Silent Pain

21

As fall crashes down on the village Marie has projects to get done left and right. Her list was longer than a scroll, her products were being delivered constantly and Duke was always supplying her with a bunch more wood.

As a soft breeze flowed through her hair in the early evening on Sunday, a particularly warm night, she counted the Lei that she had collected and smiled, splitting some of it for the stand rent, dinner, and savings. She sighed and set them in three separate baggies. A red soft one for Miranda, a Green one for groceries, and lastly the brown one Donna gave her when she first started with the stand.

"Are you open?" She looked up at the voice and smiled, "For a lord like you... Only if you let me buy dinner first." Donna blushed as Angie sat on her arm, her veil covering her face Donna hummed, and she held a basket underneath Angie as she looked at her, "Yeah let me drop these off with Julie and Jamie."

Marie smirked, "Is that her daughter's name?" Donna stopped "Yeah, technically she's adopted. Jamie found her one evening on a walk and raised her as her own. That's what Mother Miranda told me." Marie nodded, "I'm going to give Miranda rent for this weekend, meet you back at the stand?" Donna nodded as she turned and walked to the house where Marie got her clothes from.

Marie walked up to the church and opened the doors, Miranda was always inside on Sundays doing something with the villagers. This time Marie opened the door and she looked at the woman who sat at a pew, being prayed over by Miranda.

Marie sat down in the back and decided to wait, listening to the Latin prayer the woman recited over the crying woman. Once Miranda was finished she knelt down and gently cupped the woman's face, "Let's hope that helps... Shall we?" The woman nodded and looked up at her, "Yes... Thank you, Mother Miranda." She got up and bowed to the Lord who sat in the back pew.

Miranda sighed and sat down, taking a moment of a break. "Rough day?" she moved to sit next to the priestess, "Not exactly, just a lot of requests. A couple coming in asking for fertility, a mother asking me to pray over her son, a couple of randoms for the season's crop and animals, safety. Just the normal." Marie looked at her, "Can you do that?" She asked, "What?" "The first one you mentioned, fertility?"

"I call them miracles, in all honesty, I pull the woman to the back and give them a bit of a chance using science and math." Marie hummed, "Don't you need blood and extract from both parents?" "Yeah. It's not hard for a woman to get semen from her husband."

Marie shivered and turned her head away, not wanting to know, she handed the coin to Miranda. "This weekend's rent." She smiled and Miranda hummed, "Well done Marie." She handed a couple of pieces back to Marie who looked at her, "No... Take it, you'll need it for dinner." Miranda smiled and kissed the woman's head.

"Well... While you're here, do you need anything? Any strange requests, talks, or advice?" "Can you get my periods to stop being so sporadic and sexual?" Miranda looked at her, "I can give you birth control to calm them." Marie shook her head, "I don't want Donna to worry, besides... I think the woman enjoys it when I'm horny." Miranda blinked and got up, "Alright. I will see you soon Marie."

Leaving the church and going back to her stand she found Donna, "Sorry Miranda and I usually talk for a bit." "No dear, you're alright... The um tavern is a bit crowded tonight. Could we just have a nice dinner at home?" Marie smiled, "Of course. Let's go." They walked up the stairs to the ceremony site, stopping to see if Duke had anything and walking by, greeting him a good evening.

Once they got home Marie sighed, "Don't worry about cleaning tonight... You've done so much, besides you're not a maid anymore." Angie said as her feet pattered across the floor. "She's right Marie, you've had a long day. How about you go get a nice hot bath, relax, read a bit and I can make dinner and such."