One Bride for Nine Brothers

Not as Expected

I literally wrote this yesterday. But hey, it's the longest one so far! Just a warning, there's a picture at the very end so it will be bright, especially if you're reading white on black or at night. It's not super important, just for reference. Enjoy!

They got settled around the large table, four people on each side with Sang and Owen at the head and foot. The table was covered in platters full of food: duck, fruit, vegetables, potatoes, and rolls. They all began to serve themselves, the men making sure to leave enough for Sang, as many of them could eat thrice as much as they took. They chatted as they ate.

"So are you liking it here so far?" Gabriel asked before stuffing a large forkful into his mouth.

Sang finished chewing, "Yes! Phantom Maiden is a lovely town from what I've seen so far. And all the people I've met have been nothing less than wonderful." The rest of the group smiled in some way at the thought of being considered wonderful by Sang.

"Although, frankly, anything is better than my father's plantation," she mumbled. But Nathan, who sat next to her, heard it.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"You weren't supposed to have heard that. I wasn't treated the best while I lived with my family, I was the result of an affair and my stepmother hated me for that. I worked in the kitchens as a servant, though I was treated as a slave. But the rest of the town wouldn't have been able to accept that a white woman could be a slave, so I was called a servant. Coming here was my escape." She rambled, slightly embarrassed at having to explain her past.

The room became silent, anger crossing the faces of all nine of the men. North was so mad, he bent his fork from clenching his fist. He let it clatter onto his plate. "Your father let that happen?" North seethed.

In a small voice Sang admitted, "He was the one who suggested it." The room erupted in shouts and clatters. They calmed. "My stepmother originally wanted to abandon me on the street once she found out, until then she thought I was the daughter of my father's deceased young cousin. He left out the part about me being his daughter as well."

Anger faded into disgust for some. Gabriel remarked, "Your father impregnated his cousin?"

Phantom Maiden may not be the most conventional town, but some things went too far.

"They were only cousins through marriage, not that that excuses what he did."

"It darn well does not!" Gabriel exclaimed.

Sang decided to not give anymore details about her father's relationship with her birth mother, like the fact that he was almost twice her age.

Hoping to change the subject, Sang asked, "What kind of crops do you grow on the farm?"

"Mostly corn and wheat, though we do have a small garden to grow vegetables in. But we sell the corn and wheat, we keep the vegetables for ourselves." Kota replied.

"With this lot, we could probably eat all of the corn and wheat we produce as well, but that would leave us with no money for other things," Luke chipped in.

"Well, not necessarily, some of us have jobs outside of working on the farm," Victor added.

Luke nodded, "Okay, you win."

A smirk settled on Victor's face before vanishing as he took another bite.

"If we needed to, we could be fully self sufficient on just our in town jobs or just the farm. Having both simply provides protection against the 'What ifs.'" Owen said.

These men sure were smart. "I never would have thought of that," Sang confessed.

Sean reached over to ruffle Owen's hair, which Owen dodged, "Neither would the rest of us. Except maybe Kota. Owen here is just that smart."