Page 5 of Stolen Fates
Katell
You must learn to act like a wife.
Katell stood by the sheep pens, Elder Yorn’s words hammering inside her head. Close by, a few men tended to their flock, too busy to notice the burning sun crest over the distant hill and cast a fiery glow across the steppe.
Today, Katell would finally meet her future husband during the pre-marriage ceremony and apply everything she’d learned during her lessons with Elder Yorn. Then, come nightfall, if the suitors and elders had successfully agreed upon a price, eight girls from Camp Bessi would be clad in their wedding attires and married off.
Her hands tightened around the wooden plank of the fence, which groaned under the pressure of her grip. Katell was opposed to the whole affair, but despite her protests, the elders had been adamant. As the daughter of a councilman, she had to set an example and wed outside the camp. Any refusal could spell trouble for her family. Alena might even be matched with asuitor earlier. So, Katell had relented. At least the wedding came with gifts from her husband, which should support her family through the harsh winters.
Leaning against the sturdy wooden fence, she stretched her back. The strain of her muscles eased, and she exhaled a long breath, the sound of bleating sheep surrounding her like a soothing melody. On any other morning, she’d be venturing out on her horse across the sweeping steppe. Instead, she needed to get dressed and then head to the central square, yet her feet wouldn’t move.
You must learn to act like a wife.
Well-mannered, quiet, obedient.
Somehow, she would need to convince her future husband that she had all the qualities of a housewife.
“I knew you’d be here.” Leywani’s voice filtered through the chorus of bleating sheep, her soft footsteps treading along the well-worn dirt path. “You always come to the pens when you’re troubled.”
Katell glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her friend, who joined her at the fence. From Leywani’s dishevelled appearance, it seemed she’d rushed out of her tent to find her.
“I was afraid I’d miss you before the meetings began,” Leywani explained, straightening her thread-bare tunic and cinching her belt. She then rested her head on Katell’s shoulder, and the two girls watched the sunrise paint the wild grasses with hues of red and gold. “It won’t be the same without you.”
“I know. I hate this,” Katell admitted with a heavy heart. “I never imagined leaving Camp Bessi. I always thought…” She trailed off, unable to voice her deepest desires.
“That you’d become a huntress? Perhaps marry Scylas?”
Katell’s silence confirmed Leywani’s astute guess, though she and Scylas hadn’t discussed their changed circumstances afterthe first suitor’s arrival. Each one of their conversations since had been fraught with tension.
They might have shared a kiss, but Scylas had never expressed his feelings for her, let alone mentioned marriage. And even if there had been an agreement between them, the elders would never have allowed it.
After a moment, Leywani pulled away, posing the question Katell had been avoiding asking herself. “Kat, are you sure you can do this?”
A sound escaped Katell’s lips, something caught between anger and sorrow, encapsulating the emotions stirring within her. “No. But as Elder Ignatiuskindlyreminded me, all the other daughters of councilmen have dutifully married. Only Alena and I are left, and if I don’t follow tradition, I’m afraid they’ll go after Alena instead.”
“Elder Ignatius is a cold-hearted snake,” Leywani said viciously.
Katell hummed in agreement. She’d often wondered how Scylas had grown into such a caring and steadfast friend given his grandfather’s ruthless nature.
They both fell silent again, entranced by the tender sight of the spring-born lambs nursing from their mothers within the pens.
“Father heard my intended husband is from a camp farther east, not Camp Lukim,” Katell finally admitted.
Leywani blew out a long breath. “By the Moon… Have you told Alena yet?”
She linked arms with her in a comforting gesture and a sudden tightness formed in Katell’s gut. She shook her head. Her sister would be devastated once she found out. Hopefully, Alena and their father could visit before winter, otherwise they might not meet again until the following year.
“We always knew this day would come,” Leywani continued, staring ahead. Already, her braid was becoming undone, strandsof dark hair falling across her face. She must have been desperate to see Katell before she left for the ceremony, and the thought warmed Katell’s heart. “But I’d always hoped it wouldn’t come so soon. That we’d have more time together.”
“Maybe next year when it’s your turn, you’ll end up in a camp close to me.”
They both knew there was little chance of it happening and fell silent again. Katell clutched her friend’s thin arm, grateful they had this final moment together. Leywani had been a constant in Katell’s life, a friend who knew her better than anyone else, and imagining life without her left a hollow pit in Katell’s stomach.
“Will you take care of them for me?” Katell asked, her voice a soft whisper. “Once I’m married off, could you look after Alena? I worry about her interest in the Old Lands and their gods. If the elders find out that she reads any scroll she can get her hands on, or if she starts asking the wrong questions—”
Leywani met her gaze with a watery smile. The morning breeze blew strands of dark glossy hair across her face. “I’ll watch out for her. I promise you, Kat. And when it’s my turn next year to marry, I’m sure Scylas will take care of your family then.”
Katell nodded, unable to say another word past the lump forming in her throat. At her side, Leywani sniffled softly and hummed a Freefolk song from the Moon festival—Katell’s favourite.
