The Vengeance
Ritta.
O High Sky, O Gods! Listen to your daughter Ritta! Give me strength and courage
in battle, sharpen my eyes, enlighten my mind! Make my body invincible and
strong, guide me sword into the enemy! Give me victory for the sake of Tagar!
The prayer is magic. A few minutes ago I was shocked by the death of my dear
Tamara. I could not believe my eyes. Her mistake lead to her death – and if it
wasn’t for Antia’s nobleness, she would have died a very long, painful, horrible
death.
The prayer returned strength and control to me. Tamara cannot be returned to me
– her soul is now in heaven where I’ll meet her some day... And here, on earth,
I have to revenge her death. I must defeat Antia – and defeat her in such a way
that nobody ever doubted that Tagar warriors are better, stronger than amazons!
Antia is walking to and fro. Vast, buxom, fearless – like a dark cloud. And
brave! Despite her young age, she decided to fight against an experienced a-ghesh
warrior, with nothing but a shield on! I wonder how she is going to arm against
me...
I undress and wrap my battle sash around my waist. The sash is made of several
layers of leather and is fastened by a bronze lion head. I put on my talisman –
the main symbol of Tagar, the Sun crest, on a long leather string. On my right
side is my faithful Akinak sword – its blade is sharp enough to cut a hair!
I don’t need anything else. I an ready to face any enemy, for the sake of my
motherland, Tagar!
Antia.
This battle is not the last battle for today.
Tayunna said all Tagar women are very proud. Just imagine what a blow they’ve
just got from me! Now it’s a question of honor for every Tagar woman to fight
with me and defeat me. Quite a mouthful. And most probably it will be one of
their best warriors. Cunning, experienced and skillful. Damn! I put myself into
a very awkward position. I cannot refuse a battle – both for Tagars and for
amazons it’s a question of honor – but fighting against a rival whose skills are
far better than mine... It’s a suicide...
I notice that all this time I’ve been walking to and fro. Nobody, not a soul
must notice my fear! Otherwise... it will be the end. I sit down under a large
elm-tree. Massage my legs and watch the Tagars. As I expected, 30-year-old Ritta
is getting ready for a fight. Dexterous and slim, Ritta probably makes long
“preludes” – attracts, distracts, dances, dodging all the time. This is good
tactics – I did the same with Tamara, but I won’t go through all that once again
– I don’t have enough stamina. Which means that I should attack Ritta quickly.
Maybe making a couple of shallow cuts... Depending on the terms... I might try
to kick her with my leg, but it’s risky... With Ritta I have to be alerted all
the time, never relax, never accept her traps...
Oh no, what is this?! My hand is trembling! My thoughts fly away like a cloud of
flies... Stop. Calm down. Of course, Ritta is a dangerous rival. But the better
it is for me! Defeating two Tagar heroines – isn’t it the dream of any amazon?
And when I get such a chance, I behave like a little girl! Shame on me three
times!
Ritta is ready for the fight and walks in my direction.
Ritta.
“Hi to you, amazon! Here I am, Ritta, woman and mother, the warrior of high
Tagar. I’m 34 years old, and I want to revenge my friend Tamara’s death! If you
don’t want to fight right here and now, tell me your time and place. If you’re
ready, choose the terms of the fight.”
“Hi to you, Ritta. Amazon Antia accepts and is ready to fight with you right
now. But I want the terms of our fight to be exactly like with Tamara – sword
and shield against a-ghesh!”
My heart sank. I had no idea I’d fight without my sash! I hate to fight with my
vulnerable spot uncovered... But Antia is to choose the terms and I shouldn’t
argue with her. On the contrary: I show that she’s making a mistake. I smile and
say:
“Against a-ghesh?! You believe you’ll get lucky two times in a row? Let’s see,
Antia...”
I take off my sash. Then pick Tamara’s spear from the ground. It’s light and
short, just for me.
I smile to Antia again, and my smile is much more evil now:
“You see – this is Tamara’s spear! By her hand or by mine you will be pierced by
it. Stand up and fight, you silly girl!”
Antia.
Here it comes! Ritta took Tamara’s spear (how romantic, someone else’s weapons
have disadvantages of their own, as well as their own nature). I take my own
shield and saber and make a few swishes in the air, then brace my back. Ritta is
standing with the spear in her hand, her body is neatly covered by the shield. I
nod to her.
Slowly, I start moving towards her. Ritta is frozen in the defensive position,
she wants me to come closer and will try to attack. She is taller and is more
likely to hit downwards. I must be very careful...
And I’m already three steps away from the enemy. If she steps forward...
Ritta.
Antia is showing off – makes impressive swishes with her sword. Well, well. All
I need do now is not to panic. I must not think about this unusual and
frightening nakedness. I must not remember Tamara crawling on the ground with a
hole in her belly. No! If I should think about my friend, I should think about
her as a sad example. She made a mistake in battle, she forgot about her shield.
Maybe Antia will try to use the same trick on me. Well, well. I’m not going to
be the first to attack anyway. At first I want to see her fight.
Antia is approaching, and I try to have a good look at her body and her sword.
She is already near enough to try to hit her with the spear, but it’s no use to
hit her in the chest – she will easily block the spear with her shield. Look at
her, she’s ready for the attack, she’s all braced waiting for the hit. Hmmm,
that is good! What is she blocks my hit, then I block her sword, make a turn –
and will be at her side where there is no shield! A good chance to plunge her!
And I step forward...
Antia.
...and she does step forward!
Everything happens very quickly. Ritta goes forward, raising her spear to strike
my chest. I pull up my shield to block the hit, but... there is no hit...
And then there is.
And it’s much stronger than I could expect. It followed a moment later and not
in the chest as I thought. Aiming at the chest, Ritta changed the direction in
the last moment and plunged her spear in my belly!
Lost, I look down, see the spear in my flesh and fall on the ground. And then my
body bursts with pain.
Ritta.
Yes!
A sharp turn, a quick hit – and the spear tears Antia’s right side. I seem to
have hit her liver – very dark blood starts to flow down her white skin. Antia
doesn’t scream – she just looks in terror at the spear stuck in her body. And
fall down on the ground. She screams, arches her back.
I am alerted. First of all I put my foot on the amazon’s hand still holding the
sword – Antia’s fingers weaken and I kick the sword away. Then I put my foot on
her chest. Antia is looking at me but doesn’t see me – the terrible pain is now
all she can feel. I sharply rock the spear in her flesh to cut her insides.
Antia.
This is the end...
Ritta’s blow seemed to throw me unconscious, and I recovered only when she
pulled the spear out. Unexplainable, mad pain is burning me, I moan... How
shameful! And how silly! I bought a cheap trick!
Ritta.
So quickly?
I expected a long tiring battle. I was afraid of it – for Antia defeated Tamara
very skillfully. And suddenly... One good trick, and that’s it! The frightful
amazon is declined. She is wiggling like a big worm under my foot. Her left hand
is scratching the ground, the other is mechanically covering the wound in her
side... But the dark, almost black blood flows and flows – yes, my spear got her
in the liver.
I do not envy her. And I do not regret.
I suddenly imagine myself being Tamara – so beautiful, so brave, so
unapproachable! And I understand how awful, how unfair it is to feel a blow in
your belly a moment away from the triumph. And understand that it is the end.
Antia is to be thinking about it now. If she can think, of course. Agony is
taking her into its deadly clutches. Her pale blue eyes are staring into the sky
with no impression at all.
I imagine Tamara again. Before the battle she suddenly whispered in my ear:
“I am afraid of this fight, Ritta! Like a little girl!”
“You – afraid? Why?”
“I’m afraid of a sword in my belly. I had a dream...”
And the dream came true. I have no idea what Antia dreamed. Now it’s about time
for her to go. And I repeat the noble hit that freed Tamara of a long and
painful death. I press the bloody spear point to her nipple. And I hear her low,
harsh voice:
“Thank... But... Lower...”
I reaim the spear a little lower. A blow – and it’s all over. Antia shivered,
moaned, and her last breath stuck in her lungs.
Tamara, why didn’t you do this?
The end.
Copyright by Nica (2003).