Beasts and Maidens Read online

  Chapter 4

  The day the ceremony ended came quickly enough. It was a day of celebration throughout the village, since it usually brought a few new men. Everyone was excited, especially the mothers who had had sons, since they desperately hoped to see them again. They had been talking of little else for the past week.

  Selene was anxious. She missed Dahlia, and she wanted to know if her sister was bringing a man home with her. She doubted it, mostly because Dahlia was kind of shallow, but she still hoped. She thought it might be nice to have a brother-in-law, and someone to keep Dahlia distracted.

  Selene’s mother was more anxious than she was. It was the first time she had a daughter in the ceremony, and she had high hopes for Dahlia. She was also one of the mothers who hoped to see a son. Two of her sons were old enough to be in the ceremony, and she wanted them to come home. Selene still remembered the time four years before, which was when her eldest brother turned eighteen. Frieda had been able to think of nothing else, and she was so anxious she was almost impossible to talk to during the week of the ceremony.

  The entire village was gathered in the meadow by midday. A colourful tent was set up along with a bright blue banner, and many people had brought dishes of food for the celebration. There was a small band of fiddle players standing just outside the tent to provide some entertainment, and a few people were dancing merrily.

  Selene arrived with her parents, but she was dragged away from them by Amber, who insisted that she dance. After a couple of songs Amber got tired and so the girls went over to one of the tables under the tent and sat down. Selene watched Mayor Thornwood, who was talking to Mr. Sunfield, while Amber prattled on about how excited she was. The mayor was looking as stern as she usually did, and when she caught Selene staring she just stared back with a blank look on her face before turning back to Mr. Sunfield. Seeing the mayor brought back the anger and hopelessness Selene had felt after what the woman had said.

  A trumpet called sometime in the middle of the afternoon, and everyone in the meadow suddenly became quiet. Even the fiddlers stopped playing. Mayor Thornwood moved from where she was to the edge of the forest, where she would greet everyone who walked out. The trumpet was the signal that let them all know that the women and hopefully men would be coming along shortly.

  Selene left Amber and went over to her parents, who were standing together. Her mother was grasping her husband’s hand, and her complexion had suddenly become whiter. Selene grabbed her mother’s other hand and watched the forest carefully for any sign of movement. Her heart was beating faster than usual, but she had no control over it.

  It was tradition for the women who found men to come out of the woods last, so everyone was hoping that the people they were waiting for wouldn’t be the first to step out. The air was heavy with tension as everyone waited. It was the biggest moment of the whole year for everyone in the village, and it was taken very seriously.

  Isobel Sunfield stepped out first, her spotted face red with embarrassment as everyone looked at her. She quickly went to her parents after shaking the mayor’s hand, as if joining the crowd would take the attention away from her, though it didn’t. Eyes remained on her until the next girl stepped from behind the trees.

  Three more girls stepped out, all looking ashamed of themselves since they were clearly alone. They went to their families, who tried to hide their disappointment, though it was still clearly written on their faces.

  By the time the twentieth girl stepped out alone, the whispers of the crowd converged into an audible hum, and people were straining their necks as they tried to see through the trees. Selene could feel her mother grow excited because Dahlia would be one of the last two people to leave, and that meant her chances of being with a man were much higher.

  Dahlia came out next. There was a collective cheer from the crowd as a handsome young man stepped out beside her with a silly grin on his face. Selene didn’t think he looked like anyone she knew, so she assumed he was from a different village. Dahlia led the young man over to her family, where her mother was eagerly waiting to be introduced to her future son-in-law.

  Up close Selene saw that the man had black hair and hazel eyes, a slightly crooked nose, a wide smile, and a strong chin. He nodded to her parents by way of greeting, and continued to grin.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Henry,” Dahlia told them. She was positively glowing with happiness. “He’s from Blue Falls.”

  Frieda pulled Henry into a hug, which caught him off guard. He had never been hugged before. “Welcome to the family, dear,” she said once she released him. “We’re very glad to have you, as long as you treat my daughter right.”

  Dahlia rolled her eyes. “Mom...” she whined.

  “Your mother makes a fair point,” Velkan said to Dahlia as he shook Henry’s hand.

  “Sure. This is my sister, Selene,” Dahlia told Henry, nodded to Selene. Henry shook her hand politely as well.

  They had been too busy greeting Dahlia and Henry to notice the last two people to come out of the forest. One was Norell Juniper, who was twenty three, and the other was Viron Westbranch, who was thirty and from Three Lakes. There was a cheer for them as well, though there was also much hidden disappointment, since there were no men from their own village, which meant no sons.

  The celebration was a short one, and people started heading home pretty early. Selene and her family were some of the last people to leave the meadow since they were some of the few people who had something to celebrate. Dahlia and Henry spent much time dancing (after Dahlia taught him how) until they were too tired to continue and the whole family decided to go home.

  Henry had to stay with them, since he had nowhere else to go. Their house was small and had only two bedrooms, so Frieda turned the couch into a bed for Henry. It was likely that he would end up sharing the second bedroom with Dahlia, leaving Selene on the couch, but it was improper for that to happen before they were married.

  Selene couldn’t help but like Henry. Unlike most men, he was rather cheerful and social. He liked to talk, and one didn’t need to know about the curse to see that he loved Dahlia. He often held her hand, and he would gaze at her as if she were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He never left her side the whole evening.

  When Selene and Dahlia finally got to bed that night, it was clear that Dahlia wasn’t ready to go to sleep. Selene curled up into a ball and closed her eyes, but her sister rested on her back with her eyes wide open. She was far too excited to even close her eyes, and she couldn’t help but keep Selene awake since she wanted to talk to her.

  “Isn’t Henry perfect?” she said, sighing lightly. She rolled onto her side to face her sister.

  “He’s great, Dahlia,” Selene said sleepily without opening her eyes.

  “He’s more than just great. I couldn’t ask for a better husband. Of course, he isn’t my husband yet, but I was thinking of asking father tomorrow if we could get married this week. You’ll be my maid of honour, won’t you?”

  Selene reluctantly opened her eyes even though she desperately wanted to get some sleep. Dahlia’s face was only a foot from hers, and she was smiling brightly. Her eyes appeared glossy in the moonlight coming in from the open window. “I will be if you want me to. I’ll even help make your dress so that it doesn’t end up looking like the rest of the ones Mom makes. I’ll pick some flowers, too.”

  “Oh, thank you! That would be wonderful. I’m sure it will be the most beautiful wedding the village has ever seen. Henry will look ever so handsome all dressed up, don’t you think?”

  Selene mumbled an unintelligible response, though that didn’t discourage Dahlia.

  “I hope we have many children together,” she continued. “Of course, it would be great if they were all girls, but I can’t honestly expect that. With Henry being as handsome as he is I’m sure our daughters will all be beautiful. It will be wonderful having them running around the house. Of co
urse, the house would need to be bigger. We’ll have to make our own once we can afford to buy our own land. Henry seems strong, so hopefully he’ll be able to make a decent amount of money. I’d help myself if I had any talents. Do you know of anything I could do to make some money?”

  Selene had closed her eyes again and was pretending to be asleep. Dahlia finally noticed, and she sighed. She could spend all night talking about Henry and her future, but supposed her sister needed some sleep. There would always be the next day, after all. The prospect made her smile as she turned over and closed her eyes.

  Selene noticed that her sister had stopped talking, and she was glad. She had big plans for the next day, and she wanted to be ready. She was tired but not sleepy though, so she knew sleep wouldn’t be as easy to find as she’d like it to be. She was too busy thinking about meeting the other beasts to care. By this time the next day she would know her brothers.