The residents of the village had built a life on the border of all three countries. It might have been tough, but they could consider themselves free. No one took anything from them. No robbers. No kings. They governed themselves in their community. The lake, which Marli wanted to visit with the children, stretched widely to the west, embracing the forest. There, the border with Miro began. It was a dangerous area, and Marli knew she was being careless. They could encounter a border patrol on their way. Nevertheless, many took the risk because the lake was beautiful. Today, her attention was solely on the little princess.
The girl seemed troubled in everything she did. Marli wished she could grab her and take away all her sorrows. Nala stayed a few steps behind them, sometimes picking a flower from the ground. The bouquet in her hands had grown quite a bit.
On the other hand, Gedana hopped around both of them or walked a few steps ahead. She wanted to get either Marli's attention or that of her younger friend. Neither seemed to be working. A scene that repeated at the lake.
Nala sat by the shore where it dropped steeply, letting her feet dangle in the cool water. In her lap were the flowers. Her little fingers intertwined them into a pretty crown, as one of the women had shown her. Not quite as skillful, but it could become a nice gift.
Gedana stood apart, talking to her friend, whose thoughts were solely on her mother. Nothing helped. The girl would probably only be torn from this state when Nette returned. The older one gave up and started chasing the fish.
Her success was unusually great. She managed to bring two fish to land. Later, Gedana would become a good hunter and fighter, just like her mother, whose skill lay in archery.
Marli turned her attention back to Nala, who had almost finished her crown. The girl reminded her so much of her own daughter that it pained the Amazon inside her. How she would love to go to Ylora to embrace her little girl. Her little Arela, whom she hadn't seen in a year and longed for.
If Nala missed her mother so much, how must Arela feel?
As she sat there, lost in thoughts about her little princess and deep in her own pain, she ignored the hoofbeats, muffled by the soft grass. The fur, wet with sweat, clung with dirt and mud from the long journey. Coarse scars on the short fur attested to its use as a warhorse. Fresh blood from insect bites glistened among them. Some wounds, even where the left eye of the animal once was, were fresh and crusted with blood.
Its rider wore the same armor as Marli, appearing small and fragile despite the large stallion. Under her helmet, blonde curls fell, and her eyes were a bright blue, just like those of her daughter.
The horse wanted to tilt its head to the left to at least see where the voices were coming from. The rider immediately prevented this. Even blind, it had to listen to its rider, rely on her, just as the Amazon always had to trust her horse.
A snort came from the nostrils.
Only now did Marli turn her attention to the rider, startled.
"If I had known how easily one can sneak up on you, I wouldn't have entrusted my daughter to you," came sternly from the warrior.
Marli knew her very well. She knew it wasn't the real severity of her queen. It was more of a playful reprimand, immediately torn away by laughter.
Nala recognized her mother at the first word. Holding the crown in her trembling hands, she stepped in front of the big stallion. Tears glistened in her clear eyes at the joy of finally seeing her mother again.
Even before Nette dismounted to greet her child, she offered a few comforting words to her friend. "Arela is doing well."
She swung down from the back of the horse, where her daughter was already waiting for her. Before the mother bent down to embrace the girl in her arms.
"I know you miss her. That's why we're late. My face is known. As much as I would like to visit a familiar face from the past myself, I sent a few of our people to the city. They should check on your daughter."
An exceedingly risky move, where anyone got a high reward whenever they killed an Amazon. The kings hoped the people would go against their own hopes.
The words that came next from Nette left the great Amazon staggering.
"She misses her mother a lot but proudly said she wants to learn quickly to be a good fighter for us."
That was enough to give Marli a strong shove. Tears moistened her cheeks; such was the longing for her own daughter.
"Go to her!" Nette ordered. In her voice, the authority of the leader prevailed, without suppressing the soft tone of a friend. "Go visit her at least. You haven't seen her for so long. I don't want to be the reason your daughter never gets to know her mother."
Nette let go of Nala to tie her horse to a tree. Only then did she rid herself of the heavy armor.
First the helmet, under which her hair shone dirty but still golden. Next, the protection for legs and arms. Lastly, the leather breastplate.
She was taking it off carefully when the girl placed the crown on her mother's head.
Although she deserved a real one made of gold with jewels, it was this simple, little gift that she truly wanted to wear. Not the Queen of Saron, but free with her sisters and the child of her deceased lover.
This was her life, for which she and all other inhabitants of the Amazon village would fight forever.