Chapter 11 #3
“Nobody asked you,” Dace boldly sassed. She seemed so meek at times, it surprised me to hear her slap some grr on there. “Why do you care what I do? I thought you had better things to do than follow me around all day.”
“Berkr not follow Candy-ass ‘round all the days,” Skunk-butt grumbled.
Peeking around the corner, I caught a glimpse of Dace glaring up at the male.
He had her laundry tucked under a thick arm and was fighting her to yank her washboard from her grasp. She had that thing in a death grip.
“Coulda fooled me,” she huffed and puffed out under her breath.
Berkr tilted his head as he eyed her. “What Candy-ass want, bother Kehlor’s mate? Why Kehlor female want be ‘round Candy-ass for, Kehlor’s Purr-roo can have good females friends? Why she want be friends bad female like Candy-ass?”
My arm pulled back and I sent the sticky lump of soap sailing towards him without another thought.
It smacked the back of his furry head with a soft yet satisfying, wet thunk.
“Because sometimes I’m an asshole,” I growled out as he jerked his head in my direction to find me baring my teeth at him angrily.
Whatever the hell everyone’s problem was with Dace, this was taking it to another level. Berkr was a straight up bully to Dace.
“Especially when someone is being a dickhead to my friend.” Before Berkr could say it, I grumbled with a glare, “Looks like I’m a bad female too.”
Dace’s mouth opened, a tiny little “O” of a gape, to flap closed, then open again. Her eyes blinked with every close of her mouth, like she was struggling to comprehend what had just happened. The whole thing made the diminutive blonde look like she was on the fritz.
“Purr-roo no ‘stand,” Berkr growled out as he advanced on me. Jerking a finger at Dace accusingly, he bared his teeth at her, then me. “No ‘stand Candy-ass do!”
Dace snapped out of her shocked stupor then. Shoulders slumping, her head dipped.
Eyeing him mulishly, I muttered very matter of fact, “We were just getting ready to go to lunch so she could tell me.”
Berkr looked about ready to bark something at me but my words stopped him pre yell-growl tirade about how awful he thought she was.
Scowl pulling into a frown, he glanced from me to Dace.
Another whip back and forth, then he grumbled, “Candy-ass not tell all,” he settled on finally. “She not tell all.”
With a glance at Dace, her expression fixed in a strained grimace, blue eyes trained on her feet, I waited for her to respond to Berkr before proceeding.
“He won’t believe I’ve told you everything, even if I have.” Lifting a hand, a resigned, defeated sigh left her and she waved him on. “Maybe it’s better this way.”
“Candy-ass try to make babies with Meanie’s mate.
Him bad male with Candy-ass. Not Lo denaii.
Lo denaii only mate one.” Berkr wasted zero time blurting it all out there, all of Dace’s business just flopped out onto the table and flapping about like a struggling, half dead, freshly caught fish.
He spoke quickly, angrily, like he needed to hurry and get it all out while he still had a chance.
“Meanie come to village, Mina bad male follow.”
“Kirch kidnapped her,” Dace chirped in helpfully.
The look Berkr gave her said he didn’t find that pertinent to the story but I certainly did.
“Candy-ass come with bad male. Bad male come for Meanie. Him hide. Bad male shoot Lo denaii. Bad male hurt Berkr when Berkr try ‘tect Meanie. Then bad male take Meanie.”
While Berkr pointed out his war wounds, I had to ask, looking to Dace, “Where were you when all of this was going on, the gun and the shooting and the hiding?” The Were you with that guy with the gun? Did you know all this? hung unspoken in the air.
Twisting her fingers, biting at her lip, Dace glanced up at my question.
“I didn’t shoot anybody! I swear! I only ever shot a deer with my gramps and I cried the whole time!
He- George- When I saw the gun and asked him about it, he said it was for protection and to hunt.
” Eyes getting glassy as Berkr began to growl, she croaked out, “For food. He said he brought it to protect us and to hunt for food.”
Berkr scoffed. “Candy-ass stupid, b’lieve bad male.”
“I was,” she agreed without hesitation. “I- I believed everything he told me, even when a part of me knew better.”
“‘Cause Candy-ass bad female she ‘tend stupid,” Berkr huffed and chuffed out.
“I wasn’t trying to make a baby with him,” Dace blurted, then blushed when Berkr turned on her with a look that was almost violent. “I want to be married before I have a baby, do things the right way.”
“Why else let bad male put puny penis in Candy-ass then? Right way with bad male, no mates?” Berkr growled out viciously, like he felt personally victimized by her affair.
Trembling in place, swiping the tears from her face frantically, Dace mumbled, “I was stupid. I thought if I did what he wanted he’d love me, that he’d magically wake up and choose me and be happy with me.
” Little hiccups left her as the dam broke.
“He was always saying the right things. He was so charming… I- I thought- The first time we were together, he said Mina had left him. When she called his office the next day, I asked him about it and he said they were on a break but she was needy. And then Wilhemina walked in and- And then after- I- I don’t know.
” Shaking her head, she spared me a short, pleading glance.
“When I realized he was lying and kept up our affair, I knew exactly what I was doing. I have no excuses. It was an awful thing to do. I was an awful person. After everything that happened, I told myself never again. I didn’t want to be that person, to end up like my mother, to hurt anyone else with my choices.
” Her gaze darted between us and she added, “And I haven’t since. ”
“Candy-ass no ‘scuses. Candy-ass bad female,” Berkr growled at her.
“I’m not.” Instantly, her eyes filled with tears at the denial. Shaking her head, her voice shook as she tried to speak but she ended up choking up.
“Why think Sorak not want Candy-ass when Candy-ass ask Sorak be Candy-ass mate?” Berkr muttered.
Dace burst into tears at his words, deep, gut-wrenching sobs that had Berkr’s glare softening.
“No cry for grumpy horny head,” Berkr grumbled as he began to fidget in place uncomfortably. “Him bad male. No want him be Candy-ass mate.”
“He’s not a bad male, he’s just short with words sometimes,” Dace mumbled miserably between the tears. “He’s not a people person.”
“No cry for Sorry horn head,” Berkr growled down at her, switching tacts.
“Okay,” Dace blubbered, then cried harder.
Berkr growled louder like he thought that might somehow help.
When I made a move to get between them and comfort her as Berkr snarled down at her, she motioned for me to stay back.
Swiping the tears from her cheeks, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and lifted her head.
“I’m sorry beasts were hurt. I’m sorry I followed him through the portal.
I’m sorry I was so horrible to Mina. I felt terrible about everything, even more so after the full extent of George’s deceit came out, about all of it.
Mina getting kidnapped, beasts getting injured.
I’m sorry I had any part of any of that, you have to believe me.
I’m sorry I ever met that jerk. I’m sorry I went along with any part of his stupidity.
I’m sorry I didn’t just let him kill me like he’d threatened to when I stopped going along with everything he said.
I was selfish and stupid and scared and I’ll never forgive myself for all the damage done, all the pain I caused. ”
“Candy-ass come to village, make Tarnk think Candy-ass be Tarnk mate.” Folding his thick arms over his chest, Berkr huffed and puffed, loud scoffing chuffs leaving him.
“I didn’t have a choice!” Dace softly wailed.
Grabbing at Berkr’s arm, she eyed him pleadingly.
“You don’t know what he was like, what it was like at the end, what he-” Cutting herself off, she took a deep breath.
“George was crazy. If I didn’t do what he said, he started to hit me.
The hitting turned into punching, kicking.
In the end, it was all arguments and then beatings.
” Her fingers shook as she clung to him.
“Tarnk was nice to me. Too nice. I was scared and I just wanted away from George. That’s why I agreed to go into the village at all, why I let Tarnk take off with me.
But then Tarnk was way too nice, too fast, and then he wanted to get really nice with me but I-”
“What?” Berkr snarled. “Candy-ass but what?”
“I didn’t like him like that,” she blurted. “I didn’t know him, trust him. I didn’t… I didn’t want him to see.”
“See what?” Berkr snapped.
“The bruises. What I’d let happen to me. My personal shame,” Dace blurted.
The wind in Berkr’s sails deflated.
Avoiding any and all eye contact, she mumbled, “I just wanted to go home.”
“Detret no want Candy-ass,” Berkr grunted out and jerked her hand off of his arm. “Has female. Candy-ass not think take Detret from him mate. Lo denaii only mate one.”
Scrubbing at her face like the weight of all of this was dragging her down, she closed her eyes and muttered tiredly, “As I’ve said before, I don’t want Detret.”
“Why Candy-ass come back then? Why not stay in Urff wor-eld, grow old, die, leave Berkr ‘lone?”
My eyebrows shot up at that one, because the only being bothering anyone here was Berkr constantly cornering Dace to nitpick her to death. Aside from attempting small talk during chores, or hanging out with Joanie and her crew, Dace appeared to keep to herself.