His drones searched uselessly until he finally thought to look outside the village and caught a glimpse of a faded red cloak taking a path up the mountain. Up his mountain. He immediately abandoned the village and sent the drones after her. As soon as she was out of sight of the buildings below, she straightened, rubbing her back and stretching, before resuming her journey with a brisk pace completely unlike her previous tottering steps. Fascinating.
She climbed for some time on the narrow path before coming to a halt in front of a small, well-kept cottage surrounded by a flourishing garden. A well was located in the front courtyard, and she stopped there to draw a bucket of water. As he watched, she scrubbed her face, then threw back the hood of her cloak and ran damp fingers through her hair, the gray disappearing to be replaced by shining dark waves. He sent a drone closer just as she stretched again and he could see her face once more.
No longer lined with age, her complexion was smooth and radiant. The rather coarse features of the villagers had been refined in her. She had high cheekbones, a straight nose, a pointed little chin, and a lush, red mouth that made him think of things he had not considered since his first coming-of-age. His sex actually stirred, a reaction as unwanted as it was unexpected. But he still couldn’t drag his eyes away from her. He was so wrapped up in his observations that he didn’t realize that she was approaching his drone.
“Hello there, little bird,” she whispered in a low husky voice that seemed to feather softly over his skin. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
By the Horns of Moroz, he should have realized that she would be observant. His drones had assumed the form of native flying creatures, but she was correct. They were rarely seen at this altitude.
“Did you lose your way? Are you hungry?”
While he hesitated, unsure if he should send the drone flying away, she ventured into her garden and retrieved a handful of seeds from a large flower and scattered them in front of the small creature. The drone did not, of course, need to eat, but he felt obligated to respond to her hospitality. He had the drone pick up several of the seeds before he remembered that it would not be judicious to have her approach and examine it closely. Despite his reluctance, he sent it flying into the trees. She laughed, a sultry note that sent a thrill of pleasure through his body, and lifted a hand in farewell. Still sitting on his ship’s bridge, he actually started to raise his own hand in response before he came to his senses.
Skef. What was the matter with him? He could not afford to be distracted by a female, especially not a primitive female, no matter how attractive she might be or how many intriguing questions were hidden behind that beautiful face. In fact, he should stop watching the village entirely and focus only on his own ship. Resolving to stay away from her, he returned to his work.
Chapter Two
“Good morning, Robin,” Jaelle said cheerfully to the small red bird perched on the top of the well. It was not a robin, of course, or even exactly a bird for that matter, but it bore a close enough resemblance that she’d named him after the Earth creature. Although the red birds were not usually seen this high in the mountains, this one had appeared every day since her trip to the marketplace. She had caught glimpses of other red birds flitting through the trees, but this one seemed to be the boldest.
“Do you think it’s going to snow today?” she asked him as she studied the sky.
Dark clouds were rolling across the valley below and the top of the mountain was already shrouded in fog. The scent of snow was in the air and she sighed. While she could get by without them if necessary, she was running low on flour and salt. If she wanted to bake bread before the storm hit, she would need to make another journey to the village today to get additional supplies.
As always, she had mixed feelings about the trip. Even though she appreciated the serenity of her cottage and her quiet life, she did get lonely. The interaction with the villagers, however brief, made her feel less isolated. But while the interaction with her patients was usually polite, if not overly friendly, the rest of the villagers were a different story. She was regarded with the same suspicion and distrust as her mother and her grandmother before her.
But that was never going to change, and with a sigh, she went to apply her makeup. That too was another source of mixed feelings. As her grandmother had pointed out, it made her less threatening and helped her to avoid unwanted attention from the men of the village. But the fact that a string of seemingly ageless old women had been coming down the mountain for generations only added to the suspicion with which she was regarded.
Her grandmother had found it amusing and joked about it when she first taught Jaelle how to disguise herself. The familiar pang washed over her. She still missed the wise, funny older woman. Unfortunately, no matter how skilled her family was in the healing arts, age eventually overtook everyone.
As she left the cottage in the familiar disguise, she blew a kiss at the small stone that marked her grandmother’s passing, snugly settled next to Jaelle’s mother, and her great-grandmother and all the women in her family back to the first ill-fated ancestor to land on this planet.
Since she was too far from the village to be observed, she could walk freely, enjoying the trip down through the evergreen trees that dominated this part of the mountain. But as the trees began to thin and the bare branches of the deciduous trees took over, she slowed her pace and bent over her cane. The posture was as familiar to her now as her real gait.
Robin had accompanied her down the mountain, flitting in and out amongst the trees and making odd little chirping noises. There was something about his call that didn’t sound quite like the other birds, and she sometimes wondered if he’d suffered some sort of accident. But it was nice to have him along as a companion on her trip.
As the village came in sight below her, she stopped to study it. The collection of sturdy wood and stone buildings climbing up from the river looked peaceful and prosperous. The new house that the miller was building was almost complete. Based on the rumors from her last visit, he would be asking for Nyssa’s hand in marriage as soon as it was finished. Since Nyssa was the daughter of the mayor of their small village – a man who regarded himself of high importance – Jaelle wondered if the miller’s suit would be successful. She followed the village courtships with great interest, knowing that no man would ever come courting her.
When the time came to have a child, she would have a quick, discreet encounter with a carefully selected villager. As soon as she knew she was pregnant, she would administer a drink that would make him think the whole thing a dream. Another family tradition that she didn’t intend to change, although she did spare a wistful thought for Lars. After her grandmother died, she had checked the carefully kept records and realized that the big, gentle woodcutter was her father. It might have been nice to have grown up as his daughter…
But the separation was necessary and she shook her head and returned to contemplation of the village. There were other signs of growth as well and she was glad to see them. From the history her family had passed down, it had taken several generations of struggle before the settlers had been able to flourish and expand.
They would be expanding even more rapidly if men like Knut had their way, she thought grimly as she resumed her journey. They didn’t seem to understand the toll childbirth took on a woman in these primitive conditions. But at least Jaelle could use her family’s wisdom to help those women who didn’t want to have a child every year. Although the birth control mixture was her most requested product, she was happy when the villagers would take any of her healing potions. The village did claim a self-professed doctor but his methods were untrained and dangerous.