Myths and Legends - Amazons Ch. 04

"Eating," Lenore replied with a bloody smile.

Sestia was chewing on a particularly bloody portion of the meat as blood was dribbling down her chin. She held out a portion of the raw meat but Jake just shook his head.

"Why aren't you cooking it?" he asked with mild revulsion.

"With Hestia gone, we no longer can make a fire," Tatiana replied. "We don't know how."

"You never bothered to learn?" he asked, incredulous.

Tatiana looked like she wanted to crawl into the ground. She shook her head.

Sighing, Jake took his K-Bar knife from its sheath. Then pausing, he replaced it and walked away. Grumbling to himself, he stopped by his hut to grab his field axe on his way to gather firewood.

The three amazon women looked at each other, then to Jake's retreating back. Wordlessly, they put down their meal and followed their king.

Jake casually eyed them as they followed. He started gathering wood to make a fire. Looking at Lenore, he scooped up some dried bark and handed it to her. She nodded and got to work. Then, he grabbed some twigs and dried sticks. When he had a handful, he gave them to Sestia and nodded to her. Lastly, he started scooping up dried pine needles and leaves and handed them to Tatiana.

"Make sure they're brown and not green," he instructed. "Anything green won't burn. The browner and crinklier the better."

"Crink-lee-er?" she asked, her eyebrows knit together.

"Yes. If you crush it and it falls apart in your hands, that's crinkly. That means it's extremely dry and will burn quickly."

"Should we not want it to burn slowly? Will the fire not go out more quickly than we can cook the food?"

"No. It will burn fast but that's why Lenore is gathering dried bark. Bark burns fast but won't burn out before Sestia's kindling catches fire. The kindling will then light the wood that I'll be gathering on fire and will burn for a long time; longer than it takes to cook our meat."

"And how will you light it on fire?" she asked as she began gathering the materials she was tasked to.

"I'll show you when we get back to camp," he replied.

Taking his axe in hand, he approached a log about as thick around as his thigh and got to work.

An hour later, they sat around a fire eating the cooked meat. To Jake, though it lacked seasoning, the dinosaur meat was very flavorful. It was kind of a mix between beef and goat.

"This is pretty good," he said.

"Mmm," Tatiana agreed then swallowed her bite. "We have not had Grak'gull for some time."

"There were few times when they attacked our camp," Lenore added. "The first few times we killed them elsewhere on the island, when we returned to the corpses they were already gone."

"So we gave up on trying to harvest the kills outside our camp," Sestia said. "The last time we had Grak'gull to eat was..." She paused to think about it.

"Four hundred years ago," Tatiana finished for her. Her expression was somber, of great loss.

"Good memory, my queen," Sestia said, bumping her shoulder into the redhead's.

Tatiana smiled affectionately at her. "I am no longer your queen, my love," she reminded her.

"I know. But you will always be my queen."

"She's right," Jake said, squeezing Tatiana's shoulder. "You are the last queen of the amazons. Even though you passed the title of leadership, you are still queen."

"I do not want to be queen," she whispered, ghosts of horrible memories dancing in her eyes.

"We do not fault you for what happened to our people, my queen," Lenore said with a sad smile. "Such is the way of war."

"Besides," Sestia said with a wink to Jake, trying to lighten the mood, "imagine if all two hundred of us survived the millennia. Our king would spend all of his time in bed rather than leading us."

Lenore giggled. "Yes, leaving you to lead anyway."

That got a smile out of the redheaded queen. She gave Jake a sideways glance and noted he was blushing, but smiling all the same.

"So, my king," Tatiana said. "What are your orders for today?"

"I hope for kissing and, what did you call it, my king, facking?" Sestia said with a grin.

Jake choked on the last bite of his meal before swallowing it and clearing his throat. "Damn, woman. Talk about being straightforward."

"She was always this way, my king," Tatiana said with a laugh. "Even from our youth."

"Speaking of which," Jake said. "How old are you three, anyway?"

"I told you yesterday, my king," Lenore said. "We are thousands of years old."

"No, I know that. What I mean is, how old were you when you sailed to the island? The barrier magic seems to have stopped the aging process for you. So, technically, you haven't aged a day since the dome was erected. How old were you before that?"

"I am the eldest, my king," Sestia said. "I saw twenty-six winters before coming to the island."

"Add a year to that before the dome and that makes you twenty-seven," Jake said.

"And I am twenty-five," Lenore responded.

Jake looked at Tatiana. "Twenty-two," she said quietly.

"Well, I gotta say you look amazing for being five thousand twenty-two years old," Jake said with an easy smile.

The queen blushed but laughed. "So how old are you, then, my king?" she asked.

Jake shrugged. "Thirty-nine."

"Oh!" Sestia said with a laugh. "Are you sure you are up for taking on the three of us? Are your seed capable of making the journey into our wombs??"

"Sestia," Tatiana said with a teasing smile. "Was it not you who took an aged and wrinkled man to your bed not three days before the attack?"

The raven haired beauty blushed deeply at this. "He was leaving the following day and wanted a last memory of his life with us," she countered innocently. "I was the only one willing. Besides," she said, straightening proudly. "He was a spartan after all; vigorous and able to last longer than some men half his age!"

"That is because most of his feeling was gone because of his age!" Lenore said, laughing.

"I would not be surprised if Jake started to lose feeling soon," Tatiana teased.

"Hey, now," Jake protested. "Don't bring me into this."

"But you are so old, my king," Tatiana said with a playful bat of her eyes.

Jake rolled his eyes. "I didn't hear you complaining while my dick was in your mouth last night," he countered with a grin of his own. "Nor when my face was buried in your pussy."

"Mmm, that was quite delightful," Lenore mused with a slight moan.

"What!?" Sestia exclaimed, standing up. "Why didn't your put your face in my pleasure, my king? I want to feel your tongue as well!"

Jake groaned and rolled his eyes. "This is not a competition, Sestia."

"Yes it is," she replied with a petulant stomp of her foot. Her mini-temper-tantrum was adorable and surprising considering it was coming from a battle-hardened warrior woman.

"No, it's not," Jake said, though he was smiling.

"I claimed you first," she said. "I should have gotten the pleasure of your tongue first!"

"He can make it up to you by you being the first to feel his pleasure penetrating yours," Lenore said with a roll of her eyes.

Sestia looked at Tatiana with hopeful eyes. When the redhead nodded, Sestia practically beamed with excitement.

"Hey now. I'm not some piece of meat that you can just bat around like a cat plays with a mouse," Jake protested.

Tatiana waved his protests away. "In this, my king, you have no say."

"Like I didn't have a say in you sucking my dick last night?" he asked.

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "Yes. The same."

Their discussion was interrupted by a roar. They all stood up and put hands to their weapons. Well, the women did anyway. Jake, not in any way a warrior like the women, never grabbed his guns from his hut.

"Shit," Jake said, eyeing his hut on the far side of the village. "That was close by."

"You would not make it in time," Tatiana said, knowing what he was thinking. "We will protect you, my king."

"It will not escape this time!" Sestia proclaimed.

For a long time, no one moved. No other sound came to them, either. The woods quiet once more, the women cautiously moved in that direction.

"Remember, she is cunning," Tatiana said softly, leading the party. "And she is no doubt hungry."

"Why come all this way for food?" Jake asked just above a whisper. "Surely there are more prey closer to her cave."

"Did you notice many animals on the island yesterday?" Lenore asked. Her tone wasn't condescending, but inquisitive.

"Come to think of it, no," Jake replied.

"The only prey left on the island are tree dwellers," Sestia informed him. "Too high up for a Grak'gull to reach."

"So her only source of food is, well, us," he said. "Well, shit."

"Her mate no doubt intended you to appease her hunger," Tatiana replied.

They cautiously approached and scanned the tree line. They stood out in the open, visible to the monster hidden within.

"Desperation will eventually win over and she will attack," Lenore commented.

"And we will at last eradicate the threat to our lives, thereby avenging our people," Sestia said, almost giddy with excitement.

"Which means we won't be getting much sleep from here on out," Jake replied.

The women cast him a glance before returning their gaze to the trees.

"Explain, my king," Tatiana said.

"If she's as cunning as you say she is, no matter how desperate she gets, she's not going to openly attack us in the middle of the day when we're ready for her," he explained. "No, she'll attack at night, or when one of us is by ourselves." He looked at the women in turn. "No more sleeping in separate huts. From now on until the threat is eliminated, we all sleep in the same hut. We take turns on watch.

"Starting today, we build a preliminary wall around your hut, my queen. If that means tearing down existing huts that aren't being used, so be it. We'll clear the whole area and include the fire pit inside the wall."

"That should not be too hard," Tatiana replied. "Though, the soft sand near the water will prove difficult to keep a wall up."

"We're not going to the beach," Jake said, shaking his head. When they looked confused, he explained. "Sestia was taken from the river yesterday without any of us knowing. If the beast hadn't had to come up for air, which is what I'm assuming she had to do when she did, our beloved beauty would be dead right now. No, that damn dinosaur knows how to swim. We encompass the hut completely. One way in; one way out, with fortifications from within so if she tries to break through she'll make way too much noise to be stealthy."

Sestia's eyes were eager. They were also looking at him with expectant hunger.

"Until the wall is built," he continued, approaching the raven-haired beauty and taking her hand, "no fucking or pleasure of any sort. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but we can't take the risk. We're going to need to keep watch by twos until the wall is built. Four hour shifts each starting at sundown. We'll stop working for an hour or two each day to rest if we need it."

Sestia looked crestfallen, but nodded. "As you say, my king," she replied with an affectionate squeeze of his hand.

"No one goes anywhere alone," Tatiana said. "We go as a group or we do not go at all."

"Agreed," Jake replied. Then, he looked uncertain.

"What is it, my king?" Lenore asked.

"I'm afraid what I'm about to suggest may upset you, but I see no other option to us."

"What is it?" Sestia asked, a look of concern in her eyes.

Jake sighed and continued. "She's hungry. If we can alleviate that hunger somewhat, it may buy us some time to strengthen our fortifications."

"Are you suggesting we feed her?" Tatiana scoffed. "With what?"

Sestia wrenched her hand away from his, her face incredulous. Lenore looked stricken.

Jake sighed. "I'm sorry. I really am. But this is the only other thing I can think of that keeps us safe, at least for the time being. There are scores of fish in the estuary. If we can gather enough-"

"NO!" Sestia said, cutting him off. "I will not feed this, this MONSTER that took my people's lives!"

"If we don't," Jake replied, irritated but keeping his calm, "she'll end up getting one of us eventually."

"Aftó eínai tréla!!" There were tears in Sestia's eyes as she stormed off toward the village.

Jake looked to Tatiana with sad eyes. "What did she say?"

"'This is madness'," the redhead translated. "I agree with her. However, I will do as you say. You are our king. Sestia will do as well. She is just angry."

"I don't want her to have to do it just because I say," Jake replied with a sigh. "Either of you. I want her to understand that though this might not be the only way, it's the safest way."

"Your logic is irrefutable, my king," Lenore said. "Though I agree with Sestia as well. It is madness."

"I wouldn't say it's irrefutable," Jake replied. "I am open to suggestions if anyone has a better one."

Lenore shook her head.

"I do not," Tatiana said.

Jake sighed again as they made their way back to the village. "I'll ask Sestia when we get back."

"Best to leave her be for now, my king," Tatiana said. "Let her anger abate."

"You might be right." Jake sighed again. "Lenore, will you accompany me to my hut to gather my things?"

"As you will, my king," the honey-haired beauty replied.

"Then, we'll go to your hut and gather your belongings as well."

"I will go see to Sestia," Tatiana replied once they reached the inner safety of the village.

An hour later, they all met around the fire pit once more. Sestia stood when Jake approached. He watched her warily. Meeting him just outside the ring of sitting logs, she knelt in front of him with tears streaming down her face.

"My apologies, my king," she said, blinking through her tears as she hung her head in shame.

Jake reached down and lifted her chin to look up at him. He smiled down at her as he took her hands and helped her to her feet.

Putting his hands on both cheeks, he said, "You have nothing to apologize for."

"But, I was insubordinate to you, my king," she protested. "I should be banished."

"HA!" he exclaimed with a grin. "Like that'll ever happen. You're stuck with me now, girlie. Now and forever apparently."

"But-"

He cut her off with a thumb to her lips as he looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "First and foremost, banishment would be a death sentence. Like hell am I ever going to allow that to happen.

"Second, I would be a poor king indeed if I banished you for disagreeing with one of my decisions. That's tyranny, not leadership.

"Lastly, what kind of mate would I be to dismiss your feelings so off-handedly?"

"I--mate?" she asked with a sniffle.

"I think that's obvious, isn't it?" he asked as he looked to the other women before fixing his gaze back on Sestia. "If I'm stuck here for life, I might as well acknowledge that you three are my mates. If you'll have me, that is."

Sestia turned to look at Lenore, Jake's hands falling to rest on Sestia's waist. Jake followed her gaze and watched as Lenore nodded and smiled. Then, they looked at Tatiana. The queen was blushing softly, but nodded as well. Sestia turned back to look at Jake.

"Yes, my king," she said and kissed him. It was neither chaste nor passionate, but a kiss of acceptance. Pulling back, she smiled at him.

"Come on," he said. "Let's all sit down and discuss the issue again."

The returned to their seats on the logs, but this time Sestia sat on the ground between Jake's legs with her back to him, her head resting on his inner thighs. Jake stroked her unkempt hair, gathering it in his fingers to try and comb it as best he could.

"I know you're against feeding the monster, but do you have any other ideas that would keep her at bay at least until we get the wall built?" he asked Sestia.

"We were discussing that while you were gathering your things," she replied. "We were thinking the only other option might be a spike barricade. While it will not hurt the Grak'gull, it will warn us of her approach."

"That's not a bad idea," Jake agreed. "However, we want to get the wall built as soon as possible. Building a spike barricade would take more time away from that than building a net to catch a shitload of fish."

She nuzzled into his thigh.

"I know you want to kill her," Jake said softly. "I know you want her to die but that would put further risk to your lives as well. I don't mean to be indelicate, but I'm not willing to needlessly risk your lives for petty revenge."

"I...understand, my king," Sestia said, now gripping his thigh as if it were a life preserver.

Jake looked at the other two women. "Know how to make a net?"

They shook their heads.

"Of course not," he said, smiling. "Do any of you know how to make anything?"

"We can make babes," Lenore said giggling and Jake chuckled.

"And war," Tatiana added.

Jake rolled his eyes at that. He patted Sestia's head softly.

"What about you, beautiful? What can you make?"

"Death," she said softly.

"I don't doubt that but neither of those things are useful to us right now," Jake said. "What about weapons? Can you make spears?"

"Of course," Tatiana said.

"Good. I'm gonna need you three to make some spears while I get started on a net."

"Spears will do nothing against a Grak'gull, my king," Sestia said.

"I know," Jake replied with a smile. "You three are going fishing while I make my net."