“The distilled spirit they drink.” Her face twisted. “I do not know a woman who can abide it. It’s a man’s drink and not even that, it’s so strong and foul, it’s a warrior’s drink. Tales sweeping the camp say you didn’t even make a face.”
“Uh… in my, um… land, we drink shots like that all the time. Not that raw but –”
“Unusual,” she muttered, interrupting me and whirled back to the bed where Sheena was separating clothing. “Well, even young warriors cannot drink it for the first time without gasping for breath or spitting it out. Learning to consume it in vast quantities is part of being a warrior.”
There it was. Guys were guys in this world, my world, probably every world.
“You honored a warrior with your accolades too,” she went on. “It is said you watched with avid interest. Another thing wives do not do. They were deeply impressed.”
I definitely got that.
“Diandra?” I called and changed the subject, “Lahn and Dortak fought last night –”
She turned to me and announced, “This, too, is sweeping the camp.”
I had no doubt.
“It was…” I made a face but didn’t go on.
“Not less than he deserved,” she declared, her expression going slightly hard. “Seerim told me he dishonored the games. Unlike in my land or, I am sensing, in yours, these acts amongst men and women are not as guarded, they do not happen always behind cham flaps. If there is a celebration or the men come back from war or plunder, it often gets quite,” she paused to search for a word, “sordid, as we would see it in our lands. And, I will say, there are other times too. They do not hide these things. But the games are a gathering of warriors, it is about men, strength, fortitude, cunning. It was not looked upon positively he did that to his bride, it was not looked upon positively that he even brought her considering it is clear he carries no feelings for her. And it was even less agreeable that he challenged the Dax to a match and did it armed. You do not fight in the games armed. That is not done.”
I got that last night too.
Gaal lathered my hair as I caught Diandra’s eyes and whispered, “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Lahn killing him.”
She waved a hand in front of her face and breathed out, “Oh posh! He left his mark on him and Seerim told me it was a short blade. A flesh wound. Dortak, unfortunately, will be up and about in a few days. Dax Lahn knew what he was doing. Dortak is attended by healers and he’ll be just fine.” She leaned toward me. “But he’ll carry the Dax’s marks for all to see until he’s foolish enough to extend the true challenge and his headless body will burn carrying the marks of the Dax. This was the Dax’s intention. This was his punishment for dishonoring the games, a punishment I heard the Dax seemed not to intend to carry out, likely because you were in attendance but Dortak, in all his wisdom, essentially asked for it. And the Dax, given the opportunity, as you witnessed last night, does not hesitate in meting out punishment.”
Oh yes. I witnessed that last night.
Gaal whispered something to me, I’d heard it before, it included the word linas, which I’d figured out was eyes, so I closed my eyes and she rinsed my hair with another jug of warm water.
Diandra said something to Sheena and I opened my eyes, wiped the water from them and Gaal massaged what I suspected was a kind of conditioner in my hair for this was what she did the last two mornings. It didn’t lather but when my hair was dry, it left it shiny and soft. Or maybe the gunk they put into it did that. I saw Sheena move to Teetru who was sorting through the smaller trunks that held my jewelry. Sheena smiled at Teetru and they carried on digging through the trunks.
My eyes went to Diandra to see her pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Diandra?” I called.
“Yes, my dear,” she replied, dripping some milk in her cup.
“What does hahla mean?”
She turned to me and sipped, smiling as Jacanda rinsed the soap from one of my arms. “It means ‘true’, ‘pure’, the word means both. This, too,” her voice had dropped, “is sweeping the camp. After last night at the games, you are no longer rahna Dahksahna or Lahnahsahna but rahna Dahksahna hahla and Lahnahsahna hahla. This means, Dahksahna Circe, the warriors believe you are the true golden warrior queen, a pure tigress.” Her smile got bigger. “This is good.”
No. No. It was bad for they believed this and they believed Dax was the mighty warrior of legend, and, from what I’d seen, that could be true.
But I was a girl from Seattle. And I was likely a girl who would go back to Seattle. Not a queen who, with her king, legend tells begins a dynasty.
Shit.
I shook that off and, after Gaal rinsed my hair again, I asked Diandra, “What does kah fauna mean?”
Her body gave a start causing her head to jerk. Then she stared at me. Then her eyes warmed, her face got soft and her lips smiled big.
“Kah fauna?” she whispered, her warm eyes beginning to light.
“Uh…” I stared into her eyes, feeling my stomach dip and my heart beat faster, “yes, kah fauna.”
“Did your king call you that?” Diandra asked and I felt that it wasn’t only Diandra’s eyes but every female’s eyes in that tent were on me.