The Six Maidens

Chapter 4: Splitting Up

"I'll kill her!" Brigit screamed.

But Missy put a hand on her shoulder. "Nay," she said, "We can't do anything about it, except try to rebuild our gear from scratch. Use stone and sticks to make arrows and spears. Then we hunt. Then, hopefully, we succeed. We can use the animal skins to make tents, and for food."

Missy and Brigit separated themselves. They were taller, and walked faster than Della and Jane. Missy and Brigit talked survival and hunting. Della, Emma, and Jane talked about books. Jane was a fan of old legends from pagan times, and she enjoyed recounting the tales. Della enjoyed hearing them. Walking was boring. Her legs ached. Her limbs were cold. The stories kept her going. She could imagine herself like an ancient forgotten hero, on her way to fight a monster and win fame and gold. But the reality was she was shivering, frightened, and glad to have even two good friends.

The road joined with a thicker and more traveled-on one. Loose patches of cobblestone became solid, well-maintained, brick rows. They got to the fork the old woman had told them of. She hadn't lied about that. For the glory of slaying a dragon, Missy and Brigit took the muddy path to the right, leading into the woods. Past them, presumably, would be the cave where the dragon rested. Jane, Emma, and Della continued towards the capital. For a while they walked in silence. Della could see Jane was sad, but she didn't know what to say. Emma was trying her best to look indifferent. But Della knew even Emma would miss them.

At sunset, they weren't sure what to do without any gear, money, or food. They settled down to rest by the side of the road. It worried Della that they were without supplies, but she could do nothing about their situation. I can't hunt like Missy. And she couldn't see herself stealing from a traveler, either. It wasn't her morality that stopped her, it was the hard facts. She had only passed by three travelers this day. In wagons, loaded with goods. They were probably merchants. Merchants were usually hard, good at guarding their possessions. Attempting to rob one unless you were just as hard as them was a good way to get killed. Besides, she didn't want to run afoul of the law, either.

They slept beside each other, holding each other for warmth. Della fell asleep gradually and begrudgingly, but it was good to go to sleep. It meant that for a while, she would be able to forget the coldness, the hardness, the dirt, and the pain.

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"We're lost!" Brigit said.

"Are not. I know what we're doing. North is that way." Missy pointed.

"How can you tell? It's almost dark." Brigit said.

"The stars." Missy said.

"What?" Brigit was puzzled.

Missy explained how navigating by the stars worked, pointing out the constellations that let her easily find direction.

"Oh." Brigit said. She was mad, to have learned something that reminded her again that names she had been called before, insulting her intelligence, or at least her education, were sometimes merited. It was difficult to accept.

"It's all right. I bet that soft-hands Emma doesn't know that, either."

"Shouldn't we stop soon?"

"Nah." Missy said.

"Why not? We stopped to rest at sunset every night, before." Brigit said.

"That was with them. They were too weak to push on at night. But I want to, and I know you can."

So they did press on. Eventually, they settled and made a fire. They set snares, made of grass and twigs. Missy found some wild roots that were edible too, and Brigit helped her gather them.

They didn't see a soul around. The stones of this path had an ancient look. It looked rarely used.

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Della woke up.  There was a man standing over her, pointing a sword at her throat, preventing her from getting up. Another man behind her had tied her wrists together behind her waist. To her surprise, she didn't scream, but she froze. Wide-eyed, she glanced around for the others. Emma was on her right, sitting up, also tied up, and gagged. Jane was tied up, not gagged, but being held down, on her back, by a man who sat astride her on her belly.

The men were talking to them, possibly ordering them to do something, but Della didn't understand them. Their language was possibly of the same country, she recognized certain words, but their dialect was strange. Noting this, Della wondered if she even would understand people speaking in the capital, and if they could understand her. Her da had said they were the same language, but how it was spoken might be very different.

There were four men. Bandits or robbers or something, she wasn't sure. They had rough tunics, helmets, swords, and shields. Perhaps they were renegade soldiers. The girls were dragged away from the road. Emma screamed through her gag and fought her binding. She was hit over the head with the hilt of a sword, and told to stop. Which she did. Jane simply cried as they made her move with them on her feet. Della didn't cry. She tried not to look bothered at all. They took them to a wooded area over a hill, so that from the road, they would not be seen.

Maybe they'll let us go when they realize we don't have any money or anything of value. Della hoped.

But it turned out to be a foolish hope. Because, they were women. Better yet, young virgins. They did have something those men wanted. And they took it. They all had their way with each girl in turn, multiple times over. Then they left them, and cut them loose. But they were left lying on the ground, dirty and naked. They had bled from between their legs, and were covered in semen. They didn't know which way the road was at first. And before they could find it, they had to find a way to cover up and clean up.

Della found her dress, tossed aside, and put it on. Jane found hers in a bushed, and also dressed in a hurry. But Emma would not stand up. She could not stop crying. Jane tried to help her, but Emma smacked her hand away.

"I want to die!" she screamed.

"No... No Emma, we can clean ourselves up and get to a village, and..." Jane said.

"And what? No man will want us now!" Emma screamed. Tears continued to stream down her face.

Della got Emma's dress. Though all their dresses were torn and dirty, they could still be worn. But in a rage, Emma took hers and threw it in a nearby creek. She screamed and thrashed around, kicking a tree. She pulled at her now loose, messy hair.

"Emma, please-" Jane pleaded.

"Hemlock!" Emma suddenly smiled and rushed over to a plant with white flowers. She dug up a root. Frenzied digging.

"NO!" Jane and Della yelled, and both girls ran to stop her. Tried to drag her back. But she held the root firmly. Trembling, she took a bite of it, fighting off Jane, who was trying to take it. Della backed off when she heard Emma bite it. Her eyes went wide. She knew that once one ate of what they called the devil's carrot, there was no saving her.

Jane and Della soon found themselves unable to bury their friend. They simply wrapped her in her muddy dress to cover her nakedness. They crossed themselves and prayed many times, saying the Lord's Prayer and the rosary. They cried. They hugged each other. But after a while, they knew what was best. They had to leave, and walk on, and try to forget.