Amazonia (17 page)

Shale played with her blonde
locks. “I know what you meant, sweetheart.”

Blake pulled back to look at
her, a tender expression on her face. “Did you just call me sweetheart?”

“Sure did.”

“I’m surprised it’s not
against your warrior code of toughness.”

A quiet laugh. “I’ll only use
it in private. I do have a reputation to maintain.”

“Does the same go for me?”

“No. You can call me what you
want, when you want.” Shale paused. “Why? Have you been holding back?”

Blake nodded. “I wasn’t sure
you’d like it. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

“Blake, nothing you do could
ever embarrass me. Please don’t worry about that. Just be yourself. That
is, after all, who I love.”

Blake looked touched. “You
say the most beautiful things to me.”

“That’s against the code,
too, but I never have been one to stick to the rules.”

Blake smiled and kissed her
softly. “My Shale.” She caressed her cheek, then kissed her again. “My
love. My heart.”

“HERE YOU GO.” Kale handed
Shale the few items she had left at camp. “There’s not much.” She dug into
the pouch on her waist. “Found this, too.” She held up a delicate woven
bracelet. “You don’t wear jewellery.”

“It’s not for me.” Shale
cleared her throat self-consciously. “I was making it for Blake.”

Blake’s head whipped up, the
scroll she was perusing forgotten. She stepped out from behind the table.
“Can I see?”

Shale nodded. “I’m not sure
it’s big enough. I might have to extend it.”

Blake took it out of Kale’s
hands, examining the intricate pattern with a keen eye. It was made up of
three separate colors, all of which were pastel shades: green, yellow, and
brown.

“I thought it would go with
your coloring,” Shale said timidly, indicating her eyes and hair.

“It’s beautiful,” Blake said,
smiling brightly. She slipped it onto her wrist. “It fits perfectly.” She
kissed the top of Shale’s head, then moved down and captured her lips.
“Thank you.”

Shale was pleased that Blake
liked it. “You’re welcome.” She pointed at Kale, forestalling her comment.
“Not a word.”

Kale’s mouth clicked shut, drawing
a giggle from Blake. It soon opened again though. “Are you up to seeing my
cabin, Shale? I’m all moved in.”

“Sure.” Shale scooted off the
bed, taking Kale’s hand to pull herself upright.

“You want to come along,
Blake?”

Blake smiled at Kale, but
shook her head. “No, thanks. I need to finish this.” She gestured to the
scroll she’d been reading.

“You know where we are if you
complete it,” Shale added, leaning heavily on Kale and hobbling toward the
door.

“All right, sweetheart. I
might join you later.”

Kale smirked at the term of
endearment, but she kept her teasing to herself.

It took awhile, but they made
it to Kale’s cabin.

They went inside, and Shale
whistled. “It’s nearly as nice as mine and Blake’s.”

Kale snorted. “No accounting
for taste.”

“I tell you what would look
great, Kale, you should put that deerskin on the wall there.” Shale
pointed to above the bed.

Kale rubbed her neck, her way
of showing embarrassment. “I, uh...gave that to Amber.”

Shale’s brow shot up in disbelief.
“And you have the nerve to rib me about making that bracelet for Blake?”

“I didn’t rib you.”

“You were going to,” Shale
said, before chuckling. “Did she like it?”

A smile touched Kale’s lips.
“Yes. It’s hanging on her wall.”

“Do you think you and Amber
might get together?”

The smile left Kale’s face.
“No. She’s already tried. I told her I wasn’t interested.”

“What? Why? She’s exactly
your type.”

Kale frowned at her. “You
know exactly why, Shale.”

“Yes, but...look at me and
Blake, you and Amber could have that, too. I know you want that, so don’t
try and convince me otherwise.”

“I’m not going to risk myself
like that again. No matter how much I like Amber.”

“We’ve got a fresh start
here, Kale. Why not make the most of it? I know it’s hard for you, but
what if Amber’s the one? Like Blake is for me. Are you really going to let
her slip through your fingers?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is if you let it be. You
always said that if you want someone enough you can make it work. I know it
didn’t work out with Aeron, but she didn’t want you enough. Amber does, I
can see it when she looks at you.” Shale knew that Kale wanted to believe,
her tough exterior crumbling for just a moment. “Do you really want to be
alone, Kale? Forever? It’s true you’ve got me, but we both know it’s not
the same.”

“No. I don’t want to be
alone.”

“Do you love Amber?”

“I care about her a lot,”
Kale said, trying to skirt around her feelings.

Shale sighed. “Kale, answer
the question.”

Kale hesitated, and then
nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Then that’s all that
matters.” Shale grasped her shoulder. “I know why you were so awful to
Blake. Because you wanted to protect me from what you went through. You
did it because you wanted the best for me, just like I’m trying to do for
you now. You deserve to be happy. Allow yourself that.”

“I can’t just forget what’s
happened.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“That’s exactly what you are
asking. You’re telling me to put it behind me, to move on. I can’t do
that.”

“I know it’s difficult,”
Shale said, her voice steady.

“It didn’t happen to you!”
Kale exploded. “Just because you were there doesn’t mean you know how it
felt.”

Shale winced. “I know that. I
also know that you’re hurting, and scared.”

“Scared? Don’t be soft.
You’re spending too much time with Blake.”

Shale’s lips tightened.
“She’s got nothing to do with this. You are scared, Kale. Whether you
admit it or not is irrelevant. Running from this won’t solve anything,
you’re only hurting yourself.”

“You’re hurting my ears with
this rubbish,” Kale snapped.

“I’m only trying to help.”

“Well you’re not!” Kale
yelled. “You’re just trying to pair me off so you can spend more time with
Blake.”

“Now who’s talking rubbish?”

“Just because everything’s
perfect for you, doesn’t mean it will be for me.”

“And it never will be if you
keep acting like this. Stop running, Kale.”

“I. Don’t. Run.” Kale bit off
each word. “I’m a warrior.”

“Even warriors get scared,
Kale.”

“Not me. And you never used
to either. If this is what love does to you, I’d rather stay clear of the
whole mess.” Kale shook her head, her disapproval clear. “You always were
too soft.”

Shale flinched, the words
stinging her. She had no reason to be ashamed of her emotions. Blake had
told her as much. And Shale believed her. “No, Kale. You were too hard.
You still are.”

Shale limped past Kale,
struggling somewhat with no support. Kale moved to help her.

“No,” Shale said. “You don’t
need my help, I don’t need yours.” She waited until the door clicked shut
behind her before teetering down the steps.

SHALE BARELY MADE it back to
their cabin, much less up the steps. She managed them somehow, and got the
door open. She couldn’t go any farther though, her leg threatening to give
way at any moment.

“Blake, could you...” She
didn’t need to finish her sentence, Blake was already moving.

Blake was at Shale’s side in
an instant, an annoyed look on her face. “Why isn’t Kale helping you?”

“We had an argument.” Shale
bent her leg, raising it slightly off the floor.

Blake placed Shale’s arm over
her shoulders, taking most of her weight. “Take your time,” she said, as
Shale hopped forward.

When Shale sat, she lifted
her injured leg onto the bed using her hands. “Ow,” she mumbled, straightening
it out in front of her. “That wasn’t smart.”

Blake squeezed her forearm
gently. “Kale still should have helped you.”

“I wouldn’t let her.” Shale
shrugged sheepishly as Blake frowned at her. “As I said, it wasn’t smart.
I was proving a point.”

“A rather painful point by
the look of you.” Blake sat also, and began to rub Shale’s tense back.

“I’m all right,” Shale said.
“I just don’t like it when Kale and I disagree.”

“I know you don’t.” She
pressed her lips to Shale’s shoulder. “What did Kale say?”

“It was my fault, actually.”
Shale saw the surprised expression, then the scepticism. “I’m not taking
too much responsibility either. I started it, though I should have known
better.” Shale’s eyes flicked to the table where Blake had been working.
“Sorry, I know you’re busy.”

“It can wait.”

“No, I’ll tell you later. I
know it’s important.”

“Not as important as you.”
Blake’s hand moved up into dark hair. “Tell me what happened,” she
requested quietly.

“I tried to convince her to give
it a go with Amber,” Shale said. “Apparently Amber tried, but Kale knocked
her back.”

“Poor Amber,” Blake said.
“I’ll have to go and see her.”

Shale nodded. “Kale admitted
that she loves her, but she can’t move on from Aeron.”

“She’s scared it will happen
again.”

“Precisely. That’s what I
said.”

Blake raised her eyebrows. “I
bet that went over well.”

“Kale told me that warriors
shouldn’t feel fear, and that I’m too soft.” Shale tried to keep her tone
light, nonchalant. She must have failed, because Blake took hold of her
hand.

“And that’s why you walked
back by yourself? To prove you weren’t?”

“That, and she didn’t want my
help, so I wasn’t going to accept hers.” A flash of hurt crossed Shale’s
features. “She looked so disappointed in me.”

“She’s just lashing out
because you hit a nerve. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” Blake’s green eyes
locked onto clear blue. “And you are certainly not soft.”

“I know,” Shale replied. “I
told her that she’s too hard.”

“You did, huh? Good for you.”

“OH, GREAT,” KALE said dryly.
“Now you’ve come to have a go at me.”

“May I come in?” Blake asked
stiffly. She pushed past Kale and into the cabin without waiting for a
response.

“Be my guest,” Kale muttered,
closing the door behind Blake. “Don’t tell me she sent you over to fight
her battles for her?”

“Shale doesn’t even know I’m
here. She thinks I’ve gone to see Amber.”

Kale gestured to the
door.
 
“Don’t let me stop you.”

“I’m going there next, but
first you’re going to go and make up with Shale.”

Kale raised a challenging
eyebrow. “I am? Why would I want to do that?”

“Because you care. Because
you’ve upset her and you’re the only one who can make it right.”

Kale faltered. “She’s upset?”

“Of course she is. Shale
hates fighting with you.”

“This has nothing to do with
you, Blake,” Kale said. “It’s between us.”

“When it affects my partner,
it affects me. Your twins only rule won’t work with me, Kale.”

“I’m the one who should be
upset. Shale’s trying to tell me how to live my life.” Kale glared at her.
“Though I expect she’s already told you all about it.”

“Shale’s just trying to
help,” Blake responded simply, neither confirming nor denying Kale’s
accusation. “I would have left you to come on your own terms, but I know
you take a few days to cool down. And I’m not having Shale upset for that
long.”

“Shale doesn’t have to wait,
she knows where I am.”

“With her leg? Real mature,
Kale. And you’re supposed to be the elder.”

“Just go, Blake.” She threw
Blake’s own words back at her. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Blake didn’t budge. “Shale
thinks you’re disappointed in her.”

Confusion appeared on Kale’s
face. “I’m not disappointed in her. Why would she think that?”

“You called her soft. To a
warrior, that’s a pretty big insult.”

“I didn’t mean it. I was
just...mouthing off.”

“As you always do.”

“She insulted me, too,” Kale
said.

“Hers was true,” Blake said,
point blank. “And it wasn’t an insult, you are afraid. Shale was merely
stating the truth.”

“And I wasn’t?”

“No. You weren’t. You were
deliberately being mean. And I know why.”

“Oh? Enlighten me.”

“Because you don’t want Shale
to realise that she’s so much stronger than you.”

Kale laughed. “You are
kidding, right?”

“Not in the slightest. Shale
is sensitive, I’ll give you that, but it’s through that where she finds
her strength. Shale’s watched out for you her whole life, cleaning up
after you, taking the blame, the responsibility for your mistakes. You say
what you like, when you like, because you know you can get away with it.
You know that Shale will pick up the pieces. And yet Shale never
complains, never moans about it, she just gets on with it, because you’re
her family.

“Shale doesn’t shy away from
anything, whereas you go through life avoiding everything. Nothing gets to
you, nothing gets in, you won’t let it. That’s not strength, Kale, that’s
weakness. Shale isn’t afraid to live, or to love, or to let people in,
despite what she’s been through. That’s real strength.”

Kale was silent for a long
moment, staring down Blake confrontationally. Kale was the first to look
away, recognising the truth in Blake’s words. “Please go.”

Blake tipped her head.
“Please don’t keep Shale waiting too long.”

“I JUST HEARD about you and
Kale. I know you wanted to be more than friends. Are you all right?”

Amber ushered Blake inside.
“No. But I’ll get there.”

Blake gathered Amber in her
arms, giving her a supportive squeeze.

“I feel so stupid, Blake. I
truly believed Kale felt the same way.”

Blake knew that Kale did, but
she wouldn’t divulge that information. She drew back to look at Amber.
“There’s no reason for you to feel stupid, Amber. I’m sure Kale was
flattered by the attention.”

“She was certainly nice about
the whole thing. Understanding.”

Blake was relieved to hear
that Kale had let her down gently, she knew how forthright Kale could be.
“Good. I’m glad.” She noticed the new skin on the wall. “Keeping busy I
see. Nice catch.”

“Kale gave it to me.”

“She did?” Blake asked in
surprise. She was able to place the skin immediately from its size,
recognising it to be the large stag that Kale had shot a while back. Blake
unconsciously fingered her bracelet, it seemed neither twin was afraid of
a little hard work when it came to giving gifts.

Amber noticed and lifted
Blake’s arm, studying the woven jewellery. “That’s lovely, Blake. Shale’s
got talent.”

“How did you know she made
it?”

“The colors. It’s clearly
been made for you.”

“I could have made it.”

“Ha. I don’t think so. You
can barely stitch.”

Blake frowned, then chuckled,
nodding in defeat. “Good point. May the gods help me when I want to give
Shale something. I’m not exactly creative.”

“That’s not true,” Amber
said. “You’re good at drawing. Besides, warriors are easy to get presents
for.”

“They are?”

“Sure. Just get her a
weapon.”

Blake laughed. “That’s hardly
personal, Amber.”

“True.” She smiled. “But I
guarantee she’ll like it.”

A sudden thought struck
Blake. “I know, I’ll design a set of bracers, and get the blacksmiths to
make them.”

“That’s brilliant. Personal
and practical.”

Blake looked pleased. “Why
don’t you come round tomorrow? Or would you rather I came here?” At
Amber’s questioning look, she added, “Kale might be at ours.”

“It’s fine, Blake, I’ll come
to you. I see Kale every day to spar. We’re still good friends.”

“I just thought you might
want some time...”

Amber shook her head. “It’s
fine. It was a bit awkward to start with, but now things are getting back
to normal.”

“Great.” Blake gave her
another hug. “If you need to talk...” “I know where you are,” Amber
finished for her.

IT WAS EVENING before Kale
turned up, but Blake knew that was a considerable improvement from her
usual sulking time. Blake kept her head buried in her work, giving them
some privacy. Normally, she would have gone outside, but it was raining
heavily.

Kale got straight to the
point. “I’m sorry, all right? I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

“I’m sorry, too. I know how
you feel about relationships, and I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“And I’m not disappointed in
you either. I don’t want you to think that.”

Shale glanced to Blake
questioningly, but Blake was keeping a low profile, and wouldn’t meet her
gaze. “That’s how it seemed to me.”

“Well you’re wrong,” Kale
said. “That’s not how it is.”

Shale remained silent for a
long, awkward moment. “All right,” she finally said. “I accept that.”

Kale nodded in something very
close to relief. “I’ll see you in the morning, Shale. Goodnight, Blake.”

“Goodnight.”

“Kale?” Shale called to her,
stopping Kale in her tracks.

Kale looked back, smiling
when she saw Shale’s outstretched arm. She walked over and clasped it,
locking their forearms together.

Shale returned her smile.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kale nodded again, and then
left the cabin.

Blake peered across at Shale,
who was regarding her with a serious expression.

“Blake,” Shale let out a
heavy breath. “Come here a moment.” She waited until Blake sat in front of
her. “Why did you do that?”

“I couldn’t stand to see you
upset. Not when I could do something about it.”

“So you lied to me?”

“No! I did go to see Amber, I
just didn’t mention that I had seen Kale also.”

“Blake.” Shale shook her
head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I was just trying to make
things right between you. I’m sorry if you feel I stuck my nose in, but I
won’t stand back and see you hurt. You can’t ask me to do that.” She took
a breath to continue, but Shale spoke first.

“Blake?”

“Yes?” she asked hesitantly.

“I love you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Of course not.” Shale
brushed her thumb across Blake’s lips, then leaned in and kissed her.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Shale draped her arms around
Blake’s neck, who in turn encircled her waist. “I think you should be
rewarded.”

“I didn’t do it for a
reward,” Blake said.

Shale’s eyes sparkled. “Does
that mean you don’t want it?”

Blake chuckled. “I wouldn’t
go that far.”

Shale grinned, and pushed
Blake slowly down onto the bed.

BLAKE AWOKE LATE, much later
than she usually slept. She instantly missed the feel of waking up in
Shale’s arms, and wondered where Shale had got to. She didn’t have to
speculate for very long. As she opened her eyes, she saw that Shale was
sitting at the foot of the bed, bending and flexing her injured knee,
trying to strengthen it. Shale had her back to her, but when Blake
stretched, Shale glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You were tired. And you
didn’t mention that you had any meetings this morning, so I didn’t see the
harm in it.”

Blake yawned widely. “It’s
because of you I’m so tired,” she teased. “If you weren’t so damned
attractive, I’d get a decent night’s sleep.” Blake crawled over to a
chuckling Shale, her hand snaking around from behind and covering Shale’s
breast. “We don’t all have the stamina of a warrior, you know.”

Shale shook her head.
“There’s nothing wrong with your stamina. I’ve been with warriors who’ve
had a lot less than you.”

Blake was pleased to hear
that. She began to play with Shale’s nipple, feeling it respond
immediately to her touch.

Shale stopped exercising her
knee. “Blake?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I take it you’re not tired
now?”

“No.” Blake grinned. “I
assure you I’m fully rested.”

Shale turned, meeting Blake’s
mouth with her own. “I might have to take advantage of that.”

“Please do.”

They kissed again, but were
interrupted by a knock on the door.

Shale groaned, and with
obvious reluctance, tore her lips away from Blake’s. “Not now, Kale,” she
yelled. “Kind of busy at the moment.”

Kale was heard sniggering
outside. “You told me to come round in the morning.”

“No, you said that. I said
I’ll see you today, not necessarily this morning.”

“I get it. I’ll come back
later.” Kale laughed. “I’m glad to see some rumors are true in this
village.”

“Goodbye, Kale,” Shale said.

Blake chuckled, hearing
Kale’s laughter fade as she left. “Now, where were we?” She answered her
own question by kissing Shale passionately.

“AMBER, HOLD UP,” Kale
called, jogging over to her.