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The shock woke her without warning. Suz woke up immediately. Looking around, Suz saw that both her sisters-wife were awaken as well. As usual, the enchantments did their jobs. Smiling with her sisters, Suz got up and put on her clothes.
As with all women on Teachct, Suz slept naked. She first put on her long pants. Thick with fur, it help keep out the cold of the mountains. Then Suz put on her fur shoes, and then her coat. The thick coat reached just above her knees. Suz pull the hood on the coat over her head and covered her mouth with a white veil. It was the only color on her outfit as the rest of it was black. Once everything was done, the 3 women help checked each other. When in public, only the eyes of a woman were allowed to be seem, all else of the body must be covered. The women do not wish to be punished over such a mistake.
The 3 women then head out of the stable. The moon was setting as they took the route to the mountains. Setting a brisk pace, they quickly reach the breeding ground. The cold mountain air causes the local rootflower plants to be underground most of the day. However, as the sun rises, the rootflower would come up aboveground to take in the sunlight. However, you can only find the rare plant high in the mountains. It was one of the reasons why the rootflower sell for such a good price at the market. Kneeling side by side, the 3 women crawled on their hands and knees over the ground. Looking at the ground the whole time for the tiny plants, the 3 women slowly crawled forward, slowly covering the ground.
The sun rose into the sky but the women knew better than to stop their work. Suz put every rootflower she found in the pocket of her coat. Then she heard the footsteps. She wondered which of the boys it was this time. “Stop!” The 3 women stopped their work. “Father ordered all of you back to the house.” The 3 women turned to the voice and bowed their heads to the ground. A few moments later, the order came. “Move”
The 3 women stood and walked back down to the house. Suz was careful to keep her gaze on the ground, but she took a quick glance at the boy. It was Riven, the oldest son of their master.
They reached the house quickly. No one wish to test the patience of their master. The 3 women kneeled in front of the house and waited. The smell of breakfast came through the door and Riven walked in to have his breakfast. Suz felt her stomach growled at the smell. She waited patiently for her master, too well trained to do otherwise.
Soon, her master came out of the house. Suz took a quick at him. A tall human with a hawk-like face, Orven’s hair was tied in a ponytail as was the custom for men on this continent. Dressed in a brown fur coat and pants, his sword was hanging from his sword belt. He looked every bit like the master swordsman he was. Suz quickly lower her head to the ground.
She heard the plate being put in front of her. “Show me,” the master said. Keeping her head to ground, Suz reached into her pockets and put the rootflower onto the plates, like an offering to her god. Soon she heard the plate being taken into the house. Suz and her sisters kept their positions.
Her master came out again. Again, Suz heard a plate put in front of her. “I am pleased with your work today.” Suz felt pride at her master’s praise, and crush it immediately in her heart. A woman must not take pride in her service to her master; she is only doing her duty. “Eat,” her master ordered.
Suz lowered her veil and ate from the plate. Suz never asked what the food was made of, cooking was a task for men only on Teachct, all she knows is that the mixture in front of her tasted horrible. Still, it was made by her master so Suz happily ate it all up. As was proper for a woman, Suz ate without using her hands. She heard the sound a moment before she felt the pain. Behind her, her master’s son would hit her behind with the paddle till she finished her meal. Finishing with the meal quickly, Suz immediately put her veil back on. The beating stopped immediately. Suz glanced back, as much as she could with her head to the ground, and saw the small feet behind her. Suz knew that the small feet belonged to her master’s youngest son, Tord. Too young to be given a proper male name, he was still using his baby name. Suz felt pride that the boy which came out of her was growing into a man. Again, she crushed all feelings of pride within her. It just wasn’t proper.
All 3 women had finished eating and waited for the master’s orders. “Foz, get to the cart. The rest of you to the farm.”
Foz was the biggest of the 3 women, so she was always the cart-puller. Suz could hear her sister running to the stable to get the cart ready. “Move” At her master’s command, the reminding 2 women crawled toward the farm. As they crawled pass the door of the house, Suz felt a tinge of envy in her heart. A warm house, a nice bed, good food to eat, the lives of men were truly wonderful. Shame immediately replaced envy. Women must suffer and men must rule. It was proper. Suz immediately understand why people say that the hearts of women are evil. They say it because it was true. As she was crawling, she told herself to beg for a beating later from her master. Her shame demands nothing less.
The 3 wives of Orven had given their master 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. Both girls were already on the farm. Dressed all in black except for the white veil, they had been working on the farm as they were too young to go up the mountains. Like all women, they lived only to serve their men. They would never enter a house, never have a decent meal and their lives will be filled with pain and punishment. Suz hoped they knew this was only proper.
Suz and her sister only stood up when they reached the girls. Both of them were sitting by the side of the family’s small farm patch. The plants had been watered and there wasn’t much to do really. Suz and her sister sat beside the girls and did what all women do in this situation. They talked and gossiped.
After a short while, they heard a sound from the house. The master was leaving. The master was sitting in the cart with a whip in his hand. Foz was pulling the cart at a steady pace towards town. As the cart passed the farm, all the women kneeled and bowed their head to the ground. They only lifted their head when the sound disappeared down the road.
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