Chapter 12 Willow #2
“Wait!” They all say in unison, trying to stop me, but I’ve already stepped forward onto the grass, my toes wiggling in the soft blades.
I smile up at them. “It’s so soft!”
“It could be dangerous,” Hawk says, eyeing it with a frown.
“Well, it’s not like we can rip it out,” I say with a shrug. It’s just grass, I’m not sure how it could be malevolent.
“We could burn it?” Bo suggests, but I shake my head.
“Can we just… leave it? See what happens?”
Ronan squats down and runs his hand through the blades. “We’ll keep an eye on it. I’m not sure if it’s something we have to worry about, and it’s still a better option than going back out in the forest. The sun has set now.”
The cave was dark when we arrived, but the fire helps to light the small space. I glance up at the crack in the ceiling and see that he’s right, no light is coming through anymore.
Ronan’s gaze shifts to me, his eyes trailing over my poultice-covered body. “We should eat, then we need to get you warm.”
“Tomorrow, we should search for one of those supply crates they said they hid throughout the forest,” Bo says, his blue eyes roaming over me as well.
“Supply crates?” I ask in confusion.
Ronan gets to his feet as he explains. “When we signed up, they explained that since the Mating Hunt was for a week this year, and we were only allowed to bring a small bag with us,” he points to his bag on the ground as he continues, “that they would be hiding small crates throughout the forest with supplies we might need to help properly care for you.”
My mind starts to imagine what could possibly be in them. Food and water?
“They are sure to have blankets and pillows,” Bo says as he moves to the fire and picks up the sticks of roasted meat.
“And hopefully shoes,” Hawk adds, looking down at my bare feet.
Bo passes out the meat to the other two, then pulls a piece from the skewer and tests it. “Still too hot,” he says, looking directly at me.
Every time their eyes are on me, I feel so exposed, so naked. I’ve never worn anything even close to this revealing in my life. I look around for my dress and see someone has already laid it out beside the fire so it will dry. But it still looks soaked.
I glance at their own clothing, the strange coverings they have around their hips. They must be wet as well. “Do you not need to dry out your clothes?” I blurt out.
A small smile pulls at Bo’s lips, but Ronan is the one to answer. “If we remove them, we’ll be naked.”
My mouth goes dry and I lick my lips, my eyes dropping to his covered area, imagining what could possibly be hiding under there. I had gotten enough of a glimpse of that troll to know it was male, but what I saw was terrifying. I hope human men don’t look quite that… grotesque.
I try to focus back on my question. I had asked because I didn’t want them to be uncomfortable hanging around and sleeping in wet clothing, but they either didn’t want me to see what was underneath or they didn’t think I’d want to see it.
In the hopes of being more open with them, I tell them, “Where I’m from, we had to dress very modestly.
Dresses and skirts down to our feet, long sleeves, high necklines.
Nudity was forbidden outside of the marriage bed.
I know it isn’t like that outside of the cult I grew up in, but it’s all I‘ve known.” I quickly glance at each of them before adding, “It’s clearly different for you. ”
Hawk bites a chunk of meat in half, then approaches me and holds the other half up to my lips. I open my mouth and let him feed it to me as he speaks.
“Yes. What we’re wearing is common for Redmere warriors.”
“Warriors?” I ask in surprise. I haven’t heard them use that term before.
He nods, feeding me another piece of meat.
“Yes. In Redmere, you decide as an adolescent what skill you want to hone. Some have great skill with vegetation and the land, becoming farmers and foragers. Some are skilled with their hands and tools and help to build. We were prophesied to save our land, so we trained as warriors.”
I swallow my mouthful of meat, it suddenly tasting like ash as I question, “Prophesied?” My father was always spouting prophecies, and they never meant anything good for me.
Bo nods. “Yes, there is a seer on our island.” He pauses to ask, ”Do you know what that is?
” When I shake my head he continues, “She occasionally gets visions that help our people prosper. Our land started dying when we were young boys, and when we were fifteen, she told us a prophecy that she said was only for the three of us, even though we weren’t brothers by blood. ”
He looks at me as he asks, “Do you want to hear it?” I nod and listen to his husky voice spout the prophecy they have been following for half their lives.
Found in ruin, long concealed,
What once was lost can soon be healed.
If seized with strength and not destroyed,
It will save your land and heal the void.
Go beyond the world you know,
Way up high, where love does grow.
Found in a forest near the highest peak,
Will be the saving grace you seek.
Break it not, nor cast aside,
For all your names are bound inside.
Taken whole and carried through,
Its purpose wakes when claimed by you.
From theft or harm, you must guard it true,
And all will be whole, your land and you.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell him as I continue eating and try to dissect the parts I remember. The good news is, it doesn’t sound anything like the ones my father had spouted. There is nothing about worshipping fake gods, handing over all their possessions, or sacrificing virgins.
“You came here to find something to save your land,” I say as I finally clue in to what the prophecy is talking about. I remember they said they weren’t here for the Mating Hunt, but I got distracted and forgot all about that until now.
“That’s right,” Ronan says, as Hawk silently offers me another piece of meat.
“But what is it?” I frown as I try to recall any part of it that spoke of what it was. Something that they aren’t supposed to break… that could be anything.
“We call it a charm, but we don’t know what it is,” Bo explains.
“And you think this… charm, if taken back to your island, will somehow fix your land?”
“Yes,” Ronan says solemnly. “It’s been dying for over twenty years now. If we don’t find this object to save it, I’m afraid our people will have to move to the mainland.”
“Is that so bad?” I ask, unsure of the differences.
“Yes,” they all say at once.
“It’s much more dangerous here,” Ronan explains.
“And the people aren’t as nice,” Bo adds. “Plus, we have the most beautiful forests and beaches. Our people have been there for hundreds of years. Nobody wants to leave and be forced to change our ways.”
I chew on another piece of meat before I ask, “You said your land is dying? How big is Redmere? How many people live there?”
Hawk moves aside as Ronan steps up, taking his place to feed me. Standing here, my arms crossed over my chest, barely clothed and covered in poultice while they feed me, is extremely strange, but I don’t exactly hate it, either.
“We are down to about a hundred people now,” Ronan tells me. “Our island is large, we can all live peacefully without crowding into a village, as they do in many places on the mainland.”
“Do you three live together?” I ask, curious about their home.
He nods. “Yes. Once we heard the prophecy, we did everything we could together, knowing our fates are intertwined.” A small grin graces his lips. “Although we didn’t realize just how deeply they intertwined until now.” My cheeks heat when I realize he’s talking about them sharing me.
How would that even work? Would I rotate between them?
“Now we have the best home in all of Redmere,” Bo says proudly, bringing me out of my train of thoughts.
“What about your families?” I ask. “You said you don’t have siblings, but what about your parents?”
Ronan’s eyes darken a little, and he holds up another piece of meat to my lips as he answers. “I lost my family in a terrible storm when I was twenty.”
Before I can answer, Hawk speaks, “I lost all my parents a few years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him, before looking at Ronan, making sure he knows I mean him, too. “That’s horrible.”
“It’s in the past now. Besides, Bo’s family is still around,” Ronan says, as if trying to lighten the mood.
“That’s right, and my mother is going to love you!” A huge smile covers Bo’s face. “My dads too.”
“Did you just say dads? Like, more than one?” I ask in confusion.
“That’s right,” he says as he comes over to help feed me. “Everyone here has multiple fathers.”
My so-called brother said something about that, but I didn’t really realize what that meant until now.
Ronan gives me another piece of meat as he adds, “If you choose to stay with us, it’s how it would be for our children. They would have us three as fathers, and you as a mother.” He gently caresses my cheek, sending heat between my legs, before breaking the contact to grab another piece of meat.
The thought of having children with them is so foreign, it sends my mind spinning. I never really thought about having kids before, other than knowing that’s what Paul wanted from me. Male offspring to carry on his lineage.
They’d already told me that men marry in groups here, but I failed to comprehend that it would mean having multiple fathers.
“How many fathers do you have?” I ask.
“Four,” Bo says with a smile.
I try to wrap my head around everything they’re saying as we silently finish our evening meal. Hawk gives me a water canteen to drink from as I ponder everything.
“Do your fathers dress like you?” I ask, wondering if men who are not warriors wear the same clothing.
“They tend to wear more coverings over their shoulders and chests,” he explains. “But since my father, Torran, is acting as chief while Ronan is away, he will probably be dressed more like us until we return.”
My eyes jump to Ronan in question. “Chief?” I ask in confusion.