Amazon Chief (101 page)

"That was my reaction," I said. I paced around to stop in front of them. "And so my answer is this. I do not wish to release you. I do not wish to see you leave. I need you."

"Beria," Malora said. But I held my hand up.

"It is going to break my heart, it is absolutely going to break my heart. So no, I do not wish to release you from Amazon service."

I stepped away.

"For years, my sister has been the woman who made recruitment possible. I do not wish to give that up."

I turned back to them. "I do not wish to release you." I dropped to my knees. "And so I beg you, here on my knees. Make a home in
Gallen's Cove, but the Amazons need your continued service. The Amazons are strong because you have recruited us, including me. And so, I beg you, please, will you continue to handle recruitment for us? Will you organize the other retired Amazons to help? You may run it from Gallen's Cove, but please, please, please come home to us when the weather is good."

I paused. "If you cannot do this, I understand, and I fully release you from all obligations."

Maya whispered to Malora. Malora whispered to Nori. Nori whispered to Rora. And the four of them said together, "Of course we'll help. Please get up."

I moved to them, and we all hugged. I'd been doing a lot of that.

"Please stay as long as you can," I said.

"We will," Malora said. "Ralla and Jasmine will arrange our land for us, right next to theirs, and we'll build a home in the spring."

"We'll talk more then."

"Of course."

I stepped away and wiped away the tears.

"Tenda, Lilith, and Haldara. Are you here?"

They all stood up.

"I suspect you are anxious to return to your homes. Are you able to linger a day or so?" They were, and so I could talk to them tomorrow.

I looked around. "At this point, I intend to follow the fine example Queen Malora has presented. I expect no drastic changes beyond the heartbreaking departure of those we love. Questions?"

Bea stood up. "Is Maya going to play her fiddle?"

"I certainly hope so."

She did.

* * * *

I met with Tenda, Halda
ra and Lilith the next morning.

"I need to know your plans. First, none of you are currently village chiefs. Which of you has that aspiration?"

They shrugged. "If you need us, we'll serve," Tenda said, receiving nods from the rest. "But I wasn't planning on asking." The other two agreed.

"Queen's Town is in need of a head trainer," I said. "Which of you wants it?"

"Don't look at me," said Haldara. "I'd be terrible. Point me at the demons, Queen Beria."

"Queen Beria, I'm already talking to Ralla about
the patrol coordinator," Lilith said. "I can help teach wrestling, but I'm the wrong one to teach weapons."

I turned to Tenda and smiled.

"I can't teach staff, and I can't teach how to defend against it."

"Vorine and Omie can do that, and I am here to help. You are the best with a sword I have ever faced. Will you teach us?"

"Yes," she said.

"Thank you. Coordinate with Nori. I'll want you to move here as soon as you can, but housing is probably an issue for a while. I should warn you. You'll be the training leader and a trusted advisor, but Omie is my second in command."

"Of course," Tenda said. "She's a good choice."

* * * *

I lay in Lia's arms that night, exhausted. "So much to do."

"You'll figure it out." She kissed me. "I love you, Beria."

"And I love you, Lia."

I served as the queen of the Amazons for twenty years, almost to the day.

* * * *

I turned to the winner of the tournament. "Congratulations, Annalise! I am so proud of you."

"Thank you, Queen Beria," she said loudly. I was still 'Mother' in private, but in public, she tended to use my title.

I was so proud of both of them. Annalise had turned into an excellent warrior, and Joelle was a good warrior, but she was the thinker. They'd been co-chiefs at Lake Juna for the last seven years, and they both had companions who loved them well.

I scanned the crowd. Omie was there, and Lia. Lia looked at me nervously, but Omie looked as proud as I was.

The others? Give me a moment and I'll tell you.

I turned to my daughter, smiled at her, then looked out over the crowd again. "Annalise and I will have one more event for you. She doesn't know about it yet, so now I have to clue her in." I drew her to the back of the ring and turned her to face me.

"If you think you are going to dump that damned job on me the way Queen Malora jammed it down your throat, you are insane. I will not fight you, Mother."

I laughed. "It's time, my dear. I've been training you for years."

"And who else did you train?"

"Your sister, who will become your closest advisor. And a few of your step-sisters." Malora and Maya had been sending us Amazons for years.

"Joelle is a better choice."

"Joelle is a good second in command."

"I knew I should have thrown my last three fights. I'm not doing this, Mother. Furthermore, if you make me, I won't release you from service. You foolishly let Queen Malora and Maya leave, but I'm not that stupid."

"Hey! That's your queen you're talking to."

"I remember what happened. I was only ten, but I remember. That horrible woman challenged you."

"No one here is going to challenge you," I said. "I learned that lesson. Maybe it's wrong, but I haven't let problems fester."

"I presume Mama knows?"

"Of course she does. And so do about half the people here, the ones who were here twenty years ago. Come on now. Try not to beat me up too badly."

"I'm not doing this!"

"Honey, I'm tired."

"Do not try that line on me. You're barely fifty. Malora was older."

"Yeah, but she was Malora, and she was the first to say she waited too long."

"Mother, I am not challenging you."

"You know you're going to, so get your negotiating over."

"You stay on for two years."

I thought about it. "I'll stay until autumn and if you want us back in the spring, we'll come back for next summer."

She sighed. "You're going to
Gallen's Cove, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Right next door to my sister."

"Who are you taking with you?"

"You can guess, but you'll have your sister and Narsana and all your friends still here."

"Not all. You're going to take Omie, and Bea left two years ago. Give me something, Mother."

"How about a hug and the fight of your life?"

"I should use Haldara's two hander."

I sighed.

"I wouldn't suppose we can wrestle." She grinned.

"I'll be using a staff," I said. "And you're going to have bruises."

"Big talk for an old lady," she said.

"Try not to break me, honey. Your Mama and I are so proud of you."

* * * *

We turned our horses up the lane. Over the last twenty years, it had become familiar. We hadn't gotten very far when the dogs noticed us and set up a racket, but they were too
well behaved to harass the horses. Then there were children of every age appearing from multiple directions.

One of them took up the cry. "Mama! Mother! It's Queen Beria and Lia. Mama! Mother!"

I helped Lia to the ground, then climbed from my horse. Omie and Aren settled to the ground beside us. Four of the children stepped forward. I couldn't remember their names. It frustrated me.

"We'll take your horses," one of them said.

"Be careful of the bay in back," Aren said. "She bites when she's tired."

The kids pulled our horses away with prom
ises to bring our things in once Mama decided where we were staying.

The house door opened, and a familiar
sight stepped forward. She screamed my name, and then turned her nose back into the house. "Malora! Get your old ass out here! You wouldn't believe who is finally here."

Maya hurried down the steps and threw her arms around me. "Oh Beria, I've missed you!"

A minute later, an elderly woman with grey hair, walking with light assistance from a cane, stepped from the house.

"Well," she said, "look who finally showed up. We expected you weeks ago."

She worked her way down the stairs, and I pulled her into a tight hug, then stepped away. "That cane looks familiar."

"A gift from the village," Maya explained. "They saved it for me after Juna died. Can you believe it?"

"How are you doing, Queen Malora?" I asked.

"Damn it. I told that child to drop the entire 'Queen' thing. She damned well better have saddled you with it for the rest of your life, too."

Lia grinned. "She sure did. She wasn't going to, but I threatened her with dire consequences."

I looked around. "Where's Nori?"

"Oh, she and Rora are off on some project," Malora complained. "The woman is a hundred years old and refuses to slow down. She'll be here by dinner."

"She's not a hundred," Maya said. "But sometimes she complains like it."

"You know," said Omie, "A woman could get a complex. Where's my hug?"

It was several years ago that Maya began to pester me, both in letters and when we'd see each other. She showed me the stories she had written, or at least the first two. She says she may have more someday.

"Beria," she said. "Your story is even bigger. You have to tell it."

"I couldn't," I said. "Not like this."

"Sure you could."

I put her off for two years, but then I begged her and Malora to visit. She wrote back and said, "We'll come in the spring on one condition: you promise you have a story to show me." And so I had promised.

They arrived in the spring, as early as they could, and I loved them for it. Malora spent hours greeting everyone, but Maya took me aside and said, "Show me, or we're leaving in the morning."

"Maya-"

"You promised, Beria. You have never in your life broken a promise to me."

"Hey!" I complained. "I used to say that about you."

"Then I promise if you don't show me, we're leaving tomorrow."

I sighed and let her see what I had written. She read everything, tsk-tsking from time to time. Hey, she was the schoolteacher, not me. Finally, hours later, she finished, and she frowned.

"I told you I couldn't do it."

"And I told you that you could. But honey, you started in the wrong spot. You need to start at the beginning."

"I did. Well, I started where you left off."

"But that's not the beginning for you. You need to start at the beginning for you."

"That's back in
Gallen's Cove," I said. "The beginning is the day Nori took you away."

She smiled. "Then that is where you should begin."

"But you already wrote about that."

"Yes, but you'll tell it differently, and what was important for me to tell may not be as important for you."

I paused. "I don't want to write about all of it." She and I both knew what that meant. "I still carry the scars."

"Then don't," she said. "But Omie is a big part of your life, and you need to let people see that. When you come this summer, show me what you have."

* * * *

I know you're wondering. What happened during those two decades? Well, that tale is for another day. There were adventures, and Maya and Malora had a few as well.

You're also wondering what happened to everyone else. You're not the only one. Maya finished reading the story last night and tsk-tsked at me. "What happened to everyone? What happened to Bea?"

"You know what happened with Bea," I said, "she-"

But Maya put her fingers over my lips. "Don't tell me." She tapped the paper. "What happened with Bea and Vorine? Did Annalise become Haldara's companion?"

"You know who-" but she covered my mouth again and tapped the paper.

"But that's another two hundred pages, and my hand hurts."

She smiled. "You need to tie up the loose ends. Don't leave them hanging
like this."

"Yes, Maya."

So, I should start with Bea, but for that, I'll have to back up a long way, to when I'd been queen less than two years.

* * * *

I opened the chest. I had no idea who it was from, but it had been shipped to me via Howard's End.

Nestled inside was a note to me, and below that, a brown bear skin. I stared at it, then opened the note.