I convulsed again, just like earlier when Ashara had been next to me, but now the pain was increasing. It was unrelenting and didn’t stop even for a moment. I screamed again.

  “Hold her down,” I heard the black clad woman’s voice. “It is bad, very bad. I can’t handle it alone, get the aytnah of the McEdl clan.”

  She continued to say something, but I could no longer hear her. I let out another desperate throaty groan.

  ‘I guess I’m dying… I guess this is it…’

  “Mom…mommy…mom….” I whispered. “Call my mother.”

  The door opened and I heard quick steps. Cold palms touched my face. They were very familiar hands.

  “Mom?”

  “No, Kiran, no… but everything will be okay.”

  I felt the pain rush over me again. It was tearing me apart from within and burning me on the outside. I couldn’t scream any longer. Only moans escaped my wounded lips. I could almost feel the salvation that unconsciousness would bring, but someone interfered.

  “She’s losing consciousness.”

  “We can’t let it happen. She’s lost too much blood, she might not wake up.”

  I felt a slap on my cheek. It was sudden and painful. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the eyes of my father. For a moment, I simply looked at him.

  “Are you happy now?” The words came out hoarse, I could barely speak, and yet I continued. “Now I understand why mom did everything she could to stop me from going to Eeristan… Now… I understand…”

  Another wave of pain. I couldn’t restrain my screams.

  “Khassar of Aigor, secure her. Hold her tightly!”

  The hands of the person I hated so much pressed me into the bed. It was painful. So painful.

  “M-o-o-o-m!” I yelled, feeling another explosion of pain.

  “Look at me,” the first aytnah clasped her hands around my face. “Look at me!”

  I jerked, trying to pull away, but then her black eyes began to slowly grow bigger. I became curiously fixated on them. It was so incredibly unbelievable to me that I became distracted and barely noticed the injections that she gave me.

  “I can’t,” the black-eyed woman suddenly said.

  Unexpectedly, she let go of my face, fell with a loud thud and rolled under the bed. Another aytnah took her place, her hands turning my head towards her.

  “Look at me,” she repeated.

  Her eyes, too, began to grow round. I let out a yelp, when I realized that they weren’t hers at all. They were the eyes of an apparition, a shadow, something inexplicable.

  “She sees,” I heard a voice say, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

  “It cannot be,” someone said from below.

  “But she sees!”

  ‘I do see’, I thought and passed out.

  * * *

  As I slowly and unwillingly floated in and out of consciousness, I could hear an unpleasant conversation going on in my room.

  “You did not prepare her!” Came the commanding and demanding voice of one of the aytnahs.

  “Dear aytnah… we…” said mama hippo.

  “You! Khassarah Etalynn, you! This is your mistake!” Her tone was much like that of a teacher scolding a student.

  “We didn’t anticipate this…”

  “You didn’t anticipate this? You gave such a young, innocent girl to a warrior from the circle of the strongest for the whole night! The whole night! To one of the most powerful warriors! Khassarah Etalynn, did you expect her to be invincible because she’s lived her whole life outside of Eeristan?”

  “We didn’t expect that she would be a virgin.”

  After she said these words, a third person interrupted the conversation.

  “Princess Kiran did not hide the fact that she had no experience with men. In fact, the warriors of the McVarras clan knew and even informed me about it.”

  After hearing that, I could no longer help myself and opened my eyes. At first, I saw the ceiling, which was already familiar to me. Then I tried to sit up so that I could see those who were speaking.

  I saw them and everything went blurry again.

  “Quiet, quiet! She’s awake, thank goodness,” the aytnah rushed to me, put a pillow under my back and helped me sit up. “How do you feel, Kiran?”

  Black dots jumped before my eyes as I tried to sit up for the second time. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again slowly. I saw my bedroom. More specifically, the bedroom in this den of debauchery that I had been brought to. An aytnah sat in a chair by the window. I wasn’t sure which one she was, as they both wore headscarves, and it was hard to tell them apart. The second one remained standing next to me. Mama hippo was standing in front of them in a light pink robe. She had her head down.

  “I’m thirsty,” I whispered, hoping it would be Ashara who would bring me water.

  But it was the one sitting in the chair by the window, who got up to fulfill my request. She walked over to the table and picked up the water pitcher that had been there since morning. For some reason Ashara had used a different pitcher before, but I didn’t notice that strange fact until now. The aytnah grabbed a glass and filled it to the rim with a reddish liquid. Suddenly she froze. In the meantime, mama hippo was staring spitefully at me.

  “What is THAT?!” The reserved aytnah screamed.

  Then she let out an avalanche of unknown words. The aytnah who was standing beside me took the glass, took a sip and let out an even louder and angrier scream.

  “Hey, I’m really thirsty,” I interrupted this drama.

  The aytnahs stopped swearing. One of them left the room, while the other came up to the dispirited mama hippo.

  “You will be punished,” she hissed. “Immediately!”

  Mama hippo turned pale, gave the aytnah a frightened look and tried to object. The aytnah interrupted her with a gesture and let out a hiss.

  “Twenty lashes!”

  The khassar’s Beloved turned around and silently left the room. One of the aytnahs brought another pitcher and poured me a glass of red liquid.

  “I can hold the glass myself,” I said self-consciously, as she brought it to my lips.

  But my arm fell limply onto the blanket. I was forced to drink, while the aytnah held the glass for me. The liquid tasted strange, slightly bitter, but considering my condition I had no choice.

  “Enough,” the aytnah took the glass away, even though it was more than half-full.

  “But…” I gave my torturer an offended look.

  “Sleep,” she commanded.

  Then she removed the pillow from under my back, held me down and tucked me in. In a moment, a dark warm wave overcame me. I was almost asleep when I heard a scream.

  My eyes flew open and stared at the ceiling. Then came another scream. I couldn’t believe my ears. I jumped up in the bed as my sleepiness disappeared completely.

  “Close the window,” said a calm and quiet voice. “Khassarah Etalynn doesn’t know how to accept the consequences of her actions with dignity.”

  Then I heard another heart-wrenching scream.

  I tried to get up, but the aytnah’s demanding command stopped me.

  “Lie down!”

  I stayed in bed, while one of the women silently closed the window. The other one came up to me and stared at me intently. I was suddenly overcome with fear.

  “Was khassar Nrogo gentle with you?” She asked.

  “Eeerm…” I said.

  Then came another wail, followed by a stifled scream. Both aytnahs rushed over to the window, their movements not being even close to human. First, their shadows dashed to the opening in the wall, and only then both the bodies followed.

  “Ah!” I gasped.

  They paid no attention to my reaction, as they were entirely engrossed in what was happening in the courtyard. One of them swore, while the other hissed.

  “What does he think he’s doing?!”

  “She is his Beloved. He has the right to call off the punishment.”

  “She attempted to poison the khassar’s daughter! It is a crime.”

  “We have to intervene!”

  Both women turned around and majestically, yet quickly exited the bedroom. I was left sitting up on the bed, trying to understand what had just happened.

  Suddenly, the door opened slightly, and Ashara walked in, holding her finger to her lips. I was confused for a minute, and then the door opened wider. Nine maids appeared behind a woman with a black belt on top of her robes, and the whole group headed toward me.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” I watched in fear as they approached.

  “They are just going to wash you,” Ashara assured me.

  I thought it was best to trust her.

  * * *

  They washed me quickly and carefully, placing me on the table in the bathroom, so I didn’t have to go into the bathtub. The water was warm and milky. I had absolutely no energy, so I wasn’t able to get a good look at it and see if it was clear or a mixture of something again. I felt immensely weak, and my body ached, as if I’d just gotten over a cold. My throat hurt as well, and I had difficulty swallowing, but that was probably from screaming.

  After they were done washing me, the women dried me very carefully with towels. The lighting was dim in the bathroom, and it looked like my body was radiating a blue halo, while the water was slightly pink.

  As they carried me back into my room and put me on the bed, I noticed that I was completely pale and drained of blood. No wonder I was so weak.

  When everybody left, Ashara stayed with me under the pretense that I needed to be fed.

  “What’s going on?” I deftly dodged a spoon with some sort of grayish slop in it.

  The old woman didn’t answer. She sat quietly as if listening to something. Then, she pointed to her apron, or rather the apron pocket. Resisting my weakness, I reached into her pocket and got a seyr out. I saw my mother’s concerned face and heard her muffled voice.

  “I’ll kill you myself!” And then she added quieter, “take an earphone.”

  I silently took the earphone out of the seyr and put it in my ear.

  “Hide the seyr. Don’t say anything. You should really eat something, you know.”

  Again, I reached for Ashara’s pocket and placed the seyr back in it. Then I obediently opened my mouth and allowed her to feed me.

  “Now, Little Panther,” I heard my mother’s voice out of the earphone. “Listen to me carefully. First of all, has he discovered who you are? Answer in such a way that other people wouldn’t understand what we’re talking about.”

  “No, I don’t want it anymore,” I replied, turning away from the spoon that Ashara was holding.

  “That’s good, Kier, because you chose the wrong man. I asked you to find a poor and weak warrior! In that case the aftereffects would have been less intense. You would have reached Naska, he would have carried you to the castle, and you wouldn’t have suffered, like you could have after Nrogo. Kiran, Kier, Little Panther… what are you doing to yourself?!”

  “I’ll explode if I have any more!” I said to Ashara, but not really.

  “I understand. There’s no point in scolding you now. But, Kiera… You could have died!”

  “What is it made of?” I asked the old woman.

  “Sahrd fruits,” replied Ashara.

  “Why do you feel the way you do?” Mom understood what I meant. “Kier, let me explain. During intercourse, the man introduces his flora into the woman’s body. Under normal circumstances, with a normal man, the woman doesn’t even notice it. However, the warriors of Eeristan are different. Their flora is aggressive. When it makes its way into the woman’s body, it begins to suppress her immune system.”

  “Virus… I mean, it’s very good, give me more.”

  “Yes, almost like a virus. A very strong virus. When it enters into the bloodstream, the consequences are more severe.”

  “What a strange taste.”

  “There are many strange things on Eeristan,” mom’s voice got really sad. “And I really didn’t want you getting involved in all of this, Kier. I really didn’t want this.”

  “A warning would have been nice before shoving the spoon in my face.”

  “You should have listened to your mother instead of messing around and shoving me into your fiancé’s arms!”

  “My mother deserves the best!”

  “Don’t be a smart ass, there are twenty people behind the door!”

  “Erm…”

  “What are they doing? That’s the most interesting part. Have they brought you gifts from Nrogo? You see, virginity is valued highly on Eeristan. Not all warriors have the means to pay for such a valuable gift. It is the only gift that a warrior can accept.”

  “More please,” I asked Ashara, who smiled understandingly. “Just warn me before you shove the spoon!”

  “I’m sorry,” Mom’s voice was apologetic. “I couldn’t tell you right away. I didn’t want you to lose your virginity to Nrogo. Many have died afterwards, Kier, too many. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but all the women who have lost their virginity to Nrogo only lived for half a year, or a year afterward, at most. They died long and painful deaths. Only three women survived, and none of them were able to conceive ever after.”

  Well, that was unfortunate news, in light of which I realized how big of a scumbag my father really was. But there was something else on my mind now. Mom had mentioned that not all warriors have the means to pay for a virgin, but she also said that I should’ve found a poor warrior. What was that supposed to mean? I went and gave myself to a warrior to make money?!

  Then, I remembered his words: ‘You came to me on your own, t’yameh. You agreed. You tricked me into doing it, but I don’t blame you…’ Oh, unstable atom! That’s what he meant by ‘tricked me’!

  “Busted navigator!” I hissed. I was pissed off.

  “I’m sorry,” Mom’s voice was really quiet. “Please forgive me… but I had a reason for my actions – if you had found a weak warrior, you wouldn’t have had to go through this pain, and he wouldn’t have looked for you, understand?”

  “No!”

  “Kier, if I would have told you the truth, you wouldn’t have done it. You’re too proud, Little Panther, you would have chosen twenty lashes over what you’d call selling your body.”

  “Without a doubt. Now, like a prostitute, I had slept with a warrior, who, when he realized what he’d taken from me, decided that I did it to earn some money. Wonderful! I’m a slut!”

  “Kiera… Kier… forgive me. Kier, you’re only eighteen, you are too forthright and hardheaded. Look at what your name-switching trick cost you. Now, you are all the way over there, and I am here, and I can’t help you!”

  “That was mean,” I whispered.

  “I’m being rational, Little Panther. Don’t argue with me. Unlike you, I knew only too well what you would have to deal with. I also know you very well, and I know what I shouldn’t say.”

  “I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want anything,” I said truthfully to Ashara.

  “Stop it!” Mom yelled so loud that I nearly went deaf. “And listen to me carefully. Right now, Nrogo is demanding that, for your safety, you be handed over to his clan.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Your condition, Kier. When the aytnahs arrived, they realized that you were given undiluted ahyeh juice. Etalynn decided to hurt you and deceived the aytnah of the McVarras clan. Oh, you don’t understand, do you? That juice stimulates blood flow, Kier, and you could have died from blood loss. Although, even without it… Oh, my little girl. But Ashara knew about Etalynn’s plan, so she gave you water and poured out the juice so it looked like you drank it. Aytnahs don’t serve drinks, Kier, and Etalynn didn’t expect that her vile plan would be uncovered.”

  “Hm.”

  “The warrior’s beloved has to take care of all his children. If they find out that Etalynn tried to hurt you, the woman will be punished. You wouldn’t wish the punishment they have on Eeristan upon your worst enemy.”

  “Aha.”

  “Don’t be sad. You are now untouchable. Even your father can’t punish you anymore, Kier. He no longer has the right to hurt you. Nrogo doesn’t have that right yet, but he is trying to obtain it. Right now, everything is falling into place in the best possible way for us. We’ll try to buy some time. We’ll get you out of there, I promise.”

  “Really?” I asked in a whisper. “I want to go home…” I added even quieter.

  “You shouldn’t even be up right now. Just wait a little longer, sweetie.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “You should sleep,” recommended Ashara as she got up from the bed and cleared away the dishes.

  I didn’t want to say goodbye to my mom at all, but I didn’t get a chance to be stubborn.

  The door flew open and a tall woman wearing a gold belt on the black robes of an aytnah rushed to my bed. Two aytnahs whom I’d already seen before followed her.

  “How?” Asked the golden belt woman in a sepulchral voice, leaning over my face.

  I almost answered her, but I heard mom’s angry whisper.

  “Silence! She’s not asking you! You’re not supposed to hear her!”

  I stopped breathing for a moment from fear and confusion.

  The aytnah leaned in even closer, peering into my eyes.

  “Kiran, daughter of Ciara, is strong bodied,” said one of the other aytnahs. “But Nrogo is also strong.”

  “Nrogo is infertile!” She hissed. She was clearly the one in command. “And now we won’t be able to get rid of him! Khassar Agarn’s plan was great, I ordered for it to be followed.”

  One of the aytnahs bowed her head.

  “Khassar Nrogo’s infertility has not been proven, aytnah-khassash.”

  “I understand that he is the head of your clan, aytnah McDraggar, but we need to be realistic. Nrogo is infertile. Your mission was to prevent his intercourse with the daughter of the khassar of Aigor. Did you give the necessary potion to your khassar?”

  “No,” her answer was barely audible.

  “You will be punished!” Was the ruthless decision.

  Then, the cold fingers of aytnah-khassash touched my face, and she began speaking in a near whisper. I had a strange feeling that the others couldn’t hear her.

 

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