The sun was low in the sky, painting the horizon brilliant shades of orange and red when Elissa finally started to stretch and come around. Even before she could open her eyes, she realized that she was no longer in the city; the sound of the crowds and people were gone – replaced with the whisper of wind in the trees and a gentle tinkle as water slowly flowed nearby.

It was still warm – wherever she was – even dressed in the sheer almost-dress that she was wearing, so she hadn’t been sent off to some frozen wasteland to die by random chance. ‘It’s funny how the mind works,´ Elissa chided herself. ‘Here I am – Gods only know where – and I’m too nervous to open up my eyes and actually see where I’m at for myself.’

And, since she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she truly was nervous. Not because she had been whisked off by the priests – Children of Chaos didn’t have a reputation for killing people, after all. Perhaps pranking them or annoying them so bad that they wanted to die, but not actually for killing people. The priest might’ve sent here away somewhere – perhaps even to the other side of the world, for all she knew – but he wouldn’t have sent her somewhere where she’d just instantly freeze to death, drown in the ocean, or burn to a crisp in the center of a volcano. Wherever she was, her mind knew that she was safe for the moment.

Well, safe except for one thing – the thing which keep her from wanting to open her eyes and actually look around – she was being held snuggly up against a man’s warm chest, with massive arms wrapped around her while her hair was being stroked gently out of her face. It – HIM, she reminded herself again – was still with her, and was still holding her.

‘What did that priest mean that I was his now?’ Elissa wondered fitfully, trying not to think about opening her eyes for right now. If she was lucky, maybe he would get tired of holding her and sit her down and wander off somewhere on his own for a few minutes. ‘I’m just not really prepared to face him at the moment,’ she admitted to herself, a little embarrassed.

‘Power, Courage, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Faith, Courtesy, and from these seven come Authority,’ Elissa reminded herself, once again. ‘Father would be disappointed in me,’ she sighed inwardly. ‘I’m certainly not showing any real Courage right now, but to be Honest, I’m scared out of my wits! I’ve never even imagined that a man could be the size this one is; much less that I might end up being told that I was his now.’

‘And what exactly did that priest mean by, “Father says it’s all taken care of and that she’s yours now. Now, go enjoy yourselves, both of you!” That was the crux of her greatest mental trauma, at the moment. ‘The Children of Chaos are always so unpredictable, but they still hold all the authority of the Gods behind them. Did he mean I belonged to this brute for the duration of the festival? He didn’t say “for the next week”, or anything like that. Am I supposed to be his servant for the rest of my days? Am I a slave,” she thought helplessly.

‘“Father says it’s all taken care of and that she’s yours now.”’ Feeling completely lost, tears slowly began to leak from the corner of Elissa’s eyes again and slowly work their way down her perfect cheeks. ‘Father. The father of a priest is their God. The God of Chaos says that I’m his now. He didn’t say for the festival, or for a week. I’m just his now. Father, Mother, forgive me. I think I might be this man’s slave for the rest of my life. I’ve failed you.’

Unable to keep her eyes shut any longer, Elissa slowly reached up and wiped the water from the edges of them. Looking around, the first thing she spied was the giant of a man sitting with his back against a tree about half as wide as he was. ‘My master,’ she told herself inwardly, to try on the feel of the word. More tears worked their way unnoticed from the corner of her eyes to join the others which had already began to soak the neckline of her wisp-thin dress.

Forcing herself to pry her gaze off the giant brute that was holding her, Elissa slowly turned her head left and right to look around. Trees were all around them, with a small opening to a peaceful glade before them. A small stream gently meandered into and out from a peaceful pond, and the evening sun was steadily moving down behind the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of blues and purples now.

‘Have I been sitting here all afternoon,’ Elissa wondered to herself. ‘Has he simply sat and held me and rubbed my hair all that time? It was just after Highsun when the priest raffled me off. It’s now almost Lastsun and won’t be long until Firstmoon. That’s over six candlemarks,’ Elissa reasoned, trying to get her mind to think about anything besides her own personal fate. ‘But, if I wasn’t actually unconscious all afternoon, then that means we’ve been traveled so far that the sun moves here faster than it does at home. We’d be a month’s journey – or longer – from our homes!’

‘And that’s just the hell what I need; something else to worry about!’ Taking a deep breath, Elissa coughed slightly to clear her throat. If the giant brute who was holding her noticed, he never gave any indication as he simply sat rock-like and continued the gentle stroking of her hair with his eyes closed. ‘Is he even awake,’ Elissa wondered briefly. ‘Could he be stroking me and sleeping at the same time? Just who, or what, the hell is he?

‘I don’t know who he is, where I am, how long I’m supposed to “be his”, or even what damn time it actually is! I don’t know a damn thing,’ Elissa chided herself, ‘and I’m never going to know anything unless I work up the Courage to start looking for some damn answers!’ Coughing slightly once again to clear her throat, Elissa started to speak, but then shook her head lightly from side to side.

Sitting up, Elissa gently pushed on the larger man’s hand and brushed it away from her face, easing herself up to stretch and stare out at her surroundings. ‘Damn, he’s big,’ Elissa couldn’t help but think, as she glanced over to realize that even sitting as he was, he was still almost the same height as her standing. She really did feel like a small child when comparing herself against his massive frame.

‘I could probably get some answers out from him,’ Elissa told herself, ‘but I’m not supposed to talk while serving my week. If I don’t speak, nobody can recognize my voice, and they’ll never know for certain if I ever participated in the festival as a prize or not. At least,’ she chided herself, ‘that’s the general theory. But does it even apply in this case? I don’t even know if I’m just his for this week, or his until I die infirm of old age!’

Steeling her resolve, Elissa forced herself to push her worries to the side. “Hi,” she half croaked, turning to look the large man before her in the eyes. ‘He’s got beautiful brown eyes at least,’ she thought silently to herself.

“Hi.” The voice that he answered her with was just as large and loud as the rest of him, disturbing the tranquil quiet of the glade and causing several small birds to fly out of hiding and take to the sky. With still arms resting peacefully in his lap now, he stared back at Elissa, unblinking and with an almost blank look on his face that was impossible to read.

‘Hi? Hi?? Is that it?’ Elissa mind was beginning to race with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. ‘No, “Are you Okay?” No, “I’m Big Ass Brute – call me BAB for short – who are you?” Who the hell replies to a greeting by just saying “Hi”? Are we strangers just passing each other on the street?’

Taking a deep breath, Elissa rubbed her face gently to make certain none of her inner turmoil was beginning to reach the surface. “I’m Elissa,” she offered up graciously, while lifting the hem on the right side of her sheer dress and attempting to curtsey as much as possible with it.

“Nuunnhhh.” The oversized fellow in front of her made some sort of strange grunt, without moving or twitching a muscle. Even the muscles in his face and cheekbones never so much as twitched.

“Nuh? What the hell’s that even supposed to mean,” Elissa asked, irritably. “You could at least tell me your name in return!” Stomping her foot on the forest floor in a fit of annoyance, caused her to twist her ankle and suddenly find herself falling forward in an attempt to crash into the giant man before her.

Moving faster than his massive size would make seem possible, he leaned forward and scooped both arms around her, wrapping her up like a bride being carried across the threshold on her wedding day. Slowly lowering his head to stare back down into her eyes, he muttered a single word, “Stone.”

Blinking several times, Elissa felt her cheeks getting warm and flushed from embarrassment. The outfit she was wearing was so thin she could feel the warmth of his chest as she rested up against it, and feel the hard, firm warmth of his hands as they wrapped around her waist and held her firmly. Once again, she couldn’t help but be grateful for the white dye which covered her skin and prevented her shame from showing to the world.

“Than.. Thank you, Stone.” Squirming a few times, Elissa pushed herself back up and moved several steps away from the large man who’d caught her. “Stupid heels,” she murmured softly to herself, before sitting down and starting to unbuckle the shoes the priests had made her wear for the festival. Six inch heels were a pain in the ass to wear anytime, always forcing someone to almost stay on their tippy toes while wearing them, but out in the forest they were just insane! “Stupid priest,” Elissa muttered to herself as she pulled the second shoe off and then tossed them both out into the middle of the pond in a fit of pique.

‘Power, Courage, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Faith, Courtesy, and from these seven come Authority,’ Elissa reminded herself, once again, as she took several deep breaths to try and get herself fully back under control. Standing, she slowly turned to face the oversized man – Stone, she reminded herself; his name was Stone – and then she tried once again to curtsey as gracefully as the not-clothes she was wearing would allow.

“Forgive me, Stone,” Elissa apologized, honestly. “I’m afraid I’m not at my best this evening. A lot has happened today and I find myself having trouble coming to terms with all that’s occurred – though none of that is any fault of your own.” Smiling as brightly as she could – a brilliant, winning smile that highlighted the beauty of her face, and which had always made any man she used it on squirm and instantly forgive her, no matter her trespass – Elissa offered a heartfelt apology to the massive man still seated in front of her.

“Nuunnhhh.” Stone grunted something once again, though Elissa had no idea if it was affirmative or negative, and then he slowly nodded his head up and down, before going back to rest perfectly still and stare unblinking in her direction.

‘What the hell’s up with this guy?!’ Turning her back so he couldn’t see the corner of her lips twitching, Elissa stared out over the small pond and shook her head slightly. ‘I’ve never met anyone so unresponsive in my entire life,’ she snorted to herself. ‘I’ve never been brushed off so easily either,’ she admitted a little ruefully. ‘I apologized and he didn’t hardly even seem to notice. Just who, or what, the hell is this guy,’ she found herself asking once again.

Without turning to face him again – Elissa didn’t trust herself not to show some unsightly expression if he just grunted one more time – she took a calming breath and then asked, “Do you have any idea where we’re at?”

“Yep,” was the single monosyllable response she got that made her grit her teeth in frustration.

“And where are we exactly,” Elissa forced herself to ask, between clenched teeth.

“Home,” was the only response she got.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Screaming, Elissa finally unleashed all the pent up frustration and bottled up emotion which she’d been trying to keep inside all day long. Turning, she stomped over to Stone and slapped him soundly across his face. He didn’t try to lift a hand to block her, nor did he try to move away in the slightest. “THWAPPPP!” The sound echoed around the little glade, and Elissa’s hand stung and throbbed from the impact itself.

“Come on,” she half screamed, “you’ve got to be able to say more than that! Home? Home?! What the hell does that even mean? There’s no house here! Are you saying this is where we’re going to live from now on, and that we’re going to make a home here? Did this place used to be your home? It sure as hell isn’t my home! What does that even mean!

“GAHHHHHH!!” Screaming once again, Elissa turned and pointed both hands out at the pond and unleashed a wave of fire, causing the water to steam and hiss. After several long moments to unleash her frustration, Elissa finally put her arms down and turned back around. Blinking several times, she had to look up to see Stone’s face from where he was now standing directly in front of her. With one swift move of his right hand, Stone reached out and scooped her up by her waist and draped her across his other hand. “What the hel..” Elissa started, but was suddenly interrupted by a massive smack which thundered into her eyes and made her whole ass erupt in pain.

“Don’t kill the fishies!” Stone’s voice echoed throughout the glade as his massive right hand lifted and thundered down across Elissa’s butt once again. “Fishies didn’t do no bad,” Stone roared, smacking her once again, and once again thunder rang out when his hand echoed off Elissa’s rear. Letting go of her with his left hand, Elissa fell face first, crashing into the soft ground without even attempting to catch herself.

“No hurt fishies,” Stone rumbled much more quietly, as he slowly stomped away and headed towards the pond, leaving Elissa stunned and feeling as if her hips had just been flattened to a pulp.

“I won’t hurt the fishies,” she promised weakly, as wave after wave of nauseating pain rippled up from her battered rear. “If I live through this,” she gasped raggedly, “I’ll never hurt the fishies again, I promise…”