I roll off my bed at four AM. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and stretch my arms high above my head. Silete stirs in her bed.
"Cleoda?" she asks, sitting up.
"Shhh. Go back to sleep," I tell her, pulling my long hair away from my face and tying it into a messy knot at the back of my head. I fill a basin with cold water and dip my dry hands into it. I splash water over my face.
"Cleo, what are you doing?" Sil's voice drifts across the room.
"I'm training, remember? With Tatybe."
"Ah, right," she laughs. "I have morning brain."
I giggle.
I run a comb through my long hair and whip it into a french braid. I pull on a short blue tunic and black leggings. Sil gets off her bed as I am eating a chunk of cheese with berries.
"Don't be late," she warns jokingly. I peek out of our shared sleeping quarters at the sun.
"I have time to spare. What are you doing today?"
She pushes her dark messy hair out of her eyes.
"I couldn't tell you now. You know better than to ask me in the morning."
"You're more of a morning person than I am," I remind her. She smiles.
"I know. But you have something to look forward to. I don't."
I laugh.
"Sure you do! We can go visit Marmodia and she can teach us some more fighting stuff!"
Silete gives me a look.
"What? At least I can run..."
She grabs a slice of cheese and shoves it in her mouth.
"Go on. You'll be late."
I fill a flask with water and toss it in a bag.
"Going!"
Noah's voice cuts through my conscience.
"Can you tutor me right now?"
"No! I will tell you when I can. I'm busy. I have to train."
"For what? The race was like two days ago or something."
"No, one day. I am training for the next one."
"Seriously? Already?"
"Do you want me to help you?" I snap, trotting down the long narrow steps. I squint out at the ocean, glistening in the rising sun. I hurry past Amazons getting prepared for the day. I wave to Marmodia as she steps out of her living quarters. She smiles and waves back.
"Going to see Tatybe?" she calls after me as I rush down the stairs.
"Yes!" I shout behind my shoulder as I get further away from her.
"Your mother is looking for you," she yells. I glower at the mention of Cyenice.
"She can keep looking, then." I hiss to myself. To Mar I say nothing. I slow my rapid steps down the path to turn and wave. She returns it again.
I turn right past women training for war in the courtyard to a smaller area filled with ancient trees rising high above my head. In the distance Tatybe is standing beneath a large oak, large arms crossed over her chest. Her expression is unreadable. I slow my pace as I reach the edge of the wood. I take deep inhales, trying to catch my breath. I look up at the brilliant sun. four-fifty-three. I step into the woods. Tatybe raises one hand in greeting.
"Good morning," I say, keeping my tone level. Excitement bubbles in my chest.
"This isn't going to be easy," she returns. "If you think this is going to be easy, turn around and go home. Now. This is your last chance. But if you think you can do it I want you to lap this forest six times. Go!"
She points. I take a deep breath and take off running. As I pass Tatybe the third time, she yells at my back, "pick up the pace! We don't have all day!"
I force my tired legs into a faster pace. I keep my eyes on the lush forest floor as I run. Finally I have run around the lush forest the six times. I stop at my trainer's feet. She places a hand on my shoulder. She has a good two feet on me. I look up at her.
"Nice job. That was just your warm up, you know. I want you to give me fifty push-ups. Now!"
I drop to the forest floor and start. As soon as I finish that she tells me to do one hundred squats. After that I'm directed to do a five minute plank. When she tells me that, I have to laugh.
"That's easy," I say. She glares at me.
"Easy? Okay then. Twenty minutes."
I sigh and get in position. Fifteen minutes later my abs are burning like hell.
"Five minutes," she snaps. "Think you got it in you?"
I nod. Gritting my teeth, I lock my muscles and manage to endure the next five minutes.
"It's been forty five minutes. We have fifteen to go. I want eight sprints to the edge of the forest back to me. Go!"
I leap to my feet and start sprinting. Six sprints later she yells at me to stop.
"Your legs are flying all over the place. I want you to correct that. Go."
I take off again, forcing my legs to stay steady and in a straight line. When I finish the last one she pats my head.
"Better. See how much faster you were?"
I nod my head and take a long swig of water. She gives a small nod.
"Three laps around, nice and slow. Warm down then we're done for today."
I set off. When I return to the spot where I left my water flask and I last saw Tatybe, she is gone. I sit down against the large tree. A sound tickles my ears. I sit up, alert. It was not the sound of an animal. It comes again, clearer.
"Cleo!"
The frantic voice bounces off the trees, finally reaching my hearing.
"Yes?" I call. Quick footsteps disrupt the forest's quietness. They ruffle the leaves. Silete appears from behind a beech.
"Hello," I say happily. Her expression is grim. "What is it? Oooh, my training went great! Tatybe is the best! It was totally intense"-she cocks her head at this-"but it was fantastic."
I grin. She grabs my hand.
"We have to go."
I glance around, following her gaze. She drags me out of the woods.
"What is it?" I ask. Clashing and booming sounds shock me as we leave the serenity of the woods. She pulls me up the back pathway. I rip my hand from her grasp and stand still.
"What the hell is going on?" I say, planting my hands on my hips and glaring at my best friend.
"Cleo, we have to go!" she says, looking around frantically. I look out on the ocean. Still as ever.
"What happened?"
Sil starts walking up the mountain and I have no choice but to follow. She pauses and turns back to be.
"Someone found the island. Men, to be specific. Not just men. Women too. It seems it was an accident on their part, but it is still a danger to us. We either kill them all or we risk being discovered by the world. Do you know what this means?"
Tears cruise down her cheeks. I stare at her in shock.
"Go. We're headed for the Hidden Cave, right?"
She nods. I race up the ragged stone steps. We reach the boulder. I run my hand over the hard surface until I feel the tell-tale bump. I press it down once, twice, three times. A small entrance appears in the otherwise smooth rock. Sil crouches down and slips through. I follow her. I take one of the torches and light it off a burning torch. The dim light casts eerie shadows on the gray walls. I kneel down until I find the trap door Silete disappeared down. I open it and slip down. A group of girls my age and younger sits in a circle. Baskets full of fruit and cheese and bread sit in the middle. A little girl with auburn hair runs to me and wraps her arms around my waist.
"I'm scared, Cleo," Gacleia tells me.
"I know," I say. "I know."
Silete sits on the floor with two children in her lap already. I walk over to her and pull her to the side.
"I have to go. I have to see what's happening."
She nods.
"I'll be here. Be careful."
I squeeze her hand and exit the way I came in. I put out my torch out after I open the boulder door. I slip out and run across the mountain to the main path.
I look down at the beach. A large boat unlike any of the ones we have built on our island. White, shiny, new looking. It has the words Atlantic Tours painted on the sides. I gasp at the scene below me. Amazons that I have known all my life take their greatest weapons against strangers. Strange looking people that are like us, but with short hair and smaller muscles and odd looking faces hold long, weird looking sticks.
One of these creatures pulls something on the stick and one of the Amazons falls. I gasp.
I drop into the bushes lining the path and look for Marmodia. I find her. She is astride a large black horse and is beating the heck out of a man. A warm tear slides down my cheek.
I see my mother as she stabs a man through his cold heart.
My expression morphs into one of fury. Who could break the barrier into our paradise? My paradise? My home?! And then kill us! Why not turn around? When they leave the island, when they pass the barrier, they will forget it. Forever. We are hidden for a reason. The Gods hid us for a reason! I bite my tongue to keep the scream in my throat. I stand from my hiding place and run as fast as my legs will carry me back to the hidden cave.
This is what we have been forced into.
War.