Chapter 18
Eighteen
Ayla
L essa was rushing into the closest room the man could find, but the yelling had alerted Jeera. Somehow, she'd ended up in the back again, but the moment she saw Meri in Lessa's arms, Jeera began calling out for help. Lessa had barely eased Meri down onto the bed before Naomi, Brielle, and Jeera were rushing in to check on her.
"What happened?" Naomi demanded in Vestrian.
"I don't know," Lessa said. "I just saw the Mole vomiting into your bushes."
"I told her," I tried to explain, speaking in Vestrian like everyone else, but that wasn't helping Meri.
"What's going on?" she begged.
"It's okay. It's okay," Jeera said in English as she pulled Lessa away and moved to Meri's side. "I heard you were sick."
"Ayla said..." Her eyes jumped over to me.
"Said what?" Brielle demanded in Vestrian as she rummaged through the cabinet for medication.
The languages were making me confused. I understood it all, but couldn't remember which words I was supposed to use, so I went with what came out of my mouth. Surprisingly, it was Vestrian.
"I told her what she'd been eating. She was so worried about all the women in the waiting room, and how you'd been naming the meals, and what would happen if she died, so I just said it - and I didn't mean to!"
"Are you fucking stupid?" Lessa snapped, turning to glare at me.
"No!" Jeera snarled, shoving a finger in Lessa's face. "Don't you dare talk to her that way."
Lessa just pushed Jeera's hand away. "That girl is fucking pregnant, and this one is trying to stress her out? She's not in shape to take that! "
"No, I..."
"Ayla!" Meri screamed, sounding terrified.
Naomi slammed one of the cabinet doors shut. "Enough!"
She said it in English, then glared at all of us until the room was so silent, I could hear nothing but breathing. For a long moment, Naomi looked at us, her gaze moving from person to person - except for Meri. There was a warning in her eyes that made her look as terrifying as the woman who'd run the children's wing in the compound.
"Jeera, translate for Lessa," Naomi said before turning to Meri. "And you're not in trouble, my dear. They are, but you're fine, Meri. Now, tell me how you feel?"
Meri nodded. "My stomach keeps clenching." She paused to quickly lick her lips. "Is it true?"
"Which part?" Naomi asked gently as she turned to the cabinet beside her.
"You don't eat us?"
"We don't," Naomi promised her. "We have plenty of things to eat up here. There's no need to eat people. Plus, every tailed child has a tailless mother, and who'd want to eat their own family?"
"But..."
"Don't worry about it," I breathed, moving closer so I could clasp Meri's hand. "I'm sorry I said anything, Meri. I didn't mean to, and I intended to break it to you slowly, when you understood more."
"So it's true?" she whimpered.
"Ayla, wait," Naomi ordered even as she was pulling medication into a syringe. "Meri, I'm going to give you a shot. It will ease your stomach and mind. This is for anxiety, okay?" Then she pinched Meri's arm and pushed the needle into the skin.
"How long does it take?" Meri asked.
"Oh, just a few minutes," Naomi promised. Then she crouched down beside Meri. "Two months ago, we thought all people with sunless skin were evil, Meri. Dragons hated Moles, and that's just the way it was. Moles were evil things, and when they showed up, they hurt us."
"But - "
Naomi lifted a hand, holding off her protest. "Then my son brought Ayla back. Like you, she was scared and confused. And just like you, she was also very sweet. Those of us who met her couldn't hate her because there wasn't a mean bone in her body. It didn't make sense - until the hunters came and Ayla fought back."
Meri's head immediately snapped over to look at me. "You fought?"
"I was hiding with a little boy," I explained. "They were going to shoot him, Meri. I couldn't let them kill a child!"
"No, but that's so brave of you."
Naomi rubbed Meri's shoulder. "You're sounding a little less terrified. Feeling any better?"
Meri jiggled her head in something like a nod. "I think so. My stomach doesn't want to empty anymore."
"Good. "
"But is it true, Naomi? Is that why they just fed us meat?" Meri pressed.
"We believe it is," Naomi soothed. "Ayla learned when the hunters come back, why we couldn't figure it out - our calendars and holidays are different - and she showed us that you women are victims in all of this, unaware of what is going on."
"But..." Meri's hands went protectively to her belly. "I ate people? I did that to my baby?"
"Shh..." Naomi soothed. "It seems your people don't have any adverse effects from it, so what's done is done. You didn't know, so it isn't your fault." Naomi gently guided Meri's hair back, caressing the girl's head. "And it bothers me less thinking my son and my husband helped to keep people like you alive."
"Your son?" I asked, twitching at that.
"My oldest brother," Jeera explained. "Not Zasen. Cerlik died when I was like six. I think he was... fourteen, Mama?"
"Mhm," Naomi agreed. "And soon enough, the Moles will come back, Meri. The hunters will come here, but Ayla has taught us how to be ready for it, so you'll be safe."
"I didn't know..." Meri breathed.
"And we didn't know they were abusing you women," Naomi explained. "Not until Ayla told us how things are down there. But you're free now, okay? Your job is to get strong and raise this baby so it will be nothing like its daddy, okay?"
Meri just swallowed, and her eyes were much too big. "I'll try, but I don't know how."
"We'll help," Brielle promised. "Meri, we're all going to keep you safe, take good care of you, and show you how to live up here. That includes everything you never thought you'd need help with. You're safe now."
"And no more bad meals," Jeera said.
Which was too much for Lessa. "Di nat ruhmond her!" My brow creased because that almost sounded like English. Thankfully, Lessa rephrased it in Vestrian. "That girl doesn't need to be reminded of the horrors she's endured, Jeera! Just look at her! She can't weigh more than a hundred pounds - and that's with the baby. If you stress her out..."
"She's strong," I countered.
Lessa just turned to me. "You don't have a clue what she's going through. Pregnancy isn't easy, Ayla. And in her state?"
"Lessa..." Naomi warned.
Lessa pushed out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, Naomi."
"I know you're trying to be protective," Naomi told her, "but your anger is pointed at the wrong person. Ayla's the only one who can understand what Meri's been through. Meri needs to know what's coming, and it makes sense for her to do it here, where we can give Meri the medication she needs."
"But - "
"No!" Brielle snapped. "Just because you think Ayla stole Zasen from you - "
"I didn't!" I insisted.
Which made Lessa's head snap over to me. "What? "
"He told me about you and him," I explained. "I just wanted to learn how to speak Vestrian and read a book. I don't want to marry him, Lessa! I definitely don't want to do that with him!"
Jeera groaned. "Fuck. Mama? The Moles think sex hurts."
"What?" Lessa asked.
Brielle reached up to rub her brow, but Naomi leaned back against the counter and started chuckling. "Okay, well, that certainly explains a lot. I'm also sure it does." She jerked her chin at Brielle. "Translate for Meri, if you would?" Then she looked at me. "Ayla, sex should never hurt. Rape often does."
"But I still don't want to," I insisted.
"And you don't have to," Naomi assured me. "But it does not hurt. It never should, and if it does, you should see me - if you ever decide to try it." She looked at Meri, making sure she understood that as well. "Ladies, in this building, we can talk about such things. That's what this place is for. It's where women can safely get help with all those things that are too embarrassing to talk about - but this isn't the only place."
Lessa shifted closer to me, then leaned in and dropped her voice. "You're not with Zasen?"
"I'm not with anyone," I assured her. "They hung me on a tree, and just when I got the chain off, the Dragons were there. I tried to run, but Zasen caught me and brought me here. I'm glad he did, but I didn't ask him to, and I certainly would never take someone's intended!"
"We don't exactly do that," Jeera reminded me. "No betrothals, no 'intendeds,' and marriages can end. Often, Ayla, they end because of 'cheating,' which is when someone has an affair with a person their partner doesn't approve of or doesn't know about."
"I wouldn't!" I swore. "Meri wouldn't either! That's not how women take care of each other, and helping our friends get the best man possible is one of the few things we can do."
"Could," Lessa said softly. "You can do a lot more than that now."
"Yeah."
On the bed, Meri was nodding as Brielle translated all of that to English for her. But against the counter, Naomi sighed again, slowly shaking her head.
"Okay, girls. You know what I think?" She gestured at all of us. "This needs to happen, but I have patients out there, and others need both me and Brielle right now. So! What do you think about lunch at my place in a few days?"
"Like the cookout we did for Ayla," Brielle said, nodding to show she approved before translating that to Meri.
"What's a cookout?" Meri asked in English.
So I changed to that language. "It's a meal where everyone prepares it, and we eat outside, spending time with friends. People come together to catch up on things, talk a lot, and do stuff that's fun. It's also a very good way to meet people. It's how I met my sister."
"We should invite her too," Naomi decided, speaking in Vestrian. "Ayla, you let Saveah know. She'll bring the kids. Zasen, Kanik, and Rymar can come too. Meri needs to get to know them. Irrik and Lansin are staying with me, so the men can cook, we women can talk about all of these things, and Brielle? You and Jeera will make sure Meri knows it's okay to have conversations in mixed company."
"And Lessa?" Jeera asked.
Naomi tossed a smile at the tan-scaled woman. "She's like one of my kids, so of course I expect her to be there. And to be nice ." The look she gave Lessa was pointed.
"I'll bring dessert," Lessa promised. "And maybe some things for Meri to wear, since that dress is much too big for her."
"It's all we could find to fit the baby," Brielle explained.
Lessa scoffed. "Well, Zasen paid enough for her clothes too, so I'll whip up a few things, bring some samples and my measuring tapes, and we can see what she'd like to wear now."
Jeera quickly translated that, which made Meri suck in an excited breath. "Maybe I can have things in the bright colors?"
"Which color?" Lessa asked.
The best Meri could do was shrug after Jeera relayed that. "I don't know. We just didn't have colors like these, and they're all so pretty."
Which made Lessa nod, proving she could at least keep up with what Meri was saying in English. "Okay. Let her know I'll bring a lot for her to choose from. When are we doing this, Naomi?"
Days and times were thrown around. Schedules were consulted. When I was asked, all I could do was shrug, because I didn't have things to work around. But while the debate was being had, Meri closed her eyes for a little too long. Thanks to the medication she'd been given, her body was relaxed enough that she dozed right off.
"Take her home," Naomi ordered. "Ayla, you can go with them if you want, but Meri needs to head straight home."
"I know my way back," I promised.
"So do I," Lessa said. "I'll walk with Ayla."
"Good, then get out of my clinic," Naomi ordered. "I'd also prefer not to see any of you back here unless it's a normal, routine check-up." But she smiled. "That or the baby's coming. And girls, that baby could come any time now. So go take care of her ."