Veiled Heart - Chapter 1
The weeks leading up to the few days that made up the summer solstice had been a flurry of increased productivity and tension coiling like a spring, wound to its absolute maximum. The factories overproduced to cover the approaching down time, which led to increased stress, but that was now over and done with.
Every taurian on Rincabor had been waiting for this week for the vast majority of the last eight months. Fince watched the clock ticking down to the end of her shift with anxious anticipation along with everyone else. Her job wasn't hard, but the days could be long, and today was feeling as if it were three times longer than normal.
The air was charged with the collected excitement of everyone, and the entire staff of the factory were near silent as they all waited, doing their jobs as required, but none wanting to be there anymore. In all honesty, today was one of the two easiest days in the factory, merely because the vast majority of the machines had been shut down in anticipation of the week of the summer solstice.
Some off-worlders would be brought in to do maintenance in their absence while the staff enjoyed a week of state mandated down time.
"Three... Two... One..." Fince mumbled to herself until a high-pitched klaxon wailed across the factory. It was echoed by other alarms and other klaxons in neighbouring manufacturers and workhouses. What followed was a collective roar that came from the throats of every taurian in the continent all bellowing in excitement over the beginning of the summer solstice. Fince bellowed her own lowing into the chorus, one of many, and many as one.
A week of merriment and partying had begun and no one wanted to be in the factory a second longer!
Fince had deliberately left any belongings she normally brought at home today, as she had no intention of making the journey to the locker rooms before leaving. She joined the throng of thousands of fellow taurians as they raced toward the metro, which would race them into the city proper.
Once more, Fince was glad to not have to go and shower first. She might not be at her finest, but being a camera monitor to watch for dangers meant she was not sweaty or covered in any foul smelling particles like some.
The metro was crammed, but thanks to her forward planning, she'd got there as part of the initial wave and secured a spot on the tram before the crush. Granted by the time the doors closed she was pressed up against the glass of the far side, cheek and chest pressed up as the crush of bodies forced themselves on as tight as possible. There was no such thing as 'personal space' this evening.
A few minutes of high-speed rail and the pressure eased as the crowd disembarked, all of the workers whooping and cheering onto the platform, matched by those already there, already drunk and cheering with them.
The capital city, Cherinbelt, was a typical taurian city and had many advertisements and bright lights, but tonight the adverts were removed and were replaced with messages from their leaders, congratulating the workers on their efforts and declaring a city-wide party had commenced.
The hologram emitters created small ribbons of tape to fall from the sky, landing into the crowds below. Fince reached up and admired how her hand blocked the light, the tape seemingly melting into the leather pads of her hands.
A trio of male voices called out with compliments and teasing words. The crowd of women looked to the side where a series of three males were shouting that the bar they were standing above had just opened before throwing out large circular loops of sewn flowers that looped and hooked on and around the various crowd's horns. Each of the males had a different coloured flower making up their ring of flowers, one being blue, one being red and the final being yellow.
Those who had the male's flowers land on their horn were grabbed by the surrounding crowd and forcefully dragged toward the bar where the female who had received a ring of flowers could exchange them for a drink as tradition demanded. Fince grinned at the whole show, until a ring of yellow flowers landed on her own still growing horns and large, strong hands grabbed the front of her work overalls and began roughly dragging her back towards the bar while the male with yellow flowers briefly gave him a wink, and lifted her head sash for a split second, stunning Fince into submission.
The original tradition was that males who wished to express their interest in a partner would gift the female with a crown of flowers, signalling to others that the female was being courted without the need for the male to say anything that might bring their honour into question. Granted, over time, the various businesses perverted the meaning behind the crowns where in the modern era, the crowns were merely a desire item because they smelt of a male's scent and they could be exchanged at the bar where they would be broken and binned by the tenders so the crown could not be used twice.
For one of the first times in her life, Fince became a minor celebrity at the bar, as one of the very few to receive a crown, the punters each asked her for the crown or offered her something in exchange. Not willing to give away such an item, she exchanged it at the bar and was handed a large flagon of something blue and frothy.
The jostling and body shoving at the bar meant Fince spilt a portion of her drink so moving away she down half of it so the rambunctious crowd wouldn't waste her very first solstice drink.
She stepped from the bar and to the side where the sea of taurians marching back and forth would not crash into her and she could enjoy her drink properly.
Fince was a young taurian. She readily admitted she was lucky in life. She had a good job, had her health and had strong horns, albeit they were still growing. She'd marked herself with semi-permanent ink at the very base of one of her horns and over the course of the last month, a sliver of new horn had moved the ink along the length, leaving a gap between the mark and her scalp.
The concept that she still had some mass left to grow out pleased her, as she wasn't much more or less than the average and these days horns were all that mattered to most. Just because she had read up on the old ways and knew what 'proper' etiquette was, did not mean she was more desirable anymore. At one point in the past, a female with an understanding of male etiquette would have made her more desirable as a suitor than those without.
Sighing at the loss of something she couldn't describe, Fince downed her drink and put the glass on the floor, pressed against the wall before rejoining the throng of people.
It was the same on every Taurian planet and station. Twice a year, on the week of both the winter and summer solstice, it was a planet and station-wide party where both males and females removed their social taboos and put them to the side. It was the two times a year where every male would pair up with at least one other taurian and become one.
In the modern era it was a competition of the women to bed a male and prove they were 'real' women, desirable by men. Anyone who didn't lose their virginity on their first solstice was considered a lesser woman.
Still, trying to chat up a male in one of these bars was going to be impossible. Ignoring the males automatically were granted access to the VIP sections where they had the pick of the crowd, Fince just simply didn't stand out enough.
But she knew something the vast majority didn't.
The town hall was a governmental building which had a selection of rides and stalls outside. Fince ignored it for the most part, realistically it was just a large pop-up entertainment zone for those too young for the city proper while their parents enjoyed themselves. It wasn't somewhere to find a suitor.
Fince marched up the wide marble steps that led to the grand hall and quietly stepped inside. Classic music played and soothed Fince's ringing ears from the deafening noise of the city outside. As she closed the door behind her however, all that remained was the music, that and the dancers.
In the centre of the hall were a series of dancers, a male and a female, dancing in unison as they spun and twirled around one another. The females led and the males followed.
Fince's heart sank to her hooves. They had already begun and the few males that were here had already picked their partners. Their fine gowns and hidden faces were immaculate, not to mention the females wore resplendent finery that made Fince's work clothes appear as if she were a mere janitor.
The sigh that shook her was felt from her horns to the tip of her tail. It was her fault; she went into the bar and lost time when she should have run here.
"It's most impressive, isn't it." Mused a quiet voice to her left. Fince flinched and looked down, seeing a covered male in a full-length gown, matching gloves and a wide brimmed hard, with a veil that hung down as if weighed.
"Sir, apologies for my lack of manners. You are right, they do look wonderful." Fince replied, quickly bowing at the hip in a perfectly practiced formal bow. The covered figure plucked the dress on either side and curtsied. If Fince wanted to commit a grand social faux pas, she might point out that the curtsy was sloppy, instead she chose to revel in the fact she was talking to a male who hadn't been taken yet!
"I must admit, I'm not... versed in the various steps of the dance. When that became known I was passed over." Admitted the male, his voice odd but lovely to listen to.
"Well... back when the tradition began, there was no dance and while the various great composers and performers named the music and mapped the common steps, the original reason for the dance was to see if a pair were compatible."
"Oh? How so? I know frightfully little about the history of it all."
"That's quite common these days, but it was a, um, special interest of mine." Admitted Fince, regretting it immediately. She was meant to be describing her greatest achievements to the male, proving she was strong and fit. Picking a fight with someone and locking horns to prove her worth.
Yet... the conversation... felt... nice?
"Please go on, I'm genuinely interested, but shall we get a drink while you explain?" Asked the male lightly. Fince's head swam but she nodded and extended the crook of her elbow, which the veiled male grasped lightly and allowed himself to be led by her. She felt lightheaded, what a wonder?! What a dream!
The male's silk gloves brushed against the flesh of Fine's hands, it was real silk. *Real* silk. Was this male a noble? Some hidden gem, not taking part in the finer dances that were held in the high spires?
"So, originally, two suitors would dance together and see if they worked well together. Accidently striking each other in the shin, for example..." A lyrical laugh from beneath the opaque veil.
"Would be undesirable I would guess!"
Fince grinned stupidly at the male's laugh before remembering herself and asking the barman for two drinks, wincing at the price. Still, one sip confirmed it was real alcohol, not the synthahol of the city bars. The male merely stirred his, not revealing his face to drink just yet.
"So what if I didn't have a coordinated bone in my body?" Asked the veil.
"According to tradition, you would find an equally uncoordinated woman that would match your style. Or one that could compensate for you, but I doubt that sir, I have to be a gentlewoman and correct your besmirching of your honour."
The male tilted his head, the hat tilting at an angle before the shoulders beneath the dress sagged.
"I will come clean to you as you are too kind for me to take advantage and steal your attention away. I am not what I seem." Admitted the male, Fince's heart sinking once more. The male's hand came up, sweeping half of the veil from the male's face, revealing; a flat, furless face, peeking out from beneath the traditional male dress.
"You're a human?!" Spluttered Fince before wincing and lowering his voice. It was only a second later before noting the sash, covering the human's forehead, despite the known lack of human horns.
"I wanted to experience your culture. I begged my guardian to let me experience it and here I am. No one else knows who or what I am and with this being where the 'traditional' taurians court one another, I'm as safe as I can be. If not ignored by those who don't want to dance with a lead foot." Explained the human, bringing up his drink and daintily sipping from him and pulling a face as the strong drink burnt a line down his throat.
Fince was stunned, but... she liked... how he looked. It was odd; he was nothing like a male of her kind and yet... all too similar.
"I wouldn't mind... showing you the dance, if you like?"
"They've already begun I'm afraid."
"The dance isn't traditionally done in a line like they're doing it. It's meant to be done anywhere. A forest. A storeroom. A bedroom. Anywhere two potential l-lovers might want to see if they would be... compatible."
A pause before the now once again veiled human put his drink onto a window ledge.
"How do we dance?" He demanded in a calm, soothing tone. Fince put her drink next to his and stepped in front of the male and held up her hand, palm vertical.
"First, we press our hands together."
"Like this?"
"Yeah, then... I step to your side... and you step to mine... good, now... we listen to the music and guess."
A few minutes later and Fince acted without thought, taking the secret human's hand, and spinning him in a twirl before he 'fell' into the waiting arm of Fince who caught her partner as the music faltered and fell away. The two were breathing heavily, the veiling having fallen away, with the human staring fiercely up at the equally excited taurian.
A few metres away, the bartender glanced at the other male who was watching the pair with interest.
"So, you're meant to protect him?"
"Yes." Replied the guardian taurian, an older male who had already done this 'song and dance'.
"Shouldn't you be protecting him? His honour?"
"Oh, get that broom out of your rear. The young man needs a good lady and I don't think an army of myself could stop that woman now." The guardian lifted the drink they'd been nursing and cheered the unknowing couple. "Here's to the new couple. This ought to make my job more entertaining."
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