Dodging John

By the time they reached the kitchen, Melior Vitae had all the plates dished up. They ate it, but it was an odd combination of vegetables and broths. Tril pulled a face, but tried to hide it. Melior Vitae ate a little before she turned to the dishes. The smile bites were not missed by the others.

"The food is good, Melior Vitae," Arei said. "Thank you."

"It's great!" Naj said.

"I'm glad you like it," she replied.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Tril asked.

"The village, before…" She shook her head and finished what dishes she had.

Shishak stood beside her. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just not hungry," she replied.

"Why aren't you hungry?"

"Work trained me well."

Then she left the kitchen to do more cleaning since she was no longer in the entertaining business. She worked on dusting the bookcases she hadn't yet gotten to in the sitting room. The others joined her and the game was put away. Melior Vitae slid the last book onto the shelf when there was a knock on the door. Shishak left to answer it.

"Melior Vitae," Tril started. "What did you mean…?"

She ran out of the room.

"Mel…" Arei had started to follow, but stopped when Shishak returned, accompanied by another man. Neither of them looked happy. The other man was slightly taller than Shishak and looked around the room.

"Where is she?"

"Where's who?" Arei asked, not liking this man one bit.

"Where's Melior?"

"Melior?" Naj asked. "Do you mean Melior Vitae?"

"Yes. Where is she?"

"We saw her wandering around the countryside earlier today, sir," Tril said before the others could speak. "Didn't seem to remember who she was or where she needed to be."

"This is all your fault," the man said, turning on Shishak. "You were the last one to be entertained by her."

"Perhaps she's in another room, John," Shishak said.

They searched then returned to the library. John was furious.

"Is it possible, Melior left the bar on her own?" Arei asked.

John laughed. "Left on her own? That whore is as loyal as a pampered pup. She'd never willingly leave."

"Well, sir," Tril said. "It's like we said, she's off wandering on her own."

Then the door to the library opened and a bald, darker skinned woman in baggy clothes stepped in. She bowed politely to Shishak before walking slowly and wobbly to the bookshelves.

"You, girl," John said.

She turned, but kept her eyes lowered.

"Have you seen a girl with red hair and black clothes anywhere?"

She thought for a while, the back of her right hand resting on the bottom of her chin. Then she nodded slowly.

"Where? Show me."

She pointed to the doors then turned slowly to the bookshelves again.

"Where?" he demanded. "Tell me!"

"She's mute," Naj said, trying to cover the reason for her silence.

"Is she your sister?"

"No, sir."

"Then perhaps I should take her as collateral for the loss of Melior." John stepped forward and the girl collapsed, convulsing on the floor.

Shishak hurried to her side and pulled a small pellet from his pocket. This was forced into her mouth. The convulsing slowed to a stop then she slowly moved, shakily, to her hands and knees before bowing and backing away.

"Does she always have fits like that?" John asked.

"Frequently," Arei replied, catching onto the game Tril and Naj were playing. "Which is why she is kept here, so we can look after her."

Shishak remained silent. He knew why John was here. He had come for Melior Vitae and though she was now his wife, the city people didn't view village marriages as marriages, and it hurt his soul to be untruthful.

When he had answered the door, Shishak had told John that Melior Vitae was here. But when she wasn't in the sitting room when he returned, he was a little surprised. But who was this dark woman and what were his friends doing? She smelled of iodine, yet her soul was at peace despite the convulsions.

"Then I can't use her. Can you get her to tell me where she last saw Melior?"

"I can try." Arei slowly knelt next to the darker woman. "My friend, can you show us where you last saw Melior Vitae?"

Her left hand reached shakily for Arei's shoulder and Arei helped her to stand. Then, keeping her supported, they walked slowly out of the library and down the hall.

John followed, determined to see Melior returned. Tril and Naj also followed. Shishak slowly rose to his feet before following. He followed at a distance, softly calling into the rooms as he passed to see if Melior Vitae had hidden herself in one of them. He never heard her respond.

The darker woman took them out back and shakily pointed to the hills.

"There's nothing there," John said.

The woman sunk to her knees and Tril picked her up, her left arm over his shoulders. "Can you lead us to where in the hills you saw her?"

She nodded and balled up her right hand, fingers up. Now Tril, Naj, and Arei led as the darker woman pointed the direction they needed to go. As they reached the top of a hill not far from the house, the woman started convulsing again. Tril set her down and Shishak gave her another pellet. When the convulsing stopped, her hand pointed to a dark patch on the hill.

John approached it and rolled the mass over with his booted foot. "Stupid whore!" he spat. "I told you the world wasn't hospitable outside the bar."

Shishak moved to where he could see the body better. The face had been torn and was hard to recognize in the dark, but the clothes were Melior Vitae's entertaining clothes. She still wore her glove on the right hand, but what of her tattoo? John flipped the body over again with his boot. The shoulder was badly torn and no remnants of the tattoo could be seen. Shishak pulled the glove off revealing the Red Poppy. He felt his heart sink. He had failed. He had failed Melior Vitae. Tears filled his eyes and they glint in the moonlight as they fell.

"Well, look at that," John said, surprised. "Tough boy had a soft spot for the little whore." He laughed. "That right there is repayment enough. Enjoy what you can of her corpse." Then John left, his laughter fading into the darkness.

Shishak knelt and wept. The grass whispered behind him as the darker woman moved to his side. He could feel her muscles shake as she wrapped her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her and cried.

"Why Melior Vitae?! Why? You were getting better."

The darker woman's muscles stopped shaking as she tightened her hold. The knuckles of her right hand digging into his back. He cried for several more minutes before he broke away to look at the woman's hand. She hid it from him then pointed to Melior Vitae's hand.

"I just want to look at it."

The woman scooted away from him and picked up Melior Vitae's cursed hand.

"Don't touch that!"

Shishak reached to stop her, but she had started to pull the sleeve up. The stem on the poppy flower was gone, yet that didn't necessarily mean anything. The stem and roots could have disappeared after she died. He grabbed her arm to get her to let go.

"She's dead and I can't fix it! I shouldn't have let John in the house." He stopped and let go, head lowering. "No. I shouldn't have taken her from the bar in the first place."

"Is that really what you wish?" the woman asked.

"Melior Vitae?" His head came up.

The darker woman's head was bowed. "Is that what you wish, Shishak?"

"No, I… wait. You can talk?"

"Of course I can talk."

"Then why didn't you just tell John you were out here?"

"That who was out here?"

"Y… Melior Vitae." He looked away, feeling like a fool.

Her voice sounded like Melior Vitae's, but it could be his mind wishing he could bring her back. The darker woman's right hand rested on his sleeve. The call of death was in that touch. Her hand moved as he looked at her. She pulled up her right sleeve to expose her shoulder. The skin beneath the sleeve was white and the poppy stem and roots covered her skin.

"I apologize for the deception, Shishak, but you're my husband and no man has any right to take me away from you."

He pulled her close. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know how I could keep you since our marriage is not recognized by the people of the city."

"Then what would be needed?"

"Forms we cannot get for another few years, because I am not yet 21. Even then we could not get them since you 'died' tonight."

"Are there other forms that could bind me to you?"

"As a servant, but if I couldn't keep this house then you would be sold like the furniture to pay off the creditors."

She buried her face in his neck.

"I'm sorry."

"You'll find a way, Shishak. You have so far."

Shishak refused to let go for a long time. Then slowly they stood. Melior Vitae put her glove back on her right hand before they returned to the house. His friends were waiting for them in the library. They stood and embraced both of them as soon as they had entered.

"How did you do it, Melior Vitae?" Arei asked.

"I'd rather not say," she replied, as Shishak pulled her a little closer to him.

"Well, we're glad your okay," Naj said.

Melior Vitae nodded.

"And you," Arei said, turning to Shishak. "How could…"

"Arei," Melior Vitae said in a warning tone.

"It's alright, Melior Vitae," Shishak soothed. "I deserve it."

"No, you don't. You…"

Shishak kissed her deeply and she melted against him. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll be in shortly."

"Okay," she replied softly. Then she kissed him again before she left.