Amazon Companion (35 page)

"Requests, Queen Malora?"

"Something cheerful," she said. "Maybe something we can dance to."

I played a series of jigs, and many of the women danced to the music, some of them with their companions. Then I slowed it down, playing a long, slow note. Then I played the start of a very sad song, one Malora had heard before, and I looked at her.

"Amazons," she said. "You will want to sit for this next song."

They took their seats, and I began to play the lament, milking it for all it was worth.

I wasn't the best fiddle player from Gallen's Cove, but I was good, and I knew the songs I could play well. This was one of them.

The women grew still. And then the final note came with a trembling quaver. I held it for a moment before holding the fiddle out to its owner.

"Please keep playing," she said.

"It has been a long day," Malora said. "Can you play a happy song to ease our hearts, and then something to ease us to bed?"

I nodded and thought about it, then I asked, "Does anyone know the Ballad of
Devlin Greene?"

A woman stood up. "I do."

"Will you sing?"

She nodded. I began the introduction, and right on time, she came in, her voice high and reedy, but it fit the song. The song starts sad, but then Devlin meets her lover, and the song turns playful. Everyone cheered when it was over, and I immediately began playing a
lullaby. They quieted down again, and this time when I held the fiddle to its owner, she took it from me.

"Thank you for the loan of your instrument," I said.

"You played it far better than I," she said.

I smiled and thanked her. And then Malora collected me with an arm about my waist and led me to our bed.

It was cozy, but warm, sleeping in her arms. I made a point of kissing her forehead when we climbed into bed, not telling her I was intentionally smudging my lips against her skin.

In the morning, when we emerged for breakfast, everyone noticed the bright pink lip marks on her forehead. My hair was back in a braid and my face clean, but we hadn't a mirror, and I didn't tell her. The mark was imperfect, but obvious.

There were a few titters, which puzzled Malora, but I didn't tell her.

We were halfway through the meal when Loren said, "Well, I guess we know you aren't lovers yet."

Malora raised an eyebrow.

"I am sure if you were lovers," Loren said, "that mark-" and she pointed, "-would have companion marks elsewhere."

Malora's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she looked at me. "What did you do?"

"Me? Why do you blame me?" I blew a kiss at her.

"You kissed my forehead last night."

"There might be evidence that is a true statement," I admitted. "Perhaps quite a lot of evidence." I reached forward and wiped some of the evidence off on my fingertips.

Malora could choose one of two reactions. She could get angry, or she could laugh. She chose to laugh then allowed me to clean the paint away.

"There must be punishment for that
, Companion," she said fiercely, but she winked at me.

"Oh?" I said. "Will you paint my lips pink again?"

"No, I do not believe I shall," she said, and the listening women laughed.

"Perhaps you will festoon my hair in pink ribbons."

"Not that, either."

"Well then," I asked. "What shall my punishment be for adorning you so endearingly?"

"I believe I must take your horse from you, and you must instead ride with me. That shall be your punishment."

And everyone grinned, for all knew that was no punishment at all, but instead, a reward.

I caressed her face briefly then stole a piece of bacon from our shared plate.

Loren gazed at us. "I believe your companion well suits you, Queen Malora. While you may not be lovers yet, it seems perhaps
you will be very soon."

"No," Malora replied. "She tells me I have a scrawny body."

"All meat and bones," I said. "And I am accustomed only to a chest with hair, and she has none."

Loren looked confused.

"I have only ever been attracted to men," I said, "although they did not seem overly enamored of a bookish schoolteacher, soft and weak."

"Some men like their women soft and weak," one of the Amazons declared.

"True," I agreed, "but I did not believe I would enjoy the way such a man might treat me."

"We may not be lovers," Malora said, "but as a companion, I can imagine no one who would suit me more closely than Maya does." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me tightly against her.

"She seems impertinent," someone said. "Do you beat her often?"

"She whips me," I declared, "but it does her no good. I fight with my words, and she is forced to gag me when she requires silence."

The women laughed. Of course, Malora had never gagged me, although I knew I'd been very, very close yesterday.

Soon, breakfast was done, and Malora told me, "Do you need help saddling the horses?"

I glanced at Meena, and she smiled. "I'd be happy to help." She glanced at Loren, who nodded permission.

Meena and I collected the packs from the hut Malora and I had used and headed to the stables. We collected our horses, and she helped me settle their tack in place and load the gear. She had to help me adjust some of it.

"You haven't done this before?"

"Actually, no," I said. "I appreciate your help."

"You're very lucky," she said. "It is clear how much Queen Malora loves you."

I glanced at her. "It's not like that," I said. I thought about what I was going to say. "I am a disappointment."

"That's not true!"

I gestured at my hair. "When we were tardy..." she nodded. "I hate training. I can't begin to tell you how much I hate it. I am terrible. Even though I am a full-grown adult and bigger than some of the companions, and much older than almost all of them, I haven't even come close to winning a single wrestling match. Nori has tried to teach me, and so have some of the others, but I am hopeless."

Meena grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. "How old do you think I am?"

"I don't know," I said. "Older than I am."

"Yes. I am twenty-nine. I have been an Amazon since I was fourteen. I have heard the story about how you joined us. Is it true? You fought Riva and Nori?"

"Yes, it's true."

"You beat Riva. Untrained, and you beat her."

"I was fighting for my sister's life, and I was very angry, but I was a joke to Nori, and it took her seconds to disarm me, pin me to the ground on my stomach, and bind my hands."

"Nori is one of the best fighters I have seen, better than anyone in this village. Of course she beat you." She paused. "But I have a point. I have been an Amazon for fifteen years, and I am a companion. I am not and never will be a warrior. Loren loves me. She does not show it publicly, because that is not her nature, but she loves me, and she is perfectly happy that I will never be a warrior."

"Does the thought of going onto the training ground make you sick to your stomach?"

"No, and I'm glad that it does not. But Queen Malora loves you."

"It's not like that. I vex her."

"I bet you do," she said. "And I bet she loves it at the same time." She paused. "Give it time. You'll settle in."

I looked away. "I should not have discussed this with you."

"Why not?"

"Politics."

"It will be our secret." I looked back at her. "Our secret," she promised.

"Thank you, Meena," I said.
"I am a fish out of water, so far from my ocean cove."

"I do not know about oceans," she said, "but I know about fish."

"How would you know about fish and not oceans?"

"You haven't seen our river?"

"There are fish in the river?"

"Of course."

"Do you catch them?"

"I am the best fisherwoman in the village."

We began leading the horses from the stable, but I began asking her questions. "What do you use for bait? Do you use a hook and a float? Where in the river do they hide? What time of day is best?"

She laughed as I gave her no time to answer. "If y
ou come back, I will show you. The fish like the quiet places and frequently hide under fallen trees. I cast my line and let the line sink, then bring it in slowly. I have never used a float, but I know the concept. It works on lakes, but not so well in the rivers."

"And bait?"

"I start with a hook and tie things to it so it looks like a fly. I watch what the fish eat, and I make different baits that look like different flies, and I pick the one that seems to work that day."

We led the horses to the main square, Malora waiting, but Meena said, "Please, wait here." She handed me the reins to the
packhorse and ran off towards one of the huts. She was back a moment later with a small roll of cloth. "A gift," she said, running up to me. She knelt down in front of me, and I knelt with her. She unrolled the cloth, and inside were flies with hooks in them.

"You made these?" I asked, carefully picking one up.

She grinned at me. "Yes."

"Do you add anything to hide the hook?"

"No. You use them just like this. You can use these, but you may want to save them and use them as models for your own. The fish are not smart, and yours do not need to look exactly like mine. It may take you some time to learn what works best."

"I cannot take all your flies," I said.

"They do not take me long now," she said, rolling the cloth and thrusting it into my hands. "I make them in the winter when I cannot fish, but I can dream of fishing."

Loren and Malora were watching, and Loren began to laugh. "She spends hours at it, and she has hundreds of these hanging on a wall in our hut."

I turned to Malora. "Two minutes more? Please?"

"Go," she said. And Meena took my hand and pulled me to her hut. I stared. She had a net on a wall, and clinging to the net we
re hundreds of her little flies, organized by type. No two were identical.

"So many kinds?"

"Five or six kinds," she said. "I make changes to see if this small difference works better than another small difference."

"Does it?"

She laughed. "If so, I haven't discovered it yet."

She showed me her pole. It was very long and slender.

"It doesn't break?"

"The fish are not large, and the long pole lets me reach further when I cast the line."

I examined the construction of the pole and smiled. I could make such a pole. I hugged her spontaneously. "Thank you."

We talked fishing all the way back to our warriors.

"Are all the fish good to eat?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "You will learn which are your favorites."

"All right," said Malora. "We have a long ride, Maya."

"I'm sorry," I said. I hugged Meena once more, thanking her again, and she said it was nothing.

"If you can't find the fish, perhaps I can come visit, and we can hunt for them together, if my warrior will allow."

"Ride with me, Maya," Malora said. I climbed onto her horse. She thanked Loren once more, then climbed up behind me, wrapping her arms around me, and we rode away from Two Bends.

"And so, you have made a new friend."

"You didn't tell me there were fish in the river."

"What do I know about fish?" she asked. She tightened her arms. "You were brilliant."

"Were you upset about the lip paint?"

She laughed. "No. You bring me joy, and I am pleased you are comfortable teasing me. But I ask you to be careful in your teasing."

"Don't get carried away?"

"Yes."

We rode a while longer, and I babbled at her about fishing. Eventually she interrupted and said, "I did not realize fishing was so important to you."

"I didn't think it was." Then I realized something. "Oh no! I didn't ask Meena where she gets her hooks or line! We have to go back."

Malora laughed. "Leave this puzzle with me."

"You'll get me hooks and line?"

"At least some, perhaps not a lot, but enough to start.
You can make a pole?"

"Yes. There are tools in the storage hut."

"You may be asked to make more than one," she said, "especially if you are successful catching the fish."

"I hope no one intends to steal my favorite fishing holes! Once I have favorite fishing holes."

She laughed. "Only me."

I frowned, although she wouldn't see. "I wonder when I'll find time."

"You could give up chasing rabbits."

"Maybe someday," I replied, "but I need the skins more than I need the taste of fresh fish.
Serra does a good job feeding us."