The Cabbage Girl
Chapter Eleven
Emlin was paralyzed with fear.
She tried to breathe shallowly,
hoping not to give away the fact that she was awake and watching.
As if the pig-man were not horrific enough, she could see another figure creeping past the light of the dying fire. Its face shined in the pale glow, reflecting the red embers on scaly skin, with big round eyes of glimmering black that made her think of the evil man back at the Gurgling Goat – the one the magus had called Schwarzherz. A tongue of some kind slithered from between what could only vaguely be referred to as lips, flickering in the air before retracting.
Reason left her entirely, replaced by fear. At that moment, she imagined that the rest of their companions must have left her and Ishild here to die in the forest, eaten by these nightmare monsters, and she hated them all for abandoning the two of them.
The pig-face loomed closer, snorting and snuffling, as the blanket slipped down past her waist.
Emlin let out a shriek and began to kick, catching the creature in the groin.
A pig-like squeal went up just as Ishild woke as well. A cacophony of alternating screaming and squealing began as both of the girls and the pig-monster all cried out at one another in a flurry of terror and pain.
Something big and heavy slammed into the pig-man, knocking it off of them.
Emlin scrambled to her feet, grabbing Ishild’s hand and dragging the smaller girl behind her, as she plunged into the darkness of the forest.
The Cabbage Girl’s shoulder slammed into something hard. It took her a second to realize that she had hit a wall, forgetting in her fear about the ruins so near to their camp. All she knew, all she cared about, was getting something between her and Ishild and those vile creatures.
In the darkness behind them, she could hear the yells of men and the pig-thing cried out again, a horrible amalgam of squeal and scream.
The two girls stumbled along the edge of the wall, holding hands tightly, following the surface blindly with their spare hands and tripping over pieces of broken masonry and old stones that they could not see. Too far from the wan light of the embers and with no moon in the sky above, they had only the light of the stars to show the way.
Finally a gap or edge appeared in the stonework. Emlin hauled Ishild along behind her, rounding the corner and immediately tugging her companion down into a crouch. They crawled on one hand and two legs until they found a corner where two moss-covered walls met. Then they hugged tightly together and huddled in the shadows.
Something roared in the forest. Emlin could hear someone yelling in response. It sounded like Sir Gomly, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.
The two girls sat there, breathing quick and shallow, trying to stay as quiet as they could despite the urge of their lungs to gasp at air. The sound of their own breaths filled their ears, making it hard to tell whether anything was near.
The Cabbage Girl heard a loud grunt and felt something hit the other side of the wall hard. A wet, squelching noise and the ring of metal on stone followed closely. But she didn’t have time to wonder at it for long.
A dark shape came around the far edge of the wall to their right, with eyes that seemed to gleam in the starlight. It growled as it stalked closer on all fours.
Emlin felt around her for anything with which to defend herself, having completely forgotten the dagger on her belt. Instead, she found a rock, twice the size of her fist. She hefted it in her one free hand and hurled it at the dark figure.
The rock bounced off the thing’s shoulder, resulting in a sound like the angry yowl of a large tomcat, only much louder and deeper. It hissed at her and began to charge.
Both of the girls screamed again, and Emlin was certain that they were about to die.
“YAAAHHHH!” cried a familiar voice that cracked midway through.
Albrecht hit the creature from the side, his sword gripped blade-downward, as he thrust forward with all of his body behind the blow. The creature slammed into the wall as it was impaled, shrieking and hissing, clawing and thrashing around it.
The elder squire yanked his sword up and thrust it down again. And again. And yet again. Over and over, until the creature stopped screaming and struggling and even moving.
The young man bent over the pommel of his blade, still sheathed in the beast-man’s chest, gasping to catch his breath for several agonizing moments before he finally yelled out:
“They’re over here! The girls are over here!”
When the magus found them, he had a torch in hand. He waved it in the air and Emlin could hear the others moving towards them in response.
Now, with the torchlight, she could see their attacker. Shaped mostly like a man, but with arms that were too long, hands ending in claws, and a face shaped like a great cat, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Great gaping sword wounds lay in its side, and chest, and neck, thanks to Albrecht’s timely appearance.
Albrecht finally stood up, pulled his weapon from the monster, and wiped his sword on the foliage, before finally returning it to its scabbard. He offered the girls each a hand, pulling them to their feet.
But when Emlin stood, Albrecht looked strangely at her.
“Where are you wounded?” he asked. “Is it your leg? Did one of these things bite you?”
Emlin looked at him, not comprehending his question. Then she followed his gaze down. Her breeches were stained dark red down one leg. She felt sick and her stomach was tied in knots of pain.
“I don’t…” She did not manage to finish the sentence before the world turned black around her.
* * * * *
When she awoke, she was near the fire, which was now roaring and bright. And, more importantly, warm, because she was freezing.
“What…” she started to say.
“Shhh,” Ishild responded. “You are all right. You just need to rest.” She lowered her voice to a whisper:
“It’s your mensus is all.”
“My what?” Emlin asked, waking up more fully.
“You know, your time.”
“My time for what?” the Cabbage Girl demanded, growing frustrated.
“Don’t you…” the noble-born girl stopped for a moment. “Wait. Is this your menarche?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about!” Emlin yelled at her.
“Emlin, are you all right?” Albrecht was suddenly near, responding to the commotion.
“I don’t know.”
“She’s fine,” Ishild insisted. “It’s just… womanly stuff.” She looked uncomfortably at the elder squire and quickly shooed him away.
Then she sighed.
“It seems that you and I have something we need to talk about,” Ishild began.
It was an uncomfortable conversation that, as far as Emlin was concerned, lasted far, far longer than it should have. Ishild did her best to explain the topic, but Emlin quickly learned that even the young noble girl only really knew the basics.
Those basics were as follows: that Emlin would now have to worry about bleeding once a month for several days; that she would need to make special arrangements to account for this; and that it marked the beginning of “womanhood”.
The last bit was the most terrifying to the Cabbage Girl; far more so than either of the other two aspects. Having passed as a boy for so long, becoming a woman meant only one thing to her: not being able to hide her femininity from those who would victimize her for it.
This terror was compounded with humiliation when she overheard Sir Gomly and the magus talking about the smell of blood having attracted the creatures. She wanted to shrivel up and disappear beneath a rock and never face her companions or anyone else ever again.
As if the pig-man were not horrific enough, she could see another figure creeping past the light of the dying fire. Its face shined in the pale glow, reflecting the red embers on scaly skin, with big round eyes of glimmering black that made her think of the evil man back at the Gurgling Goat – the one the magus had called Schwarzherz. A tongue of some kind slithered from between what could only vaguely be referred to as lips, flickering in the air before retracting.
Reason left her entirely, replaced by fear. At that moment, she imagined that the rest of their companions must have left her and Ishild here to die in the forest, eaten by these nightmare monsters, and she hated them all for abandoning the two of them.
The pig-face loomed closer, snorting and snuffling, as the blanket slipped down past her waist.
Emlin let out a shriek and began to kick, catching the creature in the groin.
A pig-like squeal went up just as Ishild woke as well. A cacophony of alternating screaming and squealing began as both of the girls and the pig-monster all cried out at one another in a flurry of terror and pain.
Something big and heavy slammed into the pig-man, knocking it off of them.
Emlin scrambled to her feet, grabbing Ishild’s hand and dragging the smaller girl behind her, as she plunged into the darkness of the forest.
The Cabbage Girl’s shoulder slammed into something hard. It took her a second to realize that she had hit a wall, forgetting in her fear about the ruins so near to their camp. All she knew, all she cared about, was getting something between her and Ishild and those vile creatures.
In the darkness behind them, she could hear the yells of men and the pig-thing cried out again, a horrible amalgam of squeal and scream.
The two girls stumbled along the edge of the wall, holding hands tightly, following the surface blindly with their spare hands and tripping over pieces of broken masonry and old stones that they could not see. Too far from the wan light of the embers and with no moon in the sky above, they had only the light of the stars to show the way.
Finally a gap or edge appeared in the stonework. Emlin hauled Ishild along behind her, rounding the corner and immediately tugging her companion down into a crouch. They crawled on one hand and two legs until they found a corner where two moss-covered walls met. Then they hugged tightly together and huddled in the shadows.
Something roared in the forest. Emlin could hear someone yelling in response. It sounded like Sir Gomly, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.
The two girls sat there, breathing quick and shallow, trying to stay as quiet as they could despite the urge of their lungs to gasp at air. The sound of their own breaths filled their ears, making it hard to tell whether anything was near.
The Cabbage Girl heard a loud grunt and felt something hit the other side of the wall hard. A wet, squelching noise and the ring of metal on stone followed closely. But she didn’t have time to wonder at it for long.
A dark shape came around the far edge of the wall to their right, with eyes that seemed to gleam in the starlight. It growled as it stalked closer on all fours.
Emlin felt around her for anything with which to defend herself, having completely forgotten the dagger on her belt. Instead, she found a rock, twice the size of her fist. She hefted it in her one free hand and hurled it at the dark figure.
The rock bounced off the thing’s shoulder, resulting in a sound like the angry yowl of a large tomcat, only much louder and deeper. It hissed at her and began to charge.
Both of the girls screamed again, and Emlin was certain that they were about to die.
“YAAAHHHH!” cried a familiar voice that cracked midway through.
Albrecht hit the creature from the side, his sword gripped blade-downward, as he thrust forward with all of his body behind the blow. The creature slammed into the wall as it was impaled, shrieking and hissing, clawing and thrashing around it.
The elder squire yanked his sword up and thrust it down again. And again. And yet again. Over and over, until the creature stopped screaming and struggling and even moving.
The young man bent over the pommel of his blade, still sheathed in the beast-man’s chest, gasping to catch his breath for several agonizing moments before he finally yelled out:
“They’re over here! The girls are over here!”
When the magus found them, he had a torch in hand. He waved it in the air and Emlin could hear the others moving towards them in response.
Now, with the torchlight, she could see their attacker. Shaped mostly like a man, but with arms that were too long, hands ending in claws, and a face shaped like a great cat, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Great gaping sword wounds lay in its side, and chest, and neck, thanks to Albrecht’s timely appearance.
Albrecht finally stood up, pulled his weapon from the monster, and wiped his sword on the foliage, before finally returning it to its scabbard. He offered the girls each a hand, pulling them to their feet.
But when Emlin stood, Albrecht looked strangely at her.
“Where are you wounded?” he asked. “Is it your leg? Did one of these things bite you?”
Emlin looked at him, not comprehending his question. Then she followed his gaze down. Her breeches were stained dark red down one leg. She felt sick and her stomach was tied in knots of pain.
“I don’t…” She did not manage to finish the sentence before the world turned black around her.
* * * * *
When she awoke, she was near the fire, which was now roaring and bright. And, more importantly, warm, because she was freezing.
“What…” she started to say.
“Shhh,” Ishild responded. “You are all right. You just need to rest.” She lowered her voice to a whisper:
“It’s your mensus is all.”
“My what?” Emlin asked, waking up more fully.
“You know, your time.”
“My time for what?” the Cabbage Girl demanded, growing frustrated.
“Don’t you…” the noble-born girl stopped for a moment. “Wait. Is this your menarche?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about!” Emlin yelled at her.
“Emlin, are you all right?” Albrecht was suddenly near, responding to the commotion.
“I don’t know.”
“She’s fine,” Ishild insisted. “It’s just… womanly stuff.” She looked uncomfortably at the elder squire and quickly shooed him away.
Then she sighed.
“It seems that you and I have something we need to talk about,” Ishild began.
It was an uncomfortable conversation that, as far as Emlin was concerned, lasted far, far longer than it should have. Ishild did her best to explain the topic, but Emlin quickly learned that even the young noble girl only really knew the basics.
Those basics were as follows: that Emlin would now have to worry about bleeding once a month for several days; that she would need to make special arrangements to account for this; and that it marked the beginning of “womanhood”.
The last bit was the most terrifying to the Cabbage Girl; far more so than either of the other two aspects. Having passed as a boy for so long, becoming a woman meant only one thing to her: not being able to hide her femininity from those who would victimize her for it.
This terror was compounded with humiliation when she overheard Sir Gomly and the magus talking about the smell of blood having attracted the creatures. She wanted to shrivel up and disappear beneath a rock and never face her companions or anyone else ever again.
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