"Oh, Mother, she kept watch… What!? My Mother, she, she, she..."
Diana stumbled to her feet, so startled that her words faltered. She pointed toward the direction of Hippolyta's quarters, her face flushing red at once. Though Diana was not afraid of her mother—and often rebelled against her—the thought that her mother had witnessed their night of madness and had even kept watch filled Diana with overwhelming embarrassment as if the vast world could no longer contain her.
Around her, Amazon warriors glanced at her exclamation, their attention drawn from the tremors they still couldn't explain. They asked Diana, full of concern, what had happened. She stammered, deeply flustered, wishing she could punch the pillar next to her and collapse the house just to hide.
"Diana!" A stern voice rang out.
Queen Hippolyta had returned. After the two of them left the cliff, the Queen had mounted her warhorse and returned. Her gaze crackled like electricity, and the surrounding warriors instinctively parted, sensing her exceptional sternness today.
Hippolyta looked down at her daughter. "Come with me." She spurred her horse, cracked her whip, and as she passed Diana, she shot a glare at Malrick, still crouching behind her. "And you, Malrick—come too."
Only then did the warriors fully notice Malrick. Their attention had been entirely on Diana before that moment. They hadn't expected to see him again after decades. A mix of surprise and delight flashed across their faces.
"Is that really Malrick?"
"Malrick back on Paradise Island?"
"He's still so young—could he be a god?"
"Hey! Hey! Malrick, do you remember me? Years ago you saved me from the charge of Ares!"
Malrick stood and straightened up behind Diana. Instant recognition jolted the female warriors surrounding them—Amazon women in brass-leather attire, long limbs and war-hardened. Malrick stuck out like a catfish among sardines. A few decades were nothing to Amazon warriors; they still remembered the sight of Malrick standing on that cliff years ago, the sea and sun behind him.
In fact, to these warriors who had not seen a man on the island for millennia, even if Malrick were simply picking his toes, they'd remember. Whether youthful maidens or seasoned warriors, all now brimmed with excitement. Last night's earthquake vanished from their minds as they swarmed around Malrick. The boldest among them raised two fingers to her lips and whistled.
Malrick did not respond. He simply nodded with a subtle smile. There's a saying that when women gather they become hooligans. At Marvel, there were hundreds of female agents of Men in Black, and Malrick knew from experience how chaotic these gatherings could be. At times like this, nothing he said would help, but silence and a smile kept things under control. The female warriors would naturally be redirected by others. Besides, wasn't Diana right here?
"Who's whistling?" Diana's voice cracked, panic trembling in it. She planted herself in front of Malrick. "What are you doing? Stop crowding him—you'll scare him!"
"Everyone disperse! Disperse! Weren't you supposed to investigate the cause of the tremor? Get on it!" Diana tried to shoo her sisters away, frantic.
She herself, though flustered, was their biggest rival for attention. Seeing her verbal deterrents failing, under dozens of eager gazes she reached out and deliberately pinched Malrick's chest. Then she raised her head proudly, claiming him openly. Embarrassed and bold at once, she grabbed Malrick's hand and dragged him away.
"Malrick, hurry! Mother will definitely fault us if we're too slow!"
Ironically, the one person Diana most wanted to avoid—Queen Hippolyta—now served as her excuse. The two scurried away and followed Hippolyta into the temple, leaving behind a sighing crowd.
"We usually eat together—how wonderful it would be if the consort were shared by us all," one warrior murmured regretfully. Her words drew murmurings of agreement.
---
Inside the main hall.
Having just pulled Malrick away from her sisters, Diana barely caught her breath before feeling the weight of her mother's presence again. Hippolyta was facing away, but when Diana called softly, her mother turned. In her hand she held a sheathed sword—engraved with runes, its hilt carved with twin dragon heads.
"That's…" Diana's gaze fixed on the sword, recognition in her eyes. "The God-Killer Sword. Mother, wasn't it locked in the tower? Why have you taken it out?" She instinctively stepped in front of Malrick as if to shield him, thinking, Mother isn't really going to behead him today to vent her anger, is she?
Hippolyta saw the thought flicker across Diana's face. She managed a sigh. "I know I can't keep you here, Diana."
"Ninety years ago you chose to stay because of me and the warriors on this island; this time, you are leaving," she said.
Diana nodded. "Malrick will take me to the human world, but I will return, Mother."
"You are still too naïve to understand the cunning of humans. They are not worthy of your trust," Hippolyta replied, voice heavy with experience.
"I will go with Malrick and see, and I have him," Diana said.
"Malrick…" Hippolyta sighed inwardly. She had warned Diana yesterday—she'd used Zeus as an example, but her daughter had taken none of it to heart. Turning to Malrick she asked, "You will protect Diana, won't you?"
Malrick nodded. Hippolyta, unaccustomed to trusting men, clearly did not require his promise. "Good."
She stepped toward Diana and handed her the sword. "I still have many things I wish to say, but you are grown now. Take the Amazon artifact and go do what you believe is right."
Diana took the weapon solemnly. Though Ares had told her the God-Killer couldn't kill gods, there was no doubt it remained an artifact of formidable power. The conversation between mother and daughter was brief—Hippolyta had repeated these warnings many times in the past ninety years. She did not believe Diana, who had already defeated Ares, would face threats in the human world. Her worry was different—she feared Diana might be wounded by a man, as she once had.
"All right," Hippolyta said. "Take Malrick on a tour of Paradise Island while you're at it. Let him know that if he does not treat you well, we have a powerful army here."
With that said, they left the main hall.
Diana led Malrick on another tour of the island. She retold stories of her childhood as though they were precious heirlooms. Every tree on the island held a memory. They walked until night had fallen. After dinner with the female warriors of the island, Malrick's identity was accepted by Hippolyta, who granted him free passage in and out of Paradise Island.
Only then did the two depart the island and head for the human world.
____
Advanced chapters are available on my patreon page
Read ahead of everyone 💙
Patreon.com/Zphyr