{"id":1656,"date":"2016-09-21T07:29:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T12:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2016-09-24T07:24:07","modified_gmt":"2016-09-24T12:24:07","slug":"ephiny-and-the-battle-of-the-amazons-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"Ephiny and the Battle of the Amazons – Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ephiny and the Battle of the Amazons<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ephiny waited for Eponin to tell her what happened, as she figured they had won the battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Romans were already organized for an attack, only waiting for some word to begin. The Conqueror advised us to attack first despite the fact neither the Centarus nor Greek Army had arrived yet.\u00a0 Taking her advice we attacked from the cover of the trees with arrows,\u201d Eponin stated.<\/p>\n

Ephiny understood the tactic, the Amazons relied on speed, stealth and tactics rather than brute strength in combat, and the way the Romans wanted to fight would have put them in a awkward position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Princess guard are very good, probably trained by the Conqueror, and without them we\u2019d have had much higher losses,\u201d Eponin said glancing at the Conqueror who remained quiet at this time. \u201cAnyways, we\u2019re fighting when the Centaurs show up with Jana, and well, you know how good they are in combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eph nodded knowing it was one reason why the Amazons developed the tree tactics to negate their strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Roman general reorganized his men and I noticed several Amazons heading away from the battle and back to the village, including Koni and Ligeia,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cSo I take chase only to be stopped by the Conqueror whose calling me a traitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ephiny cringed at that encounter knowing her lover well enough how such a statement might cause her to react.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like to lose a fight, or see deserters,\u201d the Conqueror replied for an answer. Eph glanced between the two realizing they were a lot alike even if they never admitted it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t either, which I had to quickly explain what I saw and who I saw leaving,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cThey were from the group \u2018Valaska\u2019s Chosen\u2019 and figured they had be headed towards the village.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if they were headed towards the village, it meant Gabrielle would be right in the middle of it,\u201d the Conqueror replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, I\u2019m not that bad,\u201d Gabrielle pouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes you are, and we can discuss that later,\u201d the Conqueror said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyways, the Conqueror takes off, and I mean takes off, leaves me behind watching her dust,\u201d Eponin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of practice,\u201d the Conqueror said. \u201cHang around your princess and you\u2019ll get faster, or injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eph noticed the pout on Gabrielle\u2019s face grow but looked back at Eponin to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Roman general made another charge at that moment and we\u2019re left feeling slightly confused, fortunately the Greek army arrived at that moment with Paleamon. He and Valaska took over as Melosa and I came back here to see what was going on and to catch up with the Conqueror.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the battle\u2019s still going on?\u201d Epjiny asked slightly concerned and confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I received information from Paleamon the Roman\u2019s surrendered shortly after they arrived. Seems they had orders not to engage Greek armies yet,\u201d the Conqueror stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Eph said, things now made more sense to her. \u201cSo how many did we lose?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot many surprisingly,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cThanks to the Conqueror and Centaurs, but we still lost sixteen warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, everyone out, these wounded need their rest,\u201d the healer said walking over to the group holding a cup.<\/p>\n

Ephiny groaned seeing the cup and knowing it was a sleeping herb for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to see to my men anyways,\u201d the Conqueror said. \u201cThe Amazons have been gracious to allow men on their land for the night while we organize things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I volunteered for guard duty knowing you\u2019re all right and will be asleep,\u201d Eponin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ll be right here,\u201d another voice said. Eph watched her mother appear slightly frowning at her condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, drink,\u201d the healer said handing her the cup.<\/p>\n

Ephiny took the cup and drank it with a shudder wondering why it had to taste so bad handing it back to the healer. The Conqueror and Gabrielle shared an embrace before the taller woman left the hut.<\/p>\n

The sleepy feeling washed over her in moments and felt her eyes close while watching her mother keep watch over her.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Ephiny,\u201d a female voice said, causing her to frown slightly. Add in the fact she had no idea where she was and it left her feeling off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere am I,\u201d Ephiny asked looking around and seeing a forest but nothing was recognizable to her. A beautiful brunette appeared, dressed in leathers and making her way towards her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, neither here or there,\u201d the woman answered vaguely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat type of answer is that, its got to be somewhere,\u201d Eph replied back.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it is, but it\u2019s not important,\u201d the woman replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen who are you?\u201d Eph asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to get out more if you don\u2019t recognize me,\u201d the woman mumbled, her shoulders slumping slightly before straightening and approaching Eph.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m supposed to know you, and how did I get here,\u201d Eph asked, recalling she should be in the healer\u2019s hut.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways with the questions,\u201d the woman said. \u201cYou my sister are to be rewarded, as such you\u2019ll need the use of your sword arm.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that the woman touched the area of Eph\u2019s wound and a slight stinging sensation ran though her shoulder and arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eph opened her mouth to ask something else when everything went dark once more.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

The smell of food roused Ephiny, blearily opening her eyes she noticed a tray of food nearby along with her mother who was in whispered conversation with Eponin.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould I be worried,\u201d Eph asked causing them both to look at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019re awake,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cYou just missed Gabrielle, she brought us something to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, that explains the food,\u201d Eph said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have gone to get us some,\u201d her mother said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wanted to stay until she woke,\u201d Eponin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see she woke up,\u201d Eph heard Gabrielle\u2019s voice say, watching as she walked over. \u201cFeeling better?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Eph said looking at Gabrielle. \u201cYou look tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I had an appointment to keep last night,\u201d Gabrielle replied back to her, leaning down to tell her.<\/p>\n

\u201cApoint-\u201c Eph stopped at the realization the statement meant and mentally slapped herself. Of course, Gabrielle was also the slave of the Conqueror.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, haven\u2019t seen that color in a while,\u201d Eponin teased making her realize she was blushing.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d Eph mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, the Conqueror left early and I had to have Paleamon explain to me what the appointment was,\u201d Eponin said smiling causing Eph to laugh. \u201cGuess we forget she\u2019s human after what I saw on the battlefield, that wasn\u2019t human.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the daughter of Area,\u201d Gabrielle stated. \u201cShe has to occasionally remind people of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she single-handedly won the battle yesterday,\u201d Eponin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaw her take out Tanis with ease,\u201d Eph said recalling the battle had been shorter than she expected before the battle. \u201cI\u2019m not sure anyone understood her skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr they were watching the training field and were not impressed,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cShe held back during practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t want to harm anyone, and against Tanis, I was in danger,\u201d Gabrielle replied honestly. \u201cIt brings out the war god side of her no one normally sees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ephiny thought about that for a few seconds. If Eponin was right it might explain why Ligeia challenged Gabrielle and why Tanis didn\u2019t seem impressed with the Conqueror.\u00a0 Or maybe she was thinking too much into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe the Conqueror set them up,\u201d Eph said recalling something Gabrielle said to her. \u201cAfter all, you did say you could beat the Conqueror with a staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabrielle snorted, stifling a chuckle. \u201cI can only beat her because one, she won\u2019t go full out with me, and two, I can easily distract her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eph opened her mouth and closed it not trusting herself to speak but understood how the Conqueror could be distracted and tried not to look over at Gabrielle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see our patient is awake,\u201d the healer said sitting down at the side of the bed. \u201cLet\u2019s check the swelling and see if its gone down, then we might be able to check the damage done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ephiny winced at the thought, something she had purposefully avoided thinking about, what damage the sword strike had done. She knew the damage could cause her to lose the ability to even use her arm, it was that thought which scared her the most and felt a hand cover hers as Eponin sat down on the other side offering her support.<\/p>\n

She felt the bandages unwrapped and was relieved to feel no pain and assumed the medicine had yet to wear off as the healer finished removing the bandages. A gasp caused her to look over expecting to see the worse, not expecting to see nothing.\u00a0 Some dried blood but aside from that everything appeared fine and she saw no wound at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m going crazy,\u201d the healer finally stated. \u201cI know I stitched that up last night and wrapped it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ephiny flexed her shoulder a few times feeling no pain before sitting up in confusion before recalling last night. \u201cThe dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDream?\u201d Eponin asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I had a strange dream,\u201d Ephiny said. \u201cTalked to a woman, said she knew me, Artemis!\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked over at Eponin and then the healer before looking back at her shoulder. It was the only thing which made any sense to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you\u2019ve been touched,\u201d the healer said as Eph looked over at Gabrielle who didn\u2019t appeared surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, actually I have a confession,\u201d Gabrielle said. \u201cI talked to Aphrodite last night, and well, asked for her to heal your shoulder, she must have talked to Artemis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ephiny sat a bit stunned as Melosa and Valaska walked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how is she?\u201d Melosa asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, quite healed my queen,\u201d the healer said, still getting used to what happened but neither Melosa or Valaska seemed surprised by this news.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen she can leave the hut?\u201d Melosa asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes my queen,\u201d the healer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes someone want to fill me in?\u201d Ephiny asked feeling left out on how Artemis would have done this.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it, Artemis said what she was doing last night after visiting us,\u201d Valaska said, making it sound as if Artemis came by to visit every night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Eph finally said, getting dressed before heading outside with Eponin and her mother. Making her way outside she noticed a Centaur and Jana standing close by.<\/p>\n

\u201cJana?\u201d Eph said, heading over to where they stood seeing a slight blush on Jana\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, um, hey,\u201d Jana said. \u201cEphiny, Eponin, this is Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA pleasure,\u201d the Centaur said to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and your warriors were a welcomed sight yesterday,\u201d Eponin said. \u201cThe romans attacked before we were fully ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the Conqueror\u2019s army showed up at the right time as well,\u201d Marcus stated. \u201cWe were lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t go exactly according to plan, did it,\u201d Eph said knowing how it was supposed to go and how it actually went.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m surprised we lasted with only our warriors and the Royal guard,\u201d Eponin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Conqueror does count as ten soldiers at least,\u201d Marcus said causing everyone to smile at that bit of truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Romans had almost made it to our position when you arrived, I\u2019m glad so many of you survived,\u201d Jana said, and Eph thought the eye contact between the two was interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all Centaurs hate Amazons, mostly the older ones who remember the wars between the two nations,\u201d Marcus stated. \u201cIn fact, some of us actually like Amazons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do I get the feeling there is more to the story than we\u2019ve been told,\u201d Eph said looking at Jana who blushed a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, um, Marcus and I have been seeing each other for a few moons now,\u201d Jana stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome even longer,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cThere are others as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a meeting place in the middle where we can meet and talk, and more than a few have become romantically involved,\u201d Jana said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how long has this been going on?\u201d Valaska\u2019s voice said causing them to turn and see her walk up.<\/p>\n

\u201cA season or so,\u201d Jana replied taking a defiant stand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone pregnant that we need to know about?\u201d Valaska said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUn, one, we were trying to figure out what to do about that,\u201d Jana said as she and Marcus closed ranks in a physical effort to protect something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the queen will be pleased to hear this,\u201d Valaska said surprising them all. \u201cWe had a meeting last night, and I think you two should attend this afternoon\u2019s meeting as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t aware Centaurs were allowed in Amazon meetings,\u201d Marcus stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimes change, and we need to adapt with those changes,\u201d Valaska said seeing everyone else nod.<\/p>\n

End part 4<\/p>\n

Continued in part 5<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ephiny and the Battle of the Amazons by AJ Marks Part 4 Ephiny waited for Eponin to tell her what happened, as she figured they had won the battle. \u201cThe Romans were already organized for an attack, only waiting for some word to begin. The Conqueror advised us to attack first despite the fact neither […]
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