Loyalty Part Four: Saying Good-bye

Rae burst into the healer's hut. "Ashana!" Ashana appeared. "Ashana what's wrong with my mother? Where is she?" "She's in the other room. Rae we need to have a serious talk. Sit down." Rae sat, and Ashana sat next to her. "All right. What's going on." "Well, when you found your mother, you obviously knew that she had been hit by an arrow." "That's right. We got the arrow out of her and bandaged the wound…" "But that arrow was more than a mere arrow. Rae, this is hard for me to tell you, but…that arrow was poisoned with an unidentifiable poison. It must have come from something that grows on that island. Anyway, the poison is very hard to locate. Signs of poisoning don't show up right away. What I'm trying to tell you is that your mother's wound was so bad that…I'm afraid that she's not going to make it." "What!?" Rae jumped up. "This can't be happening! I won't let it! Can I see her?" Ashana nodded. Rae ran into Jade's room. "Mother are you awake? It's Rae." Jade was awake, and finally able to talk. "Rae…my beautiful child. Come sit by me." Rae sat next to Jade's bed. "You know that I am dying, and there is nothing anybody can do about it." "I should have known that there was poison on the arrow. I should have checked. What a fool I am." "Rae, don't you say that again. You risked your life to rescue me. I could have died in the woods, but you and Loa came. I am glad that I will die on this island because I know that while I'm alive I will get to see you." "Mother, what will I do without you. Your my only family." "That is not true, and you know that. You're amazon sisters are your true family. Every living thing on this island is your family. When I go to the other side, you must promise me that you will be as loyal to everyone as you are to me. Promise me that." "I promise." "Good. Another request that I have is about my position at the Academy. Rae, your voice is strong and beautiful. Your acting skills are great. I feel that you know enough fine arts training to take my position for me." "Me? An instructor? At my age?" "Yes it's true that you'll be the youngest instructor at the academy, but I know in my heart that you'll be able to handle it. Your amazon sisters will take care of you just as well as I did. You know that you can go to any of them if you are in need. Just promise me one more thing." "What is it?" "Promise me that you will be loyal to your amazon sisters, your position at the academy, and most of all be loyal to yourself. You'll be a wonderful instructor for the performing arts. Never forget that I'll always be with you. The dead can hear our thoughts, so I will know when you are thinking of me. I love you Rae." A tear trickled down Rae's cheek. "I love you too mother, and I will never ever forget you," she whispered. Jade sat up as best as she could and took Rae into a hug. It was more than they could handle, and they both burst into tears.

A few days later Jade died peacefully in her sleep. Rae hadn't left her bedside, and Loa hadn't left the healer's hut either. The troops returned with a victory from the battle with the barbarians. Finally the day came for the memorial service for Jade. Rae stood by the queen as her mother was lifted on to the funeral pyre. Queen Cyan spoke. "As you know we are hear today to send a wonderful amazon sister to the other side. Jade was not only a wonderful instructor at the academy, but she was also a fierce fighter, and loyal to her tribe. She also brought us a wonderful gift in the form of Rae who will take her position as the instructor of the performing arts at the academy. One of Jade's last requests was to have Rae sing her funeral song. Begin." The pyre was lit, and Rae sang the haunting funeral song. The flames seemed to touch the sky. After Rae finished the song, Loa came up beside her. "Are you ok?" "Yeah I'm fine." Rae looked into the flames, and saw her mother's smile. She closed her eyes, remembering all the good times they had. After the funeral Rae went to her hut so that she could rest. She stood outside, and though about the job that was now hers. She was determined to honor Jade's memory by being the best fine arts instructor the island had known. Just before she went into the hut, she turned and looked up at the sky. "I love you mother!" she shouted into the night. And as she went into the hut, the wind seemed to take on a voice and say, "I love you Rae…"

"Rae! Rae where are you?" came the shouts through the woods. Rae woke up with a jolt. It was dark outside. Rae stood up. "How long have I been sleeping," she said aloud. Suddenly Loa was hugging her, and she was surrounded by the members of her tribe. "You guys what are you doing here?" "Looking for you. You were supposed to teach a late class tonight, and we were worried about you when you didn't show up, and we didn't find you in your hut," said Loa. Rae looked into the eyes of each her amazons sisters who had come to look for her. Something suddenly snapped into her head. It was the message about loyalty that her mother had talked about before she died. All of her amazon sisters had been worried about her, and it was their loyalty that made them come for her. "So it's true," she said. "You all are so loyal to me that you would look for me even if you had to risk your lives?" "Even if we had to risk our lives," Loa said. "Rae, you are an important part of us." "Oh…thank you! Thank you all!" "Come on, let's go to town, and we'll all go to the Java Hut to get a drink," said Loa. The amazons started back to town. Rae looked back at her mother's hut, but didn't move. "Rae are you coming?" called Loa. "Yeah I'll be right there." Rae bowed her head. "Mother I now know what you meant when you said that all of the amazons are my true family. I thought that my life would be worthless without you. I couldn't imagine everyone being my family even if I had known them all since I was born. Now I know what you meant…the amazons are my true family, and I will be as loyal to them as I was to you. I love you mother, and thank you for helping me find my way." Then Rae turned and ran to town, eager to join her family. And Jade smiled at her daughter through a portal from the Land of the Amazon Dead. Rae had finally learned the purpose of being an amazon: to be loyal to the tribe, for the tribe was the true family that would guide her for the rest of her life.