Reija woke late and lay there for a few minutes, staring blankly at the ceiling of her quarters. There was no sense in going to the morning meal. It was already halfway over and she didn't feel like facing her father or her friends this morning. Father would deal with it later, in the privacy of his study, hopefully. The last think she needed was the previous night's little incident blown out of proportion by the Hold rumor mill.
"Rei?" Reija recognized Teiyr's voice. Of all her friends, Teiyr would be the last one to start a rumor. Still, she lay there for a moment debating whether or not to get the door before getting up. "Are you sick or something?" Teiyr asked as she walked in. "You don't look too good."
Reija managed a weak smile. "Not sick. I just had a rough night last night. Didn't get to sleep until sometime this morning."
"A rough night with Hallon?" Teiyr scoffed. "I didn't think there was such a thing. Are you two a thing now or what?"
"I didn't spend the night with anyone but my bedsheets," Reija snarled, regretting that she'd answered the door. "Even if I had spent the night in someone else's quarters, or had someone in mine, it certainly wouldn't have been Hallon."
Teiyr gave her friend a questioning look. "You mean... that whole courtyard thing... what am I missing here?"
"A lot. Look, can you keep a secret? I mean, not a whisper to anyone else," Reija replied after a minute, searching Teiyr's tanned face.
Teiyr nodded solemnly. "Of course. I can keep a secret. Unlike Terika. She almost came up here instead of me, but I figured it might be something like this."
Reija told Teiyr everything. From meeting Hallon in the courtyard to being chased behind the hold. She even, after some urging from Teiyr, told about Rajen's rescuing of her.
All the while, Teiyr looked ready to strangle something. Probably Hallon. "That peice of wherry-dung," she hissed, shaking her head. "And here we all thought Hallon was a nice, athletic sort of guy. I've got to tell, Rei! People have got to know! I'll change it so you're not tangled up in this, but I've been waiting for some dirt on Hallon and I think I've found it."
"Not a whisper, remember?" Reija reminded her friend, putting a restraining hand on Teiyr's arm. "Hallon'll hear it eventually and he'll tell everyone who it really was. And that's the last thing I need."
Teiyr nodded, obviously still mad but under control now. "But he can't get away with it Rei, we can't let him! Had he done what he almost did, he'd be in trouble. But he came sharding close to it, and he deserves punishment for that too."
Reija smiled and shrugged. "I don't really care as long as he stays away from me. He won't try it again, he's got enough women throwing themselves at him to keep him satisfied for Turns and Turns."
"Rei, don't you get it?" Teiyr insisted. "This isn't just about what happened to you, it's about what will happen to more girls like us if we don't stop him! I doubt this is the first time he's tried to rape someone - and I'm guessing he's succeeded in a good part of the rest of them."
"Teiyr, if you want to pit yourself against Hallon for the good of womankind, that's just great. Just leave me out of it. All I want is to forget about what happened," Reija replied in the meanest tone she'd ever spoken to Teiyr with.
"I guess I'd feel the same way if it'd been me," Teiyr admitted. "So what're we going to tell everyone else? I'm sure I can convince Hallon to spread around the same story, he's probably to emberassed to tell the truth anyway."
"Tell them whatever you want, I don't much care as long as you don't tell them the truth," Reija shrugged. "And," she added, waggling a finger, "as long as you don't tell them that we slept together."
"I'm sure Hallon'd go for that one," Teiyr chuckled. "But I won't suggest it. Are you ready to leave your quarters yet or what?"
"I think I'll stay here for a while, my Father's bound to be stopping by soon to discuss my punishment, so I might as well be easy to find," Reija replied.
"Your punishment!?" Teiyr exclaimed, looking ready to explode again.
Reija chuckled. "By punishment I mean a lecture. Nothing serious."
Teiyr left, promising to come back and drag her out of bed if she wasn't at the midday meal. No sooner had Teiyr closed the door than Reija's father, Jaren, opened it.
"Rajen told me you had a rather interesting night last night," Jaren began, closing the door, not bothering to ask if now was a good time to talk.
"I guess you could call it that," Reija replied with a shrug. "I don't think it was anything spectactular."
"So you almost get raped every night?" Jaren asked. "I wouldn't call that nothing. It sounds like we've got a serious problem on our hands."
"It's my problem," Reija reminded her father. "Or it would be, if there was a problem. I can take care of it on my own. I don't need you sticking your nose into my business."
"I won't. But almost being raped is my business to. Until you're espoused, you're my daughter, and anything that happens to my daughter is my business," Jaren snapped.
"Look," Reija snapped back, in no mood for a lecture, "it's over. It'll never happen again. Hallon knows he's not going to get anything from me. He'll leave me alone. You should too."
"That would be just fine if I could trust that that would be true," Jaren sighed. "But I can't. So you're leaving to live with your Aunt Terihte and train to become a headwoman. No one messes with a headwoman."
Reija opened her mouth to say something but found she couldn't speak. She just gaped. After a few moments, she shut her mouth. "You're leaving later today. Pack quickly," Jaren said, and left, slamming the door on his way out.
Reija sat on her bed for a few minutes, too stunned to move. After a while, she roused herself and changed into some better clothes and went to find her friends...
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