Free Amazon Companion by Robin Roseau

we unaffected," the queen said.
    "She'll come to you after a fight, Maya. She'll need to hold you. She'll need you to hold her."
    "It's not sex," said the queen. "It's comfort. It's someone to hold. Someone to drive away the darkness. Can you do that?"
    "And what is the likelihood I will see one of these demons in the two years you would have me serve you?"
    "I would like to say 'none'," said the queen. "If you see a demon, then I have failed. It is not your job to fight demons. It is my job to see to that."
    "Then how will I know they are real and not just a story you use to scare me?"
    "You will know," Nori said. "You will know."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Yes," said the queen, and there was no doubt in her voice.
    "If I refuse to serve as anyone's companion, what will you do?"
    The two of them exchanged glances. Surely they had anticipated that question. Malora returned her gaze to mine. I thought she was co nsidering her answer. I beat her to it.
    "You have a variety of choices. You can free me. This is the only humane thing to do, but you have stated you will not do so. You can kill me. Perhaps you would do so as kindly as you can, but it is murder, plain and simple. The duel you offered is murder as well, regardless of whether I am holding a sword or not. "
    Their expressions darkened.
    "I am speaking in a civil tone, Queen Malora, but if the punishment for speaking honestly is a whipping, then I demand we discuss not whether you are going to offer that duel, but how quickly we can get it over. As it would be a farce, I would suggest immediately. It would be murder, but..." I shrugged.
    "You are so ready to die?"
    "Are you ready to abuse me for speaking the truth? If so, then yes, kill me now. The world needn't even learn you murder school teachers if you hide the body."
    She stared at me for a moment. "No, there is never punishment for truth, regardless of how disturbing that truth may be. You are correct; handing you a sword and calling it a duel would be a farce, tantamount to murder. "
    "Maya," Nori said, "I would like to address a misunderstanding you have."
    I raised an eyebrow.
    "Let me ask you something. If I began slapping you, would you grow angry?"
    "Was that a threat?"
    "I am coming to a point. If I began to beat you, you would grow angry, wouldn't you. I fight very well with staff, sword, and fists. You do not. It would be very one-sided, and you would grow angry at being abused."
    "Yes."
    "Well, I fight very well physically and very poorly with words. In that way, we are the opposite."
    "Your point?"
    "I gagged you because I was on the verge of losing my temper. I am unaccustomed to anyone speaking to me the way you did. I did not believe I could have controlled my temper much longer. I did not believe whipping the fight out of you would have helped, and I wasn't in a position I could walk away from you. Nor could I have subjected anyone else to your tongue."
    "I am not angry about the gag. I actually don't blame you for that. I would have gagged me, too."
    She smiled at that.
    "I am angry you struck two young children."
    "I was afraid if I struck you, I wouldn't stop. I knew I could control myself against them, but only if I shut you up fast."
    "So hitting them was the lesser of two evils?"
    "The least of several evils," she admitted. "Yes. I may have been more creative if I weren't so close to losing my temper."
    I looked down at my hands for a while, considering what she had said. "As I said, I do not blame you for gagging me. I believe you owe each of them an apology."
    "I probably do, but I believe remaining the boogie monster may reduce the likelihood they will earn punishments from their warriors instead."
    "I see," I said quietly. "That crime was not against me. You know my opinion on it. Perhaps we should move on."
    "Quite," said Malora. "Were their other choices you wished to list?"
    "All right," I agreed. "You can free me, which you won't do. You can kill me, which is what I believe will be your