Previous – Story Time (2)
Styliani’s mind raced. Her first instinct was to protect Adelpha from the Gargarean’s likely attack. She crouched low, in case she needed to drop Adelpha’s sling in a hurry. She frowned at the young man. As her eyes adjusted she saw he was a teenager. Little more than fifteen years old. He still retained his youthful blond locks of hair and his voice was uneven in the breakages of puberty. She guessed that they were around the same age, but that meant little as females often were more mature than their counter parts. She felt less threatened in the instant that she recognised his snarl as youthful bravado. Remembering her lessons, she stood proudly with her chin raised. She brought Adelpha to the front of her, as it was loath to harm children or in anyway cause them suffering in both societies. He looked confused for a moment before continuing to bear his teeth at her. She took a deep breath and decided to try reason with the boy, “I understand, you are upset that your brother was killed. You have killed my sister and I would love to ensure justice to see you tortured for daring to harm her, I also understand an eye for an eye. I believe we are now even. Can we talk with equal blame rested upon us in these circumstances?”
“She deserved to die, by leading my brother to his death at your hands. You are both harlots!” He spat a her.
“If you call my sister or myself a harlot again I will make sure you never enjoy the company of one again, boy. Do not disrespect our sex,” Styliani corrected him, deepening her frown. She saw him crumple under the withering glare and dared him, with her eyes to try again. He cleared his throat and his expression as he pondered her words. He raised an eyebrow in question.
“I saw you kill him. He wanted to collect his daughter and the woman who birthed her,” He confided with condemnation with his tone.
“All I saw was a man hurting my sister. I did not see anything else and acted quickly to prevent her death. Which saving her, you have now robbed me of, her and his death have now become pointless,” Styliani shook her head feeling tears prick her eyes.
“She was not innocent, she seduced and corrupted my brother!” the young man argued.
“She was a virgin and could not seduce a male tribe member as we are not permitted to attend,” Styliani argued her sisters virtue, as if it made a difference that he had killed her.
“Well whomever of your harlots tempted him, they should not have!” He half shouted and half sobbed. She shook her head and decided that she would not condemn him for the use of the bad word, while he was showing weakness.
“We all are aware of the rules. We know the traditions and my sisters would not lead a Gargarean to believe anything other. While in the past, we have had communal issues, especially when handing the male children over to the Gargarean’s, if it was a daughter, she would have stayed and her mother would be less likely to leave the tribe. So what you have surmised, I fear is a mistaken belief in your brother,” Styliani said gently, frowning with pity at the boy.
“Then why would he go there! My brother told her,” He pointed at Melina’s floating corpse, which made Styliani shudder with a mix of despair and revulsion when glancing over, “that he would be collecting his wife and child and she would only be harmed if she tried to stop him.”
Styliani paused at the word ‘wife’. It was uncommon that an amazon would be married or have been married before joining. Though it had happened that women who ran away from abusive partnerships had sometimes joined. She tried to scan her brain for any women fitting that description and joining in the previous year and settled her gaze directly on Adelpha’s head, remembering her mother.
The previous winter…
The night seemed to suck the tiny flames vitality as Styliani struggled to keep her spirits up during the stormy night. She was assigned to help the queen with various chores that day and even though she liked the queen, she did not allow the girls to slack off for even a moment during their times attending her. The tent was cold, as was the hammock she had been assigned to in Queen Hippolyta’s tent. She was pondering the possibility of running in the downpour to her own tent and grabbing another blanket, when a boom of thunder stopped her thoughts in their tracks. She stretched her legs, but the hammock made it difficult and she stood to stop her ankles getting tangled in the rope. She paced the small space and cursed as she realised that the lack of sleep would make her clumsy at archery practise the next morning. She almost screamed as the tent flap opened with a boom of thunder, illuminating a figure in the rain. Collecting herself she picked up the tiny flamed candle and watched as a heavily pregnant woman entered the tent. She quickly went to help the waddling woman and pulled back the wet plastered chestnut hair that seemed to be covering her face. The woman had large brown eyes looking at her in pain and fear. “Sister, do you need help? Tell me what to do?” Styliani asked the woman and jumped in fright as the woman screamed with the strength of a bear.
“Look after her!” The woman grunted after a few moments. Styliani looked at her in consternation, but nodded with sincerity. The pain filled eyes seemed to bore into her soul asking only for only the one thing. She screamed again and Styliani grabbed her hand, to give the poor woman strength and started saying prayers to Artemis their patron, then Athena, Cybele and Themis. Eventually after praying to all of her main ones she tried Hera as well. Hippolyta came striding through from her sleeping quarters and seeing the woman in distress took immediate action. She knelt down between the woman’s legs and after a moment looked up at Styliani.
“Hold tight, sister, we have a new daughter who seems to be coming out the wrong way!” She frowned low over her eyes and looking at Styliani she said in a low voice, “She will need to use her remaining strength to push. She is loosing a lot of blood and the child and her are struggling. They cannot sustain this long. I can cut the child out, but the mother probably won’t survive. It has to be her choice.”
Styliani nodded and went back to the mothers frightened face, she wiped the hair away from her forehead and explained what was happening. She watched her eyes go from shock to fear and then a brave resolution which was the finality. Styliani felt her heart break with the gravitas of the decision and wept openly as the mother said, “Save my daughter! But you protect her, you never let her fall into Gargarean hands! Promise me you will protect her!”
“I promise,” She said with sincerity and watched slowly as the mother seemed to lose a battle which was not seen outside, and drifted into non-consciousness. She nodded to the Queen and watched as she said a prayer and kissed her dagger to begin slicing into the woman’s abdomen.
“I’ve got her, the shoulders were stuck! It’s okay little daughter, we are here, no more struggle for you little one!” The queen murmured to the baby, “Lets try stitch these holes up and save your birth giver!” The queen stood and handed the slippery blood and mucus mess to Styliani who quickly wrapped the poor thing in her spare top then looked up and shook her head at the queen.
“She stopped breathing a few minutes ago,” Styliani explained and the queen solemnly shook her head in sadness and watched as Styliani brought the baby up to see her bright inquisitive brown eyes.
“What should our daughters name be, little sister?” The queen asked.
“Adelpha,” She proclaimed and felt like the heavens agreed as they thundered their approval….
Maxine the Magnificent 