Misty II

[13] Bothered

Putting the spices into the utensil, I moved the spatula.

"She does it every year after the mating ceremony is completed. We have our bride. The males are mated. The females who doesn't smell their mate's scent within the territory, she takes them away."

I stared at the earrings dangling down her ears. The bandana covering her braids as she wiped her tears with knuckles.

Amelia had asked for my help as now Reveka and Emily were gone. For how she wasn't even letting me help and doing everything herself, I guessed that maybe, she just needed a company.

Especially, mine. Since all other sisters had sent the females from their homes too.

"They can return home at nights or once in a week. But they have to spend the full moon and no moon at the temple only. It is not like I won't see them again. But Lucine is heartless. How would she keep my daughters?" Amelia said in her hoarse voice while putting the meat inside the big pan she had with hot oil.

I gulped as the meat cooked slowly. The smell was different but I could look away. So, I did.

"Stella barely does any work. It's Nysa who keeps her like a princess. But Lucine will take their souls. The stories from childhood keep us aware of what the Goddess is capable of," she sobbed softly while moving the spatula.

I glanced at my pan. Adding water and the vegetables, the smell blew. I coughed a little while moving the spatula.

"Let it cook. And you move back a little or the smoke will harm your eyes," she said while removing the extra woods from the earthen stove. "There. It won't burn it," she said while turning the meat pieces in her pan.

She cared about my eyes? My human eyes?

"What else they do there?" I asked, not able to get over the red cloaks.

Amelia sniffled while wiping her eyes with knuckles. "They chant hymns to rest Severa's soul. She was a princess, after all. They offer fruits and flowers to her three times in a day and eat it after they feel, she accepts it. There are specific rules that the generations have been following and passing on to the next one. Not to hate, not to be jealous, not to curse someone, not to wish bad, not to lust. . ."

"Like the seven sins?" I whispered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I am sure, there are more than seven there. No hair braids. They keep their hair down, open and long. They cannot touch themselves, not touch each other like lovers. Clean. Clean. Clean. By heart. By mind. By soul. By body. The real cage is not the territory of this pack but that temple." She whispered while staring at the dark wall.

My eyebrows raised in amazement.

"Lucine too must be the naive girl before. How did she become so intimidating?" I asked in thought.

"She had her Aunts and my aunts, everyone's unmated aunt's as her elders. The stricter they were as you think back to the generations. Intimi. . . Intimi. . ."

"Intimidating," I said, smiling slightly at the innocence on her face that was there.

She nodded while sniffling slowly. "That. And that Rosetta, an arrogant bitch. She is like the pup you always want to hit for no reason," she said while gritting her teeth.

Like Kenny. I could swear, she'd made me miss and love Fred more. I thought he was the annoying one. But Kenny would give me those narrowed spying eyes, all the time. She wasn't even hiding her hatred for me.

But guess what. She was here.

While Emily were gone. I clearly didn't deserve her hospitality. I had been rude to her because of my anger over her Uncle.