People piss me the fuck off. It’s one thing to accuse me of witchcraft for using my powers (happens more often than you think), but it’s a whole bigger thing when you come for someone I love. Especially if it’s Makkari and you’re being ableist.
We had moved out of Ireland into medieval England less than a decade ago and it was lovely. The accents were just as sexy and the scenery was breathtaking, but the people were pretentious. Even the peasants turned their noses up at anything they dubbed abnormal. Their freaky religious agendas allowed them to cast blame on others by accusing them of devil’s work.
Anyway, back to my story. I wanted to spend some one on one time with my favorite person, so I invited Makkari to attend the market with me.
“But I thought we were gonna go together?” Druig whined as I started to get dressed.
“I spend all my time with you, love. I miss her. I’ll bring you back some sweets, okay?” I said, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Have fun!” he called after me.
To alert Makkari that I was ready, I pulled on a rope outside her door. Phastos had constructed a pulley system that, when triggered by someone outside her room, If she was sleeping, feathers would brush over her face to gently wake her up. If she was awake and in her room, a system of gears would turn; a similar set up existed in her bathroom. It wasn’t anything crazy or sophisticated, but it worked and made it so no one barged in on her.
Let me tell you something about Makkari: she is absolutely stunning, but in the morning…she practically glows. Her caramel skin is peppered with freckles, her hazel eyes alight, shining like the morning sun under the warm brunette of her lashes. For once, her hair wasn’t pulled back in her signature braided ponytail, but hung around her face, kinky curls smooth and wet as if it had just been washed. Her smile was like a breath of fresh air and the perfect greeting.
Maybe I had a small crush on her.
“I think I picked the wrong Eternal to wake up next to,” I signed, matching her smile, but not being nearly as dazzling,
“My door is always open, beautiful,” she replied with a wink.
“Don’t tempt me. Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
The air was thick with mist after a long night of rainfall, the sun just peeking out over the clouds. The grass was cool and dewey beneath my sandalled feet. Makkari and I walked arm in arm, choosing to remain quiet as we enjoyed the morning together. The sweet perfumed air reminded me of Druig: a forest after a rainstorm. This time in the literal sense, because it was indeed nature after rain.
The peace of the morning did not last very long.
Towns in medieval Europe were very crowded, dirty, smelly, and loud. The anxiety in me disliked it strongly and I wanted to run back into the woods as soon as we arrived, but I promised Makkari a fun day and I intended to follow through.
“Are you okay, Eri? I know you don’t like crowds of strangers. We can go back, spend a chill day together,” Makkari signed.
“No. I said I’d take you to the market and buy you something pretty, and my girl gets what she wants,” I responded. “Now, come on, I see a candy booth. Mama needs some sugar.”
After several bags of candy, we maneuvered our ways through the crowds to find the apothecary; Phastos needed some things to restock the infirmary. We also needed spices for the kitchen and some new clothes. Who says you can’t run errands and have fun at the same time?
I wandered away from Makkari to negotiate some salt prices, leaving her to search through a pile of linen shirts. I didn’t think much of it.
“How much for a half kilo?” I asked the seller.
“Two shillings.”
“Would you take twenty pence?” I batted my eyelashes and pushed my arms into my chest. Flaunt what you got, baby.
“Anything for you, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll get that wrapped up for you.”
I handed over the money with a flirtatious smile and waited patiently for my salt bricks.
“What have we here?” a snarky male voice floated through the crowd. “Is she mute or just dense?”
My ears pricked up. A crowd was forming around the cloth vendor’s cart.
“Are you mute or stupid? Huh?” another male voice mocked. “Fucking moronic she is.”
“Why is she waving her hands around like that? Trying to fend us off with some sick satanic witchcraft?”
Makkari.
I hurried off towards the crowd, forgetting my salt. I pushed myself through the flood of people, throwing elbows and shoving them out of the way. A pair of men had backed Makkari up against the cart, essentially cornering her. There were too many people around for her to run away.
“Get the Constable, tell him we’ve got a witch to hang,” one ordered, waving dismissively at a younger boy. The boy nodded and ran off.
I took a shaky breath, not ready for confrontation, but the rage was overwhelming. Nobody attacked my family and got away with it. “Hey, slush for brains! Step away from her,” I growled.
“Stand aside, good woman, we’re handling this.”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t asking. Stand aside.”
“What do you care about this simpleton? She can’t seem to speak or listen, it’s unnatural.” He lunged towards Makkari and shoved her sideways, right into a mud puddle.
She landed with a splash, her hair, face, and clothes drenched. But what really hurt was the look of shock on her face.
“You just made the biggest mistake of your fucking lives, you motherfucking idiots!” I roared, grabbing the closest one by the arm and kneeing him right in the dick. As he bent over in pain, I brought my knee up again and smashed it into his nose. “She is not fucking moronic or mute, she is a goddamn angel!” I threw a jab at the other guy, catching his jaw. “She’s deaf, you idiots. She communicates in sign language and is about ten thousand times more intelligent than either of you peabrains.” They both tried to climb to their feet. “Stay down or I will shatter every single bone in your body!” I seethed, red hot fury burning under my skin. “Run away, bitch boys.” And so they did. The crowd began to disperse, the spectacle no longer interesting to them.
I ran to Makkari, sinking into the puddle beside her and pulling her into my arms. She was shaking. I ran a hand through her hair and rubbed her back until she was calm again. When she pulled away, I wiped the mud from her face and helped her stand.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I shouldn’t have left you alone. Those ableist assholes won’t get away with this. I will hunt them down and rip them apart.”
“No, I’m fine, I promise.”
“You are so very incredible, Makkari. I don’t know how you manage to stay so positive despite the absolute shit show that is our lives.”
“Because I have you.”
I blushed. “That is so sappy. Let’s get you home.”
I shadow jumped us to the Domo, meaning to emerge in her room, but, being slightly distracted, accidentally landed us in Druig’s.
“Welcome back…” Druig trailed off upon taking in our muddied state. “What the hell happened? Are you two okay?”
“Not now, sweetheart. I’ll tell you later, promise, but right now I have to get her cleaned up,” I said, escorting Makkari from the room. “We’re fine.”
We made it to her bathroom without encountering anyone else and I ran her a bath, adding a few drops of lavender oil to the water.
“I’ll go wash these and get you a towel. Take your time and enjoy your bath, you deserve it,” I signed, slipping out of the room with her muddy clothes.
The Domo had a washroom (a room for washing clothes) right next to the infirmary. There was a big basin filled with hot water and drying racks. I was usually in charge of washing clothes because I could dry things quickly with my powers. I dropped the clothes into the scalding water and swirled them around, dumping in a bit of lye to wash out the stains, and swirled them around with a big wooden stick. Once I was happy with their cleanliness, I draped them over the rack and summoned UV, heating the cloth until all the water evaporated. I folded them neatly and grabbed a fluffy towel from the cupboard.
I carried the pile of clean linen back to Makkari’s and pulled on the rope beside the bathroom door. I heard a rhythmic clap pattern from inside, signaling I had permission to enter. I set the towel and clothes on the little table beside the tub.
“Feeling better?” I asked.
“A little. Will you sing to me?”
Now you might be wondering why a lovely deaf woman would ask me to sing, but Makkari liked to feel the different vibrations songs had. I had tried to feel them out for myself but I couldn’t do it. “I guess I’m not as attuned as you are,” I had said.
“Of course. Any requests?”
“Greensleeves.”
“Whatever you desire, sweetheart.” I cleared my throat and recalled the melody as she closed her eyes, sinking deeper into the tub. “Alas my love you do me wrong, To cast me off discourteously; And I have loved you oh so long, Delighting in your company. Greensleeves was my delight, Greensleeves my heart of gold, Greensleeves was my heart of joy, And who but my lady Greensleeves. I have been ready at your hand, To grant whatever thou would'st crave; I have waged both life and land, Your love and goodwill for to have.”
She started to cry again and I paused my singing to wipe away her tears. “I am not ashamed of myself, but when people freak out and assume the worst of me because I am slightly different from them, it’s frustrating,” she explained.
“You are absolutely perfect. Those people are jackasses. I love you just the way you are, Makkari. You’re my best friend and I will always beat the shit out of anyone who dares to hurt you.”
“And I feel the exact same way.”
“Do you wanna have dinner here tonight? I can whip something up for the two of us if you don’t wanna eat with everyone.”
“No, it’s okay. I could use pointless bickering tonight,” she giggled.
“Cool. Well, I’ll leave you to your bath. See you at dinner.”
It wasn’t until I got back to my room and looked in the mirror, noticing I was still in fact covered in mud, that I really let my emotions out. There was a ceramic vase sitting atop my chest of drawers, so I picked it up and threw it at the wall, letting out a scream of anger as it shattered, its pieces scattering across the floor. And then I punched the wall, leaving a fist sized hole in it just beside my mirror.
“Eri? What’s happening, darling?” Druig’s voice called softly from outside the door.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I grimaced, holding my bruised knuckles in my other hand.
“I’m coming in.”
“Dru, I said I’m fine!”
The door opened anyway. “You’re not fine. You’re covered in mud, you’re throwing things, and you’re clearly in pain. What happened today?”
“I hate bullies! Why the fuck are these people so okay with picking on others?”
“Who was bullying you?”
“Not me, Makkari. They called her moronic and stupid, they said she was a mute and a witch. And I wasn’t there to prevent it from happening! I know she doesn’t need my help, but they were going to lock her up!”
“You can’t blame yourself for other people’s behavior. You’re both fine, right? Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“I’m not fine! I am sick and tired of Earth! These people are monstrous and yet we just go on protecting them. They don’t deserve our help,” I spat. “Makkari’s too good for them and look how she gets treated.”
“Eri…”
“No, I don’t want any comforting words or big speeches. I wanna be miserable and have really angry sex!”
“Okay, but then we talk.”
We didn’t end up talking. After several rounds, he fell asleep and I snuck out, wanting to blow off some more steam. Honestly, I wanted a bar brawl. But we don’t always get what we want. Just my luck, I ran into the two gentlemen I had pummeled earlier. And even more my luck, they were with the constable.
“That’s her, your honor, the woman who assaulted us and defended the witch!” they crowed.
I could’ve used my powers, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea. They arrested me and threw me in the gallows. It was kinda great. I stood in the town square and yelled at everyone who walked by; it was a great frustration reliever.
“Hey, it’s my friends. Hi guys!” I greeted boisterously, waving my shackled hand at Thena and Gilgamesh.
“Ereida, what did you do?” Gil asked.
“I assaulted two guys, no biggie.”
“Well I’m sure you had a good reason,” Thena said.
“Thank you, Thena, there was. They were picking on Makkari, I was defending my friend.”
“And so they locked you away like a criminal?”
“Yeah, because, according to them, ‘I’m guilty of witchcraft by association.’ They want to behead me.”
“You seem awfully cheerful for someone about to get chopped,” Gil chuckled.
“It’ll never actually happen, I’m just enjoying yelling crap at the passersby. Hey, Madam Bridgerton, did you take my advice?”
“Yes, dear. It worked marvelously, thank you!”
“See? I’m making friends.”
“Does anyone know you’re here?” Thena asked.
“No. I ran out last night after fucking my boyfriend to sleep. You should have everyone come visit, I’m sure Sprite’ll get a laugh out of it.”
“Why don’t you just let me break you out now? It’d be super easy,” Gil suggested.
“Nah, I’ll go to my trial and let the courts decide my fate. It’ll be fun!”
They exchanged a look of concern. Thena pressed a hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”
“No, I think I’m having a psychotic break.”
“We’ll go get everyone else and make a plan. Don’t go anywhere,” Gil said.
“Not like I have a choice.”
And so they did just that. Ten minutes later, everyone was at the gallows.
“I should commission an artist to capture this beautifully embarrassing moment,” Sprite chortled, leaning on Kingo to keep herself from falling over in a fit of laughter.
“Shut it, imp, I can still use my hands and blind your ass. Plus, I don’t find this embarrassing, I’m having the time of my life.”
“Why won’t you just let us free you?” Sersi asked.
“Because, I did the crime so I should do the time.”
“You’re being irrational, milady. They could execute you,” Druig whispered, tucking some hair behind my ear.
“Then I guess Ajak will just have to reattach my head to my neck.”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Eri, there’s a bigger issue going on here.”
“Oh, definitely, but we can deal with that after I go through my trial.”