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    Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1
    Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1
    Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1
    Ebook409 pages7 hours

    Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1

    By Crystal Dawn

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    About this ebook

    She stepped through the doorway and into a world she never expected.
    Two worlds at war, two men to choose from and one chance to make a difference.
    All she has to do is leave her world behind and embrace her future on Planet Amazon.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrystal Dawn
    Release dateMar 2, 2013
    ISBN9781301071371
    Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1
    Author

    Crystal Dawn

    When she’s not out hunting rogue vampires and werewolves, you can find Crystal Dawn out exploring the galaxy. She can do it all without ever leaving her computer. She kicks ass, takes names, and puts it all down for the enjoyment of her readers. At least that’s what I think she told me. Writing came as a natural outlet for her overly creative mind. She has always told stories and even written some but publishing books didn't start until 2012 with The Rebirth, was the first of the Planet Amazon books. Crystal has also been lucky to have some wonderful beta readers who keep her on track and help inspire her.Secretly, she crushes on all her sexy heroes because all her stories end happily. That is one of the things that makes writing such a joy. Knowing that it makes her reader's day a little brighter. Not that she doesn't read sad books sometimes. While still in school, she read Where the Red Fern Grows and cried like a baby. It was a wonderful book and sometimes a bit of sadness has to be put in books because that's part of life. While she reads all kinds of books at some time or another, PNR and SFR, which she writes is what she reads the most for pleasure.When she started writing, she decided on going Indie after the first two books because an author has more control. She believes Indie will compete well and continues to grow. The need to give pleasure to her readers keeps her going and she sees a long career ahead. Growing up mostly in the NW Arkansas area, it has given her a good place to set some stories and many of her characters come from there or nearby SW Missouri.The start of her stories is the easy part. Finishing them is a little harder when all the stories are in there trying to get out. She loves reading, chocolate, fine sweet wine, and traveling among a large list of pursuits. Her favorite people, after her family and close friends, are her readers who she says are some of the most wonderful people in this galaxy and the next.

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      Book preview

      Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1 - Crystal Dawn

      Planet Amazon

      The Rebirth

      Part 1

      By Crystal Dawn

      Copyright 2012 by Crystal Dawn

      Cover by Ravel Blackburn

      Editing by Eagle Editing

      This book is a work of fiction. All contents, including

      names, places, and

      events are the product of the author’s imagination or used

      in a fictitious

      manner. Any resemblance to persons, living or deceased,

      businesses,

      locations or events are completely coincidental.

      None of this work may be used, reproduced, exchanged or

      transmitted

      by anyone but the person the book was purchased for. Any

      reproductions of this book in any part or any form must be

      done with

      the express written permission of the author or not at all.

      Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

      Dedicated to those who love adventure and chase it.

      Contents

      Chapter 1 Through the Doorway

      Chapter 2 The Fights

      Chapter 3 The Year-End-Fight Festival

      Chapter 4 Down Below

      Chapter 5 Funerals and Freedom

      Chapter 6 The Waiting Game

      Chapter 7 Operation Traitor

      Chapter 8 A Child is Born

      Chapter 9 Captured

      Chapter 10 Long Live the Revolution!

      Chapter 11 Wounded in Action

      Chapter 12 Long Live the King

      Planet Amazon the Rebirth Part 1

      Chapter 1

      Through the Doorway

      I woke up feeling dizzy and didn’t want to open my eyes. The back of my head felt like it had been hit with a club. For a few moments, I couldn’t remember who I was or where I was. Then I moved my hand to the back of my head and felt a knot the size of a goose egg. That ruled out having too much of a good time. It was starting to come back now in bits and pieces. The warrior woman had hit me with a staff; one that was almost a club.

      Now I was lying on some kind of bed. People were talking, but they were too far away for me to understand the words. I opened one eye, but the light was bright, so I closed it again. Then I tried harder to listen, but it was still muted. They were coming closer, and I could make out some of the words. It seemed to be some form of Latin, which was a good thing, since I knew Latin. Actually, I knew many languages; it was an area I had heavily studied in. That was one of the things that made me so qualified to come here.

      One of the women was saying something about other worlds. She said, The prisoner is an other-worlder.

      Was I the prisoner? I tried to open my eyes again and even though the light was bright I fought against the urge to close them, my eyes began to adjust, and I saw two women standing at the door to the room they had put me in. One was quite ordinary, but the other one was possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was dressed as an ancient warrior on Earth might have been. This woman was in leather, metal, and had weapons attached to her clothing.

      There was a sword in a scabbard, a set of bow and arrows on her back, and some throwing knives strategically placed for whatever need might arise. The woman herself had long flowing blonde hair, blue eyes, and light-colored skin. Her look was intense, as if she knew what I was thinking. I tried to concentrate, and my memories came rushing back. I was Colonel Andrea Staton of the US Army-Science Division, and I had dedicated my career to finding the doorway to the planet Amazon.

      We had worked for years to discover the exact location of the doorway and then it had taken years to build an underwater complex over the site and start excavation. Our group had finally found the doorway, figured out how to use it, and we were at the point of trying to send someone through or giving up. Of course, I had volunteered to go through; it was the culmination of my life’s work. I had given up on relationships, they just took time away from my real passion and they didn’t work out anyway. There was no husband, no children, and I was over forty, beyond the likelihood of ever having either. Sure, I had parents, brothers, and other family; but they saw little of me and though I knew they would miss me, I felt like they would understand. That made me the perfect test subject, because I had the least to lose if it failed and was the best prepared to deal with the circumstances if it succeeded; and apparently, I had succeeded. Now I would have to figure out what to do to initiate diplomacy between our two worlds.

      What is your name and where are you from? She asked in a husky voice. I realized she was talking to me.

      My name is Andrea, and I am from Earth. Who are you and what do you call this place? I asked.

      She stated, Impossible! The doorway to Earth has been closed for a thousand years! How can you be here and not know where you are? This is Amazon and I am Queen Lydia.

      Now I knew the stories were based on fact and I had finally proven Amazon was real, but it was possible no one on Earth would ever know. All those years of research, all the ridicule from my peers, all the lonely nights where I worked toward my goal, only to find it wouldn’t make any difference after all. Yes, I had been prepared to die, if that was my fate, but I had never really thought about being trapped here forever. What I knew was I was adaptable to different situations, places, and even climates on Earth; but this place was not what I had expected to find or what I had prepared for. While I had been searching for an advanced race to learn from, I wasn’t sure what I had found.

      Lydia said, I will let you out of here if you give me your word you will behave. It is time for lunch; you can come with me and tell me of this place you are from and how you arrived here through a closed doorway.

      I got up slowly and felt a slight rush of blood to the wound on my head. It throbbed and pounded, but I ignored it and followed Lydia. She led me to a large room that looked like a banquet hall. We sat down at the end of a large wooden table, where food and drinks appeared almost as if by magic. The drink reminded me of tea, but it had a kick. The throbbing in my head was slowing down so I drank a little more. It seemed to have a calming effect on me that was not unwelcome. A loaf of bread, some kind of meat, and something that was either fruit or vegetable was on the table.

      Lydia said, Tell me, Earth woman, of your land and your journey here.

      Now I explained, "Earth has changed a lot since the time that Amazons used to visit us. The planet is heavily populated, there are many tribes, and they are divided. Science has given us great progress, but much of our past has become clouded in legends that many do not believe. There is always a war, usually more than one, going on among the tribes of Earth. Many believe there are others among the stars, but we have no contact with any of them. Because of this lack of contact, many others believe the Earth is the only inhabited planet in the universe.

      Most people have heard of Amazons as warrior women, but they believe it is only a legend and not true. When I was young, I found an old book in a bookstore. It was ancient, written in Latin, and about a doorway to the planet Amazon, accessed from Atlantis. The book was well written and had some information that I knew to be true. After I read that book, I knew that I would dedicate my life to finding that doorway; as you can see, I finally did. You said the doorway has been closed, but possibly it now only goes one way."

      If this were true, would we not have had other visitors? Why has no one come through the doorway from Earth for a thousand years? Lydia asked.

      So, I answered, The doorway on Earth has been lost for that long. It has taken progress in science to help me locate the doorway and be able to access it because it was deep underwater. We had to search deep under the Atlantic Ocean to find the remains of the lost city of Atlantis. A major disaster caused the city to sink to the bottom of a deep ocean.

      Lydia said, "Yes, I have heard of Atlantis. Our people accessed Earth through that doorway city. I have always wished that I could see Earth someday. Our people lived an advanced lifestyle once. We have lost much of our technology and our knowledge through plagues, natural disasters, and the ongoing war with our neighboring planet. My people long for the days of old when we were first among all the peoples of the known worlds. Then we had great spaceships and wonderful weapons; now we have only a ship now and then when we can find a trader that will sell one and the most primitive of weapons. Other advanced races stay away from this part of the galaxy, and it is illegal to sell weapons or technology to Amazon or Gallegos, the planet we are at war with, which we usually call the King’s planet.

      The other planets all belong to a confederacy that regulates this part of the galaxy; but we cannot join while our planets are at war. Much of our knowledge has been lost as a result of plague, disasters, and war. I sense you have some knowledge of things that may help us. At least you have working knowledge of the doorway. There are those that want you imprisoned or executed. They fear what you may bring with you. I do not, so now you know why you are still alive and not in jail."

      I said, I will admit I was wondering why you were being so friendly. In our legends, Amazons are extremely warlike and suspicious of strangers. While I knew that this trip might be one way or even the last thing I might do, I have wanted to come here since I was a young girl, and I could not give up on a chance to make my dream come true.

      Lydia said, I have kept you for quite a while so I will take you to a place you can rest, follow me. She took me through a hallway and into a large room filled with people who were training. It reminded me of a gym or a dojo and as we were walking through, I noticed this guy looking at me. My heart almost stopped beating; he was so handsome. He looked like a Greek god with blue eyes, curly shoulder length blond hair and a muscular physique. Lydia noticed. You’ll have to wait your turn for that one, he is mine for now.

      As we reached the end of the room, another man looked up at us and again I felt an extreme reaction. He had curly dark blond hair, the color of honey, about collar length and blue-grey eyes. While he was not as muscular as the other guy was, he was also attractive. This place sure had a lot of beautiful people. Lydia noticed once more. You might be able to get that one. He’s the prize for the games at the next Fight Festival.

      I asked, What do you mean by prize?

      She explained, Most of these men are my slaves and every three months we have battles in the arena and the last warrior standing gets the prize which is usually a male slave. I change out my slaves often, because I don’t want to develop an attachment to one of them. My mother developed an attachment to my father, and when we were under attack, she tried to protect him and died for her trouble. That will never happen to me and to ensure it; I never keep a lover longer than three months.

      Lydia showed me to a room with a bed and a small water closet. I was surprised that they had running water and indoor bathrooms, but I suspected it was a remnant of the lost golden age. Though I hadn’t known what to expect this was better than I had expected based on the primitive look of everything else. Someone had brought me a nightgown, a pitcher of water, and something that was possibly soap. Yes, it was soap, and it had a mild pleasant scent. Now I got ready for bed and changed into my nightgown. My mind was spinning with so much information, I just knew I would never get to sleep. Apparently, the day had taken more of a toll than I thought because the next thing I knew it was morning and someone was telling me the queen was waiting for me.

      The woman was dressed in a plain gown but was carrying an outfit similar to what the queen had been wearing. I dressed quickly in the adjoining room, and then the woman led me to the queen.

      Lydia said, Good morning, you look refreshed! Join me for breakfast and we will decide what to do with you. I don’t know how things work on your world, but here everyone, except the youngest children, must contribute in some way to the needs of our city. In order to stay, you must do something useful. You could do cooking, cleaning, or some other kind of service job, but I think since they chose you to go through the doorway to represent your world, you are probably in the military or some type of civil leadership position. We have no civil leadership, because we have been at war for many lifetimes so that leaves the military.

      You are perceptive; it is the military, although I am in the science division. When I first signed up, I was just trying to pay for my education. After I earned my degrees, I realized the Army could take me where I needed to go. I have had combat training and I have been deployed in the field during war, because I knew the training would come in handy; but if I were going to war now, I would definitely want training for your style of fighting, I answered.

      Queen Lydia responded, I would never send someone into battle without being certain that they are capable of defending themselves and their fellow soldiers unless it was a life-or-death situation. At the end of the week, I will send you to the training camp. Meanwhile, you can start training with Marcus. He can show you how to use a sword and a staff. Enjoy yourself, but not too much. Marcus is the muscular blond you saw yesterday.

      She nodded to a servant standing nearby and I stood up and followed her. The servant took me to Marcus and then she left in a hurry without saying a word. He looked at me expectantly waiting for me to explain why I was there.

      My voice seemed to catch in my throat, and I knew I sounded breathless as I told him, Marcus, my name is Andrea. The queen sent me here to learn to use a sword and staff.

      He looked confused, but then he smiled. Marcus picked up a smaller sword than the one I had seen him using and handed it to me. I was not expecting the weight of it, and it almost dropped making Marcus laugh. He did not say a word but went through some motions and I followed his lead. While I did have some skills, even though I had taken fencing in college, I did not consider swordplay to be one of them. As I continued to follow his lead for at least an hour, I realized how out of shape I was.

      My thought was my numb hand would drop the sword but finally he stopped. He offered me a drink by holding the bottle out to me and I took it. He walked over to a rack that held staffs, selected one and tossed it to me. And I caught it and twirled it in my hand. This was more my speed; I noticed he was watching me and nodded approvingly, but then he stepped toward me in an aggressive manner, and I stepped back to take a defensive position.

      Now I would see how Earth’s martial arts compared to Amazon’s in staff fighting. He was fast and strong, but I was holding my own and looking for an opportunity to strike. It made me wonder if he was holding back but couldn’t tell one way or the other. I decided to take a chance and I stepped back, bent my knees and swept the staff across his lower legs tripping him. Then I brought the staff down lightly on his neck and he genuinely looked surprised. He had concentrated on blitz attacking me and had not been expecting me to attack back. Marcus had underestimated my ability and that would not happen again. I moved my staff and offered him my hand. He smiled and as I helped him up a tingle of electricity ran up my arm.

      My eyes widened with surprise, and I noticed he had a similar reaction. I fought the desire to kiss him as I looked in his eyes and we both hesitated, almost frozen for a moment. Then he took both staffs, put them up, he motioned me to follow him, and the spell was broken. We exited the building and for the first time I was able to see the outside. My mother was from Germany, and this looked a lot like a German castle. It was beautiful, but I could not look for long because Marcus had taken off on a run. He slowed a little so I could catch up and I followed him on what turned out to be about a five-mile run.

      As the run progressed, I was getting slower and slower, so he slowed down a little and paced me. When we finally got back, my lungs burned, I struggled to breathe, and my lower legs burned as well. He was guiding me to the dining hall, so I assumed it was supper time, but I just shook my head and went to my room. I took a shower and laid down for just a little rest when I woke up it was dark, so I just went back to sleep. Waking up again, I hurt all over, so I got up, stretched, and warmed up a little bit. Some of the pain was receding when a servant knocked on the door to take me to the queen.

      I see you survived your first day of training. Marcus had a lot to say about you and I think he’s quite impressed with you. He said you were pretty good with a staff, but he couldn’t tell how good you were with a sword since you needed to work out more to build some strength and endurance, the queen said with a laugh. I explained to him that you were more of a scientist than a soldier so he would not push you so hard today.

      While I’m not sure whether to feel flattered or insulted, I must agree that he is right, and I do need to work out and get in better shape. Because I did not keep up with my workouts once we found Atlantis, I didn’t quit completely either. How did you get him to talk so much? I wasn’t sure that he could talk at all; he didn’t say one word to me. I said.

      She smiled. He thinks you talk funny, and he can only understand a few of the words you use. I’m afraid that most Amazons can’t speak the ancient languages. Only a few, like the priestess who is our religious leader, teachers, scholars, and of course me, can understand anything you say except a few key words that haven’t changed. Marcus caught the word sword and assumed you were there for him to train. I will try to help you by teaching you some basic words.

      I thanked her for her help, and she started teaching me some basic things like water, bread, and several other foods. She also taught me how to greet someone and I asked her to tell me how to say slow down and stop for a moment then she sent me on my way to train with Marcus.

      When I walked to the edge of the room, I saw Marcus was already training. He had already worked up a sweat and his muscles were glistening. All I could think of was how he could be Apollo or Hercules in another place or time, but here he was a slave and how sad that was. I noticed the other man who had caught my attention the first day and he looked up, saw me and I felt my face heat up, because he had caught me examining him. When he smiled it transformed him, I smiled back, and I found it hard to look away. Apparently, he had no duties, because he was waiting for them to offer him up as a prize. That brought home what an alien world this was. I turned to walk towards Marcus, but he too was watching me now, and once again, I felt the heat rise in my face.

      He had a big smile on his face and enjoyed my discomfort. I pointed to him and said, Marcus, then pointed to myself and said, Andrea.

      Good morning, Andrea. He smiled.

      He handed me a sword, then he picked one up as well and pointed it at me. I could see today was going to start badly as he worked, slowly thrusting and giving me a chance to parry. I think he did it this way because they were real swords, and it would be easy to injure someone. We got quite a workout and he decided we could take a break. While we were resting and drinking some water; everything was quite peaceful.

      Then I heard a loud noise and saw Marcus was looking as well. There was a spaceship landing, and everything was in chaos. Later, I found out that this was a raid from the King’s Planet. As I saw men exiting the ship and some of the residents grabbing weapons to defend their homes, I grabbed a staff and ran toward the melee. Their troops were dressed in a brown uniform, so it was easy to recognize the enemy. Right away, I was taking out men right, left, and quickly realized that none of the men I was fighting were skillful. They were counting on sheer numbers to overwhelm the Amazons so they could grab people and anything of value, then retreat with their loot. I was in the midst of the enemy with no support near and my adrenaline was pumping.

      Dropping to the ground I swept my staff in a half circle with all my strength. A row of men fell and some of them seemed to have injured their ankles. Some fell on the men behind them and knocked them down. I had been in battle before, but not like this. This was primitive, personal, and I felt invincible as I worked my way through the enemy. I saw Marcus holding his own about twenty feet behind me. My staff was almost like a living thing as I twirled it with a skill and strength, I had thought I no longer possessed. The years of martial arts training and the self-defense classes were finally paying off. The reinforcements had made it and the enemy was on the run. All over the field were many injured enemies and they left them without a thought clearly no love or loyalty to their fellow soldiers among the king’s men.

      The queen came up to me. That was impressive but reckless. Marcus is right; you do have some skill with a staff. We earn rank a number of ways, the most usual is through bravery and quick-thinking during battle. I am sure you were an officer of high rank on Earth and though you must earn your rank here, I feel you have earned a place in the castle guard as a captain. You will continue to train here with Marcus and the others. If your skill exceeds their abilities, I may train you myself. We were lucky they were newly trained troops, you might not have held out against more seasoned soldiers. You might as well take the rest of the day off, you have earned it.

      I thanked her but went back to see if Marcus was continuing his training. He wasn’t there, but I saw the other guy was. It seemed that he had never left throughout the fight. I wondered why and went over to him. I pointed to myself, said, Andrea and pointed to him.

      He looked at me, taking the time to examine me and said, My name is Jonne.

      I said, How come you can speak the ancient language?

      Jonne said, I was taken as a teenager. My father was a nobleman, and I was educated. Is it true you are from Earth?

      I responded, Yes, it is true. How come you are in chains?

      He said, Because I am not happy to be here. If you do not accept your fate and do as you are told, you are restrained so you can’t escape. I wanted to ask him about his relationship with the queen but thought the better of it. He noticed I was holding a bottle of water and he asked for a drink.

      Of course. I said. As I handed it to him, our hands touched. I felt like I had been shocked and dropped the bottle and I could tell he felt it too. We just stood there looking at each other and he stepped closer. That’s when I knew he was going to kiss me, I wanted it and I felt a wave of desire hit me. Never had I felt anything so overwhelming, and I forgot where I was. That was until I heard Marcus calling me to come back. We said goodbye, and I went to him to resume training. I could feel Jonne’s eyes following me as I approached Marcus. Marcus looked like he wanted to say something. He looked at Jonne, then back at me, and seemed to decide not to say something that was obviously on his mind. Later, I noticed Jonne watching me several times during the day as well and I wondered if I had made an impression.

      Marcus handed me a sword, we went back to practicing for about an hour and then we were off on another five-mile run. We would start with an hour of sword practice, followed by sparring with staffs for another hour, back to swords and then lunch. After lunch sometimes, he would show me how to throw or use daggers and then swords again. One day I asked him to train me in shooting a bow. I had done a little bow hunting as a teenager, but a little refresher would be helpful. We were both surprised at how well I did. I could see that Marcus was careful not to touch me and I noticed Jonne watched us closely every day and I wondered if he were interested in me or simply bored as he had little to do.

      Everyday ended in a run after an hour of practicing swords, maybe working out and supper followed the run. After that, I started going out into the fields and working out some more on my own. I found a tree with a low limb and started doing chin-ups. I found a small cliff and practiced climbing skills using a rope as a backup. Before going to sleep at night, I did an hour of pushups, sit-ups, leg lifts, and anything else I could think of. It was because I knew that Lydia expected much of me, and I didn’t want to disappoint her. The future relationship between Earth and Amazon might hinge on the impression I made on these people.

      One day I was practicing on the cliff climbing down and as I rappelled down, I hit a hole and the dirt crumbled and I fell into what looked like a natural cave. The next day I came back with a torch so that I could look around. Because the area where I was raised in Northern Arkansas was full of caves, many of them small caves etched into the sides of mountains or cliffs along rivers, I wasn’t too worried about what I might find in there. I was, however, cautious, and took safety precautions including leaving a note in my room detailing where I had gone.

      The locals were terrified of the area around the cliffs, and I didn’t want to be told not to go there. I dressed in clothing that covered most of my body to avoid scratches, scrapes, hopefully thick enough to prevent insects from biting through, and the closest thing I could find to boots to protect my feet from rocks. I got down to the cave, entered, lit the torch, and I could see big shadows in the corners, so I moved toward them to investigate. It looked like some kind of high-tech containers had been stored in here eons ago. When I tried to open one, it was stuck so I tried another and managed to open it. It looked like a collection of miscellaneous items; some kind of flashlight, a laser gun maybe, a mask with a filter on it, what looked like a first aid kit, and many other articles. Perhaps it was a survival kit without food, maybe the food was in the other boxes.

      When I returned to the castle, I found Lydia and told her what I had found. She said, You look silly, I should have known you were up to something when I saw the way you were dressed. What do you think the importance of these things will be?

      Your people have no guns so a working laser gun would be a big deal. A torch that works with no fire, medicine that is no longer available, and who knows what else might be in there. We have not even talked about the things we would learn about your ancestors or knowledge for its own sake, I said.

      Lydia sighed and said, Alright, I am convinced that we should unearth these treasures you have discovered. Tomorrow, we will take some slaves and go take a look at your cave.

      As I tossed and turned all night trying to sleep eventually the sun started painting the sky in the dainty colors of dawn. Preparing myself, I went to meet Lydia just a little earlier than usual. She was there with Marcus and for a moment, I thought I had interrupted a lover’s tryst and I started to leave hoping they hadn’t seen me; but I heard Lydia call my name.

      I said, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.

      Lydia said, Marcus is just here to help us today and we will see if we can find two more slaves before we go.

      I asked, Could I ask Jonne if he would like to go, he might be helpful in processing the artifacts. Marcus made a sour face and Lydia noticed it as well.

      She said, You can ask, but don’t get your hopes up; he is uncooperative.

      Leaving to approach Jonne about coming along, I found him where he usually was. I said, Jonne, would you like to come with us on an archeological dig.

      He looked interested and then tried to hide it. He asked, You want me to come along?

      It is pre-war, and any writing will be in the ancient language. It would give you something interesting to do for the day and the chains would come off, I said.

      Take them off now, he said. I pulled my penknife out of my pocket and picked the locks.

      He looked surprised and I said, Come on, we will eat breakfast with Lydia and Marcus. He followed me to the banquet hall, and we sat down to eat breakfast.

      Lydia said in ancient, I’m surprised you were able to talk him into coming. I had started to shake my head when I realized she didn’t know Jonne could speak the ancient language.

      He answered her in ancient, I am interested in archeology and Andrea knows this. Lydia was stunned; it seems she knew little about Jonne for having owned him for so long. We went by the slave quarters, Lydia picked up two more slaves, and we left for the cliffs.

      We were coming closer to the cliffs and the two slaves were getting nervous. They didn’t want to go to the cliffs, and they said this place was dangerous. I told Lydia they could wait on top, we would attach ropes to the containers, and they could pull them up. She stayed up top, too in order to supervise the slaves and make sure they didn’t run away. I went first, then Jonne, and then Marcus; I helped them in once they got to the cave opening. Jonne had a hard time pulling himself in, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him in to me. We were standing just inside the cave, and I was still holding his hand feeling the electricity course through me.

      He stepped closer, we were touching each other and as he looked into my eyes, he started to lower his head to kiss me. I was ready for it, and I felt like I had waited so long for this moment, but before our lips could meet, Marcus was at the entrance yelling for us to help him get in the cave. We stepped apart like guilty school kids, and I rushed to help Marcus into the cave.

      What were you two doing in here? he asked.

      Come over here and look at these containers! I replied.

      Marcus came over. What are these? They look heavy; will we be able to lift them?

      Looking at him I thought that an odd question from someone whose muscles looked like his. I replied, I am sure we will be able to get these out one at a time and we will know what we have once we get it above ground.

      It was a hard job, but we managed to get all twenty-one containers pulled out of the cave, but it took us half the day. We left the cave and went up top so we could go to lunch. We ate and then we returned with a wagon to pick up some containers to take back to the castle. Once we opened some containers and looked at them the two slaves loaded containers on the wagon. The gun turned out not to be a laser gun, it was a flare gun. A simple compass was there that would be handy once I figured out the lay of the land though I was surprised to see such a primitive item. The wagon would only hold eight containers at a time.

      We had to make three trips to get them all to the castle and by that time, it was time for supper. Lydia, Marcus, Jonne and I all ate supper together and we discussed what we knew so far and speculated on what we might find. Marcus was only interested in the possibility of finding weapons, he was interested in the flare gun and in a knife that we had found that was like a survival knife with multiple blades that had assorted uses. We would be looking through this stuff for a while since we would only be able to use our spare time. I was glad that it had captured Jonne’s interest since he had a lot of time on his hands, and this would keep his mind busy while he waited to see what his fate would be.

      My breakfast was with the queen almost every morning and supper about once a week. We talked about Amazon, Earth, history, and the war. Over a month had passed and the fights were only a little over a month away. I had a plan but did not share it with anyone. Once in a while, I spoke to Jonne, and I really liked him. We could talk about science, art, history and philosophy in detail, and I found him to be sensitive and extremely intelligent, possibly downright brilliant. He was also funny, and he loved to laugh, though here he rarely had reason to. It was easy to understand not wanting to be a slave even more so when you were born, not only free, but into the nobility.

      I was working hard toward my goal of winning the Fights. The queen had told me that I could have several slaves, because of my position, but I had to earn or buy them, and I thought Jonne would be happier

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