Ruhundy Keep. That’s what the locals called it.
Lovday got off the bus at the end of the line stop and had to trudge her way through the barren wilderness pockmarked with holes and burrows to reach the outer wall.
The castle had always sounded mysterious to her, but seeing it up close and personal made it look so small and ordinary. True, there was very little architecture like it in the Held city… none, really. Yet the Calleigh tribe had built what Loveday would call a staunchly guarded castle complete with turrets, towers, and tunnels. It was as charming as it was prickly. She’d often assumed in the past that the Calleigh were of a similar disposition.
“Who the hell are you?”
Ah, so maybe not so charming…
She’d stopped just outside the outer wall to admire the height of the spires, when a middle-aged man had suddenly appeared.
She blinked, less startled by his harshness and more intrigued by his fox-like eyes and uniquely pointed ears. He glared at her, so Loveday quickly smiled and said;
“Hello, my name is Loveday D’Aboville. I’m here looking for work in exchange for room and board.”
“Oh yeah?” The man narrowed his eyes, “What work?”
She shrugged, smiling. “Anything, really!”
She probably should have given him her resume, but alas, it wasn’t something she’d thought to bring. Ah, well…
Loveday sighed as she blotted her sweaty face off on her apron again. It wasn’t as if she had any right to complain. She’d asked for work and they’d been gracious enough to give it to her. The fact that she was in a low-ceilinged room in the depths of the castle, washing and starching bed sheets and linens in vast buckets, wasn’t the end of the world!
Truth be told, while the work was definitely taking her some getting used to, the thing she was most proud of was the distrustful stares and sneers she’d got in the first few days turning into a kind of passive acceptance.
Loveday had managed to work hard enough and keep out of everyone’s way, and as the only Held amongst the Calleigh, she knew she had to make a good impression. The other women that sometimes came to these rooms to wash clothes began to talk to her after about a week, so at least that was something!
Loveday was always so exhausted when she returned to her humble bedchambers after working long hour shifts. It really was all she could do to pass out on the thin mattress that took up the entirety of a narrow room the size of her closet back home…
Home. Right.
Home meant nothing now, not anymore. Home was work, a meal on the table, and a bed that wasn’t too uncomfortable. Loveday had made a kind of home here, in this place where she was so different, and she woke up every single day and continued to make the best of it.
After all, that’s what her benefactors seemed to be doing, too.
Loveday knew admittedly very little about the Calleigh, but she was doing research, and the knowledge gained from simply being among them was highlighting a few different things. Namely, the fact that they were struggling.
It didn’t take a genius to tell that resources were stretched thin. As a territorial clan, highly male dominated, it made sense that the Calleigh would have a large number of strong young men in their ranks, but the more Loveday went around the castle- making beds, sweeping floors, and tending hearths- the more she noticed the distinct lack of young men. In fact, the majority of the Calleigh that she interacted with were women, or the occasional old man, for it seemed there were a lot of the latter.
From her research, Loveday had discovered that it wasn’t unprecedented for the females to also battle, especially to defend territory or their cubs or mates, but she had also learned that Calleigh had a high birth rate for males, so she was certain something was going on…
Her suspicions were confirmed one night as she was tending to the kitchen. It was one of her favorite jobs because the cleaning was repetitive and often let her humm or sing to herself if she was alone.
Tonight she was joined by two others, an older woman and one about Loveday’s age. Over the weeks that she’d been here, the Calleigh were slowly coming around, and now, Loveday was able to call a few of them something similar to friends. The young ones especially were often quite curious about her, and Loveday appreciated their kindness, so she always made a point to take the time to chat…
“They sure do eat a lot.” Loveday commented, eyeing the large stack of dishes that still had to be washed, though it felt like they’d been at it for hours.
Gayle, the older woman, huffed, rolling her eyes.
“Boys will be boys…”
Loveday supposed that was true, whether they were Held or Calleigh boys.
The Calleigh leader, a King by the name of Veil who she had yet to meet, apparently had a long dinner meeting earlier in the evening with his aides and the elders of the clan. Who knew what they spoke about for five hours, but whatever it was, Loveday felt it had probably not gone well… there were many shattered dishes that they’d had to clean out of the main dining hall.
Glancing over at Selena, the younger girl who was drying the dishes beside her, Loveday lowered her voice slightly and asked-
“That reminds me. Is there a reason why there are so few men in Ruhundy Keep? Maybe I’m missing something, but it feels like the place is a bit empty, right?”
Loveday watched as Selena sighed, her pretty almond-shaped eyes falling closed.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude.” Loveday hastened to say, “It’s your clan’s business, I really shouldn’t poke my nose in it…”
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After a few moments, as soon as Gayle stepped out of the room, Selena turned to Loveday with a cautious beckon of her hand and said in a low voice-
“You’re right. Our numbers are greatly reduced, ever since the war two years ago. You’re super lucky you came to us now instead of back then, gods, it was a huge mess…”
Loveday blinked. She hadn’t heard of the Calleigh having a war two years ago. Perhaps the Held just hadn’t been informed, or someone hadn’t reported it… not everything got reported, sometimes the clans wanted privacy.
“What war?”
Selena’s eyes widened, “Jeez, I’m surprised they did that good of a job covering it up.”
“Who’s they?”
“...the CCI. Calleigh Counter-Intelligence. It was a pretty big deal. Guess they really didn’t want any outsiders to hear about it.”
Loveday nodded. She could understand that. From what she’d witnessed, the Calleigh were an extremely private people, though, that didn’t mean they were rude, she just had that unique experience of perceiving them from outside their culture, so she was quick to make sure her assumptions were genuinely backed up by fact. After all, the last thing she wanted was to bother the Calleigh or get in their way, after how nice they’d been to her, letting her stay and everything, when they really had no reason to accept.
“What was the war about?” Loveday asked, genuinely curious.
Selena shook her head, looking slightly sad.
“Honestly it was less of a war and more of an assassination attempt. A fringe group of Noxier terrorists blew up most of the town outside the wall, that’s why the whole of Ruhundy is now sealed off… anyway, it was nuts. They’d placed several rounds of explosives, so when our warriors came out to help the wounded and prepare a defense, they were all killed on the spot.”
How awful! Loveday felt her stomach churn at the very thought… the Noxier, huh? Why was it a little surprising to hear about a clan as famed for close-quarter violence using weapons like explosives? It was unsettling in the extreme, especially since the only way the Noxier could be getting those weapons was from some source in Held territory. Whether they were stolen weapons or whether the Noxier had been supplied, it was horrible to imagine any reality where they could get their hands on stuff like that.
Loveday frowned, noticing something else Selena had said.
“Assassination attempt? On… your King?”
Selena nodded, then leaned over to whisper;
“Yeah, and it worked too-”
They both jumped when the door slammed.
“What are you two gossiping about?!” Gayle huffed, storming in.
Selena immediately went back to drying the dishes in silence and Loveday just lowered her head awkwardly. Instead of getting punished or told off by the older lady, Gayle just came over to Loveday and sighed deeply, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder for just a moment before letting go.
“You’re doing really well, sweetheart. I’d just hate to see you burdened by what none of us can change. Stay busy, keep your head down. That’s all any of us can really do at this point.”
This was… getting complicated.
Of course Loveday didn’t want to make trouble for herself. She didn’t want to make trouble for anyone! Unfortunately, it seemed that there was a mystery here, right at the heart of the Calleigh, and the longer Loveday spent amongst them, the more trust they bestowed upon her, and the more she came to care for them, the more these secrets poured out into the open, as if they were no longer able to be held at bay.
They are short on resources, man-power, time… Loveday gets a bit of a reputation for being willing to help with literally any work no matter how bizarre it is or how un-qualified she may be.
This is how she not only learns (by trial and a lot of error) how to fix plumbing in an approx. 3,000 year old castle, but how she ends up landing her favorite, and most stressful job yet.
Being closely related to wolves of the days of old, the Calleigh are intensely protective of their pack-mates, but especially their children. Loveday is heartened to see that, though there are few men around, there is a stunning amount of “cubs” and young children. She is clued in on the reason why pretty soon, and her heart all but breaks…
“A lot of their fathers died in the bombing two years ago,” one of the young women who is a main caretaker and teacher of the school-aged children tells Loveday.
“They have families, they always will so long as the Calleigh exist, but it’s hard. I think it’s important to still bring little amounts of joy to their lives, however. No child should be without hope for a better future.”
Loveday couldn’t agree more, and so, she agrees to the woman’s- Caitrin is her name, request that Loveday help teach the children a few songs for a school performance in a few weeks’ time.
Because of the amount of protectiveness the Calleigh have for their cubs, at first, Loveday is a bit concerned. More than a few mothers give her positively vicious looks when she introduces herself, but Loveday puts her best foot forward and after only a few days of working with the children alongside Caitrin, Loveday is positive that coming here was the best decision she ever made.
“Lovie! Lovieee!!”
This is what most of the ones under five call her.
Loveday shakes her head and smiles.
“Once we’re finished with this round, of course I’ll play with you. First, show me what you’ve learned. Ready? Yes, beautiful Marissa-”
Loveday can’t stop the laugh that escapes her, as one of the youngest cubs in this class blows furiously into her brightly-colored kazoo, her cheeks puffing out and turning pink as the little girl stares at her with big brown eyes.
The classroom, like most things in Ruhundy, is sparse, but Loveday can tell that the Calleigh have put absolutely every ounce of their hearts into raising and teaching their children, and it shows in everything, but especially the kids.
As the wavering notes of singing and instrument-playing die down, Loveday and Caitrin are immediately accosted by a handful of cute squirming under-five-year-olds. Loveday also enjoys teaching the older children to sing songs from her youth, but the littler cubs are a perfect example of the Calleigh and their pack-mentality.
Clingy would be an understatement. Loveday practically exists with someone or another hanging off her body at all times. Apparently, unlike Held children, Calleigh infants never realize that they are complete individuals; i.e separate from the mother. While Held babies learn eventually, after needing physical closeness in their formative days to establish a bond after birth, the Calleigh are born with intense bonds to their parents and their pack as a whole, since the scents used in bonding were available while in the womb and never fade from a cub for their whole lives.
So, basically, Calleigh cubs don’t dog-pile because of a subconscious need to reaffirm a bond with a caregiver, but because from their perspective, their parents and their pack are an extension of themselves.
This is another reason why losing a parent, a mate, or a child, is deeply traumatizing and emotionally-devastating for a Calleigh, regardless of age…
Loveday can only imagine suddenly losing an integral piece of yourself like that. She has experience losing loved-ones, even losing parents, but she knows just from watching the way the cubs lay across her lap and curl around each other to sleep, that the way they experience familial ties is vastly different to a Held experience.
Loveday can almost be thankful that she was born the way she was…
Almost.