From Across the Clouded Range (63 page)

The charade continued
though the evening. After their meal, Dasen and Jer retired to the
porch while the women cleaned up. Teth joined the cleaning without
reservation, and when the men returned, she was sitting with the
other women by the fire reading
The Book
of Valatarian
out loud – a treat for the,
likely illiterate, women. Much to Danny’s delight and Dasen’s
dread, she had chosen an early section describing the war on chaos
that eventually saw the defeat and exile of the Lawbreakers. Jer’s
expression turned sour when he heard what they were reading, but he
said nothing.

Rather, he suggested that Dasen help
him secure the compound for the night. They wandered through the
starless darkness with only two small candles, latching doors and
checking empty stalls as if they still held their residents. When
they returned, the women were combing out their braids in
preparation for bed. Louisa was feeding the baby again as Summer
brushed her hair in long strokes that reached nearly to the floor
where they sat. Seri lamented vociferously over the loss of Teth’s
hair as she combed it. Teth said nothing.

“
I s’pose it’s that time,”
Jer said with a yawn. “Been a long day fir everyone, an’ sun’ll be
up early tomorrow. Seri, where’s these kids sleepin’?” For some
reason, the question sent a wave of dread through Dasen. It was
doubled by the way Teth batted her eyelashes at him in
response.
She is planning something, and
I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like it.

“
They’re up in Kal an’
Summer’s room,” Seri answered with a knowing edge. She whispered in
Teth’s ear. They both looked at Dasen meaningfully. Teth blushed,
blood rising to her cheeks and up her long neck. “Summer’ll sleep
with Lu.”

“
Very well,” Jer approved.
“I’m off then. Ya’ll have a good sleep. May the Order protect ya
an’ bring ya good dreams.” He yawned again then strode through a
door across from the dinner table.

Louisa and Summer shared
conspiratorial looks and giggled back and forth while glancing up
at Dasen. He could not imagine what Teth had told them. Seri saved
him. “Well, I can’t do anything more with this,” she declared and
put down the brush. “I’ll show ya where yir sleeping. I’m sure yir
desperate fir a real bed.” The last was said too knowingly, and
Dasen could not help but blush. That morning Seri couldn’t have
been more correct. Now, he could only imagine what would happen
when Teth had him alone.

With that in mind, he prepared
himself, mentally reinforced his conviction that Teth be brought
back to the Order. Teth grabbing his hand left those thoughts in a
jumble. She rubbed his back, put her head on his shoulder, then
nearly pulled him along behind Seri as she climbed the
stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Seri led
them to a small room at the back of the house. Inside was a single,
small, sturdy bed, a small table, a large wardrobe, and a crib. All
four items were crudely made but painstakingly sanded and lacquered
so that they glowed in the light of the small candle Seri carried.
The smell of the cedar permeated the room to dispel any doubt about
the furniture’s origin. “Kal’s got a talent with wood,” Seri said.
“Made all this himself. Gave the wardrobe ta Summer as a joinin’
present.”

“
It’s lovely,” Dasen
replied. “Thank you so much for your hospitality. It has really
meant a lot to us, and I promise we will never forget
it.”

Seri smiled brightly and patted him on
the arm. "It’s nothing. We’re happy ta help nice kids like you."
She motioned Dasen into the room and pulled Teth down the hall. She
whispered intently in Teth’s ear for several long seconds. As she
spoke, red streaks crept up Teth’s neck to light her cheeks,
forehead, and even nose. Her bottom lip crept under her teeth, her
nostrils flared, and her eyes darted. Dasen could only stand in the
doorway and wonder until Seri gave Teth a small hug and nearly
pushed her toward the room. When she was inside, Dasen waved
goodnight and closed the door behind them.

He took a deep breath. He was not sure
what Teth had planned for him, but he steeled himself for a fight.
He built his defenses, reminded himself of all the reasons he was
right, of all the scripture he had read, of all the Order-defined
laws he was upholding. He balled his fists, crumpled his brow,
locked his jaw, and turned.

Teth was topless. She stood before the
bed naked from the waist up. Her breasts looked larger than he
would have guessed, lying firm and round from her chest. They were
impossibly white, reflecting the light of the candle, beacons in
the darkness of the room. Round, red nipples stood from the white,
pointing accusingly at his guilty eyes. Below her breast, past the
firm, flat stomach, she was just unfastening her pants.

Dasen’s jaw hung open, eyes about to
pop from his skull, heart hammering, mind swooning. “What . . .
what . . . what are you . . . ?” he stammered, surprised that he
was even capable of speech. That morning he had been sure this was
where things were going, but he was just as sure that the afternoon
and evening had dashed any chance. Now he was not sure what to
think. Lost, his eyes rose to Teth’s. Her face showed none of the
promise that her body suggested. She looked at him with
disappointment, sadness, heartbreak. He had expected anger,
vitriol, wrath, had prepared himself for that. This was a thousand
times worse.

It must have shown in his face,
because Teth stopped just short of pulling down her pants. “Isn’t
this what you wanted?” she asked quietly. “A proper wife to cook
your meals and carry your babies? A proper wife to please you in
your bed, to do as you wish without regard for herself? Well here I
am. If you’re such a man, come and take me. My body is promised to
you, is your property under the Order, so take what is yours.
Summer and Louisa told me not to expect much: a little pain, some
grunting, and a swollen belly nine months later. So come here and
do it. I will be exactly what you want me to be. I will stay here
with them, be a proper, humble little wife. And you can be the
great hero. You can go to Wildern and save us all from the
invaders. But before you go, you should at least lay claim to your
property. So let’s have it!” With that, she threw down her pants,
revealing the expanse of her chiseled, white legs and everything
that lay between.

Dasen was so shocked by the display,
by the words, that he could only stare. He had never seen a girl
naked. Certainly, Rynn had shared his surprising wealth of
knowledge – whether he had wanted it or not – so there were no
surprises. But to actually see a woman naked and for that woman to
be Teth, left him overwhelmed. His mind had shut down entirely. He
could not move let alone think of anything to say or do.

“
So what will it be?” Teth
hissed. “Do you want me to lie down? You do know how this works,
don’t you?” She tried to be harsh, but the words were barely coming
for the breaks in her voice. Her hand rose and wiped angrily at her
cheek. Her arms crossed reflexively in front of her, her legs
pressed together. She shook. Her nose and eyes were bright red,
tears coursed down her cheeks.

She wiped the tears away again. “What?
Louisa told me she cried her first night with Wil. I think it is
quite common, but we’re just women. The Order. . . .” She could not
finish. Her face fell to her hands. Her body closed even further,
if that was possible.

“
Stop,” Dasen begged.
“Please, Teth, put on your clothes. I don’t . . . I don’t want you
like this. I . . . I could never. . . .”

“
Could never what?” Teth
spat. Her face flew from her hands. Her bloodshot eyes were
piercing.

“
Could never force you to
do this. I would never want to hurt you that way.”

“
But you’d force me to
cook your meals, to wear dresses, to sit by the fire, to stay away
from the forest, to deny how I’ve saved your worthless life. How is
it any different? This is just my body. The other things are who I
am. In comparison to that, this is nothing.”

“
Is that what this is
about?” Dasen asked. He was gaining his balance, finally saw what
she was trying to do, and did not like it. He felt his shock being
replaced with anger. Suddenly, he no longer saw the naked body
before him. He saw Teth, acting like a child.

“
What else could it be
about?” she responded, anger driving away her tears.

“
That’s different. That’s
just the way things are. That’s what women do.”

“
And this is what women do
to. They lay down so their husbands can use their bodies. How is
this any different than all the other demeaning ways you treated me
today?”

“
It just is,” Dasen was
exasperated. Why couldn’t she see that he was just following the
Order, was only doing what was right and proper? What else could
she possibly expect? “You are being ridiculous.”

“
Ridiculous? I’ll tell you
what’s ridiculous. You telling Jer that you led us through the
forest, that you protected us, hunted our meals, evaded the
creatures. Now
that
is ridiculous. So if you can steal that from me, how is this
any different?”

Dasen shook his head in frustration.
“Are you kidding? I was trying to protect you.”

“
Protect me?” Teth
laughed, a cruel, near-mad cackle. “Protect me from
what?”

“
From yourself!” Dasen
barely kept himself from shouting. “How do you think they would
have treated you if they knew what you had done? They’d have
treated you like a freak, an outcast. They might not have even let
us stay. You have to understand. That is how the world works. The
rules exist for a reason. They are defined by the Order. When you
oppose them, you create chaos. You are going to have to accept
that, or it will be like Randor’s Pass all over again. Did you like
having everyone hate you? Did you like not having any friends? Did
you like tearing that village apart? Because that’s what it will be
like. No matter where we go you will create chaos, division, pain,
hatred just like you did in Randor’s Pass. Now you may be alright
with that, but I’m not.” Dasen had his footing now, was sure that
he was right, and refused to give in as his father and Milne had so
many years before.

The words hit Teth like blows. She
reeled like a fighter nearing his end, looked away, chest shaking,
nearly overcome. Dasen thought he had won, but there was no thrill
of victory, he reached out his hands to comfort his defeated
opponent.

“
You’re a fucking coward,”
she spat. Her head snapped up. She looked him straight in the eye,
her expression purest loathing. It set Dasen back more than words
could ever manage, but she did not stop there. “I can’t believe I
ever thought you could be different, that you might understand,
that you might have the courage to accept me as I am, that you
could love me, that I could love you.”

She paused, looked away and snuffled.
“I’m sick of this. You’re not even worth the fight. I thought you
were better than the boys in Randor’s Pass because you let me
protect you, let me guide you, let me hunt for you. But you are
worse. You are a weakling and a coward. You’re not a man. You are
nothing. I wouldn’t let you have me now even if you tried. I’m
putting my clothes back on and going to sleep. But this lie is
going to end. You can’t have it both ways. If you want a proper
wife, that’s what you’ll get. Just let me know when you decide to
be a proper man.” With that, she reached down and pulled up the
cotton shorts she wore under her pants. She replaced her shirt a
moment later and climbed into the bed without so much as a glance
toward him.

Dasen was in shock, could not
understand what had just happened, could not grasp the depth of her
anger, the fury of her word, the hatred she felt. He stammered for
a long time, but Teth just ignored him. She covered herself and
turned to the wall as if he no longer existed, fought to constrain
the sobs that shook her. And he could not think of a single thing
to say that would change any of it.

So with a great sigh, he did the only
thing he could. He sat on a stool in the corner of the room and
pulled off his boots. As the second one was sliding off, something
soft hit him in the back of the head. He turned to see a pillow
falling to the floor. One of the bed’s two blankets followed. “You
sleep on the floor,” Teth commanded though she barely managed the
words. Dasen was too overwhelmed to argue.

He spread out the blanket, doubled it
back over himself, and tried to find a comfortable position on the
hard wooden planks. But there were no comfortable positions. He
tried to understand what Teth had said, tried to understand where
it had all gone wrong and what he could do to fix it. Somehow, he
knew that Teth was right, that he was a coward, but it was more
than that. He felt that he had failed, but he could not understand
how or where. He had done everything he was supposed to do, had
acted according to the Order. He should not be the one who felt
guilty, but that did not stop the stabbing pain that each of the
barely contained sobs from above sent through him.

Chapter 28

Dasen felt like he had only been
asleep for a few seconds when a light rap on the door woke him. He
roused slowly to the first rays of the sun peeking into the room.
Aching for sleep, he considered ignoring the disturbance, but there
was another knock, and his mind finally comprehended the
significance of that sound.