Zasen sighed. "It's not that great, Ayla."

I caressed the flowers I was still holding, then leaned to put them in the water. "That was my dream before I was thrown out of the compound. I wanted to run away and farm plants to eat. Callah and Meri would help me." I adjusted the flowers so they could spread out a little. "So to me, all of this is pretty great."

Thirty-EightAyla

The next afternoon, Rymar came home early. Zasen didn't go out. Kanik ended our lesson when the other two began to move around, telling me to get dressed for company or go help Rymar. I chose to do both.

Because it was Zasen's sister who was coming over, I wanted to make a good impression. Brushing my hair back, I secured it into a tight bun at the back of my neck. I'd picked out the most modest of the dresses, and my bandaged feet served well enough for shoes.

In the kitchen, Rymar was busy making a stack of things to carry out. I grabbed as much as I could hold and headed out the door in the back. I'd never used it before, but the men did sometimes. Stepping through it, I had to pause at the bright light, giving my eyes time to adjust.

Then I saw the yard. That was what the men called it. A large space, bigger than even the grassy area in front, spread behind the house. To my right was a table. To my left was some kind of vent with smoke coming out of it. Near that was a round depression that had been filled with wood. On the back side were a few targets.

The big, multi-colored circles were painted on cloth that was hung from a line. Behind that was a steep hill, or maybe a cliff? I didn't think it was vertical enough to count as a cliff, but I couldn't be sure. It was also covered in grass, easily as tall as I was, and ended at the edge of the forest.

"Put that over here," Kanik called, gesturing to the table he was spreading a large cloth over.

"This is pretty," I said as I set down the collection of plates and utensils.

"Backs up right to the forest," Kanik agreed, "which makes it easy for Zasen when he goes hunting."

While we were talking, Rymar came out and headed for that round space filled with wood. I watched as he struck something and a small flame flicked up. A match! Then he bent and carefully lit the base of the wood pile.

It took off quickly. That was when I noticed the dried leaves and paper crushed up in the middle. All of this was so efficient. Clearly, these men had held many cookouts, but I was excited. Not just for the food, but mostly because I wanted to meet even more people and see if I could truly talk to them.

For the next hour, we busied ourselves with preparing the area, but Zasen was nowhere to be seen. Just as Kanik brought out the tea and waved me to a chair at the table, a pair of women made their way around the back carrying large bowls covered with thin cloths.

"We got the food!" the grey one announced.

"Table!" Rymar ordered.

The pair turned my way, and the dark blue one's face split into a smile. "Ayla, right?" she asked.

And I understood every word so far. Nodding excitedly, I agreed. "Yes, that's my name."

"Oh, that's an accent," the grey one teased.

"And in Vestrian," the blue one said, setting down her dish before offering me her hand. "I'm Brielle. This is Jeera."

And then a high-pitched voice split the air. "Ayla!"

A second later, Tamin ran around the corner at full speed, stopping in the middle of the yard to look around as if hunting for me.

"Tamin!" I called back

He raced over to throw himself in my arms, hugging me with gusto. I hugged him back hard, then leaned him away a bit so I could see his face.

"Where is your mother?"

A blonde-haired and tailless woman was making her way closer. "I'm right here."

"Saveah!" Jeera greeted her. "Oh, and little Taris!" She held out her arms.

The woman gladly passed over the bundle of cloth I'd seen her with the day before. This time, as she was moving from Saveah to Jeera, I caught a glimpse of the child. Her skin was bright pink and plump, but not scaled.

"Is she..." I sat up to see better.

Jeera turned the infant so I could see her. "This is Taris, Tamin's tailless little sister. She's three months old now."

Beside her, Saveah simply pressed her lips together, her eyes locked on me. Chuckling softly, Brielle reached over to rub her shoulder. That broke the stare, but I had a feeling Saveah hated me.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"What?" Jeera asked.

"Saveah doesn't like me, and I'm sorry. I don't know what I've done, but it seems a lot of people don't like me because I look like a Mole. I'm not one, though. Not anymore, and I don't ever want to be one again."

"Why?" Saveah asked.

My hands found each other in my lap and my eyes dropped to them. "Because in all the time I've been here, Zasen, Rymar, and Kanik haven't punished me once. They tell me how to do things better, but they don't use the rod."

"What rod?" Brielle asked.

"The one for women who get out of line," I explained. "Well, it's for wives, but some men use it on any woman. Or the back of their hand. Sometimes a kick. It depends on how much we need to be punished. And I had to be punished because I refused to marry Mr. Saunders, so they sacrificed me to the Dragons. I thought I'd die, but it ended up being a good thing."

Jeera lowered herself into the chair beside me. "So you made sure you weren't a Mole anymore, huh?"

I nodded vigorously. "Yes. Exactly. I want to be a Dragon so I can stay here, but Zasen said it won't be easy."