Chapter 4
Four
Ayla
L eaving Meri to her bath, I slipped out, but didn't bother explaining the lock. I now knew the men wouldn't force their way in, even if they did come home. I also knew the lock wouldn't keep them out if they had to open that door. It was meant for courtesy, not true security.
Hurrying up the stairs, I rummaged through my clothing storage, looking for anything that might fit on Meri's new shape. Her belly was very large which meant she was rather far along. Worse, I didn't have anything that might work. I was about to use a blanket when the sound of the front door made me change my mind.
"Don't yell," I breathed to myself as I hurried back down the stairs and towards the living room. "Please don't - "
I came around the corner to find Jeera, Naomi, Kanik, Zasen, and even Rymar. Thankfully, they weren't making too much noise, so maybe Meri hadn't heard them? Naomi was a bit of a surprise, though. A very welcome one.
"What - " I tried to ask.
But Jeera shoved a dress at me. "This is for your friend," she explained. "Mom wants to look at her."
"No, this is going to be too much," I said. "Meri doesn't understand what's going on yet."
"Ayla." Kanik moved closer so he could lower his voice. "We do not have the space for her. She needs her own bed, and room, and things."
My eyes jumped from him to Zasen, over to Jeera and Naomi, then back to Kanik. Had they come to take her away? Did the people in town have a problem with her? If so, did that mean she wouldn't be allowed to live here?
"No, I'll share," I insisted.
"I'll share," Jeera assured me. "Ayla, I saw your friend is very pregnant. That means she's going to need more help than my brother can give. Look, Brielle and I have a spare room. We're both trained in what to do if her labor comes. We both speak English. We have space, and we can help her."
"But you're Dragons!" I hissed, struggling to keep my voice down. "Jeera, she doesn't understand! All she knows is that our friend encouraged her to do this. Callah saw one of my yellow arrows, I think. She must've thought that meant I'd save them, and so she got Meri out. I can't let anything happen to her, don't you see?"
"I know," Jeera said gently. "I'm willing to help her the way Zasen helped you. Ayla, I've listened to you. I know what she's been through. I also know about pregnancy, how to cook things she will eat, and I believe in the same God she does. Brielle and I will be gentle and kind, but there are already four of you in this house."
I knew she was right. I did. They'd warned me there wasn't enough room here. Plus, it wasn't fair of me to ask Zasen, Kanik, and Rymar to take care of my friend, but that was the thing. Merienne was my friend. I was the one who'd wanted to find a new life for us. I'd been the one telling stories of us living on the surface and growing plants.
She was here because of me, which meant I had to make this work. It was my responsibility, my problem, and my extra work. I owed her for all the times she'd laid out a clean dress for me, or covered for me sneaking in to read those books. I was the one who had the debt to Meri, not Jeera - or anyone else.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," I admitted, looking over to the guys for a hint.
"You're supposed to let your friends help you," Zasen assured me. "And we are all your friends, Ayla. It's okay to ask for help. It's also okay for Jeera and Brielle to help Meri. This is what friends do."
"It's how we did things even before you got here," Kanik assured me.
Rymar just lifted his hands and shrugged. "I still don't speak English well. I mean, I'm better, and I can follow along, but - "
"It's not good," I agreed. "No, you're right. I know you are. I just feel like I'm doing something wrong. She's here because of me."
"No," Zasen said. "She's here because of the Moles, Ayla. She's here because they lied. Now we get to show Meri the truth, and we all deserve the chance to help with that. And to make sure nothing happens to either her or the baby."
"Oh." Because that was another good point.
"How far along is she?" Naomi asked.
I shook my head. "I don't know."
"Ayla," Rymar said, pushing his way through the bodies crowding the living room. "She can stay here tonight so you can catch up. We'll make her a good meal, give you a chance to talk to her and have Naomi look her over. But - "
"No," I interrupted. "You're right, and I know you're right, but this is a lot. What if she's scared?"
"She will be," Zasen agreed. "That's why I thought she should be with women. "
"Tailed women!" I shot back. "That's not going to be any easier for her."
Zasen simply tilted his head, those orange eyes of his holding mine. "Who better to convince her we really are people? You were able to do it without us sharing a language. You survived being surrounded by strange men and our ignorance. Jeera and Brielle are prepared, and I think this is the best way to prove to her that we're not her enemy. Instead of telling her, we're showing her."
"Okay," I relented, because he did have a point. "Just be gentle with her?"
"Always," Kanik assured me. "We just want to help."
I nodded, letting them know I'd heard that, then turned for the bathroom. I hadn't stopped to look at the dress Jeera had given me, but I believed it would fit. Mine had when I'd been the one with nothing. So, after tapping on the door, I gently opened it and slipped in to find Meri wrapped in a towel and drying off.
"I got a dress," I assured her. "It's probably different from what you're used to, but everyone up here wears a lot less due to the heat."
"So that's normal?" Meri asked, glancing down at my outfit.
I nodded. "It's summer. I hear it gets cold in the winter, but right now the days are very hot. It's also okay to wear much less." I gestured to my pants and tight-fitting shirt. "This is not considered revealing here."
Meri just jiggled her head, looking nervous and lost. That was to be expected, but I had to get out the rest. So, while she worked to put on her clothing, I politely turned my back and did my best to explain what came next.
"Some of my friends are worried about you, so they came over to check." I paused, expecting her to say something, but all I could hear was fabric. "Meri, some of them have tails. Well, most. They're Dragons, but everyone in Lorsa is. They call people like you and me 'tailless,' and ones like the Wyvern are tailed."
"They warned us about him," Meri whispered. "Callah said you'd make it okay, and I saw he listened to you, but that's the Wyvern! He eats us!"
"No, he doesn't," I promised. "Meri, that's a lie. A lot of what the elders and Mr. Cassidy told us were lies."
Her hands paused. "What?"
"I was so confused at first," I explained, "but I saw it. Like I said, the Earth isn't burning. God and the Devil aren't fighting. Dragons are not demons. They're just people. Everything you think you know is wrong, but it's okay. It'll take time, but we'll show you. They'll prove it, okay?"
There was a long pause, then she whispered, "I'm scared."
"I know," I assured her. "And that's okay. They know you are, because I was. But just trust me on this?"
"But they speak gibberish, Ayla. That part's true. They've lost the Lord's language, and the men who brought me here were not righteous!"
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"They..." Her rebuttal died quickly. "But look at them!"
"Look at me," I said, turning back to face her. "A lot of things on the surface are different, and their words aren't gibberish. It's a language, and it's close to English once it's explained. See, English isn't used anymore. It died hundreds of years ago. When I came up here, they couldn't even talk to me. I mean, they still read English in books, but they didn't know how to pronounce the letters like we do. It was confusing. But one of them showed me a book and pointed at a picture of a wolf. He called it a walf. "
"But I only speak English," she insisted.
"And you can learn Vestrian," I promised. "It's not hard. I'll help! See, over time the accent changed, and some of the letters shifted. Like a W is now said like a V, and F's are pronounced like TH." I waved that off. "Never mind. We'll get to that. The important thing is that my friends are here, in the living room, and they want to meet you, but they're all nice, kind, and gentle people. They might look scary, but I won't let them hurt you."
She finished securing her dress, then smoothed down the fabric, yet her lips were pressed tightly. "What about my baby?"
"Naomi is a doctor," I hurriedly assured her. "A women's doctor." Then I grimaced, unsure if this next part would make things better or worse. "She's also the Wyvern's mother."
"So, a Dragon?"
"Yeah..." Crap, this was going to make her mind spin. "Do you remember how I once told you about people with skin the color of tea, and how not everyone was like the Righteous?"
"Yeah?"
"Naomi has dark brown skin," I explained, "and nearly black eyes. Her hair was once black but now is both dark and light from greying. She wears it in hundreds of braids, and she's very different from anyone you've seen before, but she's human. I mean, tailless. And she's the doctor I told you about. She'll make sure you and the baby are both going to be okay."
"Okay," Meri breathed. "Callah told me to trust you, so I will." Her voice pinched on the last word. "But I'm so scared and so confused, Ayla. I can't keep up with it all."
"These are my friends," I told her again. "All of them. They saved me, Meri, and they're going to save you now. That's why they came over. They all want to help, and they will. None of these people will hurt you. Not the ones in this house, okay? I give you my word."
"Okay," she said one more time, her eyes flicking over to the door. "Am I presentable?"
"You're fine," I assured her. "No one will care about the dress."
"Or that I don't have a bra?"
"Or shoes," I agreed. "You'll see. Things like that don't matter up here. Everything is different, but none of them will hurt you. I know they look very different, and maybe even terrifying, but they're nice. These people - even the men - are so much nicer than anyone in the compound. Well, except maybe Callah."
"Callah's not always nice," Meri reminded me, her voice tight, but it was clear she was trying to lighten the mood.
"Okay, true," I agreed, giving her a reassuring smile. "So are you ready for this? "
"Yeah," she breathed. "I mean, as ready as I can get, and it's a lot easier with you here. When those men unhooked my chain and then put me in that thing? I didn't know what was going on, and I kept asking them if they knew you, but they couldn't understand. At least now you can speak to me."
"And the Wyvern, and Kanik - he's the Dragonfly. Jeera can too." I paused. "I don't actually remember her sign, but Naomi, her mom - "
"Whose mom?" Meri asked.
"Naomi is Jeera and Zasen's - the Wyvern's - mother. Jeera is the Wyvern's little sister."
"Okay," Meri breathed. "I didn't expect that."
"Expect what?"
"For the most dangerous of the Dragons to have a younger sister."
I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing. I actually understood what she meant. Zasen had been described as a monster, and monsters didn't have families. He did. It made him feel a lot more like a person than a myth.
"Just remember that everything we were taught in our lessons is a lie," I said, offering my hand. "Ready?"
"Ready," she replied, but she didn't sound like it.
So I opened the door, but before I could even take a step, Meri grabbed onto that hand I'd offered. Her fingers were tight, clinging to me like a lifeline. And yet, she followed.