If he knew where I was, he'd kill me. Young ladies aren't supposed to sneak around in swamps and long empty rooms without supervision. They might get injured and then who would pay to marry them? Clearly the only thing I should have been concerned about was my market value, but for some strange reason, I couldn't have cared less.
While climbing into an abandoned building half submerged in the mire around me, something moved just outside my field of vision. I dropped low and swept the room with my gaze, but I couldn't see anything more. Of course, the second I stood up again, a streak of color flashed across the room, stopping behind me. A knife pressed to my throat.
"Who are you and whom do you serve?" a female voice commanded me.
"I - I'm not serving anyone, not right now at least. I mean, the Ginsep Chief's in charge of me, but he doesn't know I'm here. I was just trying to have a second alone?" an agonizing second passed before the blade withdrew and my attacker allowed me to turn around and face her.
Her gown enveloped her in a sea of red silk speckled by flower patters of every color. The belt which she tucked her knife into cinched the gown just enough to show how slender her frame was below the miles of fabric. Her face, small and symmetrical, had been painted perfectly white while her lips and eyelids were crimson. Black makeup extended from the corners of her eyes, making a single swirl design on each side, which terminated at her cheeks. Her hair, auburn, pulled up into a bun which held in place a headpiece complete with golden wings. She couldn't have been taller than 4'10''.
"I apologize for my roughness. Like you, I was seeking solitude. Perhaps two solitary creatures could enjoy each others company," she offered, smiling with her lips and begging with her eyes.
"Sure. What brings you here?" I asked, plopping down on an old crate.
"Engagement difficulties. A chief has asked for my hand. My family expects it of me to say yes, for his is a wealthy tribe, but also an oppressive one. I have almost lost my voice in this matter, but I still find myself unable to choose."
Her honesty to me, a complete stranger, touched me, even if I had no clue what she meant by that last sentence.
"Time of no voice?" I inquired.
"In my tribe and in his, if someone asks something of you, you may accept or decline, but you must make a decision. If after two weeks have passed, you have still not chosen, you lose your voice and the person who made the request may decide for you what happens. It is different from simply forcing you to agree. For example, if I lose my voice and the Chief decides I must marry him anyway, I would have to perform all the duties of a wife without any of the rights granted to a woman who marries willingly."
"But then, why would anyone ever not answer?"
"Have you never wished that someone else could make your decision?"
That shut me up. We wandered together in silence for a while. Then, we came across a room full of old instruments, and the lady picked up a violin. The music she drew from it compelled me to dance one moment and sit petrified the next.
"Where did you learn to play like that?"
"I'm not sure. I've never been able to play before, much to my master's displeasure."
"That's it." I said, marching outside to where I'd tied off my boat. I tossed in anything I found in the building that looked useful. Rope, buckets, a handful of canned goods I had the luck to trip on.
"If you want to run away, I'd get in the boat."
"Are you sure this is wise?" she asked, hand toying nervously with the handle of her knife.
"Nope, but the only options we're ever given are A) do what we're told or B) be forced to do what we're told. I'm tired of accepting those as the only options. So are you coming?"
We didn't look back.
No comments:
Post a Comment