The Walls of Westernfort by Jane Fletcher

Author:Jane Fletcher [Fletcher, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction, Lesbian, Romance, General, Science Fiction, Historical
ISBN: 9781933110240
Google: 0rPQAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1933110244
Publisher: Bella Distribution
Published: 2005-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Throughout the Homelands, Midwinter’s Day was celebrated by eating and drinking too much and generally causing as much mayhem as one fancied. Or could get away with. The heretics in Westernfort were no different, except that none of them would be going to the Sisters the next day to confess their sins and make a suitable payment as a sign of their contrition.

Natasha finished her work with the animals early and made her way to the tavern. She was becoming familiar with most of the young women her age. Two of the blacksmith’s apprentices were squashed in by the door and greeted her when she arrived. Dani’s friends, Madra and Jenny, hailed her from the far side of the room. The tavern was packed solid. It took five minutes for Natasha to get from the doorway to the bar and another five minutes to get served.

She had just caught the barkeeper’s attention when a voice at her neck said, “If you get me a mug of the same as whatever you’re drinking, I’ll be unbelievably grateful.”

Natasha turned her head to see Dani standing behind her. Dani’s arm was the one currently embedded in her back. She bought two drinks, and they pushed their way out of the worst crush around the bar. Even then, there were so many people that they were pressed together, with scarcely enough room to lift the mugs to their mouths. Since she could not avoid the contact, Natasha decided to enjoy it, and Dani was not making any effort to create space between them either. The noise level in the tavern meant they had to shout into each other’s ears to be heard. The faint touch of Dani’s breath on her cheek was something else Natasha decided to enjoy.

Only once did a faint doubt come into Natasha’s head: when she remembered Lynn’s cryptic comment connecting Dani and cloning. Natasha studied the animated smile on Dani’s face. Dani was watching Madra’s and Jenny’s antics on the other side of the tavern, but then she glanced back quickly. For a moment, their eyes held contact. Then Natasha dropped her head, but her doubts had dissolved. Dani had a soul. She would stake her life on it.

They were finishing their second drink when the music began outside. The sound emptied the tavern so rapidly Natasha nearly fell over. It was as though someone had pulled out the plug. The women from the tavern spilled into the main square—quite literally in some cases, due to the combination of snow and alcohol. The sky was dark—the short winter’s day already ended—and flares lit the scene. Women were appearing from all directions, wrapped in cloaks, coats, and even blankets against the cold.

At one end of the main square, a band with drums and pipes stood in the light of a bonfire, and someone was singing clearly enough to be heard over the chaos. The wild activity that ensued could only be described as dancing in the loosest sense of the word.

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