Strange Expectations
Velora considered herself. She wore an undergarment that covered her genitals beneath comfortable pants that showed off her slender legs, strange bindings that clipped in the back to hold her growing breasts, and a fitted top.
She pulled on something called socks, then odd leather shoes, each with a hard sole and leather cording that laced up the front close to her knees. It was all so strange. Nothing like the simple dresses, skirts, shirts, and sandals she normally wore.
“You must build a small hut to keep your new clothes in and to change in, Velora. It must be close to the spring and wherever you were sent last night, and it needs to stay hidden. Come tomorrow night, and my lover will start teaching you how to build one. I’m sorry, but you only have three weeks to complete this task, and we can’t help you. No one’s to cross the sacred spring into the sacred lands beyond other than you.”
“Isn’t it wrong if I’m in your lover’s presence alone?”
“You won’t be alone. I’ll be there, but I won’t be able to talk. We all must remain silent to stay hidden, so learn all your can through observation.”
If Miss Pern said it was okay, then it was. “I will.”
“Others will ask where you got your new clothes from. They’ll try to take them. Everyone will think you’ve found a lover. Say nothing on the matter.”
No, she wouldn’t. It was forbidden for someone her age to dare mate. Getting pregnant at such a young age could kill her.
As for mating, she couldn’t. The personage from the night before told her not to give herself to anyone. Whether it was a test or not, she’d agreed and would stand by her word. Perhaps if others thought she had a lover, they’d leave her alone, only it meant she’d be shunned.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Miss Pern, will I not be able to attend classes anymore?”
Sadness filled her mentor’s glassy eyes. “I’m afraid not. Your reputation will undoubtedly be tarnished. It’d be best if you studied the scrolls from the learning center and practice your music in the forest.”
Alone. But only for a couple of years. No one would blame her if they believed she’d been taken while on her way home from the ceremony. And the other six girls would more than likely feel guilty for leaving her behind.
Two years tops of being shunned. She could do it.
“If you need to talk, you’re always welcome here. Now return home, hide your new clothes, and be sure to come after your mere settles in for bed.”
Considering she’d be on her own, Velora would take her up on her offer. Especially since she wouldn’t have anyone else to talk to.
She strapped on the odd leather bag full of clothes, two pairs of shoes, and a new nightdress to go with the other, and headed the back way to her family hut.
Baby’s cries and soft shushing carried from an open window. Mere and her brother were still there instead of out for their morning stroll. Her heart lodged in her ribs. It couldn’t be helped.
Velora walked around to the front and started up—the board beneath her foot broke, and she fell—her pack cushioned her tender backside.
Oh, no. What horrible timing. How was she going to repair it?
She shook off her nerves, got to her feet, and crawled up the unbroken stairs. It wasn’t safe for her mere to walk on them. Velora would have to come up with something different, and soon.
The front door opened. “Velora.” A clipped voice demanded her attention.
She peered up, and Mere’s eyes narrowed at her. “Where have you been?”
Baby cried louder.
An exasperated breath left Mere. “Come in and help me calm your brother first.”
She climbed onto the platform and stood.
A dangerous glint flashed in Mere’s eyes. “Velora, what are you wearing?”
There was no easy way of answering, because she couldn’t say exactly where she got the clothing from. “Mere, last night I was blessed by the goddess of blessings.” And a god who’d sent her to sleep under the gentle elder tree.
Mere’s eyes widened as sorrow pooled in them. Whatever she thought, she was completely wrong. It was something to celebrate.
“Mere, I can’t speak of what happened. I can’t answer any of your questions. But I’m home and will help with Baby.”
Two years of shunning from the village. She could handle it.
Velora swallowed and followed her Mere into their hut, ready to face her new reality.
Prowlers in the Dark
The moment soft snores sounded from Mere’s room, Velora grabbed her new socks and boots and tiptoed through their hut.
Baby stirred out in the common room where his cradle stood.
She froze.
He yawned, then settled in his crib next to Mere’s room.
She seized the moment and crept to and out the front door, then put on her socks and shoes and laced up her boots. The second step from the bottom was broken. She’d have to be careful skipping it so she wouldn’t startle Mere or her baby brother awake.
A branch snapped.
Velora didn’t have time to waste. She sat on the edge of the platform, pushed off, and landed with a soft thud and froze. Surely she wasn’t loud enough to disturb her family.
Branches moved on the other side of her family hut, followed by a low noise. It wasn’t like any usual animal noise. Should she return and wake—a hand covered her mouth.
“Shh.”
Her heart jolted. A shock wave of cold punched through her.
An arm snaked around her waist and slowly guided her to the thick vegetation.
Velora’s limbs shook. As soon as the person let up, she’d spin around and see who it was; friend, or foe. From there she could knee them in the stomach and escape.
Large leaves almost as big as her moved, then flew out in front of her, blocking out home.
A soft, small hand settled on her arm. Either a woman or child. She should be careful and figure out what was going on before making a move.
Several minutes passed as they moved one slow step at a time.
The arm fell away.
Holding her breath, Velora turned. Miss Pern and her lover put out their hands in the gesture of calm.
Tension melted away. They were safe. Thank the gods it was them.
She bowed her head to the man and grabbed her mentor’s hand. She was ready for her first lesson on how to build her own hut.
In three hours, Miss Pern’s lover showed Velora how to survey and clear the land for a hut. He used sharpened sticks to make the perimeter and put three together in places where stilts would more than likely go.
After they finished, they took her to Miss Pern’s home, and Velora was shown to an extra room to sleep in while her teacher’s lover set up a hammock high in the trees to sleep nearby.
A man in a hut. Normally they came, mated, and left before morning. Unlike the man in the trees outside.
A squeaked warning rang out.
Velora jolted with a gasp. It was far too loud to be a dream.
She rubbed her tired eyes and opened them. Light glinted off a pair of big, dark eyes in the darkness inside the guest room. Every muscle in her body tensed. A large form ambled from the shadows, and a scream lodged in her throat.
Two big, round ears appeared in a beam of moonlight.
Her breath hitched. A giant rodent. As big as her torso. In the hut. With her. But the door was latched closed, and the windows were too high for it to get in through.
“Over here, there’s another hut.” A low, unfamiliar voice carried through the window.
The little hairs on the back of her neck raised. Holding her breath, she turned her head. A man.
The rodent darted to her.
Velora thew her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming and held perfectly still. Maintra save her.
A long, thin tail wrapped around her wrist and tugged.
It, it wanted her to follow it. It could’ve attacked her, but instead… Maintra. The other gods.
Velora blinked at the animal. A messenger.
Warm tingles burst in her chest as a layer of peace settled in. The animal was safe. Like her mentor and her lover.
She cast the thin blanket aside, grabbed her socks and shoes, and followed in a low crouch.
The rodent stopped at the door and sniffed.
Her pulse quickened. Could it smell the man?
Its fur bristled before it changed directions and headed to the bathing room between the small guest room and Miss Pern’s bedroom.
There was no way she’d ignore it. On silent feet, she followed the rodent into the bathing room. A shadow crossed the high window.
Velora froze, not daring to so much as blink.
“It’s too high. That must be the bathing room. Pick a different window.”
More than one man.
Cold swept through her. Men weren’t allowed there.
The rodent’s tail left her, and the creature leapt to the window. Shining eyes turned on her. It wanted her to keep following it.
Her mentor was still there. She glanced in the direction of Miss Pern’s room, but something clicked.
She returned her attention to the rodent. Its head jerked in the direction of the window before it turned and leapt out and up.
Impossible. But then again, so was the fact an animal was communicating with her.
She climbed on a stool and peered out of the window. A vine dropped in front of her with a generous loop in it. Her escape.
Velora grabbed the vine and slid the loop around her, just below her arms, and climbed out.
The vine tightened and slightly pulled, revealing her escape route; the roof.
A long tail snaked down and around her before the vine hauled her up.
Praise the gods for the help. Surely the men wouldn’t find her.
Heart pounding, she reached up to keep from hitting the edge of the thatched overhang, keeping as still as possible through the process.
Footsteps creaked below on the other side of the hut on the platform. They’d yet to enter. But it wouldn’t be long. Because the window in the room she’d stayed in was open.
Miss Pern’s lover pulled Velora onto the roof and handed her a vine connected to a branch high above and pointed away.
Wait, the rodent. It’d helped her, too.
The man tapped his thigh, then pointed at her and to the rodent.
He wanted her to carry the rodent using her thighs? The thing was huge.
Well, the creature did save her. And Maintra and the other gods didn’t give people things they couldn’t handle.
Very well. She grabbed a loop in the vine, wrapped her legs around the rodent, and fell away into the trees.
Air whooshed at her, and she swallowed a scream as she clung to the vine. They couldn’t die, not after everything the rodent and man had done to help her.
The rodent’s tail lashed out and wrapped around another vine, keeping her from falling back toward her mentor’s hut.
There was no time to think. She reached over and grabbed hold and—Velora sucked in a breath as they soared to yet another vine. Again, the rodent caught another vine, and again she grasped it.
She swallowed and focused. With his help, anything was possible.
Her companion squeaked and looked down. Perhaps it was okay to return to the ground.
A scream shattered the peace of the night.
…