Amasis whinnied after me as I took a step away from the stable door. Snorting, she tugged on the lead which secured her to her temporary lodgings, as I glanced back at her. She was an old animal, much used to the habits she had kept, back when she was nothing but a shepherd’s horse, grazed well, but unaccustomed to any strenuous travel. My father had kept her for their seasonal migrations, leading the sheep to the plateau in summer, and back to the milder coast in winter. The dim stables of this Trojan inn did not agree with her at all, accustomed as she was to resting in the open air, uninhibited by mud-brick walls and the din of the other horses’ neighing.
“Shh,” I said, knowing well enough that you could say nothing to a horse which would comfort it in strange surroundings. But Amasis would be comfortable enough in this stable: the straw was fresh, and the feed more plentiful than any of the tough grasses she’d been forced to chew on for the most of the journey. “I’ll be back soon enough.” I rubbed her muzzle before stepping away, gathering my travelling cloak around me. It was not mine, actually; it had been my mother’s, or, my foster mother’s, as I should say. It was wool, lined with fur, probably jackal, I’d judged from the look of it. It was a little heavy for summer, but it had been necessary for the journey. At night, central Anatolia was cold no matter the season. The sun was nearing the horizon by the time I’d found lodgings for us, and now, my first experience of Troy would be during a greyish twilight. It felt awkward to have smooth, cool stones beneath my feet, instead of earth and grass, and walking between buildings closely bunched together, as though they had huddled together against a bitter winter. I sighed, and stepped on through the streets.
There were still a number of people around, despite the hour growing late: traders packing up their carts, loading unsold goods upon the backs of weary-legged donkeys, townspeople carrying water to their homes, prostitutes emerging periodically from the dark spaces between houses, calling for customers. I hurried along, not wishing to stay until it was too dark, and finding my way back to the lodgings too difficult.
Presently, there was still enough light to last for a while at least, enough that I could clearly see the faces of the people who passed me by; strange, unfamiliar faces that did not pay me a second glance. I supposed I wasn’t the first scraggly traveller they’d seen, making her way towards the citadel which loomed ahead. But scarcely had I made that observation, it was proved wrong. A tall, pale haired woman’s eyes were fixed on me, the expression on her fair face bewildered. I self-consciously wondered if I had offended some local custom here, and my brow knitted in uncertainty as I discreetly studied the woman’s appearance. She was dressed in a rich tunic that was somehow barbaric in its style and shape, though I only based this assumption on what the townspeople had been wearing, knowing too little about these things to make a solid judgement. It was, however, more luxurious by far than anything I had seen on a commoner’s back. I felt a little ashamed at being seen in my brother’s simple shepherd’s tunic, and increased my pace a little.
“Wait,” called a voice from behind me. I halted and turned warily, to see that it was the fair woman who had addressed me. She approached me, smiling ruefully. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to keep you. But you reminded me of someone, someone who died many years ago. And anyway, you cannot be her...”
I held my breath, as things began to click into place. There was no doubt in my mind now that she was an Amazon; that much was proved by her unusual dress. And she had guessed, or at least had some inkling, as to who I was. Frowning slightly, I wondered if I really looked so much like my mother.
Unable to say anything, I held my silence as she continued to look at me, her eyes betraying none of the thoughts that were clearly rampant in her mind. “No, it couldn’t be,” she repeated again, and I wondered if she meant that I couldn’t be the dead Penthesilea, or her lost child.
“I am sorry to disappoint you,” I said softly, keeping my eyes on the ground.
The tall woman smiled. “No, please. It is just my imagination, it runs away with me sometimes! But I would be grateful if you did tell me who you are, just so I can rest at ease.”
“Meli...Melanippe of Halys,” I answered, remembering to use my full name. The woman’s expression altered again for a moment, taking on some of its previous air of suspicion, before settling back into a smile.
“That is an Amazon name. I am an Amazon, though my name is not,” she responded proudly. “I’m Camane.”
“You are Queen!” I breathed quickly, almost dismayed at my infernal luck at having met the one person who might have recognised my right of inheritance.
“I am one of the Queens, yes.” She seemed thoughtful for a few moments. “The River Halys is a long way from Troy. What brings you here, and alone by the looks of it?”
I bit my lip, deciding to admit a small part of the truth, rather than lying outright to the Queen who had almost discovered that which I would rather keep hidden. “I discovered recently that the man I knew as my father was given me by an Amazon, to raise as his own. It was my family’s wish that I find my true kinswomen and fulfil my...potential.”
Queen Camane looked somewhat doubtful at my words. “We do not normally give away our girl-children, but raise them ourselves. Your mother must have had a good reason to give you to a foster family.”
“I do not even know who my mother is,” I lied back calmly, hoping my nonchalance would disguise the dread of discovery which I kept hidden in my heart. “She did not reveal her name to my family, only her instructions.”
“And these were?”
I sighed. “To find my kin once I have reached maturity.”
She studied my face for a moment, before returning her smile – a knowing smile, I dreaded to think. “You had best come with me, then. I am sure we will solve the mystery of your parentage together.”
Nodding, I accepted her offer, following behind Camane, by rights my co-ruler, towards the palace, where my inheritance awaited me in vain.
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