04

CHAPTER THREE

A New Life

I awoke with Dolphus' body all around me. His thick thigh was draped over my hip. His one arm acted as a pillow for my head while his other arm and chest pinned me beneath him. Light was streaming through a hole in the ceiling above us, casting a beam at an angle that suggested it was early morning.

Dolphus stirred but didn't loosen his grip. I felt something tickling my ear and then realized that it was his upper lip wagging back and forth over my lobe. I lifted my shoulder as I sniggered. I thought it would be hint enough that I wanted him to stop because he was tickling me. He either didn't get the hint or he ignored it.

"You are a ticklish one."

I tried to move away but his grip tightened around me. Between giggles, I managed to plead with him. "Please...stop."

Dolphus sighed and settled for nuzzling my mass of unruly curls. "Sorry for all the hair. It's a mess, I know."

He lifted his head suddenly, prompting me to crane my neck to check his expression. He was frowning. "Do not refer to your lovely mane as a mess."

Dolphus nipped my neck enough to cause a momentary sting. "

Ow!

" I flashed him an irritated look. "I can call it whatever I want. It's

my

hair."

Growling, Dolphus tipped his head and placed his ridged horn against my neck. It was a warning signal, I knew, but I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from my chest. It caught both of us equally off guard. Dolphus lifted his head to eye me curiously.

"You are both brave and stubborn. It is your weakness."

"My weakness? Those are strong traits to have where I come from."

"To an extent, yes. These horns could hurt you. You must remember that. If a satyr shows you theirs, you must take it seriously."

"But you weren't going to hurt me just now."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. Someone as affectionate and honest as you could never just turn in an instant."

"Not now. But in another month, you must keep your stubbornness in check."

"Breeding season." I stated it more than posed the question.

"You must submit without question."

"What happens if I don't?"

"I will take you by force."

My heart rate doubled in an instant. What was disturbing to me was that it wasn't because I was frightened by the thought. Dolphus' nostrils fluttered, indicating he'd picked up a new scent. His eyes locked on mine.

"Emitting that scent will only drive me further into madness."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I heard movement in the main chamber and froze in fear. Dolphus, however, wasn't the least bit alarmed. He kept his gaze locked on me. "It is only Loomis. He paced a trench outside the door before entering."

"How do you know?"

"I could hear him."

"Shouldn't we, uh ..." It felt rude to stay tangled up in bed with company present.

"This is our home. If I wished to take you now, it would not matter if he were here. He would not think it impolite in the least."

"But, he can see us."

"Yes. Satyrs have no modesty, little one. You will soon grasp this concept."

With that, he unwrapped himself from my body and stood up. I groaned from the sudden loss of heat but quickly forgot it when I noticed that his manhood was once again protruding obscenely from its curly lair. This time it was enormous, jutting proud and erect at an upward angle.

He displayed it without shame to me and then turned to Loomis. "Good morning, Loomis."

I watched with distress as Loomis turned toward Dolphus. His pleasant smile didn't waver. "And to you, Sir."

Dolphus cocked an eyebrow at me as if to say, 'I told you so' just before bending over and yanking the covers completely off the bed.

I screeched and clamored to cover myself, all the while staring up at him in horror.

"You will not respect me if I baby you."

I shot daggers at him with my eyes. I wanted to yell all sorts of unkind things to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"Oh, I can feel how badly you want to spar, but now is not the time. We've slept late. I must go very soon."

I forgot to be irritated when I heard this news. "Go? Where?"

"Come, Ashira."

He offered me his hand and I took it to help steady myself as I rose. Then he pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. It was brief and passionless. Not the way I envisioned my first kiss at all. But then again, I never pictured being a bought slave to a satyr, either.

***

Much of the day was spent exploring the immediate area around the dwelling so I could recognize how to find it. It was amazingly well camouflaged amongst the pine trees and rocks.

Loomis was quite helpful in instructing me on the more practical aspects of gaining my bearings. I'd been somewhat shy around him at first, but that faded fairly quickly. He was by far the most sheeplike of all the satyrs that I'd seen so far. Fur blanketed his entire frame and his face hardly had any human characteristics. The way he spoke was different, too. He often mixed up sentences so they came out backwards.

He was extremely polite at all times and treated me as though I were the one in charge. Rather than ordering me to do things, he gave me choices. And much of his activity was centered around catering to my needs. I felt less like a slave and more like a houseguest in his presence. That didn't change the situation, though. My freedom was still very limited by two undeniable truths: I'd never make it down the mountain without help, and the only place to go if I did was Sibiu, where I would once again be in Grachhus' indenture.

I thought about all the possible paths of my life and couldn't help but think that I was, in fact, very lucky. I might never have the family I always dreamed about, never live in one of the finer stone houses in Sibiu, or be respected in my community; but neither was I hungry or cold, nor fearing for my life. I wasn't working long hours in a dark mine, or being chased through the forest by ogres. Life could've been a lot worse for me had Dolphus not bought me at auction.

The day passed rather quickly for me. When Dolphus had first mentioned that Loomis would teach me, I envisioned it much like school had been my entire life, sitting and listening to boring lectures. It was nothing like that at all. Loomis allowed me to ask questions, thus directing my education to things that interested me most. He did, at times, deliver mini lectures about particular topics, but never in a way that made the interaction feel one-sided. I found the process more exhilarating than boring, as I'd often felt in the Sibiu classroom.

I quickly realized that there was so much more to learn. An entire world outside of Sibiu that was far more interesting and colorful. I wondered if the Sibian headmaster was aware of it and censored our teachings, or if they were just as ignorant of it as I had been the previous week. Neither painted a particularly flattering picture of the Sibian civilization.

By late afternoon, my mind was full to capacity. Feeling as though my bones had slipped from my body, I crawled into bed for a nap. I thought I might be growing ill but Loomis explained that it was merely the altitude having its way with me.

Twilight was upon the dwelling when I awoke. I listened for Loomis but heard nothing. Sitting up, I could barely make out the outline of a satyr at the picture window. His back was to me. I instantly knew that it was Dolphus, although I don't know how, since he and Loomis were very similarly shaped from the back. I also knew that he was aware of my wakefulness, though he didn't show it.

An alarm sounded in my head. Something seemed off.

"Is everything alright?"

Dolphus turned his head to one side without moving his body. "Why do you ask?"

"You seem tense. Distant. Is my presence causing trouble for you?"

"Non, little one. You are not the source of my tension." Dolphus sighed and dropped his shoulders before he turned to approach me. "It is nothing for you to be concerned about. Flock business."

He sat on the bed beside me and I realized in that moment how much I'd missed his face with those soulful, green eyes.

"Did you enjoy your day?"

I smiled and nodded. "I learned so much today."

"Loomis said that you were quite the student."

"He was so knowledgeable about everything. I like him very much."

A crease formed on Dolphus' forehead. "Not too much, I hope."

His twinge of jealousy warmed my insides. "No."

Dolphus reached over and caressed my cheek with his fingertips. "Did you miss me, little one?"

I would've never thought that someone of his stature could be vulnerable, but that's precisely how he appeared in that moment. I wondered what had happened that made him that way, but I knew that I couldn't ask. "I did miss you. Many times I thought about how lucky I am to be here. I'm very grateful that you bought me yesterday."

Dolphus' expression instantly clouded with guilt. "I wish the circumstance had been different. That you were able to choose, not be forced."

"It's not your fault that my father is a gambler. You weren't responsible for my being a slave. You saved me, Dolphus. From the mines. From the ogre. From a life that would've barely been worth living."

"A captive life is hardly worth living."

"I'm no more captive here than I was in Sibiu."

"You did not deserve to be treated the way you describe. I am sad that you were."

My chest felt heavy from his empathy. We'd only just met, and he knew but a fraction of what I'd been through, yet he understood. I could tell as I looked into his eyes. I saw all my past pain and suffering there.

"I would fix it if I could."

I slumped forward onto his chest and his arms enveloped me. I felt safe in a way I'd never felt before. In the span of one day I felt more comfortable with this satyr than I had with any other human I'd ever encountered in Sibiu.

"I will not let any harm come to you, Ashira."

I nodded. "I know you won't. I don't know how I know, but I do."

"Someday it will be safe for you to return to Sibiu. When that day comes, I will grant you your freedom to choose your life. Until then, you will be in my care."

I tightened my grip around him as if my body was already making its choice, even if my mind didn't agree. There was a part of me that longed to be amongst my own kind. Sibians were hardly more my type than satyrs, but at least they were human. I understood them, even if I didn't care much for them, in general. I still understood very little of the satyr culture. And I had yet to witness how I fit in with the rest of the flock.

We nibbled on pine nuts and various vegetables that I couldn't identify as we settled into an easy conversation over what I'd discovered since he left that morning. He was interested in every detail of my activities from what I ate, to what I saw, heard, felt and thought. I held nothing back.

His somber mood had lifted and I even managed to get him to laugh a few times. It filled me with such a sense of accomplishment to do that for him.

"Tell me about Loomis. Why does he look and talk so differently than you?"

"Loomis was not born into this flock. He came from somewhere else."

"Where?"

"We don't know. His flock was attacked by ... something, and scattered in all directions. He wandered for many moons before I happened upon him. He was skin and bones, barely alive. I nursed him to health and introduced him to the flock. He repays me in service."

"He's so different."

"Yes. Discovering him has brought about many questions with regard to the evolution of our species."

"I don't understand what that means."

Dolphus smiled weakly. "Of course, you wouldn't. You were taught many myths in school, no doubt. It will take some time for you to unlearn what you've grown up thinking."

"How do I know what you teach is not equally based in myth?"

"You will know. However, you may choose to believe whatever suits you, Ashira. No one has the power to control your beliefs."

I disagreed wholeheartedly with what he was saying. In Sibiu, men were persecuted for heresy. They were most certainly slaves to the popular opinion, being told exactly what to believe. No Sibian was free from this. It was a topic for another day, though. I wanted to steer clear of inciting subjects for the moment. "Tell me more about breeding."

"What would you like to know?"

"How long after a female gets pregnant does she have the baby?"

"Satyrs birth lambkin, or more affectionately called cossets. The gestation lasts anywhere from five to eight months. The more human the bloodline of the satyr, the longer the gestation."

"Do the, uh, cossets, live with their parents?"

"A cosset will remain close to its mother and completely secluded from the rest of the flock for the first week of its life. Then it will be socialized with the others, only returning home to nurse. This pattern continues for several months, sometimes all the way until breeding season begins again."

"What happens to them then?"

"They become part of the flock. At two years of age, they are fully mature. At six, they will begin mating."

"Do satyrs have more than one mate?"

"A satyress will accept many bucks during breeding season. Our flock has a twice the amount of males to females. Because of this, bucks may only end up breeding with a single satyress during the season. If we were more balanced, a satyr would mount as many females as possible to increase his chances of reproducing."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "Do I have to...with other satyrs?"

Dolphus ground his teeth together so violently I could clearly hear it. "Non. I would not allow that to happen. When the season is nearly upon us, you will stay close to home under constant supervision. Then once it begins, Osmos help the satyr who crosses my boundary."

"What about Loomis?"

"He will know to stay away."

"Because I'm not the first mate you've had."

"On the contrary. Declaring a mate and mounting a female during breeding season are two very different things."

"Do many satyrs declare mates?"

"Non. Such an activity would limit our chances of producing offspring. And it is not in our animal nature to take a single mate."

"Is there going to be some sort of ceremony or something that signals that I'm your mate so others will leave me be?"

"Not as such, non. You share my domicile and bed, we eat and drink together. Our scents are well blended from these activities. When we breed for the first time and produce offspring, our status will be known by all."

"Where do non-mated satyrs sleep?"

"In groups. Females and males in separate groups, with the exception of the bucks still nursing or not yet mature."

I had so many questions about how they interacted with one another. It was so different from the culture in which I'd been raised.

"You will observe all of this very soon, little one. It is getting late."

I craned my neck to peer out the window. The moon was high in the sky. We'd been talking for several hours, I realized. "Do you have to go away again tomorrow?"

Dolphus was surprised by my question. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he silently considered his answer. "I have one task tomorrow, but I will make it brief if you desire me to stay with you."

I hadn't realized it, but that was exactly what I wanted. Then guilt hit me, followed by shame over my feelings of attachment to him. I was being foolish again. "No. I don't. Loomis promised to tell me more about the Isle of Baltia and Timaeus tomorrow."

Dolphus stiffened up and nodded. "I see."

I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me. I truly didn't want him to go, as I enjoyed his company immensely. All manner of chaos seemed to disrupt inside me causing my mind to tumble and spin. What I felt for him was so confusing.

"Come. We must sleep."

It was hours before I was able to quiet my mind enough to fall asleep.

***

"Midday, it is. Up, up with you."

Loomis was poking me in the back with his stubby fingers. I'd slept well into the daylight hours. Even though my mind was coaxing me to get up, my body was not obeying.

"Dolphus approaches."

That sat me upright. I flung the covers off me and fluffed my hair as I made my way to the main chamber. I was still very much worried about appearances. Sleeping away half the day indicated laziness, no matter what the reason.

Loomis tried to hide his amusement but that didn't stop me from attempting to appear casual, as if I'd been sitting there chatting with him for hours. A moment later, Dolphus appeared.

His nostrils quivered as he took in the scent of the room. He glanced at the disheveled bedcovers before approaching me. "Did you get enough sleep?"

I nodded, not wanting to outright lie about how long I had to stay in bed to achieve that.

"No more late night talks for you. You've wasted half the day in bed."

I opened my mouth to deny it but quickly changed my mind. For all I knew, he could smell that on me like he smelled everything else.

"I thought you might like to meet some of the flock this afternoon. Many of your questions can be answered through observation."

I nodded. "Sure. I guess so."

"Loomis and I will help you along the path. How are your feet?"

"They're okay. A little sore, but not bad."

Dolphus insisted that I eat before we leave. He made no effort to hide his concern over my low body fat. I hadn't gotten that way by choice. On more than one occasion, food had been scarce in my father's home as the local market inventory was weak and prices were at an all time high.

Loomis led the way toward the flock with Dolphus behind me. I'd forgotten about my nakedness until we were on the trail. My anxiety over meeting the flock for the first time had me feeling self-conscious about my appearance. I wasn't sure what to do about it except try and accept that being without clothing was natural. I'd been taught growing up that I should keep my body covered. My brain was screaming that it was wrong to do otherwise so it was quite a struggle for me.

We came up on a grouping of three satyrs. They were young males but it was impossible to guess their ages. Satyrs didn't age at the same rate as full humans. They grew faster, matured earlier and I assumed, didn't live as long, either.

We stopped when we reached the group. Dolphus pressed his chest to my back in a posture that I interpreted as being protective. I was expecting introductions, but no words were spoken. The younger satyr rams merely approached to pick up my scent before going back to what they were doing. A moment later we were on our way again.

Our rocky path took us beyond where trees grew. The air temperature was cooler but the close proximity of the sun more than compensated for it. I was thankful that my hair blanketed my shoulders, protecting my fair skin.

We came upon a vast plateau. On the other side of it was a grouping of satyresses, mostly. I counted nine females in all. The math was easy to do. If there were nine females, then by Dolphus' ratio, there were twice as many males, or eighteen in total. We encountered three on the path. I'd met Niro and Sensai the day of the auction, and Loomis and Dolphus, of course. That left around eleven male satyrs to meet.

The grouping of females were accompanied by only two adolescents. I'd forgotten to ask how likely females were to get impregnated. I'd just assumed that all of them did. But either I was incorrect, or the lambkin were being killed. I made a mental note to ask Dolphus about it when we were alone.

All the satyresses peered over at us at once. For a split second, I felt self-conscious, then my senses alerted me to possible danger. I thought it was all the eyes on me that did it.

"You are right to be cautious."

Dolphus could obviously sense my change in mood.