“That’s why I need you to be ready.”
“Me? What do you want me to do?” Alarm was evident in her voice.
“I need you to help me keep the village calm, to tell the people the truth and to help me get them ready to fight.”
“Oh, by all the gods, this will never work.”
“What’s the alternative? Aspen and I sleep together and then die in some mystical sacrificial ritual? Is that what you want?”
“No, but…”
“Then after that, what happens to the village? Say Aspen and I dying does manage to save the village. For how long? A day? A week? Then what? Will Mali drag some other young couple into this and sacrifice them too. Magic isn’t infinite. It has to be produced. There is a Vanatus-wide war brewing which could last for years. Just how many of the village’s young will he have to sacrifice to keep it protected? All the while, he’ll be watching young girls getting naked out here in the bathhouse while pleasuring himself. It has to stop, and it has to stop now! Are you with me?”
To give her credit, she didn’t hesitate. Everything I’d said to her must have struck a chord. I guess she knew I was right.
“I’m with you. If there’s any chance to save Aspen and get out of this, I’ll take it.” She stood up out of the bath, apparently over her embarrassment of nudity, and pulled a towel around herself. She looked like she was ready for a fight. I didn’t let on that I thought my plan was utter madness. The villagers weren’t prepared to fight The Spades, and no doubt, they would turn on me the second I plunged my knife into Mali. I doubted they would wait to listen to what Bryony had to say. My real plan was to tell her to take Aspen and run, just before I did what I had to do. Hopefully, the pair of them would get away in all the chaos. With some luck, she’d remember my original plan to go to my parents’ castle and get my father to rally some troops together who would come back and save the village. It was a long shot, and I was going to die either way, but at least, this way I’d take Mali with me.
***
The giant green and pink monstrosity that Bryony had been sewing all week came towards me like some weird, floaty monster. She’d handsewn some awful flowers onto the front, and it was these I could see looming over me. I could just see Bryony’s legs peeking out from behind it. I’d never been one for fashion, and usually, I didn’t care what I looked like, but I was really beginning to dread what sort of clown I’d look like wearing that dress. I’d already let her do my makeup and redo my hair. Although I’d not seen myself in a mirror yet, I’d noted her use of pinks and greens. Strangely, there was also a pile of ferns that had appeared from goodness knows where, some of which had ended up in my hair, an unusual choice of headdress even in Yelpish.
“Close your eyes,” she said as she placed the dress over my head. If only I could keep them closed all day!
The material fell down around my ears and over the rest of my body. I was surprised of the weight of it. Even though there were too many layers to count, they were all made up of extremely light material. I put my hands in the air to let her fasten up the bits she needed to fasten. Surprisingly, it was an off-the-shoulder number, only held up by sheer willpower or boobs. It felt tight enough to stay up, but knowing my luck, the weight of it would pull it down exposing me to everyone. Something light tickled my shoulders, and I realised it was some kind of thin shawl. It was way too thin to keep me warm in the winter weather, so I guessed it was only there to add to the hideousness of the dress or possibly to hide it. I felt some kind of ribbon being tied around me and even though I couldn’t see her, I could hear Bryony walking around me with it rather than passing it from hand to hand.
Finally, she stopped at a point behind me and tied the whole thing up. I was reminded of the joint of sozelle meat with string around it to hold the whole thing together.
I felt her grab one of my legs (I was surprised she could find it beneath all those layers) and lift it, guiding it into a shoe. I let her do the same with the other one.
“There!” she said. “Hold on; I’ll get you a mirror.” I heard her clunking about with the old mirror from the bedroom. “You can open your eyes now.”
I didn’t want to. I’d see myself in the ugliest dress, the dress I was going to die in.
“Iris!” shouted Bryony.
I opened one eye slowly, and then, the other. There, in front of me, stood a fairytale princess. It was so far from the horror that I’d expected that I didn’t know what to say. The pink and green were so pale that they almost drifted into one another. The layers cascaded like waves around me, shimmering like a dusky autumn sky. I looked like I could fly away. The way the layers floated gave the impression of weightlessness, despite the heaviness of the dress.
I burst into tears. I couldn’t help it. For the first time in my life, I was beautiful.
“Stop!” shouted Bryony as she ran around in a panic to find tissues. Your makeup took ages, and we don’t have time to do it again if you mess it up.
The irony was not lost on me. I’d make a beautiful corpse.
We had nothing to do now but wait. The tradition was that the women of the village would knock on my door at the correct time and the same would happen with Aspen, but with the male villagers. Thoughts drifted around in my head, thoughts of how to get myself out of this, but I still didn’t have any genius ideas. I just couldn’t foresee a way to get to Mali. I would be seated next to him at the head of the table at the feast after the bonding ceremony. Aspen would be at his other side. I could try to strangle him, but the villagers would pull me off him before I had the chance to do any damage. If only we could cut the cake like they do in normal weddings, then I’d have a big knife to plunge into him. Unfortunately, the bonding ceremony didn’t involve cake. I was still caught in my own thoughts when there was a knock on the door.
Bryony looked at me and gave me a sad smile before standing to open the door. I ran up to her and gave her a hug. She had become the most special person in the village to me. I don’t think I’d have got through the last week without her.
“Are you ready?” She took both my hands in hers and looked at me. I could see the tears threatening to ruin her own makeup.
“I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
As predicted, most of the village women had piled onto my veranda, waiting patiently to get a look at the dress. The dress was always a big deal at these events, and it made me feel so proud to show off Bryony’s creation. I heard gasps and an occasional squeal coming from the crowd of excited women. Bryony had done her job well. Now it was time to do mine.
I stepped up into a carriage that would be pulled, not by horses, but by the women. A long procession would form of which I, as the honoured person, would be at the back. The carriage itself was usually decorated in spring flowers, but because of the time of year, it had been decorated with holly and other evergreens. Someone must have left Yelpish to buy some glitter as the thing sparkled and glinted in the winter sun. It was beautiful, but as it was the carriage that would haul me to my death, I didn’t really care how sparkly it was. Another, less decorated carriage was in front of mine and this is where Bryony would sit. Someone handed us a bouquet of winter flowers each, and we both stepped into our carriages. The journey was a short one from my cottage to the village green where the bonding ceremonies were usually held, but tradition dictated I would be pulled around the whole village so those who were too old or too young to come and join the procession would be able to at least see it. It was my job to smile and wave. The irony of the fact that I’d come to Yelpish just to escape this kind of thing did not escape me. The last thing I wanted to do was smile and wave. Scream, shout, and run away, yes, but smile, no. Still, I did it. I followed Bryony’s lead and waved at all the villagers as if I was the happiest person in the world. I couldn’t see her face as I was being pulled behind her, but I knew she was smiling. The people all waved back at us, young children threw yet more winter flowers at us and then ran behind the carriage as it passed. Eventuall
y, after rolling past all the houses in the village, we ended up in the centre of the village green. Someone had really gone to town in decorating it. Posts had been erected and then had flowers wrapped around them. A small wooden stage had been trundled out, the same one that was used for all the bonding ceremonies and sometimes concerts. The place looked pretty special, as it did for all bonding ceremonies. The only difference to any other bonding was the circular marquee that stood just behind the stage. It didn’t take a genius to work out that it was for the magical summoning ceremony tonight, the one where I would both lose my virginity and my life, all within the same hour. I tried not to look at it, but it was so incongruous to its surroundings that I couldn’t help stare. It looked like a small circus tent, eight feet in diameter and about the same in height with a point in the middle that rose to about ten feet. If it had been green, it might have fit in, but it was royal blue with gold trimming. The doorway had been decorated with the same flowers as the carriage. And I could just about see the inside of it, swathed in bright red fabric, the colour of blood, which seemed appropriate in the circumstances. A carpet had been laid under the bed that stretched across the whole tent. I could just about make out the pattern on it. It was a gold star, the same star that Mali had tattooed on his bald head. It was there that I was going to be sacrificed. I turned my gaze away from it and toward the stage. Mali was standing there already in his ceremonial robes. The Spade bitch stood behind him wearing the helper’s robes. I recognised them as mine. Oh god, how I hated the pair of them! I was pleased to see that the robes were way too small on her and the seams were practically bursting with her too large breasts and oversized belly.
Bryony was helped down from her carriage by Mali, and then it was my turn. I resisted the urge to kick him hard in the ribs, but I also ignored his outstretched hand and jumped down by myself. All I could hear around me were cheers as I stepped onto the small stage. For a second, I hoped that Aspen wasn’t going to show, but the cheers increased as his carriage came into the clearing. I could practically feel Bryony stiffen as he came into view. I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. This must be so utterly painful for her, and I would do anything to be able to take the pain away. Yet all I could do was stand by her side and wait as our worlds came crashing down around us. The nod of the head Aspen gave me was almost imperceptible, but I caught it. I also caught the sadness in his eyes and the way he looked at Bryony as he climbed the stairs to join us. It was as if he wanted to tell her that everything was going to be all right. But, of course, it wasn’t. She tightened her grip on my hand before letting go completely and stepping back to join Aspen’s bond helper.
I’d seen the ceremony performed before. I’d been Mali’s assistant for most of them and knew the words by heart. It was only now, as I stood next to Aspen, listening to the drivel that Mali was spouting, that I realised just how awful this ceremony actually was. I’d thought of it as romantic and so much better than wedding vows. There was no to have and to hold and til death do us part There were no words of love and respect. No, this ceremony was all about duty to the village, duty to provide children as soon as possible to keep the village thriving, and duty to the village elders, i.e., Mali himself. I’d never really thought about it before, but the whole bonding ceremony was basically the couple pledging to bow down to Mali and be faithful to him. Urgh! Of course, in this ceremony, there would be no talk of children. What would be the point? We were both going to be dead within a few hours. There was certainly no time for us to have children.
“People!” shouted Mali to the crowd of cheering villagers. The noise died down as everyone craned to hear what he had to say. I scanned the crowd, looking over all the people I’d lived among for three years. Some, I knew better than others. Some, I barely knew at all, but here they were, cheering me on, on my bonding day. It looked like the whole village had turned out for the event. They usually did. Bondings were the highlight of the year in Yelpish. It did make me wonder who was keeping guard at the perimeter of the woods in case the Spades decided to attack. Since the man had appeared wounded in the village square, I’d not heard any more about it. I didn’t know if that was because I was stuck in the cottage, cut off from any news or if there just wasn’t any news to be had.
“We are gathered here to witness the blessed ceremony of bonding, a spiritual event which binds the spirits of the chosen two into an eternity of bliss.”
Eternity of bliss? By my count, I had about twelve hours left to live. Although, if this were a traditional marriage, our vows would be until death do us part, which in our case, would be strictly true.
“You may face each other.”
At this point, the couples usually looked adoringly into each other’s eyes. Sometimes, they giggled with nerves. I’d never seen any of them glare into Mali’s eyes as though they wanted to kill him, but I guess there is always a first. Mali completely ignored my death stare and, instead, turned to his whore (I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable to think of her as anything else) to give him the sacred texts he would read from. I turned to Aspen as instructed. For his part, he was doing what he was told and looking at me. He gave me a shy grin as I caught his eye. I tried, unconvincingly, to smile back. He really was impossibly beautiful, especially how he was dressed now in his traditional bonding wear. He was wearing a green suit with a holly crown on his head. It must have been uncomfortable, but he looked stately with it on. To give him his due, he didn’t look at Bryony once but kept on staring at me. It looked like he wanted to tell me something, but I couldn’t decipher what it was. His jaw was set in a look of steely determination, and I had to commend him for that. I was a complete mess of jelly, and it was taking all my strength not to fall apart. We both kept our eyes on each other as Mali began to recite from the mystical texts of the ancients. Or, at least, what I had thought were mystical texts of the ancients, but were probably written by him one night when he was dreaming up all this crap. Sandy was chanting alongside him sounding completely ridiculous. No wonder I had few friends in the village if I sounded like she did. She looked like a loony up there in those too small robes and chanting nonsense. I realised just how ridiculous I’d been all this time. I’d come to Yelpish because I wanted to live somewhere where there was an amazing community, away from the strains of modern day life. On the surface, it was ideal, but the truth of the matter was, Mali was leading us all in a merry dance.
“Will we support them?” shouted Mali to the crowd.
“Yes!” they shouted back with a frenzied enthusiasm.
“Will we guide them?”
“Yes,” they screamed getting louder and louder. Guide us to what? We would be dead this time tomorrow. The thing was, the villagers knew this, but it didn’t seem to dampen their spirits. They were loving it, just as they loved every other bonding. If only they knew that the whole ceremony was an excuse for Mali to get his jollies peeping at naked women once a year. If only I dared shout out and tell the villagers that. Not that they would hear me above all the noise.
“Will we love them?”
“Yes!”
They would love us as long as the party would last. I doubt they would even remember me in a few months’ time. Aspen would be remembered, though. He had family here. He had Bryony. He’d be the hero in this, while I would drift out of people’s consciousness before the weather got warm again.
The cheering died down a bit now. It was time for us to play our parts.
“Will you, Aspen, be a partner to Iris and let your souls be entwined for all eternity?” Mali spoke to him, but Aspen’s eyes never left mine. No wonder Bryony was in love with him. All this staring at me with those beautiful eyes was intoxicating. Maybe the stupid chanting did do something after all? I was beginning to feel closer to Aspen, even though I barely knew him. I couldn’t hear Bryony weeping, but this must be killing her.
“I will,” replied Aspen and gave me that smile again. This time it made me go weak at the knees. What the bloody hell was wrong with me
?
“And will you Iris, be a partner to Aspen and let your souls be entwined for all eternity?”
This was it. This was the time when I should speak up, shout out at the now quiet crowd, tell them everything. This was my chance, but I didn’t do it. It was almost as if it were someone else saying, “I will.” But it wasn’t someone else; it was me.
I blamed his eyes, his smile, and my fear. Sandy came forward with some garlands to put over our heads. She gave me a wide smile as she placed it around my neck. It was creepy. Did I look this creepy when I did this job? It was hard to tell. The bondees were usually happy to be in the position I was in—without the death part, obviously.
The ceremony itself lasted only about an hour. I played along, smiling as any other young woman in love would smile. It was almost as if I was watching this whole charade from a distance, and it wasn’t really me standing here, vowing to pledge the rest of my life to a man, the rest of my life being only a matter of hours. I bowed on command, I knelt on command, I recited mystical mumbo jumbo on command, as did Aspen. He seemed so sure of himself, calm in a way I wasn’t. I don’t know how he did it. My smiles must have looked fake, but his were real. Either that or he was a really good actor. I watched him throughout the ceremony and his eyes never flickered to Bryony once, and I knew she was standing behind me just as Basil as Aspen’s bond helper was standing behind him. Why wasn’t he looking at her? If I was madly in love with someone and was being forced to bond with someone else, I’m pretty sure I’d be pleading with my eyes that it wasn’t my fault. Aspen, though, only had eyes for me, and occasionally Mali, when we were being spoken to by him. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and hug Bryony to let her know that whatever was going on with Aspen, it had nothing to do with me, by which I mean, I wasn’t sharing in his romantic staring contest.
All the while that we were kneeling and reciting and singing, I was thinking about my plan. The feast would begin soon. I’d eat along with everyone else, and then when it was time for the bondee’s families to make speeches, I’d stab Mali in the heart with a knife. It wasn’t the most intricate of plans, and I was sure that the villagers would turn on me, but if I told Aspen my plan first, he’d at least get the chance to whisk Bryony away in the chaos that ensued.
Six of Clubs (War and Suits Book 5) Page 8