Page 94 of Tiger's Trek
“Not only is it more beautiful, but once it’s sewn into clothing, it withstands flame like phoenix leather and also has the magical properties of dragon silk; then it also lends the wearer something else.”
“What is that?”
“It depends on the virgin and the flower. They combine to create something unique. It could be a scent so overwhelming that anyone seeing the person wearing the gown would fall at their feet, or it could be astonishing beauty, or the gift of great discernment. Like I said, it depends on the blend.”
“I see. And, umm, a final question. If I may.”
“Of course, lass,” the farmer replied.
“How do the sheep, er... tell?”
“How do they tell what? They don’t talk, if that’s what you mean.”
“No, good sir,” Danik said, interrupting. “I think she’s asking, how do the sheep know a virgin from a nonvirgin?”
“Ah!” The farmer touched his finger to his nose. “Excellent question. They leaves them as nonvirgins alone, to be certain. It’s believed they can sniff them out, a bit like a hound dog. I don’t know how it works. Not really. It must be within a certain age as well. Turns off after a woman is past birthing age. And they don’t bother children either. But there’s no camouflagin’ it. Olfactory is what it is. Show them hair from the same person cut as a child and ya get nothing, but once they reach marryin’ age, the poor girl is downright discerpible.”
“I see. Thank you so much for your help,” Veru said.
They left the farmer’s home and headed up the road. “No wonder Yuga wants the wool so badly. Where are we going to get that much hair?” Danik asked.
“Let’s not worry about that just yet,” Veru said. “Let’s find the knight first and let him know what we discovered. Maybe we’ll think of something.”
Danik nodded and Veru pulled the small mirror from her bag and checked her braid first, tugging on it to see how long it was and wondered how much of it she could cut off to feed to a sheep and if it would be enough to produce even one bag of wool. Then she placed the mirror on the ground and said, “Take us to the hidden forest guarded by the Polden Knight.”
The mirror shimmered and boiled and grew, spreading out and lengthening until it became a bubbling river. Trees erupted all around it, and the countryside surrounding them changed, turning and twisting. The little farm disappeared, and in its place was a hidden pasture with a river surrounded by trees. On a distant hill, the red knight sat upon his horse as he watched over hundreds of naked pink sheep, all of them cryingbaaas they jostled for position, trying to stay as close to the warm knight as possible.
Calling out, Danik waved, and the knight kicked the sides of his horse, galloping over to them. Veru bent, picking up the small mirror that had shrunk to normal size once again. She tucked it into her bag and offered the knight a smile.
“Hello!” he said. “That was fast.”
“I’m afraid what we learned isn’t going to help much,” Danik said.
“Tell me,” the knight replied, getting down from his horse. The sheep made their way over to the knight, basking in the warmth that naturally exuded from the man. They drank deeply from the stream and grazed while the people talked.
“The answer is hair,” Veru said. “Virgin hair and flowers. In great quantities, apparently.”
“Really? How fascinating.” He removed his helmet and ran his hand through his own lustrous red locks as he thought. “So they are to ingest it?”
“Apparently,” Danik said. “And then they’ll grow wool right away. We’ll need to shear it before the full moon; otherwise, it will all fall out.”
“That gives us”—the knight closed his eyes—“approximately one week.” He blew out his breath. “I suppose we’d better get busy, then.”
“Get busy?” Danik frowned. “I doubt we could shear all these animals in a week, let alone find that much hair and convince the virgins to give it up. Also, there’s a catch. Once she has the wool and turns it into fabric, she’ll use it to make clothing, powerful clothing that I’m certain she’ll use to trap others.”
“Yes. That is a conundrum. But first let’s see if this will work, then we’ll cross that bridge if we must.”
“Very well,” replied Veru. “Let’s go round up some virgins.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” the knight said, opening a hidden pocket in his cloak and pulling out a jeweled comb. Then he gestured at the two of them and winced. “I’m assuming, though, the two of you haven’t, umm... That is, you’re still...?”
Veru frowned and folded her arms. “If you are asking if we... the answer there is no!”
The knight half smiled and nodded sheepishly.
“Then... perhaps...” The knight stepped forward, glancing at the two of them, then paused at seeing their confusion. He cleared his throat. “You see, it is often assumed that when the hair of a virgin is mentioned, it is meant that a woman’s hair would be required, but in actuality...”
Danik blinked and then caught Veru’s arm. “Then you should take mine. Hers is so beautiful. Please, leave it be.”
