And now I was awake. I'd also slept in my clothes, but I needed the facilities. Carefully, I stepped onto the floor, testing my feet before I truly stood up - only to find they hurt. Not just a little, but a lot. I also needed to use them, so I shifted my weight to the sides and heels, doing my best to avoid the worst damage as I hobbled to the door and opened it as quietly as possible.
The house was perfectly silent.
Timidly, I pulled the door wider, listening for the sounds of anyone on either floor. Still silent. Stepping as lightly as I could, I crossed the hall to the bathing room, used the toilet facilities, and then headed towards the part of the house I was familiar with, wanting another glass of that cold water.
The whole time, I found myself wondering what the Dragons would call such things. Even in the compound, some people called the facilities a washroom, a bathroom, or restroom. Was this a kitchen, a pantry, or a food preparation room? Did their language have as many variations as mine? And if so, how would I ever learn them all?
First, I poured a glass of water to moisten my parched throat. I finished off the second glass just to keep my stomach from complaining about the lack of an early meal. When that was done, I went to the sitting room, but no one was there. Considering I'd now been through the first level, did that mean they'd really left me alone?
For a moment, I wasn't sure how I felt about that. On one hand, I was free. If I wanted, I could finally lose myself in the forest. On the other hand, the trip had proven the forest might not be the easiest place to live. Here, the Dragons fed me and gave me clothes to wear. They let me have luxurious baths and extravagant meals. However, they were supposed to be my enemy.
Never mind that I still didn't have shoes and my feet were destroyed. Could that be their method to keep me from running away? Twisting my mother's ring on my pinky, I thought about it. After running through the forest once like this, I knew my bare feet would make a pretty decent leash. I could travel around the house freely, but outside? My tender soles would make me slow and easy to catch.
They'd proven that on the walk here.
Although there was no point in trying to run away yet. I needed to heal first, and it seemed these three men were willing to help me. I just wasn't sure what they'd expect in return. And when they did make those demands? That would be the time to finally flee.
There were only two doors on this level I hadn't looked behind yet this morning, plus the strange section under the stairs. The first door opened to reveal the Wyvern's arsenal, and all the items I'd seen yesterday were still there. Clearly the men weren't out attacking Righteous hunters, then. But with no one here, I paused to look at the weapons a little longer.
The compound had rooms like this, but the Righteous had theirs stocked with guns instead of bows and blades. It was still the same idea. A civilization needed protection, after all. For these Dragons, they had quite the collection of different things. I saw large knives, which might qualify as daggers. There were more of those curved blades like what the Wyvern had held up when the beast had screamed into the night. And then there were the bows.
So many different ones. Big ones, little ones, and some that had handles. Crossbows, I was pretty sure they were called, although I'd never seen a picture of one unstrung before. Like this, it looked more like a big T. And there weren't only blue-fletched arrows in here. I saw brown, grey, and other natural shades as well.
But none of it was going to help me, since I didn't know how to use any of this. So I aimed further up the hall to the decorative wood piece under the stairs. Hooking my fingers in the groove, I tried to swing it open. It rattled but refused.
Next, I pushed. The thing rattled again, but this time it also slid - to the side! Well, I'd never seen a door work like that before, but it made sense. And inside the space? Linens.
There was a small shelf to my left. To the right, towards the lower side of the stairs, was a cabinet. Across the back was more, with just enough space for someone to step inside and select what they wanted.
Impressed, but unsure how this would help me, I closed the door by sliding it back into place. What I really needed was some food. Returning to the kitchen - or whatever it was called - I checked behind the last door.
This time, what I found was a small pantry, but considering it was meant for only a few people instead of hundreds - well, it wouldn't need to be very big. It also had something I now recognized. There, in a basket on the shelf, was the orange tuber I'd grown fond of.
I claimed one of those for myself. If the Dragons didn't approve, I wasn't sure what I'd do, but my stomach was demanding I put something in it. A little water rinsed off the outside, and then I carried it back to the chair that faced the main door. With the tuber in one hand, I stole the chance to simply relax.
The book in English was still lying on that knee-high table before my chair. I picked it up and flipped to the page with plants, wondering if I could identify my meal. I nibbled on the tuber while I read. A few more flips and I finally found it. A sweet potato, it was called.
What would the Dragons call it?
Sooner or later, I was going to need to learn their words. I refused to live the rest of my life in ignorance of what was said around me. That included the rest of this world, so I read a bit more about vegetables, then flipped a few pages further back in the book just because I was curious.
For the first time in my life, I didn't need to worry about how long I read. Wanting to enjoy this one little blessing, I thumbed through the pages, trying to get an idea of what this book was about. Unlike the ones I'd found in the compound, this book was filled with pictures. It showed the world. Dozens of birds, trees, insects, and animals. I kept going until I got to the part about venomous creatures.
This might actually be useful. The land outside looked nothing like what the books in my forbidden library had shown, so the more I learned, the better off I'd be when I was on my own. I started on the first page of this section, reading about snakes. Many were not poisonous, but some were. I took note of how to tell the difference, wondering how I'd check the scales on their tails without being struck, but I still committed it to memory. After that came bugs.
Some were small. Most, actually. The idea that a thing no bigger than my pinky nail could kill me made me thankful I'd decided to read instead of run. With bare feet, I could easily step on one of these! Then there were the plants that would make me itch or cause a rash. However, it seemed the insects were definitely the most dangerous thing in the world above.
When I swallowed the last bite of my tuber breakfast, I put the book back down. The Dragons still weren't back, and who knew how long they'd be gone? I had no idea what I was expected to do, but my filthy clothes were still in a pile in the bathing room, and at least those underthings fit properly.
Not that I'd wear them in the state they were in, but the bras and underwear the men had given me hung on my body, clearly designed for a bigger woman. Then again, there was a tub in the bathroom, and I'd seen at least two different types of soap, so I could wash my old things.
The water wasn't warm when it came out of the tap this time. It was cool, and there wasn't any obvious way to heat it, but that didn't matter. I tossed my filthy underthings and chemise beneath the stream, tucked the front of my knee-length dress between my thighs, and bent over to get to work. The liquid soap I'd used for my hair lathered nicely. The water coming off the fabric was brown and dingy.
This actually reminded me of home. There, the washing room had a basin high enough I didn't need to bend over quite so far, but the washing was almost the same. Scrub, rinse, lather, repeat. I'd expected my chemise to be the most disgusting piece, but they were all pretty bad. Sweat, dirt, and little bits of plants were attached to the fabric. The herbal scent of the soap was nice, though. Much better than what we had in the compound.
I was so focused on getting my things back to their natural white color I forgot to listen. There, with my rump up and my dress in a rather indecent position, the last thing I expected was to hear a man chuckle right behind me just as his hands closed on the sides of my skirt. He tugged, yanking the fabric down, and I yelped.
Jerking straight up, I spun to find myself face-to-face with the Wyvern.
Twenty-EightAyla
The Wyvern tried to make a gesture, but I didn't give him the chance. I knew what he was thinking! For as long as I could remember, we girls had been warned about the threat of men. I'd been bent over with my dress hiked up. Most of my legs had been exposed and my bottom had been pointed at him!
This man wouldn't be able to resist the temptation, and I knew how this would end. I'd already suffered so much to avoid it, and I wouldn't simply give in now! So I pushed, needing space. The effort didn't even make him budge, my pathetic struggles useless against him.
Fear was starting to set in. I wasn't strong enough to keep him from having his way with me. He was between me and the door. My posture had been tempting, and without any words between us, he had to think I'd been offering myself. He'd take me, rape me, and shame me. I only had one option left.
I swung as hard as I could, my open palm connecting with the side of his face. The resulting crack was loud, but the shock on his face was even more impressive. Immediately, the Wyvern stepped back, giving me plenty of room, and I took it. Bolting, I made for the door, hit the hall, and kept going.
Pain lanced up my feet, but I ignored it. All that mattered right now was fleeing, yet as I raced through the rest of the house, I saw yellow and brown at the edge of my vision. Kanik and the vividly-colored man were standing at the edge between the kitchen and the sitting room, but I didn't give them the chance to stop me either.
I needed out of here. I had to get away before one of these men took me, because I didn't want to get married. Not with the consummation before, after, or anything else!
I didn't care about my feet. It didn't matter that my dash through the house was loud and impossible to miss. No, I'd been warned about what men would do, and the pain it would cause. I'd seen Meri after she'd married Gideon. Even worse, this really had been my fault. I'd been the one with my rump in the air. No one would care if I'd thought I was alone. They'd blame me, giving him permission to do what he would. After all, he was the man.
Which meant I was now out of time. I hit the main door of the house and kept going, out into the blinding light of the day, aiming for the forest path that had brought me here. It was all I knew, and I would not suffer the torture of marriage. I'd already escaped it once before. I could do it again.
"Rymar!" the Wyvern bellowed his voice carrying even outside.
