EMARA
I look out the window, and my breath stalls for an entirely different reason than before. It comes out in a whoosh, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
The person in front of the door slicks his salt and pepper hair back and knocks on the door again. "Emara? Are you home?" His voice is rough and nasally while holding an air of arrogant power to it.
I feel shivers run down my spine at the sight of the man. It isn't fear that makes my heart pick up its pace, not enough to make me board up my doors anyhow. It is revulsion and discomfort. He may be a creep, but I was in no danger of him. My hand still shakes as I move to open the door. I take a deep breath as Bear continues to growl, then turn the knob and prop my hip on the door frame. "Hello, Mr. Morrigan. What can I do to help you?" I respond curtly, keeping my voice smooth. This man is the makeshift mayor of our practically empty town. I could feel his stare whenever I came into the town center to trade recently.
"Please, call me Ried. How many times must I tell you?" His lips twist into a sickly smile.
I hide my shiver at his strange advances. He is old enough to be my father, I inwardly gaged. I feel a small hand rub my own, and I look down, shocked.
Jace looks up at me with wide, curious eyes. He holds out his arms, asking me to pick him up. I willingly oblige, my confidence coming back as his little fingers wrap around my shoulders.
"Of course, Ried." I comply. Better not to anger him. "Now, what can I do to help?" I ask, not genuinely wanting to help him with anything.
He raises his eyebrow at the small child now in my arms and waves his hand toward him. "Who is this?" he questions incredulously, not responding to my earlier question. "I thought you only took in those two girls about a year ago."
"I found him in the woods yesterday," I reply dryly. My tone turns a bit more polite with my next question. "Have you not seen him around? I was going to find his parents, and if not, keep him myself." Jace grips my neck tighter.
Mr. Morrigan clears his throat, "No, I haven't seen this child, and no one has come looking for one either." He smooths his hair again and adjusts his jacket before changing the subject. "I came to make you an offer." His mood changes as he grins like the Cheshire cat.
My insides drop, and I stand as straight as a board.
"I want you to be my wife."
The overpowering smell of his cologne makes me feel dizzy. It's an overwhelming charcoal and minty smell that was trying to mask with something smokey and peppery. Cigarettes. His smile makes me sick. It is the kind of smile of someone who thinks they have a person with no other choices. I wonder if he got his other two wives this way.
It isn't uncommon for men to have more than one wife. They assume it is the best way to repopulate the earth... but it is still awful. Women are treated like commodities. Like objects. My stomach twists at the thought of living like that.
"I can give you a nice house, and you won't have to live...here." He gestures to my childhood home as if I should be ashamed. "I can give you plenty of food, too." He says as if I was a child. I shiver again, thinking of how much older he is compared to me. "I could even give those children to someone else, so you wouldn't have to waste your time taking care of them."
My temper flares, but I hold it down, knowing it will just inflame the situation. "No. I am pleased with how things are now." I nod sharply, letting him know I am done talking. My hand wraps around the door's handle, and I start to pull it closed. I want to be loved, not treated as an object just to satisfy someone.
He reaches out and grabs the door, stopping me from shutting it. "You should really reconsider. You will regret not saying yes." His breath hits my face as his features form a harsh, strained smile.
Bear growls as he snaps his jaws at the man. Morrigan draws back, putting his hands up in surrender. Bear continues to bare his teeth, pushing the man further down the porch.
"I already told you no." His eyes widen at my tone. I back my way into the house, grabbing the door and shutting it quickly, locking it for good measure.
After I hear the creak of him walking off my porch, I slide down the door and sit on the back of my heels, supporting Jace on my thighs. I shiver, taking a deep breath to calm myself.
I think of the strange encounter I just had and feel my temper flare again. Disgusting. What a creep! How could he think I would consider that? And giving these kids to someone else? The only people I would let take these kids away from me are their parents themselves.
I take a deep breath, thinking of all the words I held back. Thank goodness I didn't say anything. It could have gotten me into trouble, trouble I did not need. "Sick, twisted man..." I grumble.
He is still the "power" of our makeshift community and acts as the judge and jury. I didn't want to test his temper and get myself locked up just because I couldn't control my Irish temper. Based on past encounters, I wouldn't put it past him. I can't imagine someone that became a town leader while the world was in chaos is the most loving husband or leader.
Bear lets out a little bark and licks my face. I sigh as I rub his fur, my temper cooling. Jace crawls off my lap to pet Bear too. I chuckle, feeling calmer as I watch Jace cuddle up to the big dog.
I hear little feet walking down the stairs and then the thunk of the basket being set on the hardwood floor.
"Who was it?" Evey asks.
"Hmmm?" I raise my eyebrows, feigning ignorance.
Lilly cuts in, "Who came? We heard him calling your name, we heard Bear barking too, and we didn't come down till we knew it was ok." She looks at me impatiently, expecting an answer.
"Oh, don't worry, it was just Mr. Morrigan." I sound as unenthusiastic as I feel.
Lilly hums with attention. She looks like she wants to say something to me, but turns her eyes away, apparently dropping it. "Well, we got all the laundry together."
"Perfect. I am going to go check the traps that I missed yesterday after finding Jace." I rub his soft golden hair. "Can you girls go get the bucket for washing? It shouldn't take too long. There are just the traps over by the lake and should be back in 30 minutes or so."
The girls nod and move to drag the big bucket. I bend down and look at Jace. "Hey-" I smile, "-can you stay with Evey and Lilly while I go get some more food for today?"
He looks at me blankly, not knowing what I mean.
"I am going to go, okay? You are going to stay here, and I will be back soon."
Understanding dawns on his face. He is panicked as he grabs my hand.
My heart aches a bit, and I pry his fingers away from mine. "It's not safe... You will stay here with the girls! And Bear too!" I say, petting Bears back and pointing to the girls. They smile, and Lilly walks over to Jace, picking him up.
"You're gonna play with us!" Evey picks up her stuffed elephant and hands it to Jace with a big grin on her face.
Jace eyes the stuffed animal skeptically but seems a bit more relaxed. The girls enthusiastically pull him over to play some games with the few toys they have. I look at Lilly and nod my head towards the stairs.
"Alright! Time to go play upstairs!" She says with a smile and a cheerful voice. "We can pretend to be the pirates from the story we read last week!"
"The one with the Neverland boys? And Wendy?" Evey scoops up her dolls eagerly.
Lilly nods and grabs Jace's hand, leading the way. Evey hurries to follow behind her, with Bear taking up the back. I wait for the sound of their room door locking before I walk to the back of the house, sliding out the back door. As a last-minute thought, I grab the old hunter's gun and load it. The door creaks a bit as it closes, and I turn the lock with an old key. I hear the click and test the door to make sure it won't open before turning and going on my way.
━━━━━━━━━✯☾✯━━━━━━━━━
My feet crunch along the path as I walk towards the traps that I had not gotten to yesterday. I crouch in front of the first trap and grab a small squirrel, preparing it quickly and attaching it to my belt.
Something flashes above me, and I look up, covering my eyes from the sun. I watch as something streaks across the sky, leaving gray ash and dark clouds in its wake. The ship grows larger and larger, falling in my direction. I freeze in fear, but it doesn't crash on me. Instead, it disappears over the tree line.
I hear a loud crash- was that a splash? It is so close; it looks like it landed by the lake. My throat tightens, and I feel a chill up my back- but there is also a burning curiosity deep in the pit of my stomach.
My curiosity overcomes my fear, and my feet take tentative steps in the lake's direction. I shift the gun in my hand, getting a better grip on it. I have no idea what this is, and I am going in blind. Better to be safe than sorry.
Well, it looks like the traps can wait till later... again.