CHAPTER 10:MARIEL

Now for the unveiling of my brilliant plan. You know how it ends, you saw it at the beginning, but getting there was half the fun. I know what you're thinking—"It takes a real genius to run away." Well, it does. I had decided to break my parents' hearts and thwart all of the conventions of my society.

I didn't leave that day. I waited until after the first wedding party the following evening. I was going to give Ajaht one more shot. Nothing doing. He showed me off like I was a prized pet. We were civil, but I could tell that he was doing it just to rub my fur the wrong way.

He couldn't wait for it all to be over and done with. Our marriage was his license for sex. That was all the emotion from his side of it in a nutshell. Generally, marriages formally unite families of old friends. I have even seen girls married off to repay debts owed to the groom's family.

I didn't have any debts, I didn't seek a spot in polite society and I damn sure wasn't interested in sex (not with him in any event). That was why I am here…in the woods…soaked with rain…all alone. Kind of cliché, isn't it? Oh, I almost forgot, I had no idea in which direction I was traveling. All I could do was to press forward.

I trudge on praying that I won't be set upon vagabonds or be caught trespassing and sent home. This is where we meet.

As it turns out, one thing does go right for me—I have managed to get through the night unscathed. I feel exhausted, sore and very hungry. Grass doesn't grow well under the thick canopy of foliage and I'm not willing to jeopardize my escape for just a few steps of grass. If I ate off of someone else's lawn, I would be a thief and a run away. People don't like the disgustingly downtrodden and will pursue even the most trivial of crimes to be rid of them. I can confidently say that I am disgustingly downtrodden. Once, I had shied away from people like myself, but that seemed like so long ago.

Believe it or not, I am not a complete bitch and I did leave a note for my parents. I didn't say that I was sorry, because it I were really sorry, I wouldn't have ever left. I did tell them how I felt, what had happened to make me feel that way, and that I would be back someday.

I had decided before I left that I would not go to my friends for help. Being my friends, they would find some way to get me back home and into the married state. They would have my best interest at heart, but they didn't know all of the facts. They didn't know what Ajaht had in store for me. They would tell me that would be happy to be in my position; happy to be his brood mare. They wouldn't see how I could have a problem with it.

I was smarter than that. Yes, I chose to starve and freeze in the looming darknessof my second totally free nightfall. I was the master of my own destiny at last.