Tree of Life

by Sarah Joy Green-Hart

  "Rest assured,” David said, "I won’t hit you, force you, or break your spirit. I grant you a haven.” He stopped. "Hesper, look at me.”

  She had to, so she did . . . after closing her mouth and swallowing. She must have looked like a complete fool.

  "You can trust me,” he whispered, nodding slightly. "Falling into my arms and my home may be counted among some of your greatest blessings when you look back on this in the future. I say that without a drop of arrogance. Just facts about the circumstance we find ourselves in together.”

  Her palms stung from the pressure of her fingers. "You are wrong!”

  Why had she come here? Why did she do this?

  Because life was not about only herself? Life did not belong to only her.

  He saw my rear!

  David snapped his fingers a few times. "Hesper, focus.”

  Shaking with rage, or fear—she was unsure which—she hissed, "I will die before I stay here.”

  No. Her body would stay, but her mind would not.

  The phoebe bird hand flew away with a shrug of her shoulders. "Never . . . touch . . . me,” she snarled. "I will come.” Rising, she drew back her shoulders and mustered every bit of detestable pride she had in her. Ugly as it was, she would need it to survive this. "Where are we going?”

  Swiping the air with his pointed finger, suspicious, he indicated to the south.

  Seven | Post-Conquest: 232

  A new seriousness overtook David’s demeanor. A tightness in the cheeks and lowering of the eyebrows. He had been patient for long enough. It was time to stop testing him. He smiled when he caught Hesper studying his expression, though the seriousness persisted. Perhaps he was mad at her.

  Good.

  He had no right to like her. None of these people did.

  They approached a dark red brick house with rows of large windows, glinting in the sunlight. How did the Meros live so exposed to the light, everything hot and shining, even in the spring?

  David opened the indigo round-topped door and waited as Hesper passed him and stepped inside. Cooked chicken and spices filled the air. A rare meat in the woods.

  Her feet sank into a large midnight blue carpet dotted with golden stars around a silver moon. She crouched and stroked the fibers, then pressed her hand into it like a bed of moss.

  A dry bed of moss. Lifeless.

  The moon felt the same. The stars, too.

  Only an illusion.

  The dark wood floor around the carpet shone like ice. Smooth to touch, but not slippery.

  David had been watching her. Expecting impatience, Hesper threw a wary glance his way and found nothing contemptuous. He didn’t seem to mind—even smiled a little. She stood and lifted her chin.

  The long, horizontal mirror on the wall before her reflected a pale, dirty face she had never seen so well. It did not belong here in all this order and cleanliness. It belonged with the trees, the wolves, the pebbly brook. She lowered her chin.

  Was she . . . wild?

  "This is the entrance,” David explained. "A place for people to hang their coats.”

  A tall, brawny, older woman bustled herself around the corner, looking to David with a frank and sensible face. "Sir! We have a guest?”

  "Lorelei, take this young lady to Anise.”

  "Yes, sir.”

  Going to someone else? David’s presence gave her safety more than danger now. She took a deep breath and searched for peaceful feelings. No. She must never feel peace.

  Never.

  "Whoa.” He grasped her shoulders. "Hesper, it’s all right. Anise will help you get the sweat washed off and give you a chance to recuperate, okay? Relax. You’re safe. I promise. If anything happens to you under my care, I vow to allow you to kick me where you intended to earlier.”

  "I do not want that. I want to stay with you.”

  What was she saying? Why was she letting him know she was afraid? Hesper’s hot face meant blushing cheeks. Knowing her face showed her discomfort made it worse.

  His hands in his pockets, he bounced on the balls of his feet a few times and rocked back onto his heels before settling with a small sigh. "Lorelei, I’ll take her. Bring an ice pack and a snack to Anise’s room . . . and something better than water. Electrolytes and all that.”

  "Yes, sir.”

  To their right, a large doorway led into a long path with clear walls. David pointed it out. “That leads to my brother’s room, and this door next to it is the parlor. We’re taking the stairs, however.” He smiled.

  A mess of paintings in enormous gaudy frames filled the walls from eye level and upward until the stairs opened into a spacious hallway of doors. They stopped at the second door on the left.

  David knocked softly. "Anise.”

  A waft of cinnamon fled the room when Anise opened to them. A black X marred her cheek. It was strange how much everyone dreaded it, yet it was such a little thing. A little thing with heavy meaning.

  A striking figure in white, cloaked in thick black hair hanging at her ankles, the tall and slender Anise had the features of a fairy-queen from the dragon book Hesper once read.

  "You again?” she said to David, smiling.

  Hesper caught a wink and smirk pass over his face. Clearing his throat, he said, "Anise, this is Hesper. She’s been through a lot this morning and needs some tender loving care.”

  "She’s young.” Anise frowned. "Well, of course, you’re so good with the young ones. Come in, dear, won’t you?” Anise extended her flawless hand, palm down, fingers reaching out in firm invitation.

  Hesper had never seen a hand so delicate and smooth, and as she took it, she half-expected it to fall apart like a dying lily. The blood from Tom’s head on her own hand did not appear to disturb Anise in the least.

  The door closed behind them as Hesper and Anise stepped into the room. Beside a window, a raised bed of shimmering emerald material glittered in the sunlight. Cinnamon sticks hung from sheer pale green ribbons tied onto either side of the glossy, purple wood at the head of the bed.

  Anise inspected Hesper’s hair and scalp. "Well,” she said, appraising her with a keen eye, "we have minimal work ahead of us. You’re well-groomed for a Gentle, but I can tell the day has worn on you. We’ll start with a bath. This is a bathtub.” She gestured to the tub in the corner. "I’ll get soap to wash with, shampoo to . . .” she trailed off and gathered the mysterious items as she named them, lining them up on the edge of the tub.

  "Why do they call us Gentles?” Hesper asked.

  Anise glanced over her shoulder. "Gentles?”

  Did she not realize she was saying it? "Yes.”

  "Oh, ah, well, because they say we must be treated gently to keep us happy. You know the story about when war came? When they left us all alone in the wild places, they called us the Gentles because they thought our tears demonstrated a weakness to be pitied.” She smiled. "That’s the legend anyway. The facts behind the legend are a mystery to all of us.”

  "If they treat us gently, why did they pull down my trousers and strike my rear and my head and—” Hesper looked away. It was worse than being touched. Worse than being marked. If anyone tried to expose her body again, she might . . . she might kill them.

  "Is that what they did to you, Hesper?”

  "Yes.”

  "Surely, not David.”

  "No. He stopped them, I think.”

  "That sounds more his style.” Anise smiled and began unraveling Hesper’s frazzled braid. "I’m sorry you went through that. You will find that gentleness is the rule in this house, and you have little to fear.”

  Anise turned a knob in the bathtub, unleashing a steady flow of water from a spout. She felt the water a few times, adjusting the knob often, then turned to Hesper, delighted. "I bet you’ve never bathed in warm water with soap, have you?”

  "Only rivers. Warmed water in the loft . . . rarely.”

  "Now, let’s see.” Anise took a few steps toward her. "We need to get those old skins off and clea
n you. So . . .”

  Hesper scowled and backed away, bumping into the door behind her, the knob jabbing into her lower back. "Why? Why must I wash?”

  Anise clasped her hands. "Well, dear, Gentles don’t bathe frequently, and the Meros prefer for human odor to be minimal. Additionally, you are dirty and sweaty. I think you will find a bath to be a refreshing comfort.” Revelation passed over Anise’s face. "I’ll step out while you undress and come back once you are covered in the water. Sound all right?”

  Hesper stepped out of the way as Anise reached for the doorknob and opened it. When the door closed, Hesper leaped into action, bounding for a window. Glass prevented her from jumping through it. Maybe it would break and . . . The fall would be too much. She would be seriously injured at best, and they would see her and snatch her up, immediately.

  Trinity . . . Hesper’s knees weakened. Leaving David would put her in Trinity’s hands.

  Anise called through the door. "Ready, dear?”

  Hesper’s heart, already beating too fast, felt as if it would crack her sternum. Quickly, she undressed and got into the tub, leaving the betrothal token atop her pile of hides. The water continued to rush out of the spout. The wall behind the tub, flat and dry, gave no clues as to its source. Where would they get all this water and how was it getting into the house?

  "I am in the bath,” Hesper called out.

  Anise entered and opened a large chest between two shelving units and gathered from it a small bundle of richly colored fabrics, which she laid out on her bed. Gliding over to Hesper, she turned off the water and set a towel on the floor as she explained the use of washcloths, soap, and shampoo.

  "Any questions?” she asked.

  So many. "No, ma’am.”

  "David doesn’t hate body hair the way most Meros do. He’s”—she tipped her head, frowning with thought—“shall we say, pleasantly earthy? Most of the time they wax the hair off nearly everything except the head the day a Gentle arrives. You’re quite fortunate to land yourself in this home. So, if you’ve ever heard rumors of that, you can dismiss them.” Pointing, she said, “I’ll be sewing over here if you need me.”

  Anise sat at a contraption in the corner of the room, humming a tune. She pressed a little box on the floor with her slippered foot. It lit up and began humming along with her as she drew bits of cloth through it.

  A hard knock on the door startled Hesper into reflexively covering her chest with her arms.

  "It’s Lorelei,” Anise reassured her.

  A small tray with a big blue bag, a plate of colorful food and a glass of lilac liquid passed from Lorelei to Anise. Anise set the tray on a table beside her bed. "Bath first.” She smiled and returned to her corner. “Did you need ice for something? Were you injured?”

  “My head.”

  “We’ll get this on the spot as soon as you’re out and dressed.”

  Hesper would knock over every little bottle and bar on the edge of the tub and spit on it if it were not so pathetic to do so. She scrubbed her skin sore, angry, hating that she liked the sweet smell of the soap—that anything felt good at all. She grabbed the thick, white towel and dried her face, breathing the scent of spices in it and summoning rage to stomp the swell of emotions.

  Not Adahy. Not now.

  When?

  Sentimental thoughts had to be squelched in favor of clarity and wisdom if she ever wanted to see him again. Even if it was simply to apologize. She understood Tane’s passion now—his hatred. This was a darkness he could not help but raise his fist to.

  Rage would not serve her well here any more than sentimentality or despair.

  Anise rose. "I have clothes for you, and a toothbrush. I’ll fetch them.” She laid a fluffy, green garment over the back of a chair near the tub. "Judging by your teeth, I’d say good hunters introduced you to toothbrushes.”

  Hesper dried herself, put on the green garment, tying its belt around her waist to hold it on, and faced Anise’s mirror.

  "Something the matter, dear?”

  She had to ask? Hesper raised her voice as she said, "Yes. I have been kidnapped and taken away from my betrothed and family! Shall I wail and sob to prove it to you?”

  Taken aback, Anise froze, blinking rapidly. Surprise melted into sympathy. "I wish I could do something for you, Hesper.” Her delicate hand combed through Hesper’s hair. "David and I met at an auction.”

  Hesper scrunched her face. "A what?”

  "A place to sell things. An auctioneer puts an item on a pedestal for everyone to see, and he asks who would like to buy it. They take turns offering money, bidding for the item, and whoever offers the highest amount, pays it and purchases the item to take home. Understand?”

  "Yes.”

  "David came to purchase an antique map,” Anise said, "and I was on the auction block before the map.”

  Hesper’s mouth fell open. "You? They sell people?” She had heard of Unified serving as slaves, but not that the Meros sold them like possessions.

  Anise stared into her memories, then into Hesper’s eyes. "Yes, dear. David happened to know the man who seemed intent on purchasing me. It troubled him because that man purchased several Gentle women in the past, but he was not kind. He chained them and kept them for entertainment like dogs. David outbid him, bought the map afterward, and we left.

  "Later, seeing that he was a kind person, I begged him to let me go. He sat with me and helped me understand the potential repercussions of that action. Besides the punishment he would face, in the event of an escape, Law Enforcement almost always raids nearby forests. They imagine the Gentle will flee to a community. Their extreme reaction serves as a deterrent for the community-minded Gentles as well as sympathetic Meros who might attempt to release Gentles before they’re marked.” Anise gestured to the X on her cheek.

  Most women did not attempt to go back after being marked. Until now, feeling the violation of being made impure and no longer eligible for marriage among the Unified, Hesper did not understand that. Not really. Was the forest not enough?

  No. Maybe it was not.

  "Why?” Hesper faced the mirror and leaned her forehead onto the cool surface. "Why do we matter to them so much?”

  A light touch traced up and down Hesper’s back. "It’s been so long, Hesper, I wonder if anyone knows. They give reasons of religion and our allegedly rebellious natures.” She offered a wan smile. "It took time for me to believe David, but when I did, he hugged me and let me cry and told me about nepenthe—anything that makes you forget your current sorrows.” The light touch became a gentle hand, flat against Hesper’s shoulder blade. "He became my nepenthe, and we learned to love and respect one another. He’s quite good at making me forget things I’ve lost.”

  Hesper had so many questions that she would have to reserve for David. Anise, brainwashed and addled with hormonal reactions, accepted what she wanted but would not admit to wanting.

  Anise selected a round, purple bottle from the shelves in front of them and sprayed a fine mist into the air.

  Hesper sniffed. "It smells like roses and wet dirt.”

  "Yes, a little, doesn’t it? If you want it, you may have it.” She put the bottle back and selected a burgundy dress from her bed. "This one.” Returning the other dresses to the chest, she asked, "How have you discovered the smell of roses in your woods?”

  "Hunters brought them.”

  "Ah, I see. Any particular hunter?” Anise gave the burgundy dress a shake for its wrinkles, displaying a coy smile.

  "My betrothed.” Hesper emptied the words of meaning in her mind. Clearing out her feelings, she embraced numbness. Betrothed was only a word. "He brought roses to my mama because she sewed things for him.”

  Anise paused, her hand on Hesper’s shoulder. She gave a light pat. Silence passed, not needing or wanting to be disturbed with more details.

  "So, it, uh—the dress wraps around,” Anise said. "As long as the length is right, this will be perfect for you. I’ll close my eyes if it make
s you more comfortable.”

  Hesper removed the green garment she wore, and Anise encircled Hesper with her arms to wrap the dress around her pale body as Hesper pushed her arms through the long sleeves. Like a whisper on her skin, the dress slid on almost as if she were not dressed at all.

  Anise opened her eyes to tie a large bow at the side of Hesper’s waist. "This dress never fit me properly. David has an eye for size, but he missed with a few. I kept them around to alter later. Now I’m glad I never got to this one.” She caressed the sleeves down to Hesper’s wrist. "Well, it’s lovely even with the sleeves a bit too long.” She stood behind Hesper, her gentle hands resting on her shoulders as they looked into the mirror together. Hesper’s white skin stood out in contrast with her black hair and the burgundy fabric.

  "I say, you remind me of a Watchman’s Hollyhock,” Anise said. "And look! Without the braid, your hair is curling up some. So thick and wavy.”

  Hesper felt the ends of her hair, just below her waist. A few faint bruises on her face reminded her of Papa’s slap. Or was it Trinity’s? Both, perhaps. She would take any amount of Papa’s slaps if it meant she had gotten home to be near his hand.

  The offense looked silly now.

  She looked silly now.

  Who are you now?

  She was a silly girl with a bruised face.

  A stick doll dressed in rose petals.

  "About this hunter. What is his name?” Anise sat on the bed. "Come. Sit.”

  "Adahy.”

  Anise’s mouth hung open as she stared into nothing.

  Creaking across the floor on her bare feet, Hesper picked up the betrothal token and slid it over her head. She pressed the coin’s coolness against her skin and sat on the bed.

  "Does . . . David know about him?” Anise asked.

  "No.”

  Anise bit her lip, her brow lined with concern. "Officially betrothed then?”

  "Officially. Since yesterday.” Oh, the emotion burned her chest and throat. It would not go away. Where could she go to just cry? To be alone and weep. Anywhere! Somewhere.

  The door was just a few steps away. The forest was not even a mile to the north. So close to freedom, and unable to get to it.