Bec gasped and Friju nearly dropped the basket. A deep, weak voice had answered the question and came from the large man. The Gruman officer however, seemed a bit less aggravated, now that he had an answer.
“Hantoss? We’re heading there also to spend the winter. We will gladly provide an escort for you and the ladies.”
The strange voice spoke again, and this time, the large man moved his lips.
“Thank you…Sir…much thanks…”
The officer gave the order and the soldiers parted so the wedding party could pass. The Gruman officer led some of the men in front of them, while others followed from behind. In this way, they reached the next city fairly quickly.
“Well this is Hantoss. You can stay at the inn over there. My men will be staying at the one across the street…and you’re welcome to knock a few heads together if they get too loud.”
The large man smiled and gave a nod.
“Much thanks.”
The large man let out his breath as he made his way to the inn. Friju helped Kiki dismount as he tied up the donkey and Bec went inside to get rooms. She was able to get a wedding suite, so their escort could sleep in the entryway and protect the women in the back room.
“I have enough for the first week,” she said. “But I’m not sure if we’ll be able to stay all winter.”
“Right,” Friju said. “But I’m more curious about where that voice came from.”
“I thought it was your Great Spirit,” Bec said. “Although I would think He would speak Gruman better than that.”
“I know,” Friju said. “And have a deeper voice.”
“Can I come out?” asked the basket.
Friju lifted the lid and Piku gasped for air before climbing out of it.
“It’s stuffy in there. Where are we now?”
“Hantoss,” Bec said, looking at the map again. “We’ll stay here at least a week, longer if we can get some more money. But if the weather’s good, we can keep going towards Shantock.”
“Where’s Mister Giant?”
“He’s resting,” Kiki said quietly. “I’m afraid I gave him quite a shock.”
The other girls turned to the bride, who was sitting alone in a corner.
“You did?” Bec asked.
But Friju’s eyes lit up.
“That was you! That was your voice!”
Bec gasped as Kiki hid her face.
“I am so ashamed.”
Friju and Bec looked at each other and back at Kiki.
“Ashamed?” asked Friju. “It was brilliant! How were you able to make your voice come out of him?”
“My aunt taught me how to do that,” Kiki said. “We would make sounds like foxes or snakes…and scare the deer so they would come to us. But I never tried to do a human voice before.”
“But it worked!” said Friju. “I mean…your Gruman is terrible…but he understood you soon enough.”
“I am a disgrace,” Kiki cried. “I have spoken to a man! A Gruman man! Through another man!”
Friju gasped, as she suddenly understood why Kiki was so upset. She went over to her and wrapped her up in her arms.
“What’s so bad about that?” Bec asked. “She saved our necks.”
“She still broke her own customs,” Friju sighed. “Her people don’t allow men and women to speak to each other unless they’re married.”
“What shall I do?” Kiki wept.
Friju bit her lip.
“What would normally happen if…well if a woman spoke to a man?”
“It depends on the offense,” Kiki whimpered. “My aunt said once a woman spoke to a man she thought was her brother, but it turned out he wasn’t. That woman was exiled in the woods for ten days before she was allowed to return.”
“But that was a mistake,” Friju said.
“She couldn’t talk to her brother?” Bec asked.
“Relations are okay,” Friju said. “It was talking to someone who wasn’t. I mean…imagine if it had been deliberate.”
“You mean…like what she just did?” Bec asked.
Kiki gave a wail.
“I should be cut off! A woman who does it deliberately was to be thrown out of the village, never to return!”
There was silence for a while as Bec and Friju looked at each other. Kiki wept softly, hiding her face in her hands, until Piku spoke up.
“But you already were.”
Kiki looked up and saw the little girl.
“Everyone was,” Piku said thoughtfully. “You left your home. We left ours. None of us can go back for a long time anyway.”
Bec gave a nod.
“She’s right. It’s like you’ve already been cut off.”
Friju gave a smile.
“And didn’t you say those from the Border Wood had been cut off from your people? Your father wouldn’t have chosen Ty for you because he wouldn’t be good enough. But now you are the same as he is!”
Kiki thought this over and gave a slow nod.
“I suppose…if he will still have me…”
“Of course he will,” said Friju. “He probably thinks the world of you. You two are all that’s left.”
Kiki nodded.
“It is for him to decide.”
YOU ARE READING
The Account of the Brides
AdventureBec is finally getting educated due to the Gruman occupation. But she realizes it's time to escape when she hears about the prisoners in the tower.
