[The Daily Planet] "The Request"
- From: Moria McEntire <bansheec@xxxxxxx>
- To: The Daily Planet <thedailyplanet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 22:55:51 -0400
"The Request"
Queen Hippolyte, Princesses Diana, Donna and Selene; Artemis, Philippus
The palace was full of laughter and song as the Amazons continued to
celebrate. There had been a feast the night of the hunt, rights
preformed for each of their Goddess as well as Hermes, and the rest of
the time was filled with games and contests and exhibition of skill in
many areas, including art. Hippolyte had been paying very close
attention to everything around her and had been more then pleased to see
her Amazons and those descended from her beloved sister’s tribe finally
coming together as one nation. As she sat on her throne she watched the
reasons for this coming together. Selene had laid the ground work when
she’d accepted Artemis as a teacher, and when she began to interact and
study with more of the Bana-Mighdallians. By taking Donna along with her
it strengthen the new bond between the Bana-Mighdallians and the
Themyscirians.
As she watched Selene across the room teasing Artemis the Queen couldn’t
help but smile. This my Sister, she thought, is how it should be, both
of our peoples together as one nation, and yet still free to be
Bana-Mighdallian and Themyscirian.
“It has been a long time since I’ve seen such a smile, Mother.” Diana
said as she took a seat next to her mother.
“It has been a long time since I have felt such hope and peace for our
Amazons.” Hippolyte replied. “There was so much tension between the two
tribes when the Bana-Mighdallians first settled here, and then when we’d
come so close to a civil war. I feared we’d never reach a point in which
we were all simply Amazons.”
Diana looked out over the gathered crowds of women as yet another feast
filled the evening. “Our distrust of them did not help matters. Though
we had good reason. They came here to destroy us, even though we know
they were under Circe magical manipulation, that wound remained a wall
between us.”
“A wall broken by the simple trust of a child.” Hippolyte said as she
continued to watch Selene.
“She’s hardly a child anymore.” Diana said as she looked at her daughter
as well. Selene had grown tall, curvy, and strong, a near mirror image
of Diana, yet she also showed traits of her grandmother and aunt as
well. Diana had actually had her mother and sister in mind as she’d
sculpted the clay from which Selene had been born.
Selene caught sight of her mother and grandmother looking at her again
and smiled as she waved to them from across the great hall. “They’re
doing it again.”
“Who’s doing what?” Artemis asked as she looked around.
“Grandmother and Mama, they’re looking at me in that funny way again.”
Selene answered as she and Artemis moved off towards a less crowded area
of the room.
Artemis looked up at the Queen and Princess and snorted. “They are
trying to figure out where the child went.”
“No.” Selene sighed, “I think they still see her, only I’ve grown taller
and have breasts now. They need to face the fact that I‘m not a kid
anymore.”
Artemis laughed. She and Selene had grown very close over the years and
the older woman could honestly say that the girl was not just a student
any more, she was a friend. “Don’t get to ahead of yourself little
Princess, you’ve still got some growing up to do.”
Selene huffed at the redhead. “I’m seventeen, Artemis, not seven. In a
year I’ll be of legal age in Patriarch’s World, in two years I’ll be of
legal age according to Amazon law.”
“Two years is two years, kiddo.” Artemis put her arm around Selene’s
shoulder even though the girl was not happy with her. Selene lived among
a nation of women, even Donna was five years her senior, and her youth
was finally starting to become an issue with her. She wanted so badly to
been seen as a woman like the rest of her Amazon sisters, and Artemis
knew it. “You can’t speed up time, Selene, so try to simply enjoy the
ride.”
She hated it when Artemis said things like that. It wasn’t just her
grandmother and mother that Selene wished would stop seeing her as a
child. She was just about to open her mouth to protest when Philippus
came into the room holding a scroll. She watched as the head of the
Queen’s Guards, now a general, approached the throne.
“You Majesty,” The woman said as she bowed before the Queen before
holding out the scroll. “This was just found at the foot of your armor.”
A dark brow raised as blue eyes twinkled with curiously. Reaching out
she took the scroll from Philippus and unrolled it. She read it over
once, then again, a bright smile growing on her face.
“What is it Mother?” Donna asked as she approached.
Selene and Artemis also made their way closer to the Queen.
Hippolyte looked up, her eyes now sparkling even more brightly. “For the
first time in fifty years someone has requested The Queen’s Challenge.”
A wave of whispers rippled through the great hall. The last person to
challenge the Queen in a contest of battle was Philippus, who’d lost, as
had all the Queen’s challengers. The Queen was matched as a warrior only
by her eldest daughter. The wave of whispers died down as everyone
waited to see if the Queen would except.
Several long, silent moments passed before Hippolyte finally stood. “The
challenge is accepted. The Queen’s Challenge will take place on the last
day of the celebrations before the Fest of Athena.”
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