Chapter 2 #2
“You’re already late child, come on now.
” She gently grabs my wrist and starts to lead me towards the closest tent.
I try to turn in her grasp to see behind me, and that’s when I notice the giant rock wall is actually more like a mountain.
To the left, there is a large opening and I strain my eyes to see what the movement is inside.
Are those… giant eagles? With saddles? Holy smokes, this place is so cool!
I definitely need to take a ride on one of those asap.
I’d done hang gliding in Costa Rica and parasailing in Australia, I’m sure I could handle some giant birds.
My sight line is cut off when I am pushed into a tent. It’s filled with fabric and cushions. Several lanterns lie around the space and I gaze around with wide eyes. What is this?
“Where on earth did you get those clothes?”
I look down at my skinny black jeans and matching black blouse. “What’s wrong with it?”
The woman makes a noise that makes me think she’s choking before she shakes her head at me. “You know very well that is not appropriate attire to wear to the mating hunt, Penny. What would your family say if they saw you in that?”
“Family? Mating hunt?” I ask in sheer confusion. Did I have a family in this world? Would they look the same as the family I had in the… What did she call it? Human realm. More importantly, what the heck is the mating hunt? I wasn’t sure if I liked the sound of that or not.
“Yes. Luckily, your family is gone now.” She had no idea how true that really was. “And the mating hunt is starting in less than ten minutes. Come on, Penny, you must put the dress on.”
“But I like wearing pants. They are so much easier to move in.” I bat her hands away gently as she tries to find a way to undress me.
“Really, Penny? I mean, it’s you who will look like a fool running in that.” She steps back and gestures to my outfit before crossing her arms over her chest and giving me a leveling stare.
“You think I should run in a dress? No—” I put out my hand to silence her. “Don’t answer that. Tell me about the mating hunt. What is it? What am I supposed to do?”
She furrows her eyebrows at me. “Why are you asking me that? Surely you know?”
“Pretend I don’t. Enlighten me.” I cross my own arms, staring back expectantly.
She lets out a deep huff before answering.
“The mating hunt, as you know.” She narrows her eyes at me with those last words.
“Is held once every four years as a way for women to find the most suitable husbands.” She starts pacing back and forth as she continues speaking.
“I participated in the games myself, years ago. The women who sign up walk through the crowd of available men to the front of the forest. They get a ten-minute head start, then the men take off after them. The first man to find you… wins.”
“Wins what, exactly,” I ask, nervous for her answer.
“Why you, of course.” I open and close my mouth a few times as I absorb her words.
The first man to catch me gets to what, exactly, have sex with me?
Mate me. Or was there something more to it, like marriage?
But surely women didn’t pick the man they would spend the rest of life with just by who could run the fastest?
I must be missing something here, but before I can ask a giant dong sounds throughout the tent.
“Oh! It’s time, quickly now!” She grabs my wrist again and drags me behind her out of the tent.
I see a line of women all wearing beautiful, flowing dresses in front of me.
The style almost looked… medieval. Come to think of it, the woman in front of me is decked out in a very old-fashioned dress as well.
I was just too preoccupied with everything to notice.
Loud voices pull my thoughts away from women’s fashion to the scenery around us.
We are turning a corner ahead between two tents, and that’s where the noise is coming from.
It sounds like a bunch of men talking. The woman lets go of me and ushers me past her to join the back of the line.
Straight away I can see that I don’t fit in at all with them, no wonder she wanted me to change.
Their dresses are a variety of pale colors, some brighter than others. But me, I’m dressed in all black.
As I round the corner, my eyes widen at the sight around me.
There must be dozens, no, hundreds of men here.
The line of women seems to be walking straight down the center of the group.
The men don’t come too close and I see nobody reaching out to touch anyone, thankfully.
But their eyes are filled with lust and desire.
I see a few eyes look at me and frown before moving their gaze to the other women. Some seem intrigued by my appearance. I’m not sure how to act, so I just keep my head up, scanning the group of men for Ria as I follow the line of women.
When I finally reach the front, the women are spanning out horizontally.
I take a good look at them, hoping to see Ria among the faces, but sadly, I don’t.
It doesn’t take me long to look because there are only nine other women.
But there are so many men. Why are the numbers so uneven?
What made these women so special that these men are willing to…
hunt for them? Or I guess hunt them was more accurate.
A man stands up on a small box and starts addressing the crowd, talking about the importance of the hunt.
I just tune him out. I realize I’m in quite a predicament here.
I need to find Ria, and can’t waste time on this mating hunt.
Besides, I hate the idea of picking someone just because he was the fastest or best hunter.
That meant nothing to me. I want someone who treats me right and has a good heart.
I don’t care about his hunting abilities.
I also want a man that wants me, for me.
Not because I was an easy catch. Did any of these men know the women they were chasing?
I suppose it’s possible. I did replace my look alike here. Maybe she knows some of them.
But she chose to leave this world, was this why?
Was she forced into this by her family? By society?
Did all women have to go through this? I doubted it, there are barely any women here.
I glance along at their faces and can see their excitement.
Every one of them looks more than happy to be here.
No, they weren’t being forced into this.
And I wouldn’t let myself be forced into it either.
Soon enough the man announces the beginning of the hunt and that loud gong sounds again.
The other women turn and run into the woods.
I quickly follow, but stay to the side. We weave through the trees, and the nervous giggles from the other women are contagious enough to make me smile.
If Ria was here with me, I might consider this fun.
I glance back, and when I don’t see any people behind me, I take a sharp right, leading me away from the other women.
I don’t go too long before I glimpse the edge of the tree line in front of me, so I turn again and head back to where we started from.
Hopefully, I’m far enough to the side that I can pass right by all the waiting men.
I keep moving and hear the gong sound nearby.
The roars of men fill the air and I stop to position myself behind a large tree, taking in deep lungfuls of air.
I can hear the men running through the trees, but how close are they?
I take my chance and peek out, but the closest man I see is about a hundred feet away.
I relax and lean back against the tree, trying to catch my breath.
When I can breathe a little easier again, I continue jogging back towards the mountain where I saw those enchanting eagles.
I’m in this realm looking for Ria, and catching a ride on one of those would be my best shot.
My fairy godmother said that I belong in this world.
I wasn’t exactly sure about that part, but as long as I found Ria, I didn’t care where we were.
She was all I had left, I couldn’t lose her.
I don’t know enough about this mating hunt to want to stick around here any longer than necessary.
When I finally reach the starting point, I’m happy to see nobody lingering. I quietly sneak past the tents on the outskirts, before making a dash across the forty feet of open space that leads to the cave entrance.
As soon as I get inside, my eyes are glued to the incredible creatures in front of me.
I slowly cross the space to where six of the giant birds sit.
They were at least fifteen feet tall and their colors were a range of brown and white.
The closest one drew me in with its white feathers, covered in brown spots.
I slowly reach up towards her neck and she lowers her head, letting me stroke her soft feathers. I whisper to her in awe, “Why hello, gorgeous.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”