Page 2 of Betrothed to the Yeti

Hell breaks loose when Tenzin plants an arrow in the back pocket of a small blond from Delta Village. Nima lunges for the arrow, but settles for a handful of the poor girl’s golden curls. Both women scream as they fall to the ice in a ball of claws, faded fabric, and kicking boots. I guess the pendant was an apology or hush present and not a welcome to the wealthiest family in Alpha. The blond struggles to break free with Tenzin pulling her away by the waist. Nima’s slaps escalate to punches when he closes in on the fray. My tough sister’s fists connect with both of the newlywed’s faces.

Dronma and I are too stunned to help. We stand as still as the corroded communication towers at the edge of the village—as useful as the rusted eyesores, too. I jump a foot in the air when Nawang approaches us. With the shrieks of my eldest sister and their echoes filling the air, I didn’t hear him approach.

“I’m sorry, Jaya,” he whispers before sliding his arrow into Dronma’s pocket. She whirls around at his touch. My heart stutters as he kisses her ridged cheek and whispers something in her ear. The breath flies from my lungs when she smiles as large as her scars allow. He lifts her by the waist and spins her around like they are inside an Elder’s tale while I pale with jealousy. I hadn’t wanted Nawang. We weren’t in love like Nima claimed she was with Tenzin.

I wanted the story—“poor beggar girl marries into a stable family to live happily ever after.”

I want to feel happy for Dronma, but I can’t until I am settled. Nawang leads my sister away after wrapping his scarlet marriage scarf around her shoulders. His family wears tearful smiles as they watch the loving couple. In fact, most of the village is shedding happy tears—like they do every year. In groups of four or five, the families peel off the audience to feast in their homes and escape the blowing snow. Some of them live in our village of about sixty people, while the rest have traveled from the villages of Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

The only man left holding an arrow is old Mr. Rinzen. He twirls the shaft between his gnarled fingers as he smiles at it. I should have known. As the owner of a brothel, he allowed my mother to work off my father’s debts, or maybe she belonged to Mr. Rinzen before marriage. Whatever the arrangement, Mr. Rinzen is old enough to be my grandfather but not quite old enough to be a Village Elder. His status falls in the strange in-between place where he’s not as privileged as a Leader or Elder but above a regular shopkeeper.

Mr. Rinzen’s eyes meet mine and his leering smile falls from his mouth. He runs his fingers through the few strands of white left on his blotchy head. “Out of my way, lamb,” he shouts in a cloud of putrid breath before he pushes me to the ground. I’ve never been so grateful to be spit upon in my life. To be rejected by the vilest man on Enceladus is a blessing...until he grabs Nima by her hair.

“As beautiful as your mother and twice as fiery,” he sneers, droplets of spittle raining on her button nose and rosy cheeks. “I considered giving you to the beast for my tribute since you are obviously used, and your virgin sister would fetch a better price in my establishment.”

“Yes, you want Jaya. I’m too much trouble,” Nima yells while clawing at his fingers. “Take Jaya. You will make a killing off her virginity!”

My eyes blink between Nima and Mr. Rinzen as they bargain away my life.

“Oh no, I could never resist the delicious fight in a feisty woman,” he says with a kiss on her cheek. Nima’s fear breaks through her fury and she sobs. “Besides young Tenzin will tire of his shy, little bride and come crawling for my leftovers. His family has already paid for the privilege of raising the brat you carry. How much will he pay to bed you while his wife carries his other children?”

“No, stop!” Father’s surprisingly sober call from the crowd is a moment too late. Mr. Rinzen’s arrow is in Nima’s frock. Her fate is decided. Father falls to his knees and covers his face in shame. His black hair flops forward to further hide his grief. “I failed you, girls,” he says between croaks.

“Get up, you drunk,” Mr. Rinzen yells before kicking Father over. “A woman for a woman. Your wife’s price is paid. Your debts are wiped clean. Go with dignity, if you have any left. Seer—take the little one instead and say an extra prayer over her for me. She will wish for my chains by the end of the night.”

“Father?” I call after my father as he runs from the town square. I take one futile step toward him before the Seer grabs my elbow.

“I’m sorry, child, but your fate is with me,” she whispers gently. She pets my long, black hair in a maternal gesture that unleashes the torrent of tears I concealed all day. I cry onto her bony shoulder and soak her white ceremonial furs. She smells of herbs and smoke when I gasp for air to fuel my sobs. “It may look like we sentenced you to death, but the Gods smile on your union.”

“My union? There is no one left,” I say between wails. My free arm releases her to wave in the air. “Am I to tend the temple with you? Am I marrying the memories of Earth like you?”

“No, my child,” she says with a tear running down her cheek. “You were betrothed to the Yeti.”

Chapter 2

Jaya

I break from the Seer’s grasp long enough to retrieve my goat, Ku Huang. Oblivious to the ceremony, she licks my fingers and nuzzles my furs for treats. When do I ever have treats? …Unless I have visited Nawang… She must smell him on me from our brief exchange. I push my goat’s head away and she clacks her teeth at me.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I stoop to her level. Her long tongue licks my nose and I inhale a lungful of her stinky breath. I bury my fingers in her fluffy neck fringe and rub my nose on hers. “I’m angry at everyone on this planet except for you—yet you are the one who bears my mood.”

“Come, my child,” the Seer says while wrapping a new, ornate scarf around my neck. I gape at ancient symbols embroidered with golden thread, adorning the layers of vibrant purple and green fabrics. This is the most beautiful marriage scarf I’ve ever seen. My head bops from the scarf to the Seer. Fear dances down my spine. Everything in Alpha comes with a price. What must I do to earn this scarf?

Oh yeah, it symbolizes the bond to my new husband…a Yeti.

I wrap Ku Huang’s rope around my wrist several times to indicate we are a pair and stare at the Seer in defiance. She tugs us along without comment as my mind spins with ideas. Do I stall her until Nima can break free from Mr. Rinzen? Will Dronma notice what has become of us and rescue—Nima? Me? How can I ask Dronma to rescue me when Nima’s betrothal is the worst?

Where can I run? The only places taking runaways are the mines and the brothel. I have no family or friends to house me outside of Alpha...or inside Alpha, for that matter. I would consider Nawang my friend, but he’s celebrating his wedding day with Dronma.

I imagine Dronma praying at his family’s altar to the Yeti. Her new family ties her hands in the ceremonial scarf of their family. Nawang feeds her small morsels of his favorite foods while his family applauds. The Elder, who looks after their family, would tie Nawang’s hands to hers with a prayer for many children. I bet Dronma is all smiles as Nawang leads her to their marriage bed to start creating their own family. Yes, my sister will be much too busy to rescue me.

The taste of jealousy is bitter on my tongue, but it distracts me from my fate. It isn’t until the Seer lets go of my elbow to open Alpha’s gate that I snap back to the present. Families from Beta, Gamma, and Delta congregate before the rusted metal panels. The families returning to Beta and Delta split from the group, immediately turning left for Beta and right for Delta. Their villages are less than twenty meters from Alpha’s gate to each side. The mines are just as close but outside of Alpha’s opposite end.

The Seer loops her arm through mine and forces my feet to move with the crowd returning to Gamma. Everyone draws a glowing dagger of Epsilon fusion-plant waste and waves the pitiful weapons toward the darkness, except the Seer and me. The Seer pulls a small sleigh, piled high with the other gifts for the Yeti. I’ve never owned something so lavish as a dagger. Perhaps if Nima held one, our futures would have played out differently.

No, the happiness radiating from Dronma as she walked away sours my dream of Nima’s revenge.

My heart pounds as I take my first steps outside of Alpha. Miners and hunters leave the settlement daily, but at eighteen, I’m not old enough to join either profession. Funny how I could have joined the brothel years ago. Goodbye, brothel, filled with pain, corruption, and Nima’s future. Goodbye, bitterness, treacherous sisters, hunger, and Father. Hopefully, the Yeti will feed me or kill me quickly, so I never experience hunger again.

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