Although, it looked as if Solari had foregone using her own, deciding to simply drink straight from the tap firmly embedded in the keg Xena was perched on. And, sitting upon the lead barrel as if she were taking Argo out for an afternoon trot, was Xena.Īll three of them held mugs, which they had the foresight to steal right along with the casks, clenched tightly in their thieving hands. Between them, held together in a row by thick rope floated the three casks of missing Amazonian wine. I recognized the unmistakable figures of Eponin and Solari standing nearly waist-deep in the frigid waters Although I must admit I'd never seen quite so much of my loyal warriors before. Boots, weapons and leathers lay in discarded bundles upon the rocky shoreline. My eyes threatened to bug out of my head as I caught sight of the warriors. Camouflaged by bushes and trees, three sets of eyes peered out of the undergrowth.Īnd, there they were. Stealthily, we crept forward, fingers moving bits of twigs and leaves out of our way. Then, motioning us to remain silent, she urged us to slowly follow her lead. Ephiny held up a hand, signaling for us to hold up. The sounds of splashing water and raucous laughter masked our approach far better than our natural skills ever could have. In hindsight, we needn't have been so cautious. We tracked in silence, making nary a sound, an Amazon war party employing all of our stealth techniques as we tracked our quarry. Far from the bonfires and the distant sounds of the drums. It had been my suggestion for the cook to remain in the village - in case our intrepid thieves tried for another round. Myself and Pelagia following close behind. Unerringly, deeper and deeper into the forest she led us. ![]() ![]() Bowing my head in resignation and groaning out, "Sweet Artemis, now what has she done?", I trailed my regent into the forest. Fists clenching and unclenching at her sides, mumbling beneath her breath about plucking every last feather out of their hides, she began tracking their trail.Ī wary glance about the grounds confirmed that a certain six-foot-tall warrior with dark hair and eyes the color of chipped ice was missing. Ephiny was immediately suspicious, already having her own ideas about who was responsible. For the life of me, I still couldn't figure out how they'd managed to haul three casks out from beneath Mytilda's wary eyes and carry them off into the woods. Things seemed to be going great - up until the point that the head cook had approached me and Ephiny with a very flustered captain of the royal guard in tow. But as usual, Ephiny had taken me under her wing and coached me until I knew the rituals inside and out and supportively stood right beside me as I opened the ceremonies with the appropriate speech and customary dance. The opening ceremonies to that festival had started out perfectly, despite my nervousness at formally presiding over my first winter blessing as the queen in residence. Mentally cringing, my thoughts took me back to the incident of the infamous Solstice Festival. But, add in one former Destroyer of Nations and - well, let's just say things can get dangerous. You see, my Amazons are a rough enough bunch, capable of almost anything when they set their minds to it. And, just to be on the cautious side, we'd approved the use of half a dozen guards to watch over the supplies. Mytilda had set up a roped-off section containing keg after keg of Amazon wine to be tapped and distributed by servers in wooden pitchers throughout the evening. This was something new to the feast that the head cook had thought up and the regent and myself had both approved. Nodding her head eagerly, she followed me out of the dance circle and to the serving station. Her brow furrowed in question, then as I motioned towards the perimeter, her frown became a bright smile of understanding. ![]() As my partner and I made another circle about the bonfire, I reached out, using a well-placed touch to her elbow to get her attention.
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