“What will we do there?”
“How could you not want to go to Promise? It is the only place where a normal life is possible. I am so sick of having to fear for my life every night or have to steal food from garbage cans.”
However, Faith and Hope show little enthusiasm. “Promise is not unlike the Carris, you might as well stay here with us.”
“Everything is different in Promise. There is television, electricity, running water, and most importantly, they do not worship any lunatics. You do not really believe in Ereb, right?” Nea asks indignantly. She cannot understand that the twins do not share her hope.
“No, we do not. We simply see him as our leader. Of course it would be cool to take a bubble bath with warm water again. But surely you there has to be some kind of cost? Everything has its price, Nea, especially in our day and age.”
“Yes, they do not just let anyone into Promise. They only take people with special talents. We could do it, I mean, we killed a bear!” Nea desperately tries to convince them.
“No, you killed the bear, not us. We just stood by crying and screaming next to it. We are members of Carris, we know the Carris. Why would we run from one group of people straight into another group that seems to not be that much different? If that is your goal, we will support you as well as we can, but if this is still your goal, you will have to go alone.”
Whether Nea likes it or not, she must understand that the two of them will not accompany her to Promise. That night, they have a camp fire. Faith and Hope let Nea sleep in their midst and the three cuddle close up together with their sleeping bags.
The next morning, the girls’ breakfast consists of toasted bear meat and fresh lake water in order to strengthen themselves for another busy day. Faith and Hope put their habits on again. When they meet with other Carris, they will explain Nea’s missing habit with the truth, she was attacked by a bear and they used it as a bandage. When they leave, Nea notes that she will need a lot of strength to get through the day. She can barely walk with her leg injured as it is, let alone run. Whenever she tries to put too much weight on it, it sends a sharp driving pain through her body.
Not only will it be hard for Nea to walk, but carrying her backpack with her injured shoulder would be impossible. Therefore Faith carries Nea’s backpack in addition to her own. On the way, they discover a stick large and strong enough to serve as a walking stick. Their progress is slow, but around noon they encounter a group of Carris who are busy chopping wood. The trio sits down with them at their campfire. The woodcutters share some of their stew with Nea and the sisters. When Faith and Hope tell the men the story about the bear, they look at Nea with admiration and awe.
“The scars will only make you more beautiful,” says one of the men with large protruding ears, winking mischievously at Nea. When the twins start to giggle, Nea only lowers her head.
The men tell them that not far away is a former monastery inhabited by Ereb’ first wife. They advise them to stop by there, as it also houses healers who could help Nea’s wounds. When they go to leave, the man with the jug ears runs to Nea and gives her his campaign staff. In the grip he has carved a bear.
“Take care of yourself, Bear Killer,” he says with a red face and waves them goodbye. Again Nea must learn that you cannot lump all Carris into the same category. No matter where you go, you will find both nice and not nice people. Nea feels better and hopes she can function without the walking stick.
“Ereb has had several wives? And why does his first wife live in a monastery?” Nea asks curiously.
“Well, from time to time, female believers submit themselves to Ereb. Urelitas would probably be only too happy to submit himself to Ereb in that way, but as far as we know, Ereb is not into men,” Hope chuckles.
“But there is only one woman he loves with all his heart, and that is his first wife. They had a falling out, but a few weeks ago they found their way back to each other so wedding bells will be ringing for the second time,” Faith explains. The more Nea learns about Ereb, the more unlikable he appears to her. Not only is he worshipped as a god, he also operates a harem, and then dares to claim to have a single great love.
Without hesitation, Nea opened the door to the old barn and freezes in her tracks upon looking in. She could not believe what she saw. Although it should have been exactly what she expected. On the straw covered ground was Miro and a black-haired girl. Her hands were clutching like claws at his hair and her legs were wrapped around his body like a spider on its prey. Their lips were pressed against each other while a low moan came out of Miro’s throat. The fact that they were not naked was only a tiny consolation.
Nea had trouble breathing. Her stomach wildly rebelled against the last thing she ate, a box of macaroni. Hot tears ran down her cheeks. She gasped like a fish out of water. The sound made Miro sit up. When he turned around and saw her standing in the doorway, his eyes widened in horror. Almost as if he had been burned, he pushed the strange girl from him. His belt was dangling loose on his pants.
This was too much for Nea. Without saying a word, she turned on her heel and stormed off. It did not matter where she would flee to, nowhere was far enough to get the images out of her head. She heard Miro calling her name, but she did not heed his calls. He was a liar. He repeatedly told her how important she was to him, and every time she was inclined to believe him, she caught him with another woman. She and Miro should be friends and nothing more. He clearly could not be faithful and she could not show him how important he really was to her. It was easier to be insulted than to expose her heart for it to be broken.
Meanwhile, Nea had reached the beach and stumbled in the sand that was wet from rain. Her steps slowed and she sank to the ground, exhausted. While the wind dried her tears, her heart felt sore and empty, as though her heart had been ripped from her chest, leaving only a gaping wound.
Soon she could see Miro’s brown boots in front of her, blocking her view of the sea. His body cast a dark shadow on her face. She could punch him directly in his stomach, it would give her a little relief, but later it would plague her conscience, but she was too limp to even lift a finger. She did not want to see him and did not want to hear any more of his lies. If only he had stayed with the strange girl.
Miro knelt before Nea. When she still did not look at him, he lifted her chin with two fingers. Furious, she slapped his hand away.
“Leave me in peace and never touch me again. You’re disgusting,” she hissed. Her eyes were slits, her voice trembling with anger.
“And you’re a shrew!” Miro said without a hint of seriousness. He dropped to into the sand in front of her.
“Then why did you not stay with your latest conquest?”
Miro sighed: “Nea, I’m really sorry that you saw us together. I really thought you would be gone longer.”
Outraged, Nea gasped for air. “Oh, and that would make it better? How many times have you met with her behind my back?”
Miro grinned at her mischievously. “With her? Never.”
Nea was absolutely not laughing and it made her furious that Miro found the whole thing funny. “Never with her? But what about others? How many others? Ten?“ She bit back the comment. She felt disgraced enough already. Angrily she crossed her arms over her chest and looked fixedly past him at the roaring waves.
“Seriously Nea, you’re my number one. You really do not need to be jealous. You will always be first to me.”
Nea now risked a look at his face. His eyes were sad while his mouth was formed into a serious shape. How dare he?
“What do you expect from me?”
Now Miro’s eyes formed into slits. “No, what do YOU expect from ME.”
“I do not want to be one of many. I want to be special,” Nea tried desperately to explain. They had had this conversation many times.
“You are special to me. You’re the most important person in the world to me. What more do you want?”
“Thank you, but if I’m the number one pers
on in your harem, I can do without it,” Nea replied tartly.
Miro stood up angrily, brushing the sand off his pants. He looked down to Nea. “I do not know what you want from me, and I think you do not even know yourself. You act as though you’re the betrayed wife, yet we are not even together.” And therein lay her problem, but she would dare not say.
The woodworkers were right, because it does not take long for the girls to exit the forest. As soon as they do, they see a meadow and not far off are the walls of the monastery. They decide to stay there overnight so the healers can look at Nea’s wounds, and so they can rest.
The dog jumps merrily through the meadow and Hope plays fetch with her with a small stick. Once they almost reach the gate of the monastery, something odd happens. Suddenly the door opens a small crack and a young woman in a red habit rushes out. When she sees the three girls, her eyes go wide with terror. Her gaze wanders from one to the other before finally settling on Nea. She runs past the three and yells, “Quick, we have to get out of here!”
Without stopping, she keeps running into the woods. When Nea and the sisters do not follow her, she turns around and calls in a hushed voice, “Come quickly!”
Unsure, the girls look at each other. Should they heed the strange person? Their curiosity is aroused and they follow her.
The strange person runs fast and it’s not easy for Nea to keep up. When they reach the edge of the forest, they hear the sound of a loud horn coming from the monastery. Startled, Nea turns to look around. From the monastery many people wearing red habits rush out and are obviously looking for something. They spread out around the whole monastery. Some of them run in their direction.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” Faith asks the stranger.
“These are terrible people, they have tortured me. Please help me,” the girl pleads with panic-stricken eyes.
“Why do they torture you? You must have done something really wrong!” Hope pierces further, suspicious.
Exasperated, she rolls her eyes and pulls the habit tight over her belly. She is pregnant. “If it is a crime to expect a child, then I have definitely done something wrong. They want to take it away from me because all children belong to Ereb. When I refused, they locked me up. Please, let us go now,” she urges once more and runs off without waiting for the others. Shaken, the girls look at each other. Hope is the first to resume following the pregnant stranger.
Again and again, the loud horn sounds and everywhere in the forest steps and shouts are heard. They run as fast as they can, but neither the stranger nor Nea makes rapid progress. Eventually they reach the shore of the lake and miraculously; there is a functional boat moored on a pier by the shore, almost as if it had been waiting for them. First, the pregnant woman gets in, and then Nea gets in and turns to help the twins inside. With Nea and the stranger, the boat is basically full, but the twins and the dog could all fit if they sit close together. But this does not seem to be the twins’ plan, because Faith unties the rope and then both twins repel the boat from shore and into the lake too quickly for Nea to react. Nea rushes to the end of the boat. The dog becomes restless and starts barking from the shore, jumping up and down. The dog could easily swim to the boat, but something seems to hold her back.
“Come with me. You promised!” Nea calls to the twins as the boat slowly floats away from the shore.
“Nea, do not worry, we will meet again,” Hope calls as she puts her arm around the waist of her sister. The dog sits down next to the two of them and puts her head down before she begins to howl loudly.
“You know you always meet people twice in life,” Faith adds encouragingly.
“We will take good care of your partner,” they cry together. Nea does not notice the tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew she would have to leave the two of them soon, but she did not think it would be so sudden. Even the dog decided against staying with her. That hurts as much as the twins leaving.
Nea stares through her veil of tears at the red robes on the shore until the boat is so far from the shore the sisters appear as tiny red dots. She hopes that the Carris members in the forest do not realize their connection to the releasing of the boat. Only then does she remember that she is not alone.
Nea turns around and sees the young pregnant woman in her red habit. She scans the shore with scared eyes. It makes Nea angry, because of this stranger, she had to leave the twins earlier than she had expected. When the stranger feels Nea’s eyes on her, she turns to her.
“I am sorry your friends stayed behind, but we really should start to row, otherwise we might float back to shore.”
The oars are on the floor of the boat. “Do I look as if I could row?” Nea asks her angrily, pointing to her bandaged shoulder. She knows it’s not right to yell at the girl, but she has to deal with her frustrations, and right now, throwing them onto someone else seems to help.
“Do I look as if I could row?” The stranger counters, just as snippily, and points to her big round belly.
After a few moments, an arrow splashes into the water just in front of the boat. The two girls look to the shore and see four men dressed in crimson robes shooting arrows. Their target is the boat. The next arrow hisses past the pregnant woman’s head. She shrieks loudly and throws herself into the bottom of the boat forcefully so that the boat rocks dangerously. Another arrow hits in the bow of the boat.
“Pull your habit off!” Nea calls to her. It’s like a bright red light or signal flag for the archers. For a moment, she looks at Nea as though irritated, but soon follows her instructions. Once it is removed, the girl’s bright blonde hair can be seen, which is almost as good a target as her habit.
More and more arrows fly toward the boat and it’s pure luck that none of them hit them or the boat. On the banks more Carris members appear, and to their great horror, they have a raft they are putting in the water.
Both now realize that no matter what state of health they are in, they must row so they each simultaneously grab an oar and push it into the water. Water splashes on all sides and the boat turns in circles while they frantically row back and forth. Suddenly, the girl puts her hand on Nea’s arm and looks her in the eye with her dark brown eyes.
“We have to row together, only then can we move forward.”
As Nea nods, the pregnant stranger takes her hand from Nea’s arm and paddles on. Nea adapts to her pace. Moments later, an arrow strikes the upper arm of the pregnant woman. She lets out a loud cry of pain. Nea grabs her oar before it falls into the water. Even if her shoulder hurts terribly, Nea rows constantly, progressing even while the pregnant woman weeps below her. Her face is very pale; beads of sweat stand on her forehead. Nea is afraid the shear panic will induce labor in her. But when they see they have left the Carris behind them, the girl slowly calms down and tries to breathe a little. Nea drops the oars into the boat.
Nea’s once bright red bandage on her shoulder has turned dark red. The effort of rowing the boat must have caused it to split open again. It is quiet. Only the sound of water can be heard.
“Thank you!” The pregnant woman says, with a timid smile on her bright, almost white lips.
“We need to head back,” Nea says. She knows it is unfair that she cannot stand her just because she is pregnant and needs her help and because she hastened her departure with the twins, but she is powerless against her feelings.
“Will you help me?” The pregnant stranger asks, and Nea’s not sure what she means until her gaze slides over the arrow, which is still stuck in her arm. She wears only a short white dress, she has to be freezing. Her feet are in thin slippers. She will not get far. Nea is not sure whether it would be better to leave the arrow in her arm or pull it out. Because she does not know how long they will be on the road, she pulls the arrow from her arm so that she will not get blood poisoning.
Quickly, Nea wraps a strip of cloth from the girl’s habit onto her arm in order to stop the bleeding. The fabric soaks up fast, but after some time, the bleeding stops.
Slowly, color returns to the stranger’s face. Nea hands her the water bottle so that she can calm her nerves. Then there is silence. The boat continues to float upon the lake. Nea hopes that they will soon return to the pier they originally set out from.
Nine
Several hours go by without the two saying a word to each other, they just float on the water all day. Soon twilight comes and a light mist falls upon the lake. Far and wide nothing can be seen. The pregnant girl is asleep on the floor of the boat, but quickly wakes up and begins trembling.
“It’s pretty cold...” she says. Nea sees that goose bumps have formed on her bare skin. She could not put the habit back on again as it would be pretty conspicuous as it is ripped and covered in blood. Nea’s coat only slightly protects her from the cold. Even if she cannot stand the girl, she does not want her to freeze. Therefore, Nea grabs her sleeping bag out of her backpack and hands it to the stranger. She looks at it gratefully and immediately wraps it around herself. She looks out at the fog that spreads densely around their boat, “How long are we going to stay here on the lake?”
“We need to reach a certain pier; only from there will I know the way.”
“The way to where?”
“The way to Fortania, but before I get there, I will turn toward Promise.”
“But I do not want to go to Fortania or Promise,” she protests vehemently.
“But I do,” Nea replies rather snottily. What makes it even more annoying is that instead of showing Nea even a bit of gratitude for saving her life, she acts like a bitch and makes demands.
“Are you mad? How do you think you will get there? The closer you get to Fortania, the more Carris there will be. Without a habit and as hurt as you are, you would not come within a mile of your goal!”
Crestfallen, Nea sees that she may be right. She wanted to stubbornly stick to her plan. She also realized that she no longer has her habit or someone who could cover for her. It’s all the stranger’s fault, because of her, Nea had to leave the twins. Nea squints at the girl evilly.
Promise: The Scarred Girl Page 9