Phoenix - chapter 5 - Swan Valley

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(previously...)

5

Saturday, March 7

Pendleton, Oregon

.
The first sounds Tanya heard in the morning were those of her children watching some cartoons in the living room. The sunlight streaming into the room told her it was very late. Above her, was a giant dream catcher adorned with various beads and feathers.

“Let your mom sleep!” she heard Freya whisper as she tried to hush the girls.

Tanya grinned, knowing the futility of keeping them quiet so late.

The smell of eggs and bacon made her stomach growl loudly, remembering that she hadn’t eaten much the previous evening – which seemed so far away now.

And she wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells around Frank this morning – or any morning ever again. She would die first.

Tanya got up, figuring she’d be stuck in her old nightgown until she could get to a store to buy some clothes. Those hadn’t been the most important thing to grab from the house in her haste. Then she saw the chair in the corner with some fresh clothing. She looked through the small pile and pulled on clean underwear, a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt that seemed right for traveling.

Smiling again, she left the room and went to join the others.

“This way!” Freya diverted cheerfully from the dining room.

Tanya gratefully sat in front of a plate of bacon, eggs, sausages and hash browns with a large mug of steaming coffee on the side. “Thank you for looking after us,” Tanya said humbly as she stuffed her mouth with egg.

“My pleasure, I assure you,” Freya answered, sitting across from her with her own mug of coffee. “I was once in your position and this is how I repay those who helped me escape.”

“Wow. What happened to you?”

“All in good time – we'll have plenty of time to talk later,” she said. “Anyway, I've been on the phone to several friends this morning and we have a place for you to go. I can pretty much guarantee that it will be the last place to cross your husband's mind to look for you.”

“Where?” Tanya asked, stuffing half a sausage in her mouth.

“All in good time,” she repeated. “Are you going to need more food?”

“I think I’ll be good. I didn’t get to eat last night.”

“He stopped you?”

“No. I was too stressed. Skye’s teacher told me that she knew I was being abused. I wasn’t willing to admit it until he came home and threatened the girls.”

“That’s a common final straw,” Freya replied sympathetically. “We’re often willing to put up with abuse ourselves, but we will still fight for our kids. It’s something to be admired.”

Tanya nodded. She looked around the room as she ate, noting all the Native American décor from paintings to trinkets on the wall to an altar with incense and various things on it.

“I can make you some toast if you need something more,” Freya offered again.

“No thanks. I’ll be fine for awhile, I think.”

“Good. We need to get going as soon as we can, we have about 8 hours of road time today. And it’s already quite late.”

Tanya didn’t ask anything more about where they were going.

“But before we can go, we have to do something about your appearance.”

“What's wrong with it?” Tanya asked, drinking some coffee.

“You're recognizable. You need to disappear, so you must change something rather drastically. With your hair, we can go longer or shorter... Shorter is obvious, so longer would be good. But we don't have time to do hair extensions – it's going to be a long journey as it is. But we can straighten your hair which will make it look several inches longer and we can dye it. You're not going to get much choice in the color, I'm afraid. It's got to go black. Are you okay with all that?”

“If it makes us safe, then yes,” said Tanya with a sigh. She had never been one of those vainer people who liked to change the color of her hair. Her hair was mousy, had always been mousy – and she had expected it would remain mousy until the gray began to show. Then, she would go gray rather than fight it. As much as she admired Evana’s long, black Native hair, she had no desire to emulate it.

“I was a beautician in a former incarnation, so trust me, you'll be fine. We’ll do the dye before we go, then after it’s all dried, we’ll do the straightening. You’ll need to do that everyday for probably the next month or two.”

Tanya nodded wondering, again, where they were going to be going that required their hair to be jet black. Looking around again at all the Native décor in the house, she realized that she must be “going Native.” Now was not the time to question Freya’s judgment.

“Let’s get started,” Freya said, getting out all the things she would need. “Ideally, one allows plenty of time for getting the dye to set and all that jazz, but I’ll make sure you have some more to take with you. I’m sure there will be someone who can give you another treatment when you need it.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s do you first so that the girls understand what’s happening,” Freya suggested. “It will also give your hair the most time to dry.”

Tanya sat in the chair indicated. Freya lowered the back until her head was over a small basin obviously designed for hair treatments.

“Told you I was a beautician… I have all the gear – though I went for a cheaper chair.”

Tanya looked up at Freya as the blonde woman picked up a jar of oily cream and applied it around the edges where her hair met her face and neck. “To keep it from staining your skin. This has to look good.”

The process continued, with a badly stained towel around her neck and shoulders. Then Freya brushed her hair and divided it into many parts to apply the dye to the roots in each section.

It felt good to have someone fuss with her hair. That hadn’t happened since Tanya prepared to get married. After that day, Frank had rarely noticed anything about her hair other than making some derisive comment about it being oily or dry or the wrong shape or style. She shook off the memory.

“Okay?” Freya asked.

“Yes,” Tanya replied. It was true enough.

“Done now,” Freya said. “Half an hour and then we’ll give you a rinse. Good time to do the girls.”

Skye was brave to go next, then Rose, who squirmed and complained about the wet feeling of the dye.

Then it was time to rinse Tanya’s hair, then the girls. She couldn’t recognize them very well – nor herself when she looked in a mirror. Maybe it would work to get them to safety.

♥♥♥

Next chapter...

Back to the prologue

Character Info and Notes

Available to purchase at [Books2Read]( coming soon. Print version will be available soon.

THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased one of my books. I appreciate every single one!

Image Credits

Phoenix
Genesis 8.1 by DAZ 3D Studio
Summer Dress by Pusey Designs
Mitsu Hair
Dice Earrings by Fisty
.
Sage Eagle
Genesis 8.1
Mada TnC Jeans by DAZ
Gypsy Shirt by Pusey Designs
PH Classic Hair
.
Kitten
Housecat by HiveWire
.
Background
Room4 by SmidA


Previous Swan Valley Stories:

  • Native Concession either in ebook form or [print]( . (June 2014, approximately 9 months before Phoenix.)

Location:

Swan Valley is a fictitious American Indian reservation located in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming, USA. The Neme'o'ng (Swan People) are based on the idea of blending the Shoshoni and Arapaho peoples - as might have happened if they were stranded in a desolate area as a small band of misfits. I have developed their language from the same ideas.


Please read my note on romance, teenage intimate relationships and underage sex. I apologize if my understanding conflicts with your sense of morality, but I'm only looking at things realistically, not ideologically. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing!


Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2105 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.



Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter





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