Trials Chapter 19: Morning

                It was early morning and Ramsey was anxious. He had been woken earlier than he would have liked before the sun had even risen and rushed by his teacher to the edge of the forest. His body was sore and still covered in bruises and wrapping. Over the past few days his teacher’s “training” seemed to consist of teaching him ten thousand different ways to get his ass kicked and emasculated by two little girls.

Over the past few hours a crowd had started to form and he even saw a few people he recognized. The ogre from the earlier round was even spotted lumbering around carrying a curious girl on his shoulder. As more people gathered it became clear that this was the meeting spot for the next round. Soon over twenty competitors all of which he remembered seeing in the arena had gathered to stand beside him, all except Kiri.

                “Where’s your lass?” growled a large red haired man. Ramsey recognized him immediately. “Are do you mean to win this all by yourself?” he laughed obnoxiously at his own comment. “A squirt like you won’t last more than an hour.” His face was red and he smelled of ale. Ramsey was more than certain the man was drunk. He took a few steps back smacking into something firm. He turned and looked up to see probably the most muscular amazon in existence.

                “Don’t mind Al.” she said. “He’s a terrible drunk.”

                “That implies that northerners can get drunk.” Alaster interjected. “Alcohol runs through our veins.”  He flexed his left arm boasting his own prominent musculature. This made the amazon snicker for some reason.

                “What’s so funny?” he questioned.

                The amazon continued to laugh. “I just think it’s cute how you northern men are so quick to boast.” She then flexed her own arm her bicep nearly doubling, in size. Ramsey eyes opened in amazement but Alaster just groaned his face red but not from the alcohol.

                “You jungle wenches think you’re so tough.” He brandished his large hammer. “All it would take is a dozen northern men armed and ready to bring this entire village to heel.” He effortlessly tossed his hammer into the air. It spun three times and fell with him catching it in his other hand.

                “Al, if that were true you wouldn’t be here.” The woman said matter of fact. The two stared at each other for a moment clearly having some internal battle of wills. Alaster’s expression clearly angry and hers condescending and amused. Then the northerner relented turning away from them in a huff and mumbling in dissatisfaction.

                Ramsey could hear murmurs from the crowd as the entirety had turned towards something. Heading towards them were two more people recognized. He gulped nervously.

                Dora wasn’t surprised by the attention they had garnered. Dixie was a former champion competing in the games for the first time in over a decade and she herself was a well-known guardian. As expected an enthusiastic crowd of fans had gathered around them. Dixie while being formidable in battle was quite shy in real life. She bowed and nodded sheepishly while adoring young girls scrambled to claim an autograph and older woman asked how she managed to stay in such good shape. Dora on the other hand wasn’t nearly as polite.

                “Move aside!” she commanded and that was all it took for the crowd to give them a wide berth. For once she was happy she was wearing her uniform. As the crowd dispersed she pulled Dixie along to join the other contestants right next to Kiri’s little soldier.

                Ramsey was once again being judged. Blue eyes had returned once again measuring the worth of his entirety with but a stare. “Urvesh Mak.” She spat. Normally Ramsey wouldn’t understand this but that particular phrase was one of the first things he tutors seemed fit to teach him not during his actual lessons but in the arena on the few rare occasions he scored a hit. It was a rather harsh obscenity referring to his genitals. This provoked him to return with his own universally recognized obscene gesture using a select finger. Alaster seemed to notice this roaring with laughter.

                “That’s showing her lad!” he bellowed.

                Doratea was taken aback by the blatant disrespect. She raised her hand readying to teach him a painful lesson about manners when she found herself suddenly lifted in the air.

                “Dixie what are you doing!?” she gasped briefly struggling before finally relenting the useless protest.

                “Rudeness only begets more rudeness.” She lectured quoting  one of her mother’s favorite sayings.

                “But he just?”

                “You started it.” Dixie cut her off. She looked down at Ramsey. “She not normally like this. She’s just stayed up late and now she’s cranky.” She put Dora down once she had settled.

                “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” Dixie added. She reached down and Ramsey took her finger in a handshake. “I’m Diloris but everyone calls me Dixie.” She nudged Dora in the side.

                “And I’m Dora.’ She said half-heartedly. “We’ve met before.”

                “Yes.” Ramsey agreed cautiously. She turned away seemingly done with their interaction.

                “It’s good to see you Dixie.” Said the other amazon who had stayed mostly quiet so far.

                “Lemmy!” Dixie squealed embracing her. “It’s been.”

                “Almost a year.” Lemere finished.

                ‘How does that happen?” Dixie questioned.

                “You tell me.” Lemere responded. “All of a sudden you just stopped drinking.”

                “That’s because.” Dixie cut herself off looking at Dora embarrassed. She returned the look with a questioning glance. “Never mind.” She covered her face trying to hide her blushing.

                Ramsey just watched as the two interacted. Each woman was an entirely different definition of huge. Lemmy was simply massive with muscle piled onto muscle while Dixie was a completely different huge definitely taller but with leaner muscle and a thinner frame. He found himself becoming more and more attracted to these women which was strange because he had never craved large women before spending time with these amazons. He worried that the prolonged exposure was creating a fetish.

                “Kiri’s not here.” Dora observed scanning the crowd. She glared down at Ramsey with contempt. “Where is my sister?”

                “Wasn’t she visiting with Celina” Dixie informed. “Knowing that women she’ll likely be gone for weeks.”

                As if on cue horns started sounding throughout the village. The earth shook under Ramsey’s feet and a formerly disorganized crowd instinctively formed ranks in two lines perpendicular to the combatants. The shaking increased as a large carriage lead by two giant horse-like creatures. It slowly came to a stop in front of them, as the dust settled out stepped Celina queen of the amazons followed shortly by Kirisiala, Lillian, and Lucinda Qwalis queen of men. The women separated with Lillian and Kiri walking toward them while the two queens headed toward a small podium assembled just for them. Ramsey couldn’t fight an instinct to run over to them. He went to hug Kiri but stopped himself unsure. She immediately embraced him in a tight hug.

                “You look awful.” She touched one of the bandages on his face.

                “You look different.” Ramsey remarked. He wiggled out of her arms to get a good look at her. She was wearing a skin tight leather unitard with bracers on her wrists and ankles and her hair was cut to shoulder length. “What happened?”

                “Celina has very “unique” methods of instruction.”

                “She’s a perverted hedonist.” Said Lillian bluntly.

                They both took their place in the line-up.

                “I think you’ll need this.” Said Kiri. She then pulled out his sword; the long rectangular blade had been cleaned and polished. Ramsey held it in his hands it was light yet solid and shined like it was brand new. He marveled at the hilt with the familiar dragon emblem. This sword had been with him through so much and never once let him down.  He fastened it to his side and decided he would never be parted from it again.

                “Thank you.” He said. Kiri just patted his head and winked at him. Ramsey wasn’t sure what had happened to her in the last few days but she seemed different, confident and dare he say a bit flirtatious. Suddenly a memory resurfaced of him and Kiri sitting in a dark room by a dim fire and the talk they had. He remembered what this was for. He looked at Kiri and she looked back at him. For once he was confident. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he could feel a burning in his chest but this time it didn’t hurt. It was his fire. NO! Their fire. As the blaze in his chest grew he had only one thought. Victory.

                “Would you look at those two?” said Lillian. She had moved to stand next to Dixie and Dora. “Sometimes I think they may actually win this.”

                “They have come a long way.” Dixie observed. “Maybe they do stand a chance?”

                “NO!” Dora objected. “They may be stronger than some of the new competitors but they can’t beat the older amazons. They can’t be us.” She raised her hand to brush hair out of Dixie’s eyes and just look at her love for a moment. “Remember we have a special bond of our own.” Suddenly Dixie felt a small spark, a jolt of energy shot through her body as a reminder of the secret they shared.

                “Greetings my subjects!” Celina’s voice echoed across the crowd. “Today marks the eve of that noble contest that put the strongest of us against each other centuries ago. Today is the day that the greatest of us rose up to be champions and gained the favor of our goddess. Today is the day that the bravest of you will take part in this noble tradition and test your wills against each other for the chance to gain your deepest desire.” She raised her hand in the air and the crowd roared and cheered in her honor.

                “That woman really knows how to play to a crowd.” Said Dixie folding her arms.

                Celina raised her hand and the crowd went silent. Suddenly women wearing white cloaks emerged from the crowd and stood in front of the warriors. They each carried a small wooden box.

                Celina continued. “In this event we will be narrowing the lot of you down to a chosen eight.”

                The women approached the warriors and opened the boxes. Ramsey looked inside and saw two yellow bands. He looked around and saw the others receiving similar bands in different colors.

                “A thousand years ago our goddess Celeste and her sisters came upon a vast jungle of untamed wilderness. Its bounty was great and its treasures were the lust of every man. They named this place the Emerald Forest and made it their home deciding to protect the forest and its secrets from the greedy hands of men who would use and abuse it. That duty has now fallen on us. Each and every amazon must know the forest and be one with it. In this round you must head into the forest and pray at one of the eight shrines located throughout. The first one to reach these shrines will receive a statue of the goddess it represents. You must bring back the statue before the sun rises tomorrow to prove yourself worthy enough for combat in the arena.”

                “That’s actually pretty simple for a first round.” Dora commented.

                “I’m sure there’s more to it.’ Dixie replied. “Our Celina has a penchant for theatrics.”

                After a brief pause Celina continued her speech. “There is one other way to earn your place among the worthy. The forest is old. Far older than even then our goddess Celeste. It has its own gods, its own protectors. If you should find one and receive its mark than the forest has judged you worthy. As for the rest well that’s up to you. Only you can truly control your fate and prove you have the strength to take your place among the best of us.” With that the crowd roared once again even louder than before and even the edges of the forest rang with the proud song of the amazons. As the crowd settled the air grew tense. As Ramsey looked around he could see the other combatants on edge ready for action.

                Celina stepped down from her podium and approached the crowd. Ramsey looked up at her in shock and terror. Until now he’d thought Dixie was the largest amazon but this woman was an actual giant. She carried Lucinda in her hand like a doll.

                “Before the first round it is customary for the queen to present a one contestant her favor.” She bent down yet still loomed over the amazons. Only Dixie stood tall enough to see her eye to eye. “Seeing as we have a queen as our esteemed guest I thought it courteous that we allow her to present one as well.”

                Lucinda cautiously stepped off Celina’s hand and walked daintily toward Ramsey while Celina moved to address Doratea.

                “I doubt you’ll need anything.” Celina said. “But here’s something that might help you with our investigation.” She placed a small pouch in Doratea’s hand then gave her a brief peck on the cheek which made both Dora and Dixie’s face flush.

                As Lucinda regarded him Ramsey once again fought the urge to bow to her. There was something about her that just made him want to; an inherent aura of nobility that said no matter how much time passes I will always and forever be your queen. She looked up a Kiri giving her a kind smile.

                “You’ve chosen a remarkable partner.” She informed.

                “Thank you.” Kiri said

“I was talking to Ramsey.” Lucinda corrected. “I sensed some doubt in you.” She said looking up at Kiri. “I think you might need this more than our precious scout.” Lucinda then reached onto her tiptoes trying reach Kiri. She bent down and Lucinda placed around her neck a small crystal. It shined glimmered a bright blue in the light of day. “This crystal stores the energy your body produces naturally. In common men it is used as a last resort during long journeys. I think it will help you hone your inner strength.”

“T-Thank you.” Kiri nodded somewhat surprised by the unexpected gift.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She said before leaving the two.

Once the gifts had been given the two Queens stepped back from the crowd.

“Prepare yourselves brave warriors!” Celina shouted. “The first round of the twenty-fourth Amazonian games begins now.” Suddenly a horn blew loudly over the crowd signaling the start of the event and all the contestants ran headfirst into the deep of the forest.

Once they were gone the crowd cleared out. They wouldn’t see any action until the next day.

Celina went to pick up Lucinda once more. Lillian looked at the pair and shook her head.

“Those two seem to have become fast friends.” She thought.

“What now your majesty?” Lucinda asked with a light demeanor.

Celina yawned stretching her arm out. “It’s still a bit early but I think we can get breakfast at the Maiden’s Kiss your highness.” She said imitating  Lucinda’s tone. “Care to join us Lilly.”

The teacher sighed and shook her head. “Sorry ladies.” She declined. “But I have my own business to attend to this day.” She respectfully bowed before casually walking into the forest herself.