Narinda went on. “You looked kind of bored but very beautiful.

All that gold. Your clothing was amazing. And your jewelry! Feetak has given me a chest full of it but you were wearing more just during that celebration than I have in my entire chest.”

Yep, there it was. Proof it was good being queen.

“Our Dax showers great bounty on his golden queen,” Diandra announced.

“I can see!” Narinda exclaimed, her eyes scanning my clothing and my jewelry which was again, I had to admit, a pretty spectacular show then she reached out and grabbed my hand. “But I’m sorry you were ill, Circe. I’m glad you’re better now.”

“Thanks, Narinda,” I said softly.

“The golden queen,” Narinda replied just as softly.

“That’s what they say,” I returned noncommittally.

She smiled a smile I remembered in a way I knew I would remember it until my dying day. It was small, it was weird, it was attached to not-so-good memories but it still was a treasure.

“It was awful,” she whispered her understatement. “But maybe we didn’t do all that badly.”

I recited words that I would also remember until my dying day but I had forgotten until just then, “What has been has been but what will be is what we make of it.”

Her eyes got moist and she squeezed my hand, I squeezed hers back at the same time I felt something settle in my heart.

What will be was what I made of it.

I needed to remember that.

There was a sudden commotion outside, all of our heads swung to the cham flaps and when it penetrated the noises sounded urgent, we all jumped up as one and ran out of the tent.

People were running towards a cham a few down and there were shouts.

“What’s going on?” I asked Diandra who I could see was listening to the shouts.

“A child in distress,” she answered, we three looked at each other then we all rushed to the cham. Once to the outside of the group surrounding it, people started noticing me and stepping back, clearing a path for their queen. I pulled my girls forward and when we got to the cham, just outside, there was a child, maybe two or three, his face purple and he was clearly not breathing. His mother was shaking him, fear saturating her face.

“My God,” I whispered at witnessing her distress then I noticed a large slab of dried meat on the ground. “Shit, that child is choking!”

I cried, not thinking, and dashed forward.

It took some effort but I pulled the boy out of his mother’s arms, there were cries and shouts at my actions and she clawed at me to get him back but I ignored her, turned his back to my front and did the Heimlich maneuver that I’d learned during the health and safety class I made all my father’s movers take. It took four cautious (considering his age and size) heaves but the meat finally flew out of his mouth and he instantly choked in air.

When he was sucking back his next mighty gulp, I turned him into his mother’s arms and his arms feebly went around her neck. She collapsed on her ass, shoved her face in his little neck and burst into tears.

Shoo. Well, thank God for that health and safety class. It was finally worth all the bitching the boys treated me to for making them take it.

I smiled down at mother and child, touching his hair then touching hers then I turned to see a sea of faces all watching me silently.

Oh man.

All eyes remained on me and not a sound was made.

Damn, now what did I do?

Then someone suddenly shouted, “Kah rahna Dahksahna hahla! ”

“Kah rahna Dahksahna hahla! ” another shout rent the air.

Then another. And another. Then a chant. Then they started the clapping.

Jeez. It was just the Heimlich maneuver.

I looked at Diandra who was beaming ear to ear and Narinda who was looking at me funny but still smiling huge. Then I rolled my eyes at Diandra which made her break out into laughter.

Then I turned to the crowd and lifted my hands and pressed palms down to get them to stop chanting. It took a couple of palm presses but I was their queen, my husband could kick anyone’s ass so they shut up pretty quickly.

I started to walk away but my hand was grabbed and I looked down to the mother who still had tight hold on her child but she was kissing my hand.

“Shahsha, shahsha, shahsha kah rahna Dahksahna hahla.

Shahsha,” she whispered against my hand and I did a knees closed squat next to her, gently twisted my hand from her grasp and touched my fingers to her lips.

“It was nothing, everybody knows how to do that where I come from,” I said and heard Diandra close, translating. “And it was my pleasure,” I added, Diandra interpreted then I smiled and finished on a whisper, “Nahrahka.”

She nodded to me, eyes big and grateful. I nodded back, got up, nodded to my, uh… people, then Diandra, Narinda and I went back to Narinda’s cham.

Chapter Fourteen

The Breaking Point

It was night and I’d talked Diandra into wandering the chams because it felt nice to be out in the cool air, the torches stuck into the earth every six or seven feet that lit the pathways between the chams cast a cozy glow and I wanted to stretch my legs.

It had been a nice day. Another day with the Korwahk, another day waking up in this world, another hint that this may be my life, my old life might be lost to me forever and unless I could do the impossible, figure out what had happened and reverse it, I was going to have to get used to it.

And in it I now had Narinda and Nahka. We’d spent some more time in Narinda’s cham where she asked Diandra more questions, Diandra answered and then Diandra gave us both some Korwahk language lessons. Then we heard a “poyah” from outside the cham and Nahka, the mother of the child who had been choking came in and offered us dinner.

We accepted because Diandra knew Nahka and informed us she was lovely; because it was seriously doubtful Narinda was going to get swept from this world in her dreams and it would be good for her to get to know her neighbors; and because it was beginning to dawn on me that this might be my life and these my people so I’d need to get to know them.

Even with the language barrier and Diandra having to translate, dinner with Nahka was what dinner always was amongst girls. Lots of food, lots of wine, lots of talk about the men in our lives (Nahka was a warrior wife too, her husband’s name was Bohtan), Nahka spoke of her son (the child who was choking) and newborn daughter, Narinda and I spoke of our lands and last, there was lots of laughter.

We left with promises to do it again soon, Narinda hugged me and Diandra after we returned her to her cham and I talked Diandra into

taking a walk. She agreed so we were strolling through the torchlight in our normal way, bodies close, my hand wrapped around her elbow, her other hand covering mine.

“Uh… Diandra?” I called.

“Yes, my dear,” she replied.

“Do all the Korwahk think they have a spirit or is it only the warriors?”