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***

  Ileana observed Jessamine's chosen with curiosity. He didn't look that old, after all. He had nice muscles, and would be an excellent bodyguard. And he looked so quiet, wise yet sweet and... yes, such an expert he made Carino and the others look like overgrown boys. And he wasn't even a Public Man. How a Gladiator could look so charming was beyond Ileana's understanding, but she attributed it to his being born in a foreign land, albeit educated in the Queendom of Maadre. He had a natural class coming from his ancestors that made him different from the men she had met so far.

  "You've been smarter than me, Jess," she sighed as they relaxed under a tree in a sunny summer day. Their mates were preparing the picnic lunch under their eyes, too far to hear them talking. Blond Carino and dark haired Notturno seemed to get along well in spite of their different upbringing. "I guess I'll have your brother's daughter."

  "You can always look for somebody else for the next one," Jessamine smiled, toying with a bunch of wild flowers and trying to make a crown with them. "Although Carino loves you."

  "We grew up together," Ileana mused. "It was so natural for me to surrender to him!"

  "And you did the right thing. It's not your fault if you don't have a brother I could turn to. Do you already know when you'll give birth?"

  "Five months, I think."

  "Mmm." Jessamine looked dreamy for a moment. "Missed my period. Guess I'll follow you fast enough!"

  Ileana giggled and hugged her friend.

  "Pregnant already? That Notturno is a real wonder! You should lend him to me!"

  It was a common game among the Amazons, especially the Aristocrats who could afford Apartments. Ileana had tried her friends' men and traded Carino for a night or two.

  But Jessamine surprised her again. Not only hadn't she accepted other girls offers, now she didn't want to share her slave. That was unheard of, but Ileana knew better than to contradict the princess.

  Maybe she should stop lending Carino as well, following Jessamine's example. Although her feelings for him looked like a crush compared to Jessamine's love and passion for Notturno...

  Ileana decided that she was not the princess and didn't have to do everything like Jessamine. But she'd keep an eye on her friend and her lover to see what could happen to that unique relationship.

  ***

  At fifteen Ileana gave birth to a boy and called him Primo. A few months later Jessamine did the same and called him Prince. Motherhood at the same time bonded them even more and Ileana started considering keeping Carino for life.

  "You should," Jessamine winked when she told her. "Isn't he marvelous?"

  Ileana smiled and left with her baby, leaving Jessamine, still bed-ridden, alone with Notturno.

  "I am surprised," Notturno told Jessamine as she breast-fed the baby. "I thought I'd be dismissed, at least as a lover, after I performed my duty."

  "Why should I dismiss you?" she smiled, staring at him with adoring eyes. "You're everything I need, I don't see why I should look somewhere else."

  "I'm eleven years your elder and you can have much younger and better-looking men in your bed," he said.

  "But would they be as good as you?"

  "I wasn't that good, it's a boy!"

  "My mother gave my father a second chance. Thus I was born. Therefore you will have a second chance too, and a third, a fourth..."

  "Enough," he chuckled. "I don't deserve all this."

  "You deserve this and more," she said. Prince was falling asleep in her arms. "Put him in the cradle," she passed the baby to him. "And come here."

  He obeyed, tucked the baby in its bed and went back to embrace her with passion.

  ***

  Jessamine was twenty when her mother died. Prince hadn't survived his first year, but had been followed by Joelia, now three, then Desiderio, eleven months, all of them Notturno's children. She still loved him like the first day and had moved him to her (empty) Apartment - which saved his life. Being the Favorite of the new queen meant he didn't have to die with the late queen.

  Tradition dictated that the men in the Queen's Apartment join her in death. Therefore they had to be sacrificed on the Goddess altar and buried with the queen. At the time of her death, Queen Tabitha had still fifteen men in her Apartment, including Raggio.

  Jessamine's father didn't plead for his life, he simply ran away. In the open, men had to wear the Modesty Cloth, so it was easy to disappear once out of the palace.

  Heartbroken for her own father's disobedience, Jessamine ordered a search over all of Maadre, but couldn't postpone her mother's burial: summer had exploded and the heat didn't allow any waiting. Raggio's body would be added when found.

  Both Carino and Notturno stood next to her in the Temple of the Goddess, covered from head to toe with the Modesty Cloth, as the High Priestess performed the sacrifice of the other fourteen men. Half naked and dazed by drugs, they all died without a moan.

  The temple was full, as Tabitha had been a much loved queen. Jessamine observed the Modesty Clothes in the crowd and wondered. Where was her father hiding? How could she find him if he hid under that long sheet with only a small, laced opening for the eyes?

  Jessamine accompanied her mother's body to the Royal Tombs outside of Madre, still pondering what to do. Her first decision as a queen would be a tough one. She'd have to break tradition one way or another.

  "You must put your father to death," her younger sister Morwenna said. She was born from another man who had died years earlier of an unknown illness.

  "I can't find him," she frowned.

  "There's only one way," Ileana said. "Abolish the Modesty Cloth. He won't have anywhere to hide afterward."

  Jessamine looked at her friend, thoughtful, while Morwenna gasped.

  "The High Priestess would never allow it!" she protested.

  Slowly, Jessamine smiled.

  "We'll see," she said. She had never liked the Modesty Cloth that hindered movements. She thought men could be very good fighters, but only in the Arena were they allowed to show their prowess and bodies. They weren't admitted in the army, and still had to cover themselves whenever walking the streets of the Queendom of Maadre.

  She knew Ileana hated the Modesty Cloth as much as she did, even if Carino was always in the palace, therefore didn't have to wear it much, and she was grateful for the suggestion. She wasn't afraid of the High Priestess like Morwenna seemed to be.

  She went to the temple and met Theresa, who had been High Priestess for twenty years already. Barren like all the Priestesses, the woman had devoted herself to the service of the Goddess with all her heart from the very beginning. She knew traditions and customs, but was also aware that sometimes some things had to be discarded or adjusted in favor of something new.

  She listened to Jessamine's suggestion of abolishing the Modesty Cloth to find the runaway man, and slowly nodded, thinking before answering - after all, what the newly appointed queen suggested was to give up one tradition in order to fulfill another, it couldn't be all bad.

  "After the war with the Kadenites, Queen Shawanna and the High Priestess Melissa agreed to abolish the Fall human sacrifice," she said, thoughtful. "The Queendom of Maadre is aware now of most of the other lands, and all are ruled by men. I think it would show wisdom on our part to abolish the Modesty Cloth. We'd still prefer dealing with female ambassadors or traders and won't really open up to male-ruled countries, but we'd show that we can evolve and adjust to a new rule."

  "And we'll keep sacrificing the men of the Queen's Apartment anyway," Jessamine added.

  Theresa smiled.

  "You know the Black Emperor is buried with all his wives and concubines?" she said. "And they're buried alive... talk about barbarian customs! We don't have to give up all our traditions, but it's important to keep some. I don't think the Goddess will be displeased if we show off our men a little bit, though."

  Jessamine felt relieved. She sat with Theresa to write down the new law and both stared at the parchment with satisfaction. Scribes
of both sexes were instructed to copy it and messengers were sent out with the new law.

  ***

  Soon the main square of Maadre had a crowd gathering to throw the Modesty Clothes in a big bonfire. Men and women's faces smiled, voices chanted the glory of the Goddess, and Jessamine watched from her balcony, waiting, wondering.

  Two days later Raggio was caught and brought to her.

  "I knew you'd be be greater than your mother," he said with a proud smile, not bothered by the chains that blocked him.

  "Why did you run away?" she asked, upset.

  "Because I wanted to see your glory," he replied. "Now I can join Tabitha and rest in peace."

  He went down on his knees, still smiling.

  "Do it, my queen," he said. "I'm ready."

  But she couldn't. It wasn't her duty anyway.

  She called Theresa. She saw the High Priestess's admiration for the man who had dared defying tradition just to see his daughter's first weeks of reign.

  That night she cried bitterly in Notturno's arms. How many of those tough decisions awaited her? Would her reign be prosperous like her mother's or would she know war like her great-grand-mother? At the moment she felt lost and weak and unfit to be queen.

  "You will be the most glorious queen who ever was," Notturno told her gently, stroking her blond hair and caressing her forehead with his moving lips.

  "Really?" her voice trembled, but he gave her strength with words and cuddles, and she fell asleep knowing everything would be all right.

  2. Keldar

  Jessamine rushed into Ileana's tent with a lump in her throat and her heart threatening to explode. Notturno lay on the stretcher, laboring to breathe with his chest wound bleeding. Ileana raised her head from the healing and looked at her friend with sorrow.

  Jessamine fell on her knees and grabbed Notturno's hand with both hers, squeezing it with her fingers. The parched lips tried to say something, then the labored breathing stopped. The black eyes remained closed for ever.

  "I'm sorry." Ileana averted her eyes. "I couldn't help him."

  Tears started running down Jessamine's cheeks and she sobbed on her beloved's body. Only nine years together and then this stupid war and even stupider death! Why did he have to go so early? Why did the Goddess call him when she had allowed her own daughter to reign for one hundred and fifty years?

  Jessamine would gladly give up some years of reign to grow old with Notturno. She would abdicate as soon as Joelia was old enough... but now that dream was shattered along with Notturno's life.

  Ileana got on her feet with a sigh and prepared a calming potion. She pulled up her friend and forced her to drink.

  Jessamine went from sobs to sleep, losing consciousness for a few blissful hours.

  When she woke up, Notturno's body was gone, and Ileana sat near her, chewing at her nails.

  "Jess... how do you feel?" the healer asked, worried.

  "Empty," she answered flatly. She was now twenty-three, but her life had lost all meanings. Three years of peaceful reign as a quiet Aristocrat, then she had to become a Warrior Woman because of an attempted invasion. She had kept Notturno by her side all along, and now she had lost him.

  "Jess..." Ileana pleaded, worried.

  She hardened. She was alive, she was queen, and the war wasn't over. It had barely begun. She would punish the man who had dared what the Kadenites had already failed at the time of her great-grand-mother. She'd show him the Goddess's descendant could outlive him for many years and defeat him like the Kaden king had been defeated.

  "He'll pay for this," she grunted, pulling herself up a little too fast. Her head spun and she had to steady herself. The man who had brought back war after three generations and caused Notturno's death would pay.

  "Jess, this war is ugly enough already," Ileana said. "You did well to allow men to join the army, don't do something stupid only to avenge Notturno."

  "With him everything was possible," Jessamine grumbled. Her ex-Gladiator lover had proved himself strong and courageous on the battlefield as much as the other (few) men who had chosen to join the army of the Goddess. They were a hundred next to thousands, and half had already fallen under the Kelvan attacks in the two months since the start of the hostilities.

  "We can win even without him," Ileana said. "We will send King Keldar back beyond the sea."

  "What reason did he have to attack us?" Jessamine frowned. She had never really talked to the attacker, meeting only his ambassadors and messengers. She knew he was king of a small country up north, but not much more.

  "I'm not sure, but since you're queen, he's trying everything to get into your bed. You refused him, but he tries to get you anyway."

  "And he really thinks he can conquer me by killing my man, and the father of my children?"

  "Even the best succumb in battle."

  "I will kick him out of my lands and give him a lesson he won't forget." Jessamine clenched her teeth. "The lord of the Kelvans will regret crossing the sea to conquer the Queendom of Maadre!"

  ***

  Keldar was a strong foe, very ambitious compared to other kings. His kingdom was much smaller than the Amazons Country, even smaller than the Kaden Kingdom which had already attempted the conquest, but this hadn't stopped him from trying. He was thirty, a widower and a warrior, and had one of the strongest fleets of the time.

  He had been attracted by the legends about the country, but mostly the beauty at the head of it. He knew the first queen was believed to have lived almost two centuries, but lifespans had shortened with the time passed and now Jessamine was just another beautiful woman who could become his next wife.

  The war was a stalemate until the day he managed to capture Jessamine. He learned that the queen was traveling with only ten female guards, coming back north from the capital where she had buried her favorite slave. Before she could join the army that she led in person, he sent a patrol to intercept her. He kept her generals busy while a small group of his most trusted men slaughtered her escort and brought her to a ship ready to sail away. On the same day the young queen was headed for the Kelvan Kingdom, and Keldar's men were retreating from the Amazons Country.

  He finally met her properly only when she entered his castle in chains. The king of the Kelvans was tall and handsome, and he knew it. Still, he was impressed by her beauty, in spite of the haggard look due to the fight and subsequent abduction. She carried herself like a queen in spite of the chains and he decided she was his most prized possession.

  "Welcome," he greeted her, pretending not to notice her frown. "I'm sorry to have cheated and used force, but you turned away all my ambassadors and my gifts. It wasn't easy getting to talk to you. I only wanted to ask you to seal an alliance with a wedding."

  "The Amazons don't marry foreign men to steady their borders," she replied haughtily. "Our territory is surrounded by the sea, and we have a powerful fleet."

  "That I defeated," he said with a hint of mockery. "I brought my army to your shores and met your famous female army. Although I've seen men among your soldiers, why is that?"

  "A new tradition. And you didn't defeat us, you had to cheat to capture me!"

  "In war and love everything is allowed. You can't expect all your enemies to be loyal, Jessamine, men aren't loyal by their very nature."

  "That's why we keep them subdued, and forced them to cover themselves with the Modesty Cloth in public until three years ago."

  "Something you abolished, my sweet queen, which makes you more interesting than your predecessors. You must consider us a little more than animals..."

  "Not you! You're worse than any living wild animal! You won this war, but you haven't conquered the Amazons! You'll have to tame me first!"

  "It will be a pleasure," he grinned, looking at her from head to toe with appreciation. "There's a corner of my harem waiting for you. Like you, I have many concubines, it will be up to you to become my wife or stay at the level of my Varian and Sannish slaves."

  "Bast
ard!" She spat at his feet, then was dragged away and locked in a cage almost as big as a room, with only a bed in it. Iron bars divided her from the rest of the room and she didn't have a very big living space. And no privacy - no curtains nor canopies on the double bed.

  Keldar went near the cage to observe her through the bars with eyes full of lust. The queen of the Amazons in person was beautiful, more beautiful than any given description. But she was an Amazon, hard to tame. Although she was probably ignorant of courtship and seduction games.

  Keldar smiled, satisfied. The beautiful queen wouldn't be able to resist him.

  ***

  "What?!" Morwenna gaped at Ileana who stood still and impassive under her eyes.

  "The Kelvans are gone, and they captured Jessamine," she repeated flatly. "You're supposed to join the council to help decide what to do next."

  "Me?" Morwenna giggled nervously. "Jess is alive, isn't she?"

  "Yes, but you might be appointed Regent until we manage to free her." Ileana wasn't too happy about it, but she had no choice. Morwenna looked even less enthusiastic about it.

  "Oh! But I can't be queen, Ile..."

  "Only Regent, and only until we free Jessamine," Ileana promised.

  "What if we can't free her?" Morwenna worried.

  "You'll have to sit on that throne until Joelia is fifteen."

  "But she's six!"

  "I know." She was present at the birth of the future queen, while Morwenna wasn't. And even if Joelia was as smart as her mother, they really had no choice.

  Morwenna sighed.

  "Fine. I'll come with you to the council room. I really hope we get Jessamine back soon!"

  So did Ilenia. But she just nodded with pursed lips. She knew Morwenna was an Aristocrat to the bone who had never touched a sword in her life, but hopefully in the council there were wiser women who could come up with a plan to free Jessamine.

  ***

  Jessamine was nervous and upset: Keldar hadn't come into her bed yet, but was assiduously courting her. That wasn't how men behaved outside the Queendom of Maadre, and Jessamine knew it. She had heard many stories of rapes, bullying and oppression that never occurred in her country except in very few cases, when Uncatchable men tried to get some form of revenge. That was what Huntresses were for: they captured those untamables and punished them. Jessamine expected Keldar to behave like those men, forcing her to accept him.