“It’s soup,” the woman said, putting the bowl under her chin and offering her the spoon. “Ain’t you hungry? It’ll warm you up.” Tavera looked down into the spoon, opening her mouth slightly so that the woman could feed her, swallowing the warm broth. It did warm her up and it tasted good. Why was this woman so kind to her? The woman smiled and fed her another spoon of soup, blowing on it so it wouldn’t burn the little girl’s tongue. It was all very surreal to Tavera but she wouldn’t object to being placed in warm blankets and fed hot soup. She would only hope that it didn’t come to an end too soon.
“Prisca, Fior is here askin’ ’bout taking us both for a go. What should I say? Oh, you’re awake!” A thin, long haired girl popped into the doorway, her cheeks the same rosy hue as the buxom one. The girl smiled at Tavera, showing that one of molars was missing but she had a sweet smile. She sat down by the woman called Prisca on the bed, her brown eyes looking over Tavera. “You gave us all a scare!” she said, reiterating what the other had said. The skinny one placed her arms around Prisca’s middle and hugged her, sighing as she looked over the little girl. “You was bleeding something fierce but Sera got you patched up. You poor little thing.”
Tavera blushed at having someone pity her, swallowing the spoonful of soup the woman had fed her. She squirmed under the covers. Both the woman laughed out loud, Prisca’s laugh bordering on a high pitched cackle while the others was more sweet and melodic, the woman even putting a hand over her mouth.
“It sure is quaint to see a body blush in this house, ain’t it Gia?” Prisca set down the bowl and placed her hand on the girl’s forehead again, even bending over to kiss her on top of her head. When she did, her breasts smashed into Tavera’s face, almost suffocating her but the kiss was brief and the crisis avoided. Tavera snaked her arms out from under the blankets, letting them rest on top as she frowned, looking over the two woman that were looking over her hair ribbons and apparently trying to decide who should take which one. The little girl waited for a moment before she drew in a breath, touching her ear.
It was cut straight across, the slight point completely gone. It was still raw but someone had put something oily on it, the orange colored grease staining her fingers as she drew them away.
The woman named Prisca saw the little girl’s face and pity managed to force its way past rouge and powder. Tavera trembled as Prisca perched on the side of the bed. The woman’s warm hand brushed her knotty tresses out of her face and she tucked her hair behind her ears, careful not to touch the still fresh wound.
“Don’t you worry ’bout that, love,” said Prisca. She laid a hand on the little girl’s face, staring into her eyes. The eye contact made Tavera feel slightly uncomfortable but the woman held her head, the other woman sighing faintly in the background. Prisca kissed her yet again on the forehead before releasing her, letting her fall back. “You’re with us now and us brass take care of each other. Just get some rest.” The woman put a hand on her forehead before she pulled herself away, the thin woman taking her hand before leading her out. Prisca shut the door behind her so Tavera was left in the room alone.
Tavera sniffled under the sheets, drawing them closer around herself as she rolled over. Brass. It could have been worse. Tavera saw them walking the streets, wearing bells at their breasts as advertisement for something Tavera didn’t quite understand. All that she knew was men were interested in it and brass sold it. They frequented the temples in the morning, peddling their invisible wares on the surrounding blocks. She figured in time she would find out what it was they were selling. For now, Tavera knew she was warm and extremely tired. Without giving heed to the bumps and noises of the house around her, the little girl closed her eyes and fell asleep.
***
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, I'm Tristan and I'm a novelist, comic book writer, and freelance RPG writer, and I used to write the weekly column 'Reality Makes the Best Fantasy' for the roleplaying site Troll in the Corner.
As a fan of speculative fiction the first fantasy book I fell in love with was The Crystal Cave.
Originally hailing from New York City, I consider Portland, OR my home and reside with my spouse, Small Boss, a cat that knows it’s a Multipass and Azrael.
If you enjoyed this book please consider joining our mailing list for monthly (at the most) updates.
THE VALLEY OF TEN CRESCENTS SERIES
Copyright © 2011 Tristan J. Tarwater
Some rights reserved.
Published in the United States by
Back That Elf Up
www.backthatelfup.com
This book is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license.
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For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
Book Design: Christopher Tarwater
Cover Artist: Amy Clare Learmonth
Editor: Annetta Ribken
CONTENTS
THIEVES AT HEART
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
SELF-MADE SCOUNDREL
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
RED MOON RISING
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
LITTLE GIRL LOST
Bonus Short
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Valley of Ten Crescents Series (Box Set: Books 1-3) Page 65