A Rarity Ch. 01

Aniu removed the belt from herself and closed the buckle so it wouldn't fall off Jodok's body. Then she tried not to squeal as she was lifted up again. She was gingerly placed on the raised floor, on the woman's side of the house. Her bare feet and shins didn't feel wood, even though she was certain that the floor was mostly made of wood. She felt finely woven mats on the floor; they might have been made of a soft type of straw. Her toes grazed the smooth fabric bordering the edges of each mat. She hoped her dirty feet didn't soil these lovely floor coverings.

Jodok waved his fingers at her, and he said, "Have a good night. Sleep well."

"Sleep well, Jodok," Katell said with a smile and nod. Then she put her fingers in a vertical groove in the wood of the wall. She slid the wall to her right, concealing the sight of the man.

A thought rose in Aniu's head. She asked, "What happens when two women in adjacent rooms slide a wall open, with the walls coming together?"

A shrug, and Katell replied, "Some of the walls are stationary, hollow pieces for the doors to slide into." Her fingers flipped a metal latch down from the wooden ceiling. The latch was placed over a loop that was located on the wall. Katell put a claw shaped clasp through the loop. The key-less lock reminded Aniu of jewelry clasps.

"So," Katell went on, shuffling around to face Aniu, her pretty hands layering in her lap, "I'm Katell Rundle. I heard you're from Irvell?"

"Yes, Madam. I'm pleased to meet you." Aniu gave a kneeling sort of bow. Then her fingers were in her hair again. She felt rather unpleasant now that she was in front of such a beautiful, clean woman in a decent gown.

Katell's shoulder quirked. "I've never met anyone from there. I'm surprised we even speak the same language." There was a lit candelabra near her. Carefully pulling her long sleeve aside, she picked up the candelabra and let her dark eyes roam Aniu's form. "Your hair's an absolute travesty, poor thing. It's black, right?"

Aniu nodded.

"What color are your eyes? I can't tell in this light."

Aniu replied, "They're brown, Madam."

"Are you in good health?"

What was the point of all these questions? Aniu pressed her lips together, thinning them out. She was suppressing the desire to bark something offensive to the woman. Her rudeness was swallowed down. Then she said, "I believe so, although, I have been running in the woods for a long time."

"You must be thirsty."

As peculiar as it was, Aniu didn't notice the dryness of her throat until then. She coughed into the back of her hand.

Katell gave her a firm nod. Then she said, "Wait here. I'll have a cup of something for you." She left Aniu alone then, opening and closing a wall as she did so. Fortunately, there was a floor lamp nearby. Aniu was able to see a few details of the room, or rather, the temporary room made by the sliding walls. There was a chest of drawers, a few cushions on the floor, possibly for kneeling on, and a tall vase holding a flowery plant.

A minute or so went by. Aniu wanted to wipe her feet with the hem of her chemise, but the garment was only knee length. She didn't think she could reach her feet, even if she bent her legs. Now that she wasn't listening to anyone speak, she could hear the hooves against the dirt on the other side more clearly. It was a gentle padding sound. She also heard masculine voices gossip about her, particularly about how pretty she was.

Charming, if a little bit unsettling.

A wall slid open again. Katell came to her, holding a wooden cup. Trailing behind Katell was an older woman with gray hair. She had a bucket of water and a rag.

"Aniu, this is my husband's mother, Dasuna."

"It's a pleasure, Madam," Aniu said, giving a mild bow.

Dasuna shrugged and said, "We're happy to have you."

Katell handed her the wooden cup, and Aniu gratefully chugged its contents down. It turned out to be a bit of watered down ale. As she returned the cup to Katell, she said, "Thank you so much!"

A soft smile, and then Katell said, "You're welcome. Now why don't you wipe yourself down before you ruin all of our mats?"

Aniu blushed as Dasuna gave her the rag and water.

As she washed herself, Dasuna pulled a wooden comb from one of her pockets and started combing Aniu's messy hair. It really did hurt. Aniu didn't whine, but her eyes did sneak out a few tears. There turned out to be more twigs, leaves, and other things in her hair than she'd ever imagined. As this went on, Katell chatted with her.

"You have a pleasant figure, you know," Katell said with a charitable smile, "rather soft. You're fortunate to have been found by two upstanding men, and not men of another variety."

Dasuna grunted out her agreement.

Aniu didn't want to seem vain. "My new mistress is kind."

"Mistress?!" That was the slightly rough, but still feminine voice of Dasuna, snapping out from behind Aniu. "Ah, no, Girl! Katell's not the mistress of the house. I am!"

"I'm terribly sorry!" Aniu wanted to bow again, but her head was held hostage by the comb pressing through her hair.

"Don't worry about it, Girl. It's difficult to offend one who's seen as much as I have." Dasuna's fingers tore a particularly long twig out of Aniu's black curls, earning a very sad little sniff from the woman.

Katell changed the subject. "What were you doing in the forest?"

"I was running away." Ainu flinched at a particularly stubborn tangle that Dasuna was trying to navigate through. "My mother sold me to some men I don't know. They didn't tell me what they were going to do with me. I assume, though, that they meant to sell me as a slave."

"That might not be true," Katell said, her smile turning uneasy.

Dasuna gave the information bluntly. "They were probably going to sell you to one of the men here in Breden. Wife-purchasing is completely legal, you know."

"What?" Aniu tried to turn her head, but Dasuna kept her in her place with a light mumble.

"Don't lose your wits, Girl." Dasuna said. "There's nothing to be done about it. My husband, Amado, purchased me. Although, he didn't go to a slave trader or a Purveyor. He simply asked my father how much he wanted for me. Good men don't support kidnappers or slave traders, at least that's what my father taught me. But different men have different views." All of this was said with absolutely no hint of a joke.

Aniu's eyes danced around as she tried to understand the implications. "Is this a common practice? Are women nothing but ... objects to be purchased?"

Katell bent over a little, softening her voice. "Well ... actually, once you're established as a wife, you have all the legal rights of a wife, and are automatically a citizen of Breden no matter where you came from. The ownership and use of slaves is highly illegal and frowned upon."

"You can purchase as many slaves from foreigners as you can afford," Dasuna added, "but you can't use them as slaves in Breden. When you buy a slave, what you're really doing is paying for their freedom."

Aniu's hands turned into fists. She knocked on her lap. "Why would one even need to purchase random women and keep them as wives?"

"Because," Dasuna said with a tired voice, "three times out of four, a centaur father will sire a son. Little girl children are fairly rare."

"Oh." Aniu rubbed her lips together. Then she gathered up portions of her chemise in her fingers.

Katell straightened her back and sighed. "You're under Judok's protection right now, and you aren't even part of his family. He's receiving no benefits, but he's willing to care for you. You should be appreciative."

Dasuna released a heavy sigh and said, "Your hair is much prettier now, but there's a pile of filth on the mats."

"I'll sweep it away later," Katell told her, but her eyes didn't leave Aniu's face. "What's your surname, Aniu?"

"Wrestlan," Aniu said with a weakened voice.

"Well," Katell said, "not anymore. You're a Rundle now, not officially, but we might as well pretend. I'll give you the rules now, so you won't be confused later. You aren't allowed to leave the house without a trusted adult male to carry you on his second back. The entrance to this side is just for show. It's mostly for deliveries. So, either my father, my husband, Jodok, or one of the stronger servants are meant to carry you. Kidnapping is illegal, and that law is enforced in this city, but there might still be the occasional idiot who would make an attempt."

"The dwarves are fortunate.," Dasuna said, lightly fluffing up Aniu's hair. "They can't create offspring with centaurs or humans. They don't have to worry as much about their women being kidnapped."

"When you're out in public," continued Katell, holding up a her index finger, "don't dismount, no matter what. Don't speak to any man unless either Jodok or my husband introduces you to him first. Normally, you'd be allowed to speak as much as you like, but you're unaware of our norms and interpretations. You might invite a problem or two."

"And all offers for your marriage should be made to Jodok," Dasuna said. "It's rude of a man to tell a woman what price he'll pay for her. If a man is rude to you, and you're not riding Jodok at the time, remember to tell him later."

Aniu's thoughts swirled into a watery, cold mess. This was all quite ... strange to her.

***

Aniu was given leftover food, and she was quite happy to have it in her belly. She ate a cool hunk of barely bread, a handful of previously roasted hazelnuts, a few gooseberries, and a slice of soft cheese that had a sweet flavor and a milky scent about it. She washed all these delicious things down with a small sip of red wine that seemed particularly spicy to her. A full belly with a bit of alcohol, especially a rather luxurious sort, should help her sleep, or at least that was what Dasuna told her.

Then Dasuna gave her an old robe of hers. It was too close to bedtime for anyone to even think of altering an old gown for her. So, Aniu was granted a patched up, gray robe of linen to hide her body with until a gown could be given to her. Aniu took Dasuna's gift with a bow and an honest thank you. Dasuna told her that as long as she could burn that dirty chemise Aniu had on, she'd be content with her decision.

The beds turned out to be rolled up quilted mattresses that would be stored when not in use and rolled out when it was time to sleep. Despite the soft, lavishly colored fabrics that the mattresses, blankets, and pillows were made of, Aniu was convinced that she wouldn't be comfortable. When she stretched her body out on the spare bed, however, she found that it was acceptable. There was a single lit oil lamp made of clay in a corner of the room, set on a small table with a single drawer. It was there in case anyone needed to go find a chamber pot.

Aniu was meant to sleep in the same place as Katell, Dasuna, and a grumbling little Fifi, which seemed to be a telling fact to her. Before Katell could pull her blanket aside, however, there was a knock on the barrier between them and the men's side. Aniu pushed her head up and kept it there with a hand as she watched Katell shuffle over to the wall. This particular wall was horizontally divided in two. Katell rolled the upper wall away and revealed the face, throat, upper shoulders, and upper chest of Odilon.

"Katell," he crooned out very sweetly, his thick fingers curling over the edge of the lower wall, "I pulled your shoes out from under the floor. Would you mind putting your pretty feet in them?"

Aniu noticed that Katell's bare toes flexed as they peeked out from the weight of her thinly covered backside.

Katell's head turned up so she could look at her husband's face. Her voice was as delicate as a feather as she spoke to him. "Is Masaron sleeping?"

Odilon's wide nose wrinkled up a bit as he grinned down at his wife. His teeth seemed particularly large to Aniu. "Yes he is," he told her softly.

"Move your hand, then." Katell gently nudged his fingers away. Then she slid the lower wall aside and adjusted her legs so that they seemed to move over the edge of the raised floor. Aniu saw her carefully sink down to the men's side. Apparently, her feet were in her shoes, because she turned around and closed the lower wall. Her husband closed the upper one. Aniu heard their footsteps fade into something that was barely there, and then she couldn't hear their footsteps at all.

Aniu closed her eyes.

Then she opened them, realizing she had slept for some time, unable to remember exactly when she had fallen asleep.

The two walls were slid away again, and Aniu saw Katell climb back into the room, her husband nearby, possibly to make sure her feet didn't touch the dirt, and to put her clogs in proper order once the walls were closed.

Katell stood for a moment, reaching up and placing the palms of her hands on Odilon's cheeks. His face turned to kiss one of those hands. Katell then murmured something low and tender, stepped back, closed the two sections of the wall, and secured them with simple little locks. She silently walked over to her little mattress and tucked herself in with a content sigh.

Well ... not even Aniu was naïve enough to not have some understanding of what had happened while she slept.

***