Amazon Chief (55 page)

I turned to Lia. "My sister has a sense of humor."

Lia listened for a moment and then stepped into my arms.

"Why do you say that?" she said into my ear as we began to move slowly with the music.

"There are words," I said. "It is normally sung by two lovers, singing to each other."

Lia didn't say anything, but she laid her face against my neck. The voices had begun to wake up, but she quieted them again.

"Thank you," I whispered. In response, she squeezed me more tightly for a moment.

I danced twice with Lia, and then we found ourselves on the side near her daughters. "Mama," said Annalise, "I want to dance."

"All right," Lia said, "you may dance with me, but it is nearly time to go to bed. Tomorrow begins early and will be a long day, and so you must get plenty of sleep. If you do not, you will not be able to enjoy the ride, and you may turn crabby. We do not want to tempt Queen Malora to return us because you are crabby."

"I won't be crabby, Mama," she said.

And so Lia collected Annalise, stepping out at a break between songs. "Maya, could you be kind
with your next song?" She gestured to her daughter.

Joelle turned to me. "Chief Beria, I want to dance, too."

"Then you shall," I said. I held out my hand, and she set one of her small hands into it. I led her to the floor. Lia flashed me a smile.

Maya played a jig, but it was a slow jig, as jigs go, and I taught Joelle the steps I knew. She made mistakes and stumbled a few times, but I caught her, and she had great fun. Maya played a second song, and Lia and I exchanged partners. Then Lia turned to Maya. "Perhaps a song to slow their thoughts?"

Maya nodded. We drew the children to the side, and Maya began a long lullaby she used to play to me when I was young. Lia sat down, collecting Annalise in her lap and gesturing to a seat next to her. As soon as I sat down, Joelle wormed her way onto my lap, surprising me to no end. I held her gingerly, not quite sure what to do, but I looked at how Lia held her younger daughter, and I mirrored her with the slightly older girl.

Both girls were fidgety for the first half of the song, but slowly they grew quiet. They didn't sleep, of course they didn't, but they grew calmer. Just like I had when Maya would play this song.

Maya finished and announced she would take a break. Zora climbed to her feet then turned to face the girls.

"It is time for little ones to sleep," she said. "If you come quietly and do not fuss, I will read a story as you fall asleep."

I helped Joelle from my lap. She took her sister's hand.

"Thank you, Zora," Lia said.

Zora nodded. "Arden and I will see you off in the morning. Make sure you leave instructions with us for how we may contact you. Family should stay in touch."

And then she turned around, making sure the girls were following, and headed for the door.

"Wow," I said.

"She lost a battle," Lia said, "but she knows she has won the war. She gets the house to herself now."

"You trust her with your children?"

"She has been a shrew, but she is not stupid. She knows if she upsets them, sh
e will have screaming children. She is quite capable of being charming when she wishes to be, and she will charm them right to sleep."

Maya returned to her fiddle ten minutes later. Another musician appeared, also holding a fiddle, and the two of them took turns playing. Maya learned some new songs, and it also looked like the other player taught her a few tricks with the fiddle. Between the two of them, they played late into the night.

It was a wonderful night.

Our return trip took longer than the trip to White Pine had taken. We rose early in the morning to depart, the companions readying the horses. Zora pulled Lia aside, and I learned later Zora told her sister-in-law, "If you do not come back, I will send the rest of your things with the spring tithe. I am sorry we were unable to find peace together, but I do wish you the best." When Lia repeated it to me, I thought Zora had been gracious and was pleased Lia and her daughters were departing on as good of terms as would have been possible.

Arden
provided a single packhorse. We distributed the extra packs between that horse and our other packhorses, but we had come prepared, and the horses were not over-burdened.

Maya offered her horse to Lia; she could ride with Malora. But Lia admitted to having very little experience with horses. So instead Lia and her daughters rode with this Amazon or that one, changing off at each stop. Throughout the next
six days, I sometimes found myself riding alone. At other times I might have Lia or one of her daughters with me.

It greatly amused me to see Nori with Annalise, the youngest. Nori was incredibly gentle with the girls. I caught Rora smirking at her more than once.

Even Malora carried the occasional passenger, talking animatedly with whoever rode with her.

But neither Lia nor her girls had spent time in the saddle. We were forced to travel more slowly than we normally would, took more frequent breaks, and didn't ride as late into the afternoon. It was cold as well, but spring was approaching, and we didn't experience the bitter cold that had visited us just a few weeks ago.

The girls actually found it a grand adventure, although the long days wore on their nerves. The adults were challenged to keep them entertained. They were sweet girls, and so they were well behaved, but the long days wore on them.

However, the early stops gave us opportunity to train. Malora had declared me as our group leader with the words, "It's good experience for you," and so each afternoon, after conferring silently with Malora and Nori, I called a halt, picking campsites with access to water and, when possible, more shelter than just our tents. With all of us working together, it took little time to prepare camp, and then we would have time for an abbreviated training session.

We had planned ahead to some extent. We didn't have enough practice weapons for everyone at once, and we didn't use our real weapons during training, but we had two practice swords and two staffs. We taught Lia and her girls how to stretch and how to run. We let them collapse early while the rest of us ran enough to get our blood moving. On the third afternoon, Lia found a chance to sit next to me while Nori demonstrated with the staff.

"Even the queen runs."

"Of course."

"And even at her age, she runs far faster and far longer than I do."

"She is an inspiration to all Amazons."

We taught the girls how to use the staff. They were too long and heavy for them, but they did their best. Maya used her real staff for demonstrations but switched to a practice staff when there were blows to exchange.

"I remember this," Lia said. "Badra and Gini taught Tamma and me a little. At the time, it seemed like we were learning to be such ferocious warriors. But I know it was just the beginning." She turned to me. "Did Gini find a companion?"

"I'm sure she did," I said. "Maya may remember."

"Were you an Amazon by then? Do you know?"

"If Maya was there, then yes. I became a companion the year after Maya did, so it would have been one or two years later. I was living in Queen's Town learning from my warrior."

"All right, you two," Nori said, looking at both of us. "If you're going to distract the class with your talking, you can be first."

"Oops," I said. "We're in trouble now." I laughed and jumped to my feet, then helped Lia up. We collected the practice staffs, and I helped her with the lesson Nori had been teaching. Nori watched for a minute, then she began to berate me.

"What has happened to your form, Beria?" She offered several points of criticism.

"Hold," I said to Lia, and I stepped back. "Nori, perhaps you would care to show me the error of my ways."

Nori raised an eyebrow, and I heard Maya snicker.

"You're falling off balance and leaving a hole. Lia isn't going to see it, but you know I am."

I transferred my staff to my left hand, thrust out my hip, and settled my right hand on it, looking at her. Nori stared at me for a moment.

"Beria," she said, "you know I'm right. It's as plain as day."

I continued to stare at her.

"Fine," she said. "Lia, I will take that staff. Don't get too comfortable. It's time the upstart learned her place."

As soon as Nori's hand was on the staff, Badra spoke up. "I would place a wager on my village chief."

There had been a certain amount of snickering, but everyone drew quiet.

"I will do it five times," I said. "If you manage to score a point any of those five times, you win," I told her. "None of your other points count."

"What are you wagering, Badra?" Malora asked.

"Anything you desire, Queen Malora," Badra said.

"I have a bear hide," Ralla said.

"Ralla, no," I heard Jasmine whisper, but Ralla shushed her, whispering into her ear. I glanced over, and she appeared mollified.

"I also have a bear hide," Badra said.

"Mine is from a brown bear," Ralla said. Brown bears were very rare and much larger than a black bear. To an Amazon, that hide would be priceless.

"I cannot match a brown bear hide,"
Badra said.

"I have a brown bear hide," I said.

"No," said Malora. "This is too dear a wager."

Ralla moved closer to her, and the two whispered back and forth for a moment. Finally she looked up at me. "Do you wish this wager?"

"I would not have offered any wagers," I said. "I don't like taking advantage of my friends, after all. But if that is what Ralla wishes to wager, I will accept. If she wishes to lower the wager, I would accept a smaller wager or allow Badra to do so."

Malora raised an eyebrow. I had just made an incredibly arrogant boast. "Everyone here saw the opening Nori identified, Beria."

"I saw it," Jasmine said.

"I didn't," Lia said, earning gentle snickers.

"I withdraw my objection," Malora said. "Nori, please put this whelp in her place. Do you also wish to offer a wager with me?"

"I wouldn't want to leave Badra out of the fun," I said.

"I will wager my bear skin against Beria's," Ralla said.

"Badr
a, I've been collecting rabbit skins again," Maya said.

"Eight against a deer hide?"
Badra offered.

"Six?" Maya counter-offered.

"All right," Badra said. "Six."

"And what shall we wager, Beria?" Malora asked me.

I turned to her. "Half my hair."

She stared at me.

"No," said Maya. "Malora, don't take that wager."

"I have little else," I said. "Hair grows back. Half my hair. You will have to cut it for me. I won't be able to do it. I know my hair carries small value to you, and so I offer a symbolic wager. But if you would rather have a deer skin, I have those."

Malora climbed to her feet and moved to stand in front of me. "What are you doing?" she asked very quietly. "For that matter, what is Ralla doing offering such an exorbitant wager?"

"Ralla is retiring," I said. "She is either finding a way to give her skin to me, knowing I will need it more than she will, or she is taking mine because she needs funds to resettle."

"Ralla wouldn't do the latter," Malora replied.

"Perhaps she believes I know what I'm doing," I said. "Or perhaps she feels I need to be put in my place. Perhaps I have been growing arrogant."

"I do not like wagers of this size, Beria."

"I didn't not start the wagers, and Badra wasn't offering more than a deer skin."

"You know the only skins I receive are gifts."

I grinned at her. "Fine. Pink hair."

She laughed. "Implemented at the end of this trip. I do not wish to present you with pink hair to half the villages."

She stepped away. "Beria and I have reached agreement. One of us will be wearing pink hair at the conclusion of this trip, to be refreshed as necessary for a month. And don't think I didn't notice the arrogant whelp offered odds. She has far, far more hair than I do."

"Ah, but I am only a village chief, and you are a queen. I believe your hair carries more value than mine." I looked around. "Any more wagers?"

"I would wager on my village chief," Lia said. "I don't have anything to wager, however."

"Companions frequently wager duty shifts," I said. "But that only works when they share a village."

"We will have laundry to do upon arrival home," Rora said. "If Nori wins, Lia will do our laundry. If Beria wins, then I will do Lia's laundry."

"Which includes Beria's," Malora said.

"She has two children; I have one warrior," Rora pointed out. "And I will need to teach her how to do the laundry, unless someone else does so." But then Nori whispered something to her, and Rora added, "However, I accept your stipulation, Queen Malora. Her laundry, including her children's, and her village chief's."