As planned that next morning, when the sun was peeking strongly over the tops of the trees, Zaria left her tent, alone, in the direction of the river.

"Where is your young friend," a robust Amazon asked her who rode up to assume her duty as guard of the prisoner.

"She is not well today," Zaria said, head down. "Tired from tending to the wounded of your sisters. With me. Besides," she added somewhat sarcastically, "taking a bath is not something you Daughters enjoy it seems. Not like we women from the West have learned to do."

The sentry smiled down from her mount. "Once or twice a moon is enough for us . . . and our horses," she replied somewhat proudly. "So is that what you intend to do today?"

"Yes it is. Your queen tells me I may bathe every five days. It is my day to do so."

"Very well. Then proceed," the guard told her with no emotion in her voice. She also elected to ride at a closer distance to Zaria than the previous guard had days before.

The Slavic girl and the mounted Amazon left the camp in the direction of the river. The wind was picking up and Zaria knew this could have been problematic for her at any other time of the year. For she understood she would have to submerge herself and her clothing into the water, then drift downstream only to dress again and endure the wet clothing the rest of the day. If she managed to get past the Amazon, her next challenges would be great. Her lack of food and other essentials could be life-threatening. But Zaria was willing to take the risk. She knew too well that this day would be one of her few chances to succeed in getting away from the Daughters where she could hide, and hopefully, free herself from their slavery.

When the two had reached the river bank, the trees and bushes were swaying heavily in the fresh wind.

"This must wait for another day," the Amazon said, sternly as an order. It seemed she was only too glad to put off the mission to which she was arbitrarily assigned.

"Why?" Zaria asked casually. "And you would have me going on smelling like you and your horses until then?"

The Amazon smiled at the couched insult. "Very well, if your must. But this habit of yours. Collecting flowers, which I have heard about . . . it will have to wait. The wind puts us at a great danger here. It's the noise. My horse and I cannot hear movement or sounds in the distance."

Zaria knew she was right. Having spent time on the run with the Daughters of the Moon, she had learned how important, and accurate, their sense of hearing in the wilds were toward their protection. Instead of arguing, she just proceeded to remove her clothing and hesitated placing it on the bank, as before. As the guard seemed preoccupied with looking at Zaria's majestic body art, the bather managed to hold onto her clothing and light boots as she entered the water. Before her guard could even question why she had done this, Zaria dived out far into the swift river, holding her garments tightly. She kicked her feet frantically, propelling her further out into the furious current.

It took no time for the sentry to realize her prisoner was attempting to get away. She suddenly could see the rapid movement of the water and the difficult passage along its brush-covered bank would be obstacles to retrieving her. Without looking back, just trying to navigate with her arms full of soaked clothing, Zaria could hear and see several poisoned arrows strike the water near her. A few moments later she felt herself drifting into a deeper and even faster area where the water was colder and difficult to maintain her head above the surface. Struggling now to bring herself closer to the edge, Zaria found herself becoming exhausted. Her wet clothing threatened to pull her under.

Just when she knew she must either let go of her clothes to not drown, she could feel her toes beginning to rub against a sandy bottom. Pushing with both feet toward the edge, she managed to find herself on a warm, shallow shoal where the current slowed and she could soon stand up. Quickly, she used what strength she had left to make her way into the thick foliage of the river bank where she lay for several moments, catching her breath and allowing her tired body to regain strength in the shade.

Listening intently for any sounds of the Amazon's horse or her captor's movements in the terrain of this new vicinity, Zaria quietly and cautiously put her soaked clothing back on. It gave her some security against the elements and took away her feelings of modesty and vulnerability. Seeing that she was now at the foot of a steep hill, she knew that moving up to a higher elevation afforded her a better view of her position. She began climbing frantically, reaching the top of the bluff after some time. From the angle and location of the sun, Zaria noted that the river ran in a direct line toward the East—the cardinal direction she must travel to catch up with her people and her beloved Tsudros. Even if she were not to reach them soon, she surmised, if she could just stay focused and alive to keep trekking forward, she would eventually find the land of the Pazyryk kingdom. And there, with good fortune, be joined with her people on the mission to rescue Svetlana.

Zaria also knew she would have to be vigilant of any Amazon search party. For now that she presented value to them as 'healer," their queen would be sure to make every effort to get her back. She also had not forgotten that somewhere out in these wilds a warrior party of twenty Daughters of the Moon had mobilized---to seek retribution on the nomads who had killed twelve of their own only days before. The Jin nomads were fearsome fighters, indeed, but no match for the Amazons, Zaria knew, when instilled with their own brand of intense revenge.

By the day's last light, Zaria's clothes and deer hide boots had dried completely in the warm sun. Along her pathway, she had also found berries and certain dietary plants to eat. She knew, however, that more and varied food would be necessary to sustain her survival over the many days she would need to travel to reach the distant realm in the East.

That night, Zaria spent sheltered in a large crevasse of a boulder, shielding her from the nightly winds. It also provided warmth which the stone had collected and preserved over the long day. But it was those darker days ahead she now feared. The hunger, the threats of beasts, and the nomad hunting parties she might encounter. And most of all, it would be the loneliness she would have to endure before her on the long journey.

Once again, it was the thoughts and dreams of Tsudros which gave her comfort that first night so alone. She would eventually feel again, she vowed under the stars, his decorative, warm, and protective arms around her. And somewhere, she was assured, he was dreaming of the same.

* * *