Doorways

Chapter 4

Taylen clenched and unclenched her hands. First her car and all her belongings, now her clothes? This was ridiculous.

"Could I have a pair of pants and a shirt then?" She didn't want this woman making her a bunch of dresses or whatever when she was only going to be here a short time. The face of the woman in question twisted in confusion.

"Trousers?" Taylen tried. "Like men."

"Why would you need those?" Came the perplexed response.

Why wouldn't she? "In case I go out riding."

She didn't recall seeing or hearing horses, but she had to try something. The bewilderment deepened on Áine's face. There were several moments of awkward silence.

"Do you mean you Mentak?" Áine asked finally.

Taylen nodded. She had no idea what she was agreeing to, but if it got her a pair of pants instead of dresses, she'd worry about it later. Áine nodded, though confusion was still stretched around her eyes. She gestured for Taylen to step forward and began pinning and cinching the dress around the bust, waist and folding it in at the shoulder. In no time at all Áine was kneeling taking the measure for the hem and then gesturing for Taylen to take off the gown. Careful of the pins, Taylen pulled it up over her head and laid it on the bed. A knock sounded at the door. Áine shook out her skirts as she crossed to answer. She returned from the door carrying a tray of bread, cheese and some sort of soup. Taylen's stomach growled in response and she hovered about Áine's arm while she laid the tray down on the table and set the chair beside it, putting the wash basin and pitcher off to one side to make room.

"What kind of soup is that?" Taylen inhaled. Rich earthy tones greeted her nostrils.

"Tis root stalk I imagine by the smell," Áine informed her. "A common enough broth; but pleasant."

Taylen nodded, plunking herself down on the chair and dipping the wooden ladle into the warm brown broth. It was a little bland and in need of salt, but good, and she dug in gesturing for Áine to help herself to some of the bread and cheese. Áine shook her head, a frown on her face.

"Imagine that," Áine muttered, "the rudeness of these lads. Wanting to come into a lady's room to get a glimpse of you."

Taylen took up a bit of bread, it was chewy and she swallowed it in a lump.

"Are strangers unusual here?" She swallowed another lump of bread and took some soup to wash it down.

"They are not uncommon in town," Áine told her. "Perhaps they are less seen here at the fortress, though in the summer months we get a fair few. I know you are different looking than any folk I know." Áine glanced at Taylen to judge her reaction. Seeing nothing but a shrug of agreement, she continued, "But they should know better than to gawk, and I do think it kind of the Cuán to take you in. Gods know what would have happened to you if he had not found you."

Taylen looked up. She'd thought about this, but hadn't allowed it to sink in.

Seeing Taylen's worried expression Áine attempted to reassure her. "Oh, you are safe in the fortress, being under the Cuán's protection, but I hate to think what might have happened had he not come along." She left that hanging.

What kind of danger might Taylen have escaped in this place she had never intended to end up in, and where she desperately wished she'd never heard of?

"Do you have a phone or something I can use?" Taylen asked. The need to speak with her parents and find some semblance of normalcy was making it hard to breath. Áine's baffled expression did nothing to ease her. "How do you contact people who are far from the fortress?"