Later that night

I wake up a while later with still a lot of pain on the side of my face. Pwyll actually dared to punch me. I am going to have to tell the elders about that. He either doesn’t understand our customs or he has such little disregard for our rules about it. Let alone how little respect he has for our women. Suddenly, I remember that Kaileigh was trying to get away from him.

I quickly get up and call out, “Kaileigh!” But I get no response.

Shit, she must be too far away to hear me. I get up and start running home. Hopefully she is already back in the village, but I still decide to keep my eyes out in case I come across her and needs me to save her.

By the gods, this night was supposed to be a start of a new life. Instead it has become a nightmare. First, I got preyed on by Mearna and … hang on. Mearna’s necklace. I look at the hand where I was holding on to it and it is no longer there. Fuck! I must have dropped it where Pwyll punched me. Noooo, now I lost Mearna’s necklace too. The ancestors are going to punish me for this. I hope it is just bad luck for a year and not making Mearna have twins or triplets or something like that. What if I go back and search for it? No, I need to see if Kaileigh is alright.

I continue on my way to the village and when I get home, I go straight for the barn where the girls first started from. I don’t approach it from the side of the forest, where the girls return. I am pretty sure there are rules against that. I approach it from the other side and then knock on the door 3 times.

“Kaileigh? Are you in there?”

After a few seconds, the door is opened by Rianna. She instantly notices that I am still nude and it causes her to start blushing.

“Oh. H-h-hi … Z-Zayden.” She says.

“Hey, Rianna.” I reply. “Sorry for appearing like this, but could you check if Kaileigh came back already? Like, are her clothes still here?”

“Oh, yeah. Kaileigh is still here.” Rianna says. She then look over her shoulder and says, “It’s Zayden.”

Rianna then steps away from the door and Kaileigh comes out to give me a hug.

“Thank you.” She says with a fragile voice. “Don’t worry, I’ll be alright now. I’ve got Rianna and Raelin here. I’ve told them everything.”

“That’s good.” I reply as I hug her back. “I’m just happy that you are safe.”

After having confirmed that Kaileigh is safe and sound, I can finally go to collect my clothes in peace and after that I return home. I will tell Kaileigh about losing Mearna’s necklace tomorrow. She’s already got enough on her mind.