and I felt her step close, and then she asked me to lift my hands straight above my head.
Then she slipped something over my arms and down my body. "Keep your eyes closed."
She stepped behind me and did up the laces. She made a few adjustments, which required her to be a little more personal than I would allow from anyone else, and then she walked around me several times. "Lovely," she declared. "You may look."
I opened my eyes and looked down. I was wearing a dress. It wasn't Amazon style but instead looked like something I might wear at home. It wasn't fancy; in fact, it looked like it would make a good traveling dress.
"There are under-knickers," she said. "Will you pull them on?"
I should have had them on before she pulled the dress over me, but I took the garment from her and stepped into it, working to slide it into place up to my waist, under the dress.
"These are designed for traveling," she said. "You can properly sit a horse with them and maintain your modesty. The skirt of the dress can ride up in front and flare out in back, all anyone sees are your legs below your knees, and your boots come up to cover the bottoms of the knickers."
She was watching me carefully.
"I'm confused, Malora," I said. "The dress is lovely, but why did you get it?"
"It's for when we visit your parents."
I liked wearing my Amazon clothes when we visited my parents, but I wasn't going to tell her that, not that night.
"I love the dress." I moved into her arms and kissed her. "Thank you."
She hugged me, then returned to stroking me, calming herself further. We stood there for a while, and then her touches became a little more intimate.
"Time to remove the dress?" I asked.
"Not yet," she said. "I want to tie you."
"Oh you do, do you?"
"Yes. I want to remember you the day we first met."
"You aren't serious."
"Please?"
"Of course, but you must kiss me first." And she did, kissing me deeply, leaving us both panting.
Still kissing me, she pulled my arms from around her neck and moved them behind my back. A moment later, she began tying my wrists.
She finished the knot, hugged me for a moment,
then broke the kiss.
"I feel silly," I said.
"I know. Humor me?"
She produced more rope, tying my arms firmly behind me, although not as uncomfortably as Nori had once done. Once I was fully trussed, she kissed me again, holding me by the head. It was a long, sweet kiss.
"I love you," she said. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Malora." I smiled. "If you slide the knickers down, you can play. Or maybe you want me to use my mouth."
"I'm not done," she said. "I want the full experience." She led me to the bed, had me sit, then lowered me to the bed, rolling me onto my stomach. She kissed the back of my neck. I lay still while she put my boots back on then tied my ankles and knees together.
"I think that's going to get in the way," I told her when she was done. "And the boots seem like a bit more realism than
is necessary."
She
lifted me so I was sitting on the bed, my feet on the floor. She sat next to me on the bed, caressing me, and I leaned against her.
"I love you," she said, "more than I could ever find the words to say."
"I know. I love you, too, Malora." I looked down at my bound body. "But I don't want to stay tied up all night. Get a good look then untie me. I want to hold you."
"In a bit. Omie and Beria are leaving tonight. I've had scouts out. Parlomith has people watching the trails just in case I send anyone away, but Ralla and Balorie have been scouting. There's an open game trail, and they showed it to Omie. They'll be safe, but it will be slow. They'll leave in a little bit and travel all night. They will need to be very, very quiet."
"Will they be safe?"
"Yes," she said. "They'll travel light, and they have money. Omie knows the way. They'll make the plains and travel well out onto them, then there's a place to hide for a few hours. If things go very well tomorrow, then Vorine will go and get them. If no one arrives by early afternoon, they'll head to Gallen's Cove."
"Do we need to worry about them being declared deserters?"
"They are going on my orders, and
Parlomith will be dead long before she can retrieve them from Gallen's Cove. Also, they'll be going in disguise."
Then she eyed me before kissing me furiously. I moaned into the kiss and pressed myself to her. "Untie me now."
"Not quite," she said. "We don't have the full effect yet. As I recall, you were gagged when we first met."
"You are not gagging me."
"I think I am," she replied. She produced a cloth. "Open."
"Malora, what are you doing?"
"Maya, open."
"Please don't gag me, Malora. You've had your fun."
"Open, Maya."
I opened my mouth, and she pressed the cloth into it, adding tw
o more before my mouth was full. She used a fourth cloth to tie it into place, pulling it taut enough I couldn't spit it out.
She caressed my face and kissed my nose and eyes.
"I need you safe, Maya," she said.
And I realized she had tricked me.
"No!" I screamed into the gag. "No! You need me." But even I couldn't understand the words.
She caressed me and whispered soothingly.
"I know you wouldn't go," she said. I struggled to get away from her, but she held me tightly. "Listen to me, Maya. Just listen! Hold still and listen."
I tried to calm myself, but my heart was pounding.
"I love you, but tomorrow I need to know you're safe. I can't worry about you. I need to know you're safe. If you're there, I'll be worried, the entire time, I'll be worried about what might happen to you. You're going with Omie and Beria. With luck, I'll come to get you myself. With less luck, it will be Nori, and she'll take you home, or back here, whichever you want."
I shook my head. She was sending me away. I started to cry.
"Please don't cry. Please, Maya, you're going to break my heart. You need to understand. I gagged you because I knew you could talk me out of it. I've ordered Omie to keep you tied and gagged until tomorrow. I'm sorry. I know you're going to be very angry with me, and I'll do my best to make it up to you. Be strong now, honey. Be strong for me. I need you to understand."
I did, but I was so angry.
I shook my head.
"Hopefully, none of this was necessary, but I can't let her touch you. If I don't win, I know the first thing she'll do is
kill you, probably by beating you to death. We both know you'll do something foolish if she kills me, and she'll have all the excuse she needs, and if not, she'll trump something up. She'll kill you even before Loren's challenge. She'll be queen, and no one will stop her unless they want civil war."
I hit her with my head. It was the only thing I could do. She pulled me to her.
"I'm going to fight hard, Maya, but you must be safe. I can't worry about you."
And I understood. I lifted my face to her, still crying, but presented myself for a kiss. She kissed me around the gag.
Then she raised her voice. "Nori!"
I turned, and Nori stepped into the hut. Behind her was Omie and with Omie, my sister.
They had all known.
Omie and Beria were dressed in western women's clothing, suitable for travel. Both of them had released their hair, tying it with a ribbon instead of a braided in Amazon style. I didn't think anyone would be fooled, but from a distance, they didn't look like Amazons, perhaps.
"Hold her, Nori," Malora said. Nori sat down on the other side, wrapping an arm around me. I sat there numbly. "She's angry," Malora added.
Malora stood up and brushed my tears away. She turned to Omie and Beria, looking at them for a moment,
then she stepped to her chest, dug through it for a moment, then produced several pieces of paper. She pressed them into Omie's hands.
"Omie, Beria, and Maya, I release you as Amazons. You are no longer subject to Amazon laws."