Hi! Some extra stuff was added in the first chapter. Right around the **** marks.
Enjoy! Feedback is welcome!
Ch. 2
Emery's mind seemed to have stopped working. She didn't' register what the man, Owen was telling her before closing the door of the guestroom, leaving her standing in the middle of it. She was numb. Somehow the betrayal of her parents had made her forget the reason why she was being sold in the first place. Hybrid. It had been pushed to the back of her mind by the pain of suddenly losing a family that she thought loved her. But the mention of 'heat' pulled it right back. She knew what it meant, her father had dreamed of being a horse breeder, but never had the funds to do it. Even so, he loved to talk about it during evening dinners, how he would do it and ensure himself the best breeds of horses. The term 'oestrus' was often used, or an easier term 'heat'. As a child Emery had quickly figured out that both words meant the same thing, as he used both words to describe the moment of fertility in mares.
A sob escaped her lips. She was never going to get her monthly bleeding. Emery had long thought she was a late bloomer. But after so many years of it not starting, and at the age she was, considered herself infertile. She had let go of the dream of becoming a mother. But now, in this moment, the thought that she wasn't infertile didn't cross her mind. No. the absence of her monthly bleeding confirmed what her parents were whispering about, combined with Owens earlier words. Suddenly it seemed understandable why her parents would sell her like cattle. She wasn't human. Her whole life was a lie. Everything she knew and believed ripped from her in just under a weeks' time.
Emery let out a cry filled with sorrow. She was alone in this world, forsaken and no one to turn to for help. She let herself sag to the floor and let all the cropped up emotions overtake her. She wailed and sobbed, she didn't stop or budge when she heard the door open and arms hug her to a warm chest. She sucked in the comfort, the warmth and the rumble in the mans chest. She didn't push him away as he rubbed her back and arms, rocking her softly like a babe. Emery cried herself to sleep, feeling safe for the first time since she left her parents behind.
Emery woke up on the bed in the guestroom, tucked into blankets and animal furs. Sitting up slowly she looked around the small room. Her head throbbed with pain and pressure, her sight blurry. Emery did not like being sick. Her body felt heavy and robbed of all its strength. She had to squint her eyes to spot the tray sitting on the table next to a small window. Wrapping the linen blanket around her she got out of bed on wobbly legs to inspect what the tray held. Bread slices with dried meat, three hardboiled eggs and a mug of water and the herbs the man, Owen, tried to give her yesterday. She looked at the tray numbly, last evenings events coming back to her. Emery took the herbs and the mug of water, taking the medicine with no fear and slowly ate the food given to her. With every bite she became more determined to forge her own life. First she needed to gain back her strength and health.
After eating the food Emery had settled back under the furs, falling into a deep sleep until the evening. Feeling much better she made her way down stairs, a linen blanket wrapped around her. Her vision still blurry made the way down a painful one for her toes, and had barley avoided a fall down the stairs by a misstep. But she admired what she could see of the interior of the cottage. The flooring and staircase was made of wood, warm to the sole of her feet.
The walls where made of stone, wood worked into it. But she loved the sitting the room the most, with an open wall towards the kitchen. The fire in the hearth casted a warm orange glow over the two big cushioned chairs standing near and the animal skin laying neatly on the ground in front of it. Plants and art frames were absent from the room but Emery did not seem bothered by it. The space was filled with the smell of stew, giving enough of a 'home' feeling and her stomach growled at the idea of a warm meal.
'Emery, you are up! how are you faring? Food will be ready in a few minutes.' She wasn't prepared for the voice coming from the kitchen and jumped sideways away from the source. As she looked, the man, Owen, was peeking his head from behind the wall towards her, with a soft smile. 'you can Sit down next to the Doctor, Everard. He can examine you and ask some question while you wait.' Emery looked from one giant men to another. She had never felt big as a person, her brother and father weren't of small stature and had all been a head taller than her. But neither had she felt small until this moment. The eating table looked like it would only be able to seat the two men looking at her. 'Are lycans and werewolf all...this big?' The question was out before she could rethink. Her cheeks heated at the bewildered look the men gave each other, before both having a good laugh. Emery wished to be swallowed whole by a big hole in the ground. With the little dignity she had left Emery shuffled herself towards the table. She contemplated on sitting across from the doctor or next to him. He made the decision for her as he patted the seat next to him on the bench.
'generally, lycans and werewolves are one of the bigger races walking on this earth. But compared to humans we are indeed very big.' She wringed her fingers in the blanket around her, "But I'm not human" is what Emery wished to retort back to the Doctor. But she held back. He had giving her an answer to her question. 'What is a hybrid?' Emery had a good idea of what it was, but she wanted confirmation. She wanted something in her life to be real. A truth. 'An offspring born from a coupling between a lycan or werewolf and someone of a different race...' The doctor took her wrist as he explained, placing two fingers with slight pressure and then seemed very concentrated. Owen took over the rest of the explanation like it was practiced beforehand. ' It doesn't matter much if the different race is human or vampire. If it isn't of 'pure' birth it is a hybrid.' Emery noticed he put negative stress on the word pure. The doctor had now moved to poking and turning her face for a throughout inspection.
'Still feverish. Are you taking the medicine?' Emery nodded. 'I took some earlier today. It was foul tasting.' The Doctor was rummaging through his bag and procured a glass vial, handing it to her. 'Medicine exists to heal, its taste is only secondary. Here.' he offered her the mug of water he received from Owen at the right time. Emery took it without complaining and was rewarded with a steaming bowl of stew and bread slices. She dug in. Almost groaning at the joy of eating her first hot meal in days.
The men let her be while she ate giving her sideway glances throughout. When finished Emery rubbed her belly and leaned back, the doctor arms kept her from toppling over. She mumbled a shy thank you and straightened herself. 'no problem. How do your eyes feel Emery, any discomfort?' she shook her head. 'No, but my eyes have been awfully blurry today.' The doctor nodded, his eye wrinkled in thought as he looked at hers. 'This is your first time experiencing this?' this time she gave a nod of confirmation. 'Then there is the possibility that this might just be related to her heat and will pass in time. We will have to see. I will come check up in a weeks' time. For now be cautions of the slightly lost sight and be careful moving around, and Emery, take your medicine, foul tasting or not. Call on me when any changes occur.' With a slight bow of the head the doctor left into the night leaving her alone with Owen. 'Thank you for the meal, it was lovely.' She felt herself smile for a first time in days. 'you are welcome. Go take a rest, the herbs will start working in a little bit.' Emery did. In the guestroom she left the window open on a small gap for a soft breeze before snuggling in the furs on bed. It did not take long for sleep the overtake her.
