The Last Flowers Ch. 02

Sarielle worked it harder, until she was ramming the cucumber into her bowel, clenching her teeth. She could see what Kerensa meant. It was starting to get raw and less pleasurable. It was unlikely she'd be able to cum from this alone.

Her fingers found her clit and rubbed furiously while her other hand continued to shove the makeshift dildo in and out of her hole.

"Yes," she whispered, reaching her high.

She squirmed as she came, losing her grip on the fruit. The cucumber slipped right out of her and splatted on the ground. On shaking legs, she carried it out and threw it in the fire.

***

The herd cantered out into the paddock to graze, bouncing around with joy. Envious of their freedom, Sarielle shut the gate and wandered back to the house. After several warm days, they'd finally got a light shower that morning, but the sky looked to be clearing again.

She went to fill the kettle and paused. On the bench was the bundle of fabric containing her father's lunch. He must have forgotten it.

"Oh, you fool."

Now she'd have to take it to him, or he'd walk home to get it and be crotchety the rest of the day. A hungry man is an angry man they say. Not that it was very far to the leather workshop. Some men always went home for lunch. Zarek had Sarielle pack a simple ploughman's lunch of bread, cheese and pickles before he left because he was too lazy to walk.

Sarielle picked up the package. In the past she might have heated up some soup to bring him as a treat. Getting more out of the satisfaction of feeling like a good daughter than she would from the three seconds of gratitude he'd show. Now she'd grown resentful and never did more than she had to keep him placated.

"Oh, Kerensa." She put the lunch down and grabbed a basket, taking it over to the larder. She filled it with all the eggs she could spare and grabbed the bundle on her way to the door.

The workshop was a shed over the other side of the village where several men worked on crafts. Aside from making bags, her father also transported other people's goods to be sold elsewhere, for which he received a small payment.

She went first to Kerensa's house so her father wouldn't see the eggs. No one answered the knock on the door and she had not the time to wait, so she left the basket on the step. From there, her route took her around the edge of the town and in the back door of the workshop. Zarek was busy carving leather when she got there and didn't look up from his work when she came in.

"Hello, lass," one of the other men said. "Zarek, your daughter's here."

Her father finished the line he was doing before lifting his head. He saw the bundle in her hands as she came over. "Ah, forgot, did I?" He took it from her. "Thanks."

The pattern he'd carved on the bag was lovely. Sarielle thought about saying so, but couldn't be bothered.

"See you at dinner," she said in farewell.

She took a shortcut through the shopfront on her way out. Two chestnut horses were passing as she closed the door, led by two people wearing boots. Sarielle stepped down onto the street behind them, following them down the main street into town. They must be two human boys, probably traders.

"It's a tad smaller than I expected," said a scrawny one with glasses. "I think father will want to stay overnight. That road's too dangerous to travel in the dark."

"So, we have plenty of time to find some hot elf girls?" the tall one said with a laugh.

"There are no elves here, Allim. They're elhuvens."

"Same thing. They've all got pointy ears. And the ones here are the horniest around. Timko said they even label the girls according to sluttiness."

"What does that mean?"

"They put coloured ribbons on them."

Sarielle snorted in disgust. They clearly knew nothing about elhuven ears other than them being pointy, or they wouldn't be speaking so loudly.

"Hey, there's one."Allim slapped his friend, grinning with excitement.

Abelia was crossing the road, basket in hand. She glanced at the boys with disinterest and kept going.

"She's pretty."

Allim pulled his friend's shirt to stop him. "Wait, wait. Don't bother with her. Her ribbon's white."

"What's wrong with the white ones?"

"They're the virgins. They'll make you work for it. You want one who's already a slut."

While they'd stopped to continue their awful chat, Sarielle had gone around them, hidden by one of horses. She was going after Abelia, but they must have noticed her cutting across in front of them.

"Look, that one's got a yellow ribbon."

Sarielle took up a fast pace away from them, but she could hear their boots behind her. Allim skipped up beside her.

"Hello, beautiful," he purred.

"Fuck off," she spat and kept walking.

The boy stopped in his tracks. "I thought these girls were meant to be slutty, not frigid."

"Maybe the yellow ribbon means heinous bitch."

Sarielle had been annoyed at their foul attitude, but now she was pissed off. It wasn't just those vile boys. It was Abelia.

The girl had stopped outside the dress shop to say hello to the owner's dog. A white ribbon crisscrossed her neck and tied with a bow. Sarielle curled her lip and marched over to her.

"Traitor," she growled, getting in her face and making Abelia take a step backwards. She pulled the bow undone and ripped the ribbon from her neck. "This." She waved it in her face. "This not a necklace. It's a bridle." She threw the ribbon on the street and ground it into the dirt with her foot.

Abelia gasped and held her hand over her mouth.

"Look at you, waltzing around all proud and superior. You realise by wearing that thing you're taking their side? You're agreeing this is how we should be treated."

"But...I..."

Sarielle tugged on her own ribbon. "They've branded us like cattle and you, you are out here volunteering to be marked with their iron. You're making it worse for all of us."

Not wanting to hear anything she had to say, Sarielle stormed off. Instead of going home, she sat on a bench in the church park, feeling a little helpless. What was the point? If they refused to stick together they were powerless to stop this.

The church park was peaceful, so Sarielle stayed for much longer than she should have, just listening to the birds and enjoying the greenery. She was arguing with herself about getting back when she heard voices yelling. They came closer and she recognised one of them. Several people came around the corner of a building. At the front, the chancellor was dragging Kerensa down the street.

"I wasn't doing anything!" she cried.

"You were on your knees in front of a boy. Only weeks after you defiled yourself you're out here attempting to do it again!"

"He said he wanted to play a game. He pushed me to my knees."

The man scoffed. "You expect me to believe that? You were about to suck his phallus."

"What? Eww. That's disgusting. Why would I do that?" She fought him as he pulled her towards the Den.

Sarielle got up and ran over to them. "Stop it. Let her go!"

"You stay out of this," the chancellor hissed.

"If she says nothing happened then nothing happened. You believe foreigners, humans at that, over a citizen of this town?"

"I believe in the fact the females of this town are immoral."

Someone had summoned the patriarch and he was waddling over to them. "What's all this?"

Sarielle ran to him before the chancellor could speak. "Some trader men harassed Kerensa and pushed her. I heard them talking earlier and they were saying horrible things about the wome—."

The chancellor shoved her aside. "This girl was about to perform fellatio. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Please, sir, ask her what she was doing," Sarielle begged.

He shooed the chancellor aside to speak to Kerensa. "Speak the truth."

Kerensa wiped a tear from her eye. "These two traders approached me and asked if I could show them the town. They were very friendly and I thought it would be good for business if they saw everything we made here, so I started to show them. Then one wanted to play a game. I didn't understand what he was saying. They were laughing and I felt they were making fun of me, so I was about to leave, but one of them told me to get down on my knees and pushed on my shoulder. That's when the chancellor saw us, when I was getting up to run away."

He made a thinking face. "Hmm, she wasn't yet performing a deed of depravity. And she already bares an orange marker."

She sniffled. "Please, sir. I didn't even know of this act you speak of. Had I known of their intentions I never would have conversed with them at all."

"It's possible these men have tried to take advantage of a naïve girl. Our women are innocent and trusting. They cannot judge poor character or insincerity as we can. We should take her word over that of strangers." He put his hands on Kerensa's shoulders. "In the future, you must be more careful around outsiders. They're not like our men here."

That was probably why they were so appealling.

"People aren't always honest. Remember that. Now be a good girl," he said patronisingly and turned to the chancellor. "Where are these men? They've insulted our community. They must leave at once and be banned from returning." He took the chancellor by the arm and the two of them marched off to serve justice.

"Thank you." Kerensa hugged Sarielle, sniffling in her hair. "I don't think I could have handled any more embarrassment."

Sarielle patted her back and urged her to walk. "I had a run-in with those dreadful boys earlier. They knew about the ribbons. That's why they targeted you. I should have followed them to warn everyone away from them."

"You can't help it that I'm too stupid to realise someone's a jerk and making sexual jokes," Kerensa said as they walked together back to the main street. She seemed reluctant to go home. "Have you the time to come over?"

She didn't really, but she rarely got to speak to anyone now she'd finished school. "Okay."

Kerensa's house was a row back from the main street. Like all the houses in the town, it had large vegetable gardens that spaced it from its neighbours. The cat was lying in front of the gate and didn't move when she pushed it into him.

"Move, cat." Kerensa tapped him with it some more, before resorting to picking him up. "If you didn't eat the mice, we would have fed you to a dog by now, Pabo." She let Sarielle in and relocated Pabo to the garden. "Oh, someone's left me a gift! I hope it's not something horrid like dog poo."

Sarielle laughed. "I brought you some eggs earlier in case the hens were still off."

"Aww, thanks. I was worried someone had heard about what happened and left something nasty for being a whore." She picked up the basket and opened the door.

"Too many nosy people around as witnesses for that to happen. Anyway, you can always borrow one of our hens if you need."

"That's super kind of you." Kerensa led the way to her bedroom.

Sarielle hadn't been in this house since before 'the incident'. It was larger than her own. The kitchen was to the right of the door, with her father's room on the left. Further in it opened up into the dining and living area, while Kerensa's room was at the back, next to the bathroom. It was bigger than Sarielle's, but was missing half a wall. The opening faced the door to her father's room so anyone in the living area could see what she was up to.

Kerensa flopped onto her bed and sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

Sarielle sat next to her. "No, you're not. You just like to think people are good. It's sweet."

"But naïve?" She exhaled. "I can't believe he thought I would put his filthy thing in my mouth. Have you heard of that?"

Sarielle's forehead creased. "I have, but I thought it was just an insult."

"I have to stop talking to guys. I fall for their charms too easily."

Sarielle patted her friend's thigh. "Your ribbon guy, was his name Gawain?"

"How'd you know?"

"I met him earlier that day."

"No fair. How come you didn't end up behind a barn with him?"

"Because I didn't give him any time. He was only going to waste it with his flirting."

"You don't like the attention?"

"I hate it. I mean, I like the words, but it's so irritating. You think you're making a friend, and then they go and ruin it by flirting and you realise they're only talking to you because you're pretty. I just want to be friends without them wanting something from me."

She sighed. "I get it. It takes me a while to realise they're not looking to be friends. But some of them are attractive and it makes me feel special. They tell me I'm pretty and want to know all about me and I get this warm feeling inside me. Not in a sexual way. It just makes me happy and I want more."

She knew the feeling. It was like hot soup on a cold day. She loved those rare moments her father showed her affection or when her old teacher praised her for something.

Sarielle sank backwards into the mattress and put her arm over her friend. "I think we need more hugs." Kerensa snuggled against her. "He seemed nice at least. Has he been back?"

"No, he told me where he lives though."

Sarielle played with the little blue bauble hanging from her friend's pointed ear. Unlike her, Kerensa had a matching one on the other side as well. "Do you think if you stay in touch you might marry him?"

"I don't fancy getting married anymore. It sounds dreary, a husband, children. I don't want any of it. I know! What if we lived together, you, Aster and I, the three tainted girls?"

"They wouldn't allow it."

She groaned. "Well, can I marry you then?"

Sarielle shook her head. "Already asked if it was an option with Evadne."

Kerensa looked at her with shock. "Would you really have married her? Even though she's a girl?"

She shrugged. "If it meant avoiding the scorn, probably. I didn't love her, but we were good friends and the thought of marrying a man made me sick. It still does."

They lay there for a while before Kerensa spoke again. "What exactly did you and Evadne do to each other? All anyone said was that you touched each other immorally."

"Do you want me to show you?" Sarielle asked in suggestive voice.

"Uh..."

She giggled. "We put our fingers inside each other."

"That seems like it should be worth more than a yellow ribbon."

"Everyone said it didn't count because we were both girls." Sarielle tangled her fingers in Kerensa's long hair.

It was nice being near her, comforting and peaceful. It was no wonder guys were attracted to her. In a town known for its beautiful women, Kerensa was probably the most stunning of them. She was only an inch or so taller than Sarielle and her hair looked the same black colour until it was in sunlight, where it shone purple. Her eyes were a pale indigo and she had dainty but full lips.

Sarielle rested her cheek on Kerensa's arm and closed her eyes. There was one way they could live together without men, but it meant leaving everything they knew behind. Forever.