Prologue: To the East

Prologue:
To the East

 

THE SEA WAS CALM, the water’s surface smooth. The sun was warm and inviting. Glenn Litbeit stood on the deck of a sailing ship, taking in the sweet salt-air smell of his home—the human realm. But inside, he was consumed by anxiety.

Two weeks had passed since they’d departed Lindworm. This trip with his fiancées had been nonstop fun, but as they approached his childhood home—and his parents—he’d begun to feel overwhelmed.

“I see it, Doctor,” Sapphee said.

Tisalia, standing next to her, squinted into the distance.

The farther east you traveled into the human realm, the more islands there were, necessitating both land and sea transit. Glenn and the others had already transferred boats countless times and were now on a transport ship heading toward the capital—the island of Heian.

“I can’t see it,” Tisalia finally admitted.

“It must be hard if you’re not used to it,” Sapphee said. “The island is only faintly visible.” Her expression turned wistful. “I can’t believe it’s already been…what? Ten years since I was last here?”

“At the doctor’s family home…you were a hostage?” Tisalia asked. “I mean, not that I’m judging. Well-to-do centaur families arrange hostage exchanges too.”

“Yes.” Sapphee closed her eyes as she reminisced. “So many memories. It was a cold, snowy day when I met Glenn.”

Glenn remembered that day clearly as well. Since then, he’d run away from home to become a doctor. His parents had essentially disowned him when he left—which had all been part of his brother Souen’s secret scheme to get rid of him.

Now Glenn was grown, and he’d somehow accumulated three fiancées in Lindworm.

First was Saphentite, the lamia pharmacist.

Next was Tisalia, the centaur warrior.

The third was Arahnia, the arachne designer.

He’d wanted to write to his parents about his engagements, but Souen had decided—for his own benefit—that Glenn should tell them in person. He didn’t feel ready at all. Then again, it was Souen’s position and power that had allowed them to reach the human realm in relative safety. Even with all the prejudice against monsters here, Glenn, Sapphee, and the others had been able to travel in comfort and without unnecessary human interaction.

Souen had gone ahead to the capital. The plan was for him to arrive first and prepare their parents for Glenn and his guests. At least, Glenn hoped that was what he was doing. He wanted to believe that his brother would tell his parents peaceably about the trip home and his marriages. But Souen didn’t really do anything peaceably.

He couldn’t shake the anxiety in the pit of his stomach.

“Sea.”

“Wind.”

“Sticky.”

The fairies on Sapphee’s and Tisalia’s shoulders started muttering. It seemed they didn’t care for the briny air. A few of them hid in Sapphee’s hair.

“Are you nervous, Doctor?”

“Well, yeah…”

“But you’re just going home.”

“That’s the problem.” Glenn put his head in his hands. “Never mind. Marriage is important. I need to break the news properly to my parents.” He tried to tamp down his insecurities, not wanting to look pathetic in front of his fiancées.

“Rest assured,” Sapphee said, “I’ll greet them in a way that lets them know I’ll make a good wife.”

“I’ll do my best to show them I’m a good wife too!” Tisalia added. “Don’t worry!”

Sapphee snorted. “Even though you can’t cook or clean?”

Tisalia puffed out her cheeks. “I have Kay and Lorna for that!”

“How does that make you a good wife?!”

“A good wife has good servants!”

“Arg! You are so… Gah!”

Glenn sighed. He knew this sort of banter was just how Sapphee and Tisalia communicated, but the thought of them bickering like this in front of his parents—especially his stern father—twisted his insides.

“Ohhh, it’s been a long time.” Arahnia cut in.

She hugged Glenn from behind. He was still getting used to the sensation of her four-armed embrace.

“What do you mean ‘a long time’?” he asked

“Haven’t I told you?” Arahnia stared across the ocean at the capital. “I’ve traveled the human realm before. As a designer, it was important for me to see human clothes and culture.”

Now that she mentioned it, Arahnia’s designs did have an eastern flair to them. She must have been strongly influenced by the human realm.

“Didn’t you face discrimination in the human realm?” Tisalia asked. “Wasn’t that a problem?”

“Well, to an extent,” Arahnia admitted. “But in the east, monsters are treated sort of like yokai. At the end of the day, you can go about your business without too much trouble.”

“Yokai?”

“That’s right. They have different names for us. Lamia are called ‘wet women,’ and arachne are called ‘weavers.’ It’s true they don’t like us, but you can still walk around town and do what you need to do. You gotta get used to sleeping outside, though.”

“You’re so strong.” Glenn remembered the first time he’d seen Arahnia in the Vivre Mountains. She’d set a trap while camping in order to sketch Illy’s wings. She’d probably learned about human fashion in a similar way.

“It would probably be impossible for you, princess,” Arahnia said.

“You underestimate me!” Tisalia retorted. “Scythia Transportation is a massive company that frequently delivers products to the human realm! We do long-distance freight with caravans, and I just so happen to be very used to making camp on trips!”

“By yourself?”

“O-of course not, but…”

Arahnia flipped her hair back in triumph. Tisalia may have camped with a group before, but Arahnia was far more experienced at striking out on her own.

“Well, it’s not like I came all this way just to study clothing.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a secret.” Arahnia chuckled. “Even from the Doc.”

Sapphee slipped away from the conversation before she started to get jealous. She’d felt for some time now that Arahnia was being overly brusque, or at least avoiding being more intimate with Glenn than was necessary. She was probably doing it as a courtesy to Sapphee.

Glenn was about to ask his parents to bless his union to three different people. But in the human realm, monogamy was the norm. Even if he explained that things were different among monsters, there was no guarantee his parents would just accept that. Moreover, the capital city of Heian had no precedent for marriage between even a single monster and a human, though there were people of mixed descent—especially demons—in both realms, and in the remote regions.

Not that that matters…

Glenn was going to continue living in Lindworm, where interspecies marriages were common. He was hoping he could greet his parents with the customary niceties, tell them about his fiancées, and leave.

Souen and Sioux would probably mediate. Souen wanted to marry a demon woman, so he had his own reasons to ensure things went smoothly. And Sioux was good friends with all three of his fiancées, so she’d certainly have something positive to say.

“Arahnia, make sure you’re on your best behavior at the doctor’s family home,” Sapphee admonished.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m an expert at keeping up appearances.”

“Right, but the problem is—”

Sapphee glanced to the stern of the ship, where a green woman lay naked on the deck, basking in the sunlight with all of her leaves spread out.

“Hmm? What? Did you call me?” Aluloona asked, fanning herself.

For some reason, Aluloona had boarded the ship with the servants. Actually, she’d been attached to Glenn and his future wives ever since living in Lindworm. She wasn’t doing anything in particular…just enjoying the scenery and telling obscene stories.

“Why is she even here?” Arahnia hissed, crossing her four arms.

“I’m just sightseeing!” Aluloona said.

“I thought you ran away because you have too much work to do!” Sapphee retorted.

“Ingrates!” Aluloona huffed. “Don’t mistake me for some idle trophy wife! I’m the benevolent philanthropist of Lindworm’s financial affairs!”

“Would you please not call yourself a philanthropist?” Sapphee said, disgusted.

“I really wish you’d concentrate on your work, so we can have delicious vegetables,” Tisalia piped in.

“I’ve been busy for a while,” Aluloona said. “I thought it would be nice to take a break and see what’s happening in the east. Souen said he’d ensured safe passage, so I figured, why not?”

“My brother?” Glenn asked. “When did you—”

“Oh, didn’t you know? Souen and I have been doing business together for some time now. Sake and honey sell for a pretty penny in these parts.”

Aluloona owned a large plantation, which probably meant she was selling her specialty products to the humans in bulk. Sake and honey both had long shelf lives, making them well suited to trade and transport.

“And he said he’d take care of my family too,” Aluloona added.

“Family?” Glenn tilted his head. Aluloona was a free spirit. She didn’t seem the type to have a family.

Sapphee tapped Glenn on the back with her tail. He leaned his ear in toward her lips.

“She’s talking about her daughters.”

Glenn looked at her quizzically.

“Umm, well… Aluloona is actively propagating, so she conceives very quickly.”

“Er?!” Glenn nearly choked at Sapphee’s frankness.

His mentor, Cthulhy, had done some research into infertility, but it wasn’t Glenn’s area of expertise. Conception through sexual intercourse was the natural process he was most familiar with, and medicine was only so effective at interfering with the natural order of such things. But what about someone as sexually active as Aluloona?

“Thirty are still living with her, though she has many more. I believe they work with her.”

“I saw many alraune on the plantation,” Glenn said, “but I didn’t realize they were her daughters! The other side really does live differently.”

While she looked young and voluptuous—maybe even too voluptuous—Aluloona had lived for a long time, and alraune procreation was utterly unfamiliar to humans.

Hmmm…

Sapphee had always tried to adapt to Glenn.

Tisalia had always tried to understand Glenn.

Arahnia knew a lot about the east.

But they were all different species. Like Aluloona, they’d sometimes discuss things completely foreign to Glenn as if they were common knowledge. And Glenn would be married to these women for the rest of his life. While he’d prepared himself for the difficulties that would bring, he wasn’t sure his parents would see it the same way.

“I guess I just have to try…” he resolved.

He could see a large island beyond the ship’s bow. It was Heian, the capital of the human realm, looming especially large among the smaller islands that surrounded it. This was where Glenn had been born and raised, though he hadn’t been back in years.

“It’s time.”

Glenn nodded.

Each of his future wives displayed different emotions. One was nervous, one was stoic, and one was inscrutable.

Only Aluloona seemed completely unbothered, enjoying the sunlight on the deck.

Please let it go well… Glenn prayed silently.

Whenever he thought about his father’s stern face, his resolution wavered, but he desperately pushed that feeling aside.