Page 21 of Trapped to Tame
Just then, Fie entered the tent, glancing between them in question. Neither of them said anything, Priest turning away to put himself to rights.
Fie looked at her as if he hated her and yet also wanted to ensure that she was well. Peculiar creatures, these fae.
‘Come, female,’ Fie beckoned. ‘The bathing tent is free. We'll take you there.’
She followed closelybehind Fie and Priest as they walked through the Camp amongst the tents to the main thoroughfare. It was still early morning, and the frost was thick. She tried not to show how cold she was despite the fact that her feet were frozen in her boots, and she had no cloak.
Teeth chattering, she heard Fie swear and looked up to see a long line of people waiting outside the bathing tent.
‘Thought you said it was free,’ Priest said.
Eve gazed at the queue of men, soldiers and Brothers alike. She found it odd that these gruff fighting men would brave the cold simply to be clean. Gods knew none of the men she’d known in town washed themselves much except on feast days.
‘She can't wait out here. It’s fucking freezing cold,’ Priest ground out, seeming to examine her lack of appropriate clothing properly for the first time.
He made a noise of anger and she glanced up at him, eyes narrowing and was gratified that his nose looked bruised despite his faster healing.
‘What!’ she said vehemently.
‘Where the fuck is your cloak, female.’
She shrugged. ‘It was left at the rings last night.’
‘Gods, can you not even take care of your own basic needs? How you have survived all these years to your age, I cannot fathom.’
She looked away. It was hardly her fault that he’d whisked her away so quickly last night that she couldn’t retrieve it from where she’d left it by the side lines. What did she care if he thought her a simpleton? He didn't know her. She pushed away the embarrassment she felt at what he’d said and done in the tent … of how she’d reacted to him.
Fie said something she couldn't hear, and Priest made a sound of frustration.
‘The female can hardly keep herself alive,’ he muttered.
She opened her mouth to offer a retort, but then closed it again. Shedidn't carewhat they thought. What were they to her?Your Brothers, a traitorous thought entered her mind. She pushed it away. They were not hers. They'd only made her a Fourth out of necessity. That had been her fault and she couldn’t say she blamed Drax for what he’d done. Better him than the pleasure tents. She had been a fool to come into the Camp, thinking she could fight her way in.
But for her that was what life had been. She fought for food, fought for clothes, fought to stay alive, fought to pay her dues to Talik so his men didn't kill her for being different. But it didn't seem as if the rest of the world worked quite the same. She needed to learn more, or she doubted she'd survive once the Brothers let her go.
Fie and Priest were muttering angrily to each other, gesturing at the line, blaming each other quietly as if they didn't want anyone else to know they were having an argument. She noticed a woman dressed in Brothers’ blacks leave a tent nearby. Her hair was long and dark, plaited down her back tightly. She was watching them with an interested look on her face.
Eve watched as she approached them, taking in her lack of suitable attire. She gave the Brothers a sneer as if she blamed them personally.
‘My name is Maeve,’ she said quietly to Eve, ignoring the Brothers completely. ‘It is my guess that you're wishing that you came out earlier this morning. Is this your unit?’ she asked, giving Fie and Priest scathing looks.
Eve wasn't sure what to say. She was used to other women in the town giving her a wide berth, talking about her amongst themselves, quietly whispering, pointing, sometimes giving her pitying looks. No one had ever approached her and spoken to her as an equal before.
‘She’sourFourth,’ Priest said, stepping closer to Maeve, trying to intimidate the female.
The woman barked a small laugh. ‘Careful, Brother,’ she warned just as another man came from her tent, walking swiftly over to them.
She gave him an amused look as he got closer, coming to stand next to her. She brushed against his chest in intimate affection.
‘No need for you to get involved, Callan,’ she said. ‘You know I can look after myself.’
He leaned in close, whispering something into her ear and tugging the end of her plaited hair gently. She gave him a smile in return as he turned back to their tent, leaving them.
She twisted back to Eve, practically baring her teeth in animosity at Priest and Fie. ‘Your Fourth is not being looked after,’ she said plainly to them and then to Eve, ‘This bathing tent is not for us. There’s one for women down the way, but if you don't want to wait, come with me.’
Maeve set off and Eve followed, not caring if the two Brothers did or not. Her feet were now numb, and she was glad of it, for they had been aching before with the cold, but she wanted so much to be warm after the past days.
‘Wait here,’ Maeve said, entering a very large tent.
