Unwanted Beauty: Chapter Eight: In Which Mistakes Are Realized

She lay on the floor of the inner Temple, exhausted in body and soul. She wouldn't be all of those women. She wouldn't make their mistakes, she didn't want to. All she wanted was to live out the reminder of her life calmly and simply, or she wanted to be with Thom, but that wasn't going to happen was it? She had been sending him letters every few days, hoping that his anger with her would fade, and he would at least write her a letter telling her that he didn't want her. She believed that he owed her that courtesy. But perhaps the betrayal ran too deep, too cold, too violently through him still. So the letters had stopped, and she had gone on with her life as an apprentice to the Priestesses of the Mother.

The door flew open and Helené rolled over so she could look at the intruder. It was one of the youngest apprentices, and she looked terrified. "What is it?" Helené asked, biting the inside of her cheek as she struggled to sit up.

"He's here." The girl whispered, terror pulsing off of her thin body. A chill ran up Helené's spine.

"Who's here?" She asked, this time exhaling violently as her body struggled to stand.

"Your husband." Helené's fears were confirmed. Did you really expect him to stay away? Honestly Helené? Shit! Now I'm calling myself Helené Her mind was busy arguing with itself when she noticed that her weak body had hit the floor at the mention of her ever so loving spouse. The apprentice had come to help her stand and Helené smiled her thanks. "The aged priestesses want to speak to you about this." Again Helené nodded.

The aged priestesses were the wisest, not necessarily the oldest, for some young women now sat on the council. They sat around a round table, causing Helené to smile at the reminder of her favorite story. The apprentice deposited her in a chair and then fled the room, probably to go hide in a vase.

"Helené, our temple has been laid siege to." The oldest spoke and Helené closed her eyes. This can't be happening, tell me this isn't happening…Her mind pleaded.

"I will not be that woman!" She screamed. "I will not! I REFUSE to start a war. I refuse to betray the man I love I REFUSE TO BE HELENE! I cannot, I cannot do it. I will not do it. I will not be a self centered whore. I will not lie, I will not be promiscuous. I DO NOT WANT to be THAT Woman. Please don't make me! I CANNOT DO THAT!" She was screaming, ranting and raving. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were swelling. She looked like the madwoman she felt like.

---:---

"Remind me to never ever do this again." Neal said angrily. The pair of them had been traipsing through warm, mucky, smelly goop for three days in an attempt to find Thom. Kel gave him an exasperated look and swore. Neal laughed. "I think we ought to go back to Yaman Lady Knight. You have spent far too much time around the uncivilized Tortallans. You need to be reminded of propriety dear." He said in a very superior manner. Behind him his wife growled deep in her throat. Making her man would distract them both from this misery that was heat.

"Don't you dare tell me what I need to be reminded of. Especiallypropriety. I have never done a proper thing in my life. Why should I start now." She ranted, her voice traveling through the woods, could you call them woods?

"My dear, obviously you're not listening. You need to pay attention to-"

"Why?" She asked, getting into stride. "Because you're male? Because you have a piece of flesh dangling between your legs and I don't? Because since time began your sex has ruled the world? Because it's tradition?" as she ranted Neal reflected on how much his dear wife had changed. Months spent raiding and destroying whore houses had given her a great bitterness towards the exploitation of women. Six months spent in the Scanran court had made her angry as hell towards tradition. The only reasoning these men gave for their actions was that it was tradition. He had been surprised when she had agreed to marry him. And once again he was glad that he hadn't married Yuki. It had taken years for him to realize that he had done nothing wrong, she had done nothing wrong. The war had ended, they had all gone home, and even his excitement at seeing her again wasn't enough to mask the fact that he felt no different around her than he did Alanna or Daine. She was just another woman, nothing special. Keladry however made his blood pump, made his heart twitch, made other things twitch. She had returned home a brazen, angry woman. She had ranted and raved, cursed, beat the hell out of men who challenged her for the things she said; she had become his angry wife. And he loved her for it.

And that was when they came upon a camp in the middle of what people called the Rainforest. Hah, Rainfirest, riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Try Mudforest, HellForest, Disgustinglywarmforest. Rainforest, HAH!

"Neal?" Thom asked, surprised as ever. People did not just randomly appear in this place. "And Keladry?" he asked, where had they come from?

"Get up off of your ass. We're taking you home now. MOVE!" Kel screamed and the two black boys jumped to their feet.

"I can't go home, I've got to finish my research." He protested. I can't go home, I can't watch her be the wife of another man.

"Research, is that the newfangled term for running away from the woman you love?" Kel asked sarcastically as she began picking things up off of the soggy earth.

"Now wait just a minute! She got married to another man!" He yelled. "She left me! Now I'm leaving her in peace!"

"Hah, you left her with an abusive husband. She didn't want to marry that scum."

"Then why did she? Women can't be forced into an unwanted marriage anymore!" He cried.

"They can if they don't know that they don't have to." Neal said quietly. "Who would have told her?" He asked just as quietly.

"I…shit."

A/N: ummm….please don't shoot me….