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Piper gave her a knowing nod of encouragement and through a defeated sigh, Hannah began to slowly remove her clothes; modesty between islanders was never an issue. The naked body in all its forms was revered and admired, never shamed or criticized.
With shaky hands, Hannah picked up the pants and slid her legs into them. The fabric stretched around her muscular thighs as it encased her legs and seemed unbreathable and itchy, and she did several knee bends to test its flexibility. She grunted her disproval. Next, she began to shrug into the cotton shirt.
“Wait.” Piper held out a lacey bra. “I think this goes on first.”
Hannah took the bra through pinched fingers and kept it arms-length as though it was a rotting carcass. “What’s this for?”
“You wrap it around your breasts.”
“Why?”
“I’m not quite sure, but it’s a clothing custom for women.”
Hannah glanced at her chest. Her breasts were small and unassuming. Why in the world would she have to bind them? She crunched her nose as she brought the bra toward her for closer inspection. “I don’t want to wear this.”
“You won’t have it on for long. I expect to see you back here very soon.”
“I still don’t want to wear this.”
Piper took the bra and guided the straps up Hannah’s arms, the cups around her breasts and hooked the back. “Well, like it or not, it’s what they wear.”
“It’s itchy,” Hannah said as she wiggled her upper body and scratched at her breasts.
“Well, hopefully you’ll get used to it. Now then…” She handed Hannah the shirt. “Try this on over it.”
“Fine.” She huffed as she shrugged into the long-sleeve shirt. Her shoulders drooped under its imaginary heavy weight, and her hands were cold and clammy as she buttoned it up. The fit was a bit snug, but it accentuated her body beautifully. “It doesn’t fit well,” she said as she turned to Piper.
“That’s because you buttoned it wrong.” Piper approached, unbuttoned the shirt, then started from the bottom and worked her way up. “There,” she said as she reached over and cuffed each sleeve. “Now then.” She glanced at Hannah as she gently unclasped one of her two arm guards. “You will have to leave these here.”
“No…please,” Hannah pleaded as she placed a hand over Piper’s. “I’ll be lost without them. Look.” She unrolled the sleeve. “I can hide them.”
“Sweetie.” Piper gazed at her with sympathetic eyes. “Oriana gave me strict orders that your bracers must be removed. You need to blend in, Hannah. With solid gold cuffs on your forearms, you’ll attract the wrong kind of attention.”
“But without them, how am I going to get around? I’ll be grounded.” All cupids had the same teleporting spell that Piper had learned woven into the silver inlay on their bracers. All Hannah had to do to activate the charm was place her first two fingers on each stripe, and the freedom to come and go off the island was hers.
“I’ll get you there and back, no worries.”
They stood for a moment, eyes locked in a standoff, until finally, Hannah lowered her head and nodded her defeat. She shed tears as Piper gently removed the guards from her forearmsand tossed them onto the bed. Hannah rubbed the exposed skin that made her feel self-conscious of her body for the first time.
Hannah hugged herself as she slumped on her mattress. “How is it that I can split a pea in half over a hundred yards out, and I missed a person standing still in a parking lot?” And again, she felt the sting of betrayal from the wind. None of this was making any sense. The logic in her world was unraveling faster than she could adjust, and the pit in her stomach was rapidly becoming an endless well.
Piper sat next to her. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t let it haunt you. Just keep your mind on what you need to do, and don’t get distracted.”
Hannah snorted. When she was a child, she would try Oriana’s patience because according to her teacher, she lacked focus. “You are too easily distracted, Hannah.” Oriana would tell her. “If you are ever going to be a cupid, you must learn to master your focus.” But repeating the daily drills and disciplines that Oriana put them through was boring:
It was the same routine every morning.After a hearty breakfast with her fellow students and a morning of vigorous calisthenics, Oriana called them into the arena and had them practice their archery skills over and over. “Again,” Oriana would bark after they shot the cluster of arrows in their quiver. “Again,” she would repeat as she walked behind them, correcting inaccurate forms and sloppy postures. She would preach about focus and talk about being one with the bow. But by the time lunch came, Hannah became fidgety and more times than not, forwent a meal and used that time to run through the forest, swim in the lake, or dance with the butterflies in open fields. On a few occasions, she let her distractions get the better of her as time evaded her. Upon her return to the academy, she wouldtry to sneak in unnoticed, which was virtually impossible to do under Oriana’s uncanny, hawk-like vision.
One particular afternoon, she’d fallen asleep watching the clouds entertain her with their artistic impression of animal formations. “Shit,” she’d murmured as she sprinted back to the academy and peered through an opening in the side arena door. When she saw Oriana turn her back, she hustled to her spot in line and quickly shrugged on her quiver.
“Hannah,” Oriana called in front of everyone. “I will not have any student of mine make such a mockery of the ancient rules of discipline. I have had enough of your truancy. It is time you left this academy.” The words stung as they slapped Hannah across the face. She had never meant to make a mockery of the ancient art of discipline. She was just someone who easily got bored and distracted by the many wonders of the island.
“Master Teacher Oriana, I beg of you. It won’t happen again. I just fell asleep in the field.”
“There’s always an excuse.” Oriana approached her and squared off. “Fell asleep, lost track of time, couldn’t find my way out of the forest. It’s always something, isn’t it, Hannah? Well, let me make life easier for you. You are now free to run in the fields all day long or spend as much time as your heart desires in the forest because as of right now, you are no longer a student at this academy.” She leaned in. “Go…now!”
Hannah’s body swayed from the punch inflicted by those words, and she had to take a step back to maintain her balance. Disbelief swirled in her head as the room blurred, and her senses became hyper focused on Oriana’s unflinching stern expression. A queasiness churned in her stomach, and the bitter taste of bile coated her mouth as she stood waiting for a sign from her master teacher that signaled she was teasing. Surely, she must be joking, right?
“You, uh…” Her voice cracked and caught in her throat. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”
