New Horizons

It had been almost a month since she had been married to the Werewolf Andre and Adella had to say things weren’t so bad, not anywhere close to perfect but, not bad. She didn’t flinch every time he was near her anymore and no longer feared he would grow violent and lash out at her for things she did or said. She was still quiet and a bit reserved at times, but she felt more comfortable with him. She wasn’t afraid anymore to sleep in the bed with him and had come to know her way around the house. She still butted heads with him about the chores but now that he went to work she was able to do the dishes and laundry and others things he didn’t let her do when he was around. She had yet to redecorate the house her way but she liked it the way it was and was now used to Andre’s schedule, so she had lunch or dinner for him ready when he came home.

She had also started her classes, most of them were private lessons with professors that knew French but a few she had to go to a class setting. She didn’t really like them, the professors spoke English but Evelyn had arranged for her to use a recorder to record the lecture, and then used magic on it to switch it to French so she could understand and take notes. Things weren’t going smoothly but were alright….until today. All her professors were fine, but one. He was known to be an ass already on campus, but had left Adella pretty much alone. But since she couldn’t understand the lectures she had taken to day dreaming in class and apparently her professor finally got fed up. He put the spotlight on her and asked her a question, which she of course didn’t understand. She tried to communicate with him but he bulldozed her, he kept asking and asking then grew cross with her and humiliated her in front of the class because she wouldn’t answer.
S
he had stuck through the rest of the class even as people snickered and gave her glances, but once it was over she quickly left. It was her last class for the day and she was glad for it, because the tears started falling as soon as she walked out the door. She all but ran home, sobbing by the time she got there. She didn’t understand why he had gotten so mad! She didn’t even know what he had gotten mad at her about, which made things worse. When she got home she didn’t let her bad day deter her from making Andre dinner, but she was a mess and kept dropping pots and forgetting how to use the stupid stove. She sniffled and cried the whole time, she kept trying to wipe at her eyes but the tears kept coming in droves. She had been doing so good, now this incident just made her feel just as sad as when she first arrived.

She was usually more than half way through dinner once he got home, but not today, she had barely started because she kept crying and having to blow her nose, and then wash her hands and then by then she would have to blow her nose again. She was hoping today would be one of the days he would be a little late, but it just wasn’t her day. When she heard him come in and call for her she pursed her lips and quickly wiped at her eyes, trying to occupy herself with cooking and make the tears stop. Maybe she could pass off the stuffy nose as some of the spices were making her sneeze. She glanced back at him though used her hair to try and keep her face shaded “How was your day?” She asked him like she asked him every day like clockwork before going back to the stove and the food. She sniffled “I am going to make cow…do you want cow?” She still wasn’t custom to using terms like beef or pork.

When he turned off the stove she frowned and looked at him better, her lips pouting and trembling as she held back tears but a few escaped and then it was only a few seconds before she burst out sobbing, covering her mouth to try and contain herself but it didn’t work. She then started to ramble incoherently about what happened and how she was so confused and didn’t understand what happened and why she got yelled at, her voice thick and filled with tears.

Beef…right, beef, they called cow beef. She just wasn’t used to it, they didn’t even eat cows where she came from. She had been taught since she was a teenager how a woman was to act around a man and when she had been engaged to the first man back home, her mother had taught her everything she was too know how to be a good wife. But Andre confused her, he didn’t want her to do anything she was taught and it left her feeling lost. She still didn’t know what it was he wanted from her, and she was too shy still to ask him. He didn’t want her to cook, clean, do laundry or anything else but that’s all she knew to do other then go to class. She sighed on the inside and mentally shook her head at him.

She still wasn’t used of him touching her so closely, but she was too upset to care at the moment. She wanted comfort and she just had to get used to the fact from now on, he was her source of comfort now, not her mother anymore. She buried her face into his chest and grabbed at his shirt as she cried, sniffling and trying to make herself stop. She took in a breath but it stammered and it just caused a rush of sobs to leave her. She didn’t like getting yelled at, especially when she had no idea what she was being punished for. “I-I don’t know what I did” She cried “I didn’t mean to do anything” She cried on for a little longer but slowly the sobs stopped and then the tears. She closed her eyes and just kept leaned against him until her breathing evened out. It was odd how at first he frightened her with his largeness and now she found security in his arms. So very strange.

She looked up at him with her sad eyes and pouty lips, taking in a deep breath as she felt his hands move over her hair. Why was he so kind? If she ever cried back home in front of her step-father he would only grow cross with her and send her away out of his sight so he didn’t have to deal with her tears. But not Andre, he was so patient. She wasn’t accustomed of going out to eat but she nodded to his suggestion and looked a little worn from all her crying. She then cracked a tiny smile and put a hand on his chest “You are…a good husband...” She said quietly. He was, she knew plenty girls back home in her village who had been arranged to marry men and were not so lucky. Andre was a good man, she had lucked out to be married to a good man.

But she did worry about it. She was brought up to please others, especially because of her mixed breeding she had to try even harder. Specifically to men, they above women she was supposed to make sure she behaved correctly, so to have one of her professors, a man with power over her yell at her in front of other people made her feel absolutely worthless. Whatever she did she wanted to correct, but she was still clueless exactly what it had been she messed up. Back home she was to confront her mistakes and correct them, no matter how embarrassing or hurtful it was. Here? It seemed the standard was to forget about what she did wrong, and that just didn’t bode well with her. She didn’t even want to go back to class, she was afraid the professor would just keep yelling at her about things she didn’t know.

She didn’t expect a smile from him, she knew by now they were as rare on him as they were on her. But she didn’t need a smile to know he was being nice to her and caring, she knew it in his words and the way he touched her hair. She did look a bit surprised when he kissed her forehead but it made her glow a little inside to have him show that sign of affection towards her. She blushed a little and looked down “I…would be better…if you would let me do laundry” She glanced at him with her small smile to show she was joking, and that was an absolute miracle. Adella making a joke? Making a playful statement? She hadn’t done that at all in the entire month. She looked over as he put the food away she had taken out then nodded “Yes, I’d like that” She stood there for a few moments to make sure she truly had calmed down before going up to the bedroom.

When she walked in she stopped and stared at him for a moment when she saw him in his boxers. She had done a good job so far avoiding Andre when he was unclothed or being able to turn around when she realized he was changing and get the heck away, but this time she had caught him in the process and she found herself admiring her husband for a few moments. No longer did he look like a bear to her but…well, a man. A very nice looking man. She blushed brightly when she realized she was watching him and she quickly looked away and scurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. After she regained some composure she washed her face with some cold water and brushed out her hair before, hesitantly, poking her head out of the bathroom to make sure he was now dressed and came out. She was still sticking to dresses but after two weeks she had stopped wearing her dresses from back home and opted for the few simple one’s Evelyn had bought her.

She didn’t know what possessed her to crack a joke, but she did and for a moment she wished she hadn’t said anything in fear how he was going to react. But when he smiled and chuckled she relaxed and she nodded that she did insist, he needed to start letting her do what she was meant to do and that was to take care of him and his home. His playful expression was as good as hers was and so she understood it and continued to smile at him for a few moments. They were quite similar without them even noticing and although it had only been a month, she was learning more about her husband and the way he expressed himself. She was starting to catch onto the slight differences in his usual stoic face that gave away his mood or what he was trying to express.

When he caught her staring she was so absolutely embarrassed and fled to the safety of the bathroom. She didn’t know why she should be so shy about it, he was her husband, she was allowed to look at him right? But she still didn’t feel comfortable with it and felt like she was doing something she shouldn’t. When she heard him outside the door she nodded, but then realized he couldn’t see her and she made a face at herself “Y-yes” She squeaked as she turned on the sink to wash her face. Did he mind that she stared at him or did he not like to be stared at? She had no idea because she always made sure not to look at him for too long. But seeing him almost naked…the blushed strengthened on her cheeks and she stayed in the bathroom until it went away.

She didn’t catch him looking at her legs as she came downstairs but nodded to him as she moved over beside him “Where are we going?” She asked curiously as she walked outside. It finally hit her they would be going in the truck, and she quickly grew excited. She had only been in it the one time when she first came here, and now she got to be in it again. When she got into the truck she brightened like she did before, looking all around and daring to touch some of the buttons before Andre got in himself, then she kept her hands to herself. The ride over she was her typical quiet self, only speaking if he spoke to her and gazed out the window and watched the scenery outside. She was kind of eager to go somewhere new, but also nervous.

She looked taken aback when he talked about her learning to drive and she quickly shook her head in panic. Oh no! No, she couldn’t drive a big truck like that; she was way too scared too. She just liked to sit in them when they moved because they were amazing to her, but to learn how to operate one? She felt she would never be able to learn how to do that and was too intimidated to learn. She would probably just end up breaking it knowing her luck and then she’d make him mad. But she’d drive in a car any time and Andre’s car was even better, because it was called a truck and was big, kind of like him she supposed.

She watched his hand come across the passenger seat but unlike before she didn’t flinch. In a month she had come a long way with being more comfortable with him, because now she knew he wasn’t going to hit her. At least she hoped she was right in that assumption so far. She gave him a weird look when he pretended to be a chicken and then she giggled, a rare sound coming from her. She nodded “I like chicken” She said with laughter in her voice. When he said cow she smiled knowingly at him “It’s called beef” She said and giggled a bit more. She did forget about her bad day with him and wasn’t obsessing over it like she had been previously. This…Big Louie’s intrigued her; she had never been to a restaurant before and certainly never a bar.

When she got out of the car and looked over the place and thought, oh, it looks very nice. It was cute and quaint and it smelled really good. Her opinion changed once they actually went inside. All the people and noise and smells made her freeze and her eyes widened as she tried to take everything in. Culture shock. She immediately and for the first time glued herself to Andre’s side as she looked around and even brought a hand up to grip his wrist so he wouldn’t stray from her and she’d be alone among all this chaos. She swallowed hard and stiffened as they had to walk through the people to the booth. She sat down but instead of across from him she sat next to him and looked utterly freaked out. She nodded as he spoke but didn’t process what he was saying as she looked around the bar.

Adella wasn’t sure what she had been expecting of this place, but certainly not all of this. Walking around campus frightened her enough with all the people and hustle and bustle and action going on around her, but this? She had never experienced this. Her village had been quiet, only on certain celebrations was there music and dancing but it was out in the open woods, not enclosed in a small space. Normally when Andre touched her she grew a bit uncomfortable and shy, but now it was very welcome. His arm around her made her feel secure and a bit separated from the madness around her. Right now he was her rock, and she intended to stay very close to him.

She shook her head to his suggestion because she didn’t want to move, she was fine where she was…well…as fine as she was going to be. When he kissed her cheek she blushed and looked over at him, giving him a tiny and very terrified smile. She glanced around the bar a bit more but then looked to him then the menu as he read some things out loud…all things that were as foreign to her as this bar. She looked to the pictures but did not see anything recognizable and she pursed her lips, looking at the words but that was useless, she couldn’t read English even if she could read period to begin with. After she floundered for a few moments she looked to him clueless “What do you think I should eat?”

When the drinks were brought she immediately liked the color of her drink, but wondered what it was. She carefully brought it over and tried it, liking the taste though she made a bit of a face at the alcohol aftertaste. It was ok, she probably wouldn’t have drank it normally but he had ordered it for her and it was obvious drinking alcohol was somehow important to him so she didn’t want to refuse the drink. She took another drink then sat back “It is good” She murmured, shifting some and looking over to watch the people. Why were they so loud and boisterous?

She did want to leave, she would have preferred to leave. She liked quiet and calm, this environment she had never been in before and to her it was equal to a rave. There were too many sounds of people talking, laughing, moving around and dishes clanking. The smell of liquor in the air was too much for her overly sensitive senses and she was feeling a bit claustrophobic. But she wouldn’t ask to leave, he wanted to come here and share this with her and she wasn’t going to make him leave because she knew that would probably upset or at least disappoint him. No shed sit all but clung to his side and endure this until he wanted to leave. If these were the things her husband enjoyed then she would have to learn to like it too.

She shrugged to ether option, not really knowing what was best. She thought beef was a little heavier than chicken but the look she gave him told him she was obviously leaving it up to him to what to order her. Back home she usually ate vegetables and…well vegetables, meat was a rare treat but it seemed here in America everyone ate meat all the time in everything. She couldn’t imagine eating so much meat, but maybe that was how men got so big like Andre did.

She looked a little sheepish when he seemed to realize she didn’t a hundred percent like the drink. Not like she hated it, but it was a bit…funky “No, no, I like it” She insisted however and took another sip, this time forcing her face to not look sour at the after taste. Every time he leaned in she felt fluttery in her stomach and she would duck her gaze but glance at him shyly. When the waitress came she slowly took a few more sips of her drink, watching the waitress as she eyed her then quickly looked away and fiddled with the silverware on the table.

She gave him a surprised look “It is my duty to make you happy” And really, she didn’t mind it, it wasn’t like some chore for her. He didn’t demand things from her or make her life difficult, so it came easy to her to try and make sure he was always pleased with the things she did and never angered him. In truth she never liked to anger anyone, she liked when people were happy with her because she made them happy. His questions boggled her mind and she wasn’t sure how to answer them and she shook her head “I do not like anger” She told him innocently, wondering exactly what it was he was looking for.

She looked to the men as they came over and pressed herself more against Andre unsurely, her eyes quickly looking between each man. The way they greeted Andre it was obvious he knew them and they were friends, but still she was timid. She sat very still and very quiet as they talked back and forth and when Andre seemed to address her she looked to him then the men in a bit of confusion. When they extended their hands she stared at them blankly before looking to Andre for help, wondering what they were doing. She didn’t get handshakes, it meant touching someone she didn’t know and it made her uneasy but she game them a small little smile and nodded her head.

He didn’t want her to behave like a wife? Well then…how was she supposed to behave? “I’ve never been myself” She told him meekly before the men arrived. It was true; she had never really just been herself. Infront of the people of her village she was always withdrawn and doing everything possible to appear friendly and nonthreatening, in front of her step-father she did backflips to make him like her to no avail and her mother she was always being bright and cheery around to keep her happy. Adella never had a chance since a child to allow her own personality to shine and didn’t even know where to begin with to do that.

She had a feeling maybe she had done something wrong by the expressions on their faces and she frowned some and looked down to her lap and just fiddled with her dress while they talked. She had been so against learning English from the start but now she realized she should have been trying harder. Since she and Andre always spoke French she had forgotten the man’s first language was English and that he spoke to everyone but her in English. If she had tried better to learn maybe she’d be able to speak to his friends better and understand them and wouldn’t be sitting there clueless wondering what the men thought of her; probably negative things.

She blushed when the men left and he told her what they allegedly said about her. She turned to look at him and smiled before she looked at the food as it was placed before them. Immediately it smelled good and she learned forward to look at it, but she caught the waitress glancing back to smile at him. She looked between them for a moment before back to him before nodding “I have…I met a girl named Tristian, and a boy named Kythen. They are both very nice” She picked up one of the mozzarella sticks and bit into it….then looked surprised when the cheese just, kept going. She froze and looked weirded out, wondering what she was supposed to do. She tried to pull but the cheese kept coming and she felt utterly embarrassed.

“I met Tristian in one of my classes. She is very nice and knows some French. I met Kythen at the stables, he knows some French too, less than Tristian but he was nice too. He has a horse named Mystique, she was beautiful and offered for me to ride her but…I was too afraid too, but he said he might teach me” Her face had brightened as she spoke, because she had been thinking about the horses and the fact she had met people who she could speak too without needing English all the time. But then she realized she had been talking about going riding with a man that was not her husband and she quickly frowned and looked to Andre uncertainty “I mean…he only asked. I of course would never go if you didn’t want me too” That was stupid of her…how could she say that Kythen would teach her and she would go off with him without asking her husband first?

She finally managed to cut the cheese off and chewed, her eyes lighted up “It is just cheese and bread…but it tastes very good” She had to hand it to America…they had amazing food. First chocolate, now these cheese things. She dipped the leftover of her mozzarella stick in the sauce, and she looked even more excited “It tastes better!” She exclaimed “What are these called?” Needless to say, Adella chowed down on those mozzarella sticks. As she ate them she looked to him “So…this is where you come often to see friends?” She asked curiously “It is...nice” She didn’t know how to talk about herself so, better to talk about him.

While he felt disdain hearing about Kythen, Adella felt disdain hearing about English. She really just had a complete mental block on it, but she was starting to see how important it was to learn, even though she was totally against it “Gewd” She looked proud of herself for that one word…it was one of the few she knew and even used appropriately. She smiled happily and it was the brightest she had looked thus far when he told her she could. She was very excited to learn how to ride horses…at least, now. Once she actually got to doing it she would be scared and not want too, but for now it was a perfect fantasy scenario in her head of her horseback riding. “Tank yew” But he had said whatever she liked…somehow she couldn’t believe that.

“Ep…freed?” She tried to mimic the word in a confused manner. What was that? She had never heard of deep fried but whatever it was, it was very very good and it was a miracle to see she finished off the mozzarella sticks like a pro, since she usually ate like a little bird. When he corrected why he came to this place, her eyes betrayed her true feelings as she looked at him like he was crazy. Here to relax? With all the people around and talking and music and smells of food? This was relaxing to him? To her relaxing was sitting out in the woods listening to the wind and birds calling in the tree’s and the sound of a river off in the distance. Inside this room with all the hustle and bustle…she just didn’t see it the way he obviously did.

When the food came she was surprised to see more and she instantly wondered if this too was deep fried. As she was staring and examining the food she didn’t notice the waitress was directing anything to her, so she quickly looked to Andre when he spoke to her. “Oh” She forgot about the drink, that’s right and she quickly shook her head and picked up the drink and took a bit gulp of it through the straw. She still tasted an after taste but this time it wasn’t so bad, she just didn’t want to disappoint him about the drink he had ordered for her. She heard him order water and felt relieved; she loved water. “So…what is this? Is this also…ep…freed?”

She nodded “That is what I said” She said simply “Gewd” To her the way he said the word and the way she was saying the word was the same exact pronunciation. Back in her village fat wasn’t something anyone worried about, all fairies were naturally skinny and if he had said fat she wouldn’t have batted an eye. Back home people didn’t care about their weight or appearance like people here did, she wouldn’t have understood what it meant to get fat. When he pointed to the man she blinked then looked back to him “What is wrong with him?” Yes, she was he was large…but she didn’t see what was wrong with him being large like that. Was it bad here to be large? She had met trolls before, they were large. She then shook her head and looked at him innocently “Why would it have disappointed me?” He was large, a different kind of large but still large, and furry.

She quieted after that for she was greatly enjoying the food he had ordered her. She ate it quite daintily, she felt embarrassed in front of all these people and not the level of comfort she was starting to feel back home to eat in front of Andre. As she ate her food she forced herself to drink the fruity drink even though she really just didn’t like it but she kept drinking it anyway, forcing herself to tap big gulps through the straw before covering the odd taste with her food. With this strategic plan by the time she was done with her food she was done with the drink…and felt a little….odd. But she smiled through it and told him she really did like it, so then she got another one and drank that one two and found the second one wasn’t bad at all like the first one oddly enough so she ended up asking for a third one…after that third one, she doesn’t know what happened exactly.

The next thing she knew she blinked and they were in his car driving home. She felt lightheaded and….lightheaded. And weird, very weird, kind of like she was floating. Her stomach churned a bit but wasn’t horrific, she was able to grit her teeth and make the feeling pass but she avoided looking out the window like she usually did, it didn’t help the feeling in her stomach or her head. She then looked over at Andre and squinted some, watching him quietly before she leaned her head back against the seat and sunk more down into it. She then slowly crept a hand over to him and took his free hand not on the wheel, interlacing her hand with his as she gazed at him.