Emergency A/N -- READ THIS! So, not gonna lie... This site really screwed me and glitch-posted like half my chapter when I pressed the Save button. I had to quickly erase my work, showing a lot of you guys a "T" or, in @CalioEmber case, showed the first 700 words. THIS IS THE FULL CHAPTER AND I'M SO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR 17 BLIPPING UP. ANYONE WHO READ THE "T" OR ANY EVEN LUCKIER PERSON WHO READ THE START OF IT EARLY... Read it again! There is really important content that you will miss without rereading it. I DECIDED TO KILL MY SLEEP AND FINISH THIS FOKKIN' THING BECAUSE I LOVE YOU GUYS AND HATE THAT I GOT YOU ALL EXCITED FOR NOTHING. Man, I'm so closed to pulling my hair out right now.
Not so Emergency A/N -- Song fits the mood of the first half of the chapter! Give it a listen if you so desire.
----
The next night had all of the women, along with the family they had saved, safely stationed at the next village. It was fairly large for a village, a bit bigger than Eda actually. They'd gotten in a couple hours ago, just enough time to eat a decent dinner and purchase a couple of rooms at the inn.
The villagers had gone their own way upon arrival, saying that they had friends here they could stay with and also profusely thanking the group once more for their help.
Now, Iris got settled in with Sorella. They'd decided amongst themselves to put two to a room, and Iris had somehow ended up with Azabela's grandmother. It wasn't a problem to the rogue. Despite the initial scowl and hatred in her face towards Hench, Sorella had redeemed herself. Especially yesterday, when she had treated Arden's wounds without question. Seeing that act had promptly reminded Iris that not all heroes carried weapons.
The man would have died without the care Sorella had provided. Iris knew enough about infections that he would have probably lasted another three or four days before the festering became lethal. At the thought of his rescue and treatment, Iris smiled and finished unpacking her things for the night.
In the meantime, Hench sat on her small bed deep in thought. Even in the flickering candle-light, she saw each detail in the space. But then she didn't. She took then to staring at the other bed across the room, but was more looking through the thing rather than at it. Quietly, she fingered the cloth she still possessed. In her life, she thought she'd never see the sigil again. She knew where it had come from --knew it too well. She also knew it wasn't a symbol she ever wanted to see again. It was something she'd avoided for years.
But here it was. It made her want to shrink in her skin. Throwing it on the floor in disdain, she ducked her head in her hands and took in a deep draw of air, tousling the top of her hair with her fingers.
That's how Azabela found her. The huntress closed and locked the door behind her, finding Hench looking inherently stressed. The red, tarnished bit of linen laid idly by her feet.
"We'll get him, Rhalla." She knew exactly what the woman wanted to hear. "What happened to you won't ever happen again. To anyone. Even if I have to hunt the man down to the ends of the world. It's time to end this."
Now, Hench looked to find Azabela walking toward her.
The archer sat down beside the woman and kicked the sigil under the bed. "Forget about it for now. Okay? Think happy thoughts."
Hench offered a serene smile at the girl. "Tell me a happy thought, girl."
"Well, you got to meet Iris Gwenneth," Azabela offered up. "She's a sweet girl. She's rambunctious... feisty too. The stories truly don't do her justice. She must be brave too, to take you on as a mentor."
"She's something, that one is. I can tell it already," Hench said with two raised brows and an incredulous shake of her head. "I'm five years older already for knowing her --but I wouldn't trade her for any other recruit. She's an astounding combatant, for certain."
Azabela snorted. "You ever gonna tell her?"
"That she's a good rogue?" Hench asked.
"That you fancy women," Azabela corrected with wily grin, prodding the guardian's hard stomach with a finger. The next words were "Or more particularly, that you care for me."
Hench shook her head, more in disbelief than in a definitive answer. Her next words came out more as a deep sigh. "Azabela." The woman changed the subject. "Why don't you tell me another happy thought?"
"I'll tell you my happiest thought," Azabela offered, now giving a sincere smile. The archer ran a small hand over Hench's face, letting it fall down over her cheek and jaw until it trailed off her chin. Afterward, it just dropped onto the mighty woman's hand. "You." Despite the stress, Hench found herself giving a sheepish smile back and clutching Azabela's hand in return --like the huntress was the last thing she had in the world.
Indeed, the guardian loved Azabela. And my, she was loved deeply in return.
Wordlessly, Hench pulled the girl under her arm. Azabela laid her head on Rhalla's strong shoulder, her wrapped braid falling down the woman's torso. A moment of clarity passed between the both of them. Neither of them spoke --neither of them had to. It had been years and years since they'd first found home in each other's heart.
"Come see me more often," the huntress said into Hench's neck. "Sneaking away from that stupid sanctuary a week a month isn't enough. Not for me. I'm twenty-eight years old and tired. I need home. You are home. Don't you understand now, seeing what happened to everyone in that hamlet --life is too short to spend it away from the people you love."
Hench absentmindedly circled a finger on Azabela's arm, taking her words directly to heart. Then, the guardian whispered. "Okay. I will."
"Think about it," Azabela said, her eyes glazed as she watched the small ember flicker. "We could get a cabin close to wherever it is that you work. Somewhere where we could look at the night sky --somewhere we could hide away from everyone. You would come home four days a week. I'd hunt dinner and I'd even wear an apron while I cooked it."
Hench raised a brow at the archer's daydream. "An apron?"
"Someone has to, right? Be the housewife?" Azabela looked up to Rhalla's eyes. The huntress teased her beloved. "Unless you're wanting to wear the apron."
"I would if you wanted me to." The guardian's soulful, brown eyes were as earnest as her voice.
"You're precious, I swear it," Azabela said before tenderly kissing the woman on the mouth. She pulled away, a wild grin turning up the corner of her lips. "But I'll make sure your apron is pink."
"Don't forget the frills," Hench added, now beaming at Azabela. "If I'm doing this, I'm doing it right. Might could embroider some cute animals on there too, if you wanted."
"I never did learn how to embroider. My seamstress mother surely rolls in her grave every night for it too." Azabela admitted, and then promised, "But I surely won't forget the frills."
Hench pushed a strand away from Azabela's cheek. Another moment of peace encompassed the two. "Is this your dream?"
"It is," the archer answered. "You know it to be true. I dream of the day I can walk in my own front door and see you there, not doing anything special. You're just there doing whatever it is you do when you're at home. That's how I would know it was real. I dream of the day I get to know that my life is complete. Your son would have space too, there. He'd finally get to move out of my grandmother's house and into his mother's. Dane turns out more and more like you with every day that passes. You know he does. And he misses you when you're gone just as much as I do. Think about it. We'd be a family."
"We would be. Especially so if I married you," Hench added, looking away.
The room went silent for a moment. "Is that asking me?" Azabela couldn't help but feel surprise at the sudden turn of the conversation.
Hench cut her eyes at the archer. Almost shyly, she spoke. "If it was? What would you say if I told you that you were my dream too?"
"I'd say it's about damned time."
----
Cricket was eleven now. Yesterday had been her name-day. She felt good today as she sat by one of her dearest friends on the fence post. She was garbed in a silk dress of blue, matching the endless sky... and her streaming hair was fancifully braided back. She looked stunning, like royalty. It'd been that way ever since she'd been brought here to her new home.
Cricket looked around at the summer weather --the estate was indeed beautiful on sunny afternoons. Yellow flowers grew all about the place, shooting high and golden for the sun. Even still, a sort of sadness passed through the young girl on this day. Yesterday had been her third birthday away from her real home.
She couldn't shake the coldness that accompanied the thought.
That place seemed so distant now. Cricket wondered in the back of her mind if her real parents still thought of her. Sometimes, she wanted to run away and go back. But then... Baron Riasion had been so nice to her and her friends. He would surely miss her! No, she couldn't just run. The baron had personally taken her in... fed her, clothed her, bought her everything she wanted and then more! Just yesterday, he'd made her name-day a grand affair.
"What are you thinking about?" her friend asked her, breaking her silent train of thought.
"My family," Cricket answered honestly. "I still miss them sometimes."
"Maybe one day, the baron will let you go and visit them," the young girl answered with a smile. "You should ask. But don't leave forever if you get to go. I'd surely miss you. We're family too, right? Me, you, and Elizabeth. Might as well be sisters."
"I'm not going anywhere," Cricket answered with a shake of her head. "My family probably doesn't remember me anyway. You are right, you guys are my family now." Now, Cricket watched as the girl looked out over the sunflower field. A troubled look passed over her expression.
"Well what are you thinking about? Since you asked me. You look like something's wrong."
Her young friend stood up now, leaping off the fence without grace. "There is something wrong. I'm growing too much." When Cricket looked confused, the girl just motioned to herself and pouted. "I'm too tall to be eleven. Everyone is so much shorter than me now and it's embarrassing. I'm just too big to be a girl." She wasn't wrong. Cricket had noticed that her friend had shot up considerably this year.
"You're not too tall. Don't be silly." Cricket assured her with a comforting smile.
"But I am. I'm stupidly tall." The adolescent refuted. "And I'm just going to get taller because my dad was really tall."
"Look out at the field," Cricket said to her, motioning forward. "See all those sunflowers? They're really tall too --but they're still beautiful. They remind me of you." The words seemed to comfort Cricket's friend. "In fact, I should call you Sunny like everyone calls me Cricket. You've always wanted a nickname, right?"
Sunny smiled. "Yeah... okay. Sunny. I like it."
"It's okay. See? My dad was really tall too," Cricket said. "At least you're not going through what Elizabeth is." Now, the girl's voice dropped to a whisper. "I hear she bled the first time last night! Can you imagine it? I bet it's gross. I bet the baron took her out for sweets to cheer her up last night!" Sunny concurred with a giggle and a slight grimace. She wasn't ready to grow up. If luck had it with Sunny, she'd grow even taller once she hit puberty.
Soon, she'd be able to touch the clouds without even standing on her tiptoes. It was not a comforting thought by any means.
The girls chatted for a long while after that. Like her and Elizabeth, Sunny had been taken from her home too to be brought here to be a princess. That's what the baron had called them all --his little princesses. Sunny had met Cricket about a year and a half ago and the three girls had become closer than ever. It was nice to finally have friends her age.
An hour later, and finally, Elizabeth joined them outside, brought there by Litch --the man who had taken Cricket that night at the festival. Cricket still cringed to this day at the greasy man's presence. Both of the girls hadn't seen Elizabeth since Cricket's name-day party... as she'd never actually gone up to their designated bedchambers last night.
But she was here now. Litch shot her one last warning look before scurrying off --a look of warning, almost.
Something was wrong. Usually, Elizabeth was the most joyful of the bunch --but now? Her face was pale and she looked like she'd just woken up from the worst nightmare. Elizabeth shrunk back in her stance, arms crossed over her chest in a sort of tentative gait. She didn't get too close to either Cricket or Sunny and recoiled when they came in to hug her.
"Are you feeling okay?" Sunny asked, tilting her head to the side. "I hear that you... you bled."
Elizabeth shook her head, turning her eyes in all directions as if she were looking for unfriendly eyes and ears. No one was around that she could see. "Yes. I hit my womanhood. And no, everything isn't okay."
"Where were you last night? Did you get a special party to for... well, you know? The big step?" the tall girl asked.
"No," Elizabeth said, nearly retching at the idea. "No," she reinforced. The two confused girls waited for an explanation. Finally, the girl spoke again, after several moments of consideration. "You both have to get out of here. Run as far as you can, as fast as you can. The baron doesn't love us like we thought he did. Trust me, he doesn't. He's not good. You have to leave somehow, before it's too late."
"I don't understand," Cricket said, head cocked to the side. "He gives us everything. We can't just go away."
"You have to," Elizabeth said with tears in her eyes, a little louder this time. "I love you both. Like family. You can't even imagine..." her words faltered for a moment before continuing. "Just find a way out of here. You've got time to figure it out and I'll do my best to help you. And if you bleed... keep it a secret. I'm serious. Don't tell anyone!"
Sunny was the first to respond, terror teetering on the edge of her voice. "What happened last night?"
Elizabeth went ghost pale for a second. Then, she answered the best way she knew how.
"A nightmare."
A/N -- Thanks for the read! Sorry again for the post-glitch! Hopefully you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me. (Especially with me posting twice in one day). Also, totally not edited. Way too tired after forcing myself to stay up writing this.