Amazon Companion (5 page)

"Are you well paid to capture slaves?" I asked her perhaps ten minutes later. A minute
after that, she finished tying the gag.

But at least I was still seated on the horse rather than thrown over on my stomach.

* * * *

Late that afternoon, we met with another group of Amazons, this one
smaller but with far more captives. We had climbed into some low hills, and Nori propped me up against a large boulder. I watched as Riva was introduced formally to her companion, a stunning girl with long blond hair and gentle features. I understood why she might have been fit for a queen.

I wasn't sure why Nori thought the queen would want me. She should simply let me go.

It took me a while, but by watching the camp, I was able to figure out that not all of the younger girls were captive. Some seemed genuinely pleased to greet their warriors. Others were less exuberant, but I saw only a few sullen looks.

The campfire antics that night were even more outrageous than the night before, and some of the companions joined in on the fun, offering a parody of their warriors. The warriors all looked on good-naturedly.

Riva sat down next to me, leaving the young blonde girl near the fire. She reached over and untied my gag. I didn't say anything.

"I came to
talk about one thing," she said. "You embarrassed me badly in our fight."

"You understand I am not going to apologize."

"No, I wouldn't expect you to. But you may be wondering whether I will find retribution."

The thought had crossed my mind.

"It is not the Amazon way to hold a grudge against someone who bests you in a fair fight."

"It is however, human to do so."

"Perhaps it is," Riva agreed. "However, in this case, I believe I am the winner. Latari is beautiful and volunteered to join us. She was momentarily disappointed she wouldn't be going to Queen Malora, but Nori talked to her and she has offered to serve me well."

"How lucky for you," I replied.

"Yes," she said. "I agree with you, although I understand if you are currently feeling very human about the situation."

I was, but my anger was no longer directed at her.

"I have no immediate intentions of slipping a knife through your ribs," I told her.

She laughed, then she realized I wasn't laughing with her. "Oh. You're serious."

"Isn't that what war captives and slaves dream of? Sliding a knife between the ribs of their captors? Especially those captives who are to be killed at the end of the journey?"

She cocked her head. "Why would you think that?"

"Don't be a fool. Your queen isn't going to want me, and she is a fool if she trusts me. The Amazons declared war when they raided our village, and maybe no one else is going to lift a finger, but no one believes I will not. And she is a fool if she does."

"It's not war!" she said. "Well, it is, but it's all of us against the demons."

"I have never seen a demon in my life," I said, "and do not know if I believe they exist. But if they do exist, I do not believe they threaten Gallen's Cove. I do not believe you have the right to take us by threat of force, or in my case, by actual force. Do I look like I am here willingly?"

She stared at me. "I understand why Nori is keeping you gagged."

"People don't always like having the truth pointed out to them. It can be very uncomfortable."

"If you are able to confound Nori, I'm not going to even attempt to reason with you," Ravi said. "I came to tell you that even though you embarrassed me, it was really my own fault, and you have nothing to fear from me. Do I need to fear you?"

"If you get between me and freedom, you do. If I see you abuse any young girls, you might. Otherwise, no."

She smiled. "I'm glad Nori didn't let me use steel. It would have been a shame to kill you."

"I'm sure it's far more enjoyable to see my punishment for standing up to you."

She didn't respond but
stood up, not replacing my gag.

Nori joined me later, once the fire was dying. "Did you manage to remove the gag yourself?"

"Riva."

"Ah."

"Did I just get her into trouble?"

"No." She paused. "Were you hoping you had?"

"Curious."

I contemplated riling her up again, but I knew I'd pay more than she would. Instead I asked her, "Are the stories they tell true?"

"Some are more true than others," Nori admitted. "All are based on truth."

"You allow them to tell stories about you. They are not always flattering."

"If I can make mistakes due to lack of diligence, consider how important it is for a mere mortal to remain diligent."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed. Nori seemed surprised by my reaction. I sobered. "If I promise to behave will you untie my arms?"

"No."

"You could tie my hands in front of me. I might think more kindly of you, and two months from now when you have relaxed your diligence, maybe I won't go out of my way to slit your throat on my way to freedom."

It was her turn to laugh. "No."

"Why not? It's not like I can escape. And if you can't tie my hands in a fashion I can't untie, you're incompetent."

"It's not that I can't tie your hands again. It's that I am not convinced you do not breathe fire and could burn the ropes off if they were before you."

I looked over at her. She was smirking.
"You're not worried I'll breathe fire in the middle of the night, bringing the tent down around us?"

"I hadn't thought of that," she said. "Perhaps you should sleep out here."

I turned away from her, frustrated. "I hurt, Nori."

"You'll live," she said.

I tried another tack. "Your queen will not be impressed at the way you treat her gift."

"Maybe you're nothing but a bounty of war."

I looked back at her. She was still smirking.

"You are an ungracious captor."

She frowned. "I am sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood."

"
Actions speak louder than words. You could lighten the strain in my shoulders or at least offer a real reason for your refusal."

"Because I do not believe I can tie your hands in front of you sufficiently that you will not free yourself in the middle of the night. I do not believe I can tie your hands in a fashion you couldn't knife me in my sleep. I do not have much practice in tying someone."

"You could have fooled me," I said. "Could I at least have some respite if I promise to behave while you retie them later?"

"I would, Maya, but I believe once you achieve the respite, you would do anything necessary to avoid being tied again. You may intend to behave now, but I do not believe you would willingly allow me to tie you again, and I do not want to use the amount of force it would require to make you comply. If nothing else, it would undermine my authority with everyone here."

"Well, we can't have that, and it's not like a prisoner of war has any rights to humane treatment."

"And we were doing so well," she said. She held the gag up.

"If my words didn't strike close to home, they wouldn't hurt."

"Perhaps I don't choose to argue with a babbling idiot. Now open."

"For someone who professes to protect the innocent, you sure are going to great lengths to prove what a hypocrite you are." But I opened my mouth and let her stuff the gag back in. After that, I ignored her.

Eventually she left me there, retiring to her tent without me.

Which is exactly what I'd been waiting for.

I waited an hour, pretending to doze. They had set out a watch, but it grew dark, and no one paid any attention to me. I shifted around against the boulder, looking for a sharp edge. It took a while, but I found one, and I began rubbing the ropes against it.

At first I couldn't tell if it was doing any good, but then I felt a little resistance, and one small strand caught on the sharp edge. I tugged harder, and I felt it give. I hoped it was the rope that gave and not the rock. Several minutes later, I caught another strand.

Slowly I worked at the knots.

They were well tied. It felt like I was gaining ground, but still, my arms remained bound tightly.

One of the guards came by, checking on me. She knelt down. "You should sleep."

I cocked my head. It wasn't like I could speak to her. I mumbled into the gag.

She studied me for a moment, but she didn't check the k
nots. Finally she stood and wandered away.

I went back to working on the knots.

It was some time later, and I felt a major knot give way, but still my arms remained bound. I thought perhaps my wrists were marginally looser, but the ropes ran all the way from my wrists to above my elbows, and I was going to need to cut a lot more rope than I had so far before I was free. I continued to work on it.

A while after that I almost shouted in glee when I felt another knot tear.

"You know," I heard from over my voice. "An Amazon doesn't waste resources."

I looked over my shoulder, and Nori was watching me, leaning against the boulder.

I mumbled into the gag.

"It looks like you were making progress," Nori said. "
Balorie told me you were working on it."

How had she known?

I screamed into the gag, frustrated.

"You know I have to punish you," she said.

I shook my head.

"I don't blame you, of course. I would have done the same thing, but I wouldn't have gotten caught at it. Or if I had, I would accept my punishment.
"

I called her names into the gag, but they were so deeply muffled, she wouldn't be able to tell what names they were. I was sure my intent was clear, however.

"I am feeling magnanimous," she said. "So I will give you a choice: an extra-uncomfortable remainder of the night, or an uncomfortable horse ride. Choose carefully. Horse ride?" I shook my head.

"All right then," she said. She stepped around the boulder, and I saw she was holding more rope. "If you fight me on this, you're going to get both punishments. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

She helped me to lie down, then she checked my knots. "Progress," she said, "but not enough I need to retie this. Bend your legs." She pulled my legs tight then tied them tautly, finishing the hog-tie.

If I'd been in agony before, now it was worse.

I vowed to kill her.

"Sleep well," she told me.

Ten minutes later,
Balorie stopped by. "I told you to sleep." Then she was gone again.

We traveled two more days. I became increasingly angry as my arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. Nori never untied my arms, but I didn't give her any further reason to hog tie me, and she kept me in her tent with her for the final two nights.

I spent most of the time gagged and had little to eat, as I became verbally abusive to everyone I could the moment the gag was removed. I called them no end of names, all of them completely justified in my opinion.

Nori told me the only reason the punishments for my behavior weren't worse was because she understood my anger. "I don't blame you, but I won't allow your abuse. Once the queen takes possession of you, she can decide what to do with you."

She was going to kill me. What oth
er choice did she have? They hadn't hauled me all this distance to let me go in the end, after all, and they could never trust me.

Our
final day was extraordinarily long. Nori didn't explain; we just kept riding well into dusk. And then, from ahead, there was a hail.

Nori answered with a complicated whistle. Two minutes later we entered a large camp of Amazon women.

We still weren't to the Dark Forest. Oh, we had passed through forest and field, but we hadn't reached the home of the Amazons, of that I was sure. I wondered how much longer the journey would be, and when my torment would end.

I was ready for it to end.

I would have promised almost anything to be untied by then. My entire body was on fire; I could no longer distinguish the pain in my shoulders from the rest of my body. And I would have kept the promises up until I could kill as many of them as possible.

I hated them, all of them.

Nori accepted help lowering me to the ground, and then the horses were led away. She strode forth, leaving me on the ground, and there were cries of joy.

I ignored all of it. I no longer cared. All I cared about was when my agony would end.

But then I heard Nori say, "Queen Malora, I have brought you a gift. I apologize for the condition."

A crowd approached, and then I was surrounded by Amazon feet.

"This is my present?" I heard a woman say. "What an unusual way to wrap a present, Nori."

"I thought you might enjoy the singular experience of such an unusual gift." She paused, and her tone changed. "There is a story to tell, but I am weary. Perhaps we could retire to yo
ur pavilion, and I could relate the story behind your gift."

"Of course," the queen said slowly, and I wondered if she was puzzled. "Shall we bring my gift?"

"It won't go anywhere," Nori said.

The feet departed, and I groaned in my agony, shutting my eyes and wondering when it would end.

It wasn't long, but then two of the Amazons knelt beside me.

"You have a choice," one said, and I realized it was
Balorie. "We can free your legs and you can walk, which we will do if you agree to behave, or we can drag you. Would you like to walk?"

I nodded enthusiastically. They began untying my legs, which took a minute or two, then together they lifted me to my feet. I sagged between them, and they caught me by my arms, sending fresh agony into my shoulders. I cried into the gag.

They steadied me, and I gained my feet. Then, slowly, I made my way across the clearing.

They led me to a large tent, and it was clear it must be the queen's, by the size if nothing else.

"Queen Malora," Balorie called out. "We have the woman."

"Bring her in," came the queen's voice. I stepped through the doorway and blinked in the light. "Stop there," she ordered, and I froze.

I got my first good look at the queen while she looked at me. She and Nori were both seated in chairs, turned slightly towards each other, slightly towards the entryway. Balorie and the other Amazon held me in place while the queen studied me.

I couldn't tell her height, but she was clearly very fit, muscular, and if I were the sort to like that in a woman, I might be impressed. Her hair was short and appeared blonde, her features sharp, and she was dressed in a fashion very similar to the other Amazons. I could detect
no sign of her rank beyond the way the women addressed her and the size of her pavilion.

The queen rose then walked around me twice before coming to a stop in front of me.

"You are a puzzle," she said. "One I do not blame you for creating. You were trying to save your sister, and I commend your bravery. Riva should have beaten you."

I was still gagged, so there was nothing to say in return.

"I will give you two choices right now," she said. "You may request an honorable death duel for your freedom. You would be fighting my champion. You will be given two days to recover from the journey, and the fight would be in the morning of the third day. You will lose. This choice is basically honorable suicide."

She paused, studying me.

"Your other choice is this. Agree to a civil discussion of other options. If you take the second choice but do not address me in a polite fashion, then I am obligated to punish you the way I might one of my warriors. The punishment for a first offense is a whipping. If you think you hurt now, you can't imagine the pain after a whipping." She cocked her head. "Do you understand your two choices?"

I nodded.

"So, suicide?"

I shook my head.

"Civilized discussion?"

I nodded.

"Very good," she said. She smiled, and I thought perhaps it was an honest smile. She stepped away from me, retrieving her own chair. She carried it behind me and set it down. "Sit. We will remove your gag, then we will discuss your arms."

The women helped me sit, and then the queen dismissed them, leaving me alone with Nori and the queen.

The queen stood over me, using a hand to lift my face towards hers. "You have already guessed who I am?" I nodded fractionally. "You will address me as Queen Malora. Nothing else. Do you understand?" I nodded. "Do I need to council you on polite discourse?" I shook my head. "You may be tempted to spew vilely the moment your mouth is free. Do you understand what will happen if you do?" I nodded.

Nori rose from her seat, crossed
to me, and removed the gag. I looked between the two of them, then turned to the queen. "Am I allowed to ask questions, Queen Malora?"

"Yes," she said.

"Am I obligated to be polite to her?" I nodded my head to Nori. "Or only to you?"

The queen laughed, a clear, simple laugh. "Nori is obligated to punish you for rudeness as much as I am." She turned to Nori. "I see what you mean. The gag is barely off, and she is pushing your buttons."

"I'm sorry for bringing you this problem, Malora."

The queen waved it away. "I gave you an impossible task. If this is the only problem to follow you home, we will count our blessings. You otherwise achieved great results."

"I would like to make sure I understand," I said. "She is allowed to treat me as she has, and I am obligated to be polite or suffer further abuse. You expect the impossible."

She turned back to me
, looking at me for a moment, but did not respond to my statement. "Did you have other questions?"

"Two. May I have some water?"

"Of course. Did you wish to ask your other questions?"

"If I promise to behave, will you please untie my hands?" I felt the tears begin to creep from my eyes.

"I believe, Nori, she has become somewhat more complacent than you suggested."

"Don't worry, Malora, it's temporary, I'm sure. She'll undoubtedly promise to slide a knife through your ribs before this conversation is over."

The queen grinned at Nori before turning to me. "Those were your questions?"

"I have one other," I said. "When will you murder me?"

Her grin faded immediately. "Why would you ask that?"

"What else can you possibly do with me?"

"That is what we are here to discuss," she said. "I have no wish to see you dead."

"Your slave raiders didn't carry me so far
only to turn me loose," I said. I paused. "It is possible this was all done to teach me a lesson for daring to stand up to them. But if not, I do not believe you are foolish enough to believe you can trust me." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Queen Malora," I appended.

"This is your version of polite discourse?" Her tone was frosty.

I closed my mouth, not responding.

"I told you," Nori said. "If you want my resignation-"

"I certainly do not!" Malora said. "But I take back what I said about her complacence." She turned back to me. "You don't even attempt to convince us you are harmless."

I
didn't have an answer for that.

"Well," the queen said after a moment. "Y
ou requested water, and it was done politely. Let us start with that." She turned away, and I took a moment to look around. We were in an outer room of the pavilion; there was another doorway leading to what I assumed were sleeping arrangements. I assumed they were more comfortable than mine the last few nights. There was a small table on one side of the pavilion and a large chest on the other. On the table were two jugs and several glasses. The queen took one of the glasses then turned to me. "You requested water, but we also have wine."

"I believe water is safer," I replied.

"Very wise," she agreed, pouring a glass. She crossed the room to me. I drank carefully, the queen herself holding the glass. I drizzled water down my mouth mildly, but it was a minor annoyance compared to everything else.

Still, when she pulled the glass away, the queen dried my
chin with her own hand. Her touch was gentle.

"Thank you," I told her.

"You are welcome. Let us discuss your next request." She turned away, collecting Nori's chair, and set it a short distance from mine, sitting down. "There's another in the next room, Nori."

Nori disappeared, returning after just a moment, and took a seat next to the queen.

"Now, let us discuss the freedom of your arms. If I offer to free your arms, will you swear allegiance to me?"

I almost offered a rude response, clamping my mouth shut only barely, but I shook my head.

"The proper response," the queen said, "Is no, Queen Malora."

"No, Queen Malora, I will not sell my soul that cheaply."

"Ah, so there is a price for your soul?"

I stared at her.

"That was a question," she pointed out when I didn't respond.

"I do not know," I said finally. "If there is such a price, I do not know what it is."

"Would you sell your soul to save your entire village, including your mother and sister?"

I looked down. "Is that what is going to happen if I refuse to bow to you?"

"No," she said softly. "I started with an extreme suggestion."

"I see." I continued to stare at the floor. "Queen Malora, I do not know if I will be able to remain civil if you intend to threaten my family. If that is your intention, then I would like to discuss the duel you offered earlier.
There is no reason we need delay."

"Well," said the queen, and then the room was silent with only the faint forest noises intruding on the silence. "Maya, we are here to protect people like your family. I would not force such a decision upon you. I will tell you this. If we come to an agreement, but you later renege on our agreement, and you do so in a fashion that brings death in anything other than a fair fight, Gallen's Cove will burn. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," I said frostily.

"Good. Let us discuss your arms. If I promise to release your arms, will you promise to continue this discussion in good faith? Furthermore
, if we can not arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution, will you promise to remain complacent while we settle you in suitable accommodations until a later date when we may discuss this further?"

I looked up at her. "What does that mean?"

"A jail cell," she clarified, "but I promise it will be as comfortable as we can reasonably make it, if you have not earned yourself punishment."

"Please, your majesty," I said, but she shook her finger at me. "Queen Malora! I'm sorry. Please. Yes. I'll behave. It hurts." And I felt the tears spilling down my
cheeks, my composure leaking away with the tears. I didn't even care anymore.

"You understand you are facing the queen of the Amazons and my champion. Either one of us is more than a challenge for you."

"I'll behave!" I promised. "I'll behave, Queen Malora!"

She turned to Nori. The two of them conferred wordlessly, then they both
rose to their feet, stepping to me, one on either side.

"This is going to hurt," Nori said. "
You're going to scream. Do you want the gag?"

"Will I be punished?"

"It depends upon what you scream," the queen told me. "I'm sorry. Truly I am."