

## Prisoner!

by Kay Hemlock Brown

Copyright © 2014 by Kay Hemlock Brown

Published at _Smashwords_

The stone walls of a massive fortification stood on top of a low hill by the river, within a fortified city. A long line of people marched along the road, towards the fort. On the walls two girls watched, standing by their father. They were young, not long out of puberty, and they were identical, with long, honey-blonde hair tied with ribbons and beads. Their eyes glittered as they watched the approaching army, and the horseman who led it. There must have been thousands, soldiers and prisoners, but only a dozen or so horsemen. And there were also horses, a whole string of them! Both at the walls, and along the river banks, and lining the road for some distance, the people watched with great curiosity, and there was a general excited hubbub, kept to a reasonable level out of respect for the King who had just appeared with his daughters, the royal princesses.

One of the sisters stood closer to her father, dressed in blue and gold. Now she spoke to him, as he watched the incoming army sternly.

"O father, why do they not ride the horses? It seems a waste!"

"Do not concern yourself with things you do not understand, child. One cannot simply ride a horse," he said, trying not to show his impatience.

"How does one ride a horse then? Is it not just a matter of getting on it?"

Her father was silent. "How will I know, if I do not ask?" the girl muttered to herself, with a cautious glance at her father through the corner of her eye. He was not pleased.

The other twin stood a little further, attended by an older man. The girls dressed in contrasting colors, since otherwise they could not be told apart. This one wore green, with red and brown accents.

"So many prisoners," she observed, playing with the end of her golden-brown shawl. Her companion murmured a non-committal reply. "Are all our people descended from prisoners, Leonardo?"

The man, startled, ventured an answer.

"It is a meaningless question, is it not, Princess?"

"I meant, sooner or later, these people will marry among us, will they not?"

"After many, many years, yes."

"So I ask, conversely, are all our common folk ..."

"Such nonsense! Where do you imagine such things?" demanded her sister.

The girl in green stared right back, scornfully. "Keep to horses. Let me think of other things!" she said, turning back to her companion, and dropped her voice so that her twin would not be provoked into interrupting again.

The general who led the victorious army was presently at the drawbridge. He saluted the King formally, announcing that he came with many prizes. He scanned the walls briefly, and saw his wife, who stood some distance from the royal party, with the baby who had been born while her husband and lord had been away.

The massive gates were thrown open, and the army, the prizes and the prisoners were brought inside, for the King's inspection. The prisoners were dressed scantily, and some were naked. Among them marched a young girl, about the age of the twin princesses, and she caught the eyes of the princesses briefly. They were all valuable in some way. They would all be slaves; the strong would be laborers, the educated would be put to use as teachers, or healers, or slaves of craftsmen; women would be kept as servants, most likely used for sex by whomever the King allowed to do so; and so forth. A woman's place in this world was determined usually by men, and they looked to men for their protection. There was a strict hierarchy of power, and a woman of any level generally only had a minor degree of power over men of lower levels, and only at the pleasure of her menfolk. A woman of the lowest level had no power at all.

The most powerful women in the Kingdom were the two princesses, who were well aware of it. They would learn to use their power with cunning, as someday, when they were grown, they would be made to account for their actions, present and past, by their menfolk. They would also learn that not all power came from the obvious sources. The weak too had a certain power, though this idea had not penetrated into their minds quite in those terms.

"See, the twin princesses watch," the whispered word went round the marching captives. The soldiers on either side had sticks, and used them to beat prisoners if they stumbled. They could look, but they had to keep walking. The girl raised her eyes, and stumbled on a stone. She got a vicious blow to her head for it. With a gasp, she caught up.

The prisoners in the best condition were taken by the King himself, who would distribute them as he saw fit, as a sign of royal favor. If any of them were hurt or damaged by the soldiers, the King would blame the general himself, who would blame those under him, and so on, which meant that the prisoners were rarely struck where it showed.

The girl found herself put to work in the King's own gardens as a garden slave. She had pretended ignorance of the language, and unskilled in anything that they could find a use for. Too late she realized that if she had revealed that she could read and write, she might have been made a scribe. But what need did these savages have for a scribe? They could only count in handfuls; instead of saying fifty, they said 'two handfuls of handfuls,' which had made her thoroughly confused, until she had understood what was intended. Fifty, after all, was five tens, or five double-handfuls. When she had tried to discuss this with her companions, she had been firmly shut up by them. So she had to think her thoughts alone.

It was now many days since the army had arrived in triumph, and the girl was now settled into her work of gardening. She knew less of gardening than she knew of many other things, but at least she did not have to run after children, or cook, or be put to use by some ignorant soldier. She knew nothing of what men did with women, except that it was unpleasant.

All palace slaves were given a simple length of undyed fabric with which they could fashion a garment. The dress of the slaves here was to tie two corners at one shoulder, and to snug the result with a belt or girdle, which the girl had done. Somehow, using the remnants of her own clothes, she had used her imagination to make her garment as pleasing as possible, not to attract attention, but just to satisfy herself. The rest she had shared out among her fellow-palace slaves, none of whom she had known in her former life. They seemed to be all daughters of merchants and soldiers, and she had told them she was the daughter of the palace gardener, which was one reason why she was out here on the grounds. She was reliable, and she was learning the language fast. She spoke little, but she understood, and the Head Gardener knew she was intelligent. She was taciturn and solemn-faced, but not sullen. The gardener liked her, her serious ways and all. It was time for a test.

"I want you to go to the stables, and bring me a bagful of horse manure. Go straight there, ask Charos for the manure, give him this bag, and bring it straight back." He gave her a bag. She nodded, and took the bag politely, and marched off in the right direction. The Gardener had already arranged to have the gates watched, to see if the girl would sneak off. But he did not expect trouble at the stables. The girl arrived, having come straight to the stables as instructed, and given the message to Charos, along with the bag. "Wait here," he instructed her, moving her out of the way of the stable entrance. The stable was an expanded cave on the side of a hill, with stone walls, and a paddock in which the horses ran. The girl took a quick look around, and seeing a couple of young stable hands working around the corner, tried to make herself invisible. A female slave doing nothing, she had found out, was a target for all sorts of trouble.

"Look over there ... a juicy little thing."

There was a short bark of laughter. "Juicy? More like a dried-up piece of leather."

"Like a stray cat!"

"A stray kitten."

"A stray she-cat, who has thoughts of kittens!"

The girl simply could not help herself. She knew enough to feel embarrassed, and blushed.

The inevitable happened. They walked up.

"What are you doing here?"

"An errand for the gardener, sir."

" 'Sir!' She knows her manners! Girl, you look old enough to entertain two handsome young men! Why don't you show us what's under your little gown, eh? I like the little that I see, but you foreign slaves have such luscious little bodies ... Come on, now! Just a little look!"

She just stood, getting redder and redder. She wondered, afterwards, whether it would have done any harm to just raise her skirt a little. Did they really mean her any harm, or were they just having fun? If she showed them her legs, would they want more? And they were pretty-looking lads. The men in this land were certainly good to look at, she had to admit. But ... to expose herself under threats; no.

"Did you hear me? Pull up your skirt, now! Now, girl!"

"Here, keep quiet! Charos is inside!"

Charos was indeed close by. He was curious to know how far the boys would go. A palace servant belonged to the King. He was stunned that his trusted helpers—at least one of them—was bullying a messenger from the palace.

Hearing a scuffle, he hurried outside, where he saw the angry boy tearing the girl's robe off. The boy's own skirt was raised, to expose a healthy erection, and he was on the point of entering her. His friend stood by, alternately ineffectually tugging at him, and holding his head in despair.

"Boy!" Charos snapped, but the young fellow was beyond reasoning. "Boy!!" he cried, and ran forward, and pulled the boy off the sobbing girl.

The boy was red all over, suddenly shocked by Charos's presence. Over the stunned silence, from a great distance they heard a quietly menacing voice.

"How interesting."

One of the princesses was watching from a good fifty paces away. It was the Green Princess, all in green and brown today, impossible to see against the palace grounds. She slowly advanced, but her anger could be seen in her walk. She stood some distance from the stable men and the sobbing girl.

"Come here, girl."

The girl knew better than to disobey. She sprang to her feet, and drew the torn pieces of her robe as well as she could to cover herself quickly. She was barefoot, and except for the robe, wore nothing. Her pretty belt lay in two pieces on the ground, and she picked them up, and walked towards the princess, and stood five paces off.

The royal guards were running to the scene, including the guard assigned to the princess herself, all completely naked except for their few pieces of hard leather armor over the chest and the groin.

"Kill the boy," said the princess, calmly.

Her word was law, except if the King were to countermand it. The boy looked ashen. He got to his feet, ready to run. The guard advanced sternly, his spear raised. He warned the boy not to run.

The slave-girl's eyes were wide with astonishment. She turned to the princess, and knelt, laying her head on the ground.

"Speak, girl," the princess said, with a frown.

"Spare his life, princess!" she asked. She could not have it on her conscience that the boy had been executed for molesting her. With a look, the princess stayed the spear. The girl only now began to get a hint of the power the princess wielded.

"You are the property of the King. If the boy had succeeded, girl, all the women of the palace are insulted. Is it not so?"

"Yes, princess!" whispered the girl. The logic of these people was frightening.

The princess looked from the girl to the boy and back. When she looked at the offender, it was a look of thinly veiled disgust. Finally the princess looked at the guards. "Imprison him! His life is mine. He will die, and you," she said, pointing at the slave-girl, "you will be his executioner! You will slay him for me."

The girl looked at the princess, wild-eyed, and fainted.

The girl found herself the Green Princess's personal slave. She was issued a fresh length of bleached fabric, to signify inside service. She was instructed to bathe, and present herself to the palace guard.

"Are you the gardener's girl?"

"Yes, sir."

She was conducted to the Green Princess in her room.

"Why did you stop me?" demanded the princess.

"Because ... because ... he was only a boy, my princess!"

"You foreigners are weak!" she said angrily. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I was watching. You were talking before it happened! What did you say?"

"That I was on an errand, my princess. It was he who talked most of the time."

"What did he say?"

"He wanted me to ... show myself."

The princess's eyes blazed. She looked away, breathing hard. The gloriously naked guard at the door waited patiently. The princess raised her head to him.

"Send for the arms master!"

The guard marched off, and the girl tried to imagine what was in store for her. The thought of hacking off the head of the boy with her own hands made her sick.

"Girl!"

She tried to control herself.

"What is your name?"

"Mayaserana, your highness," she replied, realizing too late that she had betrayed herself. She kept her face schooled into her customary expressionlessness.

"It is too long. I will call you Maia." The girl nodded.

The moment of danger passed; the princess had not caught the significance of the name. The princess paced up and down in her layers of fine fabric. Maia was torn between scorn for her barbarian dress, with layer upon shapeless layer of fabric, and admiration for the girl herself, who was a stunning beauty, with large hazel eyes, dark brown hair falling to below her buttocks, and a lovely face, with a high forehead and perfect features. Maia herself was no beauty, she knew; not any more. The long march had taken care of that.

Maia learned nothing more from the princess until the arms master arrived.

"Princess?" he asked, only the barest hint of his perplexity and impatience showing.

"I want you to teach this girl how to fight," said the princess, pointing at Maia. "She will be my personal guard."

"A slave?" he asked, aghast.

The princess did not reply immediately. "Yes, I think so. Teach her everything. If she shows the slightest hint of treachery, bring her to me, and kill her right here."

"It is a dangerous idea. Women are not built to fight, princess. The bones, the muscles, they are all wrong. Women cannot stand the rigors of training!"

"There are women blacksmiths are there not?"

"That is so," admitted the arms master, reluctantly. "But they're usually daughters of smiths themselves!"

"Well, pretend that she's the daughter of a soldier. She will train naked, just like the boys. She needs to lose her reluctance to show her body. Maia, go with the arms master. You will return to my room each night."

Once Maia arrived at the training school, the first thing Maia had to do was to strip naked, and run with the boys. The boys were furious to have a girl train with them, but she knew they would be even angrier if she was clothed, and they were not. Her habit of wearing no expression came to her aid. She took off her robe, and they put it away for her. "Run around the square," said the trainer. He alone wore the scrap of armor of a guardsman. Her presence caused some embarrassment among the men, but not for long. She was a stick of a girl, with no breasts, and soon they ignored her.

After she had run until she could run no more, there was practice with the staff. She learned quickly once she found a lighter staff. Then there was more running. Then there was the noon meal. It was a good one, with meat and bread and lots of things she had not eaten for some time. The preparation was uninspiring, but there was variety in the food. Then, back to running.

"What did you do today?" demanded the Green Princess, who had told her that her name was Sybilla.

"There was running, princess."

"And?"

"Fighting with staffs."

The princess's face twisted with impatience. "Good. You can beat him to death with a staff. That will be entertaining."

Maia suppressed a shudder. What a bloodthirsty little thing she was! The princess saw her reaction, suppressed though it had been, and was angry. She seemed about to make an angry retort, but thought better of it.

"You must hate us, you foreigners! You hate us, do you not? Because we come among you, and take slaves?"

Maia shrugged. That was how the world was; it was pointless to take it personally. "Everyone must hate enslavement, princess; I cannot lie."

"Will you kill me while I sleep? Or will you kill me now, while I am awake to enjoy it?"

Maia smiled inside. "I have no thought of killing anyone, princess. I had hoped never to kill."

"And you will kill this boy, when you are ready. You will!"

The next few days and weeks were spent in training with the arms master, which meant running, fighting with staffs, and finally, fighting with knives. They did not use real knives, but blunt sticks dipped in charcoal. The object was to make a mark on your opponent where, if it had been a knife, it would have resulted in serious injury. The weakest boys had to, in addition, lift weights, to strengthen their arms, and climb ropes. Maia was able to climb ropes with the greatest of ease, at first, since she did not weigh very much. But, as the days went by, it became no easier, since while her arms grew stronger, she was also gaining muscle, which added to her body weight. Her hair was cut just below the ears, under the watchful of the princess herself. She refused to have it cut any shorter. The princess paid occasional visits to the practice-yard, to watch the youths at their arms practice. But her presence was distracting, and so, at the pleading of the arms-master, she left reluctantly. All the trainees looked after her with worshipful eyes. Every spare minute, Maia was begged for stories of the princesses, which she could not supply. She was reduced to inventing vague stories about the princesses' visits to the country, and what they preferred to eat, and so forth.

Winter was harsh, in this part of the world. It came early, and after some four weeks—around a handful of handful of days– of rain, there was snow. The trainees were permitted to wear a thick, rough tunic as they practiced in the yard, and now Maia looked exactly like the boys.

Maia learned more about the princesses. Sybilla, for all her bloodthirsty talk, was really not a bad sort. Maia found that she hated cruelty towards slaves, which raised her stock very high with Maia immediately. It surprised her to find such high ideals among the barbarians. They could not write, so could not read the philosophies of the great masters. It was a puzzle. The Blue Princess, whose name, she heard from the lady herself, was Tatiana, was more interested in warlike things than her sister, and was deeply frustrated that Sybilla had stolen a march on her with her female guard. The King refused to allow Tatiana her own female guard; instead, she was assigned a maid servant, and a male guard, who was not allowed inside the princesses' rooms after dark. As a result, Maia found herself slave sometimes to both princesses. Tatiana was interested in horses, certainly, a new discovery this far north, as well as all kinds of animals. She begged her father to allow her a menagerie, but she was only allowed a pond of fish, and a number of birds, whom she looked after with admirable faithfulness.

At night, the Green Princess slept in a room within a room, curtained off from the rest of the space. Maia had a pallet near the door, and a staff near her. No prowler was expected here, but it was Maia's charge. It had been made clear to her that, if the princess was harmed during the course of the night, it would be a slow and painful death for Maia.

The slave girl had fought hard to slow the process of coming to like the princess, even admire her. She was a barbarian, she represented the captor race, and she was cruel and ruthless. Maia had seen with her own eyes a thief caught and killed on the spot, ordered by Sybilla. Life was cheap, here, and Maia tried her very best to keep from being seduced by the society in which she found herself. If there was any possibility of escape, she would take it. All she needed was a horse, because what her owners did not know was that she could ride like the wind. There had to be _somebody_ back home! All she needed to do was to get back. But, despite all her mental discipline, the princesses, not intentionally, but because of their basically decent qualities, wormed their way closer and closer into her heart.

One night, when Maia's restlessness was matched by Sybilla's own, the slave was surprised by a soft song. Sybilla was singing, in her thin, barbarian voice, a sweet song. It started out softly, and, as the girl was caught up in the sweetness of it, grew more full of emotion and gathered strength. It was so utterly unexpected that Maia forgot to breathe. She listened, rapt, until the song wound to its quiet end. Maia held her breath, still taking it in.

A head popped out from between the curtains.

"Did you like it?" Sybilla asked softly, her eyes shining in the dim light.

"It was very nice, princess," Maia said, honestly.

"I haven't sung for such a long time!"

"You have not forgotten how! What is it about?"

"Oh, it is in the old tongue of our people. It is about a girl whose husband has gone to war. A lullaby to her baby, you see? Each verse tells of more sad things that have happened to the baby's father: first, going to war, then loneliness, then injury, and finally, he is not coming back. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Is he a prisoner, or is he dead, your highness?"

"Dead, of course. Our men are never taken prisoner, didn't you know? Of course you don't! You had to spoil the mood for me!"

Maia was deeply sorry. "It was an honest question, princess. I thought the song was perfect."

Maia could not see her expression in the near dark, but she heard the rustle of the fabric as the head was silently withdrawn.

"Sing me a song of your people, Maia," she commanded, her voice coming muffled through the curtains.

Maia sighed. "I was not a singer, my lady. I ..." What was she to say? How could she offer the musical treasures of her people to a girl who wanted Maia to be her naked personal guard? No woman of her people had ever been so humiliated. Women could wear garments as revealing as they chose; but to appear naked! Not even servants were kept naked in the world from which Maia came, except for children, in the summer.

"I can play the harp," she said, finally. And she was glad to say it. No one played the harp better than she. And to have been this long without one; it had been hard.

The head popped back out at once.

"Really? One of those big things, with lots of strings?"

"Yes ... though I prefer smaller ones."

"Did you know, the army brought a beautiful one back with them? It is said to have been taken from the royal palace!"

A wave of bile rose in Maia's throat. That they should dare to steal her own harp! But what daring was there? They had killed her parents, and she would be dead, if not for having hidden with the women in the baths.

"Indeed?"

"Yes! I asked for it, and the King gave it to me! It is in storage in a room in the great hall, but you shall have it! Oh Maia, what a wonderful discovery this is!"

Maia was puzzled. Why had there been no clue about musical interests all this while? "From where has this sudden interest in music come, my princess?"

"I ... I thought I would soothe you with a song, Maia, since you were restless. There are reasons why we do not often sing, and I will tell you some day." Maia could hardly believe her ears. "It is no secret why we only sing; we have no knowledge of other musical arts but singing! The King has asked the army that if musicians should be taken prisoner, they should be treated kindly, so that though we do not have our own instruments, we might at least allow a slave to enjoy what he loves to do best! But the army is not able to understand such things, and ... I suppose it is a miracle that the harp was brought here intact, instead of simply destroyed!"

"I will play it once you bring it here, my princess," said Maia.

The next day, Maia was excused from arms practice. Sybilla had hardly slept all night for excitement, and at the crack of dawn, she hurried to the guard outside the section of the palace that the princesses occupied, and made him follow her to where the harp was stored. Presently she returned triumphantly, with her sister, and with the poor guard bringing the unwieldy thing behind them. The man was chased out, the harp was placed before Maia, and the two sisters sat on a couch, beaming at Maia.

"How does this work, girl?" asked the Blue Princess, still dressed in her white nightclothes, and indistinguishable from her sister, but Maia knew it was she, since Sybilla always called her by name.

Maia approached the harp, her heart in her mouth. So many things worried her: that she would betray herself by being too familiar with it; that she would find it damaged and unplayable; that when she played it, the princesses would be disappointed, and lastly, that she would weep.

The harp had been wrapped in heavy skins. Maia carefully unwrapped it, and the princesses took the skins out into the hall. There, rolled neatly, was the fabric cover of the harp, which, of course, the invading army did not know, and the harp itself. Maia dragged a stool forward, and began to tune it. There were twenty-five strings, and she tuned as fast as she dared, as the sisters excitedly whispered among themselves. Maia did not dare to look at them. Then it was done. The harp was intact!

Of course Maia could sing. But instead she played a simple tune and accompaniment, and looked at the princesses, for their reaction.

They were seated, listening spellbound.

It was the Blue Princess who spoke.

"Oh, girl, you have such a precious talent!" she said, her eyes shining. Sybilla could not speak, for the depth of her astonishment. Only her eyes spoke. "Have you another tune?"

All morning Maia played for the girls, who would have forgotten to eat the midday meal, if the servants had not come in search of them.

All the day, grief for her lost home had built up in the heart of the young exile. Nothing hurt more than the sound of the precious music of home. The windows were open, and all through the palace, slaves had been softly weeping at the sound of the harp. And now Maia bowed her head and cried softly.

Sybilla sent her sister away, and came to her slave, and knelt by her.

"Why do you weep?" she asked, though she knew the answer.

"My home, my parents, my brothers! All dead and destroyed!"

"Hush!" whispered Sybilla, and put her arms around Maia.

She held Maia until the worst of her sobs had quietened. "The army does not kill civilians! But there must have been fighting ... I know what it is to lose a mother ... but to lose your whole family!"

But that was the way of those times. As Sybilla had said, civilians were usually not hurt, but the royal family was fair game. On the other hand, civilians were enslaved. As far as her people were concerned, to merely survive among the barbarians, and to be married off to a commoner was no better than to have been killed. If the royal line was to survive, Maia had to return home, and find a royal husband. It had been folly, to try to survive as a slave, but her instinct for personal survival was strong, and she was alive, and here she was, being comforted by the daughter of the enemy King.

Maia let out a long, shuddering breath. If it had been her army that had subjugated Sybilla's people, would she have been as kind to her? Maia would never know, since among her own people a great deal of power was not put in the hands of women. Outside of politics, though, women were accepted; there were women sages and artists in plenty, many taken prisoner, probably many even now servants in homes around the country, or warming the beds of soldiers.

Maia looked into Sybilla's eyes, and did not have the heart to bear resentment against her. If Sybilla were to become Queen one day, she would order the invasion in a flash; that was what it meant to be the ruler. Cultural advancement was accomplished often by rapine. Still, it counted for something that the girl was loyal, and warm-hearted, and fair.

From that day on, Maia was treated with greater respect by both princesses. They may have been barbarians, but they had their own code of honor, and artists were held in respect. Still, that did not mean that Maia was off the hook as far as training was concerned. The very next day, it was off to the training with her. She dreaded the day that it would be warm enough for them to order her clothes off with the rest of the boys.

The nakedness, at present, was strictly in the confines of the training court, to get the youths comfortable in the costume of a guard. A palace guard, muscled, oiled and naked was a fearful sight. Their utter disregard for their nakedness was as frightening as their weaponry and their bearing. They were the elite fighters of the land, and were sworn to protect the King and his heirs, the much-beloved princesses, with their lives, to the last man, and in Maia's case, woman. After three hard years, she would become a fighting machine, and once she had earned her harness, she would never wear clothes in the summer again. She would have her own slave, to keep house for her, and her weapons and harness in perfect condition, and she would be Sybilla's personal guard, until she died in the course of duty, or was executed for treason or incompetence.

It was all very well in theory, but the idea of filling this strange role frightened Maia. Still, in the confines of the practice yard, she had been getting comfortable without her clothes. In the winter, guards and trainees alike kept warm. The palace was not heated except with occasional fireplaces, and the halls were freezing cold, and open to the weather. Often the outer hallways had to be swept out after a snowfall. The horses, of course, were herded deeper into the cave, now, and fed stored hay.

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"It is getting close to midwinter, your highness, which is the celebration of the Sun god. I miss the company of my fellow-countrymen, princess! If you would allow us to gather, peacefully ... it would be a great kindness!"

Sybilla looked at Maia with troubled eyes.

"Is there treachery being planned, Maia? Tell me honestly; if there is, then you must not meet."

"No, your highness! No treachery whatsoever!"

Sybilla came close to Maia and stood. "I swear to you, as the royal princess that I am, that no harm shall come to you no matter what you say to me."

Maia looked at her wide-eyed. "Why do you swear such a thing?"

"So that you may believe me when I say that if you reveal anything to me, such as that the slaves are planning to revolt, say, then I will not hurt you, but take steps to prevent the revolt. It is in the nature of slaves to plan revolt, and it is in our obvious interest to foil such attempts! Is it not so?"

"But why would I confess such a thing?" asked Maia with a bland smile.

"Because, in revolts, usually it is the slaves who get killed, especially if it is unexpected."

Maia looked about thoughtfully. Her personal escape, which she had never given up hope for, was not a planned revolt. A revolt, she knew was hopeless anyway. Part of the life of a slave who survived was to accept a certain amount of trust from his or her masters. Sybilla, as she was trying to explain, trusted Maia almost completely. But she wanted, before she allowed the slaves to congregate, even on a limited basis, some assurance that conspiracy was not what it was about.

"For my part, highness, I know not of any conspiracy, nor am I interested in one. But ... I confess that there are some things that I want to ask certain members of my family: what happened to so-and-so, where were ... the family jewels hidden ... against being set free, or whatever it may be, some day in the future!"

Sybilla smiled a sardonic smile.

"An honest answer. You must long to escape—it is only natural. But a conspiracy is different. You swear there is no conspiracy?"

"None, your highness."

"I will ask my father," said Sybilla, suddenly making up her mind.

Maia's heart sank, as the princess hurried out. She had often played the harp for the stern, unsmiling King. The only word to describe him was 'inflexible'. Still, he seemed to take pleasure in the music of the harp. He had not said a word to Maia himself, but had spoken to his daughters, and Maia had gotten the impression that he had been satisfied.

The King had refused to allow a general gathering, but Sybilla was authorized to send for members of Maia's family, and to allow them to talk in private.

There was only one to whom Maia wanted to speak, namely her riding instructor and friend Brodo. But there might be people Brodo wanted to meet. She told the princess that she would like to meet him, and see if he had suggestions.

"Let us meet this Brodo then," the princess said. Maia felt weak. Would they torture poor Brodo? Had she done something foolish?

It was good to learn that Brodo had been given to the general himself. He was brought to the princess, visibly trembling.

"I have done nothing wrong!" he said, falling on his knees before the princess.

Sybilla looked at Maia with lips pressed grimly. It certainly looked as if the man was guilty.

"No, Brodo, I asked to see you! You are not in trouble!"

"My lady!" he exclaimed, before he could stop himself, noticing Maia for the first time.

With great presence of mind Maia took a deep breath and, speaking in the language of her masters said, gently chiding, "Do not use the word _lady_ , Brodo, what good is it?"

"Oh, forgive me, child ... it is only habit!"

"Where are our people? Is there anyone you would like to see? It is almost the day of the Sun festival; the princess has decided to allow a small observance."

Brodo thought quickly, and mentioned the names of his wife and his daughter.

Maia was pleased to see Brodo and his wife and daughter well. Brodo's wife had been mercifully assigned as a housekeeper for the elderly parents of a recently promoted man in the army, but his daughter, a girl no older than Maia herself, had been taken as a servant, and occasional hospitality girl, into a tavern. They were all glad to see Maia, and held her and wept, and Maia hugged her friend Iveta and wept.

"It isn't too bad," said Iveta, wiping her eyes. "The men are clean, hard to believe though it is. The tavern-keeper uses me himself, mostly ..." Brodo cursed, and Maia winced at the girl's matter-of-fact language, "...and he's not a bad sort ... he might take me to wife, he says..."

"Why should he? He has everything!"

"It depends, whether he can stand to see her used by other men," said the girl's mother.

"He doesn't like that," said the girl, lowering her eyes. "He knows I care for him."

Sybilla was pacing outside the room, and they decided to observe the ceremony at noon. It was something every family did, and consisted of lighting a fire after saying prayers, to encourage the sun to regain its strength. It was duly performed, and they felt temporarily better.

"And you are, it seems, in the service of the Green Princess herself!" they said, turning to Maia.

"Except that she wants me to become a palace guard."

There was a brief silence.

"One of the naked men?"

"A naked woman, yes. Now you know. Warn our people."

"They care for you a great deal," Sybilla said, later. It was a statement, not a question. Too sick and tired to worry, Maia nodded, yes. "But you were truthful. I cannot believe it was a conspiracy." Maia felt bitter. Did that mean the princess did not trust her?

"May I be excused, princess?" she asked, wanting to go off by herself and cry.

"Go," said Sybilla, softly.

Midwinter was a dull time. The days were short and cold, even when it was dry, and Maia's training never stopped. She found herself growing breasts, and dreaded the spring, when the boys would see her naked, and take fresh interest in her. As it was, a couple of the boys liked her. They brought her little presents, things they bought at fairs, or whittled out of wood, pieces of clothing for her outgrown by their sisters. Many of the parents of the boys knew all about the girl who trained with them, and after their indignation was cooled by the approval the boys expressed for her, they were, in turn, full of compassion for her. They were now training with real knives, copper knives, not bronze yet. The fighting was slow and ritualistic, more like a dance. Too much was invested in any one of them, to risk injury in training. Among the youngest, Maia was one of the fastest fighters, something that was gradually emerging. She found it impossible to explain how she did it, but she was willing to show them a move any number of times, if they could learn it by watching. The Arms master gave her grudging credit, trying not to be embarrassed by his theories being refuted. Maia did not have the hip-swinging walk of a woman at all; she had an economical gait, and a run that was athletic and fast, and not graceful in the style of a woman, but simply beautiful to watch. And in gymnastics, she was gradually getting as good as the best among the older boys as well. Still, in the use of the staff, she was hampered with having to use the lighter staffs. If only she could increase her strength!

"Teach me the staff, Maia!" commanded Sybilla one day, when Maia had been deploring her inability to wield a staff of full thickness and weight.

Maia could complain all she wanted; once the princess had set her mind on it, Maia had no option but to make it as safe as possible for both of them. Accordingly, guards were sent out to get light staffs cut, which were later wrapped in cloth and bound. A roaring fire was set, and the princess put on a garment consisting of soft green fabric bound around her legs and torso, which still left her looking every inch a princess. She did it all herself—she rarely allowed Maia to touch her person, unless it was an embrace that she herself initiated. Over the bandage, she wore a thin tunic, and Maia had to admit that her princess was a beauty.

"Now you, my guard, I want you naked and oiled!"

Maia was shocked. She opened her mouth to complain that it was the dead of winter, almost, but the fire was well along, and the room was quite warm. She dreaded the princess seeing her now.

She laid down her staff, and went to her corner to strip. The princess turned away, talking to herself. "She is a guard; let her look like one. I will not fight with a servant girl. I _will_ be taught by my guard. Are you ready?"

"Yes, my princess."

She spun around and stared. Her eyes were wide, as she took in every inch of Maia. It had been three months since she had seen her guard-in-training nude in the practice yard. Maia, naked and oiled, was quite a different sight now.

"You are pale," she said, softly. "Still, you look all right. I, too, am ready, my guard. Teach me!"

A slight coloring spread through Maia's entire body, darkening her skin, but the princess ignored it. Maia taught the princess awkwardly, since she was a terrible teacher. But the princess was an amazing learner. She could see the reasoning behind any move. Instinctively she did it correctly. Faster and faster they progressed through the moves, into the dances that they did alone, to practice combinations, attack and defense. It was late, now, and there was a knock on the door, as someone came to look for the princess, who had missed supper.

It was her sister. She stared at the two of them, her eyes lingering on Maia, openly covetous.

"Come to supper! Girl, why are you naked? What are you doing?"

"She is my guard, and some day she will serve me naked! You know it well, sister; your question was foolish. And we are practicing the staff, as you can see."

Tatiana came close to Maia and gently picked up the staff. "It is very light," she murmured. "Is it something even I could learn?"

Maia had to hide her smile. The two princesses were at their best when they traded snipes at each other.

"Would you like to see how it is done?" Sybilla asked, smiling.

Of course she did. Sybilla did one of the harder forms she had learned, and then they sparred briefly, until Maia knocked the staff from her hands. Maia bowed, picked up the staff and returned it to her smiling opponent, who accepted it with a gracious bow.

"You cannot come to supper like that, girl!" exclaimed the Blue Princess.

Masking her fury with a suave smile, her sister said, "You may dress for supper, Maia. I shall wait for you."

The princesses, too, were budding into womanhood. Their beauty up to that point had been that of young girls playing at being women, with precious costumes that emphasized features that they did not yet possess. But now no one could deny that the girls were becoming more voluptuous day by day.

While their bodies matured, unaccustomed thoughts and feelings slipped into the minds of all three girls, and remained to torture them. The twins cautiously sounded each other out, and realized that they were comfortable discussing things with each other. Maia had no such outlet, and she had to think things over in the still of the night, or simply suppress her thoughts and feelings. She dreaded what would happen when the weather became warm, if she could not return the regard of the two young men who paid her the most attention out of class. It had been made clear that, during training time, there would be no foolishness, despite their unclothed state. Outside the yard, it would have been cruel to prescribe what they could and could not do. Guards lived normal lives, for the most part, since they were assigned slaves, usually women, or chose women of their own. Even if they did not marry, they were far from sexless.

Suddenly one day, the Green Princess got sick. It was just a cough at first, then a bad cough, and then fevers and chills, until she was sick indeed. Her sister and father were helpless. The royal physician prescribed potions to bring down the fever, but the fever stayed high.

Tatiana set aside her usual mask of cool competitiveness. She no longer cared for what impression she was making on the court. Her father was clearly no better at dealing with his daughter's present crisis than he had been at handling his wife's health. Their people, generally, were notoriously healthy, and he art of medicine was accordingly not well-developed. Nor would they trust a slave who had been a physician to practice his art on the royal princess. If the princess had been asked, she would have begged for the service, but she was unconscious, and delirious. Delirium was well known and recognized; what was not known was how to treat it.

Frantic with fear, Tatiana looked about her at the general panic, and focused on the one face on which there was no expression at all, that of Maia.

She sent everyone out of the room except the slave.

"Help me! Help her," she begged, "you know she would do anything for you!"

Maia was shocked. She had never thought of Sybilla's feelings for her as being that intense. She had always considered her mistress to be the beloved enemy: someone she knew and understood well, but still her adversary. She made up her mind quickly.

"Let's cool her head. They always do that when fevers get this bad."

"No! When it is so high! Will she not crack, like a bottle?" asked Tatiana, almost afraid to gainsay her only willing helper.

Maia shook her head. "She is flesh and bone, she will not crack. Or else, her brain will be boiled alive. Come, let us bathe it with towels and water!"

Ignoring the taps on the door, the two girls, bound together by their common love for the sick girl, bathed her head with cool water, and in an hour her fever was almost gone. They opened the doors, and briefly allowed the physician to confirm that they had done no harm. The patient was out of crisis, her delirium was gone, and she slept.

Over the next day, the two girls stayed constantly on guard, for the fever periodically rose. But the same trick worked twice more, until Sybilla could swallow the anti-pyretic potion. Maia was on watch, while Tatiana collapsed on her pallet. It would have been more convenient to get into bed with Sybilla; Maia would have sensed her rising temperature at once. But it was death to do such a thing: touching the royal person intimately was death; Maia dared to care for the princess only by the authority of her sister.

It was dawn when Tatiana rose, and came to look.

"She has had no fever all night," Maia reported.

Tatiana knelt by her side. Feeling her hand on her arm, Maia looked around. The look on Tatiana's face was indescribable.

"Ask me anything," she said simply. "Anything at all. I owe you her life!"

Maia only shook her head. She had only done what any decent person would do. But these people thought her as much a barbarian as she thought them.

Tatiana had always admired the foreign slave, with her great dignity and proud bearing. Surely, she must have been well-born, she had thought, all along. It had made her uncomfortable, this feeling, and she had covered it up with off-hand behavior towards the slave. But now, this moment was sacred. She felt around her neck for the leather thong on which hung a blue pendant. She took it off, and put it on Maia. "Wear it, until our debt is paid. Wear it, unless you cannot say that you love me!"

Maia stared in alarm. What did it mean? Could she say that she loved the Blue Princess _now?_ Would it be an insult to give the necklace back, or a sign of great trust? Maia was deeply annoyed with the impetuous princess; the most inept diplomat knew better than to make such ambiguous gestures! And Maia had been brought up well versed in the principles of diplomacy, even if she had never had the opportunity to practice it.

"Sleep now," Tatiana said, as Maia began to nod. She herself helped the slave to her pallet, and Maia could have sworn the girl kissed her on the lips as she was falling asleep.

She woke to someone shaking her. The Blue Princess's face hung over her own, and her breath was on Maia, strangely pleasant, and disturbingly intimate.

"She calls for you," she said, smiling. "I'll wait until you clean up."

Cleaning up meant answering calls of nature, and Maia hurried out to do it. She was starving, and it was almost dusk again. There was food laid on the small table. She changed into a clean cloth, and combed her hair. It had been allowed to grow once again to its former length, down to the small of her back. She hurried to the bedside of the princess. Tatiana left with a special smile for her.

The Green Princess smiled sleepily.

"She told me everything, how ... how you saved my life, Maia! I always knew you loved me, my guard!"

"I would have done it for anybody, my princess; how could I not for you?"

Sybilla chuckled, taking her hand in her own. Then she frowned. She took the pendant in her hands, studied it, and looked hard at Maia.

"What's this?"

Maia shrugged. "The princess made me wear it. I don't know what it means. She said: wear it until our debt is paid; wear it until you cannot say you love me. Those were her very words."

"And ...?"

"And ... I don't know whether it is an act of good faith to give it back at once, or an insult. It can be either; we have no similar tradition—or rather, we have several, which are all different!"

"You may as well wear it now," said the princess. "In any case, after you are seen wearing it, to give it back is indeed an insult, and she will be your enemy."

"Then ... I should return it immediately!"

"Wear it," she urged.

"But ... I dare not keep such a dangerous thing! She cannot reasonably fault me for not knowing its meaning! I am foreign!"

"Wear it, for my sake," begged the princess. "I was going to give you my own, but ... it is good to have Tatiana's favor. I am proud of her!" Sybilla was already tiring. "Among other things, it also means you are free, girl! You can go home, as you wanted to, though I hope you choose to remain with us! I can try to free your friend Brodo, too."

But Maia stayed on, heedless of her duty to her people and her race, a prisoner of the love of two girls who until recently had had the power of life and death over her, but had given her love instead.

That did not mean that they weren't occasionally harsh to her. After all was said and done, they were princesses, and she was their slave—or at least, former slave—and despite the changed circumstances, they bullied her mercilessly whenever they wished.

She was created a citizen once Sybilla recovered. The King showed great consternation on seeing the necklace on her, but Tatiana went to stand by her without a word, and the King said nothing. Citizenship was given with a simple blessing by the King, and celebrated with a feast, a private feast in the palace, to which only the princesses' closest friends were invited, including Tatiana's guard, as well as a few boys from Maia's class among the trainees.

With the warm weather, the trainees and the palace guards doffed their clothes again. Maia was briefly disappointed at the reception the sight of her body received from her classmates. Yes, she had breasts, but they weren't very big ones, and she looked like a boy, anyway. Her two admirers blushed a little, but somehow, they got busy, with being promoted to the second year, heavier weights, heavier staffs, and more difficult exercises. Maia fought harder and faster than almost anyone else, though she had gained a lot of weight, and lost a lot of her speed. Still, she was not fat, and she was stronger than she had been. She could easily lift the heavier staffs, now, having kept a staff with her all winter, just to carry it about.

Soon she was no longer pale; she tanned easily, and her nipples became dark spots on her breasts. And her monthly flow returned, having stopped during the long march. Every month, while she had it, she was allowed to wear a brief cloth about her hips, to cover the diaper she was forced to wear. Mercifully, the boys were kind to her about that. There was initially some light-hearted ribbing about it from a few boys, but the arms master ordered the offender into the ring with Maia, and allowed them to battle it out unarmed. Maia emerged the clear winner in less than a minute. The ribbing promptly stopped.

In the evenings, she continued to teach the princesses the staff, and found that Tatiana was no worse a student than Sybilla had been. _What a waste_ , thought Maia; the girls would have been excellent scholars and scribes. But, as far as she knew, neither of them could read or write a single word.

The physical changes in the princesses, and the accompanying emotional changes had some odd effects. One day Tatiana asked her sister secretly for a favor. "Go with her," Sybilla commanded Maia, "do what she asks."

"For today, just watch," said the Blue Princess, as they went to her room. In came her guard, wearing only his harness and groin-cup. The princess lay on her bed, face down, naked from the waist up, and he straddled her. Then he kneaded her shoulders and back. _Oh_ , thought Maia, _a massage_. She waited patiently for the demonstration to end. Massage was an art-form perfected in her homeland, but it was true that Maia had never actually given one.

Maia could not help watching the guard himself, who was a thing of beauty as he knelt astraddle the princess, separated from her only by a thick sheet of fabric and an inch of air. He was magnificent, a big man called Peder, with great muscular legs and arms and little fat on his body. But he massaged his princess with great delicacy, since a blow from his great hands would have hurt her badly. The princess's thin shoulders gleamed with massage oil, no doubt stolen during their recent subjugation of Maia's people. She could just imagine the army being told to be careful with the massage-oil that they stole.

"This is not an art that is simply learned by watching, your highness," Maia said, quietly. "It takes great study."

"Is this true, my guard?"

"Yes, my lady," her conceded, grudgingly. "I am not as much an expert as ... as some in the trainee's homeland would be."

"How have you learned, then?"

"My companion is a slave whose former occupation was as a masseuse for great ladies in that foreign land. She taught me."

"Aha. Perhaps it is she who should teach our trainee, then."

Sybilla was predictably annoyed by the delay in getting Maia to give her what she had been assured was the most heavenly treatment in the world. The slave masseuse was invited to the palace to teach her art to Maia two days hence. Maia told her princess, however, that she was familiar with the simpler massages that were most frequently useful. "You need not lie down," she told her, "it may be done while you are seated, on a stool."

The next day it happened that there was no training. Late in the afternoon, Maia had an opportunity to demonstrate basic massage; the princess was tired and angry, and Maia had thought that a massage would be to her good. She offered the princess one. "Sit on this stool," she said, "and command me to do it!" Sybilla grumbled, her lovely face creased in an unsightly frown. The King had given her charge of certain administrative matters of the Kingdom, and she had just finished a tour of inspection and become angry at the mismanagement that she had seen. One man had infuriated the girl so much that she had ordered him beheaded on the spot, leaving his colleagues thoroughly shaken. Maia had gone with her princess to attend her, at her command, and blanched at the incident. She was privately convinced that the man had been thoroughly corrupt, but an open inquiry might have been more beneficial. The princess herself had said as much privately to Maia, and it was the strain of the day and its toll on Princess Sybilla's mind, more than the stress of being conducted about by sedan chair, that had caused her whole body to ache. The mind had a powerful effect on the body.

"Very well," she said, reluctantly, "let us see how you are able to do this while I am seated, and my sister needs to lie down for her giant to attend to her. I do not believe you know what you are talking about. Maia, we can wait until you have learned it properly!"

"But, your highness, you need a massage now. You are in some pain, it is easy to see!" It was, indeed. The girl's lovely hazel eyes were an open book to Maia, after nearly a year with her.

"Proceed," said the princess.

Maia stepped forward, and eased away the layers of robes the princess wore, until she was down to the skin. She had perfect, fair skin, as thin as parchment, stretched smoothly and supply over her beautiful frame, which only disguised the tortured flesh beneath. For the first time, Maia touched her, and the princess let her breath out in a soft sigh. Probing carefully, Maia found the tight spots about the neck that were causing her the greatest pain, and began to knead. The pain began to leave her in less than a minute, as if it poured out almost visibly, leaving the princess sighing with pleasure. Maia finished the massage, smoothing the muscles down, after which she replaced the princess's robes, and stopped after a final pressure on her shoulders: the masseuse's traditional tactile benediction.

There was a long moment of silence.

The princess rose from the stool, as if she were lighter than air, and turned to face her slave. Her face was filled with a new awareness of her, of herself. Maia dropped to her knees, and sat back on her haunches, as she had been taught long ago. In the palace, she was a maid-servant, not yet the guard she would be someday.

"It feels good," the princess conceded, her expression thoughtful. Maia dropped her eyes, calming herself. The simple act of touching had affected her deeply, and of course it had affected the princess, since her pain must have evaporated, and it must have seemed magical to her. She came closer, and raised Maia's face with her hand, and studied it, looking into her eyes. It was a moment that Maia never forgot.

The slave-companion of Tatiana's guard was brought to Maia as she performed her exercises in the room that had been assigned to her for the purpose. Even on days when the practice courts were empty, at the end of the ten-day period which passed for a week among these people, Maia ran several miles, and did her exercises. The slave was announced, and the guard departed, and the slave waited at the door. Maia tidied the room, and called, "Enter!"

The woman came in, a vision of loveliness, eyes downcast, and Maia knew her at once. It took the visitor a moment to see past the black costume that Maia was wearing, and recognize the face, little changed by a year's living among the captors, and hard training as a guard. She fell to her knees, as Maia laid her finger to her lips.

"I am Maia," she said smoothly, "the slave of the Green Princess, and trainee guard. Have you come to teach me massage?"

"Yes," she nodded, red-faced.

"You have taught your guard the basics," Maia said, giving the girl time to recover.

"Yes, your ..."

"Call me Maia."

The girl nodded. She was about five years Maia's senior, a girl of humble birth, but gifted with miracle hands, of much demand at one time for massaging athletes. And she was beautiful. The Blue Princess's guard was a lucky man, indeed.

"I would like to learn all you know, girl. What do you call yourself?"

"Neela, Ma'am," she managed, as she gracefully dropped to her knees, and raised her pretty blue eyes to study Maia, appraising the changes that had taken place in the young woman whom she had occasionally attended in another life, not so long ago.

"Be at ease," Maia said, gently, "I will not be hard to teach, since I know well how it feels, already!"

It was evidently a pleasure for Neela to talk to someone who had a genuine interest in the science of anatomy, rather than merely a practical one. It was possible to know much about human musculature through the fingers, which had been supplemented with the knowledge Neela had acquired from her family, who were butchers, by trade. The anatomies of cattle and humans were significantly different, but not so much that she could not use the knowledge of the one to understand the other.

"Feel, here, where it anchors to the breast-bone," she said now, as she lay on the clean floor, and Maia laid her fingers lightly on her bared body, feeling through the skin to the tendon beneath. "Now trace its outline ... there ... further, into the bone! Can you feel it attached there? Now slide back ... notice where the tendon joins the muscle ..."

They were both naked, and each muscle and tendon was traced both on Neela's hard body, as well as Maia's young one, giving her understanding both from the point of view of the masseur, as well as that of the body being massaged. The same knowledge, Maia knew, was crucial for the soldier, who needed to penetrate the skeleton of his opponent, to inflict an effective knife-wound, or hurt sufficiently to immobilize him.

It was more information than could be covered in a week, let alone a single day. She would have to come back. Seeing Maia's mental exhaustion, the slave took pity.

"Let me tend to you," she said softly, as the two girls sat companiably on the floor. "Have you been alone all this while, with no one to care for you?"

Maia gave her a warning look, but she gave back a sharp look in return. She had a temper, Maia remembered, and smiled inwardly at how stormy her relationship with her guard must be.

"No more than you must have had," she said, shrugging. "A slave is a slave."

"If I had only known! At least I could have been near, when you became a woman ..."

"I managed. I bleed; it is not painful."

"There are herbs, especially if you do not wish a child, my lady!"

Maia's eyes narrowed at the lapse. With a finger she warned the girl, who blanched at the fierceness in the younger woman.

"Can you bring me the herbs? Though there is no one who would dare fool with me now. Still ... I bleed for five days ..."

"Five days! It is too long!" The warm-hearted thing was very concerned. "Still, it was always so among the women of your family."

Maia shook her head, exasperated. There was no end to the gossiping among the body servants, and Neela had been in the fringes of that group. "Is there a way to make it shorter?"

"There is a massage," she said, "and of course, herbs."

Soon the weather was so warm that Sybilla could not stand to stay in the city, or keep her nose to the drudgery that was her work. The land was better run under her hand than it had been when her father had personally seen to everything. Now he concentrated on diplomatic affairs, leaving the governing to the young princess. She was a brilliant judge of character, and a fair-minded arbiter of disputes. She also had great charm, which she used to urge compromise wherever possible. And for the last part of each day, after training was over, her black-clad slave stood at her shoulder, a tall foreign girl with an enigmatic expression, dressed simply in a more elegant variant of a slave's garment: a pair of panels of fine black fabric, front and back, reaching to her calves, and sewn together at the shoulders, rather than simply tied, open all along the sides, and bound across from below the breasts to just below the waist by a thin strip of the same fabric, folded for strength, wrapped several times around the body and tied just above her hip. A bronze knife in its sheath was just visible, tucked into the girdle. Unlike the heavily muscled male guards, this girl was slim, her legs concealed by the garment she wore, except when she walked, which was rarely, or ran, which was never. Her bare arms were both strong and beautiful, her young breasts were small for a woman her size. If she noticed her effect on the court, she gave no sign; she was a slave, and the society was familiar with naked slaves. Still, she now longed for the day when the costume she wore did not distract people. Costumes, she knew, often aroused these simple people. In her own land, women wore revealing clothes that would have maddened these people past bearing. Here, people went either heavily clothed, or hardly clothed at all, and the naked royal guard was a common sight, proudly escorting the King and his daughters about the land. She was beginning to anticipate being the first female guard with both excitement and anxiety.

In private, Sybilla liked to taunt her guard —now no longer her actual slave in fact, but it was a fiction that suited them both— by commanding her to be naked and oiled. This suited Maia not at all; when that day came, she would be pleased to be naked. But until then, it was only for Sybilla's perverse pleasure. At least, the princess did not ask it in public. Maia usually stripped at once, to deprive the quarrelsome girl of the pleasure of an argument. But the pleasure she received in looking on Maia's nakedness angered the latter, even as she felt pride in it.

At the end of a day, Maia had to give the princess a massage, now since she had learned the art and the science of it, and practiced on her teacher until she was expert. Touching the princess's body was never permitted except for the massage, which invariably left the princess relaxed in one way, but full of tension in another way. Though the two of them talked about all sorts of things, this was one subject that was never touched upon, the subject of the relationship between former slave and princess. Indeed they had talked on occasion about 'love', by which the princess understood mostly 'loyalty'. They were agreed that they loved each other, but they did not go into more detail.

One day, a free day for Maia, Sybilla decided to have a picnic, far from the city, just the two of them.

"It will not be safe!" protested Maia.

"But you will be there!"

Maia was exasperated. She suddenly realized how much the safety of her princess was important to her. "But I am only one! What if there are bandits, and many of them?"

"Oh Maia, we will not go so far away as to put ourselves within reach of bandits! I meant just the hills close by!"

"And how will we go?"

"By sedan chair; you can ride with me, and then we will leave the slaves and the entourage at the foot of the mountain, and go on into the high valley, just the two of us!"

It was done so, except that Maia insisted on walking; it would have been inhuman to inflict her own not insignificant weight on the poor sedan-bearers, and the walk would do in lieu of the exercise which Maia had to forgo for the expedition.

Despite the princess's unwillingness to take a large party with her, there were six guards with them. They agreed to keep watch all round the high valley, but allow some privacy to the princess.

"If you are not back by sundown, we will come searching," they told Maia, who agreed at once. They watched as the princess and her servant walked away into the line of trees, the princess leading.

There was a narrow path, and the princess took it, gathering her robes daintily in her hands. "Alone at last!" she sighed, her very delight showing in the way she walked.

"Your highness has been this way before," Maia said, amused, despite her worry for their safety, and her suspicions about what the princess intended to do.

"Indeed; I have come here often with my sister!"

"Where are we going?"

"Well ... wait and see, my guard! See, up there, where there is a bend in the trail?"

"Yes, I see the place..."

"Once we get up there," said the princess, a little breathless, "we will leave our heavy clothes, and ... travel a little lighter!"

Maia tightened her lips. She had known removing clothes would come into it somewhere. The girl was obsessed with the naked human body. But now, she wanted to undress herself, too.

They arrived, and there was a stone shelf, waiting for them. Maia left the picnic basket aside, and quickly removed her garment, and folded it, and set it aside.

"Ah, we forgot your oil!" Maia sighed. "No, I carry it with me now; I know that oiling comes upon me when it is least convenient."

"You resent my requests to oil yourself, is that it, my guard?"

"If you want me oiled, your highness, I will simply do it. Should I?"

"Yes, if you please, Maia, since I love to see your skin glisten so!"

"But why, your highness? You can see my skin glisten in your palace, can you not?"

"Do you want me to beg?" the princess asked, pretending anger. She sat on a ledge and watched as Maia oiled her skin. The constant oiling darkened her skin evenly. Maia finished and put the bottle away among her things, in the pouch she always carried.

"Wear your girdle, only, and bring your knife," the princess instructed. Maia stifled a groan. She hated to adorn her body except with clothes. It felt strange to be the object of the princess's lust, though there was a deeper feeling between them than Maia had ever known with anyone else. The strange feelings the princess slyly created in her spoiled her for a true friendship with any of the young men she admired. And Maia's admirers were many, even if the constant sight of her naked among them blunted the edge of their feelings. Nakedness is nothing if it is there all the time.

The princess, too, was getting out of the heaviest of her garments, and now stood in two layers of skirts in the fine fabric in which all her clothes were created, and a simple breast-band. Oh yes, she had breasts, now!

"You look at me boldly, my guard! Have you forgotten yourself? Turn your eyes away!" she said, suddenly fierce. Maia obeyed.

"Come," she said softly, "let's hurry. It is a pleasant place, you will see!"

Placing her sandaled feet carefully, the princess led the way higher, as her naked guard followed. From time to time, the princess turned to feast her eyes on her servant, making a remark such as "So beautiful! Such an animal is my Maia!" It was her conceit that all animals were beautiful in their natural state, and that Maia was the ideal of the _human animal_.

"Come help me," she called, as the way became steep. "Give me your hand."

Maia had been waiting for this request. The princess disdained to soil her hands by using handholds, so she had no alternative but to use Maia. Maia went close and took the princess's hand. It was tiny and soft, almost a living thing in her hand. Hand in hand, now, they climbed up to a spot beyond which they could not see. Looking back, Maia could not see their party, either; the turn in the path had hidden them behind the shoulder of the hill.

It was a strangely pleasant sensation, to hold the princess's hand. It seemed to burn in Maia's grip, but in fact was only cool; it was Maia's own brain that made it appear to burn. By the time they reached the crest of the path, Maia's whole arm was burning from the touch of the princess only on her hand. Did she have some magical ability to burn people?

Suddenly, a pretty hollow opened up before them, hidden from below, a completely enclosed private place, full of flowers, and trees all round, a stream down the middle of it, and beds of moss on which they could sit. And there was a flat rock, on which they could have their picnic.

"Do you like it?" the princess asked, clearly delighted, and anxious that Maia should love it too. Maia obliged by smiling and nodding.

Stepping into the clearing as if she owned it—which of course she did—she proceeded to take the basket from Maia, and the table-cloth and the food, and lay it out for them both. There were bowls of cheese, cut in small morsels, just right for a single mouthful, and bread, and little fried snacks, and more bowls of pieces of fruit of various kinds. Seeing the variety, the princess clapped her hands in delight.

"Come, Maia, come!" she said, her eyes full of love, and something else, too. "Come lie here, on the moss!"

"Will we not eat first?"

"Lie down, and I will tell you how!"

Maia lay down, disconcerted at how her body opened up to display her secret places to the gaze of the princess. She kept her thighs pressed together. The princess, if she noticed, said nothing about it. She brought the bowl of fruit to the moss bed, and took out a piece with her fingers.

"Open your mouth," she said, leaning close to whisper.

Maia stared up into her face, and noted the sweet look on her face with confusion. It appeared that the princess would feed Maia, whether she wanted to be fed or not. Maia opened her mouth, and the princess placed the piece of sweet fruit in her mouth with infinite care and tenderness. Maia chewed and swallowed, and was fed another piece, and then another, and another.

"You should eat too," Maia said, feeling very strange indeed. She felt as if her breasts were becoming swollen as she lay. Her nipples were hard and uncomfortable. The princess sat closer, and continued to feed her, eating an occasional piece herself.

Presently the bowl was empty.

"Are you still hungry?" asked Sybilla, and Maia shook her head.

"Close your eyes," whispered the princess. Maia obliged, almost too afraid to do so. Suddenly she felt the princess's hand on her face. She ran her hand all over the face softly, as if learning it anew, and then she ran the hand down, past Maia's neck, to her chest, and her breast.

"Please, your highness," Maia begged in a whisper.

The hand touched all of her breasts, both of them, and Maia heard soft sighs from the girl. Then it was her abdomen, her navel, then her hips, and just when Maia thought she would die of embarrassment and excess of feeling, the hand slipped down her thigh.

"Your highness ... Sybilla, don't. Please don't!"

"Hush!" whispered the princess. The feel of her hand on Maia's leg was pure agony. "You tremble," she said, a mere breath in Maia's ear. "Does my touch give you pleasure, my guard?"

"No ... yes," she said, utterly confused. The pain was also only in her head. It was only pleasure, increased a hundredfold.

Then the knowing hand came to the center of Maia, the smooth mound of hairless flesh that was her womanhood. Gently as a fairy touch, her fingertip rested on the upper tip of the opening, where a part lay hidden, of whose existence Maia was completely unaware. The sly torturer circled the spot lightly with her fingertip, as Maia clenched her hands and struggled to be still.

"Is it pleasurable, my guard?" the princess asked in a soft voice, almost a coo. Her other arm slipped around Maia's neck, and Maia felt the princess's face inches from her own. Her breath was warm in her face, a new kind of sweetness that Maia had never known, and smooth as silk, the princess's finger slipped deep into Maia, who cried out in surprise and pleasure.

"Be still," she commanded, fiercely, as Maia lay impaled on her slim finger.

The princess studied her guard, observing how she trembled with need. The girl had obviously never touched herself in this way, and had no inkling that her body could feel like this. The pleasure the princess felt at the ecstasy of her former slave was ten times greater than the girl herself felt. Keeping her hand still, with its longest finger buried inside Maia, the princess bent her head to kiss the girl on the lips. Maia struggled, but the combination of the princess's lips and her hand kept her prisoner.

"Does it give you pleasure?"

"Yes!"

"Do you want more?"

"No! Oh please, let me breathe, my princess ... oh let my body be!"

"In a little while. Oh, you are so beautiful!"

"Please!" she begged, but the princess knew she wanted more. She slowly moved her finger in and out, until Maia was panting, and her heart beat as if it would come apart. In and out, in and out it went, until Maia was moaning with need. She sped up the relentless rhythm, her thumb placed carefully just to the side of the spot that was so sensitive that, if it was pressed too hard, it would all be over before it really had a chance.

It could not go on forever. Very soon, with a loud cry, Maia's breathing slowed, and from the way in which her body twisted off the rock, the princess knew the girl had arrived, broken into the vault in which her treasure had lain hidden, the treasure which had always been there, but not discovered until the princess had shown her the way.

"Open your eyes!" said the princess. "Isn't the sky more blue, the colors more bright?"

Maia gazed at her princess, eyes wide, and nodded, speechless. She hugged the princess's hand to her belly, as the princess laughed with pleasure. Maia closed her eyes, as she gently thrust the hand inside her, trying to recapture the feeling. Then she picked up the princess's hand, now wet, and kissed it.

The princess laughed again, as she rose to her feet, and Maia drew her hand, still dripping with the moisture exuded by Maia's own body, and clasped it to her breast. She closed her eyes, and the princess smoothed the moisture over the girl's breast, filling the air around them with its pungent fragrance.

Maia suddenly began to struggle to get off the rock. It was a rough rock, and fearing that her young guard would scrape her skin, she helped the girl down, still shocked out of her wits. But soon Maia recalled herself, and gazed at her mistress in horror. Then she fled across the field and huddled against a distant tree.

"Maia! Where are you going?" the princess called, taken aback by Maia's reaction. "Come back!" But the girl huddled against the tree, not heeding the calls. With an impatient sound, the princess walked to the stream and washed herself off. The girl would need to wash too; the stuff on Maia's skin would dry into an itchy crust, she knew from experience. Still flushed by the success of her experiment, she was in a mood to forgive the ignorant foreign girl; despite all her airs of superiority which she had so patiently beaten out of her by words and example alone, the princess was fond of her guard. She was shocked only, that was all. The princess walked to where Maia crouched, and saw that she was trembling.

"Now, what's this? Why all this shaking, Maia? It was not painful, was it? Maia? Talk to me!" A stern note came into her voice. Maia, who was not afraid of anything anymore, still knew not to ignore that tone.

She turned and knelt slowly, her head on the ground in deep obeisance. "Maia! I did not ask you to kneel! Get up!"

The princess could see not only fright, but anger.

"Why are you angry? Talk to me!" Maia only shook her head, dumb.

The princess was suddenly furious. She turned around and marched back to where she had left her things. Then her anger wore off, as her anger at Maia invariably did. She would come around in time. She sat on her little stone block, and fished out a little piece of embroidery that she had been working on. Humming to herself, she sewed, sneaking an occasional anxious glance at Maia.

Presently, Maia went to the stream and carefully washed herself. It was part of her training that she should be scrupulously clean when attending the princess, something that had not been difficult to teach, since the girl had been always clean, even when they had secretly spied on her as she worked in the garden. The twins, especially Sybilla, had been fascinated by the pretty blonde slave from the beginning, when she had stumbled on a stone right under their noses. Now she came, walking with the same economical gait that always pleased Sybilla, since it was so different from her own. Her face wasn't much, she thought to herself, but her body, oh, that was the body of a goddess. Men stared at it, as if hypnotized, even when clothed—particularly when clothed. Even guards loved to eye her. But she was sacred; everyone knew—except Maia herself—that it was death to touch her, except for her fellow-trainees, or someone who had the princess's own permission to touch her. Now it was time to teach her a lesson.

"You're back, finally!" Maia lowered her head and nodded.

"Maia? Say something to me! Show me you haven't been struck dumb by my—my careless touches!"

"My princess?" she asked, in a whisper.

"Have I hurt you?"

Maia shook her head, but at the princess's insistence, said "No."

"Was it pleasurable?"

The princess waited, almost sure of the answer, still waiting anxiously for it: "Yes, princess."

"You should do it yourself. Spread your knees."

"No! Please do not make me!"

The princess's eyes became flinty. "We are friends today! Do you want to spoil the entire picnic by being stubborn? Spread your legs!"

Maia was furious. She knew she could kill the princess with a single blow, and she feared that if she let her temper rise too far, she would do it without thinking. And she was not so much afraid of the consequences— she was not afraid of death: she was the only one in her family left alive, and no more but a false hope for her people, anyway. No, it was that, in her own way, she loved the princess, quite apart from her conditioning as a warrior to protect her. She could take that conditioning off as if it were a garment, ironically, since within a year, she would not wear any garments at all except during the worst of the winter.

She spread her legs, and saw with satisfaction —and a little disgust— how the princess's eyes glistened at the sight of her exposed genitalia.

"Slip your own finger in, ... pleasure yourself!" Maia stared at her in disbelief. Again she felt her anger mounting.

"Why, may I ask, princess?"

"Why? Is it wrong to experience pleasure?"

"Must I do it now?"

"Why not? There is no one watching by me!"

Maia licked her lips, and did as she was told: she carefully inserted her finger into herself, feeling sudden pleasure run through her. It was a revelation! She could pleasure herself!

"Now push it in and out, as I showed you...harder!"

The princess watched, fascinated, as Maia tried to bring herself to orgasm, though of course she did not have the vocabulary to describe it so to herself. How beautiful the girl's body was, as it strained every sinew to reach that vault of pleasure once again! The beauty of her legs, her stomach, her arms, the perfection of their musculature increased tenfold as the girl tried, her breath coming in pants, then in spurts, then stopping altogether, until she fell back on her haunches, defeated.

"Oh, my poor Maia, come to me!" she called, not having to feign her need to give the girl release. She arranged Maia in her lap, facing away, but with her weight on the stone itself. "Lean on me," she said softly.

She slipped one of her soft white hands around the guard's muscular waist, and the other to rest against the guard's firm, high mound of breast, and began to pleasure her. She caressed her breast, while slipping her finger inside, talking to her softly all the while, the rhythm slow and undemanding, and once again, in seconds, she was rewarded.

"Oh, your highness!" she sighed, tilting her head all the way back, begging for a kiss, and she got it. She was the princess's slave once more.

Once again they cleaned up, a shy awareness springing up between them briefly, until the princess asked to play. There was a ball of wool that they threw back and forth, from further and further away, and chasing games that ended in delightful tumbles in the grass, and then they danced for each other. Each of them was an adept at the dance, since Maia had been taught to dance from birth, and Sybilla still learned dance once a week, just for the sheer pleasure of it. Tatiana was even a better dancer, but then Tatiana was being schooled to make an advantageous political marriage, while it appeared that Sybilla would be Queen when the time came.

Sybilla's dance was beautiful in its directness of expression, and the movements of her hands and feet expressed feelings that moved her guard greatly. Maia's own dance tradition was based more on its relationship to music, and in the absence of music, it suffered in comparison, to her mind. But the princess watched, utterly transported, as Maia danced the graceful dances associated with various sorts of rhythms and music. For the purpose of dancing, only, the princess permitted her to wear a thin skirt around her waist, since the dance required the skirt.

Maia long remembered that first afternoon in their valley as one of the happiest times of her life. And it seemed to her, from watching her princess, that for her, too, it was a happy occasion. It was hard to say, since the princess was by far the most complex person Maia knew, with complex and conflicting motivations. She could at the same time be deliriously happy and yet anxious, for the very same reason. But on that afternoon, all the princess's demons were at peace, and she allowed herself to be completely beguiled by Maia's attempts to amuse and entertain her. When they headed back down the little path, hand in hand, it was as close to bliss as Maia had ever known.

Maia was called upon to assist with all sorts of events, one of which was the princesses' entertaining. The large ceremonial feasts were, of course, supervised by the King himself, to honor visiting dignitaries as well as the nobility of the land, such as they were. The table was invariably lavish, and the excess food given away soon after the feast to the poor, or whoever came for it. There was dancing, always to sung accompaniment, always by professional dancers and singers. The only instruments they possessed were variations on drums, such as tambourines, or cymbals. The dancers were always beautiful, as well as the singers; evidently they were chosen as much for their beauty as for their skill. Men would juggle, or perform gymnastic feats, usually naked except for an ornate loincloth that bandaged their genital region tightly. The female dancers were clothed, even if only thinly, in diaphanous robes.

Occasionally, Maia was called upon to perform on the harp, usually for small gatherings of nobles and their families. Otherwise, she stood at Sybilla's right, just as Tatiana's giant stood on hers.

Maia was also required to be present at the private parties of the princesses. Usually, they invited only young women of their own age, and often Sybilla was prevailed upon to display Maia in the nude. This was a trial, since often the girls wanted to touch her, and though Sybilla usually squelched the idea at once, occasionally, as a special favor, she allowed it, and the guests knew better than to attempt to touch the guard in an intimate place. Her breasts, though, were allowed. "How still she stands! She doesn't take any notice of us at all!" they would cry, as they squeezed her arm.

This business usually aroused no feeling in Maia at all, though sometimes their touches on her body made her react internally. Being simply nude no longer bothered her a whit, but touching still did. Once she became a guard, though, no one could touch her, except the King, his daughters, and any slave who happened to be allowed to her. And Maia had already decided that she would not have a body slave. She could manage perfectly well by herself. A housekeeper would be useful, if she were to maintain a home for herself, but that would be sufficient. All the men she knew and respected were among her guard companions, and the thought of living with any of them made her cringe.

Maia's days were often boring, usually involving little that was interesting outside the training yard. The training was now from the early morning to noontime, after which they were free, and Maia went about with the Princess on her business. The Green Princess and her black-clothed guard became a common sight. Maia was taught to drive a chariot, which was an efficient way to transport the princess to more distant places. There was only one main city in the land, and two subsidiary ones which were little more than large towns. They were not an urban people, and got what they needed by raiding. Trading was rudimentary, though merchants from distant parts who brought things that were not available through raiding neighboring peoples were treated with respect. A poorly-treated merchant would not go to the bother of coming by again, and the people were civilized enough to know that much.

The princess and her guard were usually back by sundown, after which the princess bathed, while her guard also bathed in the room assigned to the guards. Maia had hated it, when she had been sent there initially, but the men had been gracious about letting her use it, since she was small and female. Now she had put on meat, and her bones had grown surprisingly fast, but their friendship had already been given. They all eyed her with desire, but their comradeship overcame it, even when they were all bathing in the room together.

Then Maia ate, sometimes, on request, seated on a low stool with the princess and her sister and father, sometimes with the kitchen servants, sometimes with the guards. Her fair hair set her apart, initially, but as her skin grew dark over the summer with repeated oiling, she fit in with the guards better than she did with any others. And, though she rarely spoke or smiled, they knew that she was thoroughly familiar with fighting and weapons, the things that concerned them the most.

After dinner, she was Sybilla's plaything. Whatever game the princess took it into her head to play, Maia had to play along. Sometimes it involved the other twin, sometimes not. The twins adored each other, almost more than before, despite their constant competition. Often Maia was the arbiter as to who won. When the competition was close, she often gave the victory to Sybilla, which Tatiana complained about cheerfully. But when a fair decision was possible, the twins accepted it, with only a token show of complaint. On one occasion the sisters began to wrestle each other, until they fell off the bed. Maia had separated the heated contestants and called it a draw. Tatiana had been bruised on her arm, and once Sybilla saw it, her blood cooled immediately, and she was all concern. A hastily improvised bandage and some wet towels made it comfortable, until the healing-woman came to tend it. "No need to send for the healer," she said, severely, "but it could have been a lot worse."

Then came bedtime. If Sybilla was pleased with Maia, she would "reward" her. She would sit on Maia's pallet, in her light sleeping clothes, in which Maia was not usually permitted to see her except when she was ill, and she would pleasure her guard to ecstasy with her clever fingers. And she got better at it as time went by, until Maia both worshiped and hated her hands.

Suddenly, one day, Sybilla was reminded of the young man who had attempted to rape Maia, almost two years earlier. He had come up for parole, since she had not given any attention to his case. Maia was present when head prison guard reminded her of the man. Written records were not kept, but it was the prison manager's duty to remember the circumstances of each prisoner, and now he came to ask the princess about his prisoner, during the evening hearings.

"Bring him here," said the princess. Maia was present in her simple black robe and sandals. The prisoner was sent for, and the princess asked her guard to step forward. Addressing her she said, studying her face with interest, "I promised that he will be executed by you."

Maia had managed to forget the unpleasant episode long ago.

"It is inhuman to keep a man for so long under the threat of death, princess," she said calmly.

The princess was interested. She cocked her head. "You are familiar with such things?"

Maia bowed her head respectfully. "I am vaguely familiar with such things ... in my homeland, only, of course; obviously our practices are different," she said cautiously.

"Obviously. Here, you are executed at my convenience."

Maia nodded.

"But you have opinions about the matter, since you are to be the executioner?"

Maia reddened. Sybilla loved to see Maia's equanimity rocked. "In the heat of anger, or of battle, your highness, one can kill. To kill in cold blood ... I do not know whether I can."

"You anger me," said the princess dangerously. The court was silent; they knew well her temper. "I said you would kill him; and you will."

Maia was silent. She turned into stone, waiting. She had given in on so many points, she was tired of it. It seemed as if the girl whose nakedness the young fellow had so wanted to see was another person entirely. Nakedness was nothing to her now. He could look all he wanted. But she doubted whether he would dare touch her now, naked or clothed.

A guard brought the man in, his arms bound in rope, and his feet hobbled. In the year and a half he had grown taller, and she almost did not recognize him. He certainly did not recognize her, since she looked nothing like her former self. He walked in bravely, as well as he could, with his hobbles. At a gesture from the princess, his bindings were taken away, and he stood free.

"Do you remember how you came to be imprisoned?" the princess asked, coolly.

"It was a slave girl, my princess ... I hardly remember ... I think I had asked ..."

"Do you see her here?" the princess asked, indicating the room, vaguely.

He looked about, eyes wide, but none of the women there seemed to be the right age. His eyes passed over Maia without pausing. He looked at the princess, afraid to say that he could not recognize the girl, for surely she must be there. There was a young slave girl who attended to the princess, a kitchen slave, who was dressed in palace whites, and he stared at her uncertainly. Maia was amused; all slaves must look alike to him, she thought.

Sybilla looked at Maia, who took one step forward and waited, not looking at the boy. She could feel his eyes on her, and through the corner of her eye, she saw his eyes widen.

"Remove your garments, guard. He has suffered much to see you naked." The princess's voice dripped scorn.

With a few economical motions, Maia stripped herself, and handed her garment to the other little slave girl. For the first time, Maia stood naked before the eyes of the court, and all the men who had longed to see Maia naked had their way. She was not oiled, but she was beautiful: hard and perfect, and it was easy for some to believe that she could kill effortlessly, while others could not imagine that she could be violent. The princess regarded her own guard with great interest; she, at least, wanted the court to see what Maia was capable of.

The young man was not much impressed. Prisoners were exercised regularly; imprisonment meant hard labor without exception. He was as well-built for a man as she was for a woman. But she, of course, had training.

"Well?" asked the princess. "What do you need: a knife? A sword?"

"Let him choose," said Maia, scowling. "I cannot kill him in cold blood!"

"You wish to kill him in a fair fight?" The princess was amused. "That's not an execution!"

Maia folded her arms and frowned. She shook her head. "Let one of the men do it, your highness. I can only fight him."

The princess took a deep breath and let it out. Maia knew it was a lot to ask, but execution was something she had not thought of lately, and the barbaric executions she had witnessed had sickened her.

"Choose a weapon, boy!" she commanded. "And lay aside your clothes, too. Let it be a fair fight."

"A knife, then," he said. His voice was deeper than it had been. He also stripped, down to his breechclout, which kept his genitals bound. Word had spread that the boy was about to be executed, and in the back of the hall, some poor people were gathering, presumably the boy's family and friends. A knife was found for the boy, and Maia took her knife. They were comparable knives, and the guards present certified them so. Space was cleared, and the court settled to watch. The two fighters entered the space. The princess dropped her cloth, and as soon as it hit the ground, they were at each other.

In a move too quick for the eye to see, Maia had disarmed the boy, and had him immobilized in a painful grip. He was absolutely still, his head strained back across Maia's knee.

"Do you yield?" she snapped out, and he indicated assent.

The princess was exasperated. She pointed at the guards to take control of the prisoner. Maia gave him over to them, and approached the throne.

"I cannot kill him, my princess," she said, going down on one knee before her. She had never been quite so miserable. The princess's face was so full of frustration, Maia felt a failure. On the other hand, it seemed unbelievably harsh that she should be required to execute the boy, for having been so weak as to ask for mercy for him a year and a half ago. "Punish me!" she said, the princess's gaze making her bitter.

"I will release him," said the princess, her voice quiet and menacing. "If he ever offends anyone in the realm again, it is your responsibility. _Until the day he dies_."

Maia had to accept it. The princess had wanted to eliminate the boy immediately after his first offense. It was a hard society: it was not equipped to police wayward men from bullying their women. The rulers allowed the people to take care of their own affairs, but if the strong victimized the weak, the matter would be settled with overwhelming force. Maia had got in the way of that process.

She fixed the boy with her eye, and as he was given over to his family, their eyes locked for a moment. He dropped his gaze, and then looked at her again, and she was puzzled by the look on his face. Was it gratitude, or was it disgust?

One day, a raiding party sent off a few weeks earlier arrived back with a great deal of loot, including several horses, as well as a young couple. They were no more savages than their captors, but of course the city and the court viewed them with great scorn. The girl, who could have been no older than Maia and the two princesses, was a beauty, and the man was exceedingly handsome. There was a long story about how the couple had been captured, but it boiled down to the fact that they had not fought. Whether they had thought it futile to fight against such odds, or whether they were simply unused to fighting, or unwilling to fight, it was not clear. At any rate, they held themselves with great dignity, and to Maia's personal relief, had been treated with decency. They could understand nothing at all of what was said to them, except through the crude sign-language that was commonly used for prisoners and slaves.

The most remarkable thing about them both was that their bodies were covered with tattoos. Tattoos were not unknown, but were uncommon among the people here, and all viewed the couple's tattoos with admiration, evoking amused grins from the couple.

The princesses commanded that the couple be brought to the palace, and Maia was assigned to guard them, as well as to teach them the language. This she was pleased to do, since she had taken a liking to the two young people, and felt —probably rightly—that their greatest enemy would be boredom, and that she was more likely to keep them entertained than any others. Entertaining slaves was, of course, unheard of.

Once the pair was shown how they were expected to wash themselves at the garden well, and dress themselves, they were perfectly willing to do so. They were assigned as Maia's servants, if she wanted to use them that way, but she gave them no duties except to generally keep the room that they would share reasonably tidy. By now Maia had a few things of her own, mainly equipment, curios, and a few items of clothing in addition to her cup and plate. The girl soon went through it all, and set them out in what was in her mind the best possible way.

Rather than learning the language of their captors, the couple very soon began to teach Maia their own language. It was a variant of the language of Maia's own people, which did not surprise her since it was widely spoken, and as soon as they found that Maia was not unwilling to learn their speech, she went up greatly in their admiration. She discovered that the couple were healers among their people, and had been tending a sick person away from their tribe, for reasons of quarantine. The raiding party had caught them just as they had finished burying their patient.

"We are sworn not to battle, Lady," they told her, and indeed they did not know the art.

"Nor did I," admitted Maia, "but they made me learn."

"Oh!" said the girl, wide-eyed. "You have the look of a mighty warrior!"

Maia grinned. "To look like a mighty warrior is not hard," she said, sardonically. "You look like great warriors yourselves!"

They were stunned.

"Us?"

"Certainly!"

"Why?"

Maia shrugged. "There is a certain air of confidence, of being unafraid. You have it."

The girl, who was their leader, shrugged her lovely shoulders modestly. "When one learns to heal, one learns much about the world, Lady. It is true, one loses one's fear. Knowledge gives pride, is it not so, my beloved?"

The boy nodded thoughtfully. "Among our people we fear nothing, and it becomes a habit. When we are together, I feel very brave!" he added, smiling at his wife, who returned his smile with amusement.

Maia, of course, had to tell them her own adventures. Being the cautious girl that she was, and because of the many secrets she kept, her account necessarily had to be a censored one. But that was quite fascinating enough for them. Women fighters were unheard of among them.

"I would like to get a tattoo," said Maia to the princess one evening, when they got together with the captive healer couple.

The princess's eyes widened with interest. "Can they do it for you?"

"They said they could," said Maia. "Apparently it was part of what they had done for their folks."

"I would like to watch," said Sybilla.

It was a painful, long-drawn experience. Maia was tied down. The design was already marked out on the skin of her arm, and the girl healer painfully cut into the skin, and embedded a black powder in it. The bone tool she used was boiled both before and after, and Maia's skin burned for a whole day. The princess did not allow her to go for training until it was completely healed, which took two whole days, after which Maia was delighted with the result.

Of course the male guards wanted tattoos too, but the princesses did not allow it. Warriors were permitted it, except the palace guard. Word quickly spread about how painful it was, but there was a steady trickle of customers who came for the procedure, and the couple gradually accumulated quite a substantial amount of jewelry, since that was the common currency for services.

Maia asked to have yet another tattoo, and permission was given at once. "Why not the guards?" she had asked, and the princesses had agreed that, since Maia was a woman, tattoos would be beneficial to her ability to intimidate an opponent. With a man, the effect would be cover his nudity, which would be a disadvantage. After several weeks, Maia had accumulated quite an impressive amount of tattooed skin. It was all abstract design; the princesses refused to allow depictions of anything such as flowers and animals, which Maia herself did not favor. Thus the designs appeared like scrollwork or vines, evenly covering Maia's body, especially between her hips and her crotch, which Maia was particularly anxious to ornament.

Once Maia's charges had earned enough trust so that they were not expected to run away if left unsupervised, and Maia had persuaded them to learn enough of the local language that they could make themselves understood, they were left free to go about the palace and grounds, and go with the Green Princess on Maia's stead, when she went on those errands that required the princess's personal attention outside the palace. Now that it was known that the couple were healers, the princess agreed to have the couple see cases whenever it was convenient to her. In the afternoons, Maia was sent out with the couple to gather herbs, many of which were new to the people. It was on the first such expedition that it was learned that Maia could ride.

Trusting the slaves on horses was an entirely different matter from allowing them to walk about. With horses, of course, they could more easily make their escape than on foot, so when Maia suggested that they could ride, the princess was understandably reluctant. The first compromise was that one of the two healers should be kept hostage for the other.

"See that you come back in the allotted time," the princess said to Maia, enunciating carefully. "If you are late, you may as well stay away, for I will have the man killed. I have no alternative."

Maia could think of plenty of alternatives, but she bowed her head and accepted.

"Sharm is a hostage for you, as well," said the girl, as they rode off together, on one of the princess's own horses. They did not use saddles, only a blanket strapped in place. Punya, the girl, sat in front of Maia, who held the reins with one hand, and held the girl with the other.

She took them to the area where Maia had that memorable picnic with the princess. There had been such a profusion of flora there that she was certain that they would find what Punya needed. Dressed in her halter and skirt, the young healer was small-boned, yet not frail. She was nimble on her feet, and when she was in a playful mood, as she was now, tended to talk incessantly, much like the princess herself. Maia, having asked what to look for, walked around morosely, more concerned than Punya about getting back on time.

Once Maia had found one specimen, it became easier to find it again. Punya arranged her herbs on the stone block in orderly rows, and hurried off to prowl up near the point at which the stream entered the valley. Many of the herbs Punya was seeking were found near the stream, while the ones that Maia was assigned to seek were among the rocks. Between the two of them, they managed to find most of what they needed well in time, after which Punya packed them carefully in bundles, and they rode back. Maia was angered to meet a contingent of palace guard on the way back; evidently the princess did not trust them, despite the hostage.

Maia's training proceeded well. Initially it was the fact that she was female that accounted for her standing out from among the other trainees. Gradually, as she discovered that she had the temperament and the speed to excel at all sorts of weaponry and fighting, only her strength prevented her from being the best in her class. If her classmates had not been certain that she would have stood up for them against anyone, they would have become afraid of her. She fought with a cool temper that was frightening; unlike many of the others, she did not need to get up her ire for a fight. And, as her strength grew, even if not as rapidly or as much as for the boys, so did her beauty. With the network of tattoos adorning her trunk and her upper arm and her ankles, she was a sight to behold.

The traditional hottest day of the summer was celebrated with the annual games of the guards. It was open only to guards, the royal family, the trainees, and trainers. Benches were set out in the practice field, and large fabric sheets decorated the four sides of the large enclosed space, to keep the games private, provide some much-needed shade, and give the place a festive air. As a second-year, Maia was eligible to participate for the first time, and in fact required to. Her monthly flux was now a thing of the past; only in the winter would she have her periods, and only twice a year.

The archery contest with which the games opened was easily won by Maia. Using a smaller bow than the men, she was able to hit dead center every single time but the first. The men walked away in disgust, but she was a favorite among the palace guard, and they eventually made peace with her. Meanwhile, the foot races had begun. The heats were run in groups of eight, and the shortest times measured using crude pulse times. Maia easily won her heat, and came third overall. Running had never been her best event, and it served to reconcile her to those she had bested in archery.

The princess sat with the healers and her sister, and they could easily see that Punya, the little foreign healer girl, was Maia's most ardent fan. The princesses were careful to show no favorites, but Punya was under no such constraint. Her husband watched her antics with an amused grin.

Then the tournament continued with such arts as sword-fighting, knife-fighting, staffs, and wrestling, in many of which Maia finished in the top three, even against bigger, stronger men in the highest weight-class in which she competed. It amazed the audience when she emerged victorious even in wrestling. "She's stronger than she appears," they said to each other. "And she's very fast!"

The sword-fighting was the most beautiful to watch. Here Maia used a two-handed weapon, much heavier than the practice sword used by most trainees. They were all heavily padded, and the swords were blunt, but they could give a painful bruise, even through the padding. The judges were the arms-master, the senior instructor, and the King himself. And in the second weight class, which included all but the largest men, Maia came second.

She came to win her reward at the hand of the princess, which was a bouquet of flowers, and the boys cheered her until they were hoarse.

"Stay a moment," the princess commanded, as the King rose to dismiss the crowd. Maia waited, breathing hard, the blood pounding in her veins. When it was all over, the princess said, "Come to me after supper tonight."

It had been a long time since Maia had slept in the room of her princess. Being in charge of the newly captured couple had meant guarding them at night, so that Maia slept in her own room with the couple rather than that of the princess. She had to be content with the soft touches of Punya, who did like to touch her, but was nowhere near as bold as the princess.

"I was proud of you this afternoon," the princess said, turning out the lamp. Maia lay on her pallet, which still lay outside the princess's sleeping alcove. She could hear the rustles as the princess undressed herself, and put on the simple garments she wore to bed. Presently she came out. "You must be properly rewarded! I have neglected you, haven't I?" she whispered, slowly settling down on the edge of Maia's bed. Maia could feel her body already responding, as if the princess had been touching her for a long while.

The princess moved Maia's hand away from her breast, and laid her own hand there, and with the other, caressed her body softly. Maia began to sigh. She could not help her body raising itself to meet the princess's hand.

"Are you faithful to your princess, Maia?" she asked, stroking, stroking, driving the girl mad with desire.

"Yes, your highness! I am faithful!"

"You may have a lover briefly, Maia, if you wish, but ..."

"No, your highness, ... oh no, I never will!" she stammered, hardly knowing what she said.

The princess inhaled, appreciating the pungent odor of Maia's arousal. The girl was thoroughly wet, and her finger slid about on the corrugated flesh of the entrance to Maia's body, wanting to slide inside, but kept where it was by the princess's iron control. She was well aware of how much pleasure she gave her guard. Taking much longer than she usually did, she brought Maia to the edge of her peak three times, and let her have her reward the third time.

"The princess loves you," Punya whispered, when Maia returned to her room and her bed later that night. She had washed herself thoroughly, but something of the scent of her desire clung to her body, and Punya could smell it on her.

"Go to sleep," said Maia. The couple had been making love, and Maia knew the scent of it now. They had just recently begun to quietly do it even when Maia was present, though no matter how quiet they were, Maia was sorely tried in pretending she could not hear. And she could always smell. At least, the windows were open; in the winter it would be more difficult.

One weekend, the princess had called Maia to her room early, and while the princess was fully dressed, she had Maia lie down, and as she did at night, brought her gently to a climax. It was hard on Maia, since it was all done in plain sight, and she could not take refuge in the darkness. It was more intense than usual, because she could see the princess's face, and the mixture of lust and — some added obscure, enigmatic emotion that strangely disturbed her. As Maia tried to control her breathing after it was over, the princess stroked her tenderly, for all the world as if they were lovers, whispering to her as if she was a little child, "There, there ... it's all right ... your princess won't hurt you, Maia ... you're a good girl, my guard, ... kind, and good and obedient, aren't you? Yes, you are ... relax now ..."

Finally, with her own hand, she wiped Maia clean, first with a moist towel, then a dry one, and folded back the folds of Maia's dress. It was so hot that summer that Maia had been allowed to wear a short gown, to only her thighs, which had been easier on her when she rode out with one of the healers. The princess had done it all to Maia while her clothes were still on her, only moving aside the fabric over the parts she wanted to touch. It had been even more intense, because she had caressed Maia more than usual, with her cheek and her lips as well as her hands. Maia took a long time to stop trembling.

"Do you love me, Maia?" she asked softly, a question she had never asked before. Her voice was soft, but her whole face showed that she was eager to learn the answer.

"Yes ... if you want me to love you, your highness ..."

"You love me, but you are too embarrassed to say it— is it not so?" she asked mildly, smiling. Maia could only nod. What she felt for the princess was beyond love, but it was not wrong to use that word. "I would ask you a favor, Maia. I would ask ... that you do to my sister what I have done to you!"

Maia sat bolt upright, her eyes wide.

"To the princess?" she asked, her arms wound tight about herself. "To touch her?" She could hardly believe her ears.

"Calm yourself!" scolded the princess, still quietly, but sharply, though there was still a smile on her face. "You must understand! If you were still a slave — which I know you are not, but let us pretend it so — then I would allow myself the privilege to lend you to my sister, you see? As a gift, ... and a pleasure slave has many rights ... including the right to touch, even a princess! At her command, of course."

"But I am not a ... a ... one of those!" said Maia quietly but firmly. She got off the bed and got on her knees, sitting back on her haunches, to soften the edge of the argument she was about to make. "I have not been trained for such work!"

"I have been training you, Maia! Do you not understand what I was doing?"

"But ... why? I thought ..."

Maia had thought that the princess loved her. That it was merely a process of training broke her heart. It was such a painful realization that nothing, absolutely nothing showed on her face, which was as stone. But that look was enough to tell the princess that Maia was deeply, deeply hurt.

"It was not only training," she admitted, "but it was that as well!"

The explanation disgusted her. Clearly this was something the princess did not care to actually do to her sister, though Maia knew that it was not unknown between sisters to be intimate in that way. But these were barbarians, and they had their own codes. So Maia was to be the proxy for the giving of pleasure from one sister to the other. Something had happened between them, and Sybilla was so full of love for Tatiana that she had planned and executed this complex idea.

"I have ... a private message for the princess," said Maia, stone-faced as always, as she reported to the suite that was occupied by Tatiana. The guard nodded and stepped aside. "It will be a while, and ... we shall need some privacy," she said, as she had been instructed. "If you remain in the guardroom, I will send word to you when you must return!"

"Do not leave before I arrive back!" said the guard, looking Maia carefully in the eye.

"You should ask the Green Princess if it is not so."

"I will," he said, marching quickly to the rooms of the Green Princess. He returned shortly, and with a quick nod to Maia, proceeded to the guardhouse, which was close by, but away from the rooms of the royal family.

Maia knocked on the door, and the Blue Princess's little maid answered. She went in, and found the Blue Princess about to retire. She was dressed in a simple halter and a skirt, like a slave, and looked absolutely lovely. She pulled a sheer shawl around her and looked at Maia inquiringly. It had been a long time since she had been offended by anything Maia did.

"The Green Princess sent me," Maia said, "to care for you until you went to sleep. If you would dismiss the maid, I can begin."

"Oh! Is it a massage?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Ino, you may go!"

The little maid curtseyed and hurried away, giving Maia a grin, since Maia was a great favorite among the servants.

"Shall I undress?"

"Let me turn out the lights," Maia said, finding it difficult to breathe. "I can undress you as needed. Lie down, princess; Maia will do everything."

"So, I hear that you have learned all there is to learn about massage!"

Maia shrugged. She turned out the lights, all except a single tiny lamp that burned in the outer room.

"It is not exactly a massage, princess ... you may ask me to stop if it displeases you."

"Not a massage?"

Maia shook her head.

"Is it something unpleasant?"

"No," she admitted, feeling guilty already. "You must command me to begin," she gently reminded the princess.

"I trust you, Maia," she said simply. "You may begin when you are ready!"

Maia gently loosed the princess's halter, and laying it aside, began the soft caresses of her face that were how the other princess always started her touching of Maia herself. But Maia's hands were calloused and rough, in contrast to the soft, small, smooth hands of the princess. Still, she had softened her hands as well as she could, and she was careful. By using the back of her hand, she was able to do it with less worry.

The princess sighed, evidently feeling pleasure. Maia moved her hands down to the princess's breasts, and she put her own hands on Maia's.

Maia stopped.

"But ... but you are making love to me!"

Maia swallowed. "This is what she wanted, your highness ... shall I stop?"

There was a long silence. Then the princess said, a little breathlessly, "Go on a little longer ... be gentle!"

Maia caressed her breasts, and it was easy to put emotion into it, as the princess did, even if she could not say the same words to the princess, since it would have been impudent in the extreme. But it was easy to pretend that it was the Green Princess under Maia's hands, and not her sister. Her breasts were utterly soft, and it was hard for Maia to turn her attention lower down. With an effort she loosened the simple wrapped skirt, and with the lightest possible touch, touched the princess's most sensitive place with the very tip of one finger.

"Tell me when to stop," she said, her voice hoarse.

"A little more," said the princess, quickly, holding her breath.

Maia took a deep breath, and after softly running her finger around the delicate lips of the girl's opening, she slipped her finger slowly inside.

The princess gasped, and held Maia's hand with both her own.

"Shall I stop?" Maia asked in a whisper, fearing that she had hurt the princess.

"I ... just give me a while to ..." she was panting, trying to get control of herself. Maia could feel the wetness inside, and she remembered how shattering it had been that first time for her. It had been like dying, and it had scared her silly. "...Just let me...gather myself..." she said. Maia stroked her arm and her face as she waited.

The princess let go of Maia's hand, and slowly drew her face down to hers, and kissed her. Maia could hardly breathe. "Do you mind if I kiss you?" she asked.

"I am only a slave," Maia said, "tell me what you want, princess, and I will do it!"

Her hand moved like lightning, to slap Maia on the shoulder. "Answer me honestly!"

Maia shook her head. "No ... it is most pleasant, princess."

They kissed a long while, and the princess tugged Maia's not inconsiderable weight onto her body, until Maia was astraddle the princess's nearer leg. Oh, it was a wonderful sensation!

"Would you take off your garment, girl?"

Maia quickly removed it, without moving her body too much. Then they were skin to skin, and Maia was kissing the princess as she had longed so often to do to her Green Princess, and they lost all thought of the careful touching that had been intended, and presently, each was caressing the other, swooning with love and tenderness.

Presently, the princess lay on top of Maia. She reached for Maia's hand, uncoiled a finger, and slipped it carefully inside herself.

"What happens now?" she asked, almost in a gasp.

"Raise yourself off me, and hold steady," Maia whispered. This was all new territory for both girls. The princess knelt on Maia's hips, and Maia slipped in her finger, and gently and rhythmically moved it in and out, in the familiar way Sybilla had done it to her for so many months. The reaction was far greater than she could have hoped for. The princess joined in the motion, thrusting herself hard into Maia's hand, faster and faster, until the moment came, and she put her arms around Maia and held her hard, while her hips continued the rhythm, as if of its own volition, out of her control. When she was spent, she kissed Maia madly,

"Oh Maia!" she breathed, "What have you done to me?"

"Oh, my princess!" Maia was ready to kill herself; it was too awful. If what the princess had experienced was anything like what Maia had, on that first day, then ... "I had no right, I should not have done it! I am mortified!"

Tatiana kissed away all Maia's protests, as she caressed her with her own, soft hands, softer, if that were possible, than Sybilla's hands had ever been. She worshipped Maia with her whole body, unable to stop herself.

"Oh what a gift you have brought to me! I never knew that I could feel like this, that my body would be so — powerful! I felt as if I could fly — as if I were flying! How amazing you are!"

"The princess taught me," Maia said simply. They stared into each other's eyes, and Maia began to feel a dangerous thing building up between them. "I will make you comfortable in your bed, and then leave, your highness!"

"Not just yet," she said, quickly. "Can it be done twice in the same evening?"

Not twice, but many times they did it, taking turns. The touching was nice, but it was the princess's tender kisses that made Maia a prisoner. Tender though Sybilla had been, here they were equals, giving and receiving, and their bodies melted together in a way that Maia had never been given the opportunity to have with Sybilla. With their legs wound tight about each other, breathing together, they were one being, their hearts beating together.

"I don't want you to go!" said Tatiana, holding her tight. And Maia did not want to go either. Her life was changed forever.

There was a knock on the door, and Maia leaped out of the bed, and pulled on her garment. It was easy; a single piece of fabric, only the girdle needed to be fastened. Tatiana motioned for her to wait, and answered the knock herself, having put on her halter and skirt even faster than Maia.

"Sister!"

"Are you busy?" asked a smug voice, whose owner Maia dreaded to face.

"Do you need her back right away?" asked Tatiana softly. "I do not think I can bear to part with her!"

"Now, don't be greedy! You may have her once in a while, but she is mine, remember that."

There was a long silence, and Maia could imagine the imploring look that Tatiana must be giving her stubborn sibling. Maia sighed softly. It was evidently not a carefully thought-out gift; its implications had not been all taken into account.

Tatiana turned, keeping the door almost shut, to face Maia, her eyes swimming with frustrated desire. She mouthed the words "Thank you!" to Maia, and then turned to thank her sister with a kiss.

A little later, Maia was seated on a stool in Sybilla's suite, being questioned in detail.

"The little slut! I did not think she would kiss you!" exclaimed Sybilla. "What happened next?"

Maia had learned her lesson. She censored the rest of the account, giving the impression that things had gone as they usually did when Sybilla was stroking Maia. While she told the story, Maia was battling a strange feeling of guilt. If Sybilla would only kiss her, as Tatiana had done, just once, not as woman and plaything, but as equals! If she would just now, stop talking, and kiss Maia! She could forget all that had befallen, and become, as she wanted to be, once again the slave of the Green Princess. Putting her heart into her eyes, she sat before Sybilla, begging, willing the princess to kiss her. But the girl talked away, her thoughts and her imagination away in that room, still making love to her sister though her slave. Maia believed that if she could shake her out of her preoccupation, her eyes would be opened, and Sybilla would repossess her with a firm gesture of love, or whatever strange emotion Sybilla felt for her.

Maia stood up, and daringly held her skirt in her hands for no reason, exposing her legs. "I must go, it is late," she said, her voice husky with uncontrollable feelings.

Sybilla's attention was instantly on her, as she had hoped. She waited, and Sybilla came closer, and for one long second their relationship hung in the balance. Sybilla licked her dry lips, and her eyes ran over Maia's body, resting at last on her thighs, as Maia had wanted. With a frown, Sybilla leaned forward to draw Maia's hands away from the skirt of her robe. "Don't play with your clothes; it's childish," she said, firmly.

Maia clung to her hands in desperation.

"Give me some token that ... I have done well, your highness! Something to tell me that ... I have done what you wanted!"

Sybilla smiled, a gentle, tender smile. And she kissed Maia, but her heart was like lead, so disappointing was it. The moment had gone, and in Sybilla's mind, Maia was a servant once more, although a favored one. "Oh Maia ... what a treasure you are!" she said. Maia nodded, and turned to leave, pausing at the door for the princess's customary dismissal, and then walked to her room.

It was the first of a few times. Maia was sent to pleasure Tatiana every several weeks, and their feelings for each other became painfully obvious to both of them. Winter came, with the accompanying changes in their lifestyle, and occasionally Maia would meet Tatiana, who would draw her into an alcove, and they would exchange a few quiet words.

"Are you well?" the princess would ask.

"Very well, your highness! And yourself?"

She would shrug, and smile, a lost, sad smile. "I missed you the moment you were gone!"

Maia would drop her eyes and nod. "I have never felt this way about anyone else, princess!"

"Not even ... her?"

Maia would purse her lips, looking at her hands, and finally raise her head to give her a grim smile. Tatiana sighed. It was all the answer she would get.

"My sister is moody, Maia," Sybilla said, as midwinter approached. "What shall I do?"

"Do nothing, your highness ... I think she is lonely, and we cannot help that. She is to be married, is she not?"

"That is true; at least we have each other, you and I; she has only me, and ... for what she needs, I can do little."

Maia's heart went out to Sybilla. She could not be faulted for the love and caring she felt for her sister. Sybilla was the perfect sister; if Tatiana had insisted, Sybilla would have given her Maia herself, but of course Tatiana would not. Barbarians they might be, Maia thought, but she knew how civilized they were in many ways.

Finally, the prince of a land across the sea visited, with his mother and his sister. It was he whom Tatiana was destined to marry. He was tall and handsome, a large man, several years older than Tatiana, a cheerful, loud man, eager to hunt and eat and drink, but very attentive to Tatiana. He was big and sunburnt, while she was little and pale, but their friendship was instantaneous, and Maia had to admit that they made a perfect pair.

Sybilla said as much one evening. "It almost hurts to see them together," she said. "It is as if I have already lost her!"

"You will never lose her, never," said Maia with conviction. That was one thing she was sure of: the love of the sisters for each other was firm, even if all other things were uncertain.

"He learned that you play the harp, and he wants to hear it tonight!"

"Only if you ask, my princess."

"Do I mean so much to you, Maia?" The question was soft.

Maia felt her face fill with confusion. "As the moment approaches, when we three must break our pleasant association, you both mean more to me than is comfortable, my princess; I had thought to find nothing here to ..."

"To turn your heart from your homeland?"

"Yes. But you ... and the princess, your sister ..."

Their embrace was tender. If only she had embraced Maia like this, before her traitorous heart had given itself to Tatiana!

"Will you play for us? Tatiana loves to hear you play, too!"

Maia played for them after supper. Her new winter dress was a demure, heavy black sleeveless gown, and completely covered her legs. Maia was particularly anxious not to attract the attention of the visiting prince Keno, who had a roving eye, even if his admiration for Tatiana was uppermost. In their society, a King or prince was permitted liberties with any available woman, without prejudice to his Promised or his queen.

The prince listened attentively, and applauded loudly. He beckoned her forward, and interviewed her closely: how many years had she studied the instrument? Could she play others? Could she sing? Was it common for her people to teach their daughters to play instruments?

"Our Maia was evidently a girl of some privilege among her people, prince," Sybilla said, taking Maia off the hook. "We do not question her closely, to save her feelings. She has been a loyal and cheerful servant here, and I treasure her enough to be sensitive to matters that she wishes left alone."

"I did not wish to intrude, but I am curious! Thank you, girl; it was a beautiful performance!"

"You may go, Maia!" said Sybilla, smiling. Maia took the harp with her.

Once she had gone, the prince spoke to the family with great interest.

"She lacks any beauty at all, she is almost like a man! Yet she is well-spoken, and she has a great talent!"

She has a beautiful soul," said Tatiana, at once, surprising her sister. "Her beauty, as you say, is not in her face, which is grave and severe."

"Plain, to be exact," laughed the prince.

"Now, my son, it is better to lay aside your habit of insulting plain girls while you are here! There is more to a woman than a face and a body." The prince's mother was an amiable woman, whose hand was clearly seen in the prince's upbringing. Given that he hailed from a nation of men with habits similar to those of the land of the princesses themselves, that is, given to manly pursuits, and not to culture and philosophy, he was as much of a gentleman as they had any right to expect.

Still, it rankled with the princesses that he had thought Maia unfeminine. Sybilla snorted to herself silently; if he were to see Maia dressed in her full regalia as a guard, his opinion would have been different! But she suppressed the temptation to bring Maia out naked, to show him. He had enough on his mind with his future bride.

Prince Keno had planned a tour of certain other lands before he returned home, but his womenfolk pleaded to be allowed to stay. His sister and her attending maidens had hardly stirred out of their rooms, though judging from the giggling that came from that part of the palace, they kept an eye on things through their windows, and found them highly amusing. They could see the practice field, for one thing, and that was entertaining enough for anyone who had the patience to watch.

Keno departed with his men, leaving his mother and sister to be entertained by the princesses, who cheerfully undertook to do it. Shortly after the prince departed, there was a heavy snowfall, evidently something that was not common in the prince's lands. His sister finally sent a request to be allowed to play in the snow, and Maia was assigned, predictably, to escort them to the closest meadow in which they could do this.

At first, they thought she was a boy or at least a young man, and were shy with her. Then, one of the braver ones asked her her name.

"It is Maia," said she.

"Maia! You are a girl!"

"Indeed," admitted she, smiling respectfully.

"Oh, I have seen you, fighting in the square in the mornings! Is that you, girl?"

"You may have seen me; I do train in the mornings in the training yard," admitted Maia.

"But ... you are a good fighter!" Maia shrugged. "Do women fight here? It is a strange thing!"

"Only I. Perhaps things will change, but at present, I am the only girl in the yard."

Now that they had Maia where they could ask her things, the questions came thick and fast. In between pelting each other with snowballs, they clustered around Maia and asked her all sorts of questions about what life was like in this land.

"Will your princess miss her home?" they wanted to know. Maia had finally figured out which one was the princess; it was not easy, since they were all dressed exactly alike, and behaved the same, except that the princess was a little more shy than the others. It was her question.

"She probably will, at least once in a while," said Maia.

"We like her very much," they confessed. "We see them from the windows!" Tatiana could win anybody's heart if she tried.

There was a disturbance at the edge of the field where they had come to play, and Maia's keen eyes picked out the figures of the twin princesses. Shortly, they were joined by the royal princesses, who had been searching for an opportunity to meet the visiting young lady. At first the visiting girls were shy, but by asking them questions, the twins managed to make them relax and be comfortable with them. They relaxed to the point of requesting to squeeze Maia's arms, to see how strong she was. They were quite satisfied that Maia was strong enough to fight against men. The twins could barely keep a straight face.

Tatiana would be married in the early spring. At first, while the date was still weeks away, she found ways to meet Maia more frequently, when her sister was at court, and Maia had been sent on an errand, or was just returning from training. There was no talk of love: the princess would be married, and the word 'love' applied to the relationship between the prince and princess. But she found other ways to communicate her feelings.

"I shall think of you every moment," she said, holding Maia's hand in hers, and idly playing with it. "Oh, if only I had seen into your soul earlier! How short is the time we have together!"

"Your highness will have things to distract her; she will have her husband to care for, and soon there will be children!"

"Do you know what I dream of?"

"Tell me, princess."

"Call me Tatiana!"

"No. I cannot do it!"

She frowned, gently chiding Maia with her eyes. "I dream of a little boy ... with my hair, and with a body and skin like mine ... but with your eyes, and your mouth!"

"How can that be? It is foolishness!" Maia laughed.

Tatiana's face twisted in misery, and she said, through tears, "But it is what I dream! Don't you understand?" Then she turned and hurried away, leaving Maia's heart as heavy as lead.

Maia was pleased to find that Tatiana and her sister-in-law-to-be had struck up a warm friendship. The Princess Lia was, like her brother, a fun-loving girl, but quiet, thoughtful and warm-hearted. It was good to know that once Tatiana found herself among her husband's people, there would be at least one friend there, other than her husband himself, to whom she could turn when she felt lonely, or when she needed the advice of a woman of her own age.

It was such a cold and wet winter that the visitors were overwhelmed with the severity of it. "How can you bear it?" they asked, feeling the cold despite the especially big fires built in their rooms. Finally, the weather broke long enough for the little group to set off for their home. It was a three-day trek south to the shore, and a voyage of two days, with a favorable wind. The news was that the sea was calm, and the weather in the south was mild.

At Sybilla's request, as soon as the visitors had departed, Maia came to Tatiana's bed. It was as if their passion grew every time, greater than it had been before. It was easy to imagine sometimes that Maia was a beautiful boy, as she laid herself gently on top of the princess, afraid to crush her. But the princess wrapped her legs about her body and dragged her down hard, on top of her. "Crush me!" she whispered, "I want to feel the weight of you! I want to imagine that ... that you are penetrating me ... Oh Maia, if you were only a boy!"

"It's fortunate that I'm not; you need not worry about being made pregnant."

"I don't care! I don't care! I want you, now!" Her wantonness drove Maia to madness, and she did as the princess wanted, pressing the center of her body into the princess's spread legs, gasping at the exquisite sensation, kissing her madly, their teeth striking together in their passion.

They breathed hard for a while, but they were accustomed to it now. They knew the sensations to savor, and those that must be quickly moved along, so that they could talk. Talking was becoming precious; they constantly needed to know each other's minds. The physical loving was a burning necessity, but talking was a pleasure.

"At least, I will not be afraid of him," Tatiana said, stroking Maia's muscular back. "He can't be stronger than you, my love!"

"He is sure to be stronger, and heavier," Maia said.

"Not very much stronger, then," said the princess. She was fiercely loyal to her lover, even if she did not call her that in so many words. She had been bitterly hurt by Keno saying that Maia was not attractive. She had assured Maia that the guard was the most beautiful woman in the land. Maia knew better than to take it for anything but what it was: a statement of love. The princess loved her with a single-minded devotion, second only, if at all, to her love for her sister. And Maia often thought that even that was changing. Tatiana often treated Sybilla as a child, but treated Maia always as an equal.

Afterwards, they knelt by the bed, at the Blue Princess's request, facing each other. The princess was beautiful this way, her rich brown hair tumbling down her back, her large eyes shining in the lamplight, her thin legs soft and touchable.

"Remember this?" she asked, lifting up the pendant she had put on Maia on that day a year ago, when they had nursed Sybilla to health together. Maia nodded, smiling, too much in love herself to care about pendants. Tatiana blushed. "It was a special thing, Maia ... if you had been a man, it would have been an invitation to be a lover, even if either or both of us was married." Maia's eyes opened wide. "Since you are a girl, it is a promise to be a sister to you! And you have repaid me more than I could have ever imagined! That you make love to me, yes, that is important to me. But you have given me more than that! You are indeed a sister to me!"

"I don't want to be your sister!" said Maia in a tiny voice. She knew then what she wanted. She wanted them to be exactly what they were now.

The days to Tatiana's departure went by all too soon, but as the day approached, Maia wished that it would come sooner. They had mutually decided to stop meeting; it was that hard on them. Tatiana saw no emotion in Maia's face as she went about her duties, but she imagined that she could read love in the very way she stood, immobile at Sybilla's side, the way she walked, and the way she breathed. And what made matters worse was that Tatiana had fallen in love with her prospective husband!

Prepared for an outlandish boor, she had been taken totally unawares. The man's breezy nature and arrogant attitude annoyed her, but all around her men were arrogant. But there was a basic honesty in Keno that shone through all the bluster, and truly there was a lot less of bluster than she could tolerate. And when she had something urgent to say, he had always listened. If there was something worse than being separated from her beloved Maia, it was that she would be in the arms of a man she expected to love, while Maia would be all alone, except for Sybilla, of course.

Tatiana adored her sister. But it seemed strange to her that she could not see the loneliness in Maia's eyes. Or was that only for Tatiana to see? The girl was a puzzle, a sweet, sad puzzle that always smoldered in the corner of Tatiana's heart, ready to spring to her attention the minute her mind was unoccupied. Sybilla's strange blindness concerning the feelings of her slave was inexplicable, and something Tatiana had dared not speak of, for fear of hurting the delicate trust that the twins shared.

The wedding party would include Maia herself, Tatiana's own guard, her little maid, and assorted male and female members of the court, including the King's cousin, the Lady Jana, and her husband, Lord Durus. A wagon, such as it was, would take the more delicate members of the party, but the things were so infernally uncomfortable that anyone who could ride at all would ride. Tatiana had learned to ride, astraddle, and so she would be inside the wagon only if the weather was intolerable.

Early in the morning on the day of departure, the party assembled. All Tatiana's things had been carefully packed and put in the wagon, including the gifts of fabric and jewelry she was taking for the womenfolk of her husband-to-be. The horses were all saddled and warmed up—there was Maia herself, in heavy hose and boots, a heavy tunic, and a short leather cloak, walking her own horse, a large stallion, and the grey mare that Tatiana was to ride. The day was clear and cold. It looked like rain to the south, but the north was clear, and there was a light, cold breeze out of the north. This meant that it would probably be dry for the rest of the day.

Lady Jana and her husband arrived last of all, just as the sun was rising, Maia helped Tatiana onto her grey mare with an odd smile, sprang onto her own horse, and the little caravan moved out, with the large contingent of horse troops surrounding the wagon and the princess. Her farewell with Sybilla and her father had been said inside the palace, and when they had come outside, their faces had been composed. There were few to see them off, though Tatiana was surprised to see a few folk outside the gates, who had learned of her departure, and waved and smiled at her. Sybilla had always been the people's favorite, or so she had thought until that moment.

Maia was a silent, warm presence on her left, and her guard awkwardly bestrode his own big stallion on her right; he was no rider, but he had no choice. Maia had taken him riding for a couple of days, and that would have to do. He was now married to his former servant, and his wife had given Maia permission to tend to him on the journey, but he did not know this yet. The wagon lumbered along behind them. The art of springing vehicles had not yet been discovered, and the poor souls inside had only the softness of the cushions to moderate the roughness of the road.

They broke journey at noon, and Maia helped the princess to dismount. "Allow me to walk the horses down, my princess, and I will attend you. Allow the little maid to remain inside the wagon in the warmth," she told Tatiana. Tatiana agreed at once. After Maia had seen to the horses, Tatiana was easy to take care of; neither princess was as spoiled as they might have been expected to be. Once Maia had helped her with her calls of nature, and they had come back to the little camp, Tatiana saw her guard leaning against a tree, clearly suffering. "Come with me," she said to Maia as she walked over to him. He saw her coming, and painfully stood to attention.

"You could ride on the wagon," she offered him.

"I thank you, my princess," he said. He looked at Maia. "Does it become any easier?"

"It will," said Maia smiling. "Ride on top of the wagon for an hour, until it stops hurting, and get back on the horse."

He looked pathetically grateful.

"I should have got him riding long ago," murmured the princess, among whose passions was horses, and everything to do with them. "He's such an enormous fellow, I pitied the horses," she explained to Maia.

"That's why we gave him the biggest horse we could find," she admitted, grinning.

Maia's own horse was not a lot smaller, but he had been hard to break, and nobody but Maia could ride him. She rode him only because it was her or nobody. He was black, with brown legs and face, but except for the odd coloring, he was beautiful. And there was a leather harness on the horse, and a holder for her spear, and bags for her gear, over the blanket that kept him warm. The princess's grey mare was equipped similarly, except that she was not set up to carry weapons, and she was rather more carefully padded, and with materials of a quality befitting a royal princess.

The whole operation revolved around the princess; she ate first, and she decided every detail but such technical matters as did not interest her. The food was simple, consisting of smoked meats and travel-bread, a kind of hard, thin bread that was tasty yet dense, and did not take up much space, either in the supply box, or inside one's stomach.

After the quick meal, the party set out once more. The trip across the plains was moderately easy; they proceeded at the speed of the wagon, which was necessarily very slow. At fast speeds, it was impossibly uncomfortable, and the roads were very rough. Scouts rode ahead, making repairs over the worst parts of the road well before the wagon arrived, using stones, or planks, or whatever was handy. Occasionally, everyone had to get off their horses and move the wagon across particularly bad spots, or if the wagon wheels got embedded in mud.

The princess's guard got back on his horse presently, and stayed on him for the rest of the journey, falling off him when they stopped for the night, barely able to walk. Maia helped him to the runner of the wagon and made him sit. She and the princess would walk his horse. He protested, but Maia insisted.

The princess was full of praise for Maia. "You did right," she said. They walked the horses, though because of the slow speed of their progress, the horses were not too overheated. They only needed to be rubbed down, and brought into a large tent, to protect them from the cold. The open high plains could get quite cold overnight.

The guard was surprised when Maia led him into a tent she had pitched for him, undressed him carefully, taking care not to hurt the sore insides of his legs, covered him with blankets, and went to bring him his supper. "Neela said I was to look after you," she said, smiling.

"Look after me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, but still grimacing with pain.

"To a certain degree only, brother," she said, grinning. "She also sent a potion if you were in great pain, and a balm."

"Look after the princess," he said, closing his eyes with the effort of moving his legs to be comfortable on the unpadded floor of the tent.

"Just eat," Maia said, "I will be back."

"I have to go out," he said, urgently.

"Wrap the blanket about you; I will help you out," Maia said, and helping him cover himself with the blanket, pulled his arm around her shoulders, and helped him into the trees. The man could hardly move, and Maia had to help him do everything.

"Did I get it wet?" he whispered.

"No," she said, as she helped him back into the tent and settled him back on his sleeping pad. "Eat first," she insisted, "or you will fall asleep!" She waited only until he took a few bites, then she disappeared.

Presently she was back, and watched impatiently while he finished eating. Then, making him lie down, she rubbed balm over the sore skin of his legs. He was soon aroused, and she was startled to see the full erection of a large, healthy man. Though, by now, she knew all there was to know of the genital anatomy of a woman, she had no knowledge at all of that of a man.

"Do not be concerned," he said softly, once he realized that Maia had never seen a man in his state. "I am only missing Neela, my sister ... it will go away."

"Does it hurt?"

"No ... not much, anyway."

"May I touch it?" she asked, fascinated.

He was silent a long time.

"We are guards, sister," he said patiently, somehow realizing that it was mere curiosity, and not prurient interest, "We must not touch each other that way."

Maia nodded, embarrassed. He was a good friend, and she had known, as soon as the words had left her lips, that it had been an inappropriate request. Yet, as the first female guard ever, there were things that she had to learn which no male guard could teach her.

Maia returned to the princess's tent. The temptation was too great; Maia and the princess found themselves together on the princess's bed after the camp was asleep except for the night watch. The little maid slept at the princess's feet, and Maia was supposed to sleep in the space just outside the princess's enclosure. But they had both been awake, and the princess had tugged her inside, pressing her finger to Maia's lips.

"We have to be quiet," she breathed, indicating the little girl with her eyes. Maia nodded. Soon they were skin to skin, their clothes opened to each other under the blankets and skins. "You are warm, my sweet Maia," Tatiana whispered, in Maia's ear. "I wish you could stay with me!"

Maia only held her tight. It was strangely peaceful, satisfying and calming to do that. They were soon asleep.

In the morning, as Tatiana awoke, she was surprised to find that her little maid had slipped under the blankets and skins with her on the other side. It had been a bitterly cold night, and she decided that she must somehow keep the child close the following night, too.

Soon they were back on the road. The princess's guard climbed back on his horse with Maia's aid, his legs carefully padded, having drunk a dose of his potion with his breakfast, then they were off. The princess enjoyed the trip greatly, never having been outside the confines of the city. All the countryside was a miracle, the varying landscape, the occasional traces of deer and bear and wolves, the trees, some with bare branches, others with needles adding a touch of green, a few bushes that never lost their leaves. Having climbed slowly to the top of a pass across a line of low mountains, slowly they descended into the plain that led down to the sea. They would soon be challenged by the guards at the border.

The border guards encountered the advance scouts, and were duly warned that the princess was behind them. They were received with politeness, and they continued on their way. The princess's guard, Peder, stayed on his horse until mid-afternoon, until he finally begged to ride on the wagon.

That night, again, Maia pitched his tent, walked his horse and rubbed him down, and then rubbed the balm on his legs, until his erection was so painful, he begged her to stop.

"Stay and talk for a moment, guard Maia," he asked. "You have become as a sister to me, my friend. I shall miss you."

Maia was startled. "Miss me? Why? Aren't you going back with us?"

"Only to beg to be allowed to bring Neela back with me," he said. "I cannot part with the princess...I will ask to stay with her, or at least, to return to her with my wife."

Maia knew well how hard it would be to leave the princess. "You are a loyal fellow," Maia granted him. "I will miss you, too."

Again, Maia slipped in under the princess's blanket, and allowed herself to be comforted by her, as her sister had so often done back in the palace. But there was a difference; Maia knew exactly how Tatiana felt about her. Sybilla, however, in spite of all the time Maia had spent with her, trying to understand her mind and her feelings, was still an enigma. When she dreamed, she still dreamed of the two princesses; but when she dreamed of Tatiana, she felt love, and the promise of loneliness. When she dreamed of Sybilla, it was hunger and desire she felt. Neither twin could take the place of the other in her dreams; she lusted for one, and loved the other. Her lust for the one sister gave her as much pain as her love for the other gave her pleasure.

They traveled for weeks, across the plains, through a large forest, and the weather turned bad, and they kept moving. A boat awaited them, and they were already a day late, and the officer in charge of the party and Lord Durus were both determined not to lose another day. They battled on through the heavy snow, even though it had got so dark that it felt much later in the day.

Maia reached out to the princess, who looked miserable and tired. The latter had refused to go on the wagon for any reason. She had tried it briefly on one occasion, and gotten out in minutes. "Come, ride with me," Maia suggested.

"We should stop," said the princess.

"No need; I can lift you," said Maia. Effortlessly, Maia picked the princess off her mare, and seated the princess in front of her.

"Lean back, and relax," Maia said into her ear.

It was strangely wonderful, even in the miserable weather, to lean back against the warmth that was Maia, to feel her warm breath, and to nestle in her arms. Her patient little mare trotted on, probably relieved to have her weight off her back. She could hardly see Peder, on the other side, let alone the expression on his face.

Maia was tempted to reveal Peder's plans to the princess, but she kept silent; it was not her business. She sighed; it made sense that the princess should keep him with her; in the unlikely event that the court of prince Keno's father became a hostile environment, she needed loyal servants around her.

Every night, Maia rubbed the balm into Peder's sore legs. It was something that he could have done himself, but Maia learned that his back was also sore, and she had begun massaging his back, too. And every night, she inadvertently gave him an erection. One night, she had given into temptation, and before he could forbid her again, grasped his manhood. It had instantly erupted, filling her hands with his semen, shocking her utterly.

"Look what you've done!" he had gasped, covering his eyes.

"What shall I do?" she had whispered, staring at the warm, gelatinous substance wide-eyed. Of course, she had to study it closely, never having seen its like before. "It smells strangely pungent," she remarked, fascinated.

Peder fumbled around among his things, and found a towel. "Here! Wipe yourself off!" he snapped, keeping his voice down, throwing the towel at her.

"I'm sorry! I did not know!"

"I told you clearly to leave it alone!"

"What happened, Peder?"

"Wipe yourself!" he cursed, tearing at his hair. "Are you stupid? Are you blind?"

Maia wiped herself, feeling deeply frustrated. To her, it was something miraculous and fascinating, while to Peder it was evidently a source of acute embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Maia said, "I'm ignorant of so many things ... Please don't be angry at me, Peder; be patient with my foolishness. I will not make the mistake again."

Peder could not hold his anger against her.

"It is just ... a man's way of being aroused," he said softly. "It is a private thing, to be witnessed only by a man and his lover. Women have something similar, do they not?"

"I suppose ... I do not know," lied Maia, blushing in the dark.

"All right, little sister, let me clean myself ... there. Go on, wash yourself and go to bed. Good night!"

Maia was questioned closely by the princess, once the little maid had fallen asleep. It was hard to refuse to answer her questions, but Maia was stubborn.

"Are you becoming involved with Peder? If you are, I will support you," said the princess earnestly.

Maia shook her head. "We are as brother and sister; he loves his Neela very much, my princess...it is not for me to say more of what he wants."

"But...you know what I want," whispered the princess, tugging at Maia's hand.

The party was only two days late when they arrived at the harbor, and took ship. The sea voyage was not too rough, though Lady Jana was sick all the way across. But when they landed, the weather was quite balmy. They were shown a large field where they could pitch their tents. They would all stay in the tents until the wedding was done, as was the custom in the land. Maia's days in the princess's bed were finally over. They received many visitors in the princess's tent, with Maia and Peder attending her on her stool, which served as a throne, and with Lord Durus and Lady Jana seated by her side. Gifts were brought by various nobles and their ladies, and Tatiana charmed them all with her gracious manner and her clear intelligence. It would have been humanly impossible for Maia to not imagine herself greeting Tatiana as an equal, or being greeted by her, trying to do the same. But for one thing, she knew now, that she would have hated to be married off to a man, no matter how wonderful, and for another, she was now a warrior, not a diplomat, and certainly not a princess any longer. The princess Mayaserana was long dead, and Maia had done with mourning her long ago.

To her surprise, the princess, Keno's sister, remembered Maia well, and when she visited with her maidens, she made much of the bashful guard, praising her for her kindness and her skill. When Tatiana spoke about Maia's care for her on the trip, the other princess added to her praise, until Maia was embarrassed.

"It is my duty," she said to both princesses, noticing with surprise Peder's look of approval. In the warmth of the south, of course, he was in his guard's harness, and the little princess was trying not to stare at him. Maia was also dressed in a festive gown, in Tatiana's colors of blue and gold, which suited Maia's own coloring of rosy skin and blonde hair very well.

Once the visits died down for the afternoon, Peder cleared his throat. The princess looked at him inquiringly.

"May I have a word, my princess?" he asked politely.

"Certainly, my guard," said Tatiana, turning to him.

"I wish to beg the princess's indulgence, to let me stay with her after she is married!"

Tatiana was delighted.

"Would you indeed come stay in this land with me, Peder? And what of your lovely woman?"

"With your permission, my princess, I will bring her back with me!"

Tatiana clapped her hands. "If my father and my sister are agreeable, let it be so, Peder! Can you find your way back alone?"

"Certainly," he said. "Now that I can ride, if they will give me a horse, it will be easy."

The wedding was charming in its own way. To Maia's eyes, that is, to one who hailed from a city that considered itself to be the center of civilization, the ceremony was merely quaint; but Maia was becoming a connoisseur of other cultures, and to her loving eyes, the princess looked radiant, the prince and his parents looked magnificent, and his sister looked utterly delightful. Maia herself and the little maid Ino were the attendants of Tatiana, in addition to two ladies-in-waiting who had come with them, as well as the princess, Keno's sister, and one other girl who had been seconded to be part of Tatiana's train. The ceremony was brief, and was followed by a recital of dances and music, while trays of food were passed around the hundred or so guests. The music was utterly strange to Maia's ears, but, again, she had begun to appreciate foreign styles of music, too. And then, Tatiana and Keno went to their marriage bed. Maia and the little maid went along, as was the custom, to get the princess ready. They would sleep in an adjoining room, for the convenience of the princess on her first night.

"When you return to my father's palace, convey my request to allow Peder to return here with Neela. You understand?" Maia nodded. "You must convey the request, not he." Maia nodded again. "When you are a guard, and receive your harness, I would like to see you again!" They were whispering, with the other ladies-in-waiting watching a short distance away. Maia nodded. "May the goddess bless you!" Maia knelt at once, and the princess laid her hand on her in blessing.

The journey back was just as painful. On one hand, Peder had become comfortable on his horse, but on the other hand, the princess was no longer with them, to provide some pleasure during the journey. Peder was fair company; he talked about Neela and their plans, and at night they helped each other to pitch their tents. The little maid was returning with them, and she asked to sleep with Maia every night, which was pleasant for both of them. Often the little one rode with Maia on her horse, and despite the lack of the princess's joyful presence, Maia managed to keep herself cheerful. But inevitably the fact that the one she loved the most was married and getting further every moment was something that weighed on Maia's heart.

"You miss the princess too," Peder said, as he knelt over Maia, massaging her back, as the little maid watched.

"Does it show so much?"

"Why did you not ask her to be allowed to remain with her?"

"What need does she have for two guards, Peder? And ... I have to finish my training."

He snorted. "You will learn nothing more. I could finish your training, my sister!"

"And I must be loyal to my princess," Maia said at last. "She made me what I am...it would be despicable to ask to leave her, just as it is reasonable for you to ask to follow your own princess, Peder."

Peder finished, and climbed off her body. "You are a good woman," he said. "It was the right thought, and well said. But if you care to visit, Neela and I will welcome you."

" _I'll_ come to visit, guard Peder!" piped the little maid, grinning.

Having seen the little company from the battlements, Sybilla was waiting for them when they arrived. Maia was startled at the warmth of the welcome she received from her princess.

"I thought my sister would steal you from me!" she confided, showing greater warmth than Maia remembered her ever to have shown. "And look, these two have missed you!" She indicated Punya and her husband, who stood on one side, beaming at Maia. Maia stepped forward and embraced each of them, holding them tight. A large tear rolled down her cheek, and the three of them looked at Maia, surprised at her emotion.

"I have a message for you and the King from the Green Princess," said Maia quietly.

"Let us go in to him," Sybilla said. Addressing the young healer couple, she said she would send Maia to them soon, and that they were to take Maia's things to her room.

"Is my sister happy?" asked the princess, as they walked.

Maia noted with surprise that Sybilla held her hand, as if they were young children.

"Yes, very much so," assured Maia. "They seem to be a warm and friendly people, and princess Tatiana has charmed them already."

They came into the room in which the King sat with his advisors, reviewing various plans for the spring.

"O King," Sybilla said formally, "there is a message from Tatiana, if you have a moment."

The advisors immediately excused themselves. Sybilla took a seat, and she and her father looked inquiringly at Maia, with very much the same expression.

"The princess requested that the guard Peder and his woman Neela be allowed to join her, your majesty."

The King rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Peder is a useful guard; one of the strongest men in the palace. And Neela—isn't she a healer?" Maia and Sybilla both nodded. "I must think about it," said the King, and indicated that Maia was dismissed with a gesture. Maia looked at the princess, who nodded her own permission to leave.

Despite all the affection the Green Princess showed Maia immediately after her return, within hours the Princess seemed almost cooler towards Maia than before she had left. Maia was definitely the Princesses closest confidante, now that her sister was gone, but the warmth Maia needed was nowhere to be found in her face. They were simply Princess and her guard, as was appropriate and expected, of course.

Maia quickly set aside her hope to be as close to the Green Princess as she had been to her twin sister. Instead, she threw herself into her training with great seriousness, and as guard Peder had declared, found that she had little to actually learn; what she needed was the opportunity to fight. It was one thing to pretend to fight with weapons, it was quite another to actually feel your knife penetrate your enemy, to see the blood, to learn to overcome your distaste for killing, as opposed to ritual battle. Hearing that the King was preparing a small force that was being sent on a punitive action against a hostile bandit tribe, Maia begged to be sent along.

The King was reluctant; he was still uncomfortable with the young slave training as a guard, and only barely tolerated his daughter's occasional eccentric desire to see her guard oiled and naked. There were rumors that some of the trainees were beginning to be distracted by the young woman, and though he said nothing to the Princess, the King was beginning to think that Maia's training had better be continued in privacy, despite that there really was little left to do.

In contrast, the Green Princess was all for it. She herself would have loved to go with the men on the action, but the King would not dream of it. Father and daughter sat arguing the matter the afternoon before the small force of a score of men was to leave.

"I will not allow the girl to go with the men. You will certainly not go."

"I will be perfectly safe with Maia there!"

"The girl has never been tried in battle! This is not the sort of battle you imagine, daughter; no one will be watching from behind the lines; it is simply a raid, to teach them a lesson!"

"Well, what if you send Peder? He is still here; he could protect both of us!"

"The Palace Guard is never risked out of the city, you know that. They are for defense, only."

Finally, the King reluctantly agreed that Maia could go, provided Peder went along to protect her. That was his only concession. The Princess had begun to understand the logic of his decision, and was not too disappointed. Maia, as it happened, was being given a special training session with Peder that afternoon; they had sparred off and on since they had returned from their journey, and Peder was frustrated at Maia's tendency to soften her blows at the last second, to avoid hurting her opponent. Today he was armored with boiled leather, and he was teaching her to use all her force. His woman, Neela had bandaged Maia's breasts and groin, and that was all she wore while they fought. Peder could never succeed in landing a blow on the girl; she was too swift; he had lost his fear of hurting her, at least. But she was beginning to hit with greater force. Things were going well, when the King's personal guard, Garan, came to fetch both of them.

"Are we in trouble?" asked Peder, frowning.

Garan shook his head. "Something about the expedition tomorrow." Peder had no idea that Maia had asked to go, and Maia had no idea why Peder was being summoned. They both kept quiet, though they wondered what the news was. Garan was being very tight-lipped.

They attempted to take time to clean up, but Garan hustled them to the room in which the King was talking with his daughter, and Neela was sent firmly home, though she attempted to come along.

"You may go with the little expedition in the morning," the King said to Maia. Then turning to Peder, his face looking very sour indeed, he added, "Guard; you will also go. Keep an eye on matters. Guards are too... precious to be wasted on a routine job like this one. Don't get hurt, either of you."

Maia's face was dark with embarrassment. Despite being dismissed, she sought to express some protest against being sent out with what amounted to a nursemaid.

"Is it customary to send out guards in pairs, my lord?" she asked, politely, battling her anger. "No. As you can see, there is only one guard going. Go, get ready."

It was a long second before Maia realized that only Peder was a guard; she was only a trainee. As she walked away, she realized that the King had been restrained. The Green Princess had given Maia a hard stare when she spoke up. Fortunately Maia spoke very little in court, so there was no history of rudeness from her.

"Why are we being sent?" asked Peder, as they headed out the next day. They were on foot, as was customary in those parts.

"I asked to go," said Maia.

"Then why did you complain?"

"Because you're being sent, too!"

"Ah." Peder mulled over that. "Neela was not happy," he remarked.

"Nothing is going to happen," said Maia, unhappily, her eyes on the ground.

They made good time. There were scouts far in advance, as always, and there was a string of spies, the ones nearest the enemy raiders moving parallel with them, and the ones between moving to keep communications between the little force and their target. The raiders were also on foot, so it was not hard, but the terrain was rocky in the higher elevations, and densely wooded in the valleys. The spies constantly mapped out more efficient routes for the punitive force.

"They're planning to attack a small tribe in the East," came the word. They were within an hour of the enemy, and they would fall on the raiders from behind, as they attacked the little village. It was made difficult by the fact that the raiders also had scouts behind them as well as ahead of them. They had to be very quiet indeed.

An enemy scout had been watching their rear, and just before the planned attack, they were discovered by him. It was just barely sundown, and the man had been hard to see against a hill. He let out a yelp of alarm, and gathered himself to shout, but within seconds several arrows found him. He had dropped down, but one arrow had been deliberately aimed low, and it got him. He began to scream, but luckily the sound he made could have been an animal.

The group ran towards the raiders, and within seconds, they could be seen looking back, wondering what the noise was about. The lookout had been quietly dispatched, but the raiders were not comfortable. One raider group was heading rapidly towards the village, while the other raider group realized that there was an enemy at their backs. As soon as the fire arrows were shot into the village, the battle was on.

The village was in a clearing in a valley, and their own men had been alarmed by their scouts, who Maia saw were mere children. The raiders were conspicuous in war-paint and odd headgear intended to frighten their enemies. Some of them were hulking brutes who were striding through the village, killing indiscriminately. Seeing women being killed, as well as children, a seething Maia bounded into the fray. Peder had warned her against getting upset over that. He had told her than these barbarians routinely slew women and children in their battle lust, but the actuality broke through Maia's careful preparation to be cautious.

Maia had been using her bow with great accuracy. The raiders, once they realized that they were under attack from the rear, gave up on the village and turned to fight back. Putting her bow away, Maia ran into the thick of the fighting. Dressed as a regular soldier rather than a guard, Peder and Maia looked like the others in their group, and the enemy had no idea Maia was female. Her first blow took off the head clean off of a fellow who had just killed a woman villager. Maia was nauseated for a second, but continued fighting. These fellows were poor fighters, and Maia was disgusted at the butchery that was going on around her.

It was all over in a little more than a minute. There were no survivors. Without realizing it, Maia had accounted for four of the enemy, while the slower Peder had barely managed to engage in battle. The leader of their group, Rolf, a veteran soldier of maybe thirty winters, efficiently took stock. The village, of course, was none of their concern. They were grateful, but the soldiers ignored them. Women and children wailed over their dead, including an infant who had been in the arms of its mother as she got slain. "It is a silly place to have camped," said Rolf, shaking his head. He looked around, and murmured that the raiders must have left their women and children hidden behind somewhere. As the spy leader loped in, he was asked where the raider camp was. He gave them the location, pointing over a hill some distance away.

"Do we need to visit them?" Maia asked Peder, puzzled. The other soldiers had left the two guards mostly alone, though they were not hostile. Guards, of course, did not fit into the command structure of the army. Rolf heard, and gave them a meaningful look.

As they headed towards the hidden camp of the raiders, Rolf walked up to the guards and explained. "There's no point in the exercise unless the tribe knows what has happened, and who did it. They might think that the villagers defended themselves too well, once the fighters don't return."

"Will we kill them all?"

Rolf shook his head. "Just ... burn a tent or two... frighten them; let them know who we are."

Maia and Peder hung back, while the soldiers intimidated the frightened raider women. There were a few men with the group, but they had seen the soldiers coming —after all, the soldiers had not tried to be stealthy— and gone to hide.

"How did it go?" asked Sybilla, barely containing her excitement.

"Oh... they were poor fighters," Maia said, shaking her head.

"Did you kill any of them?"

"Yes; I was told I killed four. I wasn't keeping count!"

"My Maia is now a blooded warrior!"

Maia shrugged. She was seated on a low stool, while Sybilla interviewed her as she worked on her embroidery.

Peder had been thoroughly scolded by Neela for having hurt his foot on the way back. If Maia had managed to return unscathed, she said, why couldn't Peder, so much bigger and stronger, look after himself better? Maia happened to be visiting when one of these altercations took place, and though Neela was restrained in her scolding, moderating her remarks with a slight smile, Maia got the impression that Peder had heard this all before, and was getting tired of it.

"When do you get to go to the Blue Princess, Peder?" asked Maia. Everyone was amused at how Maia treated Peder as if she were an adoring younger sibling. Only Peder and Maia knew of the little incident that had caused the two of them such guilt while on the road in the spring. Though Maia's question was innocent enough, the fact remained that when Neela and Peder departed, Maia would have lost three of her closest friends. And worse, Peder was planning to request that little Ino be allowed to go with them. As far as they knew, Ino was now about nine years old, and they were not quite sure whether she would like the idea of joining the Blue Princess —who was now, of course, the Queen of that country. They would ask the King first, before Ino was approached with the idea.

"I do not want to go," said Neela privately to Peder. "We should remain here!"

"Why?" demanded Peder. He could not understand why Neela would ask to stay, since she knew how much Peder loved the Blue Princess.

"Why? Because Maia is here!"

"What has she got to do with it?"

Neela glared at her man. "I can't tell you everything!"

"Of course you must! This is important!"

Neela thought for a while, and said that she had to look after Maia. Peder was puzzled. He said Neela wasn't looking after Maia presently, so why start now? After much arguing, Peder managed to worm out of Neela that Maia was in fact the royal princess of Neela's people.

Peder was stunned. But now, things began to add up. He realized that many things that had puzzled him about Maia could be accounted for by the fact that she had been brought up in a great house, with much privilege. She was singularly ignorant of certain simple facts, but alarmingly well acquainted with others.

"I have betrayed my princess," Neela said, her heart in her mouth. She was almost certain that Peder would not give Maia away, but Peder was a loyal guard. What would he do?

"Why do you stare at me, woman?"

"Will you tell the King, or his daughter?"

Peder shrugged. It was not a matter of security; Maia, after all, had proven her trustworthiness many times. "She is still a slave; what difference does it make?"

"She is free, didn't you know?"

But Peder made it clear that he would not reveal the facts to the Palace, and Neela rewarded him in a special way that night.

Maia's devotion to her training became almost a mania. She exercised so hard that she put on even more muscle. The Kitchens complained that she was eating a great deal, which the Princess had also noticed with amusement.

"Are you competing with Peder for size?" she asked, laughing. Punya and her husband, who were also present, laughed heartily. Those two would laugh at anything.

"The exercise makes me hungry," admitted Maia, not as amused as the others.

"Slow down," said Punya's husband, quietly. "The bigger you are, the harder to move silently. And the more you will suffer, if you have to starve."

Maia listened. Perhaps more moderation was called for, she decided.

The summer approached, and one day the armory brought in the harness that Maia would be given once she was commissioned as a guard. Peder had recommended that she should be allowed to join the Guard in her third year, because there was nothing left for her to learn, and because she could be more useful to the Princess as a guard than as a trainee. So Maia was examined by the Arms Master a few weeks after the expedition, and she was summoned to the throne room in the afternoon, to receive her commission.

The Princess sent away everyone except Maia, and personally supervised the fitting of the harness. It had been made comfortable for the young woman, fitting over her breasts, and with a groin-cup strapped across her hips, and protection for her forearms and her shins. The Princess insisted on oiling her guard herself, and nothing Maia said would prevent her. Fortunately, the Princess stopped short of her usual sex games with her guard; she had desisted from them ever since Maia got back from the South.

The commissioning was simple, and largely symbolic. The King conducted it with dignity; it was becoming clear that Maia's admission to the Guard was no longer a joke, but something that the Guard itself was pleased to see.

That Midsummer Games, Maia competed as a guard, and not a trainee. She was allowed to wear her harness for all events except the wrestling, and this time, with her increased strength, she did far better than they had expected from previous years. "She is strong," said the King, thoughtfully, eying the young woman with interest. Maia's pleasure in winning the summer games was barely hidden.

Right after the games, Peder's foot was good enough for him to travel. The King had finally given approval for Peder to join his daughter, and Neela and Ino with him. Ino was thrilled to be allowed, and Maia was permitted to escort them.

"You will have to travel back alone," the King said to the new guard.

"Yes, I know, my lord."

"Can you return safely? We cannot afford an escort to look after you. Our spies are expecting trouble from the north."

Maia shrugged, though it was considered rude to shrug in the presence of the King. What could she say? Until she tried such a journey, she would never know. "I will do my best, my lord," she said, politely.

The small contingent set out a few days later. Peder and Neela were on horseback, while little Ino rode with Maia or Neela, in rotation. They took only food and clothing, with one pack animal with their most essential belongings. There was a plan for the Blue Princess to visit later in the year, with carriages and an entourage, and when she returned, Peder and Neela could have a few more possessions transported across. The pack animal was nimble, and followed along even when the horses kept up a brisk pace. Neela was a fair horsewoman, and she chattered gaily with Maia as they rode. They made it down to the sea in far less time than they had with Lord Durus and his wife, only camping once. This time, with Neela there, Peder needed much less attention from Maia, and in any case, he had been riding, and was far more comfortable on horseback. Little Ino slept with Maia, a delightful, cuddly presence in Maia's bedroll. Ino's simple affection for Maia had served to balance out the indifference Maia seemed to see in her Princess, for whose love Maia hungered. She was grateful that her hunger for her Princess was now just a dull roar, and a feeling of guilt that the love between Maia and Tatiana would burst aflame while she was visiting. Maia did not want that to happen; if there was passion between them now, it could only hurt them both.

Unexpectedly, just before their arrival at the coastal plain they encountered a pair of advanced scouts of a hostile party from a new and unfamiliar people. The scouts gave them a hostile glare from aback their enormous mounts, from a quarter mile away, and headed back fast towards the main party. Maia and Peder could see the main camp some distance away, in the early dawn. Neela, who was carrying Ino, only gasped and kept silent, her eyes wide with fear. As Peder rode hard, Maia brought down the mount of one of the riders and put an arrow into him, and rode like the wind towards the other, Peder and Maia approaching him in two slightly different directions. It was all instinctive, on Maia's part; fighting from on horseback was an unknown art.

The scout, still inexplicably silent, turned to face Peder. He was an enormous man, bigger even that the giant Peder. Peder dismounted clumsily, not knowing how to fight from on horseback. The scout tried to run Peder down unsuccessfully. He struck at Peder with his blade, opening a cut on Peder's left arm. Maia saw red. She galloped into the fight, dismounted like Peder, and engaged the scout, while Peder tried to stanch the wound on his arm, which was deep. Maia had control of herself by now, and fought carefully. She had to protect Peder, Neela and the little girl, and she could not afford to get hurt in the process.

She reluctantly saw that she might have to kill the horse from under the scout. The man was preparing to disengage and ride off, but Maia aimed a blow at the hind-leg of the horse, and it fell. The scout jumped off, and turned to her in fury. Peder had managed to tie up his wound, and had picked up his sword. The scout was distracted for a fraction of a second, and Maia lopped off his arm, and killed him with her next blow. Amazingly, the man had fought and died in almost complete silence.

"Kill the animal," Maia said to Peder.

"Why?"

"It will never run again," she said, grimly. But as she said it, the horse sprang to its feet, wild-eyed. Maia looked at it in amazement. Its skin was cut, and it was bleeding, but it could clearly walk. It was a beautiful horse. The two of them got mounted, and Maia hauled the captured horse with her, and they rode back to where the girls waited, as quietly as they could. The alarm appeared not to have been raised, miraculously, and they hurried onwards to the sea, breaking into a gallop only once they were more than a mile away from the enemy. They could have gone faster if not for the captured horse, which was clearly in pain.

Unlike on the previous trip south, there were no troops to protect them. Once they had said farewell to the border guards, they had been on their own. Now they prayed that the border guards would be on the watch for these incoming marauders, if they were to explore that far north. Peder declared that he had never seen the like of these people, such enormous giants, mounted on huge horses.

There was no ship awaiting them; they had to ride along the shore until they saw a patrol across the straits on the other side. Signals were exchanged, and they returned to the place at which the party had been picked up the last time, constantly looking to the north, to see if the invaders had seen their tracks and followed them down to the sea. Finding their scouts dead, what would they conclude? That the enemy was either south or north, but which? In either case, Maia would be in great danger on her way back home.

The boat arrived, a much smaller one than had picked up Lord Durus and his lady. The sailors knew nothing of the party that Maia and Peder had encountered, but now that they were warned, they kept a close eye on the northern shore. By nightfall, Peder, Maia, Neela and little Ino were reunited with the Blue Princess.

While Prince Keno and his mother looked on with smiles, Tatiana received the party from home with tears of joy. Ino, who was grinning up at her lady with unconcealed delight was welcomed with a big embrace. Peder knelt to offer his sword, and Tatiana laid her hand on his shoulder with happy and gracious acceptance. Neela was welcomed too with a brief hug and a few words, praising her for how well she looked, despite the hardships of the journey. Finally Maia knelt, and the princess raised her to her feet, and gazed her fill at the new guard.

"I can see your harness under your habit," said she, smiling. "It is a privilege to have you visit us, Guard Maia!" She turned to her husband and called him forth. "Do you recall the woman who performed for us on the harp?"

"Yes, very clearly," said he, puzzled.

"Well, this is she, Guard Maia!"

"A female guard?"

"And a musician, too!" said Tatiana, proudly. "If only we had a harp, to temp Maia to play!"

"We must certainly acquire one for her next visit," said the prince, and they laughed. The only way they could acquire one was to trade for it, or to steal it, and the latter was more likely.

They were fed, and quarters were found for the three who were to stay. Maia was given a room close to those of the princess, and Maia knew that it would be a difficult night. The princess watched, as the three travelers ate a meal with great embarrassment, as she urged them on, having already supped herself. Then Peder, Neela and Ino departed to bed, while the Princess kept Maia behind. She accompanied the guard to her room and closed the door.

"This is not wise, my princess," whispered Maia, her heart heavy.

"Would you not let me see you in your harness, my love?"

"You are married ..."

"I know, Maia. But I am greedy for the sight of you!"

Maia withdrew behind a curtain, for privacy; it was difficult to put on the harness with the princess watching so closely. She oiled herself carefully, noting with despair how her body betrayed her, and began to hum with anticipation of the princess's touch. It seemed almost better to have died at the hands of the enemy than to suffer, with such ecstasy so close, but unattainable. Tears pricked her eyes, but she put on her harness, and emerged dry-eyed for the princess's inspection.

The princess had sat on a bench against the wall, and now she stood, as Maia approached her, her eyes wide.

"You did feel ... bigger," she ventured. "How old are you, Maia? I was eighteen at midsummer!"

"Eighteen winters, my lady," murmured Maia, her eyes lowered. The girls were the same age.

"The Green Princess always held that you were the most beautiful woman in the world," she said, in an awed whisper.

"I would be more useful as a fighter than as a ... pretty woman."

Tatiana came up to Maia and ran her fingers gently over Maia's arms and the skin that showed between the leather straps. "I wish you were ugly, and weak, to know for certain that I have not been enthralled by beauty and strength!" And drawing Maia's head closer, she gave her a soft, tender kiss on the lips. Then, another, giving herself up completely to Maia, who could not hold back, but had to taste once again the sweetness of the princess's mouth. Then, as if with one mind, the two girls drew gently apart, and stood; Maia dejectedly, the princess sorrowful on behalf of her beloved.

"Does she still show no sign of some feeling for you?" Maia shook her head, her eyes shining with tears that she knew she could keep from being shed. The misery she felt was now a familiar feeling, and she had control of it. "Have you given her a hint of your own feelings?" Maia shook her head. "Then how can she know?"

Maia sighed silently. The sorrow she felt was too bitter to argue about. "Perhaps it is better that she does not know!"

The princess held her breath, but dropped her eyes, and was silent. In a few minutes, she moved to the door, taking farewell only with her eyes.

Maia fell on her bed, her knees unable to keep her upright. She had imagined this reunion, but had not dreamed that it would be such torture. She had assumed that the Blue Princess would avoid meeting her in private. But that was not the case; and now that Maia reflected on the matter, that was not her way. She was not the silent schemer; she was always the one to broach a matter head on. It had been only with the greatest difficulty that Maia had controlled her, and prevented her from accusing Sybilla of callousness towards the former slave who so adored her. If Tatiana had been in her twin's position, she would have gladly recognized the slave as her lover, even if their love had to be hidden from the rest of the palace and the world.

The visit was necessarily brief; Maia was expected back soon, since the country was preparing for possible war, and when the army was divided between a major war force and the home guard, the Palace Guard was essential to the protection of the royal family. Now that there were foreign troops camped just outside the borders, it was particularly important to get back.

Maia was summoned for inspection by the prince, in her guard's regalia, and he was amazed. In addition to the harness, of course, her dense tattoos displayed her musculature, all of which had been hidden under an ankle-length robe when she had played the harp for him. He made no secret of his admiration, but his wife only regarded him with amused exasperation; evidently she did not regard his roving eye with alarm.

"Now do you consider her plain, my prince?" asked Tatiana, with sarcasm. The prince's mother, the queen added her sardonic look to that of his wife and his sister. The three women were united in their admiration for the guard.

"Indeed not," he conceded. "She has grown more beautiful since my visit," he declared, and they laughed. Maia smiled, with slight embarrassment dimming her features. She could see that it would not be easy to wear a harness, at least among friends. When she was fighting, of course, there was none of this annoying frivolity.

Maia took her leave, kissing little Ino, whose customary cheerfulness was tempered by the prospect of exile from the court at which she had so many friends. But there were three friends here, though Guard Maia would not be back for a long time. Maia had decided to take the enormous mount of the invading scout with her. It was a grey horse, with a heavy coat of hair which meant that it was uncomfortable in those warmer climes. It had healed very quickly, with the tinctures that Keno's animal physicians treated the wound, and by the end of the week it had made friends with Maia, and her own black and brown stallion. She set out in the early morning, and made it to the shore before noon. The boat took her aboard, and soon she was galloping across the dunes to the wooded hills that lay just outside the hilly borders of her adopted home. Her mind went to the home of her birth, in the east, probably a ruin now, she thought; at least a partial ruin, with the survivors struggling to survive on fishing and farming, and any sheep that might have escaped the enemy soldiers.

Keeping a careful eye to the west, from where the enemy scouts had come, Maia took the climbing road to the border. There was no sign of the border guards, and she presently found their camp deserted. There was no blood, and no bodies, and Maia took heart that perhaps the guards had made a strategic retreat. The road showed signs of much horse traffic, and though unskilled in scoutcraft, Maia guessed that a far larger host had taken the road than they had seen in the encampment. As she drew to the large ford that lay between the border regions and the capital district, her suspicions were verified: an enormous force had crossed the river. She led the horses off the trail into the woods, and proceeded very quietly for a day and a night, not taking time to camp. She presently saw a line of guardposts. It was those same enormous fellows, whose horses left tracks almost twice the size of the hoofmarks of the horses in the King's stables.

"Hera," she told the big grey who had adopted her, "you have to manage on your own, girl; I have to get across this line quietly." The great horse nuzzled her, not understanding. Her own darker horse was easier to hide, and besides, he was trained to walk silently on command. Kneeling in the mud, Maia reluctantly covered herself in mud from head to toe, with Hera watching her with one thoughtful eye. Maia looked at her stallion, and decided to send him on ahead. It was well trained, despite it's poor attitude towards being broken to ride. "Go to Charos," she told it. It watched her uneasily. "Go! Go to Charos!" she said again. To her relief, the horse silently headed towards the city, but through the woods.

Before the moonrise, Maia had to cross the line. Stealthily, with one last pat of the big grey's shoulder, she set out along the valley. The closer guard was watching the road from atop a low mountain on one side, and she had seen another guard some distance away, on a huge tree. Maia only knew that if she moved slowly, she would be less visible. A quick run was out of the question. She sighed and set out. At least the horse was safe; she had heard no fussing from in the direction the horse had taken. It took hours, but Maia crept along creek beds and ditches, and finally she lay in the river that surrounded the castle. She was exhausted, not from labor, but from tension. There was no question of hailing the watch; they were probably well aware of the enemy within a mile of the castle, and at the first sound she made, she would be riddled with arrows. She had to go along the stream, circling the city to the north, and try to come ashore upstream from the city.

Maia was startled by a push on her back. She whirled around, and was stunned to see the horse Hera gently butting her. It was half in the water, covered in some dark stuff, trying to butt her again.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a whisper. She had heard absolutely nothing all the while. She touched the horse; it was covered in evil-smelling mud.

With some difficulty, Maia got on the muddy horse, and the two of them headed upstream, past the city walls. The mud was being washed away, and soon Hera would be revealed. Maia's mind gave up. The mare would obviously not stay where she left it. There was no alternative but to keep going. She saw the river bank come sloping to the water just past the city, and the mare, of its own volition, got out of the river and scrabbled up the bank onto the shore, and shook itself, trying to get dry, and Maia fell off.

It wasn't easy to get inside the city walls, but Maia managed to get the harness out of the pack on the grey, and put it on, and gain entrance by virtue of being recognized in her harness. The mare was stared at for a while, and while they were demanding to know everything about the journey, Maia's stallion trotted up, and demanded to be admitted. He was perfectly dry, and Maia had no idea how he had made his way to the rear gate.

The palace was in preparation for war. The Green Princess had left the arrangements to her father, though she watched all the preparations with her customary thoroughness. Maia knew that she was ready for anything; if they survived this threat, someday Sybilla would have to provide leadership for outlasting a similar siege. She quickly and efficiently learned as much as Maia had to report. She would inspect the mare later; the King had to immediately hear Maia's detailed report. As soon as Maia was cleaned and clothed, she was led to the King.

How many were there? Where were they from? Where are they camped? What are they like? What do they want? Maia told him as much as she knew. She found out that the border guards had only hurried back to the city after studying the enemy carefully. Their estimate was that there were close to a thousand mounted troops, all men. Spies had reported that they had cut down an enormous tree, and were building a battering-ram.

"Let us go and meet them," said the King calmly. The Green Princess nodded. There was no point in having them destroy the enormous gates of the city; it was a good fortress, but it was not impregnable, as they well knew. Maia's experience with the scouts was related to the generals, and they agreed that in a pitched battle, they had a fair chance against the enemy. The Green Princess was in charge of an evacuation, if the battle was lost. She simply nodded; all this had been rehearsed earlier, and it was all ready in her head.

As Sybilla and Maia sat in Sybilla's room talking, a summons came for Maia.

"I think my father plans to take you into battle," said Sybilla calmly. For the first time, she looked a little nervous.

"Me? But my place is here, to defend you and the castle!"

"If the battle out there is lost, you might not need to defend the castle," said Sybilla. She had already conceded that these one thousand or so invaders were the greatest threat the barbarian city had faced. With their war horses, they had an enormous advantage over the defending infantry.

Sybilla was right. The King wanted Maia by his side as his shield-bearer. Rolf had not seen war in many years, and he would secure the castle and lead the Palace Guard. Only Maia was being risked in the field. "You have fought these men before," the King explained. "Experience is everything." Maia decided not to bring up the fact that she would not have had experience if she had not begged to be taken out for it.

The King, Maia, and the generals had planned the strategy together. Already several hundred men had left the city the way Maia had come in, out along the river, to surround the enemy as well as they could. When they saw the gates open and the King riding out, they were to attack.

It was executed as planned. The sortie from the palace was completely unexpected, especially since the King's troops were on foot. Soon they faced the enormous warriors, and as Maia had described, they fought silently, only the occasional grunt sounding from their lips, and drowned out by the noise of the weapons.

Maia was at the King's side as he marched into the fray, another soldier holding up the King's banner on a standard. Maia shot arrow after arrow at the enemy, but they often were able to pull the arrows out of their bodies, even their necks and chests, and keep fighting. A direct hit on the eye would fell one of them, but that was hard to do. Soon they were face to face with the warriors, and Maia and the King fought side by side. The King was a fierce warrior, and quick. He had watched Maia at the games, and knew her strengths. Together, they downed one of the giants, then another, and another, but it was hard work. Meanwhile, most of the defenders were falling to the swords of the invaders. As they looked about the battlefield, lit only by moonlight and the torches brought by the defending troops, they could see the giants everywhere, reduced by only a few score, while their own men were dead all around them.

"Keep fighting, Maia," said the King in a low voice, as they looked for another giant to engage. "Give my girl some time..." Maia's heart went out to the King. He was fighting to keep his daughter alive; there was no way they could win this battle. They were only delaying the inevitable moment when the invaders would sack the city. Maia gave a great yell, and attacked a giant already fighting one of the generals, and the King and she finished him off. The three of them attacked another giant, and suddenly the general fell with a great blow to the head, and was promptly dispatched. Maia and the King attacked the man, and the King cut at his knee while Maia killed him the moment he fell. Then one of the giants picked up a fallen arrow, and hurled it at the King, and Maia saw him clutching his eye; he had been blinded, by a thrown arrow!

All around them the torches were fluttering out, and there seemed to be very little fighting going on. Hundreds of the invaders strutted about, their light-colored clothing standing out against the dark of the trees that lined the battleground. The King was on his knees, holding his eye in great pain. Throwing down her sword, Maia picked up the King in her arms. He was not a heavy man, but he was no feather, either. She hurried to the shelter of the closest trees, by which time he had gathered himself together. "I can walk," he said, "but you'll have to lead me."

"Yes, my lord; here, hold me round my waist," she said, and hurried him towards the city. Then she noticed a line of mounted invaders heading in through the open gates. She quickly changed direction away from the path to the gates.

Blood was pouring out of his eye. "I know a place," he said. "They'll never find us in this dark. It's ... back, along the road ..." She guided him in the direction he described, back along the trail she had walked as a prisoner, three years ago, and off the road, under a little bridge. It was a room, clearly occupied by some wild animal, which had fled recently. She made him comfortable on the floor. He had most certainly lost his eye, she knew. What should she do now?

"If you can stay safe, I will check on the princess," Maia said urgently. She was preparing to go into the city if he did not tell her otherwise. He felt weak and fragile already, not the heroic fighter she had seen him to be. He did not look much more than forty, she thought, wondering why it should matter. She got to her feet, but he sighed and motioned her to sit.

"She will be safe," he said. "She will find us here... this is a sort of gathering place, you see..."

Maia felt a presence, and she turned, to see the Green Princess leaning in to look at them, just barely visible in the near dark.

"Oh, my father!" she said softly.

"What are they doing?"

Sybilla did not answer right away. She came close and examined her father, and laid a gentle hand on Maia's shoulder.

"They ride up and down... a few of them went through the palace... there seems nothing they're interested in. It was all for nothing."

"The gold is there, in plain sight..."

"They took some of it, I think."

"The people?"

"Gone into the hills. Just sleep, father; the healer couple is hiding close by, I will get them..."

"No!" Sybilla was startled into immobility, and she stopped the motion of her hand which had been stroKing her father. "I would like to speak to the Guard ... alone." Maia stared at the princess and the King, wide-eyed. A ray of moonlight was reflected off a stone, and that was all they had to see by.

"I will be outside," said Sybilla, and stepped away.

When Sybilla returned a few minutes later with the healer couple, Punya and her husband, the King was clearly beyond help. His breathing was labored, and Punya verified quickly that the King had a killing fever. "What exactly happened?" asked Punya. "How did he lose his eye?"

"One of them ... picked up an arrow and simply threw it at his face!"

"A poisoned arrow?" asked Sybilla softly.

"No, just ... one of ours. They are not usually poisoned," said Maia.

"No, it is from ... the dirt of the ground," said Punya softly. "Poisons from the dirt ... in an ordinary wound, they cause little damage, but in the eye..."

By morning, the King was dead. But also, by morning, the city was completely deserted, by its usual inhabitants and the invaders alike. The invaders, however, had not departed, but had returned to camp, and were seen settling down to a long stay. And also, the light of morning revealed the two horses grazing by the side of the stream.

"Is that one of their horses?" asked Sybilla, having roused herself with difficulty from mourning her father. Maia said that it was the mare that had attached itself to the guard. They marveled at the strange habit of the stallion and the mare, to find Maia wherever she may happen to be. But now there were practical problems to solve. What were they all to do? Should they bury the King? Should they try and muster the remnants of the city population, or should they flee?

Sybilla carefully retrieved the sword that the King had rested against the stone culvert. Then she went into the stream, which was filled with large stones, and carried one inside, with great difficulty, and laid it by the King. The others saw what she was doing, and eventually they had a cairn built around the dead King, in the little chamber. Then Sybilla went outside, and sat on the bank of the little stream. Maia gazed at her hopelessly, while the healer couple sat together, patiently waiting for a decision from the other two women.

The princess looked solemnly at Maia. "I put myself in your hands," she said quietly. "I can be your friend, or ... your lover, or your slave ... it is all the same to me."

The words were such a parody of words that Maia had longed to hear for more than a year that she was shocked. She looked back at Sybilla with narrowed eyes and said nothing, and the princess lowered her eyes and bit her lip. In her bitterness, she had insulted her faithful guard, but what had been said could not be unsaid. She closed her eyes, grateful for the forbearance of the foreign girl, hoping that the longer her anger was held off, the milder it would be if it fell on Sybilla.

"We could travel south, to your sister," said Maia quietly.

"No! No ... I will not go there as a supplicant."

"But it is your sister!"

"All the more reason," said Sybilla. She raised her eyes to Maia. "You, of all people should understand!"

"Why me?"

"I know what you are." Maia held her breath. But no further explanation was forthcoming. What did Sybilla know? Was it that Maia was her twin's lover? Was it that Maia was a royal princess? Or was it some imagined thing inside Sybilla's head?

"Where would you like me to take you, my princess..."

Sybilla made an impatient noise. "I would prefer not to be called 'princess' until ... for some time, Maia. For a long time, if you please." Her voice was soft and pleading, and she made it easy for Maia to accept her plea. "Let's us travel together, away from this place; in time, some plan will come to us, will it not? Maia, please do not harden your heart against me, for the sake of the love that I gave you... for the sake of the love that my sister gave you!"

Her heart torn in a hundred different ways, Maia pulled herself together, and went out to greet the two horses. They willingly came back to the little group on the river bank, and Maia made the healer couple comfortable on the big mare. The princess came close to Maia and gripped her arms and whispered, "I'm so grateful for your patience, Maia ... that you would share your horse with me! I am grateful for all you have done, and all that you will surely do for me!"

"I am glad to do it," said Maia. "I must mount first, because he is a wild fellow."

Neither horse had its blankets, so it was hard to stay mounted. With great awkwardness, Maia reached for the princess, and raised her to sit in front of Maia. They set off quietly through the woods, parallel to the road, and headed eastwards, towards the lands that Maia was familiar with.

At first, the Green Princess's closeness was an agony for Maia. So often had she fantasized holding her just this way; but now that it was a reality, it was as though Sybilla's mind was far away, trying to avoid living the experience that was maKing Maia's heart try to destroy itself. But inevitably, over the hours, Maia got accustomed to the feel of the soft warm body seated in front of her.

Soon they were miles away from the battlefield and the castle, following the rocky trail that the Maia and her fellow prisoners had marched along, over mountain passes, through tiny mountain villages, then down into the prairies, begging food from poor villagers, or cooKing roots and herbs which the healer cheerfully found for them to eat. They never went hungry, but sometimes Sybilla would simply refuse to eat, if she did not like the taste of anything.

The first night, they slept out in the open, below a huge boulder that was half sunk in the ground. In case of rain, it could hardly shelter them, but it seemed a comfort to have it close to them. The healer couple lay, their limbs entwined, cooing to each other, and then copulating energetically, as was their habit. Maia had always tolerated them with mild frustration, and sometimes embarrassment. But now, their antics infuriated her. Long after the couple was fast asleep, Maia remained restless, in her imagination maKing love to a faceless lover, whose voice spoke to her in the soft tones of Tatiana, or sometimes in the dull voice of Sybilla; it was hard to say which one it was. Maia was restless, tossing this way and that; her body ached so much, she fantasized about being beaten violently. It seemed to her that only a furious assault on her naked body could give her the sexual relief she craved.

The healer couple were always neatly turned out, and nothing seemed to bother them at all. They trusted implicitly in Maia and the princess, though there was no cause for this trust. Maia carefully cleaned up each morning, but she knew that she looked travel-stained. The healers washed their robes every chance they got, and cheerfully went naked on the big mare, who followed the stallion placidly, content to graze when they halted for a meal. Maia remained dressed in her army tunic, loincloth and leggings in the higher elevations, and took off the leggings when it was too warm for them. The princess had only her robe, which was awkward to ride in.

The second night, after the healer couple had had a couple of bouts of sex and Maia thrashed about on the rectangle of fabric that was her bed, improvised out of her leggings, the princess came and sat by her. Maia was still, aware of the other girl.

"Maia..."

"Yes?"

"Let me help you relax," offered the princess, in a whisper.

Maia was so exhausted that her mind did not have the energy to throw up the usual barrage of confusing ideas. Everything was clear.

"Don't do it, if you don't mean it," she said, respectful even now.

There was a long silence. "I need to do it," said the princess. "I cannot bear to feel your tiredness... when we are traveling. If you don't sleep, I can't sleep either!"

"Will you let me help you to sleep, too?"

The princess drew in her breath in a gasp. She had never permitted Maia to touch her body except in a chaste massage, or perhaps a kiss, when Maia's whole being demanded to express its devotion to the princess.

"What harm can it do now? ... Yes, Maia, if you must."

Maia raised her tunic, and felt the princess's hand move over her body, and closed her eyes. Soon, inevitably, her body abandoned it's worrying, and unknotted itself in mindless ecstasy. Then Maia turned to her lady, who lay beside her, her face covered with her hands, as if she could not bear to see, or have Maia see her face. Awkwardly Maia began, and then, as her hands remembered how to worship the soft skin of the princesses, they took over the task of maKing love to the girl, and only her labored breathing indicated that anything was happening to her. It was her very first time, and at the end, she clung to Maia's hand, her breath coming in labored gasps. Maia longed to lay her cheek against those soft breasts, but she was not sure if that would be welcome. Before she stroked the shuddering body of the girl, she carefully cleaned off her hands on the fabric of her bed-sheet, and tenderly gentled the once proud princess. Gradually her body relaxed into the pleasure, and her breathing settled into a regular rhythm. Tears of joy threatened Maia. Perhaps her gift of pleasure had not been accepted without reservation. But Maia loved her friend enough that the gift gave Maia pleasure, even without the acknowledgment. Maia fell asleep with her arm across the princess's hips.

"You said you knew what I was," Maia said softly, so only Sybilla could hear. "So what am I?"

"It does not matter, Maia. You are kind and brave ... I saw you fighting! No one fought better. Truly, you will be one of the great warriors of the age, and you a woman! I am nothing, nothing, nothing ..."

"You are a princess!" Maia said, quietly but fiercely. "If you stop being a princess, ..."

"Yes?"

Maia did not answer. A plan was taking shape in her mind, and for its success, Sybilla had to continue to be a princess.

That night went the same as the night before; the princess, though she claimed that she was no longer a princess, graciously granted permission for the intimacy. Maia had asked whether the princess had been pleased with what Maia had done, and she said that she had not known what to expect, but that the result had been ... very nice.

A week passed, and then one night Maia was awakened by a stealthy sound. She heard the horses struggling, and was about to rise, to find out what was happening, when she found a foot close to her head. She had to pretend to be asleep. Next to her, the Princess was also awake, and was lying still. She moved her hand very slightly, to touch Jana, to signal that she was awake.

Suddenly, the Healer couple were startled from sleep, and got to their feet, and pandemonium broke out. Spears were leveled at them by a third robber, and Maia took the opportunity to roll away from the annoying foot. In one movement, she had killed the man close to her, and was on the fellow who threatened the Healer couple.

"Wait, wait! Peace! See, we lower the spears!" Maia was amazed to hear her own speech.

"Come out into the light, where I can see you!" said Maia, angry more at herself than at the robbers.

"We're going, young fellow ... we just thought ... that you might not need so many horses ..." and the two remaining men ran as fast as they could.

The Princess was stunned, but recovered quickly. The Healer couple were furious.

"What were we thinKing? It is not safe to sleep in these parts!"

"We have to set a watch every night," said Maia, dully. The thought that any of the others might have been hurt was horrible to consider. Maia went to check on the horses, and they were unharmed. Thank goodness that her stallion had fought the robbers.

"Let us see if this one is carrying any gold with him!" Punya exclaimed.

The dead man indeed did have a pouch that held a few miserable pieces of jewelry.

The could no more sleep that night. It was about three hours to dawn, and Maia said that they should rest briefly, and then be on their way. "Those three will follow us, now, to steal the horses," she said, and the Healers muttered that it was quite possible.

The next afternoon, when they passed through a village, Maia, already in a bad mood, was further incensed by many of the men of the village showing crude admiration for the Princess. Dressed in the manner of her people, she looked exotic and different, and drew too much attention, in Maia's opinion.

They had a little money to buy food, but Maia, thinKing that the thieves were from this very village, was in no mood to deal with them. The princess's stomach was growling as they turned into a woods just outside the village.

When they found a little clearing, Maia asked the others to stay. "I'm going to hunt," she said.

Her life as a guard trainee had been a privileged one, and she had never learned to hunt, as the boys must have done, with their fathers. With some difficulty, Maia brought down a rabbit with the bow of the Healer couple, and brought it back to the others. The Healers happily took the animal, dressed it, and prepared it for the three of them. The Princess invited Maia to have the greater part of the meal, but Maia frowned and refused.

"Of course, we must share the food equally! What are you thinKing?"

"You are the hunter, and our protector; you deserve more than the rest of us, Maia!"

"The Princess is right, my Lady," said Punya. "If you must fight for us, you must be strong!"

"Nonsense," said Maia, putting an end to the discussion.

The following night, they set watches. Punya took first watch, and then called Maia shortly before midnight. As Maia sat against the rock, her ears heard the sounds of stealthy feet stealing through the brush that surrounded their clearing. Suddenly she got an idea.

The Princess had laid down near Punya this time, feeling fearful, and Maia could not tell whether she had heard the sounds of the thieves. They seemed to be intent on stealing the horses without coming into the camp.

"They're here," said Punya, in less than a whisper. "Yes," breathed Maia.

Gathering herself, Maia leaped to her feet, and ran like the wind to where the horses were tethered, and to her satisfaction, she saw Punya's husband rise to his feet with a stiff club in his hand, to stand guard over the Princess, and Punya herself circling round to cut off the thieves, with another staff in her hand.

Throwing restraint to the winds, Maia attacked both the male thieves, while Punya chased away a female accomplice who ran screaming. Maia killed them both.

The men carried some valuables with them, which Maia took with some satisfaction. It had made her furious that they had attempted to steal the horses a second time, even if they had expected it. Killing became easier as she went along. Maia had not expected that it would have been so hard to begin with, nor that it would become easier. She stared at the bodies, glistening with blood for a long time. The thieves, of course, had been no match for her, having been armed only with knives.

They had cut the tethers of the horses, and the horses had run off once the fighting began. Now, when Maia called them, they came, cautiously. It was another sleepless night.

"We can't go on like this," said Maia.

"We can," said the Healers, encouragingly. "Sleep now; we will keep watch. It was worth it, for the valuables!"

"The next time, I'm going to follow the woman right to their camp, and steal everything," said Maia, angrily, finally maKing the Princess laugh.

"Again, you save our lives," the Princess said, sobering down. "In this wilderness, without the horses, we will probably die quickly."

The next day, they were so demoralized, they simply walked the horses along the trail.

"We could go to our people," said the Healer couple. "We have to head straight south, for that, but you will be welcome among our people."

Maia was in a quandary. She had originally planned to go to her own people, but the troubles they were having were in fact with remnants of her own people. She needed to talk to Sybilla privately, in order to make a decision that would not insult or offend the healer couple.

"Talk it over with the Princess, my Lady," said Punya, always diplomatic and intelligent. "We will not be offended."

"You decide," said Sybilla softly, and a little uncertainly.

Maia led the way a few yards from the other couple, and Sybilla followed. Her feelings for the Princess, always present, but now deadened to a dull roar, flamed afresh. The sight of the girl, vulnerable, dependent on Maia, travel-stained and weary, all cut Maia's tender heart.

"We can at least visit these people; we don't have to live with them," Maia said softly, turning to the Princess.

She nodded, her head bowed, and then raised her eyes to Maia. Maia's heart lurched.

"It might not be simple," she reminded the guard. "What might be their customs? Will they allow independent women? In some parts of the world, the women must always be the property of a man. It is so among our people," she added.

"Shall we ask Punya?"

"Is is proper to discuss it with slaves?"

"They cannot be slaves, if we are to follow them to their home. You must free them."

"You are both free," Sybilla said, looKing the two healers in the eye. "In my heart, you were already free, but if we are to be your guests, it is only proper that I declare it before witnesses."

"In our hearts we were never slaves, My Princess! Do not take it as insolence; it is simply a foreign way of thinKing to us!"

"I do not take it amiss, healer girl. But some information is necessary before we decide firmly; how are women regarded among your people? Will we become your husband's property?"

Punya laughed gaily, maKing Maia smile. The healer girl was simply irrepressible.

"Among us, indeed, it is the other way! My husband belongs to me, and if they mistake my Lady Maia for a man, which they easily might, she will belong to your highness!"

The princess raised her eyes to Maia with some amusement, and Maia's heart raced with the pleasure of the girl's change of mood. When Sybilla was subdued and miserable, Maia felt it like a fog, or a heavy weight.

"Perhaps, in order to avoid such a fate, you might not want to act the man," Sybilla suggested to her guard.

Maia felt tongue-tied. She searched her heart for the right words.

"To belong to my Princess is not ... such a terrible doom," she stammered out, her face becoming hot. It was the first declaration of love Maia had made in public, and the first as an equal. The smiles the healer couple wore at those words were respectful and warm.

The princess turned to glance at the healer couple, blushing in her turn. When she turned back, she was alarmed to see Maia on one knee, offering her sword.

"What's this?" she asked, confused. Maia only held out her sword, and Sybilla took it, and with instinctive grace, raised Maia to her feet, and gave her the sword back.

The journey south was slow, and led over a range of mountains which were just losing their cover of snow. They descended to a vast plain, which they crossed with ease on the big horses. In the distance, they could see herds of wild horses grazing, or running, just for the sheer pleasure of it. They were smaller horses than the pair they had with them, more delicately made, built more for speed than for battle.

Sybilla now rode behind Maia, and had gotten to holding her tight about the waist. She was able to express more affection for Maia, and it came from her heart, not out of a calculated need to express something to Maia. In the nights, when they lay down to sleep, with either Punya or her husband on watch, Sybilla's touch on Maia's face was tender and spontaneous. She had given up trying to give her guard pleasure, or she had forgotten it. She simply stroked Maia's cheek, or her arm, and fell asleep snuggled against Maia's stomach, and Maia felt a weary contentment. She burned to be intimate with the girl, but she dreaded losing the innocent pleasure Sybilla's simple attentions gave her now.

"Watch for a couple of hours, and wake me again," Punya was saying in her ear. It was her way of telling Maia that she need not watch the rest of the night.

Maia watched until a little before dawn, when she woke up Punya's husband, Sharm.

Punya first saw the border guard, who sat on an enormous boulder. "There should be another one on the ground," she said thoughtfully. "There, I see him. He has seen us."

She went forth to talk to him, and soon the others were beckoned over.

"This is my husband Sharm; we were abducted when we were treating a sick man. This is Sybilla, a princess of the north, and her man, whose name I do not know."

The guards asked to inspect the sword Maia carried, which had belonged to Sybilla's father, the King. Maia reluctantly allowed it, but the sword was returned.

"You should sheathe it," they told Maia, who pretended not to understand. Punya told Maia in the language of Sybilla's people that they would make a sheath for the sword; carrying a naked sword was considered hostile behaviour. Maia nodded. Sybilla smiled charmingly at the guard, while holding Maia tight.

The large village that was the center of the settlement had a main street, lined with wooden houses, thatched with straw. There seemed great skill at worKing wood; the houses had ornate doorways and windows, and there were benches around the well that was the center of the town. Cattle grazed on the green that lay off the street, and dogs ran around with the children who frolicked about everywhere.

The visitors were led to the village elders, who recognized Punya, and accepted Sybilla and her mate Maia, after having sized them up quickly. Maia's sword was confiscated very diplomatically by the headwoman, who gave her a charming smile, and a lecture about weapon safety which Maia could not follow in its entirety. Maia was content to nod and smile in return, after she had said, in Sybilla's tongue, that if she didn't get the sword back, there would be trouble.

Punya's return was a triumphant one. Evidently, her assignment to tend to the sick man had been in the nature of an internship, and she was now a fully accredited healer, and she was given a token of this recognition at the noon meal. The food was excellent, if a little unfamiliar, but the Princess found it good, even if Maia was too off-balance to enjoy it. Punya's parents were hosts to the visitors, since Punya and Sharm had not yet established an independent home. Their first night they all slept in Punya's room in her parent's house, and once more they endured the couple's energetic lovemaKing.

To Maia's surprise, Sybilla turned to her and drew her close.

"Did you really mean what you said ... when we decided to come here?"

Maia nodded, too emotional to speak.

"I am beginning to have ... feelings for you ... as if you were a man," whispered Sybilla, as usual, determined to express her thoughts as exactly as she could. "Are you upset?"

Maia laughed softly. "I am no stranger to those," she whispered back.

"And you gave me no sign?" exclaimed Sybilla, still in a whisper.

"I never hid my feelings."

"I thought they were merely ... the love of ... a slave ..."

"I was your slave in ... many ways."

"How long?"

"Months ... more than a year," said Maia, wearily. She tentatively reached out her hand to stroke Sybilla's face, to smooth her soft hair in a caress. Somehow, Sybilla and she were in a tight embrace, and for the first time, Sybilla kissed the lips of her slave in a lover's kiss, and each could feel the heart of the other, beating painfully. They had found each other at last.

Maia had feared that, when the moment came, that they would be too jaded to enjoy it; that Sybilla would take it for granted, that the recognition would be a cerebral one. But it was none of these things; they could sense the difference in the passion they felt, though it was constrained by the presence of the other couple. They had been lovers for longer, Punya and Sharm, and they cared nothing for the audience. For Maia and Sybilla, what they felt was a miracle, long in the coming, and far too private to be shared yet. So they suffered the constraint, but it was a sweet suffering. All night Sybilla tried to let the warrior sleep, but failed. She could not resist touching Maia, and Maia always woke. They must have kissed a hundred times that night, and Maia wept, overcome with love.

"What has happened to you two?" demanded Punya, laughing down at them in the morning. The lovers lay, their limbs entwined, their faces streaked with the dried tracks of tears of joy.

"Nothing!" smiled Sybilla. They lay naked, covered only by Sybilla's sheer robe.

Punya knelt, and smiled at them, misty-eyed. "Aww! I thought you both were ... an established couple!"

Sybilla shook her head, smiling, as she caressed the tattooed arm of her warrior.

Punya broached the suggestion that they help her and Sharm build a home for themselves. It would be in the open area at the rear of Punya's mother's garden. Punya's mother was an energetic woman of about forty, bursting with energy, with two mischievous dimples that decorated her face. She had flirted shamelessly with both Maia and Sybilla the previous afternoon, while Punya's nephews and nieces had hung about, curious as puppies, fingering the clothing of the visitors, and gazing at them with undisguised fascination. All the children in the village had followed the newcomers into the house, and been chased off by Punya's mother.

Maia was agreeable, and prepared to accompany Punya out to the worksite. Sybilla was about to follow them, but Punya's mother gestured for her to follow her. She chattered to her, gesticulating at her clothing, and it was clear that Sybilla's royal robe was not satisfactory.

"I expected that," said Punya, under her breath. "I hope she doesn't mind..."

"What's going to happen?"

"Oh, she'll sew something for her. She's pretty good at needlework. But I know, the Princess is brilliant with a needle."

"So how does one make a house?"

"With a lot of help!"

There was already a couple of helpers waiting, a man and a woman, and two young people, a girl and a boy. They rose to their feet as Sharm, Punya and Maia approached, and they headed out towards the woods with axes and ropes. Maia learned the art of cutting down a tree. She had never tried it, but she was not a slow learner, and she was as strong as Sharm, and certainly stronger than the other two males. The logs were roughly squared right at the site; later they would be shaped more accurately with other tools.

The logs were ferried back to the house with a little extra help from the grinning villagers, holes were dug, clay was mixed and spread over gravel, timbers were lashed in place, and gradually the house took shape.

"It's going to be for all four of us," Punya told Maia during a break.

"Why? We might not be here long!"

Punya gave Maia a long, solemn look. "I know that your destiny might not be with us," she said carefully, "but ... I wish that you will never leave us."

"I must do whatever is best for her," Maia said, her eyes lowered.

"I know how you feel," said Punya. "But I cannot lie about how I feel!"

Maia nodded reluctantly, and raised her eyes, filled with gratitude. Punya had always loved her. She would have loved to hug the girl, but as far as the village knew, Maia was a boy, and hugging Punya would be viewed as improper. As it was, the younger helpers were watching them with great interest.

Before Maia could get too uncomfortable with the situation, there was a slight disturbance, and Punya's mother marched over, grinning widely, followed by Sybilla. They had sewn for her a tunic in the style of Punya's people, very much like the slave's costume in the north: two rectangles of fabric, sewn at the shoulders, but kept open at the sides, snugged to the body with a wound girdle of fabric. It was a soft, brown wool, and Sybilla declared that it was very comfortable. Her face showed nothing but delight, and Maia was grateful for the great intelligence and flexibility of the former princess. It could have been so awkward, if Sybilla had chosen to fight the customs for clothing. It was becoming harder all the time, to think of Sybilla as being a barbarian.

Something in Maia's eyes made Sybilla go to her, and they embraced, as the audience laughed and cheered.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"The house is for us, too," Maia got out with difficulty; "They want us to stay!"

"Well, I assumed that would be so. We can stay a while, can't we?"

Maia nodded. Sybilla felt so perfect in her arms, it almost hurt. It was with difficulty she let the princess go back with Punya's irrepressible mother.

Punya's people were, as Maia had expected, a happy folk, always ready to take any excuse to celebrate. The completion of the house by the end of the day was enough for a feast. The feasts were simply the same food they would have had anyway, but it was all brought together to the well, and mats spread round, and everyone tasted everyone else's food with the greatest appreciation, and all the women flirted with Maia, thinKing she was a boy, and all the men flirted with the Princess, which caused her some consternation, since she was not a princess here, and she had to firmly suppress the ill-temper she would have displayed if it had happened in her own palace. She stood behind Maia, trying to avoid notice, but the men sought her out, and after the first few aggressive ones had been chased off by Punya and Maya, Sybilla traded pleasantries with the more genteel fellows. She had already, in the course of the morning, learned a few words, and though she was not shy, she was easily embarrassed, and reluctant to make a fool of herself, particularly in Maia's presence. She was given a ladle, and put to the task of serving the family's contribution of stew, which was very popular.

That's enough serving, said Puny's mother, striding over to survey the state of the food. She had already eaten a serving, being one of the elders of the folk, and now instructed Sybilla firmly to serve herself. The little ones can take over the serving.

Maia translated, and argued with Sybilla briefly, who thought the children should eat first. Presently, the two young couples who were the nominal hosts of the feast were seated in state on a beautiful grass mat, and were made to eat, to the accompaniment of a stream of good-natured teasing.

"If I were back in my own lands," said Sybilla, pretending to grump, "I would have them all beheaded. It is too much humor, at my expense."

"Keep a pleasant face, my lady... be thankful that we are safe here, and not at the mercy of horse-thieves!"

"What sort of a guard are you, my husband? It should be you who offers to execute these people, who persecute me!"

Maia grinned, though she was full of a softer emotion that was at risk of sapping her warrior's firmness entirely. "I never executed anyone for you; why would I start now?"

Sybilla gave her such a stare that Maia had to look away. Across the way, her expression had been noticed, and the teasing broke out afresh. Sybilla only smiled at the men.

Clearing up after the meal, tending to the horses, helping to put Punya's young cousins to bed, arranging the sleeping mats in the outer porch of the new house, since the floors were not dry yet, washing up at the well; these were all sweet excuses for a certain stealthy tenderness on the part of Maia and Sybilla. It was as if Sybilla knew instinctively the gentle glances, the slight touches, the quiet murmur of a few words that made Maia far more a captive of Sybilla than she had ever imagined herself to be. Punya affectionately bade them both goodnight with a quick embrace and a kiss each; Sharm called out a hearty Sweet dreams, and Punya's mother yelled a final benediction from her kitchen door, and the couple was finally allowed their privacy.

Maia made sure the princess was comfortable, and taking off her tunic, lay down shyly beside Sybilla. The princess was quiet for a while, and then let out her breath in a long, long sigh. She turned to rest her hand on her guard's breast, and drew herself closer, to wrap herself around Maia.

"You must be careful; in certain poses ... you do look like a beautiful woman," she said in a whisper.

"It's too hot to sleep in my tunic," replied Maia softly.

"I know," said Sybilla, stroKing her guard lovingly. It was as if this was a completely different woman from the one who had made love to her guard as a "reward", so long ago, it seemed. Her touches were no longer that intimate, but they were infinitely more tender. "Here; I'll cover you with my robe ... it has been washed and dried. It is soft and light. It will get cooler in a while, I'm sure."

Maia let her do it. Presently they were snuggled together under the light, silky fabric.

"What are you thinKing?" Sybilla wanted to know.

"I was wondering when I began to have ... thoughts of love for you ..."

"It must have been on that picnic," Sybilla said, her voice thick with emotion, and some embarrassment. "I was only a child, my friend; it must have been torture."

"No ... I think it was from the time when you were ill," said Maia, taking possession of the princess's hand and caressing her fingers tenderly.

"For me ... it was when you returned ..."

"Back from conducting your sister to Prince Keno."

"...Yes. That was certainly ..." Sybilla sighed, "... a sort of turning point," she finished up, and kissed Maia gently on the lips.

"Are you two going to talk all night?" demanded a loud voice from inside, in Sybilla's tongue, followed by hysterical giggles. Sybilla clutched Maia tight, shaKing with silent laughter.

"Be careful," called back Sybilla, "my guard might get violent!"

They were all silent for a long time, with the only sounds being their soft breathing, and the beating of their hearts.

"I will love you forever," said Maia, her voice trembling.

Sybilla was still, startled by her words. It was a while until she replied.

"I thought ... your love was given to ... another."

"It was," admitted Maia, though it hurt her greatly to do it. But this was not a time for lying, and she could not deceive Sybilla easily. "That ... other one ... gave me love, when the one I truly loved could not see me," she said. There; that was the truth.

Sybilla held her breath, surprised, and a little hurt. Maia waited, afraid at many different levels.

"Did you curse me, for my blindness?"

"No ... I was only heartbroken!"

"Perhaps we should be a little more careful, until we're sure of each other," said Sybilla softly, and Maia's heart turned to lead, hearing a certain off note even in her whisper.

"Do not torture me, my princess!" she whispered urgently. "Will you take your love away from me, only because I have been sincere?"

Slowly, without hurrying, Sybilla drew her arms and her leg away from Maia, who rolled on her face, and began to weep bitterly and silently. A soft hand stroked her back, and she presently stopped weeping, but the little hand promised only friendship; it seemed that the almost poetic intimacy that had been growing between them had suddenly died.

"At this rate," said Sybilla, and Maia could hear a slight frown in her voice, "nobody will believe you are a man, if you cry so quickly. Dry your tears! After all, it is I who am hurt, here!"

Maia felt angry, but unlike Sybilla, she could not give her love and then withdraw it with such facility. The tears dried at once. She hardened herself, and felt like a man.

"What would you like me to do, princess?" she asked, coolly, softly. "Should I move?"

There was a brief silence while Sybilla digested this retort.

"Did I suggest such a thing? Are we not pretending to be man and mate? Be quiet, and let us make the best of it."

The anger Maia felt, even if brief, made it possible to keep calm. The warm presence of the other girl by her side was sheer torture, far, far worse than it had been back in the palace, when Maia had fantasized being with her intimately, just as they had about to be mere minutes earlier. She dared not recall the soft feelings she had for the Blue Princess, for fear that she would confuse herself, and put herself at greater risk of trouble than she was in already. She slept very little, and they managed not to touch each other at all that night.

The following day, Maia was taken exploring by the young men of the village, while Sybilla was hauled away by some of the young women of the village for some frivolous purpose. Sybilla and Maia had managed to be cool but civil to each other, when they were alone, and to pretend to be very tender towards each other when being observed by Punya and her family. Maia found even the pretense very arousing, and was glad to escape with the boys. At one point, they all jumped into a wide stream wearing practically no clothing, and Maia had to follow suit. She had worn a breech-clout, and dressed on only that, she had jumped into the stream. There was a lot of roughhousing, but the water was cold, and they had to get out quickly, and Maia took the opportunity to wear her tunic as a shawl, pretending that it was too cold to walk around bare-chested. Luckily for her, her breasts were still quite flat, and many of the boys had torsos that might have been those of very young girls.

The little adventure gave Maia some confidence that she could carry off the deception of being male. She was tanned and tattooed, and with a little help from extra padding in her breech clout, she could have been a boy.

When they rejoined the village, Maia and Sybilla were naturally brought together, and they acted out a fond reunion. They were soon left alone, and Maia asked what had gone on while she was away. Sybilla, thankfully, was not a petty girl, generally, and she told Maia: it had been essentially preparing the wardrobe of a girl who was going to marry later in the Summer, after her fluxes, which were due in a few days. It was traditional to marry when the woman was about to be fertile.

"When is your turn?" Maia asked. Her keen nose had noticed that Sybilla was close to menstruating; she had gradually become Sybilla's shoulder to cry on during the latter's painful periods.

"Any day now," said Sybilla, coloring, and dropping her eyes briefly. "You need not ... be too involved; after all ..."

"Yes; I am in disgrace, I know," said Maia, her own bitterness surprising her.

Sybilla glared at her angrily. "Do not put words into my mouth, my husband," she said. "I was about to say that you need not, because ... you are a man, that's all."

Maia felt foolish, and Sybilla held her eye, as if to impress Maia with her error, and her need to be careful.

A week later, Sybilla's fluxes were over. She had allowed Maia to minister to her as usual, and gone so far as to squeeze her hand one time, in a gesture of friendship she usually made only when she was feeling particularly tender towards her guard. The nights were spent lying close to each other, but not touching, except accidentally when asleep. Maia could not help imagining things being right between them somehow, and often it almost seemed as if Sybilla had abandoned the resentment she had clutched to her breast. But usually, in the morning, they exchanged some coded words that made it clear that Sybilla felt slighted still.

But one fact stood out in alarming clarity. Maia's fluxes, which usually were at the same time as those of the Princess, failed to arrive. Maia wondered how long it would be before Sybilla noticed.

"That night ... when the King died, and he was left alone with you ... what did you talk about?"

"You notice that my fluxes have not come."

"Maia! What are you saying? Maia? ... Talk to me!"

Maia made a sound of annoyance and was quiet. Sybilla impatiently shook her arm.

"You have evidently guessed it." Maia's heart had no cheer in it at all. Her mood had steadily declined over the couple of weeks, and she had hoped that the facts could have been explained to the Princess under more conducive circumstances.

"Did he make you lie with him?"

"I was not unwilling, Sybilla." Maia felt some crumbs of her self-esteem come back to her. After all, the King had guessed that she was of sufficient rank that, if Maia were to bear a male child, it would not have any rival to the throne of the barbarian Kingdom. It would not have a rival to the throne of Maia's people, either, for that matter. The male line, as far as Maia knew, was defunct. "He was strong, and ... I had come to admire him ... this child was conceived with respect, and ... mutual admiration." Maia sighed. "It is hard to explain," she said, somewhat lamely.

"Be at ease in your heart," Sybilla said presently, touching Maia's cheek in her familiar, tender way, maKing Maia's heart beat faster, as always. "We may not be ... lovers, but at least we are friends. I owe my life to you. I will not leave you to bear this child alone."

"I thought you had managed to forget all your gratitude," Maia said, bitterly.

Sybilla replied with cool reproach. "You are again talking like a child. You should know me better than to think that I would withdraw my friendship so easily. Some women find it easy to love one person, and then another. With me, love is not easily given, and not easily taken away."

Maia desisted from saying that this was nonsense. But evidently Sybilla wanted to claim the high ground for herself.

"What shall we do?"

"Let's bring the healer couple in on the problem. They have a good imagination, and they will suggest something useful."

It was complicated, explaining things to Punya. Firstly, she was excitable, now that she was among her folk, and one of the favorites of everyone in the village. Secondly, it was a lot to believe that the King had managed to impregnate Maia at the last minute before he died.

"I can never forget that moment," Maia said, covering her face. They had two little stools, and Maia found it difficult to sit cross-legged on the floor, so she invariably sat on one of the stools. She recalled how she had felt when the King had filled her with his seed, and lain exhausted on her. She dared not tell them how she had feared that he might die as he lay on her. But he had picked himself off her, and tenderly stroked her, still gracious and courteous even at death's door. "He treated me ... as if I were a queen," she said quietly. "He made that chamber ... into a palace!"

"But ... but soon, you will begin to show!"

"You obviously cannot remain here when that happens," Sharm said.

"Is it so important that I continue to masquerade as a man?"

"If you give birth here, the child will be considered to belong to Sharm, and ... things will be very complicated," said Punya quickly. If they had only realized, they could have made different plans, but it was too late now.

That night, Maia's morale was lower than ever before. As they lay together, Maia turned to Sybilla and implored her to forgive her, and accept Maia's love without reservation. Again Maia could not hold back the tears. A part of her realized that perhaps it had to do with the pregnancy, a part of her deplored the fact that she dissolved in tears for the slightest thing, maKing a mockery of the fact that she was one of the proud Palace guards, absolutely fearless fighters, sworn to defend the Royal Family down to the last man.

"I am in no position to make demands of you," said Sybilla quietly. "I forgive you, and I accept your love. It is my turn to protect you, because of the royal child you bear. He will someday take the throne from me, but at least the throne will be ours once again ... if that is to happen, I will need your love ... and your loyalty. It is my duty to love you the way you desire."

And Maia had to be content with that. The next day, she could see that Sybilla derived some perverse pleasure in the uncertainty she saw in Maia's eyes. But once again, she was the loving woman, and she let Maia hold her in the night as before their disagreement. She was loving and tender, and she allowed Maia to make love to her. And Maia tried to be rid of her bitterness, but it was not easy.

Most alarmingly, the young fellows of the town had learned that Maia was adept at breaKing horses. It had first started with their admiration for her big stallion, and the giant mare that had attached herself to Maia. How did you manage to ride him, they had asked, and Maia had, quite naturally, disclosed that no one else could ride the stallion. Nothing would do but that she had to go to catch wild horses with them. Maia had never done any of this before she had come to Sybilla's lands as a slave. But she had watched this sort of thing at home, and the minute her friends at the stable knew that Maia was allowed to ride, they encouraged her at her experiments riding and breaKing the occasional horse to saddle, or at least, to be ridden.

When Sybilla demanded to know where she was going, Maia reluctantly revealed that it was to catch wild horses, and break them.

"And you carrying a child?"

"But what am I to do? I can't very well tell them my condition!"

"But ... you could pretend to be ill!"

"Do I look ill? How can I pretend?"

The argument did not lead anywhere, and Sybilla watched Maia ride off with great frustration. The pregnancy was barely a few weeks in progress, and as far as she knew, Maia was in a particularly delicate condition. In actual fact, Maia had already got over the acute nausea that Punya assured her was normal, and as long as Maia was reasonably careful, nothing would go awry.

The expedition met with mixed success. They managed to capture just two horses, both small females. Maia had never tried to do it before; she only had dealt with the horses that had been captured in the war. The boys declared that the smaller mare was so tiny that no one could ride her. "Perhaps your woman would like her own mare," they told Maia. So though the event did not have the endorsement of the Princess, she got a mount out of it. She was a sweet-natured filly, and when she was presented to Sybilla, made friends with the princess immediately.

"All right," said Sybilla that night, "I forgive you for that — little adventure."

Maia pulled her close, and she came without any resistance. If they talked, Maia knew, Sybilla would contrive to say something that would dampen her mood. So she made love to her silently, and to her delight, Sybilla responded in kind.

"You are beginning to feel warm all the time," Sybilla said, studying Maia's face in the morning, as she lay in Maia's arms, her hand pressed against Maia's breast. "Is that normal, for ..."

"A pregnant female?"

"Yes?"

Maia shrugged. "We could ask Punya. I remember something about this being so."

Punya confirmed that an elevated temperature was normal. Punya smiled at Maia misty-eyed, and the others usually laughed at her sentimental nature.

"Is it time?"

The question was whether Sybilla and Maia should set out. Maia had persuaded the other couple that she and Sybilla alone could safely make the journey. If they found their way to the palace in which Maia had been born, assuming that it was still intact, the presence of Sharm and Punya would only complicate things.

A few days later, Sybilla and Maia set out together. "It is not far," Punya had said. There was a trail that followed the wide, slow-moving river that headed north by the edge of the desert, and if Maia wore her sword prominently, now in its new sheath, there should be no trouble.

Sybilla rode the new little mare, whom they called Firefly, for no good reason; Maia rode the giant mare, who had been named Fricka, and the nameless stallion followed on a tether, carrying their few possessions. Maia still looked hale, with her broad shoulders and deep chest, covered in leather, front and back. Sybilla was charming in her brief red wool tunic, with a length of fabric she wore as a shawl, giving her a little gracious style, without which she felt underdressed.

Once they were on the road, Sybilla forgot her annoyances completely, and was once again the doting lover to Maia, and for the three days that it took to come to the mouth of the river, Maia though her heart would burst with love. This time, she thought, I will not speak of love. Let her see what she can, if she has eyes. Maia was so in love, she had decided in her mind that, if Sybilla would not give herself to Maia without reservation, then once the infant was delivered, she would give it to her sister, and go off alone and seek death. For it was always Sybilla for whose love Maia had hungered, even if it had been Tatiana who had responded to her loneliness.

The road they were taking passed through settled lands, and there were inns at which they could stay. Maia did not know what she could have said to make the innkeepers give them preferred treatment, and neither did Sybilla. But something in the couple's manner told them that they were innocent as babes, on the one hand, and quite able to take care of themselves on the other. The rooms they were given were generally clean, and good value.

In the night, Sybilla painstakingly hunted through the bedding for pests, and calmly dispatched all that she found. Using boiling water, a lamp, and various mysterious processes, she made the bed safe for herself and her mate, and invited Maia to bed. Feeling particularly affectionate, she mounted her big southern lover, and studied her in the lamplight.

"You are so beautiful ... you are a beautiful man, though I know you are a woman," she breathed.

"I wish you could not see my beauty, but only what is in my heart," said Maia, and Sybilla's face lost it's soft glow. But this night, she managed to suppress her natural cynicism.

"There are two of you," said she. "One is beautiful on the outside, a beautiful animal. I love that girl very much. I have loved that girl since I first saw her. You know that well!"

It was true. Maia remembered how Sybilla had worshiped what she called Maia's beauty from the first. Maia herself could not quite understand what that should be so remarkable. She knew she was strong, and straight-limbed, but so were many other girls, including Sybilla herself. She nodded.

"Then there is another you, beautiful in spirit, ... innocent, ... foolish, ... loyal, intelligent, careless in speech." Maia colored. It was the first time Sybilla had explicitly stated that Maia had a tendency to put her foot in her mouth. "I love that girl, too," she continued. "Not quite as much, but she has her good points," she added.

They made love, and it was as if they had never been so passionate before. Once Sybilla's passion was roused, she was almost insatiable. It was something like an hour before they were calm enough to talk.

"I am so envious of you ... you make me want to bear ... a child ..." tears poured from her eyes, for the first time, as she cradled Maia in her arms. Tonight, Maia remained dry-eyed. Sybilla bit her lip, trembling.

"You are still young; there is yet time for you," said Maia, consolingly. But Sybilla shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together.

With some little difficulty, they found a ship large enough to convey them to their home port, with the three horses. This part of the sea was heavily traveled, and their ship made several stops in a number of islands, until Maia saw, with tears in her eyes, the familiar light house at the mouth of the harbor of the city in which she had been born, and had lived for three handfuls of years.

"It looks largely intact," said Sybilla, with a slight smile.

"The army was probably told to be careful with the buildings," Maia said, with a dry voice.

"That's it, exactly," agreed Sybilla, putting her hand in Maia's. It was easy to believe that they had been lovers for years, rather than simply called a truce a few days ago. The way Sybilla placed herself against Maia had that charming possessiveness that Maia could never have managed, no matter how much in love she could have been. Maia was now a warrior, and that defined her. Sybilla was a woman. She was a princess, true, but she was learning that she was a woman first.

As they stood together, gazing at the approaching harbor, Maia felt the fetus stir within her, and all her resolve seemed to evaporate. What had she done? What had she hoped to do, with only the aid of the girl beside her?

"I can feel your fear, Maia," whispered the princess. She held Maia's arm tight, and somehow her voice began to reverse the progress of the feeling of hopelessness. "You are more than just a woman, my princess!" Maia was startled by Sybilla's words. She was angered. What good was it to remind her of her rank now? Rank was nothing, if it was not backed up with force!

"Look at me!" said Sybilla, in a fierce whisper. Maia tried to resist obeying the order, but she was too accustomed to obeying the girl by her side. She turned slowly, and was once again faced with the power of Sybilla's presence. She had compelling eyes, and they regarded Maia gravely. "We do not live for ourselves, Maia," she said, and Maia was amazed.

"What do you mean?" demanded Maia impatiently.

"You should know better!" said Sybilla, her eyes sparking fire. "Walk among your people, and learn whether they're satisfied to live this way! You only must provide a focus for what has to be done!"

Maia was angry.

"You were not so brave when we left your own people! We slipped away like thieves!"

Sybilla gasped, and Maia wondered whether she had gone too far. She was immediately sorry, and Sybilla read her apology in Maia's eyes. Suddenly they both smiled, Maia ruefully, and Sybilla with amusement. It was a wonderful moment, a turning point. "If we win this battle," said Sybilla, "I will be brave enough to go back."

_Truly_ , thought Maia, _she's a princess. Now I must learn to be a prince._

End

