Hallon was waiting for her just outside the door. "What's the rush?" he asked, grabbing her arm and swinging her towards him.
"I was looking for you," Reija replied, trying not to shrink from the grip he had on her arm. "Would you let go of my arm? I'd like to keep it."
Hallon just grinned and held on tighter. "I'd like your arm and all the rest of you to come back to my quarters with me."
"Sorry, I have other plans," Reija lied. "Now let go of my arm."
"Plans more important than a night with the most eligible unespoused man in the Hold?" Hallon chuckled. "I can't think of anything."
Reija twisted her arm from his grip using an old trick her mother had taught her. "I can. Plus, I don't see the most eligible unespoused man in the Hold anywhere around here, so how could I possibly spend the night with him?"
"You're a fiesty one," Hallon noted with a grin. "Most times all I have to do is say the word and they're in bed with me. It's nice to have a woman put up a fight now and then."
"Maybe that's because all the women you ask are bedhoppers," Reija snapped and started to leave. "Which I'm not. Go ask one of your admirers to spend the night. There're plenty of them."
Hallon took a step closer, blocking Reija's escape. "From what I hear, you're not that innocent yourself. Word is you're no stranger to men's beds."
"Maybe not real mens' beds," Reija replied in her sweetest voice, "but I don't sleep with sorry excuses for men."
"Look Reija," Hallon snarled, grabbing her wrist again, "no one says no to me. The Lady Holder would sleep with me if I asked. Faranth knows she's not faithful to Lord Teruk anyway. So why do you think you can?"
Reija shrugged. "I just did." Before Hallon could say anything else, Reija twisted out of Hallon's grip and walked away. No need to waste anymore time on Hallon.
Halfway across the courtyard, Hallon caught up to her. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded grabbing her arm again.
"That," she looked disgustedly down at his hand, "is getting very annoying."
"You're not leaving until you leave with me to my quarters," Hallon growled. "Now come on!"
Reija regarded him for a moment with cold eyes. "My parents are expecting me home tonight. They'll be worried if I don't come home soon."
"So?"
"I'm warning you Hallon, if you don't let go I'll..."
Hallon chuckled. "You'll what? Slap me? Not likely. You women are all the same. Not a backbone among you."
Unfortunately for Hallon, Reija did have a backbone. And more than enough experience dealing with persistent men. With her free left hand, she slapped him hard across the face. Hallon winced but hung on. "Let go of me!" she demanded.
"I don't feel much like doing that, especially after that nasty slap. It'll be red for a good quarter of an hour, I believe. Just come to my quarters with me and we can talk this whole thing out," Hallon inisisted and began forcefully pulling her back in the direction of the Hold.
Reija slapped him again, harder. This time her fingernails left red marks on Hallon's face. "You little wher," he snarled, letting go of her for a moment to feel his cheek.
Reija used that moment to make her escape. Dignity forgotten, she sprinted away around the back of the hold. She knew a few entrances she could use to get into her quarters without having to go in the front of the Hold.
Part of Hallon's popularity among the holder girls was the fact that he was one of the most in shape people in the hold. He wrestled, he climbed, and worst of all he raced in, and won, most of the gather races. So it was not much of a feat for him to catch up to Reija and catch her. "No one comes back here," he noted happily, "here's just as good as my quarters."
"Try anything and you'll find that you won't attract to many girls anymore," Reija threatened as she tried all the doors, frantic as each one was locked.
"Who's gonna know?" Hallon replied. "C'mon Rei, just you and me. We'll find a nice sheltered part of the forest."
"The same sheltered place I'll dump your body if you don't get away from my sister?" Reija looked up to see her older brother Rajen standing there, silhoutted by the moonlight, his belt knife drawn.
"Get away Rajen!" Hallon snarled, though his face had visibly paled at the appearance of the knife. Rajen was quite well known for his skills in dueling. "Your little sister doesn't need any protection!"
Rajen sheathed his knife and helped Reija up. "It seems that at the least she needs a bit of help right now. It's not very nice to rape someone, you know."
"I wasn't planning on it," Hallon snapped, though it was clear that his plans had been otherwise. Reija shuddered, thinking of what her father would do when he heard of this.
"Good. I'd suggest you get going. Your parents will be missing you," Rajen instrcted him. Reija watched triumphantly as Hallon slunk off. If he'd been a canine, his tail would have been between his legs.
"Rajen?" Rajen looked down to regard his little sister. "Don't tell Father about this. Please. I can handle it myself."
Rajen smiled sadly. "Sorry Rei. I gotta tell him, or else Hallon'll probably try it again. I don't want that. I'm sorry that it had to happen at all."
"You know he'll overreact to it," Reija was almost pleading now. "I don't want him to worry about me. You know how protective he is of me."
Rajen put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "We're all protective of you, in case you hadn't noticed. Father won't blame you. How could he? He'll just get this all straightened out, something neither of us can do without his help."
Reija ducked out of the embrace. "You don't need to be protective of me," she snarled. "You or Father or anyone. I'm eighteen and I'm sharding well old enough to take care of myself!"
"If you're so able to take care of yourself, why'd you almost get raped tonight then?" Rajen asked, catching Reija by the shoulder and spinning her around to face him. "If I hadn't shown up, what would you have done?"
"I would have done something," Reija replied a bit shakily though she tried not to show it. She really didn't know what she would have done. She had a belt knife, of course, but she'd never had to defend herself with it beyond fending off a hungry canine from her meal once.
Rajen pretended to accept this answer and didn't say anything but both brother and sister knew he didn't really believe her. They walked in silence the rest of the way.
When they got into her family's little corner of the main Hold, Reija headed straight for her own quarters. Before she slammed the door behind her, she saw Rajen go into their parent's quarters.
The next morning...
| |
