Daughters of the Night

Chapter 2

Tonight's dinner was going to be my last meal until Battle of Warriors, and I wanted to make it a good one–full of delicious fat and protein. It was time to hunt for fresh meat.

There was snow on the ground, and clumps of crystalline crunched under the weight of my secondhand boots–curtesy of Juriah. Fighting in the cold tomorrow was going to be laborious, but my body had been taught to endure the harsh elements. I could only hope my opponents were not as prepared.

I'll be okay, I thought to myself. If my mind wandered in any other direction, the air would become thick and hard to breathe.

I froze when a wild, white hare crossed my path. Sent from the heavens because no hare was strong enough to brave the chill of winter. I watched him for a while in peaceful stillness, thanking the High One for his presence. Your death will not be for nothing.

I widened my stance before drawing the bow and relaxed my grip slightly. Years ago, I spotted an elk that was fat enough to feed Juriah and me for weeks. In my excitement, I squeezed the bow too tightly, and the arrow went flying past my intended target and into the trunk of an Aspen. Juriah's disappointment that day was enough to make me never miss a target again.

The hare sniffed the air. I pulled back the bowstring in one fluid motion and released.

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"What's for dinner?" Juriah asked when I dropped the bag in front of him. Blood seeped through the flour sack and onto the rotting table.

"Guess." I said. Juriah disliked hare with a great passion and would find no amusement in the fact that the only animal stumbling through the woods today was one. 

My brother crinkled his nose in disgust. "Is it young at least? The last one you brought home made my nose burn."

"I didn't think you were picky, especially since starvation is so familiar in this household." I sat down and watched as Juriah pulled the hare from the bag and prepared it for dinner. I killed, and he cooked. It was a mutual agreement since Juriah didn't have the patience for hunting (or the eyesight), and I didn't have the stomach for skinning.

I shut my eyes to enjoy this last night of normalcy, summoning courage.

"Tell me what to expect tomorrow." The words didn't come out as a question, and I wondered if Juriah would disapprove of my tone. 

But Juriah nodded in agreement. "There are some things we need to talk about." A moment passed while he sliced through the hare's stomach and stopped at the neck. His fingers gently brushed against the fur to measure distances. "You know that every male is required to attend the Battle of Warriors just as every female is required to attend the Pool each year. Everyone will be around 18 years old, except a few. There are some males who will not even try to win against their partner. Then there are some who have trained their whole lives for this very moment. Just as you have, Rhea."

Juriah hooked his fingers under the skin and pulled. My nose crinkled in disgust, and I turned my head to look away. Blood didn't frighten me, but the rotten, lifelessness that death leaves behind did. 

He continued, "The Elders will be watching the entire time. There are three of them – Marfik, Rigel, and Tuiren. Each Elder is allowed to choose two Warriors. Even a male who is eliminated the first round can be chosen. But then there is the final round. And Rhea, you do not want to make it to the final round."

His words confused me. "Isn't winning the only way not to get caught and punished for being there?"

Juriah looked up and although he had no vision, his pale eyes focused on me. "Pray that you are chosen before. Because during the final round, the fight is until death. It is tradition that the second strongest male be sacrificed."

I fought down the urge to ask him why he had not told me this before. Instead I asked, "When did you stop fighting?"

Years ago, Juriah was forced by mother and father to live in isolation. I didn't know the details of father's brutality or the circumstances surrounding my brother's departure, but it was time I learned.

"It is an honor for a family to send a young male to battle. Father trained me until I was 15 years old and declared I was ready. I made it far, Rhea. If I had beaten my opponent, I would have been sent to the final round to fight against the son of Elder Rigel. But I knew that I would lose, so I forfeited my fight. Father was enraged. He beat me, exiled me, and cursed the land so I would lose my sight. I didn't hear from anyone until mother sent a letter inviting me to meet her in the meadow where you were born."

Juriah was no coward. He did not back down from a fight. He was fearless. To hear that even he was scared during the Battle tightened my stomach in knots. "What about father? He will be there and see me –"

My brother shook his head in denial. "No one will see you. It will be easy to blend in while wearing a helmet. I will present you as my brother, Rain. Father will not recognize me in the crowd.

I scrunched my nose. "Why Rain?"

Juriah just shook his head and ignored me. "Father will see you when you win. But by then, you will have earned your spot beside the Elders. The village would be cursed if they harmed you. Remember that, and do not yield when hell erupts after the discovery of your sex."

The hare was almost ready to be eaten. Its fat dribbled into the fire pit and sizzled.

We didn't speak the rest of the night. I wanted to ask what would happen if I did lose. But saying the words out loud wouldn't change the outcome.

Dinner was delicious. While I thought about the hare and its sacrifice for the night's meal, it occurred to me that I would be sacrificed tomorrow. Regardless the outcome. Death or dedication to the Elders and the village. Those were my two options. 

What were my mother's intentions beyond the Battle? How would I be able to fulfill my purpose if I did not know?

But beyond all this, why was I never asked if this was what I wanted?