Bride

My name is Móirne Moalasarlaí ban Callahan, and I was born and raised on a tiny island in the North Sea called Ceo. I am short and small, with coloring that is normal to Ceo but exotic everywhere else. My complexion is fair, my eyes dark green, my hair the pale gray of mist.

On Ceo all women live together apart from the men, who are few. Many women may live their entire lives without seeing a man, and none may leave the island. A few of each generation are permitted to go to the men, so that children may be born. Male children are taken away at birth and given to the men to raise. The men of Ceo are important, every one gifted with keen minds and powerful magic. The women are gifted differently, with beauty and the ability to enhance the magical powers of very special men, but only if we remain untainted. Some very special women of Ceo may be taken away from the island to enhance the power of an exceptional outsider. Such a man must be a true prodigy. A girl who is meant for such a destiny is marked at birth, so that she will not be accidentally tainted. The women who can interact with men will tell them about such a child, so the men can search the world for the man chosen to receive the gifts the girl has to give.

I was such a girl. My mother had seven daughters, and I was the youngest. While she was pregnant with me, she had dreams of sailing across the sea, which frightened her, since she knew she must never step foot on a boat. She had visions of a place made of towers of metal and glass, which also frightened her, because she knew of no possible place such as this. When I was born, a mark was found on the base of my spine that looked like two stars linked, one pale silver, the other darker. I still bear this mark.

My mother told the men about her dreams, and they told her they thought the dreams may be clues about finding the man I was born for. This frightened her, and she always told me I must be brave and strong, for my man would require it from me, that his world would be alien and frightening. I admit, I feared the day my husband was found and I would be Joined with him, and sent away from Ceo to whatever land he lived in.

Let me tell you about my husband, briefly, before I begin my story properly. His name is Dorien Frost Callahan, and he is from a land called America, which is across an ocean more vast than I thought the world could hold. He is six feet tall and his body is strong and muscled because he works out and plays sports. His hair is curly and the color of new copper, he wears it slicked back and held in a tight tail at the base of his neck. His eyes are a deep dark brown that is almost black, they usually look faraway, lost in thought. He has a beautiful face which makes him look younger than he is; his skin is darkened by the sun but naturally fair like mine, and he has freckles scattered across his nose and over most of his body. Because he looks so young, he always dresses in expensive and tailored suits of black, dark blue, or gray made by clothing designers that Americans regard highly.

He is from a wealthy family and has never wanted for anything in his life. His father died in a plane crash when Dorien was still very young. His mother, Daphne Silvia Callahan, was the one to teach Dorien about magic. She and her brother Thomas Morrison O'Reilly raised Dorien to be a proud, intelligent and ambitious man. His Uncle ran the family business until Dorien was out of college and prepared to take charge, and he has run it ever since. The company is called Aevion, and they make medicines for people all over the world.

When the men of Ceo found Dorien, he was reluctant to believe them about me. He consulted his mother and uncle, and researched Ceo in ancient books with only the barest mention of my land. He learned what he could about the magicians in the books, and learned that some of the more powerful ones had a woman like me with them at all times. Then, Dorien agreed to come to Ceo and be Joined with me.

My mother told me the time had come the day he arrived in Ceo, but I was not allowed to see him then, for he stayed with the men, and had to be taught his part in the Joining ritual. My part was simply to endure and to submit. I was frightened, I didn't want to leave my home, my mother and sisters, because I knew I could never come back once I had left Ceo. I was also frightened because I had never seen a man, and I didn't know what it would mean to be Joined and to become a wife. None of the women could tell me about my fate, because one like me had not been born in five generations- all anyone could tell me is that I would need to serve and obey my husband, and that if I served him well he would be pleased and become more powerful.

They could have told me about sex with a man, but it was not permitted. More than any other woman in Ceo I had to be pure of heart, mind, and spirit. Any small corruption could ruin the Joining and make me useless to my husband.

I had to fast in solitude for the full day before the Joining. I hugged my mother, sisters, my aunts and cousins, friends, kissed them all and bade them farewell, for I would never see them again. They wished me well, and we all cried. My mother and the elder women took me to the sacred hot spring, where I stripped and bathed myself thoroughly until my skin was pink and raw. Then they led me to my cell- which was more of a small cave, and shut me inside.

It was dark, completely without light. I shivered in the dark, paralyzed with fear. I could not at that time conjure in my mind what would come next, because I had never seen a man, not even a picture. I understood they were human like us women, but I had no idea of how they were different or why. I remembered my mother's dreams of endless water and towers of glass and metal and tried to imagine what it could mean. I cried myself to sleep.

I woke when tall robed figures opened my cell. One of them picked me up in its arms. I was frightened, but it spoke strange words in a deep voice, and I relaxed immediately. There were six of them. They took me to a round building with only pillars for walls, one at each hour point of the clock, and an altar in the center. They gave me a glass with something clear in it to drink. I thought it was water, but it smelled like apples and tasted deliciously fruity, yet burned my throat. They made me drink the entire glass, then laid me on my stomach on the altar.

I relaxed even more then, and my body seemed distant, like it belonged to some one else. I was aware of them plaiting my hair, rubbing rose-scented oil into my skin, but it was like it was happening to some one else. I noticed their hands, clean and fair but larger than any hands I had ever seen, and I wondered if they were men of Ceo. I couldn't tell, though, because their bodies were covered in the thick gray robes, and their faces were shrouded. I was certain they were not anyone I had met before- but I was too relaxed and sleepy to be afraid anymore. Two of them set to work on my back with needles and inks. They started with my mark, perfecting the shape, then worked the tattoo of the Joining around it and up my spine and into my hairline. I didn't know at the time, of course, but later I was able to see not only my own tattoo, with the help of mirrors, but also my husband's. They are identical, just like our marks: two linked silver stars, one darker than the other. The tattoo sprang up from there as elegant shooting stars that grew into wild rose vines; small stars became silver rosebuds, which bloomed eventually into full silver roses, and at the hairline vanished. Magic was woven into the design, which is how I am able to loan my power to my husband and make him stronger.

After the tattooing they rubbed a cream into my back and turned me over. They left me there, and I quickly fell asleep. I woke later, I don't know how much later, because I was being jostled. I looked around, confused, and saw Dorien for the very first time. He was between my legs, jostling me with his whole body. He was naked, and looking at me but not looking at me. I still felt strange, like I was not really a part of what was happening, but I was frightened because he looked so different from anyone I had ever seen. I tried to ask him to stop, but my words came slurred and hushed. I tried to push myself up on my elbows, but he was shaking me too hard and I was too weak. As quick as it began, he stopped. With a whimper, I fell back into slumber.

I slept for most of a day. I was not awake at all for the boat ride from Ceo to Ireland, and only woke for moments at a time in the car to Dublin. Dorien laid me across the seat in the back. The first time I woke, I just stared at the back of his head. I don't think he even noticed I had awakened. I was afraid of him, but also curious- he didn't look as strange as I had feared, and yet he was courser than I was used to, bigger, and his clothes were so strange. When I drifted to sleep again, which was not long, I dreamed of his face and form, dressed and undressed, and dreamed of black carriages and small caves that made strange humming noises.

The next time I woke, he was looking at me. I stared back and tried to move away from him, only to discover there was not anywhere to go. "Are you awake now?" He asked. His voice was deep and strange, but his tone was gentle.

"Where am I?" I squeaked. I tried not to sound afraid, but I could tell he noticed.

He looked like he was thinking hard how to answer. I sat up slowly, and looked around. I stared out the window at my feet, and the land passing by so quickly. The landscape looked like Ceo, so that, at least, was not a shock. "This is Ireland. We're going to Dublin, which is a city. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I looked around at him and shrank away, as he was looking at me again. "I understand the words you said except, what is 'Ireland' and 'Dublin'?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Ireland is an island, like Ceo but larger, and with many more people. Dublin is the biggest city in Ireland. Is that clearer?"

I nodded, and moved cautiously to the window near my feet and looked out. "What is this strange carriage?"

He was quiet for a time. "It's a car, not a carriage." He paused, then continued, "Didn't they teach you anything about the world? I thought they knew you were going to leave the island."

I shivered and looked at my lap. I was wearing a strange dress made of a light, thin material with impossibly fine weave. It was a pale green with pink roses all over it, and tiny buttons down the chest. I realized it must be something he had brought for me to wear, and was amazed. But I didn't forget his question. I answered softly, "It was forbidden. None of the women of Ceo ever learn of the world outside."

He said nothing after that. I stared out the window until I began to feel sleepy again, then I laid my head against the glass and fell asleep sitting. I didn't wake again until we were in Dublin, where the noise and lights made me weep. He told me to stop crying, and I tried, but was not able to. When the car finally stopped, I could tell he was disgusted with me, and I was ashamed and even more afraid. He got out and pulled me out after him.

There were buildings of stone like I was used to, but others were of metal and glass, which frightened me. I pressed close to him. "Is this where you live?" I whispered.

"No, I live in another country, we'll have to fly there." He put an arm around me and guided me into a building of stone close by. I watched behind us as another man took bags out of the car, then the car pulled away. Other cars were there, too, many cars and many people, both men and women.

Inside, he spoke with a woman behind the desk about 'checking in'. She gave him a key and he took me up the stairs to a large room with a bed, and two smaller rooms adjoining it. I shrugged his arm off and went to explore. One room had a bathtub and a sink and a toilet- though they looked different than those on Ceo, I recognized them for what they were. He followed me, and stood at the door. "The women of Ceo did have running water, I hope?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course. Did the men not?"

"They did, yes, the men were a part of this century." He went back to the big room. I looked into the other small room. It was harder to recognize, but I eventually concluded it was something like a kitchen, though there was no food to prepare, no utensils, and some of the amenities that were there I did not know the use of.

I went back to the big room to explore it, too. There was a small table and two chairs next to a large curtain that took up most of a wall. I peeked behind and saw the wall was made of glass, but looking out and down made me dizzy so I turned away. There was a closet without a door, and other than that, just the large bed, big enough for two.

Dorien began talking, but I could not make out what he was saying. He had a strange accent, and he talked too fast. I was frightened he would be angry at me, but then I realized he was not speaking to me. He seemed to be speaking into a slender, shiny black thing he held to his ear. I sat on the bed, hands folded in my lap, and waited. Eventually he closed the little thing with a snap, and looked at me. "We'll have all your papers ready for the redeye."

I blinked. "Red-eye?"

"Yes, that means we will have to leave before the sun is up." He slipped the shiny thing into an inner pocket of his jacket. I stared at his clothes. He put two fingers under my chin and tilted my face up until I met his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed my mouth. It was not an unfamiliar gesture to me, the women of Ceo kissed all the time. He was not so gentle as a woman, however. There was something demanding in the way he kissed. I tried to relax, tried to kiss him back, though I was trembling. He stopped abruptly. "You've kissed before."

I was not sure if it was a question or a statement. I licked my lips. "I have, yes. We kiss each other in Ceo."

He arched a brow. "You kissed other women?" I nodded, blushing now because I was uncertain if he would be angry. "I don't mean your mother, or sister, or whatever. You kissed other girls?" I nodded again, glanced at him, then looked away. He was quiet a long time. "What else did you do with other girls?"

"Everything, we did everything together." I replied quickly, a little confused.

"I mean, did you touch them, did they touch you?" He asked, putting excessive meaning into the words.

I thought about it a moment, then hesitantly, "I am not sure I understand what you mean."

"I mean, did you touch each other's breasts, between the legs, did you kiss each other anywhere besides the mouth?" He explained. I looked into his dark eyes and nodded slowly. He looked intense, and lustful. I'd seen that look before, but on him it was somewhat frightening. He smiled. "Well, I guess you're not as sheltered as I thought." He kissed me again, wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me against him. I could feel the difference in our bodies keenly then- he was broader, thicker, powerfully muscled, he felt harder than any woman I had ever embraced. Tentatively I kissed him back. He opened his mouth on mine, slipped his tongue between my teeth and probed my mouth. I touched my tongue to his, then he sucked it into his mouth, I shivered, this time not wholly of fear, and slid my hands across his back. I felt the muscles of his back, different but familiar. He pulled back from me, pulled off his fine jacket and tossed it on the floor, then unbuttoned his shirt and slid out of it, tossed it down as well.

I stared at his bare torso. As I said, he was sun-tanned, with freckles splashed all over. He had a slight patch of coppery hair in the center of his chest, and in a line from his navel, which disappeared into his pants. I noticed an ominous bulge in his lap, but did not focus there right away. I looked over his thick arms, saw his forearms also had coppery hair on them, and that he had hair at his armpits, too. The hair repulsed and intrigued me. I looked back into his eyes. He moved close to me again, attacked my mouth with his particularly demanding kiss. I embraced him again, caressed the smooth and thankfully hairless skin of his back. He pushed me backwards with the bulk of his body until I lay prone, with him above me. He kissed my chin, then kissed my neck, the hollow of my throat. I shivered and stroked his soft curly hair in the tail; he moved his hand up my side, ticklishly light, then cupped my breast. His big hand nearly covered the entire mound of my breast. He squeezed not quite gently enough, massaging my breast, then pinched my nipple between his fingers and rolled it between them. I gasped and arched my back; it felt good, even if slightly painful. He sat up and began unbuttoning my dress. I stared at him. When he had it unbuttoned, he stood and pulled me up, stripped the dress off of me in one motion and tossed it aside. I blushed and shivered, feeling overly exposed. He pulled me close, leant down and kissed me fiercely. I slipped my arms around his shoulders, this time boldly pulling his hair free of the tail. He slid his hands down my sides, over my hips; he grabbed my butt and ground his hips against me. I felt something distinctly strange then, the bulge in his pants- something alien and hard. I shivered with fear and anticipation. He reached between my legs and fingered my feminine slit, stroked me, then slid a finger inside me. I was wet and swollen with desire already, for it doesn't take much. The Joining ensures my body is quick to react to my husband's need.

I moaned and clung to him, pressed my body against his probing hand. "Get into bed." he told me. I nodded, climbed into the middle of the bed and lay down, watching him.

He unbuckled his belt, unfastened his pants, and stripped out of them, underpants, shoes and socks in one go. I glimpsed his penis and stared, wide eyed. "What is that?" I asked, fearfully.

He climbed into the bed, on hands and knees above me. I stared at his strange anatomy, at the erect snake-like thing between his legs, surrounded by copper hair, at the sack of hairy flesh below. He grabbed my jaw and wrenched my face up. I swallowed hard. He looked lustful, but also annoyed. "That's what makes me a man. Don't stare that way."

I closed my eyes as he lay on top of me, moved his legs between mine. I felt him rub that strange thing against me, then he seized my hips and pushed it inside me. I cried out in surprise, but as he moved inside me, my cry turned to a moan of pleasure. He began thrusting fiercely. I grabbed him, pulled my legs around his waist. He thrust harder, forcing cries of pleasure out of me. I dug my nails into his back and bit his shoulder. He laughed at me. It occurred to me that this must have been what he was doing when he had jostled me before, though it had not felt like much of anything then, and now it was pleasure as I had never known. I trembled all over and called his name, again and again as I climaxed. He sat up and held my hips, pounding into me hard and fast until he groaned, and I felt his penis jerking inside me, filling me with his hot seed. Then he fell beside me, panting. I laid there, limp, sated, and amazed. I felt I could never fear him after that. I was wrong, of course, but for the moment, I simply loved him- or rather, I loved the pleasure he had given me.

After I caught my breath, I turned to him and stared. He was beautiful to me then. I reached over to him shyly, stroked his hair, caressed his cheek. He turned to me and pulled me into an embrace, kissed me more gently than he had before. I cuddled next to him, buried my face against his neck. He was slick with sweat and smelled musky, a delicious scent I'd never experienced before. We were both silent a long time.

"Can you read and write?" He asked at last.