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After we showered and ate, I asked Gerard about seeing Vivica. “Am I allowed to see her yet?”
Gerard nearly choked on his tea.
“I’ve been with you this entire time. How am I supposed to know what’s the deal with her?”
Well that’s true. “Could you check? Like as soon as you can?”
He smiled and patted my arm. “Of course. As soon as we finish our tea, I’ll be out the door.”
I walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “I appreciate it.” And then I thought of something else. “Who is going to stay with me tonight?”
“Ian will. Adam and I are going to check on Vivica. We’ll come back and update you after we figure out what’s going on.”
We finished up our tea and Adam and Gerard left to check on Vivica. I told Ian that I wanted to relax, but I just really needed some detox alone time. Spending time with them was great, but before it has always been just Maya and I. I hadn’t thought about her in a while. I wonder what she’s doing now? Probably hanging out some clothes on the line to dry or baking a cake. She was always so awesome at that homesteading crap. We really had to be. There was no one else around.
We had this unspoken agreement about silent time. Each day after we’d finished the chores around the cabin, we’d retire to different corners of our place and simply sit in silence. She’d work on knitting or cross-stich and I would read. At the time, I thought that everyone did this with their roommates. I had no idea that it was just us. Our rhythm. The thing about living with Maya is that I never had to explain anything to her. She just knew. And although Vivica filled in some of her place, it wasn’t an even exchange.
For some reason, I’d charged ahead with my new life thinking about all of the things I would be gaining. A place in history. A baby. A purpose. But, did this really give me any more of a purpose than I already had? And at what cost? Would I ever be able to return to Maya again? Would I want to? Would she even have me?
These are not things to think about now. You need to think about yourself. Taking care of your body and mind to give these shapeshifters the baby they want. And if Vivica is ready, taking care of her. I grabbed a book and tried to read, but the storyline was dry and my mind kept returning back to Vivica and Maya. Would they like each other? Was it possible that some form of rivalry would exist between them? Is there any way I would ever know?
Maybe the guys would help me send a letter to Maya. Although, I couldn’t be sure she would be home to accept it, the idea made me feel a little less guilty.
I threw my book down on the bed and went into the closet. I selected a stretch maxi dress that hugged my curves. The slits down either side were high enough to be flattering, but not too high to be uncomfortable. I fluffed my hair up a bit and went over to the jewelry box. Perhaps I could try on something subtle. After digging through the box for a few minutes, I found a thin gold chain and large hoops.
After putting them on, I went over towards my magic working area. Inside a glass jar, anise and carob were steeping for a new passion tonic I was working on. If we were going to breed a lot of babies, some of the men would need some performance recovery. In another glass jar, dried mint, figs, and myrrh were mixed with honey. Just in case any of the breeders got yeast infections. I had a crockpot hooked up in the corner melting sugar, lemon juice, salt, and water. The wax that the other women were using was going to rip their skin off. This should help them. Nothing worse than a waxing pain. A few other jars of herbs and supplies were spread throughout the tabletop. Empty jars and spoons sat within their rack. I had everything I ever wanted, but little inspiration. What was missing? Just then I heard the door open and the deep timbre of chatter from Gerard’s voice. I ran to the front door to see what he had to say. When I saw her, it took my breath away.
“Vivica!” I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her. She felt frail and small in my hands, as if she’d lost twenty pounds in four days. Her eyes had large bags under them. Her hair was stringy and greasy. Her pallor was dusty pale. What in the Goddess’s name had they done to her? “Ar
e you hungry?” She shook her head. “Do you want some tea?” She paused as if she didn’t understand me for a moment and then shook her head again. “Okay, well let me take you back to rest.” She stood there for a few moments, then took a timid step forward. “Come on. I’ll put you in a bath and then you can get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” I looked at Gerard. He avoided my eyes and looked at the ground. I would get the scoop from him later. After shuffling Vivica into the bedroom, I went to the bathroom to turn on the hot water. I plugged up the bath and cranked the faucet up as high as it would go. When I returned back to the bedroom, she was stretched out on the bed.
“I’m tired.”
“I know honey, but you’ll feel better after a bath.”
“Okay.” Her face was downturned. She was barely recognizable. Her exhaustion was palpable. I grabbed some herbs and salts from my table and threw them in the bath water. I grated in some lemon grass for good measure. The scent was invigorating. After mixing up black seed oil, fenugreek, sesame seeds, and star anise, I ground them with my mortar and pestle. Scraping a spoonful, I carried it over to her and presented it to her like a toddler.
“Open up.” She dropped her jaw and complied. Was she under a submission spell?
Poor Vivica was out of sorts. I would need to experiment.
“It tastes nice.” She said, her face curved up in something almost resembling a smile.
“You can have more after you get out of your bath.” I walked her over to the bathroom, peeled off her clothes, and guided her into the steaming water. I lit some incense and sage and began to clear the air around her. The guys had said that the other tribe was hard on her. They didn’t mention that she was broken, shell-shocked, and traumatized. Vivica sat in the bath unmoving.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” I went over to my table and grabbed the largest flakes of sea salt I could find and the black seed oil. I also grabbed a medium-sized bowl. With my hands, I mixed equal proportions of both until I had a rough scrub. I sat on the ledge behind her and spoke softly. “I’m going to wash you.” No response. I scraped a big lump of the scrub into my hand and smeared it across her back. After dipping my hands in water, I began exfoliating her skin in short strokes. Using intense pressure, I scrubbed until her skin turned pink. She didn’t say a word. There was definitely something holding her, trapping her responses. After I scrubbed her entire body clean, I used the warm water to rinse her pinkish skin. Dipping her head back, I made sure each strand of her hair was wet. I grabbed shampoo from the ledge and squirted some into my hands. Vigorously scrubbing each inch of her scalp, I flaked off dead skin, oil, some blood, and a bluish substance I couldn’t name. After I rinsed her hair, I slathered on some conditioner and tied her hair up with a hair tie. “Just sit here and relax a bit. I’m going to get you something to drink.”
I went into the kitchen and boiled some water in the kettle. I stirred in some honey, lemon, and crescent claw. I could only hope that this would combat whatever was gripping her at the moment. When I entered into the bathroom, I was surprised to find that Vivica had rinsed herself off and was draining the tub. “I brought you some tea.”
She turned around to me and smiled. “That’s nice.”
Well, I guess that was better than silence. I grabbed a towel from underneath the sink and wrapped it around her. “Stay warm. I’ll go get you some clothes.” I went into the closet and picked out a pajama set. It would be too big on her, but that couldn’t be helped until the morning. I didn’t want her going to her designated apartment just yet. She was in no state to be alone. When I came back into the bathroom she was gone. I pushed through into the bedroom. She was examining my supplies. Her hands were wrapped around the tea mug. Vivica had wrapped the towel around her like a dress. “Here’s some pajamas. And some fresh underwear.” I’d also grabbed some period panties on the way in. I figured anything skimpy or sexy would be inappropriate.
“Thanks.” She unwrapped her towel and dressed quickly. Then she went back to looking at my things. “You know they are afraid.”
“Who is afraid?”
