by Em Pitts
Ollie was the one to answer for him. That wasn't surprising either. He seemed a bit like the leader and Nick was just the playful playboy.
"You get them from the trials. The people with gloves on are the ones who have them, not everyone." Ollie went back to his food. I guess I wasn't the only one who was hungry. It was kind of cute.
"That doesn't explain the trials." I pointed out. Luckily, Isaake could speak again.
"The trials are in a fortnight actually. People will start showing up in a few days. They are done three times a year, towards the beginning of the year, middle, and again at the end. It is when men of age can enter the divine cave and be gifted. Whether their body accepts the gifts or not is anyone's guess."
"Not accepting the gifts, means what?" I was curious if the gift would be rejected or worse.
"They die," Isaake spoke bluntly.
"People die getting those marks." I pointed to Ollie's arm where I knew they were at. I got a nod from all three men. "And you still went to get them? And other people still go to get them?" I questioned incredulously.
It seemed stupid to die trying to get a power when you would be perfectly fine living out your life the way you were. Ollie’s expression grew serious and a dark cloud seemed to hang over him at my question.
"People always die for power. Always have anyway. Is it different in the future?" There was that curious gleam in those cold eyes again as Isaake took the attention away from Ollie. I wonder if curiosity is the only thing that causes his eyes to show emotion.
I thought about his question instead of just answering. People have small turf wars over whose area is whose, whose stuff is whose, and so on. On a larger scale, we still fight over land, who is siding with who, who has what. Would that mean people die because of their territorial nature? I guess having more, makes a person feel like they are better than someone else. Would it make them feel more powerful? It's a false power surely, but it is what that person believes. If that is the case, then yes. People die all the time for power. Apparently, they always have.
But surely sometimes we fight for other beliefs? Wars are also fought over the treatment of people. That can't be misconstrued as wanting power when it is wanting to help someone. I refuse to believe all the fighting done is senseless.
"Yes, people die for power in my time," I answered honestly. "But people also die for others, for what they believe is right. That's a lot more honorable than for power." I felt the need to clarify. Isaake smiled at me, well it was more a curl of the side of his lips, but I would take it.
"Ready to go meet Bridget?" Ollie made to stand but I held up my hand and he stopped.
"Wait, can we just..." I trailed off knowing I needed to move forward with the rest of the world even if inside, mine had stopped the moment I was told I couldn't go back to my time. "There has to be some way to send me back. I can't just pretend everything is okay, go to work, live somewhere and act normal. I have a younger sister at home. She needs me. I need her. I can't just give up."
A stray tear slid out unwillingly. I wiped it away, trying my hardest to push everything back. I could break down later when I was alone, but not now. Damn it, be strong Tessa.
"No one's giving up," Nick assured me.
"We just need to find a way, and that might take some time," Isaake added. Ollie nodded to show his support as well. How much time though? And when will it be too late?
I was led behind the counter area and the man working barely spared us a glance. Through a set of swinging doors was a kitchen area with an older woman kneading dough and talking to a teenage girl. The older woman had her light red hair pulled into a tight bun and was red-faced with a dampened hairline. The teenage girl was sweating even more and wore a bonnet covering her hair. The heat in the room was stifling from the large fireplace that took up most of the wall. The older woman continued complaining before she acknowledged our presence.
"What are you boys here for? Are one of you finally courting?" Her head cocked in question even as she planted her fist on her hips.
"This is Tessa. She's new in town and needs lodging." Ollie took lead this time. I assumed this was Bridget.
"Speak to Edward." She waved him off and went back to rolling out some dough.
"She doesn't have any coin though and would like to work for lodging." Ollie continued despite being waved off.
"No, no, no." She gave him her full attention. "This is a place of business. How am I going to keep it in business if I'm letting every beggar in for free?” She was wagging her hand now and trying to shoo us out of the kitchen.
"Mr. Snelling and Pastor Winters asked if you could house her in exchange for a room and food." Isaake spoke up. Bridget snorted.
"Of course, they did. See a pretty face and men lose all common sense." She stopped trying to herd us out of the room though. "Food too? You courting Mr. Snelling, child?" She eyed me up. "You’re practically naked, did you forget your shift after meeting him." Her tone was condescending.
The teenager behind her all but became a mannequin at this point. Poor thing was standing straight and trying to show she was not any part of this conversation.
I had no idea why she thought me naked when I was fully covered, but I could easily gather that she just called me out for sleeping with the judge. Why I was being accused of that was beyond me. I had no interest in the man, but if the first thing people think is that I’m sleeping with him, then that gives me more reason to stay away from him.
"Who I sleep with is no one’s business," I told her staring straight into her eyes.
I didn't need this woman trying to step on me if I was going to be spending time with her. I would never be able to be like the teen girl either. Silence only lasts so long with me.
"And furthermore granny, I just got to town. I haven't had time to spread my legs. I will not be doing so for someone as slimy as that bastard either."
The guys surrounding me were fidgeting, but they let me say my piece and didn't step in. I was thankful for that. There's not much that will turn a girl off, like someone trying to smother her into what they believe she should be.
Bridget just huffed at me before looking me over with a critical eye. "What can you do? You look soft." She stated not afraid of offending me.
"It doesn't matter, just put me to work and give me a place to sleep." I shrugged my shoulders.
If I had to stay here, I would rather be sleeping on a bed at night. It honestly did not bother me to have to work for it. It made complete sense really. I would rather be working here, than whatever the slimy judge considered work. Probably on my back, if the looks he was giving me were anything to go by.
"And food to eat." Bridget deadpanned. I smiled back brightly.
"That would be preferable."
She waved the men off. "Yeah, I've got her. Come on child, let’s get you to work." She went over to the large table and I followed obediently.
“Tess.” I corrected automatically.
The men went to leave without another word and I panicked. "Wait! When will I see you again? I don't have a way to contact you."
How do I know you are going to look for a way to send me home and not just dump me here and forget about me? That's what I should have been asking. Nick tapped his head.
"We will be in touch with you when we need to." He replied before smiling brightly. "See you later, pretty girl."
The others waved over their shoulders on the way out. That was it. I was stuck in a new job, a new place, not knowing anyone. Brings back memories. I straightened my spine and addressed Bridget. I can break down later, now I needed to stay strong.
"What do you need me to do?"
7
I'll take Earl over Granny any day. Yes, it is Granny now. Turns out I call her that when I get angry at her and there isn't much time of me not being angry at her.
She says to make teacakes then gets mad when I don't know how. Her constant complaining towards me was always followed by a slap of that damn wooden s
poon too. And the old bat was too quick to catch the thing from her hands. I tried to hit her back once, but my conscience got in the way about hitting old ladies. Someone help me, I'm pretty sure we were going to kill each other.
At least she was nice enough to lend me a couple of dresses that actually fit comfortably. I was even given a shift, which turns out to be a dress that goes underneath the dress. It reminds me of a slip, except this was considered underwear. And it was easy to tell you weren’t wearing one, because the thing came all the way up to a person’s neck and spilled over the dress.
I felt a little embarrassed at the thought of Ollie going back home and finding the shift I was supposed to be wearing sitting on his desk. That was the equivalent of leaving my bra and panties at his place. Maybe he didn’t think about it like that?
Did I mention that I'm officially "on the rag" now as well? Yes, there is actually cloth that...you know what? Let's not get into that part of my daily routine. Only two more days until that time goes away, and then my next one should be during present times with present solutions.
If that wasn't bad enough, Judge decided to take an interest in me. He stopped by every day to see me. I kept coming up with the excuse about being so busy, but the few minutes of seeing him were still too many for my liking. Granny kept giving me looks like she disapproved. So do I Granny, so do I.
Tonight, would be the third night with no word from the guys. I'm pretty sure my fears were founded, and they forgot about me. Earlier today, I had already decided to take matters into my own hands. I was going to march right up to Ollie's door and demand answers. I would have done so sooner, but working for granny honestly exhausted me. The first night, I barely had the energy to cry myself to sleep.
Everything was done by hand here and not just washing dishes and laundry. You had to haul your own buckets of water into the tub and heat them first if you wanted a warm bath. Then the crazy people around me decided to get up with the sun every morning and work until dark each night.
I really don't want to think about how Granny told me we were going to be doing laundry come Monday. I shivered and shut down the thoughts of washing clothes in the contents from a chamber pot. I would wash my own clothes every night in my tub, thank you very much, and not use a single drop of urine to do so. Damn chamber pots need to be burned, but apparently not everyone was advanced to the point of Ollie’s outdoor bathroom idea.
That's okay though. Today I was feeling decent. My muscles weren't throbbing sore, more of an uncomfortable ache, and I was going to have the energy when I got off to go to Ollie's home. Now I just hoped I walked in the right direction to get there.
"Five dishes!" Granny slammed the plate down on the counter. "Five dishes that are being replaced because you can't cook food." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "How am I supposed to work you, if you can't work?" She looked heavenward like she was searching for the answer on the ceiling. I
walked over to the plate she carelessly tossed down to see the pastry with one bite out of it. To be honest, I would not have even tried it. The edges were burnt and the filling that bubbled out looked like crusted cheese.
"I did just like you said." I grimaced staring at the concoction. I poked it out of curiosity. Yep, it was rock hard.
"All you had to do was make the crust and cook it." She threw her hands up showing her complete bewilderment.
"So, I cooked it a little too long." I started.
"Ha. You think they were complaining about how hard it is. No, it's worse than you just turning the pie into a rock. For some reason, the fool still tried it. He said it tasted like a shark’s ass; salted and rubbered disgust!"
She came to yank the plate away from me that I was still busy scrutinizing. I saw her grab the spoon and stepped back quickly. That thing hurt.
"No more cooking for you. You clean, do clothes, anything else but step into this kitchen again." She pointed the spoon. I nodded along ready to hightail it out of there.
"You want me to do dishes still?" I asked pointing to the dish holding my failure.
"Out!" She hollered. Okay, then. She spoke up again before I was out of the room. "Grab Rose. You two can switch places."
Rose was the teenage girl from my first day. She reminds me of Abby even though she is completely different. We get along well too. Bridget took her in just as she did me.
I stepped out from behind the counter and pass Edward, who I now know is Bridget's husband. He ignores me as he always does. I'm about to go upstairs towards the rooms to grab Rose, when a familiar head grabs my attention.
Sitting at one of the tables closer to the door, is none other than the men who forgot my existence. I narrowed my eyes and changed directions to confront them now. A new guy I hadn't seen before looked up at my march over to the table. I guess I looked an intimidating sight striding with purpose right towards him. He sat back in his chair and I got a glimpse of how muscular the black-haired man was. The light from the door opening drew my attention and stopped me in my tracks. Judge had come for his daily dose of Tessa.
"Tessa!" He exclaimed with open arms like I was going to hug him. We weren't even on shaking hands level; no way was I hugging him.
I glanced back longingly at the table of guys and saw all their attention on me. Isaake, Nick, and Ollie were studying me while the new guy looked like he finally figured out the situation. At least one of us did. I mourned the loss of getting to speak to them now about any progress, but it was not worth spending any time around Judge Snelling.
"Sorry, I'm so busy, got to get back to work." I offered lamely with a thumb pointed over my shoulder.
I turned and took off up the stairs after Rose. The thudding of steps behind me were alarming and I picked up my pace hoping to lock myself in someone's room before he got to me.
"Judge Snelling! Why don't you come over and tell us about your latest hunt?" Nick's jovial voice called out.
I was relieved to hear him go back towards Nick. It didn't matter if Nick was trying to save me or not, the intervention made me less angry at him.
Rose was upstairs cleaning out the rooms in preparation for when the trial contestants would arrive. She switched with me easily with few words exchanged. That was the biggest difference between Abby and her. She hardly ever talked.
I stayed upstairs as long as I dared and wiped each room down, fluffing the pillows twice as I went. I wanted to give Judge plenty of time to leave. When I made it back down the stairs the judge had disappeared, but so had the guys. Back to plan A, I guess. Operation go and confront Ollie at his home.
"Tessa! Go see to Mr. Gerald’s room." Bridget came from behind the counter. "He needs his bathwater filled." She hissed.
Oh yeah, it seems we had to take care of the other people staying here as well as our own needs. That means hauling bathwater up the stairs at least three times, one of those times in a heated pot, when another person's bath was needed. Plan A will have to wait until dark, unfortunately.
My muscles were screaming again. On the plus side, when I got back home, I was going to be in the best shape of my life. The downside is that I still needed to walk almost an hour to Ollie's and back. I was not looking forward to it, but it needed to be done.
I bathed and then refilled the tub, washing my dress in the new water by rubbing out the dirt as best I could before letting it hang to dry. I put on the dress for tomorrow hoping I did not get it too dirty. I gave up on the bra opting to use the shift alone. It offered no support, but I refused to keep wearing the same bra multiple days in a row. It was currently drying after being washed and might take a while. I still washed my panties every night though, for obvious reasons. I could not stand the thought of going without that support.
Dressed and clean, I was as ready as I was going to get. I headed out towards the back door. My room was on the bottom floor with Bridget's and Rose’s. I tried to be quiet so as not to wake them.
There is no telling what Granny would say to me trying to sneak out after da
rk like this. I shudder to think she may believe I was trying to see Judge with how often she watched him and I when he visited. I shake my head at the realization that I'm a grown woman having to sneak out at night to see grown men.
I make it out of the tavern with no problems and sneak around to the front of the building to follow the street. I know I can follow the street for a way out of town and then it was all based on direction. I'm hoping the hills lead me back to the lake and I can go from there. I feared getting lost in the trees and knew I needed to stay away from them.
A light was bouncing off the buildings behind me signaling another person. With my heart kicking into overdrive, I dove between two shops to hide. I had no idea who was out, but normally people up to no good hang around at night, just as everywhere in the world.
Hector came into view carrying a torch. I sagged in relief and came out from the buildings hiding spot. Maybe he could help point me in the right direction. I waved to catch his attention and startled the poor man.
"Miss Tessa." He greeted warily. "What are you doing outside this late?"
"I could ask you the same." I gestured towards the torch.
"Night watchman." He explained and continued at my blank expression. "I watch the town at night sometimes in case of vandals." Ah.
I’ve heard the term night watchmen, but I never asked more about it. I was too busy dealing with my things. Speaking of...
"Can you help me? I'm trying to get to Ollie's but I'm not sure if I'll find it by myself." His brows raised at my question and he came closer to me.
"You really should not be going to men’s houses at night Miss Tessa. People will talk and you won't like the consequences. The flesh is a dangerous sin you should avoid." He spoke softly to me.
Oh. My. God.
This man was giving me a speech on sex. Right now, in the middle of the street at night. I'm an adult getting told not to go have sex, by a man who can't be much older than myself. The poor man would probably have a heart attack if he found out I was not a virgin. None of this matters currently, because I'm not planning on having sex with Ollie, Nick, or even Isaake. I mean maybe in my time if we met up...no. Focus on the goal. Hector watched all my expressions play out on my face before I ever spoke.