Helena

  “What's going on? Did you see something outside?” Helena asked her cousin Esther, who was standing by the window. She hadn't moved from there for a long time.

  “There’s nothing,” Esther replied reluctantly and without turning around.

  "What's wrong? You seem upset."

  "If you say so."

  "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

  "Sure."

  "Esther, don't play dumb. I know something's bothering you."

  "I am dumb."

  Helena rolled her eyes. She got up from the sofa and walked over to her cousin. “Stop ignoring me and tell me what’s wrong,” she said, grabbing her shoulder.

  Esther slapped her hand away and continued looking out the window. “Don’t bother me.”

  "What are you staring at?"

  "At Emma."

  "And what's she doing?"

  "Looking at the green."

  "What's so strange about that?"

  Esther moved away from the window. “Nothing… I just thought it was curious.” She walked over to the sofa and sat down. “I think she was coming here before something distracted her.”

  Helena looked out the window and saw the priestess standing a few steps in front of the library, her hands behind her back, gazing towards the village green. Her large straw hat protected her from the harsh sun outside. “What d’you think caught her attention?” she asked.

  “I heard some children yelling. Perhaps that’s what she’s looking at. Would you like some tea?”

  Helena turned around. “Are you going to make tea? Won’t Emma be angry that you’re using her kitchen without permission?”

  “We already barged into her house without permission. I don’t think she’ll mind anymore if I make some tea. She might even forgive us for the intrusion if I make some for her too.” Esther got up and went through the archway that led to the kitchen behind the house.

  ?Helena walked away from the window and headed for the sofas and tea table in the middle of the living room, but before sitting down, she decided to borrow a book from the large shelf by the wall to pass the time.

  While looking for something to read, she heard panting and the clicking of fingernails against the pine floor. A burly brown dog with a white chest entered the room, sniffing the floor and furniture. When it spotted Helena, it approached her and rested its head against her legs.

  “Emmy,” Helena cried when she saw the dog and began to pet her, rubbing her cropped ears. “How is my little one?”

  The dog was panting and jerking rapidly what little tail she had left. Helena noticed that her face and paws were covered in dirt.

  “You smell of earth and grass,” she said. “You were digging up Emma’s flowers again, didn’t you? You’re going to get in trouble for being naughty, my lassie.”

  Whether the dog understood what was being said to her was impossible to know, for she just closed her eyes and let Helena stroke her.

  Helena loved the dog. She considered Emmy to be much smarter and better educated than the rowdy rascals and rat catchers the family had at home, even though they all came from the same place. Helena and the dog moved to the sofas and continued their game.

  ?After a while, Esther returned to the living room carrying a metal tray with a teapot and three cups. She placed it on the tea table and took a seat on the sofa next to Emmy and Helena.

  “That was quick,” Helena said.

  “I started heating the water the moment we came in,” Esther said as she poured tea into the cups. “How many teaspoons of sugar do you want?”

  “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “You didn’t notice because you had your head in the clouds thinking about Taylor.”

  “I wasn’t thinking about him,” she said, annoyed.

  “How many?” Esther asked, holding the teaspoon.

  “Oh, two, please.”

  Esther added two teaspoons of sugar, making sure both portions contained the same amount, then stirred the tea gently as she spoke. “If that’s the case, why did you want to leave the library? We were quite settled there.”

  Helena looked away. She didn't want to talk about it, but knew Esther wouldn't give up so easily. Her cousin had been complaining since they left the library. “I wanted to get some fresh air. That's the only reason,” she said.

  “You could have gone out on your own and not asked me to accompany you.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I didn’t want to be alone. And besides, you were acting kind of strange. You had me worried.”

  Esther finished stirring the tea and handed the cup to Helena, stretching her arms over Emmy, who was sitting between them and trying to lick the cup.

  “No, Emmy. You can’t eat this,” Helena said.

  “Emmy, down! Down, I said!” Esther ordered, pointing to the floor.

  Emmy ignored her, but Esther insisted again in a louder voice. The dog finally jumped off the sofa and lay down beside the tea table.

  “I wasn’t acting strange,” Esther said as she prepared her tea, adding three teaspoons of sugar.

  “Do you think I didn't notice how nervous you were? You weren't even looking at the book you had on the table. You couldn't take your eyes off the windows.”

  “Well, you saw wrong. I wasn't seeing or expecting anyone.”

  Helena frowned. “I didn’t say anything about you expecting someone.”

  "Yeah, forget it." Esther finished preparing her tea and took a sip. “It needs more sugar.” She added two more teaspoons, but this time they were overflowing.

  Esther stirred her tea with gentle movements and a slight smile on her face. Helena watched her. She knew that when her cousin became nervous, she craved something sweet, or in this case, something sweet to drink.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Helena asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

  “Are you sure? You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”

  Esther’s smile widened, and she turned to Helena. “I’m perfectly fine. You’re imagining things.”

  “Come on, Esthy, talk to me. I’m your dear cousin. You know you can tell me anything.”

  “I’m fine, I tell you.” Esther stopped stirring the cup, and sampled her sweet concoction. “Perfect.”

  “Esthyyy. Don’t be like that. Talk to meeee.”

  “No.”

  “Don’t make me angry, my dear cousin. You know very well that you must respect your elders.”

  Esther snorted. “If you tell me why we’re hiding from Taylor, I might tell you.”

  “I didn’t…” No, why deny it? I sound like a silly girl, Helena thought.

  “Well?”

  “You’re right… I didn’t want to see Taylor’s face.”

  ?Esther looked at her, surprised. “Why? Do you feel guilty about what Michael and Victor did to him?”

  Helena shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I'm ashamed of myself. I should have solved that problem on my own and not let Michael and my brother do it for me. That only made everything worse.”

  “Do you blame them for your friends not talking to you now?”

  “I… Let’s not talk about that.”

  “In my opinion, you shouldn't blame them. If your friends had even a shred of empathy, they would have understood the awful situation you were going through and wouldn't have turned their backs on you as they did. I'm pretty sure those bitches don't care about you.”

  “Sometimes I think the same thing,” Helena said, taking the last sip of her tea. “They will never accept us as one of them, right?”

  “Who are you talking about? Your ex-friends?”

  “No, I’m talking about the villagers. I feel like they treat us differently from everyone else.”

  “But we are different from everyone else. Just compare where we live to where they live.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about this sort of barrier between them and us. I’ve felt it ever since we moved here.”

  “Well, sure, I’ve noticed that too.” Esther finished her tea and placed the cup on the tray. “You know, I think there’s a way for them to really accept you, to break down that barrier you’re talking about.”

  "Really? What is it?"

  Esther looked at her, smiling. "That you marry one of them."

  “What, are you crazy!?” Helena yelled and began to laugh out loud, as though she were roaring. “After I got myself out of that mess, now you want me to get myself back into it, and this time headfirst? Don’t be silly.”

  “Isn’t this what you want? There’s nothing stronger that binds you to the village than a blood tie. You just have to get married and have a bunch of little farmers.”

  “Shut up.”

  “You could go to Taylor’s grandmother and accept her grandson’s hand in marriage.”

  “I told you to be quiet.”

  “You’d make the old woman and her family happy. How many times has she tried to sell you on the virtues of her grandson? You must be sick and tired of hearing her by now.”

  Helena grabbed her teacup. “I'll smash this cup over your head if you keep playing games.”

  “Only if you stop regretting everything that happened and stop blaming Michael and Victor for what they did.”

  "I know, I know. It was all my fault. I should have said something instead of locking myself in my room like a scared little girl."

  "Good that you understand."

  Hey, hey, I'm the oldest here. Why am I letting her disrespect me? Helena looked at Esther with a stern face, trying to intimidate her, but it only made the girl laugh. She doesn't respect me. No one in the family respects me. Ahhh, who am I kidding? Maybe I deserve it, since it was all my fault... and my stupid blessing.

  ?Yet deep down, she never believed it was. It was not her fault, and even less the blessing she had inherited from her ancestor. She did not start the rumor that ruined her life and her friendships in the village. It was Agatha and her circle of friends who said that the patriarch of the Hunter family was looking for a suitor for his eldest granddaughter, and that he wasn't placing many restrictions on the young man's social and economic status. She couldn't understand why those women made up such a horrible lie. What was their purpose? What did they gain from it? Whatever the answer, Helena was sure that they never imagined the huge mess they would create.

  Helena remembered with sadness how the young men from the village and surrounding towns harassed her daily, asking for her hand in marriage. They waited for her near Emma's house when she went with her cousins to take lessons. They followed her around when she visited her friends in the village. They escorted her back home, and the most daring ones brought their parents along to speak with her family and formally ask for her hand in marriage. The harassment reached such extremes that she sometimes did not dare leave her room for fear of encountering one of her pursuers.

  Her family tried to help her, making it clear that the rumor was one hundred percent false, but that was of no consequence to the hordes of ambitious contenders who wanted to eat a piece of the family's extensive lands and vast fortune. Wealth and a secure life awaited the lucky man who managed to marry Helena. Who cared what she thought or felt or wanted? She was a young woman. Her opinion counted for nothing. What mattered was that she was now of age to marry and have a family. That was the only thing expected of her, what the villagers and her suitors and society in general expected of her.

  I wish I had been born a man, like my brother, she thought with disgust. He can have as many friends as he wants, and with whomever he wants, and no one would dare to spread stupid rumors that he is looking for a partner. He can stay out late without saying where he's been, and no one complains. He can go live alone in the city and do whatever he wants, and no one says anything bad about it. But I can't. I can't because I'm a woman.