"From duchess… to keeper of the watchtower. Hmm. What should my proper title be?" Jemina clasped her hands behind her back, rocking slightly on her heels. "Keeper of the Peace? Guardian of the Mystical Village?"
She gasped softly.
"Oh. I like that one."
Jemina nodded to herself, thoroughly pleased, as she surveyed her new post.
The watchtower clung to a great tree as though it had grown there naturally, an elegant spiral of curved wooden platforms hugging the massive trunk, reinforced with thick roots and cleverly bound beams. The wood followed the tree's rise instead of resisting it, smooth yet sturdy, while railings of woven living vines curled tightly together, strong enough to hold, soft enough to blend into the greenery.
Above, broad leaves and overhanging branches formed a natural canopy, filtering the sunlight into shifting patterns of gold and green. It kept the tower hidden from below while bathing it in quiet light. Rope bridges stretched outward to neighboring trees, swaying gently with the wind, and small carved footholds spiraled up the trunk, nearly invisible unless one knew where to look.
From the edge, the forest opened in every direction, layers upon layers of treetops rolling endlessly outward.
Quiet.
Watchful.
Entirely within sight.
She could see their lodge nestled among the trees.
The surrounding terrain.
Raisa really had chosen well.
Jemina rested her chin on her hand.
"…Yes. This is clearly the best place for me."
The truth was, she had caused a little chaos in the lodge.
She had tried to help.
She really had.
But there had been… incidents.
Minor incidents.
Like almost burning the entire kitchen down.
She sighed, then turned toward the direction of the lodge.
"I'm sorry, everyone! I promise to stay put up here!"
A beat.
"Probably."
"HELP!!! HELP!!!"
Jemina straightened instantly.
Her head snapped toward the source.
"Oh!"
She didn't hesitate.
"Ghastlies! Go!"
The rabbits scattered ahead immediately.
"Elder!"
The ground shifted as the elder mudwolf emerged, and Jemina climbed onto its back without ceremony.
"Go, go, go!"
They sped through the forest, branches blurring past them until...
They reached the source.
Jemina blinked.
"…Oh."
A young blonde girl lay unconscious on the ground.
Surrounded.
By her Ghastlies.
"…Okay."
Jemina folded her arms.
"Goddess," she said flatly, "would you like to explain what is going on here?"
"Ahem."
The Goddess answered, but she did not appear physically.
"Is this what you wanted me to do?"
"Technically… yes."
"Explain, please."
"There will be more of them," the goddess said. "Helpless women, trapped by their circumstances, their choices, and their hearts. You will be their refuge. Their safety. I entrust this task to you."
Jemina tilted her head.
"I see. And in return, I get my husband's heart… by taming the monster part of him." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "That sounds suspiciously like dark magic. Are you sure you're a goddess?"
The goddess sighed.
"It will not be as easy as you think. You will need to tame far more powerful monsters before you can even attempt to tame your husband."
"…What if I don't want to do that?"
"Are you still clinging to the belief that he loves you?" the goddess asked. "Do you think he is even sparing the time to look for you? As we speak, he is already—"
"Already what?" Jemina cut in. "Preparing for his next marriage?"
A pause.
"…Why don't you sound upset?" the goddess asked.
Jemina looked down at the unconscious girl.
"Because I'm not," she said quietly. "I've had some realizations lately. You know… the kind you get when you can't sleep and your brain decides to replay things you misunderstood."
A small breath.
"Memories that were never quite real."
"…Distance helped, then."
"I guess."
"We'll see when you meet him again," the goddess said lightly. "And for your information, he is not preparing for a second marriage."
Jemina blinked.
"…What? You lied to me?"
"I did not confirm anything."
"…Oh."
A beat.
"…Right. You didn't."
"Take care of the girl," the goddess continued. "She has suffered enough."
"Okay. Bye now."
"…You're ending this conversation rather quickly."
"This girl has been lying there for a while," Jemina said, already moving. "I'll call you next time."
"…Don't be upset if I don't answer."
"Of course I'll be upset," Jemina replied. "So answer."
Somewhere.
The goddess smiled.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Rosaline was sixteen when she was married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather.
Like many wealthy men, he had wives.
She had simply been the newest.
The youngest.
He died during their wedding reception.
Shot.
The memory of blood and bone splattering across her wedding dress had not yet faded when her parents informed her of her next marriage.
So she ran.
She fled the carriage when the driver stepped away, darting into the woods without direction, only desperation guiding her.
At sixteen, she still carried a softness life had not yet crushed.
Small.
Delicate.
Her pale skin was streaked with dirt and tears. Her blonde hair, once carefully styled, now hung loose and tangled, catching on branches as she ran. Strands clung to her flushed cheeks, framing a face too gentle for the life being forced upon her.
Her blue eyes, wide, trembling, still hopeful, made something twist painfully in the chest of anyone who looked at her.
The kind of girl meant to be protected.
Not sold.
"I'm not going back," she whispered.
Behind her...
voices.
Closer.
She ran faster.
The forest darkened.
She tripped.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
By the third fall, she was sobbing openly, her vision blurred with tears, and she did not see them until it was too late.
She froze.
Teeth.
Sharp.
Too many.
Too large for creatures so small.
Rabbits.
She screamed.
Until everything went black.
The rabbits did not move.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
"She peed herself," Raisa said.
"No, she did not," Jemina replied immediately. "We accidentally dropped her, and she fell into a puddle."
"It smells like pee."
"…We tried very hard not to scare her."
The lamias began removing the girl's soiled dress.
"Wahhh! Please spare me!" Rosaline jolted awake, screaming.
"Quiet down and remove your stinky clothes," Raisa said, her eyes shifting color.
Rosaline burst into tears.
"…You did worse than us," Jemina muttered.
Raisa pressed a hand to her face.
"We just finished fixing the latrine," another lamia explained gently. "She's a bit sensitive right now."
"Oh. Do you want to talk about it, Raisa?"
"No!"
"Okay! Are you sure that it's the girl who smells pee and not you?"
Raisa grabbed Jemina and began shaking her.
Jemina laughed.
"Uhm… where am I?" Rosaline asked weakly.
"Our lodge," Ayine answered. "In the Null Forest."
"The Null Forest?!" Rosaline's voice shot up.
Jemina and Raisa stopped fighting instantly.
"We can help you go home," Ayine added gently.
Rosaline clutched at her chest.
She lowered her head.
Silent.
Then...
"Stay here," Jemina said.
Rosaline looked up.
"…What?"
"We'll protect you."
For a moment, Rosaline simply stared at her.
Then she began to cry again.
But this time, they were tears of relief.