Eadda quietly knocked on the door to the library and leaned against the wall opposite the entrance waiting for an answer. Her fingers were running impatiently over the magnificent carvings in the wood of the wall panelling. When after a few seconds of waiting she still had not received any sign of life from the other side, she pushed herself away from the wall, clenched her hand into a fist, and was about to hammer on the door when it was torn open.
"Wot?!" It had more of a bark than a question. The sullen expression on the bearded face of the young man vanished within a second. "Oh, Eadda, yah’re that. Come in."
"Who else should it be?" the girl asked as she walked into the library and looked around. "Except for me none’s interested in wot ya do here."
Eadda sauntered over to the carved desk and looked at the huge stack of books rising from a wild hodgepodge of scribbled parchment scrolls. The word Dyphuom struck her from the records again and again, but she did not know what it was.
Finally, she turned and leaned against the table and was looking over at the most important person in her life.
Yardleyu was the elder of her two brothers and she simply called him Yary. He wore the clothes of a novice, and on his chest was the sign of the Voynar Magic Academy where he had lived for a while and began his training as a magician, but he had already returned home after two years. Although he was no longer a member of the Academy, he still wore the shirts and trousers he had brought from there.
Eadda had never been aware of how similar they were, but his absence had painfully made her aware of that and since his return they have been inseparable. Contrary to their parents' plans Yary had not become an officer in Voynar's army, but spent the night brooding over his books and records. This rebellion against the parents' traditions made him a kind of like-minded man for Eadda defended herself as well as she could against the educational measures that would later make her a good wife.
Her other brother, Sean, had it better – at least as far as his name was concerned – but unlike them he did exactly what his parents wanted and served in the army to follow in his father's footsteps later. He didn’t understand his two siblings who pursued their own plans, and in his opinion were hardly worthy of their title of nobility. The strict rules in his parents' house and in the army meant honour to him, and for him it was not a duty to adhere to it; it was rather a commandment he was only too happy to accept. He had already made a name for himself as a young dutiful soldier and was the pride of his parents. In dealing with the sword, he showed an outstanding talent, his older brother however had no interest in the fight with the weapon.
Yary's passion was the books, his research and experimenting with magic, and there were his talents. He was extremely talented but found it difficult to adhere to the rules and prohibitions of the Academy, and so they finally sent the truculent novice back home to the care of his parents.
Yardleyu could have been described as closed but those who studied him quickly discovered that he only separated those who were worth a conversation from those who did not. And one of the few valuable people was his little sister.
He looked at her as well, his ice-blue shimmering eyes examining her briefly, but carefully then stroking a strand of blond hair behind his right ear, closing the door, and moving to one of the two chairs that stood in front of the open fireplace. Eadda followed him and sat down in the other armchair.
'She cried…' he thought.
"Wot happened, Eadda?" Yary wanted to know; he could see that she had upset something.
Her brother was right it still raged in her, but his presence was enough to calm her down at least a little. "At sum point it had to come so far. For years now I've only been delayin’ the inevitable." Eadda's words faltered briefly she didn’t know how to phrase it, so she just blurted it out. "Our parents have chosen a husband for me, in two weeks the weddin’ will take place."
Yary leaned back in his chair and looked into the embers in the fireplace. After a few seconds of silence, he uttered the words she had expected and feared. "I am powerless, Eadda."
The girl hid her face in her hands and struggled with the tears that were ready to stream back over her cheeks. When her parents had opened her up half an hour ago, what her life would be like, she had already cried. She had raged and shouted that she would rather die than marry this guy, but the only thing that had brought her in was a juicy slap by her father's hand. Her left cheek was still burning, but she wasn’t aware of the pain, the anger that burned inside her even hotter was too great.
When Yary put his hand on her shoulder she winced in surprise. He knelt on the ground in front of her and when Eadda looked up she couldn’t help throwing herself into his arms and sobbing unrestrained. The anger dissipated from one moment to the next leaving only utter despair. She didn’t know how long she had cried, but eventually her brother helped her to her feet.
"I would help ya if I could, but it's beyond wot I can influence." Yary took Eadda's face in his hands and gently stroked her cheeks with both thumbs wiping away her tears.
In his eyes she could see pain, the same pain she felt. They would both be separated, torn apart when Eadda was forced to move out of the Blake family estate in two weeks to live with her husband.
They looked at each other for a long time and as Yary looked like he was about to cry he instead asked, "Who are ya supposed to marry?"
Eadda gulped and took a deep breath; it took her strength to speak the name which in her eyes meant her ruin. Finally, she pressed out, "Ethan Walsh."
Yary looked at her in shock, he knew Walsh and despised him. "By Medelya... They canno’ possibly be serious..." His voice broke, his head dropping in dismay, he turned away. Then he began to pace up and down the long rows of bookshelves for which he possessed an obsessive enthusiasm.
Ironically Walsh would marry his younger sister, that disgusting mangy scum of a man. He was older than Yary, but they had met a few years ago playing in front of the property. The Walsh family lived just a few doors down. Ethan had been sadistic in his childhood; Yary had noted that despite his young years soon and also felt several times on his own body.
Eadda had already expected that he wouldn’t be thrilled with the decision of their parents but she had never experienced her brother so shocked.
"We must be able to do sumthin’... That... that... canno’ be final, is it?" Eadda's eyes followed her brother incessantly. "Or, Yary?!" Her voice was shrill as she repeated herself.
But Yary was silent as he kept pacing up and down for several minutes. Then he paused, pulled one of the books off the shelf, and walked to the desk, wiping his notes away impatiently the scrolls of parchment and his quill tumbling to the floor.
'Wot's he up to now...?' Eadda thought.
She hurried after him and looked over his shoulder while Yary was already frantically flipping pages. When she realised what he was looking for she snatched the book from him, closed it and read the title in disbelief.
“’Wild Herbs an’ Their Benefits in Alchemy an’ Medicine’? Are ya out of yer mind? This ain’ the time to read about plants, Yardleyu Faegan Blake!" Eadda exclaimed in exasperation.
"Yah’ll have to marry him, Eadda Abigail Blake! There is no way around it, if our parents have set this in their heads! An’ yet..." Yary took the book out of her hand and kept flipping through it until he found what he was looking for. "Thistles... Yellow thistles... Blue thistles... Here..." He pulled an unwritten piece of parchment from one of the desk drawers and groped for his quill pen.
Eadda picked it up off the floor and handed it to him. "Wot ya up to? Ya want to poison him?"
Yary scribbled on the parchment reading through the letters, flipping through a few pages as he continued to read without looking at what he was writing.
When Eadda got no answer, she went back to the armchairs in resignation and sat down on one of them her eyes wandering about the library. It was a sumptuously decorated room, the shelves reaching to the ceiling with intricate carvings like the desk and the feet of the two armchairs. Almost everything in the Blake mansion showed how wealthy the family was. To the left and right of the chimney were stained-glass windows that showed some heroes bragging about the battle they had won and raising the banner of the kingdom of Voynar.
In the flickering light of the fireplace the figures even seemed almost alive as if they were moving. The lanterns that hung from the ceiling and illuminated the room were also lavishly decorated and certainly made of some expensive metal, but Eadda wasn’t in the least interested in all that.
She hated the prosperity of having to be part of this aristocratic life. To do what she was told to do, not to do what she enjoyed. To marry who her parents chose, not the one she would fall in love with someday.
A few days ago, she had turned thirteen, at this age young women were often married – at least in socially respected circles. The simpler Voyneresses usually got married later and Eadda knew that some of the girls she knew from equally aristocratic circles had even been assigned to their husbands by the age of eleven or twelve since then she had not heard from them. It seemed to them like disappearing in a hole and never coming out once one got caught in a marriage.
From earliest childhood Eadda had been banned from playing, she had to sit quietly, and a specially hired teacher taught her to read and write. She was taught how to dress, how to eat properly, drink, and treat guests. She also had to learn how to sew and embroider so that later on she wouldn’t be able to live off her husband’s money too much but could tailor her own gorgeous clothes. All this had initially instinctively postponed her.
At some point she had refused to wear the robes her mother chose every morning instead she had stolen some silver coins and bought at the market simple comfortable clothes as the sons of the peasants wore. She had gotten terrible trouble but her parents eventually gave up when she came home in new rags again and again.
And now these two weeks of time were still there before she disappeared into a hole like a dark storm cloud over her head. If she had previously believed that she was a prisoner in her family, Eadda feared that everything would be much worse if her husband began to tell her what she had to do and what to do not.
She already longed for the precious moments of freedom she felt only when she ran away from home and wandered around in the woods or on the hills of the Ice Lands. Sometimes she did not return to the property for several days and when she did her father was already waiting for her with a good beating.
Eadda spent about half an hour with her sombre thoughts as she heard the rustle of Yary's robe coming over to her with the parchment scroll in hand. He pulled the free armchair so far in front of hers until they sat directly opposite and looked at her grimly.
"I have a plan, but I don’ know if it will work," he began. Eadda looked at him hopefully, but Yardleyu hesitated as he looked at his notes. "Ya won’ like wot I have to say, Eadda. But we can’t do anythin’ that would change our parents. Yah’re goin’ to have to marry this guy, but this could help brin’ ya home in the lon’ run."
"Lon’ run? How lon’ should I endure before yer plan works? And wot exactly do ya intend to do now?" she asked not understanding what he was getting at.
After another moment of hesitation, he began to explain, "Ya canno’ disappear from the Ice Lands, the borders are guarded too well, no one would let ya pass an’ the coast is so steep that it would hardly be possible to escape across the sea. Even if ya stay in Voynar an’ hide yerself, ya would be looked for an’ everythin’ turned upside down ya would have been found. But if ya marry Ethan now ya will be required to perform certain duties an’ there will be a traditional contract that defines yer responsibilities; includin’ givin’ birth to offsprin’."
Eadda sat up straight staring at her brother in disbelief for a moment and then yelling, "No! I will no’ do that!"
"I know, I know, Eadda. Calm down for a moment so I can explain it to ya please." Yary looked at her intently and Eadda nodded briefly so he would continue. "Thank ya. Well... This contract requires ya to fulfil yer marital duties includin’ these duties. If ya can no’ fulfil them, Ethan can break ya which is probably wot every man who marries in these aristocratic circles will do. Women who can’t do wot the man intended are considered dishonourable an’ are usually sent back to their families. But ya won’ be able to do anythin’ other than pretend ya are tryin’ to fulfil these duties otherwise he will force ya to do so, an’ ya should spare yerself that. Share the bed with him an’ I promise that I will see to it that ya don’ give him offsprin’. This blend of herbs will make sure ya can’t do that, if ya take it."
Yary held up the parchment with the recipe he had just written and looked at Eadda who had jumped at his last words and tore her hair. "I canno’ do that! And I will no’! I'm goin’ to make sure he doesn’ touch me! Ya can count on that, Yary!" Eadda yelled at her brother in rage and desperation and then stormed out of the library.
Yary followed her to the door watching her as she moved away at a speed, he would never have expected such a small thing to do.
'I can understand her so well…' Yardleyu thought.
Sean curiously stuck his head out of his room and looked after her, too, then his eyes fell on Yary who was still standing in the library entrance. "Wot has happened in Eadda? Once again sumthin’ ain’ happenin’ to her will?" he asked with a mocking grin on his lips but Yary only had a contemptuous look for him and disappeared back into the library.
Eadda didn’t hear them anymore as she rattled down the long staircase in the lobby, Yary's words echoing in her mind, her heart racing in panic.
Aware of the shouting her father came out of the salon and rose in front of her with a threatening hand, but she slumped to the ground, slid past him over the polished stone floor, and plunged through the front door outside.
Nor did she hear his angry cries as she ran through the evening streets of the city where only a few people were on their way. She met city guards twice but she avoided them and kept on hurrying. Even at the bridge she was over so fast that the bridge guards didn’t even have time to emerge from the lobbies to the left and right of the gate. The girl had already disappeared over the bridge and in the bushes off the road until they had got into position.
Eadda kept running headlong, slipping over fences and dodging rocks. Even at the trapdoor in the floor the thing only she knew about she was already past and rushing up a long climb.
Deprived of her strength she finally stopped breathless and looked around. The view over the rough sea with a blood-red setting sun on the horizon would have been breathtakingly beautiful, but not this evening.
Without wanting to she had run directly to the place where there were numerous benches for the wedding guests and a small desk for the Cleric who married the bride and groom.
'No…' she thought.
When Eadda realised where she had gone, she fell to her knees. Furious she scrambled to her feet and kicked at the benches, knocking over some of them. Then she yelled her pain into the wind which stifled her cries and carried them away.
Exhausted, hoarse, cold, and helpless Eadda went down the hill again heading for her trapdoor, her retreat. She hunkered down between two small trees hidden behind an icy bush, and peered through the thorny branches for any pursuit. Bushes like this grew everywhere in the Ice Lands. Almost like weeds they grew in every vacancy.
Eadda couldn’t see anyone, but swift footsteps from the direction of the street told her that someone must have followed her. With her hands she fumbled around in the moss until her fingers met the cold metal of the ring which she grabbed and opened the trapdoor.
A second later she was gone and Sean who had run after her at his father's urging and been put on the right track by the guards stood helplessly in the middle of the tiny grove.
Meanwhile Eadda crawled a little forward and around a corner in the shaft under the trapdoor. Her fingers now hit something soft, fluffy, a little further on a lamp which she ignited carefully. With a quick glance she looked around and calmly realised that everything was still in place and no one had discovered her hiding place. She crawled in between the skins and took a short breath until she felt vibrations in the ground. Her pursuer was looking for her right above her she held her breath anxiously and listened.
Sean's voice called to her, but she remained silent and made no sound.
'He can search for a lon’ time…' she thought.
Gradually the calls were quieter again and she relaxed.
Then she sat up, reached for the basket which stood in a corner and looked into it. Her food supplies had been used up. The few that had been here were now spoiled despite the cold. Only a small slice of beef jerky made the impression of being edible. Eadda was annoyed at her own negligence. At the next opportunity she had to steal food from the pantry again and bring it here.
Again, she looked around her sanctuary, where she hid when she couldn’t stand it in the estate. All this she had done alone on many nights she had sneaked out to dig the shaft then she had lined the back of it with wooden planks to keep her dry and a little warmer. However, she hadn’t dared to provide the remaining studs with it. If somebody discovered the trapdoor and looked inside, they would only discover an inconspicuous hole in the earth at the end of which there was nothing. But behind one from the entrance invisible corner was her nest. She had deposited books here as well as something to eat, a lamp, and the skins. The latter she had bought from a hunter.
Eadda retrieved her dagger between the furs, pulled it out of its scabbard, and looked at the polished silver blade on both sides the handle wrapped in black strips of leather. It wasn’t very gorgeous, yet there was no object in the world she loved so much as this dagger. And at least it was sharp enough to kill someone. In times like these it gave her a grim satisfaction to possess such a thing.
She could fight back! And she would fight back!
Ethan should be careful; he didn’t even know who he was dealing with!
With a wicked smile on her lips Eadda shoved the dagger back into its scabbard, snuggled into the skins, and put out the light. With her only weapon in hand, she soon fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
 
Yary looked back and forth between those present. His parents were very upset, and Sean was angry because he had just been sent to search for his sister and had to return home unsuccessfully.
"Yardleyu, wot did ya tell her that she leaves the house so upset an’ shows such recklessness?" Abigail was looking at her eldest offspring with a stinging reproachful look.
For an hour all the other family members were in the library with him, finding it more important to yell at each other instead of asking what had happened. Not that they understood it. They did not care about her daughter's feelings at all so he made no attempt to explain it.
"I told her exactly wot ya said, mother," Yary said evasively.
"In my youth..." Abigail continued.
But Yardleyu wasn’t listening because he knew that Eadda was well, and presumably somewhere in what she called her sanctuary.
When he raised his eyes, Sean looked at him. His younger brother like Eadda knew him too well for his taste. And Sean sensed he knew where their mutual sister had disappeared, but he also knew that Yary would never reveal it.
And so, the family remained in a situation in which they could only wait for the unwieldy girl to eventually return home. 

Copyright: Larissa Doe

“Eadda, get up! Come on!” Eadda rubbed her eyes drowsy while her mother swept through the room, tore open the window, and pulled the sheet from her legs. "Jeez... I forgot... Sean? Sean! Unlock the chain! Immediately!"
 Suddenly everything was back, the wedding, the letter. For a moment she had hoped that she had only dreamed and had just woken up from this bad dream, but that was not the case. All of this corresponded to the bitter reality.
 Sean hurried to her room and started to open the lock; the chain clattered to the floor. He gave her a long, expressionless look as he rose then turned and left.
 Abigail shooed Eadda out of bed and pointed down the hall. "Go and bathe, the maids have already brought the water over!" She handed her daughter a comb and fresh underwear that she had never seen before. "Now go!"
 Eadda hurried out of the room and down the hall, the library door was open and she stopped.
 'Wot the...' she thought.
She watched Yary in amazement who was already dressed and standing in front of one of the bookshelves in a tailor-made suit. She had never seen him like this before, the brocade material looked very good on him, his shoulder-length hair was tied in a pigtail which he normally didn't.
'I almost didn’ recognise him...' she thought.
He turned his head when he heard her come in and looked at her seriously, putting the book in his hand back on the shelf before walking towards her.
"Good mornin’," he greeted his little sister.
"Mornin’. Ya... look so different," she remarked and looked at him again.
“But no’ like a fool? Because that’s how I feel right now," Yary mumbled and looked down at himself.
She shook her head violently. “No, no’ at all. It suits ya. For real. I... I just wish I could have seen ya like this under different circumstances."
Yardleyu nodded sadly and hugged her. “This will probably be our last hug for a lon’ time. Just know that I am close by and always available whenever ya need my help."
Eadda just nodded, the lump in her throat didn't let her speak at that moment, but she enjoyed the last moment that remained with her brother until Yary released the hug, gently turned her around, and pushed her to the door. “Yah'd better leave before mother gets angry. Today she has no mercy."
Eadda nodded again and made her way to the bathtub. When she got to the washing room, she took off her nightgown and stepped into the warm water. She quickly washed herself with a sponge having already washed her hair yesterday and it would take too long to dry again.
Then she rubbed herself with a fresh woollen cloth and looked at the strange underwear her mother had given her. She usually wore some made of woven linen, but this one was made of silk with ruffles around the edges. Eadda didn’t hesitate long and pulled on the tight underpants. Confused she realised that instead of a sleeveless shirt that kept you warm it was an extremely short shirt made of the same fabric as its counterpart.
'That ain’t underwear…' she thought.
After a moment's hesitation, she also put on the shirt into which she could just squeeze her breasts, but it was incredibly tight and Eadda suddenly felt very uncomfortable in her skin. When she looked in the mirror, she knew the reason. It clearly emphasized her feminine charms and she almost started crying again.
A few days before she had never thought about things like her body or what happened when a woman was with a man. In spirit she was still almost a child and now she was being sold like a head of cattle so that some guy could do whatever he wanted to with her. She had never expected something like this to happen to her one day and yet it did.
Today. That very day.
She took a deep breath and combed her hair until the door was thrown open and her mother came in with two maids.
"Yah’re done, at least sumthin’," Abigail remarked and looked at her daughter satisfied a short smile crossed her face. "Fine, the corset!"
When Eadda was about to ask what it was one of the two stepped forward and walked around Eadda with a strange-looking piece of clothing from which numerous cords dangled. The servant lifted Eadda's arms then pulled the hose-like thing over it until it was at the waist where the other maid held it in place while the maid behind her diligently pulled the strings. The strange fabric hose tied tighter and tighter around Eadda's upper body until she could barely breathe.
She gasped in shock and looked indignantly at her mother, but she just smiled strangely again, turned around, and screamed down the hall. "Brin’ the dress!"
Frantic footsteps could be heard and two more maids brought in a snow-white huge-looking dress that took up almost half the room.
“Oh dear, it's way too narrow in here! Take it to the library there should be enough space. Eadda, come with me.” Abigail grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled her outside after her.
Barefoot, clad only in underwear and the corset the still gasping confused young woman stumbled after her mother through the cold hallway and into the library where Yardleyu was sitting behind the desk and at first did not understand what was going on. But when he saw his younger sister, he looked away with a horrified expression.
Eadda now had to stand on the stool that one of the maids had brought from the wash room before tons of fabric were pulled over her head and it took half an eternity before she found her way out of the depths of her wedding dress. Eadda was breathing quickly and shallowly had an uncomfortably queasy feeling in her stomach and for a moment she felt dizzy.
When she lost her balance and almost fell off the stool Yary caught her and carefully set her down on the floor.
"Everythin’ okay? Are ya a’ight?” he asked worriedly.
Eadda held on to him for a moment before she nodded.
Yardleyu held her hand for a moment then released it to sit back behind the desk.
Abigail had watched the scene shaking her head and now sent one of the maids to fetch Eadda a glass of liqueur. The other maids tied the wedding dress at the back before two of the maids lifted the skirt and the third pushed a stool underneath on which Eadda sank relieved. The fourth maid rushed over and handed her the glass of liqueur which she hastily drank. It tasted sweet and spicy at the same time, a taste she had never tasted before but it felt good she calmed down a bit and suddenly wasn't so nervous anymore.
All four maids spent the following hour brushing and styling Eadda's hair then lifted the front of her skirt again and put on a kind of silk belt and white lace stockings that came down to her thighs and were fastened to the belt so they didn't slide down. White shoes that matched the dress were also brought; they had a heel not too high but it felt strange.
To her great relief Abigail left the room to dress herself then the maids began to make up for Eadda. A paste with silvery shimmering pigments was rubbed onto her eyelids, her cheeks were given a delicate pink tinge, and her lips were reddened with a mixture of fat and crushed ice rose petals.
When they were done, they helped her to get up and Eadda looked exhausted at her brother whose mouth was wide open when he saw her. The sight of him was so amusing that she had to grin and Yary closed his mouth hastily, came over to her, took her hands, looked his sister up and down, and then leaned forward.
“Yah’re beautiful, Eadda. The most beautiful bride I have ever seen,” he whispered in her ear.
Eadda smiled embarrassed and returned his reserved smile then he sent one of the maids to fetch another glass of liqueur - 'for the bride's nerves'. All four scurried out of the library and left them alone.
Yardleyu sighed deeply he could no longer hold up the mask that had hidden his grief. A loved one was going to be stolen from him and there was nothing he could do about it nor could his sister.
Eadda felt his grief and put a reassuring hand on his cheek she herself had already given up the resistance to the marriage it would happen anyway. The liqueur also did the rest and conjured a transfigured smile on her face. In that brief moment she felt absolutely safe, she felt strong and if her brother hadn't known better, he would have assumed that she was looking forward to the wedding. He also realised that this was not the case when her mother called from downstairs that it was time to leave.
'Please no...' she thought.
Her eyes showed her naked panic and she opened her mouth to say something when a maid came in with the liquor and humbly handed her the glass. In one gulp, Eadda emptied it and hooked herself to her brother who led the swaying bride down the hall and to the stairs.
There Eadda looked down at her family for a moment. Her parents looked almost the same, but their clothes looked a bit more elegant than usual and Abigail had put on her best most expensive jewellery, Sean wore a suit similar to his brother. With one hand on the railing and the other arm hooked under Yary's Eadda walked slowly down the steps. Her gaze fell in the large mirror that stood in the entrance hall at the foot of the stairs and her breath caught.
'That ain’t me...' she thought.
Her brother hadn't lied she was really incredibly beautiful to look at, the dress was sewn from snow-white brocade, the skirt reached down to the floor and had a long train. White fabric ice roses had also been sewn onto a gathering in the hem and the long sleeves were made of almost transparent lace. The maids had plaited their hair and tied it into a deep bun with small rose-shaped clips glistening in it which she assumed were made of pure real silver. Even if she had suspected otherwise due to the length of the procedure she was only slightly made up, her cheeks looked reddened, embarrassed, and the eyelids shimmered when she blinked.
Her mother stepped up to her and carefully placed a fine silver chain around her neck, the pendant also showed an ice rose and was set with tiny diamonds. Then she put a short white coat made of snow hare fur over her shoulders which one of the maids handed to her.
"Almost done," Abigail remarked happily.
Another maid brought the transparent silk veil that was attached to a small comb and matched the ice roses in her hair. Her mother carefully pinned it to the top of the bun and tossed the fabric over her head so that it was in front of her face.
“Now let's go. It's getting’ late,” Faegan grumbled and the family left the house.
Two carriages were waiting for them outside, the first was the Blake family's carriage, but she had never seen the second; it was black, decorated with white ice roses, and was pulled by two white horses.
"Eadda, ya and yer father get into this carriage." Abigail indicated the carriage with the white horses. "And we're goin’ with our own."
Eadda just nodded and gave Yary a long sad look before she got into the carriage the small door of which the coachman was already holding open for her. She sat down on the soft upholstery facing the direction of travel and avoided the gaze of her father who was sitting across from her, so she remained seated for the entire journey and was silent.
After a while the carriage stopped and Faegan mumbled, "We're here." Then he climbed out of the shed.
'The beginnin’ of the end...' she thought.
Eadda took a deep breath and got out of the vehicle with the help of her father who offered her a hand. Instinctively she looked for Yardleyu and spotted him in the ranks of the guests along with Sean and their mother he looked troubled. Only then did her gaze fall on Ethan who was standing next to the Cleric in the centre and waiting for her.
A dark red carpet was rolled out on the floor in front of her covered with white ice rose petals and a band began to play but Eadda did not hear the delicate tones. It boomed in her ears as she stepped forward through the rows of guests at her father's side. It almost felt like the path would never end all eyes were on her.
But after half an eternity they arrived at the front and Faegan gave his daughter to Ethan with a nod before he went to her family. Eadda looked at her bridegroom who gave her a sugar-sweet smile and except for the stupid grin and the clothes looked just like yesterday when she had observed him in front of her property. He wore his dark blonde hair tied in a pigtail again the dark suit was made of brocade – like her dress. Presumably the parents of the bride and groom agreed that everything was perfect that day. The head of a blood-red ice rose was attached to his lapel.
'Those damn roses everywhere...' she thought.
Eadda hated them. Everything about them. That they had thorns. How they smelled. And she didn't think they were beautiful either.
The Cleric had long since started the wedding, but the rustling in Eadda's ears prevented her from hearing him. Absent-mindedly she let her gaze wander over the landscape that sloped slightly beyond the wedding place. It was cold but at the moment there was no snow in the Ice Lands at least not in the lower areas, and the tops of the northern fir trees stretched dark green into the sky. She had never been in a country other than her home; she had only read stories.
Dwarfs lived in Hyrunar where it was even colder than in Voynar and the snow lay all year round. They had built huge halls in the mountains an underground city they called Emerald. On the island of La'zhij there were supposedly wood elves whose beautiful songs resounded through the forests, but neither the elves nor the dwarves were seen in the rest of Abarglen – and certainly not in the Ice Lands.
The kingdom was cordoned off surrounded on three sides by the raging sea, and on the fourth side was a gigantic wall that King Kavanagh had built – the Wall of Voynar. Insurmountable this kept the enemies outside but unfortunately also the Voynarians inside.
Ethan listened carefully to the Cleric looking in the direction of the Cleric before glancing at her, opening his mouth, and saying something she couldn't understand.
And she heard herself say, "I agree."
Suddenly she was pulled back into reality and she realised what had just happened. Her head jerked around and her eyes searched the cheering crowd for Yardleyu, but he was gone.
Instead, Ethan suddenly stood right in front of her and pulled her veil back then pressed his lips to hers and Eadda didn't know what to do so she just stood there and waited.
'Get away from me...' she thought.
When he finally broke away from her, he no longer smiled but stared at her with suppressed anger in his eyes before he took her arm and led her through the rows of still cheering guests back to the carriage and helped her in before he got in himself. The coachman closed the shed behind the bride and groom and climbed back onto the driver's seat cracked the whip and the horses began to move.
Eadda avoided Ethan's gaze but she felt it like needle pricks boring into her body as she looked intimidated out of the tiny window in the door. The carriage drove fast and brought her closer and closer to an uncertain future which she could no longer influence herself.
The landscape passed quickly but instead of driving back towards the city the coachman steered the team to the left from where it continued into the mountains. Eadda didn't have to ask where they were going, she thought she already knew the answer.
There wasn't much in this part of the Ice Lands only the Weather Point was up there a small village so close to the peaks that it didn't even begin to thaw in summer. The horses slowed down with the steeper incline and when they had already passed the snow line they stopped. Ethan climbed out of the shed to offer her his hand Eadda reluctantly took it and got out of the carriage cautiously.
The property they were standing in front of was a little apart from the other houses at Weather Point and so far from Voynar that she couldn't even see the city through the thick haze that surrounded the summit. Eadda looked up at the building in front of her which was a small property not nearly as big as the one she had lived in and certainly not what Ethan had promised her in his letter. If she didn't have to live here involuntarily, it would be a pretty building but in the light of the evening sun the dark windows looked threatening.
'Like empty eyes…' she thought.
While she was standing there surveying the property Ethan went to the door and opened it then put on his fake smile again and called out to her. "Welcome home, Mrs. Walsh!" 

Copyright: Larissa Doe

Yardleyu went searching through the bulging pantry of the property, a slight shiver made his body shake, down here in the basement it was very cold although autumn had just come and there was no snow yet. Far back was a table on which was what he had been looking for – the previous evening's dessert. He wrapped the sweet pastries in a cloth and put them in the pocket that hung from his shoulder. As he passed, he took an apple with him which he also put in his bag then left the room and locked the door.
The twenty-two-year-old man circled the property and pulled the hood of his fur-lined cloak over his head so that his face could not be seen. His fully saddled horse was already standing on the road on whose back he climbed and rode off. For four and a half years he had covered this route several times a week and despite his reliable mount it was always a difficult route. Every time there was fear. Fear she might not be able to sit by the window. Fear she was dead. Fear he would never see her again.
The times of day always alternated sometimes he rode at night and sometimes at noon like today. On the way there the fear ate its way through his bowels, but the way back was worse having to leave her alone again hurt the most.
He followed the main street that led him out of town while the guards took no notice of him, they knew the veiled figure by now. After crossing the long bridge beyond the city gate, he spurred the mare on.
After night had fallen, he was climbing the last stretch of the steep rise to the Weather Point with his heart pounding, and was relieved to see that the lantern was burning in the window their agreed sign that Ethan was not home and that it was safe to approach the building. During the day, she instead hung a red cloth over the window sash.
Ethan Walsh was an officer in the army of the Kingdom of Voynar and so despite his noble descent he had to serve like any soldier from a simple family. He had to do his duty sometimes during the day and sometimes at night and they regularly used the time of his absence to meet and talk to each other.
The first time Yary had sat under the window and talked to Eadda; he had literally forced her to tell him about the things her husband did to her. She was his prisoner, locked in his house and only once a day, he let her outside to empty the bucket into which she had to relieve herself. Ethan did not even allow her to use the toilet a simple wooden shed that sat outside behind the building. He also starved her only getting a meagre meal every two days. Their common plan to get Eadda's husband to abandon her through the childlessness had not worked out, but she still did not want to give her husband a child which is why she continued to take the drink that her brother made for her. Even if she paid for it, every day anew. She was worthless to her husband, a toy with which he could do as he pleased whether she gave him a son or not, he would still be happy to mistreat her. The two would have loved to poison Ethan, but Eadda would have been blamed for the murder and had she been thrown into the dungeons she would undoubtedly have fared even worse than her marriage and so they failed to do so and continued to meet at the kitchen window.
He tied his horse to a tree a bit away from the village before he hurried to fix the light of the lantern on the window and stopped below, then he knocked softly against the pane with a branch lying around. The casement opened immediately and as far as it was possible.
"Eadda?" Yary called up softly.
But it wasn't until she answered that he was completely reassured.
"Yes, I’m here," her voice sounded weak and powerless through the narrow opening.
Then she quickly let a hook attached to a rope down to him on which he hung the bag he was carrying. She pulled the little bag into the house through the window, and half a minute later it came back out the same way. As always there was an empty glass vial in it – the sign that she had taken her herbal drink.
“The pastries were left over last night. We had guests and the maids had baked too much as I instructed,” he said quietly.
“Thank ya, Yary. Wot would I do without ya..."
When Eadda's voice faded into a murmur tears welled up in his eyes they couldn't even see each other and all he heard was her low desperate voice. He sat down on the floor under the window and leaned against the wall then pulled himself together and told her about the latest happenings in the Blake house. Aside from the guests they had received there was only one thing worth telling.
“Sean was promoted to lieutenant the day before yesterday. Father and mother are very proud of him, he has come a lon’ way in such a short time. After all, he's only just eighteen years old. But ya know that. They even went to the market yesterday and passed the news around,” Yary reported cheerlessly.
"It's a shame ya can't convey my congratulations to him," Eadda said through the window.
Their meetings were kept secret nobody knew that Yardleyu went to Walsh's estate regularly to speak to his sister, but he hadn't seen her since their wedding. In his memory it was a black day, he couldn't bear to see her standing there in the white wedding dress that made her look like an angel. In her eyes he could have read the fear she must have been in and Walsh had stood next to her and smiled. When the cleric had explained the duties of the married couple and all the guests present were to pray for numerous descendants Yary had turned away and left the place in a hurry, he had gone down the hill, sat on a tree trunk and wept.
After a moment of silence, Yary asked: "Ya like the pastries?"
"Very well indeed!" A touch of enthusiasm was in her voice and a smile flitted over her brother's features then he fell silent again and let her eat in peace.
A few minutes later he pulled a book out from under his cloak. "This time I brought a book about La'zhij with me as ya had wished." A faint cheer came down to him from the window and with a smile on his face he whispered a few unintelligible words causing a glowing ball to float out of the palm of his hand.
When the magical source of light stopped in the air above his head he began to read Eadda from the book, about the island of La‘zhij, the capital Davaj and the elves who inhabited it. They sat like that until dawn Yardleyu on the floor next to the house and Eadda inside by the kitchen window.
At some point she interrupted him excitedly: “Yary, be quiet! I hear his horse comin’!"
The light bullet disappeared instantly and he hastily tucked the book back under his coat stood up and pulled the hood over his head.
Eadda whispered softly through the narrow opening, “Thank ya for this wonderful night. It's so good to hear yer voice. Take care of yerself."
"Ya too," he wanted to answer but by then she had already closed the window and turned off the light of the lantern.
Yary picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder then peered around the house to the stable where Ethan was unsaddling his horse watering and feeding it. He watched his brother-in-law with a grim expression and would have liked to have fired a few magical projectiles at him. When Walsh had disappeared with self-confident steps towards the house Yary hurried on his way home, he knew exactly what was going on in this property and wanted to be far enough away before he ran the risk of hearing something.
'Bad enough that I know...' he thought.
Arriving at the point of the path where it went steeply downhill, he reined his brown mare. Like every time he visited his sister at night he stayed there, it made him feel like he could help her with what was about to happen. When a few minutes later the light shone from the bedroom window of the Walsh couple he began to cry silently, thick tears rolled down his cheeks and into his beard while he sat on his horse and swayed his torso back and forth in despair.
Only when the light went out did he slowly calm down and realise that he had left traces in the snow for the hundred meters to the house which at this time of year only stayed at the top of the Weather Point for more than a few hours. With a gentle movement of his hand came a light wind which he let blow over his footprints and thus made them unrecognizable. Nothing now indicated that his sister had received a nightly visitor. It was already noon again when the hooded figure passed the city gate again and again nobody looked at him.
 

~

 
Eadda hid the remains of the apple she had just eaten then hurried up the stairs to the bedroom crawled quickly under the sheets and pretended to be asleep. She had been wearing the nightgown the whole time in case Ethan came home earlier than expected and she had to admit that she had had a glass of water in the kitchen.
A short time later, her husband came up the stairs, opened the door and entered the room she stood up without a word and lit the lamp on the bedside table then she knelt in front of him on the floor and prepared to pull down his pants.
"No’ today," he growled and pushed her aside so that she fell full-length.
He undressed himself while Eadda got up undressed, too, and laid back on the bed.
When he came to her, he turned her onto her stomach pulled her onto all fours and asked, "Are we as mute as a fish again today, Eadda?"
She was silent closed her eyes and thought of her brother, of his voice which gave her the strength she needed to stay alive while Ethan angrily went to get the knife. She had last heard from Yary just a few minutes ago, but she was already longing for the day he would come back to read to her again.
When Ethan came back with the knife, he set the blade down on the bedside table before caressing her scarred back. “Ya know with these scars no one else will ever love ya. Niver,” he whispered. Then he began the whole cruel procedure again after which Eadda would get another scar on her back.

Copyright: Larissa Doe

In the past two months Eadda's physical condition had improved significantly and she looked like she had before her wedding to Ethan, but Yardleyu was worried about her spirit. Every night she woke up drenched in sweat and screaming, and he worriedly ran over to her room to check on her. Her husband haunted her in her dreams and still tormented her even though she hadn't seen him since the day she escaped from the house. However, the experience had left deep scars on her skin and soul. Contrary to Yary's expectations, he had not shown up, had not come to reclaim his wife, probably he knew how he would have been received at the Blake house.
Sean had also changed a lot in the meantime which had been shown when the three siblings had sat together in the library for one evening and talked. He had apologized to Eadda for being so mistaken about her marriage and expressed his regret over what had happened to her. In addition, the powerlessness of his military engagement in the fight against the attacks made him very troubled. There was not much left of his self-confidence and the conviction that he always did the right thing.
 Yardleyu's theories became more plausible every week, and so the three of them allied and prepared for an eventual attack. Eadda regularly practised fighting with her dagger and showed astonishing skill, she was quick and fought extremely ruthlessly. Sean trained every day with her and often ended up on the seat of his pants.

The Blake parents, however, believed that Kavanagh had the state of affairs in the kingdom under control and it was only a matter of time before the excitement about the attacks subsided.
 One evening the siblings were sitting together in the dining room and having a late meal.

Sean had returned from duty a few minutes ago exhausted and said sadly, “There wus another incident. A farmin’ family in Vorsted was found dead, and even the children were literally torn to shreds. A sight that I would have liked to save myself."
“Nobody envies you for that, I'm sure. Yer really honoured by yer service to our people.” Yary’s reply sounded concerned.

Sean thanked him and stood up. “I am now going to rest, it wus an exhaustin’ day. Let's keep practisin’ tomorrow, Eadda. I wouldn' be a serious opponent for today."
She nodded in agreement and wished him a good night's rest before turning to Yary. “I'm very tired, too, and will do the same. Yah’re sure to go straight to the library to read, won' ya?"

"I will, yes. I have found sum more promisin’ notes dealin’ with the Virtheriā,” he replied.

"Hopefully ya will find out sumthin’ that will help us. Good luck and a quiet night, Yary,” she wished, hugged him, and left the room.

It was already dark when Eadda walked through the property, Abigail and Faegan had also already gone to bed and it was dead quiet in the Blake house. Also, Sean was no longer to be seen, the door of his room was locked and the young woman lay exhausted to rest. A few minutes later she was overwhelmed by a deep sleep, so that she could no longer hear the soft noises outside her window. Yary was already sitting over his books absorbed in the words that always so captivated him, he only heard the crackling of the fire in the fireplace and the scratching of his quill on the parchment.

Ethan knelt directly in front of her and reached out to strike with one hand. In the other he held a bloody knife. It was her blood. The entire bed was smeared with blood. Eadda wanted to scream, but no sound came from her lips. But she could hear screams. They sounded far away. She listened. The screams got louder and closer, and she recognised her parents' voices. It sounded like they were scared to death as well.
Suddenly Eadda woke up from the dream. Her parents really screamed. Panicked, she jumped out of bed and opened the door of her room a crack. A deep roar sounded over the screams and suddenly she knew what was happening.
She rushed down the hall into Sean's room and shook him awake. "They’re here!"
He opened his eyes for a moment didn’t understand what she was talking about. Then another roar. The screams had ceased now. Sean uttered a low unintelligible curse as he quietly got up and looked out the door. Then he took his little sister by the hand and pulled her into the hallway over to the library.
Yardleyu looked up from his book as they entered. He knew immediately what was happening and motioned for Sean to help. Together they pushed the heavy desk in front of the door.
 “Hold on, I'll seal the windows. The door should hold ‘em lon’ enough.” Yary spoke softly and hurried in the other direction while Eadda and Sean pressed the table against the door.
Sean was pale as a sheet when he realised in panic, "We have no weapons."
He was right they couldn't defend themselves.
Eadda looked over her shoulder at her older brother who was standing in front of one of the windows and holding his hands against it mumbling softly. The other was covered with a blue shimmer that wafted gently across the pane. A few seconds later the second window was also sealed and the magician hurried back towards the door.
Then they heard a rapidly approaching growl in the hallway, claws scratched over the wooden floorboards.

Yary got on the table and put his hands flat on the surface of the door. When he began to mumble again the blue glow from his palms spread slowly over the wood, like fingers that felt their way forward, searching. When the surface was almost complete something on the other side bumped into the door so hard that Yary was swept off the desk. The table also slipped a bit and the entrance opened a crack.

Before they could slide it back a hairy arm shot through the opening and long razor-sharp claws dug into the wood of the door. Above the arm were two bright orange eyes in an equally hairy wolf face. The Virtherion growled, huge bloody fangs flashing from between its lips.

Eadda stood there frozen until Sean pulled her back away from the door, he stood protectively in front of her. Yary who immediately jumped up after his fall stood next to his siblings and mumbled again incessantly. From his hands lightning-fast blue projectiles flew towards the door. They met the beast, but only seemed to make it angrier. Roaring loudly, it threw itself again against the wood which cracked.
The Virtherion was over two metres tall and pitch black, it walked upright towards the siblings, a second with lighter fur followed it on all fours. Yary continued to cast spells at the two beasts, but it didn't seem to affect them. The muscles of the black Virtherion tensed then it jumped directly onto the magician who immediately threw himself to the side thus avoiding the claws. The monster roared loudly again, angrily, and now set its sights on Eadda and Sean.

"Run!" Yary yelled and his brother pushed his sister in panic towards the window knocking her to the ground.

Eadda crawled under one of the expansive armchairs, the next moment Sean landed next to her on his stomach, his eyes fixed her briefly then his gaze went blank. Lots of blood ran down the floor. Torn apart flesh and entrails lay scattered next to his body. She put a hand to her mouth to suppress a scream then closed her eyes. Yary stopped muttering; he shouted words in a deep twisted voice that she couldn't understand. The hair on the back of Eadda's neck rose sharply the sound went through her marrow and bone. Then a low whine. 

She opened her eyes again. The black beast sat directly in front of her, gazing at her, drooling, and stretching out it’s claws at her. Eadda screamed and crawled away from the Virtherion. It swept the chair aside as if it were a leaf in the wind. Slowly it followed her its gaze still fixed on her while she continued to slide across the floor away. It got on all fours and opened its stinking mouth in a roar.

When she got to the far corner of the room, she closed her eyes, and curled up with her knees drawn up, her arms wrapped protectively around her head.
It was over. She was trapped. Sean was dead. Yary she couldn't hear either.
And the monster was right in front of her.

A bright flash of light illuminated the room. So bright that she could see it through her eyelids. She hardly noticed the second whimper. Neither the oppressive silence that followed. She lay trembling on the floor and whimpered lowly.

"Eadda," Yary muttered.

She raised her head and looked around for him.

The black Virtherion was gone as was the other beast. Sean's disfigured corpse lay in a huge, red puddle behind which Yardleyu stood in the middle of the room. Eadda stumbled hastily towards him and fell on his neck, but he groaned in pain.

Immediately she let go of him and took half a step back. "Yah’re injured."

Yary nodded one hand pressed to his side blood oozing from between his fingers.

"Show me, I'll take care of the wound," she demanded.

“No, Eadda. It's too late,” he whispered.

Then he took his hand away anyway and she could see the bite through his tattered shirt.

For a moment everything was in suspense, became velvety dull, time stood still.

'No...' she thought.

She fell on her knees in front of him. "We have to get out of here, Yary."

“I can't come with ya. Ya need to understand."

But she didn't understand. "Why no’?"

Tears. Someone was crying.

“’Cause I'm goin’ to be one of ‘em. I'm infected,” Yary whispered.

She realised it was she who was crying. "No. No, yah’re no’."

Groaning her brother pulled her up, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her vigorously. “Yes, Eadda. I know it. And ya have to flee."
"I will no’ go without ya, niver." Slowly her thoughts cleared again and she promised, "We will find a cure."

Yary was also crying now. “There is no cure. I would kill ya if I went with ya. Ya have to go alone. But before ya do that I'll ask ya a favour. Get yer dagger... and... and release me... Please... I don't want to become a monster…" He could barely speak, he sobbed so hard.

"No! I will no’ do that! Ya can't ask that of me!” Eadda screamed in disbelief.

Startled Yary waved one hand to keep her quiet. “If ya scream, we'll both be dead in a moment. Please go, Eadda. If I kill ya, I will niver be able to forgive myself…” His voice broke again. "Please..."

When she didn't move, he hobbled out into the hallway; he knew exactly where she kept her dagger and she followed him as expected.

As he got to her room, he took the blade from the wardrobe, and handed it to her.
Eadda took it but she shook her head. “I won' kill ya. But I promise that I will find a cure and come back." 

Yary put his hand on her cheek and caressed it lovingly. “Take care, little sister. I will always love ya no matter wot I am."

Eadda was still crying. “I love ya, too. No matter wot ya are, Yary."

Despite his pain he hugged her tightly, and weeping they lay in each other's arms for a moment.

When a sting began to slowly spread through his body from the bite, he let go of her. "It begins. Quick, Eadda."

She grabbed her boots by the bed and put them on. Then they looked at each other for a long time. It was almost a reflex that made her wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him full on the mouth. A moment later she was running down the stairs with her fur coat in hand, leaving her confused injured brother behind.

Eadda crossed the kitchen and left the building through the back exit normally used by the maids. She stopped a few yards from the property and listened.

Silence.

Then distant wolf howls.

She continued on her way, hurried through the streets, always looking for cover, and soon reached the unlocked unguarded city gate. If Yary really turned into a beast and followed her, she had to make at least one attempt to shake him off. So, she climbed onto the parapet of the bridge took a deep breath and in one leap was in the ice-cold water swam swiftly over to the bank. Gasping and panting from the cold she pulled herself ashore with the help of a protruding root. The earth was slippery and she kept falling into the mud but at some point, she reached solid ground ran as fast as she could through the forest and disappeared under her trap door within a second.

~

 
 Yary stood in the dark room completely confused.

'Did she really...? No...' he thought.

He shook his head and shuffled out of the room going left in the hall.
A few meters further across from the stairs there was an open door. It was his parents' bedroom their bodies lying side by side in bed, the sheets wet, soaked with blood.

The floor was also full of blood.

So much blood...

He felt dizzy, his body burned worse and worse.

'Sean…' he thought.

He had to at least see, if he was still alive.

The hallway was longer than before, the scratch marks on the floor left by the attackers' claws. He had to brace himself against the wall, but eventually he made it to the library where Sean was still in the same place.

Yardleyu Faegan Blake sank down crying next to his dead brother. The burning sensation had reached the last corner of his body and his muscles were starting to cramp, he lay twitching in the red puddle.

It cracked loudly as the bones broke and his body began to deform. He screamed as if from his senses as silver fur sprouted from his skin and his face contorted, the teeth became long and pointed, as did the nails on his fingers and toes. The fabric of his clothing stretched further and further until it finally tore.
After a few moments, the young man was replaced by a huge silver grey Virtherion on the library floor.

With a whimper, he got up on all fours, looked around, and sniffed. The subtle senses bothered him for a moment, there were too many details at once for his overwhelmed human mind.

It was bright as day in the library and he smelled the metallic note of blood in his fur, the remaining bitter smell of the two vanished Virtheriā, then a fragrant trail in the air. The tip of the nose twitched with interest. Feminine, young, healthy... delicious.

'Eadda... no…' he thought.

Against his own will, his body moved in the direction that her smell pointed him. His fine ears perceived every noise no matter how quiet, but apart from the cracking of the slowly charring logs in the fireplace it was quiet in the property. The scent led him down the hall and through the kitchen. When he got to the open door he paused again. The various traces of smell ran through the air like coloured lines, he could almost see them. Eadda had fled the city and he was rushing through the streets with great leaps.

His own mind was no longer there, slumbering suppressed far back. The beast had taken over his body and was in pursuit, and with another powerful leap he reached the bank of the river. The smell was only very faint in the churned-up mud and his nose sniffed the cold night air. He howled loudly, annoyed at having lost track before running off in another direction 

Meyja hurriedly closed her open mouth again when she was eyed by the black-eyed people and a menacing-looking man who was even bigger than the guy who had brought her rushed towards her.
"Askil! Why are you bringing a human here?!" the giant barked furious.
The rescuer hurriedly lowered his head, knelt down immediately, and Meyja hastily followed suit.
“Forgive me, Airikr. I take responsibility for her. Her name is Meyja Blake and she can talk to us. There was an incident that worried me, and it seems that she knows more about why I want to introduce her to the elder,” said Askil.
Airikr just grunted sullenly and looked down at the young woman.
"He saved me from a Virtheria, that’s right," Meyja confirmed quietly.
"Get up," ordered Airikr and she did as she was told. "What is that supposed to be, a Virth...?"
With a cautious nod Meyja looked up at him and explained, “A Virtheria. It wus a woman and the origin of it all is believed to be sum kind of disease or curse that spreads quickly and turns people into vicious wolves. They are all over the Ice Lands. Many Voynarians have already fallen victim to ‘em, including my entire family. Down there on the cliffs, Askil – as ya called him – saved my life."
Airikr's expression changed suddenly, he looked incredulous and fearful at the same time. "Are you talking about the wolf spirits, girl?" he wanted to know and in turn went down on his knees in front of her to look her in the face as Askil had already done.
Meyja shrugged helplessly while looking into his black empty-looking eyes which looked even more unsettling under the bushy dark brows. "I... I don' know. My brother called the beings Virtheriā, I do no’ know much more than that. Only they should come from another dimension," she replied in a whisper.
She had a lump in her throat and had to pull herself together so as not to cry whilst she felt increasingly uncomfortable in the middle of the village while more and more black-eyed people joined them. They obviously viewed her as a stranger and perhaps even as a threat. Secretly she was glad that Askil was still here, but when she glanced over at her saviour, he stared at her with the same horror that spoke from the rest of the black eyes.
"Spirit Wolves..." breathed Airikr marked by bewilderment.
Meyja almost started to cry and pleaded with a halting voice, "Please... please don' do anythin’ to me... I'm innocent, I had nothin’ to do with any of this…"
“Askil, bring her to my tent. Asta and Aric, call the council together! I'll notify the elder!” Airikr yelled stood up and looked around wildly while the black eyes ran away in all directions.
Then he went away without answering her and Meyja looked fearfully at Askil who simply picked her up and carried her to a huge tent.
"Askil? Is that yer name?“ Meyja asked. “I ask ya no’ to harm me. It's no’ my fault I swear."
He had to duck his head quite a bit when he pushed aside the fur that was hanging in front of the entrance and entered the warm tent in the middle of which he finally set Meyja down and looked down at her.
“Nothing will happen to you, Meyja Blake from town. At least the Ares won't hurt you,” he replied with a wink and a tiny smile on his lips.
She had already feared for her life whether the men and women who looked threatening and whom she had been warned of since she had been able to walk. Nevertheless, she was still not clear what was happening around her and what the black eyes were all about, after all she had been explicitly referred to as a human being which suggested that Airikr's subordinates weren't.
"Ares? Is that the name of yer people? And ya all have a name that starts with A?” she asked further.
Askil gave a little laugh then nodded and pushed her over to a huge stool sat across from her and watched as she had to climb onto it to take a seat, too.
"You’re a strange person, Meyja Blake from town," he smiled and pushed his hood back.
He held out his shovel-sized hand and when she reluctantly put hers in, he lifted her arm and looked at it.
"So narrow..." he muttered fascinated.
"Ya Ares rarely seem to meet humans," she replied just as confused as her saviour.
The whole situation was absurd, humans and Ares lived almost as neighbours in the Ice Lands and knew each other, but apparently the giants were just as alien to the people as they were the other way around.
“You're right, Meyja Blake from town,” Askil began.
She interrupted him, "Meyja is enough."
With a nod he continued, “Then Meyja. But you're right, we don't see humans very often and they see us even less often. And you're the first human I see with my own eyes. We are told we cannot speak to you because your language is different. But I understand you. Why is that?"
"I don' know and I speak as usual, I can't explain the whole thin’ either," she replied quietly and let him look at her hands more closely.
Then she noticed the warmth that reigned inside the leather tent walls, so she freed herself and pushed the fur coat off her shoulders.
Askil gently reached for her hand again to pull back the sleeve of her linen shirt and examine her forearm.
"You also don't seem angry as humans have been described to us Ares from childhood," he replied letting go of her arm and looking her face again.
“I know similar stories from my childhood. The talk was of barbaric savages - yah’re called black eyes in Voynar. We've always been told to stay out of the woods near the Bluffs, if we don' want to be slashed,” she muttered.
Askil snapped and jumped from his stool. "We would never do that!"
Meyja raised her hands soothingly and hastily apologized, “Askil, please calm down. These are just the stories I heard. I niver thought it was the truth anyway. I'm sorry..."
He sat down a little more calmly and looked into her face so that she looked down.
When she felt his finger brushing her hair, she backed away from him because she found the gesture uncomfortable.
He had put his hands back in his lap when he mumbled, “Sorry, Meyja. I'm only interested. I've always been told that you humans have white hair. To see a fiery head is very amazing. Like those eyes. Not like ice, but like water."
She nodded a little embarrassed. “I'm unlike the other people from Voynar. Red hair is also very rare there and my eyes are a very dark blue in contrast to those of the others."
“But it's not just your hair and eyes that seem different. My teacher told me about the darkness in people's hearts, about their depravity and their anger,” Askil replied thoughtfully. "You, on the other hand, have pain in your chest."
She took out her dagger, first severed a loose thread of her linen shirt before cutting off a strand of her hair, and tying it up with the linen thread. "A humble gift for savin’ my life," she muttered handing him her hair.
Askil accepted it almost reverently. “To give of one's earthly born fire is anything but modest. I thank you, Meyja."
As she was about to answer him the fur in front of the entrance was pushed aside again and Airikr stuck his head in. "Come with me. The elder is waiting for us,” he ordered gruffly.
Askil got up again with a short nod and waited for Meyja who hastily put on her coat.
Fearfully she stumbled after her rescuer who led her out to Airikr and across the village where she was again examined with black eyes. The path led them out of the tent city and up a slope where there was another single tent and the smell of herbs grew stronger as they approached.
"Wait here a moment. I'll announce us,” Airikr mumbled and pushed aside the fur that was hanging in front of the entrance before he disappeared into it.
Meyja obediently stood still, still too scared to look around, so she just stood next to Askil and was silent.
She could hear Airikr's voice inside the tent, “Arnor, I honour you. The whisperer is here, she's waiting outside."
‘Whisperer..?‘ she thought.
"Let her in," replied a second voice that sounded old and kindly in a way.
Airikr pushed his head outside towards her and nodded then let the young woman and Askil into the dwelling where she faced an ancient-looking giant who was sitting on a stool enveloped in the vapours of various burnt herbs.
His hair was pitch black and dropped almost to the floor, his eyes jet black like the others. Tufts of dried plants dangled from the tent roof next to small shapes tied together from wooden sticks which were decorated with feathers and in the misty steamy haze of the smoke looked like bizarre works of art by a madman.
"Good afternoon, whisperer. I'm Arnor, the eldest of the Ares” the stranger began in a friendly manner and pointed to an empty stool across from him.
Meyja shyly pushed herself up even if it took a little effort because the seat was also at the level of her back here. "Thanks," she mumbled cautiously after she was seated.
Airikr and Askil also sat down on stools and the latter reported in detail about the Virtheria on the Bluffs.
When Arnor looked at Meyja again his face looked even paler than before and the white border around the black iris had disappeared, so that his eyes looked like empty holes in his skull.
"Spirit wolves," he breathed aghast.
Unsuspectingly she shrugged her shoulders. “I don' know, please forgive me. I know of another name for these beasts. My brother called ‘em Virtheriā."
The eldest nodded encouragingly and Meyja told what she had learned from Yary about the Virtheriā, without leaving out a single detail while the three giants were hanging on her lips.
"...and that’s all I know," she finished and swallowed at the gloomy faces that sat across from her.
Arnor nodded slowly. “I thank you, whisperer. Your words were very precise."
She replied cautiously: "If you will allow me, I would like to ask a few questions."
"Ask, child," said Arnor.
Meyja asked, "Wot is a whisperer?"
Arnor smiled and pointed at her as he explained, “You are one, as you surely have already noticed. We call those who are able to speak to us whisperers. However, it has been many decades since we last met a representative of your race who possessed this rare ability."
“That leads me to my next question. Askil already said that I wus the first human he ever saw and yet we all live in the Ice Lands. In Voynar the children are even told stories ‘bout – as yah’re called there – black eyes. It is said that yah’re cruel and that ya have to be kept away from yer people, if ya want to stay alive, but now I have been rescued by Askil and I am still alive. Is it only thanks to my ability to speak to ya? And why can I do it at all? Nobody taught me,” she continued researching.
“Humans and Ares once lived side by side, our home was the flat land around the Bluffs. Only every few years a so-called whisperer was born among the humans. I don't know how you earn this gift or how exactly it happens that so few people can speak to us. But they all shared a pleasantly deep voice, like yours. Presumably it is a miracle or an ancestral blessing. The reason for your survival is probably Askil's good heart and his feeling for the uniqueness of you,” Arnor replied with a smile on his face.
"Ya just mentioned ancestors which suggests yah’re shamans," remarked Meyja.
"Your people learned shamanism through us, even if they call it differently today," explained the elder before his expression darkened again. “However, the magicians of man began to change our teachings using the forces of nature and the elements to do things that the Ares vehemently opposed. The conversations with your leader were fruitless because he did not feel responsible for them and said that he could not stop the progress of the Academy just because someone had concerns. But we didn't give in and Airikr threatened the magicians with the consequences of their actions. A conflict arose that neither humans nor Ares were soon able to bring under control. Then the last whisperer we knew died and no one was able to understand what we were getting at. For this reason, they soon hunted us down and drove us up here into the mountains."
Airikr muttered an apology, got up, and left the tent while Arnor and Askil just sat there.
Meyja had already listened to the terms magician and Academy which she closely associated with her brother, and despite the lump in her throat and wet eyes she asked, "Wot did the magicians do?"
“That's a big question, my child. Let me go a little further to explain the circumstances of all this sufficiently,” he asked and waited for her nod before continuing. “You are probably familiar with shamanism, but you cannot know how the Ares practice it because you are far too young for that and this knowledge was probably forgotten by your peers’ decades before you were born. Shamans make contact with the hereafter, with the ancestors, and the deceased as well as the elements. This connection to the hereafter is sacred to us and we devotedly honour both the ancestors and the elements. Those who call themselves clerics and are seen in Voynar as something like their church once had the task of healing injuries and helping people in a long time ago. In the meantime, their teachings have been eroded and a cleric earns himself a salary by using the knowledge of herbs and alchemy to make potions and tinctures that do more harm than good. They are poison mixers who can produce terrible effects by filling wilfulness, insanity and worse in glass vials and selling them for gold to anyone rich enough. Power in bottles, I can hardly call it any other way. Magicians are nothing more than former shamans who have learned to use their spiritual resources and their minds to cast a wide variety of spells.
“The Academy in Voynar is mainly concerned with the magic practised by magicians and there they gather to research... They build portals to other dimensions, throw fireballs or lightning bolts, build glowing barricades they call shields and with all that, they're not even the worst this world has ever seen. The teachings of the Shepherds of Souls were forbidden even in the depraved city of Voynar before the Ares could be driven out. These also go back to shamanism, but a Shepherd of Souls uses their knowledge to subjugate the souls of the hereafter, they bind them into worldly objects or form a kind of deadly mist out of them. You have to know that the souls in this world have an unimaginable power which not only elevates whoever practices this witchcraft above all other magicians, clerics or shamans, but also corrupts them. It poisons the shepherd's mind and emotions. And that's what people did. They have used the wise, considerate, and peaceful teachings to pursue their own ends. Even if some people presumably have honourable intentions, it is still wrong to seize something larger that poses an unforeseeable danger."
“I understand.” Meyja remembered something and she remarked, “At that time I also got tea which a cleric sold to my parents. From the day I was eight years old I had to drink it every evenin’, even if I didn' understand why for a lon’ time. My mother said it would make me a real woman."
Arnor nodded. “I am aware of the circumstances affecting this tea. And I'm very sorry that you've been exposed to this, child. I hope you haven't suffered any deformities?"
"Deformities?" she repeated worried.
“Well, this concoction is given to high-born girls so that they mature prematurely. The aristocracy wed their offspring at a very young age and tea sets processes in motion that make the girls' bodies grow faster,” explained the eldest patiently. “In the time before the Ares were evicted, I often saw children who had parts of their bodies developing incorrectly as a result. The young women who should actually still be girls at this age sometimes only had one well-grown breast, or both were much too pronounced. Small body size is also one of the possible consequences of tea. Then the parents usually sought help from the shamans because the clerics refused to admit their mistake and were not ready to help. Later it often happened that these girls – even if they had already given birth – could not have any more offspring because the early onset of fertility bleeding did not materialize."
Meyja thought of her family none of whom had been particularly small in contrast to her. "Then I was probably lucky."
She didn't want to tell the two strangers that she had started bleeding when she was twelve and that this unpleasant phenomenon had disappeared after two years. Nor did she want to mention the potion Yary had made for her. In the end, she ran the risk of Arnor giving her some kind of treatment that would cause her to become fertile again and still bear a child if a man were to abuse her again.
“You’re a strong young woman. The first impression didn't deceive me,” said Arnor with a smile. “Our whereabouts are secret and Askil was actually instructed to kill anyone who could find out about us. But at the same time, he probably noticed your aura and that you’re a whisperer. In addition, the fire and the water. It was an extremely lucky coincidence that brought you to us."
She frowned at him, the meaning of his words she didn’t understand because in her own eyes she was nothing special at all.
“Only in the strongest do the elements of fire and water manifest themselves together. Your red hair and dark blue eyes show your will and your inner strength,” added Askil.
At that moment Airikr came back and exchanged a meaningful look with the elder.
"Airikr, we have to take precautions," Arnor opened. "Now it is up to us to put an end to this threat."
"Wait! Put an end to it? My brother is one of ‘em!“ Meyja exclaimed and she started to cry involuntarily.
Arnor held up a hand, silencing her, then declared, “We're not going to kill him, don't worry. But we’ll try to help them by giving them back control of their transformation. But by then you won't be here with us anymore. It is too dangerous to be in the north of Abarglen these days and we will take you away from here tomorrow so that you are safe when we begin the purification."
“But I want to stay and see my brother,” Meyja objected vehemently.
Airikr gritted his teeth audibly and Askil was silent while Arnor continued to appeal to the young woman's reason. “You may be the last whisperer in this world, Meyja Blake. Your life is too valuable to be so easily compromised. In addition, we Ares are very few, which could well result in us not achieving success and being wiped out ourselves. And then I want to know you’re far away, too, before you become one of the spirit wolves. If we find your brother, we'll let him know you're okay, and help him find you. I promise it."
She nodded as she wiped her eyes. “His name is Yardleyu and my real name is Eadda. When Askil threatened me, I lied about my name. But I will continue to call myself Meyja when I have left the Ice Lands." The tears just wouldn't go away, so she got up. “Can I get a moment to myself outside? I swear I'm no’ up to anythin’. I'll leave my dagger here, too."
Arnor waved generously. “Go ahead and keep your weapon. I know that you don't mean any harm to us."
With another nod she went to the exit and slipped past the fur into the open where she looked around briefly before heading for the edge of the cliff and finally stopping. As she looked down at the icy waters crashing against the land masses she began to cry softly again.
‘Where are ya, Yary..?‘ she thought.
The Ares could promise her a lot, but she didn't believe that everything would turn out all right. Because as much as she felt for her brother, she could no longer feel him as she used to when she instinctively knew he was fine. Perhaps he was no longer alive, but had been killed like the poor woman who lost her life on the Bluffs.
Yary had been her everything, her light in the dark.
Her big brother who had always been there for her.
He had given her support in the moments when she had stood on the edge of a cliff as now.
But this time the cliff wasn't just in her head, it was real.
And he wasn't here to keep her from falling.
The icy wind tore at her and Meyja spread her arms, relaxed and let herself be gently rocked back and forth.
She was alone.
She was lost.
And all her attempts not to go under were in vain anyway.
When Yary was out of this world there was no longer any reason for her to hold onto what was called life.
She wanted to feel his hands that had held her face when she cried.
But he just wasn't there.
She still was alone.
Still lost.
If she just let herself go... would they be reunited?
May she see her brother again?
Just one last time?
A gust of wind hit her back and her body began to tip forward.
Then she went down on her knees crying and let herself fall into the snow where she curled up sobbing uncontrollably.
A few minutes later Askil came to her and lifted Meyja who was still crying and shivering from the cold in his arms before he carried her back to the tent.
She didn't even feel that the Are was with her when he put her on the stool and covered her with a fur.
Askil knelt beside her and took out the strand of hair she had given him, then looked at it for a moment and began to whisper.
The hair crackled on fire faded in the blue flames that licked up from his hand until only the thread was left with which she had tied it together.
At that second, she opened her eyes and looked disoriented at Askil.
“Take a rest, Meyja. I'll watch over you.”
 
Meyja spent the night in one of the tents in the village and the next morning the ship with which they brought her to safety set out to sea. Even if there was a lot of melancholy because she had to release Yary into a future that was more than uncertain for him on which she could no longer influence she submitted to the will of the Ares and left her home behind.

Copyright: Larissa Doe