"The Wyvern is his right hand," Callah quoted, doing her best to mimic our schoolteacher's masculine voice.
I chuckled at that. "What I don't understand is that a wyvern isn't a dragon. Dragons have four legs with wings. Wyverns have two legs with wings on their arms. How can the most terrifying Dragon be a wyvern too?"
"Maybe our hunters cut off two legs?" Meri guessed. "Gideon could've."
"Gideon got shot by the Wyvern," Callah reminded her.
"Callah!" I snapped, because the man's wounds had been treated, and it looked like he should live, but that wasn't guaranteed yet.
Callah just made a face. "Sorry, Meri."
"He could've on a good day," Meri said, changing her stance slightly. "Because Gideon is young and strong. He's going to be an excellent husband, and we'll have plenty of babies to refill the empty rooms, right? And he'll keep being strong enough that he will always make it back after hunting."
"He will," I told her, not really believing it. "He's going to be an amazing husband for you, Meri. You'll be so happy. Who knows, maybe you'll even fall in love with him?"
"And maybe he won't hurt me when we breed," Meri mumbled, her words growing softer. "Ayla, do you have any stories about good marriages where the wife makes her man happy?"
"Yeah," I said, lying back so I was looking up at the ceiling. "I read one of those the other day, but I think it's a fantasy."
"Tell it to me anyway?" she begged.
"Well, this was back when people still lived on the surface," I started. "The woman, let's call her Meri, like you? She walked into a place called a coffee shop. Behind the counter, waiting to make her a drink, was a man so beautiful it made her heart speed up."
"What's coffee?" Callah asked.
"A drink," I said, leaning to the side and stretching for the switch to control our room's light. When it was off, I said, "Now hush and listen. See, the man - Gideon - was trying to work hard so he could earn more privileges. Meri smiled at him, and he knew she was perfect for him. Her pale blonde hair and dark blue eyes were more than he could take. Immediately, he fell in love and swore to himself that he would talk to her again."
In the darkness, I could hear the soft, rhythmical breathing of my friends. All they'd needed was a little distraction from the excitement of the night and they'd passed out quickly. Smiling at that, I snuggled back into my bed and curled on my side. In the complete darkness of life underground, I couldn't see anything, but it didn't matter. I could hear them, my only two friends in the world.
"And Meri didn't have to marry him," I whispered. "Instead, she and her two friends ran away to a farm and raised plants to eat. With no men around, they could grow old together, laughing in the sunshine until the day they died."
"Yeah," Callah whispered, proving she wasn't quite asleep. "I like that story best."
"Me too," I agreed, "but Meri has to get married."
"So do we," Callah pointed out. "Sadly, so do we, Ayla."
ThreeAyla
The next morning started too early. Worse, the ancient bulb in our classroom was flickering, making my eyes hurt. I tried to ignore the thing to focus on Mr. Cassidy's sermon, but it was nearly impossible. By the time he was done, I would have a headache. Not that it mattered. Vapors were common in women - and expected. My kind were the weaker sex, after all.
At least he wasn't going on about virtue again - or marriage. Those two topics had recently become favorites for the elders, since many of the girls were nearing their twentieth birthday, including me and my friends. Today, however, he was discussing the horrors up above. The same horrors we'd witnessed last night. This was the same sermon we got every time our hunters returned with wounded.
It was to remind us of our lot in life. Ever since the good Lord lost the battle against Hell, the world had become unsafe. Now we, the Righteous, were the only people left. The whole thing was confusing, really, because he also talked about heathens and demons living outside the compound doors, and they sounded a lot like people.
"… And the Dragons," Mr. Cassidy warned us, pitching his voice to sound as ominous as possible. "Hundreds of them roam above. Monsters with scaled skin and demon-colored eyes. They hiss like a snake - and strike like one! Their only goal is to keep us locked underground. There aren't enough resources left in the world for all of us, and they think they deserve it all - including our women. Mind your virtue, ladies, or the Council may give you to the Dragons to appease them."
He'd been repeating this story at least once a month for as long as I could remember. Personally, I preferred the version I'd read. It had been illustrated with brightly-colored images of monstrous beasts that breathed fire. The fire part, however, was a myth. Real Dragons didn't breathe fire. They stung with venom. I knew that much.
One of the young girls raised her hand proudly, thrusting it high into the air. "Are they big?"
"The size of a large man," he assured her, which was another break from the book I'd read. There, the dragons were massive. Easily twice as tall as this room! "And they feast on our flesh," he continued. "They have sharp barbs on their tails -"
The child groaned. "We've all seen the tail in the dining hall."
He nodded proudly even though she'd interrupted him. Evidently it was allowed at her age. Not that he'd let me get away with such things. Nor any of the older girls, if I was honest. Across from me, Callah sat with her hands folded in her lap and her head down. She made this look easy. To my right, Meri was struggling not to smirk at the girl's arrogance, mimicking my own feelings. But before I could get caught not paying attention, I dropped my eyes back to my skirt and tried to ignore the flickering from above.
Today, Meri became a woman. She'd never have to sit through another one of these classes. I had to wait almost seven more months before I could escape school - but turning twenty meant marriage. One week after our birthday, we would be wed. Often, it happened sooner, but never did it happen later. Seven days: that was the time allotted to choose a husband. Although, maybe if I claimed an interest in a younger boy, they'd let me wait? I sighed, knowing it would never be that easy.
The sound made Mr. Cassidy notice me. "Ayla, are we boring you?"
"No," I said softly, sitting up a little straighter to keep from getting in trouble. "I was just thinking of the brave hunters who were lost when that Dragon attacked them. The funerals were too many."
I hadn't been, but he didn't need to know that. Beside me, Meri tensed, nearly giving me away. Callah just glanced up, moving only her eyes. I could see the pale green color of them against her rose-gold lashes but I didn't dare look for too long. It would only drag her into my trouble.
The whole time, Mr. Cassidy stared at me, trying to determine if I was being sarcastic. I did my best to keep my face smooth and serene. Once again, I forced my eyes to the flickering shadows shivering across the ground. Proper but meek, that was what I wanted him to see. Gentle, kind-hearted, and almost timid. Not too much, though. I didn't want the single men to think I'd be an easy wife. If they thought I was shrewish, then fewer would ask for my hand in marriage.
It seemed my demure manner finally convinced him. "I forgot you're old enough to remember that fateful day," Mr. Cassidy said, looking around the room. "It was tragic, children. The Wyvern, the worst of the Dragons, killed many of our hunters. That fiend is black with thin white stripes, his tail more blue than even the Earth's sky. He's the right hand of the Devil, so never underestimate him. On that day, he dropped among us, lashing out with his tail, claws, and teeth."
Mr. Cassidy hooked his fingers and clawed at the air as a demonstration. The younger children gasped, enthralled with the storytelling. The boys even giggled, trying to prove they were ready to become men. I simply wanted to close my eyes, because the flickering light had to be getting worse.
Mr. Cassidy was really getting into it now. "We lost nearly the whole group of hunters when the beast tried to keep us from getting food for our people. When Robey hacked the tail from another Dragon, the Wyvern fled, rushing to feast on the fallen beast."
"I woulda blown him apart with a gun!" one of the boys declared, jumping to his feet to mime shooting at the enemy.
"Then you may yet grow up and become a hunter," Mr. Cassidy told him. "But our brave providers were out of bullets, and guns do not work without them. The Wyvern's insatiable hunger gave our men enough time to break free, and the barb in that tail was the only weapon they had left. Let us give thanks to the Good Lord for their quick thinking."
He bowed his head and began to pray, the other children doing the same. I noticed it from the edge of my vision, trying to join them, but I simply couldn't think of a suitable prayer. Callah could. She always could. Meri at least knew how to fake it. Me? I could only try to keep from drawing more attention to myself. Meek and submissive. Quiet. I merely wanted to make it through today's lesson without getting noticed again.
