Of Fury and Shadow

Chapter 4: A queen\'s intimidation

Selene"s mind had become a breeding ground for questions without answers after the last council meeting. Inwardly, she was confused and questioning, while outwardly she seemed poised, queenly. At least that is what she hoped she looked like to her people. As the day came when they would have to leave for the King"s castle it became more important than ever that she portray strength and confidence to those around her. It wouldn"t be good if her people sensed how shaken she was before seeing her off to negotiate peace and their future.

Today was the day that they would leave for the castle and she stood before the gathered amazons, inspecting those chosen to accompany her. She laughed inwardly at the show of it all. She would have just left for the castle with those chosen at first light but the council had insisted that they be seen off by the entire tribe. Most of the morning had been spent in ceremonies of tribal dance to grant safe passage. Gifts for the king and his people were brought forward, all meant to show that the sss nation had just as many riches to share as the kingdom of Durin. After a speech made by Telmare, that Selene had mostly ignored, the time came to inspect the amazons chosen to join her. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the wasted time. The purpose of this was only to show the other Amazons that those chosen were strong and loyal. Something that she knew was not completely true as she had decided to bring Sabeer to keep her from causing trouble in the camps while she was gone. Selene stood before the chosen six, hands clasped behind her back as she addressed them all.

" Telmare, I ask that you join me because of your wisdom and experience." The old woman bowed her head, leaning forward and supporting herself with a staff as old and gnarled as her hands. Behind her stood a young girl, her eyes cast to the ground and her hand gripping the back of Telmare"s robe so tightly that her knuckles looked white. Selene decided to ignore the girl for the time being. Instead she moved on to Leala who was dressed in armor of leather and black steel, her long white hair braided back and wrapped around one of her arms like a snake, to keep it from dragging on the ground. She looked imposing and dangerous. Selene stifle a laugh. She had never seen her friend look so serious.

"Leala, I ask you to join me so that you may guard my shadow." Leala winked and brought a fist to her chest, bowing slightly. Selene smiled and moved on. Having Leala as her guard had eased her worries. She stopped before the next sss. Before her stood a large woman with imposing height and hair that reminded her of fire.

"Beirta, I ask you to join me to represent the strength of our warriors and the might of the Amazons." Beirta, smiled broadly revealing a handful of missing teeth. She raised her fist high in the air and then brought it down with a loud thud to her chest. Selene noticed the burn scars that reached from her side to her chest and under her leather armor. She took them to mean that Beirta was of the opinion that her breasts affected her fighting skills and had chosen to sear them off. There were others in the tribes that had done the same. Selene held a high level of respect for the woman who had chosen to do this. She had seen it done once and the images stayed with her forever. She did not know Beirta well but the woman had already won her respect. Selene placed her right hand on the woman"s shoulder and nodded in approval. Beirta stood a little straighter.

Next she faced Valeen. Her sisters friend and lover. After Telmare, she was the best of the seer mages and the obvious choice to represent them. She remembered being fond of Valeen when they were children but once she had befriended Sabeer she had become a different person. She molded herself to please Sabeer at all times. Selene wondered what would become of the girl if Sabeer ever tired of her.

"Valeen, I ask you to join me, to use your sight and warn of possible dangers ahead." Valeen"s face was blank as she brought her fist to her chest and bowed her head.

Selene could not hide her smile when she came to the next sss. It had been decided that one of the party should be male. To show the king and his warriors that the amazons did not in fact kill their male children as was rumored. Most of the other tribes had male warriors, none of them gifted. The queens tribe was the only one that did not have men in it, to ensure that any challengers for the crown were women, as was the tradition. Even with that the man before her was not a stranger. He was a welcome and familiar friend. Morel, the only son of Myra, they had been allowed to stay in the queens tribe while he was a child. He, Leala and Selene had grown up together and it pleased her to know that the three of them would be making this important journey together. Morel had grown tall and strong, with skin darker than the shadows. Selene looked for Myra in the crowd and saw a look of pride on her face that made Selene miss her own mother more than ever. Would she have looked as proud to see her daughter bring peace to her people.

"Morel of the eastern tribe, I ask you to join me. To show the kingdom of men that we do not fight them because of their gender. That there are men in our tribes who we are proud to call sss and that I am proud to call friend." She held out her hand to him and he took it firmly in his own. He towered over her and she could feel his grip was strong. Selene reluctantly released his hand turning to the last of the warriors chosen. This one had been her choice alone and she had over ruled the council when they had disapprove.

"Sabeer, I ask that you join me as my only family to guard us all and regain your honor." Selene stood before Sabeer their eyes locked. There was silence. The entire tribe held its breath. A moment later Sabeer slowly raised her fist to her chest and inclined her head slightly. Just enough to be noticed but not enough to be respectful. Selene could see that the reminder that she had stripped her sister of all her honor before the tribe had stung. She knew that the only way the others would accept Sabeer joining would be if she were doing it to reestablish herself in the tribes hierarchy. It also implied that Sabeer had asked to join them, which she had not. Selene had no intention of leaving her behind to cause trouble in her absence. To her the choice to bring Sabeer along was obvious and necessary. She gave Sabeer a curt nod and addressed the whole tribe.

"This is a historic day for us. This is the day that we take our first step towards peace for our future and for our children"s" future." The others in the party turned to the other sss and their families to make their goodbyes. Leala, stood nearby checking her horses saddle bags. Selene made to mount her horse when she heard Telmare"s voice behind her.

"May I have a word with you before we leave, my queen?" Selene turned to the old woman and again saw the young girl clutching at Telmare"s robes with white knuckles.

"Yes, of course." Selene tried to hide her curiosity but her eyes were continually drawn to the girl. Telmare coughed and looked embarrassed as she began to speak.

"This is my granddaughter, Nenasea." The girls eyes widened when she heard her name and she began to tremble slightly. Telmare continued.

"She is... frail. She has reacted badly to the thought of my leaving for the palace without her and has refused to leave my side." The old woman"s cheeks flushed as she went on. Selene raised a hand to her mouth and tried to stifle a laugh. She had never seen the old woman as anything but proud and the thought of her being unable to say no to her granddaughter was endearing.

"I can see that."

"Do I have your permission to bring her with us?" Asked Telmare. Selene examined the girl closely. She wondered what Telmare meant when she said that the girl was frail. She looked healthy and strong. She had a mass of reddish brown curls that sprouted from her head and hung over her face like a curtain. Selene tried to meet the girls eyes but Nenasea kept her head turned away.

"Nenasea, if I allow you to join us will you be able to help your grandmother with her duties? She is getting old and can"t do as much as she used to." Telmare bristled at Selene"s words and opened her mouth to protest but Selene held up her hand waiting for the girl to respond. For the first time Nenasea looked up into Selene"s face. Her own brown eyes were met with a gaze of ocean blue and steel grey. She found the herself fascinated by the girl’s eyes. She had never seen anyone with eyes that were two different colors. After another moment the girl spoke.

"Yes, and I will help you in any way I can, my queen." Selene smiled at the girl and nodded to Telmare, letting her know that it was alright. Nenasea"s grip on Telmare loosened slightly.

"Are we all going to stare into each other’s eyes or can we get going?" Said Leala from a top her horse. Selene shook her head and mounted her own mare.

"Don"t mind her my queen, she just wants to avoid gazing into my eyes. Any woman who does falls madly in love with me." Said Morel flashing his bright smile at Leala. Leala brought her hands to her face and fluttered her lashes at him.

"Oh Morel is so handsome and strong. His muscles almost make me forget how he used to wet himself in fear whenever I would burst from the shadows." She said in flirtatious voice. They all laughed together as old friends. Morel drew his horse closer to Leala"s and spoke to her in a low voice.

"You"d be surprised what else I could make you forget." Leala straightened herself on her horse and turned her head to hide her blush.

"You"ve grown charming Morel but I would be careful. Leala is still as vengeful as ever." He steered his horse to Selene"s left, away from Leala. Her blush had gone and now she was scowling at him.

"Thank you for the reminder Selene. I"ll save my charms for my darling Sabeer." He glanced around at the other riders taking formation as they made their way out of the sss camp. The six council members followed by Sabeer and Valeen. Bierta bringing up the rear a large hammer strapped to her back. When his eyes found Sabeer, he smiled brilliantly at her and winked. Sabeer only met his gaze with disgust. Selene groaned.

"Don"t tell me you are still in love her after all this time." She said hoping his answer would be no. Morel had always tried to impress Sabeer when they were children and it usually ended with him being severely bruised. Except for one time.

"Well, I wouldn’t call it love, exactly." He said losing his look of confidence for the first time.

"She and Valeen are a pair now. I don"t think she would be interested in you." Said Selene. She didn"t want to hurt him but she would have no patience for his obsession with Sabeer on this trip. Not when there were more important things at stake.

"Really?" He turned again to look at Sabeer and then Valeen. "I think I could make that work for me. Valeen seems like she has quite the gentle touch." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I think we made the wrong choice bringing this one along my queen. If you like I could go back to camp and find one who has chosen to castrate himself."

"That won"t be necessary Leala. Sabeer will happily castrate him herself if she gets the chance."

"Will you stop saying the word castrate so loudly." He adjusted himself in his saddle "There hasn"t been a castrated sss in nearly one hundred years. I don"t plan on breaking with tradition anytime soon."

Selene and her friends laughed and reminisced for a while longer. The longer they road together the more she felt as if all her worries were for nothing. Her mood had lifted considerably, the dark cloud of the past few weeks dissipating slowly in the presence of her two best friends. She hadn"t realized how much she missed Morel"s sense of humor and the rivalry between him and Leala. Things felt comfortable with them on either side of her joking and carrying on.

"Will you three be quiet!" Came Sabeer"s harsh voice. " We are riding into enemy territory and you"re announcing our location with your annoying chatter." With those words Selene"s good mood was ruined.

"You do realize that you attracted as much attention by shouting at us, don"t you?" Asked Leala, turning her horse and stopping directly into Sabeer"s path. Sabeer pulled harder than needed on her horses reigns, Making the horse raise his hooves inches from Leala"s face. She didn"t flinch. Morel, suddenly serious looked to Selene as if asking her permission to step in. She shook her head.

"Are you a seer now, Sabeer?" She asked from her horse without turning to look at her sister.

"No, but I have common sense." Spat Sabeer. Selene ignored her.

"Then has Valeen warned you that there is some danger of being ambushed ahead?"

"No, but..."

"Then I suggest you use that common sense of yours to remember that Telmare, the Seers elder, is traveling at the front of our party and she hasn"t seen anything to make us think that we are in any danger. If that isn"t good enough for you then try to remember that you have no right to speak to your queen or her guards the way you just did. If you think either of us has let our guard down once since leaving the camp then I will take that as a clear sign that you do not in fact have any common sense." Selene finished with a nod to Leala, who pulled on her horses reigns and moved back to her place by Selene"s right. The party began to move again in silence now. Selene road on a little ahead of the others and closer to Telmare. The old woman could see that Selene didn"t want to speak and said nothing. She was upset because she knew deep down that Sabeer was right about them being too loud. She was more upset that she"d given Sabeer a reason to scold her in front of others. It wouldn"t have mattered before, now that she was queen it mattered too much.

Selene was lost in thought when she heard a call for them to halt. Everyone"s horse paused except for Morel"s and Leala"s as they moved to flank their queen.

"Leala, there is a scout in the road, five minutes ahead. I don"t think he means us harm but go and check." Said Telmare pointing to the trees ahead. Leala disappeared into the shadows before Temare could finish. Selene noticed that Sabeer hadn"t moved to take her place even though that was her duty but she said nothing. She could feel the gap between them become a canyon that neither of them was willing to cross. Now was not the time to try.

Leala reappeared out of the shadows, now with a companion. She stood behind him while twisting his arm behind his back. The man was gasping for breath as he was forced to kneel before them.

“I found him in the trees. He had this on him.” She said tossing a horn on the dirt before her.

“I was sent to watch for your arrival and direct you through to the castle, oww ahh. I would like to use this arm again someday!” The last part he said over his shoulder to Leala.

“Let him up.” Ordered Selene. Leala released him and he began to rub his shoulder.

“It could be a trap. How do we know that he wasn’t sent to watch for us and summon their warriors to kill us?” Came Sabeer’s voice. Selene ignored her.

“Stand and tell me your name.” She said dismounting. She bent to retrieve the horn, and held it out to him. He smiled as he took it.

“I am Roland, knight of Durin and friend to the king. I assume you are the sss queen.” The knight stood tall and proud before Selene. She quickly took him in, looking for hidden weapons. She looked him in the eye and nodded.

“I am Selene. Newly crowned Queen of the amazons.” Leala moved to stand beside her. Roland smiled and bowed slightly.

“My lady…” he said extending his hand out to Selene palm up. Selene looked from it to Telmare who shrugged. Selene slowly reached out her hand to his. He took it and brought it to his lips laying a light kiss on her knuckles. Selene’s eyes opened wide in surprise. She looked to Leala for what to do next. Leala motioned for her to take her hand back quickly. Roland pretended not to notice the exchange.

“Thank you.” Said Selene unsure of how to proceed. Roland inclined his head and spoke again.

“When you are ready, I will lead you to the Castle. Sabeer brought her horse closer and dismounted. She took Selene by the shoulder and turned her.

“I repeat, this may be a trap.” Selene pushed Sabeer’s hand off of her shoulder.

“I heard you the first-time sister. Mount your horse.” She said forcefully. Sabeer glared at her and turned sharply towards her horse. Roland watched the exchange curiously. Selene could see that he was surprised by their resemblance to each other. Ignoring his questioning look Selene spoke.

“Roland, you will ride with my guard, Leala.” She gestured towards her and Leala nodded. “She will watch you to be sure this is not a trap. I request that you do not sound your horn. Peace has not been established yet. You can understand some of my people are still unsure about this meeting.”

“Of course, it would be my pleasure to ride with any woman who could practically rip off my arm.” His smile was quick and seemed genuine. Leala narrowed her eyes at him.

“Just don’t kiss my hand.” She said turning to mount her horse. She reached out her hand to him. He took it and as he sat himself behind her he whispered.

“As you wish. Where do you prefer to be kissed?” Leala’s mouth twisted as she tried to hide her smile. Morel looked Selene and mouthed: I like him. Selene nodded in agreement.

They had ridden the rest of the way in silence. Almost. Roland had attempted to start a conversation with each of them in turn and only received quick answers and quizzical looks. He flirted shamelessly with Leala, who was doing her best to look serious. Selene smiled, she knew that Roland was just the type of man to tempt Leala. By the time they reached the castle Leala’s face was bright red from frustration. She was usually the first to flirt but she was doing her best to appear serious and stern. Roland only tried harder as he could see her struggling to keep her face straight.

They approached the castle gates and Roland lowered himself to speak with the guards. They watched him approach the guards as they waited a few feet behind. When she was sure he wouldn’t hear her, Leala turned to Selene.

“Oh goddess, I could devour that man.” She whispered. They both watched as he walked farther ahead. Leala bit her lower lip.

“Why don’t you? We’ll be here for a while and I think he might enjoy it.” Selene said smiling. Leala had a reputation for enjoying the company of men.

“Just something my mother said before we left. She said that I should remember that I am a royal guard now and nag, nag, nag. You’d think she pulled my sister and I from thin air the way she talks.” Selene nodded. Leala’s mother only believed in sleeping with a man to produce children and for no other reason. She considered Leala’s interest in them to be vulgar.

“What if your queen told you to keep an eye on him while we are here. He did say that he was friend to the king, having one of our own close to him might be useful.” Selene said with a wink. Leala smiled broadly.

“As my queen commands.”

Roland returned with four young men all dressed in the castle uniform.

“These are some of our stable hands, they will take your horses and see that your things are taken to the right rooms. If you will follow me, I will take you to meet the king.” The amazons began to dismount their horses and hand the reigns over to the young men. Roland lead them into a large court yard full of people. Selene tried to take in the scene without appearing too interested. It was the first time she had seen a castle up close. She was looking up to the balconies above them when they were stopped by an older man flanked by two heavily armored soldiers.

“Welcome amazons to Durin castle. I am Lord Bracken, advisor to the king. Before I take you to see him, these men will search your persons to be sure that you are unarmed.” Lord Bracken waved his soldiers forward. Selene held up a hand to stop them. They had not been asked to leave their weapons behind. She made to say this when she was cut off by Roland.

“Excuse me Lord Bracken but Kade never said anything to me about this.” The soldiers stopped and Bracken’s face darkened.

“The King, as you should learn to address him, is not as concerned with his safety as myself and the other council members.”

“In that case, I suggest you let me follow my orders and lead them in to see him.” Roland motioned for them to follow him.

“Not before they have been searched!” Shouted Bracken. He angrily gestured toward the soldiers who moved to follow his orders. One soldier reached his arm out towards Selene. Beirta stepped in front of him and grabbed his hand viciously twisting his wrist.

“No man touches the queen without her permission.” She growled. The soldier howled in pain and struggled to pull his wrist out of the sss’s grasp. Roland, angry now by the disrespect shown to their guests approached Bracken.

“Tell them to stand down.” He shouted.

“No, don’t you see their savagery. How do we know that we can trust them?” Selene looked to Beirta and nodded. Beirta twisted the soldiers hand harder forcing the man to his knees before letting him go. The man gasped in pain and brought his arm to his chest. Sabeer walked past the man pushing him over as she faced Selene.

“Do you see this? Do you think they mean to take you seriously when the first thing their king does is insult us?” Sabeer takes Selene by the arm pulling her closer. Selene yanked her arm away and glared at her sister.

“You talk about them insulting us and dare to disrespect me in front of them?”

“Can’t you see they are only trying to provoke us into attacking them first. They want an excuse to kill us here and blame us for starting the fight.” Said Sabeer loudly. Selene took in a deep breath to steady herself. She had thought as much when the lord had suggested they be searched. The Soldiers had approached her first when normally they would have started with those of lower rank. Sabeer thought she was the only one who could see the intentions of others. She was only making the situation worse by yelling at her queen in front of their enemies.

“Be quiet.” Was all she could bring herself to say to her at the moment. Her temper was climbing by the second and she refused to lose it in front of these men so that they could tell their king about how foolish the amazons behaved. She turned from her sister and approached Roland who was arguing with Lord Bracken.

“The king would not…” He stopped speaking when he felt Selene quietly rest her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her in surprise and he flushed with embarrassment.

“Your highness please forgive this behavior. I swear that my king only wants you and your people treated with nothing but respect.” He bowed his head slightly as he made his apologies.

“No need to apologize. I understand. This will be difficult for all of us.” She turned to face Lord Bracken. There was a fleeting look of disappointment on his face. So, I was right. She wanted to say, instead she said:

“Perhaps we can reach a compromise.”

“What did you have in mind?” asked Bracken. Selene noticed that he didn’t refer to her as Roland had when he called her ‘highness’ this man had no intention of showing her any amount of respect. She smiled stiffly and continued.

“I cannot permit you to search my amazons. Especially, since I had been assured by messages sent from your king that I and my people could take whatever steps we felt necessary to ensure our own safety within his castle. However, to show that we are not unreasonable, I will allow your men to search me.”

“My queen!”

“No!” The amazons all jumped in to make their objections heard but Selene just held up her hand to silence them. She looked to Telmare and Valeen. Valeen was whispering to Sabeer. Surely, she’d looked into her future and saw what she had decided to do. Sabeer’s eyes widened and she turned away angrily. Selene met Telmare’s eyes and the old seer kept her face blank as she gave a faint nod. So, she had also seen what Selene had planned to do. She wasn’t sure if the old woman’s nod was to acknowledge that she knew or if it was her way of saying that it would work. Selene looked to Bracken who was watching her through narrowed eyes.

“I suppose that would be enough.” Was all he said. He motioned for the Soldiers to come forward. Selene stopped them with a look when they were close.

“I’ll make this quick.” She said as she began to untie and remove her armor dropping each piece to the ground.