Chapter 3B
Sarah made her way over to what had to be the biggest fire pit in the camp. She saw Zoe and Meg passing a joint between them and discussing the merit of some sort of violent piece of folklore. Rah was busy adding more brush and wood to the fire as if it needed further fuel and Anthony was leaning back against a log slowly sipping wine and observing the interactions within the camp. He was the first one to hail Sarah so she decided to take her seat beside him. She walked past several other Amazon’s that she wasn’t acquainted with on the way and noted to herself that this was, indeed, the popular social circle to be in.
“Have a seat.” Anthony said with a welcoming smile. Sarah wasn’t sure if it was the wine that made him more laid back or the atmosphere of the party itself, but either way she was happy to be in good company. “Need a refill?” He inquired about her cup.
“Yeah, thanks a lot!” She said, offering her glass.
“It’s my special blend.” He said, pouring her a not so modest portion. “Zoe likes hers a little sweeter than I do, but I think you’ll notice that this finishes really well.”
It did. In fact, it was one of the finest wines she’d ever tasted; not that she was an expert.
“This is excellent.” She said. “Is it blended or something.”
“Good call.” He said. “There are two distinctly different grapes in there. Are you a wine connoisseur?”
“God no.” Sarah said, with a chuckle. “I’m a lush.”
Anthony simply smiled quizzically and nodded his head.
“So have drank enough to explain just exactly how you became an Amazon, or are you gonna keep me guessing? Because I should warn you: I’ve got a very overactive imagination.” Sarah said and earned a laugh from her companion.
“Well, let’s see.” He started and formed his thoughts slowly. “I don’t know if you heard before, but Rah is a runaway slave from Egypt.”
“Yeah.” Sarah said. “She told me she escaped with a noble’s son. Is that you?”
“Yep, that would be me.” He said, swirling the wine in his glass. “You see, I was the youngest son in a household of very unlikeable men. Pretty much the only people I ever related to were Rah and my mother. We purchased Rah when she was just a child and we’re both around the same age so we would play together a lot. I was usually able to get her out of a lot of trouble, but she would still get beaten every now and then by my father.” He took a drink and paused for a bit before continuing. “I couldn’t really do much about any of the beatings accept for try to keep her out of trouble, but one day that wasn’t even good enough. One day when she was getting a fairly nasty pounding from my dad she fought back and struck him to the ground. The sentence for a slave striking a noble is death. So that night I helped her escape from my house and somehow we managed to make it to Greece.”
“You sound like a pretty brave guy.” Sarah said sincerely.
“If I were brave I would have stood up to my father. Instead I chose to run away from him.” He said, looking into the fire.
“You saved someone’s life, despite the risk to yourself. That makes you brave in my book.” She said, and decided to change the subject when he only responded with a shrug. “So how’d you talk these wily women into accepting you as one of their own rather than putting you in the stocks for having a penis on their land?”
This made him laugh and Sarah was happy about it.
“Well, when we made it to Greece we sort of got lost and ended up wandering into Amazon territory. There was a group of them being attacked by some thieves and they were outnumbered. Rah and I decided to help and somewhere along the way I ended up saving one of the Amazons, namely Zoe. One of the thieves shot an arrow at her and I jumped in front of it.”
“That was very valiant of you.” Sarah said.
“It hit me in the ass.” Anthony replied.
Sarah couldn’t help chuckling at the circumstances. “Where I come from, we call that a million dollar wound.”
“Well whatever you want to call it, that was how I got into camp.” Anthony said. “The healer helped extract the arrow then stitch me back up and after a week of bed rest they were ready for me to leave. Now during that week Zoe and Rah became very close to each other.” He gave Sarah a wink and she chuckled in understanding. “So Rah was reluctant to leave and Zoe was even more reluctant for her to go.”
“So how’d she swing initiating you both?” Sarah asked.
“Well as you’ve probably already noticed, Zoe pulls a lot of weight in the community seeing as how Amazon’s like their party favors, and she’s the one that supplies them. So she refused to distribute any more wine until we were both allowed to stay.”
“How long did negotiations last?” Sarah asked.
“Three days.” Anthony said, raising his cup for a toast.
“Nice.” Sarah said, obliging him.
“And after that we were both accepted into the group and we’ve been here ever since.” He said.
“But Zoe’s with Meg now, so I assume she and Rah broke up at some point, right?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah.” He answered, and then went to explain things further. “I don’t know how familiar you are with Sapphic relationships…”
“I’m a pro.” She cut him off.
“Of course you are.” He said with a small laugh. “Well then pretty much all I need to say is there was a party with lots of horny drunk Amazons around and at some point lines of friendship blurred and the relationship exploded into a whole bunch of…” he searched for the word.
“Drama.” Sarah said, understanding completely.
“Yeah, drama, exactly.” Anthony liked the use of the word in the context. “Anyway they broke up, got over it and they’re still good friends.”
“Well here’s to a happy ending.” She said, and they toasted again.
“So what’s your story?” He asked.
“Uh…” she tried to figure out how to answer that. He’d already been so honest with her, and she really didn’t want to lie. “I’m pretty much a wanderer. Been searching the world for different kinds of treasure ever since I was able, and then I went in search of my family.”
“Eve.” He said, understanding.
“And Xena and Gabrielle.” She said with a nod.
“Is this green stone you want me to find part of your treasure hunting?” He asked. Anthony had a way of asking questions that could sound accusatory and accepting all at the same time.
“It’s a lot more important, and complicated, than that.” She said. Now it was her turn to avoid his eyes by looking into the fire. “Let’s just say it’s incredibly important to me.”
“Understandable.” He said, letting the subject drop right before they were interrupted.
“Hey!” Zoe yelled at them from across the fire. “Are you two gonna sit in the corner like a couple of losers all night or are you gonna join the group?”
“I think that’s our cue to stop being antisocial with each other.” Anthony said getting up and offering Sarah a hand as well.
“Peer pressure.” She said, accepting the hand. “I guess some things never change.”
“Have a seat.” Anthony said with a welcoming smile. Sarah wasn’t sure if it was the wine that made him more laid back or the atmosphere of the party itself, but either way she was happy to be in good company. “Need a refill?” He inquired about her cup.
“Yeah, thanks a lot!” She said, offering her glass.
“It’s my special blend.” He said, pouring her a not so modest portion. “Zoe likes hers a little sweeter than I do, but I think you’ll notice that this finishes really well.”
It did. In fact, it was one of the finest wines she’d ever tasted; not that she was an expert.
“This is excellent.” She said. “Is it blended or something.”
“Good call.” He said. “There are two distinctly different grapes in there. Are you a wine connoisseur?”
“God no.” Sarah said, with a chuckle. “I’m a lush.”
Anthony simply smiled quizzically and nodded his head.
“So have drank enough to explain just exactly how you became an Amazon, or are you gonna keep me guessing? Because I should warn you: I’ve got a very overactive imagination.” Sarah said and earned a laugh from her companion.
“Well, let’s see.” He started and formed his thoughts slowly. “I don’t know if you heard before, but Rah is a runaway slave from Egypt.”
“Yeah.” Sarah said. “She told me she escaped with a noble’s son. Is that you?”
“Yep, that would be me.” He said, swirling the wine in his glass. “You see, I was the youngest son in a household of very unlikeable men. Pretty much the only people I ever related to were Rah and my mother. We purchased Rah when she was just a child and we’re both around the same age so we would play together a lot. I was usually able to get her out of a lot of trouble, but she would still get beaten every now and then by my father.” He took a drink and paused for a bit before continuing. “I couldn’t really do much about any of the beatings accept for try to keep her out of trouble, but one day that wasn’t even good enough. One day when she was getting a fairly nasty pounding from my dad she fought back and struck him to the ground. The sentence for a slave striking a noble is death. So that night I helped her escape from my house and somehow we managed to make it to Greece.”
“You sound like a pretty brave guy.” Sarah said sincerely.
“If I were brave I would have stood up to my father. Instead I chose to run away from him.” He said, looking into the fire.
“You saved someone’s life, despite the risk to yourself. That makes you brave in my book.” She said, and decided to change the subject when he only responded with a shrug. “So how’d you talk these wily women into accepting you as one of their own rather than putting you in the stocks for having a penis on their land?”
This made him laugh and Sarah was happy about it.
“Well, when we made it to Greece we sort of got lost and ended up wandering into Amazon territory. There was a group of them being attacked by some thieves and they were outnumbered. Rah and I decided to help and somewhere along the way I ended up saving one of the Amazons, namely Zoe. One of the thieves shot an arrow at her and I jumped in front of it.”
“That was very valiant of you.” Sarah said.
“It hit me in the ass.” Anthony replied.
Sarah couldn’t help chuckling at the circumstances. “Where I come from, we call that a million dollar wound.”
“Well whatever you want to call it, that was how I got into camp.” Anthony said. “The healer helped extract the arrow then stitch me back up and after a week of bed rest they were ready for me to leave. Now during that week Zoe and Rah became very close to each other.” He gave Sarah a wink and she chuckled in understanding. “So Rah was reluctant to leave and Zoe was even more reluctant for her to go.”
“So how’d she swing initiating you both?” Sarah asked.
“Well as you’ve probably already noticed, Zoe pulls a lot of weight in the community seeing as how Amazon’s like their party favors, and she’s the one that supplies them. So she refused to distribute any more wine until we were both allowed to stay.”
“How long did negotiations last?” Sarah asked.
“Three days.” Anthony said, raising his cup for a toast.
“Nice.” Sarah said, obliging him.
“And after that we were both accepted into the group and we’ve been here ever since.” He said.
“But Zoe’s with Meg now, so I assume she and Rah broke up at some point, right?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah.” He answered, and then went to explain things further. “I don’t know how familiar you are with Sapphic relationships…”
“I’m a pro.” She cut him off.
“Of course you are.” He said with a small laugh. “Well then pretty much all I need to say is there was a party with lots of horny drunk Amazons around and at some point lines of friendship blurred and the relationship exploded into a whole bunch of…” he searched for the word.
“Drama.” Sarah said, understanding completely.
“Yeah, drama, exactly.” Anthony liked the use of the word in the context. “Anyway they broke up, got over it and they’re still good friends.”
“Well here’s to a happy ending.” She said, and they toasted again.
“So what’s your story?” He asked.
“Uh…” she tried to figure out how to answer that. He’d already been so honest with her, and she really didn’t want to lie. “I’m pretty much a wanderer. Been searching the world for different kinds of treasure ever since I was able, and then I went in search of my family.”
“Eve.” He said, understanding.
“And Xena and Gabrielle.” She said with a nod.
“Is this green stone you want me to find part of your treasure hunting?” He asked. Anthony had a way of asking questions that could sound accusatory and accepting all at the same time.
“It’s a lot more important, and complicated, than that.” She said. Now it was her turn to avoid his eyes by looking into the fire. “Let’s just say it’s incredibly important to me.”
“Understandable.” He said, letting the subject drop right before they were interrupted.
“Hey!” Zoe yelled at them from across the fire. “Are you two gonna sit in the corner like a couple of losers all night or are you gonna join the group?”
“I think that’s our cue to stop being antisocial with each other.” Anthony said getting up and offering Sarah a hand as well.
“Peer pressure.” She said, accepting the hand. “I guess some things never change.”