My eyes fluttered open and I quickly discovered three things. First, I was not in my bed, nor any bed that seemed remotely familiar to me. Second, I lacked my clothes, or any clothes for that matter. And lastly, there was obviously at least one man in the room.
I shuddered in embarrassment and could feel myself flush, even though I was sure that he could not see me at all, for the moment at least. I was covered in a thick fur blanket from head to toe. It would explain why it had been so dark when I opened my eyes, but the animal pelt was irritating my skin. I had never liked fur, and it was possible I liked it even less now.
But I daren’t pull it off myself. I shook my head just thinking about it. Never. However, I did have the room to shift positions to something a tad more comfortable then being scrunched up in a ball. I must have been that way for a while, for my joints cracked as I stretched them. My toes found the edge of the pelt and I could just feel a bit of my hair escape the top. A sliver of light filtered in around the edges, but I didn’t mind.
What bothered me most was how the man, now that his voice had come into clarity, had stopped speaking. I played with the now obviously dusty brown fur nervously, bending it between my fingers. It was the coarsest fur I had ever felt, and it was difficult believing that it had come from a living animal. It was like rubbing little tendrils of sandpaper between my fingers.
The creak of a chair caused me to curl back up into a tight ball. The first thought that ran through my mind was kidnappers. Yes! They had drugged me and were holding me for ransom. Even though that didn’t exactly seem to fit the situation, it was the best one I could come up with. Besides, who would kidnap me? I went to a community college. Who would waste their time-
“You awake Sweetheart? I have some clothes for you.”
The hand she placed on my shoulder, even through the thick animal fur, was almost motherly. It was clearly a woman, and judging by the age in her voice, I would say a mother in her mid-thirties. Although it was pretty random of me to decide that. I even got an image in my head. She had dark brown hair, like mine, but one stand was always coming loose from her ponytail and getting in her way. She had the prettiest blue eyes, and circles under them, although they were just light enough to be covered with makeup.
I sighed. Stupid crazy imagination.
My hand slipped out of the comfort of the blanket, and the woman placed the clothes in it. More fur and leather? What kind of place was this? I reeled them in, despite shuddering at the thought of wearing fur undergarments. It was either that or I run around in the nude.
I shuddered again.
The woman patted my upper arm briefly. “We will let you get dressed in peace. And don’t worry about my father, he didn’t see a thing. I promise.”
I waited till I heard the clicking of the door before peeking my head out to secure the room. All the windows were shuttered, and a fire burned quietly in a rough stonework hearth on one wall. The rest were blank, and it became quickly obvious that this must have been a spare room. The only furniture besides the thin mattress and furs that I was sleeping on were two hand-carved folding chairs with some sort of canvas as a seat. I inspected every inch closely before throwing the musty furs away and darting to the door, slamming one of the chairs against the knob to keep it closed. Or at least I hopped. The door had no lock and that always seemed to work in the movies.
I dressed rapidly. Faster then I believed I ever had. I was still completely confused by the situation, but my worry for being seen naked was a much higher priority. I slipped on the under-clothes. Happy when I realized that they had been made from cotton, although they were not nearly as comfortable as the stuff I was used too. Next was a pair of leather shorts and a very short top. Not leather like leather coat, but more like work glove leather. Either way I didn’t mind, although they were quite soft.
Then there was a pelt. And it confused me the most. They were large hooks on two of the paws, and eyes on the opposing ones. Then there was a belt through the middle, which was decently small, so I figured it would go around my waist. The pelt had the tail still attached, and I felt incredibly sorry to the wolf that it had once belonged too. Slowly I positioned the tail where it would go, if humans had tails, and then the pattern began to make sense.
The front paws latched together, one over my right shoulder and the other under my left arm, and the back paws would clasp around my hips. The leather belt did indeed fit around my waist, and I tied it tightly. Had I not felt obligated, I would not have spent ten minutes trying to figure how to wear the thing and given up halfway through.
Even so, I still felt a bit naked. Never had I worn anything so skimpy in public before. Even my swimsuits covered more then this garb, but the last thing planned on doing was complaining.
Just as I began to tease my hair, hoping it didn’t look like a rat’s nest as I thought it did, a slight nock came from the other side of the door.
“Are you alright in there? It’s taken you some time to get dressed.”
My feet found the floor near the door freezing, and I pulled high on my toes to prevent the cold from seeping through them. “Sorry!” I called, pulling the chair away from the door and pulling it open.
“Wow, my imagine really leaves a lot to be desired,” I said quietly. I had been wrong. Actually, almost every view I had had on her appearance was wrong. Her skin was quite dark, a coppery color, opposed to the fairness I had planned. And her hair was a dirty blonde, with not blue but brown eyes. I wasn’t entirely sure the sense of ‘dirty’ was literal in her case.
The woman tilted her head to the side in much an animal like manner. My lips quirked up into a tiny smile at the sight, and she righted herself, smiling at me. I had been right about one thing, motherly.
“Do you happen to have something that covers a bit more?” I asked, trying to hide behind my arms and the door. She frowned at me.
“If you tell me your name I will try and find something a bit more-“ Her brow furrowed in thought. “Oh darn it, I forgot what word I was going to use. Ah well. Back to your name, and age could probably get you an extra layer.” She winked.
Winked…
“Nikki,” I said quietly, “And I’m nineteen.”
“Kat!” She indicated yourself. “You most be a commoner, I would kill for your looks at that age. Two years older then me and you look like a child. Come on then.”
Kat grabbed my wrist and dragged me along down the hallway. It was dark except for a orb of light around a candle.
Wait, candle? No electricity?
“It may be difficult to find somethin’ in your size, especially in boys’ clothes. Hmm…”
“Boys’ clothes?” I questioned, but got no answer as Kat began to run amok in a closet that was stacked full of furs and leathers.
“I’m half commoner myself, ya’ know. My mother, rest her soul, was a-“ she paused just long enough to pull loose a pair of trousers from the bottom of the stack. Most of what sat on top collapsed on her and the floor after. “Oh damn. I will have to pick these up later. It’s a bit chilly outside this time of year, I can understand you wanting warmer clothes.”
Yeah, warmer clothes. I didn’t feel the need to correct the kind woman. “Excuse me, but what exactly is a commoner?” I asked as she lay the new clothes in my hand and told me to dress in the hall. She turned, seeing the flush already spreading again, and explained that the house was empty. Still I turned away, loosing the pelt and replacing the softer leathers with the stiffer, warmer, ones.
“Don’t tell me you are suffering from amnesia! You are a commoner. The most basic of the folk in these parts. Those leeches claim otherwise, they say that you are spawn between our countries. Bah! What a load.”
I was about to question leeches as well, but her loud responses were not something I was interested in hearing. I could wait for someone with a softer tone. At the moment I was going over how she was two years younger then me and looked, well, old. I didn’t ask. That could have been the rudest thing I could have possibly asked ever in the history of life as it was.
She was right though, the clothes were way too big. The pant legs ran not only to the floor but under my feet as well, which I didn’t mind too much. It kept my feet warm. The sleeves of the shirt, on the other hand, had to be rolled up. As I worked on that, Kat spun back around and once again grabbed hold of the wrist which I was working on.
“Come, dear. You must be ravenous. We have some fresh stew on the fire in the main room. And my father was rather interested in meeting you.”
I shuddered.
“You know, had it not been for him spotting you in the snow, you probably would’ve died out there. Your temperature was mighty low for a commoner.”
I blushed again. “So he did see me?”
Kat laughed. “No Ma’am. He only spotted you from a distance. Sent me in to retrieve you. By the time he saw you, you were already wrapped up in a blanket and sleeping like a baby.”
“Oh, good,” I sighed.
“I’ve never met someone as modest as you,” she laughed still.
“Well, yeah. I am I suppose.”
“Come on, you should eat, you are nothing but skin and bone.”
I looked down. I was a healthy weight for my height. Shrugging it off, I followed. Nervous as I was about the woman, I near clung to her in fear of meeting her father. What could I have possibly done to draw his attention?
I shuddered in embarrassment and could feel myself flush, even though I was sure that he could not see me at all, for the moment at least. I was covered in a thick fur blanket from head to toe. It would explain why it had been so dark when I opened my eyes, but the animal pelt was irritating my skin. I had never liked fur, and it was possible I liked it even less now.
But I daren’t pull it off myself. I shook my head just thinking about it. Never. However, I did have the room to shift positions to something a tad more comfortable then being scrunched up in a ball. I must have been that way for a while, for my joints cracked as I stretched them. My toes found the edge of the pelt and I could just feel a bit of my hair escape the top. A sliver of light filtered in around the edges, but I didn’t mind.
What bothered me most was how the man, now that his voice had come into clarity, had stopped speaking. I played with the now obviously dusty brown fur nervously, bending it between my fingers. It was the coarsest fur I had ever felt, and it was difficult believing that it had come from a living animal. It was like rubbing little tendrils of sandpaper between my fingers.
The creak of a chair caused me to curl back up into a tight ball. The first thought that ran through my mind was kidnappers. Yes! They had drugged me and were holding me for ransom. Even though that didn’t exactly seem to fit the situation, it was the best one I could come up with. Besides, who would kidnap me? I went to a community college. Who would waste their time-
“You awake Sweetheart? I have some clothes for you.”
The hand she placed on my shoulder, even through the thick animal fur, was almost motherly. It was clearly a woman, and judging by the age in her voice, I would say a mother in her mid-thirties. Although it was pretty random of me to decide that. I even got an image in my head. She had dark brown hair, like mine, but one stand was always coming loose from her ponytail and getting in her way. She had the prettiest blue eyes, and circles under them, although they were just light enough to be covered with makeup.
I sighed. Stupid crazy imagination.
My hand slipped out of the comfort of the blanket, and the woman placed the clothes in it. More fur and leather? What kind of place was this? I reeled them in, despite shuddering at the thought of wearing fur undergarments. It was either that or I run around in the nude.
I shuddered again.
The woman patted my upper arm briefly. “We will let you get dressed in peace. And don’t worry about my father, he didn’t see a thing. I promise.”
I waited till I heard the clicking of the door before peeking my head out to secure the room. All the windows were shuttered, and a fire burned quietly in a rough stonework hearth on one wall. The rest were blank, and it became quickly obvious that this must have been a spare room. The only furniture besides the thin mattress and furs that I was sleeping on were two hand-carved folding chairs with some sort of canvas as a seat. I inspected every inch closely before throwing the musty furs away and darting to the door, slamming one of the chairs against the knob to keep it closed. Or at least I hopped. The door had no lock and that always seemed to work in the movies.
I dressed rapidly. Faster then I believed I ever had. I was still completely confused by the situation, but my worry for being seen naked was a much higher priority. I slipped on the under-clothes. Happy when I realized that they had been made from cotton, although they were not nearly as comfortable as the stuff I was used too. Next was a pair of leather shorts and a very short top. Not leather like leather coat, but more like work glove leather. Either way I didn’t mind, although they were quite soft.
Then there was a pelt. And it confused me the most. They were large hooks on two of the paws, and eyes on the opposing ones. Then there was a belt through the middle, which was decently small, so I figured it would go around my waist. The pelt had the tail still attached, and I felt incredibly sorry to the wolf that it had once belonged too. Slowly I positioned the tail where it would go, if humans had tails, and then the pattern began to make sense.
The front paws latched together, one over my right shoulder and the other under my left arm, and the back paws would clasp around my hips. The leather belt did indeed fit around my waist, and I tied it tightly. Had I not felt obligated, I would not have spent ten minutes trying to figure how to wear the thing and given up halfway through.
Even so, I still felt a bit naked. Never had I worn anything so skimpy in public before. Even my swimsuits covered more then this garb, but the last thing planned on doing was complaining.
Just as I began to tease my hair, hoping it didn’t look like a rat’s nest as I thought it did, a slight nock came from the other side of the door.
“Are you alright in there? It’s taken you some time to get dressed.”
My feet found the floor near the door freezing, and I pulled high on my toes to prevent the cold from seeping through them. “Sorry!” I called, pulling the chair away from the door and pulling it open.
“Wow, my imagine really leaves a lot to be desired,” I said quietly. I had been wrong. Actually, almost every view I had had on her appearance was wrong. Her skin was quite dark, a coppery color, opposed to the fairness I had planned. And her hair was a dirty blonde, with not blue but brown eyes. I wasn’t entirely sure the sense of ‘dirty’ was literal in her case.
The woman tilted her head to the side in much an animal like manner. My lips quirked up into a tiny smile at the sight, and she righted herself, smiling at me. I had been right about one thing, motherly.
“Do you happen to have something that covers a bit more?” I asked, trying to hide behind my arms and the door. She frowned at me.
“If you tell me your name I will try and find something a bit more-“ Her brow furrowed in thought. “Oh darn it, I forgot what word I was going to use. Ah well. Back to your name, and age could probably get you an extra layer.” She winked.
Winked…
“Nikki,” I said quietly, “And I’m nineteen.”
“Kat!” She indicated yourself. “You most be a commoner, I would kill for your looks at that age. Two years older then me and you look like a child. Come on then.”
Kat grabbed my wrist and dragged me along down the hallway. It was dark except for a orb of light around a candle.
Wait, candle? No electricity?
“It may be difficult to find somethin’ in your size, especially in boys’ clothes. Hmm…”
“Boys’ clothes?” I questioned, but got no answer as Kat began to run amok in a closet that was stacked full of furs and leathers.
“I’m half commoner myself, ya’ know. My mother, rest her soul, was a-“ she paused just long enough to pull loose a pair of trousers from the bottom of the stack. Most of what sat on top collapsed on her and the floor after. “Oh damn. I will have to pick these up later. It’s a bit chilly outside this time of year, I can understand you wanting warmer clothes.”
Yeah, warmer clothes. I didn’t feel the need to correct the kind woman. “Excuse me, but what exactly is a commoner?” I asked as she lay the new clothes in my hand and told me to dress in the hall. She turned, seeing the flush already spreading again, and explained that the house was empty. Still I turned away, loosing the pelt and replacing the softer leathers with the stiffer, warmer, ones.
“Don’t tell me you are suffering from amnesia! You are a commoner. The most basic of the folk in these parts. Those leeches claim otherwise, they say that you are spawn between our countries. Bah! What a load.”
I was about to question leeches as well, but her loud responses were not something I was interested in hearing. I could wait for someone with a softer tone. At the moment I was going over how she was two years younger then me and looked, well, old. I didn’t ask. That could have been the rudest thing I could have possibly asked ever in the history of life as it was.
She was right though, the clothes were way too big. The pant legs ran not only to the floor but under my feet as well, which I didn’t mind too much. It kept my feet warm. The sleeves of the shirt, on the other hand, had to be rolled up. As I worked on that, Kat spun back around and once again grabbed hold of the wrist which I was working on.
“Come, dear. You must be ravenous. We have some fresh stew on the fire in the main room. And my father was rather interested in meeting you.”
I shuddered.
“You know, had it not been for him spotting you in the snow, you probably would’ve died out there. Your temperature was mighty low for a commoner.”
I blushed again. “So he did see me?”
Kat laughed. “No Ma’am. He only spotted you from a distance. Sent me in to retrieve you. By the time he saw you, you were already wrapped up in a blanket and sleeping like a baby.”
“Oh, good,” I sighed.
“I’ve never met someone as modest as you,” she laughed still.
“Well, yeah. I am I suppose.”
“Come on, you should eat, you are nothing but skin and bone.”
I looked down. I was a healthy weight for my height. Shrugging it off, I followed. Nervous as I was about the woman, I near clung to her in fear of meeting her father. What could I have possibly done to draw his attention?
