Tiara- Part Two

by Robin Roseau

Gionna and I separated a little, and we each took attention. I talked to anyone who wanted to talk to me. Some simply wanted to meet me. A few had interesting questions. A few were worried about the Ressalines, but I quietly told them I trusted them, that they had no intention of invading further. I explained they had been well-provoked before invading Charthan, but as long as we didn’t attempt to annex portions of their country, we could be good, good friends.

  I answered questions about Ressaline. A few asked about Sha-shi, and as long as they were polite, I let them touch her arm. If it was a woman, I said, “You can ask for a hug, if you want. She’s amazing to hug.”

  I didn’t mention she was my wife.

  More than one person reminded me slavery was illegal in Flarvor. “She’s a temporary slave,” I said. “And it was her idea.”

  “Why would she want to be a slave?” I’d be asked that a lot.

  “I’ll give you a hint,” I said to the teenage girl. “You have to trust me for just a few seconds. Walk over and ask her if you can touch her arm. Then do this.” And I brushed my hand down my opposite arm. “Do that a few times, and then ask for a hug. Trust me.”

  She eyed me, but she did as I told her, and it was during the hug I saw her melt a little, and what might have been a brief hug turned rather lengthy. Finally, she stepped away and turned to look at me, her confusion clear.

  “That felt really good, didn’t it?” I asked. “Just touching her arm feels good, and I bet the hug felt really, really good. Am I right?”

  “Yeah, but-”

  “It feels even better from my side, Young Miss,” Sha-shi said. “As long as people are polite, gentle, and sweet, it feels so, so good.”

  “Really?”

  “Really,” she confirmed.

  “Could I have another hug?”

  “Of course, you may.”

  We provided hospitality, as best we could in the field. We talked. No one brought any real issues to me, although in other villages, they did, and I handled them as best I could.

  By late afternoon, I thought we had most of the village, if not all. They came on foot; they came by wagon. Only a few arrived mounted. Some brought more tables and chairs. They brought plates and mugs. A few brought more baked goods and turned down offers to be paid for them. One woman arrived with wild spring flowers she and her daughter had spent the afternoon harvesting, and she was weaving flowers into the hair of anyone who asked. Sha-shi asked if she and I could both have flowers in our hair, and Gionna said that sounded like fun, so we presented ourselves to the woman, waiting our turns.

  Her daughter was especially delighted to see to my hair, but the mother was fascinated by Sha-shi.

  “I hope you’re staying for the dance,” I told them. “You’ll get to dance with her, if you want.”

  “Please, Mother?” said the daughter. “May we stay?”

  “When two women dance, who leads?”

  “Whoever is comfortable leading,” I said. “Not every woman here with us knows how to lead, but most of us do. Sha-shi only can lead the basic steps, but all of the other slaves have more experience. And, of course, all of the women in leather, as well as Lady Ambassador Cuprite and myself.”

  “You’re going to dance with us?” asked the daughter.

  “I would love to dance with you,” I told her.

  “Please, Mother. Please.” She dragged out the second please for several seconds.

  “We can stay,” said the mother.

  “Yes!” said the girl. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome, Sakaala. You did a nice job for the princess.”

  The girl provided a hand mirror. I smiled. “It’s very lovely, Sakaala,” I said. “Rubarae, do you take donations for the flowers?”

  “They’re just wild flowers,” the woman said. “They didn’t cost anything. This is just something we do.”

  “Well, it’s a lovely tradition you share with your daughter. Is your husband here?” The woman looked away. “Oh,” I appended. “Not a good story?”

  “My father was a terrible man,” said Sakaala in a low tone.

  “Oh,” I said again. “Well, maybe he was, but you turned out wonderfully, and that is almost certainly because your mother is a wonderful woman.”

  “We live with my grandparents,” she explained. “We help on the farm.”

  “Farming is hard work,” I said. “So, thank you for all that you do to help feed all of us.”

  Eventually, it was time for dinner. The villagers had brought more than enough tables, so we set them up in two long rows, and then we spread ourselves about. Sha-shi brought a plate to me but then whispered in my ear, “Did you want me to sit with you, or should I offer my attention elsewhere?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think the flower lady looks very sad.”

  “I think, Sha-shi, that you are the most amazing woman I know, and if you can make her feel a little better, that would be a very good thing.”

  “I love you, Wife,” she said. She kissed my ear, and I saw later she was sitting beside Rubarae, the two talking quietly.

  We had a lovely dinner with friendly, country folk. Then I stood up and said, “I want to thank the people of Keafina for your lovely hospitality. We’re going to send the men away before the dance, but I really, really hope all the women remain. We have songs to dance to and important women things to discuss.”

  A few men mocked horror at the thought of ‘important women things’, which was the intention.

  “We’ll provide rides home for any women who stay,” I added. “And when will you next have a chance to dance with not only one princess, but two.”

  “You’re really going to dance with us?” a woman called out. She stood up. She was Grandmother’s age.

  “I would love to dance with you,” I said. “Perhaps some of the chairs and benches can stay. We can try to deliver them tonight, or leave them in the barn for people to collect tomorrow.”

  “My dancing days may be over,” said the woman. “But I’d like to stay and watch.” But then she gestured. “Some of those girls have been giving hugs. I wouldn’t turn down a hug.”

  “I think we can arrange a hug or ten, Good Lady,” I replied.

  They helped us clean up. Tables were put back on wagons, along with most, but not all of the chairs and benches. Not all of the women stayed, but many did. One woman brought her two teenage daughters to me and said, “I want to go home, but my daughters were hoping to stay.”

  “We’d love to have them,” I replied. “My guards will bring them home, but it might be a little late.” The girls were clearly delighted, and I received two impromptu hugs, which didn’t bother me at all.

  “You two behave,” their mother said.

  “I’m sure they’re good girls.”

  “They’re too smart for their own good,” the woman replied. “But yeah, they’re good girls. You’re sure about this, Princess Darfelsa.”

  “We’ll keep them safe, provided they don’t intentionally sneak away.” I turned to the girls. “Neither of you are going to do that, are you?”

  “No, Your Highness.”

  “Good.”

  “Well then.” She nodded to me and then turned away leaving two grinning girls behind.

  We saw the men off, and then I began shepherding everyone towards the barn. People helped with our table and the various chairs and benches. I didn’t have to worry about that.

  Our group severely outnumbered the village women. That didn’t matter. I looked around and decided we had about fifteen people, including four teenagers and one girl who might be ten or so. We got everyone to the barn, and the furniture placed, then I clapped.

  Our group knew what to do. They nudged the villagers to the front, nearest me, although with the slaves and a few others mixed in so it wasn’t entirely obvious. Gionna, Olivia, and Allium were also waiting.

  “Well,” I said. “I promised a dance, and a dance we will have. I imagine this will s
eem strange to some of you at first, but I think I can promise you will all have a good time.”

  “Who asks who?” one of the teenagers asked.

  “Well, that’s easy. If you want to dance with someone, and she’s free, you walk up to her and ask her to dance.”

  “Who leads?”

  I answered that, and a couple of other questions.

  “What if the woman I ask doesn’t know how to lead?” that girl asked.

  “Then you do the best you can,” I said. “What matters is that you have a nice time.” I stepped straight to her and offered her my hand. She looked at me hesitantly, but gave me hers, and then she let me pull her into my arms. And then I began humming while just swaying side to side with her.

  “Oh,” she whispered.

  “When you get braver, you can add to it.” I led a few steps. “It isn’t important to be fancy. It’s important to enjoy dancing.” Then I separated from her but thanked her, then led her back to where she’d been.

  “However, I also promised some girl talk.”

  “You called it important woman things.”

  “That was to drive the men away.” They laughed at that. “It worked.”

  “If this is going to be a long conversation,” said the old woman.

  “Let’s get a few chairs,” I said. I didn’t worry about that. “There’s something we want to talk about. As you all know, across the river lies the country of Ressaline.”

  “It used to be Charthan, until they invaded.”

  “They had very good reasons,” I said. “We can talk about that, but I want you to know that Princess Gionna and Lady Olivia are two of my dearest friends, and our two countries are becoming very, very good friends as well. The woman of Ressaline are happy to stay on their side of the border, except for visits like this one.” I paused, letting that settle. “On the other hand, they hope that some of us will visit them.”

  I spoke briefly, mentioning opportunity. And then I remembered I’d gotten sidetracked, so I explained how north of the river, they didn’t allow any men. The entire country was all woman.

  “How do they make babies?”

  “Magic,” I said. “That’s also something we can talk about, if you’re curious. But Olivia wants to talk to you about opportunity.”

  We didn’t talk that long. We weren’t trying to convince anyone, and we didn’t want to go into details when we knew most of these women wouldn’t be interested. We only presented the idea, and then we said, “If any of you want to talk about any of this some more, we’re here all evening.”

  Once Olivia had explained everything, I said, “This is a good arrangement, for those who need fresh opportunity. They have ample land. Some of the women going north with us are tradespeople, who are at least considering resettling in Charth.”

  “Running a farm is hard work,” said one of the women.

  “You’re right. It is. It’s harder work than I’ve ever done, as you can imagine. Perhaps several of you will decide to work together. Lady Olivia will provide timber for building or repairs, depending upon the land you accept. You will have equipment. It will be old, but in good repair. Lady Olivia will also provide seed and supplement your food for up to three years, or longer if you accept land that needs a lot of work to make ready.”

  “What about draft animals?”

  “There may need to be some sharing,” Olivia replied. “But we’ll ensure enough for each village.”

  “I think it’s time to begin the dance,” I declared. “Lest all of you think I lied when I promised one. There are more things to talk about, but we don’t want to make this conversation take hours, so if you think you might want to talk, you may ask any of us.”

  “What about slaves?” said Rubarae. She grinned. “I liked yours.”

  I laughed. “I imagine you do, but she’s my wife.”

  “What?”

  “She’s a temporary slave, and it’s the sort of thing we’d talk about. I am obligated to free her in another two weeks or so, and then she thinks she can turn the tables on me.”

  “She’s your wife?”

  “She’s my wife,” I confirmed. “It’s all very shocking, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said. “You let me hug her.”

  “So I did.”

  “And…” She looked around.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” I said. “Maybe you should ask her to dance.”

  She looked around, found Sha-shi, and stepped over to her. “May I have your first dance?”

  “You may.”

  And that was the signal to move apart.

  We had musicians, including me. We didn’t have any professionals, but we would have ample music.

  Sakaala was the first to reach me, but then she admitted she didn’t know how to lead. “That’s okay; I do.”

  We had a lovely dance. I kept it simple, and I saw around us others were doing the same, but it was a lovely dance with a lovely partner, and I told her that when I was done.

  “I’m not very good.”

  “It’s not about being good, it’s about sharing this time together,” I replied. “It’s about holding and being held. But now I see someone wants you next.”

  * * * *

  For the next hour, I danced with anyone who asked. From what I could see, everyone was having a nice time. I saw a lot of smiles, a lot of hugs.

  And then Rubarae was in front of me. I smiled and held my hands up, but she said, “Could I talk to you?”

  “Of course.” I collected her arm and tucked it in mine and then headed for the open door. We were flanked at a polite distance, but I told Rubarae, “Don’t worry about them.”

  She didn’t answer, but she tugged me to a tree, and then she separated and leaned sideways against it, looking at me in the dim light. “I’m not sure I’ve been a good mother.”

  “Sakaala seems happy and healthy,” I said. “So I find that statement unlikely.”

  “I’ve taught her to distrust men.” I said nothing to that but simply waited. Rubarae’s voice dropped and she said, “Her father was from Charthan.”

  I did the math. “He was just passing through.”

  “He raped me.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I replied. I opened my arms, and she came to me, laying her head on my shoulder.

  “I was young,” she whispered. “Younger than Sakaala now. Barely 14.”

  “I’m so sorry, Rubarae,” I said, holding her gently.

  She began crying. I made soothing sounds, but when she said she was crying into my dress, I tightened and said, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I’m nobody, and you're the princess.”

  “You are a citizen of Flarvor and a subject of my father’s,” I said. “You are somebody.”

  “They didn’t catch him. I don’t know what happened to him. I was just at an age where I was starting to think about boys. For years, I blamed the Ressalines.”

  “I’m sorry, Rubarae. When the Ressalines invaded Charthan and kicked out the men, that was poorly done, very poorly done. It was difficult for our country, and you weren’t the only woman who was abused. But what happened to you isn’t their fault; it is his, entirely his.”

  “I know,” she said. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Well. My sister calls me her problem-solver. I think that’s my official title.” She gave a little laugh. “So perhaps we should talk about this.” I got her moving. We’d set up a few chairs and benches outside, just for this reason, and I led her to them, then pulled her down on a bench beside me.

  Then I gestured. Mariya stepped closer. “I need one of the slaves, Sha-shi, if she’s free.” I didn’t worry about it after that but put my focus on Rubarae. “You said you don’t know what you should do. Help me understand.”

  “I have three older brothers,” she said. In other words, she wouldn’t inherit the farm, and their wives may not appreciate a hanger-on sister-in-law. “And I can’t stand the idea of a man touching me.”
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  “I am beginning to understand,” I replied. “Rubarae, I want to commend you. Clearly, talking about this is difficult for you, but you are the one who weaves flowers into our hair, and you have taught your daughter joy.”

  “That was hard at first,” she said. “But I wanted her to have a good life, and I knew that meant I had to… Move past things, as best I could. I’m glad she’s a girl, though.”

  “She’s a lovely girl,” I said. And then Sha-shi was there. She didn’t need any guidance but simply sat down beside Rubarae and took her hand.

  “Do I need to know what happened?”

  “Sakaala’s father was a passing Charthan,” I said. “His acquaintance with Rubarae was… brief.”

  Sha-shi’s lips tightened, but then she set fingers on Rubarae’s cheek. “Earlier you didn’t realize that I am Darfelsa’s wife.”

  “No.”

  “I imagine this is strange for you. The rules here on this side of the river are quite different from those on the north side. I don’t think you should worry about rules. You’ll feel better if you hold me.” And then she kissed Rubarae’s cheek and snuggled into her side.

  Rubarae wrapped her arms around my wife and laid her cheek against a resin-clad shoulder, her face against Sha-shi’s neck.

  We didn’t speak for a minute, although I kept my hand on her back. But then I said, “We hadn’t gotten that far, but I think Rubarae believes a life north of the river would better suit her.”

  “Sakaala and I can’t run a farm all alone, though.”

  “No, but there are options for that. There is opportunity, but at the same time, we haven’t told you everything. Do you want to know the rest?”

  “Yes.”

  We told her. She sat quietly, not moving, holding Sha-shi, and I realized in that moment that this was the way to tell people, while she was clinging to a pleasure slave, one as sweet as Sha-shi.

  At the end, she said simply, “For a while, I’d be like this.”

  “The first time is a little different,” I said. “Rubarae, have I scared you away?”

  “Do I look scared away?”

  I laughed. “No. Is it time to bring your daughter into this conversation, and maybe someone who can answer more questions than I can?”