Amazonia - The Athenaeum

The walk back toward the palace was more relaxed and the two holy women watched as the
princess never looked back. "Will she be gone long?" asked Emery.
"Long enough. She will return to us changed by both battle and love. Let us begin to pray that it's
the first path that I spoke to her of that rises to meet her."
"And if it doesn't?"
The hum of bees in the garden and the sound of waves in the background prevailed for a long
while making Emery think there was no answer forthcoming. "Then she will return to us still, but
will find happiness only in her responsibilities. Her heart though, will find solace in nothing
because her true mate will never be replaced."
Emery couldn't help but let tears fall. "That sounds so sad."
"That is at times the will of the gods, child. Our job has always been to follow and not question
them. You'll find with age that you can give of yourself and love unconditionally but it doesn't
guarantee you the same in return. Sometimes the greatest pain can be done by those who are
supposed to love us the most."
"What a shame," said Emery with a sigh.
"What a shame indeed."
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Boden walked her sister Leslie to the war room in the palace; each lost in her own thoughts as
they moved down the corridors. The world was a different place after the terrorist attacks of the
previous years, and the two soldiers knew things would only get worse before they got better. It
was their expertise in small unit warfare that had precipitated the call from the United States
government. For the greater good, Audrey would send their best warrior, with just a bit of a
heavy heart, to train an elite unit of soldiers until they could master the Amazonian techniques.
Sitting at the conference table were the queen, Bebo's royal guard, and the princess. They all
wore their dress uniforms, and the young women stood when Boden and Leslie stepped into the
room. The four soldiers placed a fist over their chest in salute to their commanding officers after
turning and bowing to the queen.
"Sit, please," said Leslie. She walked to Audrey and kissed her hand before sitting across from
the young women. "The situation as we know it now isn't one of combat, only training. The
president has growing problems in Iraq from the first war there, and Iran and some of the other
surrounding countries are heating up with the conflict. The recent competition has proven to your
mother and I, Bebo, that you are the best person for the job. Granted desert terrain is different
from the sacred forest, but you all have trained in Grazel as well. For the coming months you'll
work with General Patrick Paddio and his unit of special operations forces."