Beyond The Palace Ch 01

Beyond the Palace

by Davina Lee

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Author's Note

In many ways, 2025 is reading like the plot of a dystopian novel, and I think we could all use a breather. So for my entry into this year's Pink Orchid challenge, I give you this little novelette:

A young woman raised by wolves, deeply in love with her shrine maiden girlfriend, riding into battle to stand against the forces of injustice. It's a slow burn lesbian fantasy adventure over ten chapters, so definitely not a wham bam story. And the goal is more of a feel good vibe than a sexy tingle.

Think of it like one of those young adult romances you like to read on the sly. Nothing too challenging or complex. Nothing gratuitously sexy. But, hopefully still a satisfying alternative to your daily dose of reality.

You up for it?

I'll be releasing it in chapters as I go, so please be patient.

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Prologue

The old mother raised her head, a sliver of moonlight highlighting the gray of her muzzle as she did. She sniffed at the air of her den. The scent of her pup, the young human girl she had cared for since infancy, was growing weaker with each moonrise. The old mother sighed and laid her head to rest on her paws.

Outside her den, the leaves rustled as a chill breeze blew across the plain. The seasons would be changing soon. The old mother flared her nostrils, inhaling again, hoping to catch a hint of her pup from among the scents of The People, mixed up and carried on the wind.

She sniffed again, lifting her head as before. It wasn't her pup that came to her, but another, a scent she had not yet encountered, though familiar nonetheless. It was the scent of fear and panic. Not from one of The People, for she knew all their number, but definitely a human. A human girl, perhaps the same age as her own.

The old mother pulled herself up to standing and strode out of her den and into the night. She sniffed one more time. The scent was distant, but unmistakable. The girl was in trouble.

The old mother raised her head to the moon and howled, long and loud. She pricked up her ears and waited. Her howl was answered by another, and then another. By the time the third answer came, it was accompanied by the sound of horses hooves picking up speed in the distance.

The old mother let out a sigh and turned to plod back into her den. She curled up, resting her head on her paws once again, and closed her eyes, dreaming that her girl pup still lay nestled beside her.

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Chapter 1: Raised by Wolves

Matoaka ran through the clearing in the trees. "Take it back!" she hollered at the young girl running a few paces ahead of her. "Take it back, Theodosia! Take back what you said!"

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" answered the girl, laughing and shouting as her bare feet pounded on the packed earth of the winding trail leading toward the forest.

"Take it back!" Matoaka poured on speed and closed the distance between them by half.

"You were born in The Paaalaaace!" mocked Theodosia.

"Take! It! back!"

"You were born in The P--" Theodosia went down with a thud, Matoaka tackling her from behind.

The two tumbled, rolling on the ground, each vying to gain the upper hand.

"Take it back!" hollered Matoaka, finally sitting atop the girl. "Take it back!"

Matoaka balled her hands into fists and raised her arms high in the air. "Take it b--!"

"What's going on here?" asked a gray-haired woman, trudging up the rise. "Matoaka? What are you doing?"

Matoaka lowered her fists slowly and unclenched her hands.

"Matoaka?" repeated the woman.

"Yes, Elder," said Matoaka, as she slid off of the girl trapped under her and moved to the side.

"She started it," said Theodosia, rolling onto her side, and wiping the dirt from her mouth with the back of her hand.

Matoaka stiffened. "She called me...! She said I was born in The Palace!"

"Matoaka, you know that's not true."

"Then why did she say it?"

The elder woman turned to stare at Theodosia. "Don't you have chores to do?"

"Yes, Elder," said the girl, dipping her head and slinking away before breaking into a run in the opposite direction.

"She started it!" complained Matoaka. "How come she gets to--?"

"Matoaka," said the elder woman, staring at the bright pink scrape on the girl's forehead.

Matoaka said nothing further.

"Come," said the elder woman, holding out her hand. "I'm sure your mother misses you. And maybe she can put some sense into you."

"Yes, Elder."

"I wish you would just call me Grandmother."

Matoaka laid her fingers in the open hand of the elder woman. Together, they walked deeper into the cool shadows of the forest.

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"You mustn't let Theodosia's words get to you like that."

"Yes, Elder."

"Grandmother?"

"Yes, Grandmother," said Matoaka.

"We'll have your mother look at that scrape on your head. And maybe the medicine woman. At least clean it up. I don't want to see it infected."

Matoaka said nothing for a time, simply plodding along next to the elder woman as the bright and open plain gave way to cool and shaded canopy of trees.

"Is it true?" said Matoaka, finally.

"Is what true?"

"That I was born in The Palace."

The elder woman stopped walking, and when Matoaka did the same, she turned to face Matoaka straight on, resting her hands atop Matoaka's shoulders. "Theodosia only wants to get a rise out of you."

"I know, but..."

"You were born of Mother Earth, like all children of The People. You were raised by your Wolf Mother. Just like..." The elder woman paused.

"Like all children of The People," said Matoaka.

"Like all children of The People," repeated the elder woman, pulling her grip from the girl's shoulders and reaching for her hand instead. "You're one of us, Matoaka. Nothing can ever change that."

"Yes, Elder."

The woman glared at Matoaka. Matoaka turned her gaze away.

"Yes, Grandmother," said Matoaka, staring at her feet.

"Come on, now. I'm sure your mother misses you. And we should definitely visit the medicine woman to look at that scrape on your head."

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Matoaka and the elder woman emerged from the forest into a clearing beside the bank of a fair sized stream. Standing in the middle of the rushing water, near a cluster of rocks, was a black bear and her cubs. While the cubs were busy splashing, the mother bear concentrated on fishing.

The black bear mother watched the water and the fish that swam in it. The mother dipped her paw into the stream and pulled out a wriggling trout she tossed to one of her cubs. The other cub tried to mimic her mother's fishing technique, but came up empty. After a bit of snuffling and grumbling, the mother bear caught another fish and tossed it her cub's way.

As Matoaka and the elder woman watched the scene unfolding, a young girl who had only seen a dozen harvest at most, ran barefoot along the river bank, her feet slapping at puddles along the way. Loping along beside her, positioning her body between the girl and the fast moving stream, was a large gray wolf. Sitting on the shore, tending to a fire, was another young woman, old enough to be a big sister, and also accompanied by a gray wolf.

"I do love seeing the children and their mothers," said Grandmother.

Still standing in the middle of the stream, the black bear mother pulled up another trout from the rushing water. With a flick of her paw, she tossed it to the shore, where the wolf trotting alongside the running girl caught it in her mouth. The girl beside her stopped running and squealed with delight, clapping her hands together.

The wolf dipped her head toward the black bear mother and then proceeded to push her muzzle at the girl. The girl giggled and followed the wolf toward the fire where the young woman was waiting with a sharpened stick to spear the trout for cooking.

"Let's see if we can find the medicine woman, Matoaka. I'm sure she'll have a few things to say about that scrape on your head."

"Yes, Grandmother."

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Sometime later, Matoaka emerged from the forest alone. On her forehead was a glistening salve of medicinal herbs and pine tree sap. She walked toward the place where the path turned rocky and steep.

Halfway up, Matoaka turned and looked down upon the running stream. Grandmother was now sitting beside the fire with the two girls, helping them tend to the fish.

Matoaka pulled deep breaths into her lungs as she cleared the last of the trees and emerged at the top of the bluff. As she looked out over the land, a large gray wolf approached her from behind. The wolf poked at the back of Matoaka's hand with her nose.

Matoaka spun around, grinning. "Sneaky as ever," she said. "I didn't even hear you coming."

The old gray wolf snuffled and lowered her head. Matoaka reached out to scratch behind her ears. "Well, maybe I heard you a little bit, but I definitely didn't see you."

The old gray rubbed her cheek against Matoaka's hand. Matoaka ran her fingers through the thick, shiny coat of the wolf, rubbing her hand over the wolf's shoulders.

"It's a nice place," said Matoaka, scanning the distant horizon. "A bit of a climb, but it's worth it for the view. I bet the sunsets are amazing."

The wolf turned a tight circle and then settled down to lie on the ground at Matoaka's feet. The old gray let out a sigh.

"You're not old, Mother," said Matoaka, dropping to her knees and then sitting cross-legged beside the wolf's massive head. "Keeping watch is just as important as raising children. Besides, didn't you always say raising me was what turned your muzzle gray? If you're tired of raising children, it's probably my fault."

The old gray scooted around to rest her head on Matoaka's lap and Matoaka picked up scratching behind her wolf mother's ears again.

"I'm sure at least some of the things you say about me are probably true," joked Matoaka.

The old gray raised her head a bit. She fixed her gaze on Matoaka's forehead.

"That?" said Matoaka. "Oh, that's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about. The medicine woman fixed me up with a salve."

The wolf mother pushed her tongue out and began licking the back of Matoaka's hand while Matoaka chuckled.

"I've forgotten about it already," said Matoaka, leaning in to rub her cheek against the top of the old gray's head. "Mother's kisses make everything better."

The wolf let out another sigh, settling her head to rest on Matoaka's lap once again.

"I got it from tackling that awful girl, Theodosia," said Matoaka, absentmindedly, stroking her mother's fur. "I know I shouldn't blame her. And I'm old enough to know better. But she says such hurtful things all the time."

Beside Matoaka, the old gray shifted until she was lying on her side. Still resting her head on Matoaka's lap, she peered up with one eye.

"She said I was born in The Palace. Can you believe that?"

Matoaka's wolf mother shifted her head, pressing at Matoaka with her nose.

"I know it's not true," said Matoaka, "but it still hurts. I mean, nobody's ever born in The Palace. Not since they turned their backs to Mother Earth and she no longer blesses them with children. If she ever did."

Matoaka leaned forward and turned her cheek to rest atop her wolf mother's head.

"But why would Theodosia say such things?"

The old gray breathed another sigh.

Matoaka scratched behind her wolf mother's ears.

"I know!" said Matoaka, raising her eyebrows. "Do you want to have a sleepover? Would that be okay? I didn't bring anything for supper, but that won't be a problem. You're the one who taught me how to forage after all. What do you say? Would it be okay if I slept up here with you? Up on the bluff. Keeping watch together. Just for tonight?"

The old gray lifted her head from Matoaka's lap just enough to poke her tongue out and lap at the back of Matoaka's hand.

"Aww. I missed you too," said Matoaka.

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Afterword

So we start with a bit of world building in the first chapter and no kissy-kissy. Hopefully a satisfying escape from reality though. In the next chapter, we'll get to meet Matoaka's girlfriend.

For the ending credits, use your favorite streaming service to find the song Mother, by Sugarland.

Next up... Shrine Maidens!