英 语 学 习 资 料 3(4)

The blade caressed her skin, and a thin thread of blood trickled down her wrist... Renée froze at the sight. All she could see was François’s bloodied body; his lifeless face that she had tried in vain to bring back to life. François was at rest under this tombstone, but his killer was still breathing. Could she die knowing that the one who had killed the love of her life was still at large? Could she leave the duty to punish him to someone else?
Her memories of happier times came back to her. She could see her love who held her against him with that look that made her heart flutter. She could hear the soft whisper of his words in her ear, “I love you, my amazon...” To him, she had been an amazon. So often he had compared her to the great warrior women of literature: Bradamante, Marphise... An amazon would never kill herself at the grave of her love. She would sooner die sword in hand while avenging herself. The words her father had spat at her in the armory came back to her.

Would she be a coward? Would she die without putting up a fight?
An insane idea was starting to form in her mind. If her destiny as a woman was nothing more than to become a submissive and miserable wife, then she would stop being a woman. There were no longer any warrior women, therefor she had to become a man. She fought better than most men, couldn’t she pass for one as well?