‘Just one other,’ Fae admitted. ‘He deserved it, too.’
I was beginning to become nervous. I liked Fae. She’d rescued me, after all. But the ease with which she killed a man, and admitted to shooting another, was unsettling. Even the way she talked about it was far too calm for my liking.
‘So how did you know him?’ Fae asked.
‘Finn? Oh … I didn’t know him. He was hunting-’
‘Those animals?’ Fae finished my sentence. ‘He was hunting your pets?’
I nodded. She didn’t need to know that Finn had originally been hunting me.
‘It makes me sick,’ she scowled. ‘Men are pigs.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Not all of them,’ I said. ‘Some are okay.’
‘You’ll learn,’ she said, pointing one of the pheasant’s bones in my direction. ‘You can’t trust men. None of them. They’re all scumbags.’
‘Aren’t you a little young to have such a prejudice against men?’ I asked without thinking.
Fae threw the cleaned bone into the fire and stared at me. ‘What does age have to do with it?’
‘Nothing,’ I said quickly.
‘How old are you, then?’ she asked
‘Nineteen,’ I replied.
‘Boyfriend?’
‘Yes, actually.’ I admitted.
‘Uh huh,’ said Fae, plucking a piece of meat from the bird. ‘And where is this boyfriend, then?’
‘I … I don’t know,’ I admitted.
Fae pursed her lips. ‘How convenient.’
‘Hey, Jack is a really great guy,’ I said, slightly annoyed. ‘He’s looking for me right now, I know it.’
‘Let me guess. He gave you that necklace you’re wearing,’ said Fae.
I touched the locket around my throat, turning it between my thumb and forefinger. ‘Yes. So?’
Fae smiled. ‘How many other women has he given the same locket to?’
I was becoming quite miffed. ‘None,’ I said defensively. ‘It belonged to his mother.’
Fae smirked. ‘Sure, that’s what he told you.’
‘And I believe him,’ I said angrily, standing up. ‘Jack is a great guy who has done so much for me. How can you sit there and judge someone you don’t even know?’
Fae held up a hand. ‘You’re right. I guess it’s hard for me to understand why some women tolerate men. Perhaps it is just bad luck.’
‘What about your father?’
Fae’s eyes narrowed. ‘I never met my father. He left before I was born. No good scumbag-’
‘Is that why you hate men so much? Because of your dad?’
Fae shook her head.
‘What is it then?’ I pressed.
She looked into the fire, a glazed look coming over her eyes. ‘I once had a … a friend,’ Fae began, swallowing hard. ‘Something terrible happened to her. A man … he did it - he broke her … ruined her. Afterward, she was an empty shell. She barely spoke … barely moved. And then, one day she got up and left. I haven’t seen her since. So I blamed him for taking away the only good thing in my life.’
‘How long ago was this?’ I asked.
‘Three years ago,’ said Fae. ‘We were thirteen.’
‘This man … is he the other one you-’ I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
‘The one I killed?’ Fae finished my sentence. ‘Yes. And he deserved it for abusing my girlfriend R?ven.’
Chapter Seventeen
Camp
JACK GREENWOOD
The shears passed over Jack’s head with ease, and the last of his hair fell into his lap. He picked up the locks and looked at them sadly. He’d always been rather fond of his hair, and now that it was gone, he felt a chill he’d never experienced before.
Once the ritual was complete, Jack was handed a small mirror to look at himself. Staring at his closely cropped head, he couldn’t help but think that his ears looked even larger now that he had no hair to cover them.
‘It suits you,’ said the woman who had done the honors. She was a pretty lady in her mid-twenties with dark skin.
‘Yeah … right,’ he replied, rather sullen.
‘Don’t worry. It’ll grow back,’ she reassured as a group of guards walked past. They looked over at Jack, pointing and laughing, never mind the fact that they all had shaved heads too.
‘Oi, mate. Look! Reckon those ears will be a big enough target for the rebels?’ one of the men elbowed his comrade. They laughed and sauntered off.
‘Ignore them,’ said the woman, packing her shears away and taking the mirror from Jack. ‘You look fine.’
‘I bet you say that to all the guards,’ said Jack without smiling. He stood up and shook the hair from his clothes. It had fallen down his shirt and was making him itchy.
‘Only the good-looking ones,’ she smiled. The woman had long dark hair that was stuffed messily inside her cap. Everyone wore the same charcoal grey uniform with the Realm’s sigil on the shoulder, with the exception of the Medics, who had a green leaf on their shoulder as well. Jack found the Medic’s logo very ironic considering his surname was Greenwood.
‘I’m Ethel,’ she said. ‘You’re the new Medic, aren’t you?’