by Sarah Thomie
I threw on the torn clothes and raced down to the burning village below. I dodged around guards, hiding when I heard them stomping closer by letting the Snow Cat take over. We made it out the front doors, throwing something heavy in front of them, trapping the humans inside the stone building. I ran to where I heard the screams. The humans had blocked the City Elves in the wooden houses, so I had to fight to get them open. I kicked the doors open, getting those I could out. Even though I was the Cursed One, they all knew that I was there to save them. I ran through the village, ignoring the searing heat of the inferno, trying to find more survivors. I found some, but not everyone was alive when I reached them.
By the time the guards were able to get the front doors open, I stood outside the gates with the surviving City Elves. They thanked me for saving them, most apologized for calling me the Cursed One and other names. We heard the humans coming, but they made a wall between them and I. The oldest, the Patriarch of the City Elves in this house, yelled for me to run. I did as he said and took off, letting the Snow Cat guide my steps. I kept the memory going until I reached Howling Wolf, wanting his Wolf pelt to get warm again.
The memories faded from the smoke, as the fire did down. Sparrow cried into First Son’s shoulder, “Goddess Above…”
“They called me Kinkiller because I doubt any of those City Elves survived the guards. Especially after the body of that sadistic bastard was found,” I said, my voice too quiet as I looked to Sparrow. “Fear is one of the strongest ways of controlling someone. If you are taught to fear the humans for the viciousness they possess, and seeing it firsthand, most are unwilling to fight against them.”
“I am sorry that you had to see this, but I would not have been able to explain it as it needed to be.” I looked over to Howling Wolf. “This is why I throw my life into everything I have. What you have tried to build in the past few years has to battle against the centuries of hoping that the humans would finally kill me in their rage for my rebellion.”
“Can you give us space, Silent Snow?” the Elder asked, putting his hand on my shoulder in an almost fatherly gesture.
“Of course.” I left them in the large building. I could have gone to where the other Clans members were, but I needed time alone to push those memories back to where they belonged. So, I went into the tree the Clan had designated as mine and used it to climb onto Sparrow’s house. I remembered the look in Howling Wolf’s eyes and knew something had changed again. They thought they knew what I had been through, but to see it firsthand was a different story.
I put my hands behind my head as padding and laid back. I closed my eyes to the bright sky, using a mental image of the Snow Cat to push the memories back into their respective places, before putting bars over them to keep them contained.
“Snow?”
I opened my eyes to see Howling Wolf in my tree.
“Are you okay? Grandfather is worried that by showing us your memories that you would not be able to contain them anymore.”
“I will be all right. What about you? Sparrow was crying, then First Son and you looked like you were going to start,” I asked him. “You saw the darkest parts of my life, so I understand if you cannot see me the same as bef—"
He leaned forward and put a finger to my lips. “Stop with this, Snow. I have seen you kill before; the dead look in your eyes after you killed those slavers. I now know why you slaughtered them. You are my Second and seeing those kinds of memories will not change that.”
“‘Was’ your Second. You said that I ‘was’ your Second.” I pointed out as I sat up.
“I was angry because I had been so worried that we would only find you dead from the Star Clan’s challenge. It could have been a trap, so the fact that you went, and we did not know if you were still there… Then we found out that not only did you win, but you were also eating with them, after brokering an alliance. Seeing you fine just made me realize that you could take care of yourself.” He sighed. “My anger and worry took over me.”
“Why would it bother you so much that I could take care of myself? It is the reason why you trained and tested me. I have to be able to do my job with you, without having to worry whether or not you are going to stop me every time there’s a fight.”
“It bothers me because I want to—" he changed mid-sentence, “—I need to protect you. More than just as I would another Clans member.”
I tilted my head. “Why?”
“Is it not obvious?” He laughed. “I guess not. You see a lot, but you miss other things.” He coughed to buy time before speaking again. “As for you doing your job, you do it with me. You do not go running off to take on the world without me. That is your place as my Second. But the first hint of a battle, I want you at my side.” He pulled my daggers and sheath from under his shirt. “In order to do that, you need these.”
I looked at them and smiled. “Thank you.”
“We sharpened them.”
I looked at the sheaths. “These are not the same ones. Why are they different?”
“Sparrow made this one, because we could not get the blood cleaned from the other ones.”
“Does not matter.” I handed it back to him. “These are lovely, but I liked the other ones better.”
“They are at my house.”
“Then we better go get your sheathes, so these daggers gave a home.” I stood up, and we climbed off the roof and back to the ground. We went into his house, where he grabbed the sheath pair I liked. I put them on, feeling better with those familiar weights at my hips.
Chapter 16
“So, has any of the males caught your eye?” Xerinae and her gossip girls grinned at me, while I helped them cook for the Summer Equinox festival by cutting the vegetables.
“She has been so busy sparring with the warriors to keep their skills sharp, that I doubt she has been looking,” Sparrow told them.
“Why would they? They are my fellow warriors, so why would any of them try to catch my eyes?” I asked them.
All activity around me stopped, before Xerinae laughed. “You are joking, right? She has to be joking.”
Sparrow looked at me, then to the gossip girls, “I do not think she is.”
“What are you ladies talking about—Ouch!” The knife slipped and cut my finger. I put it to my mouth to get the pain to stop.
“Do not distract her.” Sparrow growled as she grabbed my hand and wrapped my finger.
“Have you told her what this festival is about? For the last couple of years, she was busy with Howling Wolf, so she did not do any of the celebrations or festivals,” Xerinae asked Sparrow.
“There was no point in telling her. As you can see, she is hopeless,” Sparrow told them, then she turned back to me. “Be careful. How is it you can practically decapitate a sparring dummy, but you cut yourself trying to cut vegetables?”
“Only because you ladies keep pulling my attention away from them,” I grumbled when I finished cutting their vegetables. “How did I get wrangled into this in the first place?”
“Simple. We asked for help, and since you are second to none when it comes to knives, it made perfect sense.” Xerinae smiled. “And because we need to help get you ready.”
I grimaced. “I do not need to get ready. Whenever you ladies say that, I always end up looking weird.”
“That is because we are trying to help some of the males see you as the woman you are.” Her smiled never faltered; in fact, it grew. “Maybe if one of the males catches your eye, then you can see what many of us have already enjoyed.”
“The only thing I want to enjoy is a dip in the spring away from these cooking fires,” I mumbled. “Can I leave now?”
“If you do, then we are going to start getting you ready.”
“Goddess Above…” I growled.
Xerinae and Sparrow grabbed my upper arms. “You ladies have this?”
“Of course. Get our Snow ready.” The gossip girls grinned, and I wondered if that is what prey sees just before they ar
e hunted.
They took me to Sparrow’s house.
When I saw Howling Wolf along the way, I mouthed for help.
Sparrow looked at him and said, “You come and try to grab her, and you will be black and blue.”
Howling Wolf mouthed an apology to me, and the coward raced to wherever the males go before these things.
Sparrow and Xerinae took off my standard black linens of the Enforcer and undid the bun I wore. Sparrow grabbed my almost hip length braided hair. “It is getting really long.”
“Then cut it,” I told her. “I could care less about the length, as long as I can pull it back for work.”
They just looked at me. “I think I have an idea.” Sparrow grabbed a knife and cut through the braid at the base of my neck, cutting my hair to shoulder length. My head felt light, having short hair for the first time in forever.
Xerinae looked at me, a smile on her face. “It suits you better.” She then threw me a sleeveless white linen dress with a variety of blue shaded threads embroidered at the hems into a design of snowflakes in the different blue threads.
“Take off the binding wrap.”
I growled but took off the binding wrap and put the white dress on.
She adjusted it, the cinched waist going from just under my breasts to my hips, where the dress flared out some going down from my hips to my knees. “You fill it out better than I thought you would. Your breasts are bigger than what I was hoping for.” She handed me a piece of blue fabric and said, “Tie this to one side at your waist.”
“That’s why I have to bind them tightly,” I mumbled.
She sat me on the bed, while Sparrow got ready herself in a bright green dress. Xerinae applied simple makeup to my face. She sat back on her heels. “You will definitely be catching eyes tonight.”
“I do not want to catch eyes,” I grumbled to myself, since both were chattering as they continued getting ready.
Xerinae bid us goodbye, before she left.
I heard First Son’s knock on the door, and I ran to it. I opened it to see him standing there, his eyes widened in shock when he saw me. He wore a fancy dark green shirt and pants, his hair styled different than normal. “Please, tell me that this thing is cancelled or that there is a battle or a challenge or anything to get me out of this!”
He laughed, his face lighting up. “No such luck. I am here to act as an escort to Sparrow. Raven will grab Xerinae from her house. Since you are eligible, you do not have an escort.”
“Lovely,” I growled, as Sparrow came to the door.
First Son’s face lit up, seeing Sparrow’s beauty. She looked like a Goddess of the forest, the green dress against her dark tan skin. He tried to speak, but he kept stumbling over his words.
“I see that I have rendered you speechless.” She looked to me. “You will dance with whoever asks you to dance. You will not run away to the spring or into your tree. If I catch you hiding, you will not get any pillows for a month.”
My jaw dropped. “But I like the pillows…”
“Then you will dance with those who are trying to catch your eye. You do not have to stay with them, but you will give them the courtesy of one dance.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “Just enjoy yourself. Let us go.”
He held his arm out to her, and she grabbed onto it. He gave me one last look. “You have about five minutes before the dances start, so I suggest if you want your pillows, I would be there before they start.”
I watched as they walked toward the dance area and waited for a minute, debating if the pillows were worth the warriors seeing me look like this. Deciding that one night was not worth losing the pillows for a month, I grabbed my daggers and sheaths, putting them under the blue ribbon of fabric over my hips. I walked over to the dance area. I snuck around the building, hoping that no one would see me.
“Silent Snow!”
I jumped as Xerinae laughed, Raven on her arm.
“Hiding is not going to help you, Snow.”
Behind her, the eligible women chatted with one another. I had never been more grateful for their presence than now. I hid among them, them letting me disappear. Listening to them, I learned that all eligible males are required to dance with all eligible females. After that, those who wanted to pair up did. Those who did not have a partner by the end could pair up with random eligible, male or female, until the end of the dance. Then at the end of the night, if both people wanted to, they would go home together.
On the other side of the dance area, the eligible males came in. I counted them and let out a growl because they outnumbered us, meaning I would have to be out here for longer than I wanted. The women stopped, silent, as they looked at the males. They looked like hungry wolves as they decided who they would dance with first. Howling Wolf’s face lit up when he looked at the eligible women.
Ursus and Cristata walked into the area, and I ran over to them, choosing a safer bet. I figured that since the males outnumbered the women, I would not care about who came to ask me for a dance.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked them.
Cristata grabbed my upped arms me and hugged me tightly. “You can talk!”
“Yes, it happened a little after I kicked your partner’s butt.” I grinned at Ursus, and he returned with a smirk that suggested a rematch. I pulled away from Cristata. “What are you two doing here?”
“We are here because we received a message that our emissary was invited. Since the First Son is yours, I volunteered to be ours. It is a good way for our Clans to have fun together.” She smiled broadly.
“How did you convince your Elder to become the Emissary?”
“She did not.” Ursus growled, glaring at me. “She took a page from your book and just left. I happened to be patrolling that area when I spotted her. Since she kicks hard, I agreed to be her protector for this, in case we met any enemies along the way. You are a terrible influence.”
“Snow! You better not be trying to get out of this!” I winced when Sparrow yelled at me as she came over to us with First Son. She looked at the other Clan’s Wood Elves. “You came from the Star Clan?” She gave the two of them an appraising look.
“Sparrow, this is their Champion Ursus, and Emissary Cristata. This is Sparrow, sister to Howling Wolf and partner to First Son,” I introduced them.
“Speaking of Howling Wolf…” First Son looked over his shoulder. “Looks like they are about to start, and he has already been snatched up. Looks like you get to start with someone else.”
“Wait, what?” Sparrow grabbed me and pulled me to where the other eligible women were standing.
I waited, hoping that they would forget I was there.
“May I have this dance?” One of the warriors stepped up to me.
“I am sorry, but I—" I remembered Sparrow’s threat. “I do not know how to dance, and I am not graceful.”
His smile never faltered. “That is fine; you will pick it up. And if worse comes to worse, you are light enough that if you step on my toes, it should not hurt too much.”
I let him lead me out to where the dancers started. I kept stumbling, as we moved. He pulled me along, until the song ended. When the music changed to a new dance, he asked if I would stay with him.
I shook my head. “I am sorry. I think that one of the other women is trying to catch your eye.” I fled from him, trying to calm down. I understood what Xerinae meant, and I wanted to punch her for it. Another warrior came up, and I ended up dancing with most of them, each time, turning them down when they asked me to stay with them. I kept hoping that they would stop asking me.
“Not having fun?” Howling Wolf’s voice came up from behind me.
I jumped. “I am!” I tried to get my heart rate to calm down, but it refused.
Another warrior asked me to dance, and I just sighed.
“Sorry, Lynx, this dance is mine.” Howling Wolf put his hand on my shoulder.
Lynx apologized and left us alone.
“Why do they kee
p trying to get me to stay with them?” I asked more of myself, but he heard me.
“Maybe because you impress them? Maybe because they are hoping that they would be the one to take you home tonight.” He turned me toward him and led me to the dance. We followed the steps of the dance half-heartedly.
“But why? There are plenty of eligible women who would love to be taken home by the warriors.”
“You are an eligible woman,” he pointed out.
“I may be eligible, but I am not looking.” I gave him a sly look. “What about you? Plenty of the eligible women want you to take them home. I mean, how many dances have we been through. They keep talking about you. Something about your handsome face, something about your voice, your rippling muscles, your tight butt.”
He choked. “I do not think that any of them are right for me.”
“Well, none of the warriors who keep trying to dance with me are right for me,” I admitted. “I mean, I am not pretty; I am not tall like the Wood Elf women. The only thing I have going for me is the fact that I can fight.”
He reached over and touched the ends of my shortened hair. “Just because you do not see it does not mean that others don’t.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, for starters, your hair suits you better than when it was long.” He touched my cheek. “Whatever face makeup you are wearing brings out your eyes more.” He touched the shoulder of the dress. “The dress you are wearing fits your form well. I would say that many of the warriors who are trying to get you to go home with them think you have some sort of beauty.”
The song stopped, and we each took a step back from each other.
I grimaced. “I do not want to be asked by any more potential suitors.”
He put his hand out. “Then keep dancing with me. I mean, at least then we do not have to keep dealing with new partners. Add in that we do not mind talking to each other, it will make the time pass by faster.”
I put my hand in his. “Just to make time go faster.”