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“Because…we’re finished?” I venture.
“Oh my wife,” he says, his voice husky. “We’re not nearly done.”
Turns out, troll men reboundwayfaster than humans.
Oaklyn
The first thingI notice when morning arrives is that the rain has finally stopped, the incessant tapping on the roof finally over. Instead, I hear birds chirping.
The second thing I notice is the sexy troll next to me, cradling me close. I snuggle in even more, squishing my face into his side so my voice is muffled when I speak.
“Mmm, good morning.”
He chuckles, a low, gruff noise that I can feel in his chest. “Hello, my wife.”
Wife. I still don’t know what to make of that word. Last night was utterly spectacular, the most magnificent sex of my life. But in the harsh light of morning, reality strikes uncomfortably close.
It should feel weird waking up next to a troll who kidnapped me and forced me to marry him, but weirdly, it doesn’t. It feels natural and, well, pleasant.
And that, in and of itself, is concerning. Because there’s a part of me that’s mad at myself for not being angrier about all this. Like what kind of woman am I that this doesn’t bother me more? He did a bunch of stuff against my will, after all.
And yet.
I don’t know if it’s my interest in cryptids or just Bradoc himself, but I can’t seem to work up a mad about it all. Right now, I feel so cozy and cared for that it kinda feels like fate was driving the bus and I would have ended up here no matter what.
And hell, what do I know? Maybe itisfate.
I do know that in Bradoc’s eyes, he did nothing wrong. This is simply the way of his people. Maybe that’s what eases the sting. If a human man had done this to me, I know I’d feel way differently about it. I’d be hissing and spitting like a wet cat.
Like an anthropologist conducting an extremely in-depth ethnography, I jumped—or got thrown, depending on how you look at it—into this culture headfirst.
I got a taste of how they do things, and I have to admit, it’s kind of interesting. Sexist and annoying, sure, but there’s a primal part of me that sort of likes the whole ‘alpha male protecting his woman’ kind of thing.
“What are you thinking about?” Bradoc asks, breaking into my internal rant.
“Us,” I say.
“What about us?”
“Just…our situation. The way our cultures are so different. And how if you were a human, I’d probably hate you.”
He shifts so that he can look me in the eye. “What do you mean?”
How can I explain this to him in a way that he’ll understand? Everything that has happened between us is natural and normal for him.
“In the human world, the things you did to me are considered a terrible violation. Taking me from the campsite would be considered kidnapping, which is a serious crime. One you’d be locked up for. And forcing me to marry you without ever asking me if that’s what I wanted? Also bad. Same with telling me that I have to stay here in this village with you for the rest of my life. I know for you, it was all totally normal. In fact, you view our marriage as a way to pay me back for a favor, even a way to protect me. But for humans, that wouldn’t be the case.”
To his credit, he seems interested and maybe a little chagrined. “I must admit, I have had concerns that you would feel this way. But you understand in my culture that I have done nothing wrong, yes? This is how we do things.”
I nod. “Yeah, I get it, which is why I’m not more upset. And it helps that I like you a whole hell of a lot. But I do think it’s important for you to know that my culture considers your actions to be very wrong. And that I’ve had to work to understand your ways and not be angry about them. You said you would never confine a wild animal to your home, but you have no problem doing it to your wife. The way trolls treat women isn’t great, Bradoc.”
“Explain.”
“Well, I know I haven’t witnessed a lot of your way of life, but from what I have seen, it sucks to be female. Women are regularly taken from tribe to tribe without anyone asking them what or who they want. They’re handed off to males like livestock. And they have no real role in your society, as far as I can tell. They hang around the house waiting for the men to come home from whatever it is you do when you aren’t raiding. Hunting, I guess? And their only job is to have babies, assuming it’s even possible with your low birth rates. What a boring, depressing lifestyle. Women have a lot to offer, and these troll ladies aren’t given a chance. Worse, they’re conditioned to just accept what’s been done to them.”
“And how is it for human women? Is it very different?” he asks.
Oh, lord. How the hell do I explain that one? That it differs from society to society, that in many places, it’s basically the same for humans as for trolls. But that women have also been fighting the patriarchy since forever and that we have at least made some headway, if not enough?
