Waking up was hard. "Oh..." I groaned while stretching my sore body after this hellish, short night.
Just like with any other muscle ache, the discomfort was a lot worse the day after, and the place where the woman had punched me hurt more today.
It was no wonder I was in a worse state because if I said I'd slept for more than three hours, I'd be exaggerating. All night long, my thoughts and fears had kept me awake as my mind replayed everything that had happened yesterday, full of concerns for the future.
And then there was the strange symbol etched into the lady's ring that was haunting my mind. A human skull and three letters. I knew I'd seen it before, but I couldn't remember where, and it was driving me crazy. On the other hand, this tip-of-the-tongue thinking was a positive distraction from the worries and fears.
Last night, I'd been so afraid of blood loss... I think I went out of bed four times to check if I wasn't bleeding. To my relief, I wasn't, but I was so scared the entire night. I still felt terrified. The thought of losing this child was probably the biggest fear I had right now, especially since I came so close yesterday.
My family didn't seem to notice something was up with me after I returned home yesterday. At least, nobody had said anything. Except for Cici. Well, she didn't exactly say anything, but the one-year-old came for a cuddle and then refused to leave my side for the entire evening. She even fell asleep on my lap. It was as if she knew something was worrying me and wanted to comfort me. And it helped, even though she was just a toddler with a vocabulary of five words. She made me feel less lonely. Until night, that is. I don't think I'd ever felt so alone before.
As I sat up straight and I whimpered in pain, I wondered how Beatrice and Amira were doing. Beatrice had been beaten up pretty badly, and I could only imagine her body was in worse condition than mine.
I'd also thought about our conversation last night.
"I just don't want the orcs to stop coming here... It's nobody's business if I trade with them and they shouldn't interfere. I'm not bothering anybody by talking to the orcs. Honestly, I'm just so damn tired of following all these rules. And I don't want anybody else to decide things for me."
The biggest part of me agreed with everything she said, but there was still a little part that felt Orvar deserved to hear that the women in town disapproved of their trading. That they disapproved of it so greatly that they felt killing Beatrice was the solution. The thought alone was scary. I'd already known some of them were crazy, but this was something else.
It really bothered me and made me wonder what they would do if they found out I was seeing an orc. Actually being with him, romantically, not because we traded goods.
I sighed and whimpered in pain right after. "Fuck, I shouldn't take large breaths," I told myself right before a knock on the door had me startled.
"Gyda?" came Fiona's voice.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright? Can I come in?"
"Yeah, you can."
"Oh, heavens," Fiona said as she stepped inside. She closed the door behind her. "You're still in bed. Is something wrong?"
"I... think I have a bit of a stomach ache," I answered, which technically wasn't a lie.
"Just that? No blood loss, I hope?" I shook my head. "Hm... Well, stomach aches often appear during pregnancy. Usually, in the last few months, though. But maybe you are responding to something you ate? Did mom give you eggs again?"
"Yeah... You think that could be it?" I asked. I mean, Mom did feed me three eggs a day...
"I'll tell her that she should stop with that egg nonsense of hers." Fiona shook her head and sat beside me. "Stomach aches are mostly innocent, so don't worry. Okay?"
I nodded. "I... I won't."
"It can also be because your belly is making room for your womb to grow. Either way, you should crawl back under the sheets. I will tell mother that you're staying in bed today. Iris can take over your chores."
"But—"
"No buts. You are with child, so you should listen to your body. And to your big sister." Fiona winked.
"Is it really okay?" I asked, feeling a bit guilty towards my oldest niece.
"Yes, yes! It's no problem at all. Iris is free from school early today, anyway. So just relax for a day or three. You're never sick, so if I were you, I'd profit now! Let us take care of you, hm?"
It was true that I was never sick and never stayed in bed. In all my twenty-six years, I think I missed doing my chores three times. Once when I had a high fever, once when I had the stomach flu, and once when I had been bitten by some kind of animal—possibly a snake—that had left me sick as a dog.
"Okay then... you win." I rubbed over my stomach and lay down again. I suppose I was tired. "Why is Iris home early?"
Iris was Fiona's firstborn. Or actually, that was not true. Before Iris, Fiona had given birth to an orc son. I remembered there was real drama in the family back then. After that first grandchild, three more orc sons were born in my family—one borne by each sister—but there was never so much drama as there was that first time. I remember Fiona was crying all day long and looked absolutely miserable. I was only about eight or nine years old, but I felt her pain.
"Oh, the students are home early this week to help with the decorations," Fiona replied.
Wait, huh? Decorations? It's not someone's birthday, is it?
"Decorations—"
"But Iris has everything done already. She got her own mother to help!" Fiona patted her own shoulder while grinning at me.
"Wait? Decorations for what?" I asked.
"Huh? Don't tell me you have forgotten about Harmony Day?" Fiona asked with wide eyes. "It's next Tuesday."
"Oh! I- I haven't thought about it at all!" I sat up straight and winced at my sudden movement.
Harmony Day was our most important holiday, celebrating the day the orcs and humans had signed the peace contract. It was all about eating good food, the love we had together, and sharing our passion for the council.
And every year, a play was performed to show how the council had 'saved us all'.
"Take it easy, sister," Fiona said, smiling but shaking her head. "I cannot believe you forgot about it! I know you think Zachary Whitehair is the most beautiful man alive, and he will announce the play this year, so he will visit our town! Don't tell me you've forgotten about that too? It's been the talk of the day for weeks!"
"Oh...Uh..."
I suppose I've not been paying much attention to what people were talking about. I'd mostly been living in my own bubble lately. And I certainly wasn't going to let my day with Orvar be taken away from me for a glimpse of Zachary Whitehair. I might have fancied that man before, but right now, there was a whole different man taking hold of my mind... I couldn't care less about Zackary and his golden locks and sea-colored eyes.
*** *** *** *** ***
The pain had ebbed away during the following days and there was no sign of blood loss, fever, cramps, or any other alarming sign Beatrice had warned me about.
Today was the day I had been looking forward to.
Tuesday.
My family had also been looking forward to this day, and they had been driving me nuts about it. Their reason, however, was very different from my own.
Anandi slammed open the door and strode inside. "Have you heard?!" she called out. "He's already in town! I just saw him when I was at Ms. Highland, and, oh Gods, he looked so handsome!"
My nieces giggled.
"Of course, he is handsome," Mother replied, her voice a little too loud. "He's Johan's son! How could he not be handsome?" I felt it didn't suit my mother to lose her calm and be this enthusiastic about something. Or better said, someone. Johan was head of the council, so of course, he was amazing in her eyes. And his offspring was, too.
While my mother, sisters, and oldest nieces were talking and squealing about both men, and my youngest nieces were making a mess of the kitchen, I was praying they would let me 'stay in the house'.
Obviously, I would not stay here. I was planning on sneaking out while they were too busy with all the festivities. I knew they wouldn't return home until the evening.
I cleared my throat, then gathered the courage to say, "I think I will stay at home. I'm not well..."
A silence fell.
"But it's Harmony Day," Emmy said.
"But... I'm really not feeling good, and I would hate to bother you during this wonderful day. I would only spoil everything."
"What is wrong with you?" Fiona asked. "I thought you felt better these last few days?"
"I'm j-just exhausted and I'm afraid I will be sick if I go partying..." I looked at Mother. I only needed her approval and the others wouldn't ask another thing. Mom looked a little concerned, which made me feel bad, but what else could I do? I wanted to see Orvar. I needed to see him. It was the only thing I wanted. "Is that okay, Mom? I truly don't want to bother you all. I'll just go to sleep, because I didn't sleep all night and it wrecked me. I mean... you are the ones that keep reminding me I should listen to my body... Right?"
"That's true." Mother nodded. "Very well, then. Shall I stay with you? Just in case?"
"Oh, no! No, you should have fun! I know how much this day means to you," I said, brushing aside a pang of guilt. I knew that despite her huge expectations and judgments, she did care for me a lot. "But... thank you for asking."
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