Caryn Alessia was the fourth-born of Darin Alessia, King of Perchhold and its people, the Pariches. She had three elder brothers: Aric, the tempestuous eldest, Etan, the second and his brother's bootlicker, and Nathan, the third and only brother Caryn had ever been close to.
It was these three brothers that made Caryn so nervous on the eve of her eighteenth name day. The day marked the time for her passage into adulthood. From that day forward, she was available to be courted, and her father could arrange her marriage to whichever of her suitors he preferred. These were not the things that kept Caryn awake, however, tossing restlessly beneath her sheets.
By Parichan custom, although Caryn was capable of becoming an adult once dawn broke on her name day, she would not be truly considered a woman until she was made so — by her brothers. From her eighteenth birthday to her wedding night, a young Parichan woman belonged to her male siblings, who were responsible for teaching her the ways of pleasing a man, making her a good and dutiful wife.
For most Parichan girls, that meant sharing a talk over dinner with her brother, and a gentle, fumbling evening in his bed to break her hymen. The ties of brotherly love generally demanded no more, and the woman went on to her husband while the brother returned to his daily life, and his own lover or wife.
But Caryn had three brothers, all known for their experience, their appetite, and their occasional brutality with women. As Caryn had edged closer to this fateful day, her fear had grown, just as her legs grew long and slender and her breasts ripened and grew round and heavy on her chest.
She had pictured it on occasion: what it would be like for a man to lie atop her, his manhood pressed against her abdomen, her lower lips, her inner walls. She had closed her eyes and touched herself as she imagined a lover might, but in the end it was only her own fingers, and the fear of the unknown pain or pleasure that awaited her at eighteen did not subside.
It seemed like she had only just lain down that night, the eve of the fateful day, when the first grey glow of approaching morning began to appear. Her last night of childhood innocence had fled.
She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling when a servant entered her chambers to bring the coals back to life in her grate. Wrapped completely in her own dread, Caryn had not even felt the chill descend on her through the night. She expected the woman to leave when the task was complete, but instead she laid a gentle hand on Caryn's shoulder.
"Prince Aric told me to have you bathed and dressed as soon as you woke, my lady."
Caryn sighed, letting her tired eyes close for a moment. "Yes, alright."
"I'll have a bath drawn for you right away, my lady."
The bath was restoratively warm and aromatic, more restful than her night in bed had been. She would have liked to linger, but her pair of maids were wary of Aric's wrath, and scrubbed her hastily.
They were just handing her out of the bath and preparing to dry her when the door to her bedroom swung open. All three of them tensed, but Caryn relaxed again once she saw that it was not Aric, but Nathan, her favorite brother. He was only two years older than her, and she loved him dearly. "Nate!" she said, reaching out for the towel her maid held. The woman pulled it just out of her reach.
"My lady, forgive me," the girl murmured. "But — since — you oughtn't cover yourself without His Highness' permission, not today of all days."
All the dread she had felt the night before came flooding back to Caryn, and she felt her cheeks and neck grow red and hot. She crossed her limbs, trying to hide herself.
"What?" Nathan asked as he walked in. He noticed the awkwardness of Caryn's stance and understood what had been said. "Oh, gods, woman, give her the towel!" His voice was rough with irritation, but a blush grew up in his cheeks as well. "Leave us," he told the maids when they had complied.
Caryn wrapped herself in the towel hastily without meeting her brother's eyes. She had never feared him before, but she imagined something predatory in him now, and the cold unease was like ice in her belly.
"It's early, brother. Are you racing Aric to be the first at me?"
Nate bent until his face was beneath hers, looking up into her eyes. He smiled. "It's your birthday, Cari. I brought you a surprise."
She looked up at him, squinting. "A present?"
Nate rolled his eyes. "No, a rabid baboon. Yes, a present."
He took her hand in his large, warm one and led her back to her bed, sitting her down and pulling something out of the bag he had slung across his body. He held it behind his back in both hands. "Guess."
Caryn laughed. "Give it to me!"
"You have to guess!"
"A book?"
"No."
"Chocolate?"
"No."
"I don't know, Nate. A puppy?"
"No. Gods, you're awful at this." He swung his hands around and presented his gift with a flourish. It was a beautiful silver flute, engraved with twirling curlicues and a message in tiny letters: For my sister, on her eighteenth name day. Love, Nathan
"Oh, Nate! It's beautiful!"
"You like it?"
"It's amazing. Where did you get it?"
"I sent for it from Goantha. Now you can get rid of that reed thing you've been playing for so long."
"But I like the reed flute! You made it for me."
Nathan made a face. "I was twelve. It's hardly a master craftsman's work. This, on the other hand..."
Grinning, Caryn threw her arms around her brother's neck. "Thank you. I love it."
They sat on her bed and talked easily of everything. That was the way with Nathan: easy, companionable. They forgot themselves in the simple pleasure of each other's company, and an hour or so passed companionably that way. Caryn had forgotten Aric's order for her to be brought to him when she was clean, but Aric had not.
Caryn's eldest brother entered her room with none of the smiles that Nathan had worn. Caryn and Nate did not notice him for a moment, sitting side by side on her bed, talking and laughing like the oldest of friends; it gave Aric time to appreciate the way his sister's body looked wrapped in naught but a towel.
