Chapter 20. Family dynamic

I was sat in the corner of the room with a table between myself and the door while head mare Helayt opposite me. Zeldi was to my left but purposely placed with enough distance that we couldn't touch. Yenem was off to the side cooking something while I was being stared at.

"So..." I tried to say but Helayt stopped me.

"Wait for Anna and Daxel before you start to explain yourself, otherwise you will just be repeating everything a second time."

Fair enough.

"Then can I ask about the head mare thing? It is new to me and I wish to understand."

I heard Zeldi whimper besides me while Helayt raised an eyebrow. "You have a Centaur as a mate but don't understand what a head mare is?"

"Yes." I answered before adding. "It's a recent thing so I'm still new to it all."

Helayt hummed while Yenem placed a bottle of wine on the table. There were no glasses and the reason for this was apparent when the dark mare took a swig before offering it to me.

Not to be rude I accepted and took a swig myself. The alcohol burnt on its way down in a pleasant way while Helayt spoke. "A head mare is in charge of all other mares in a stallions family. We keep order so there is no bickering or manipulation in the background. In return all other mares in the family are subservient and listen to us as if we are the stallion, though this doesn't mean we are above the stallion themselves as they can overrule anything we do."

Got it. Like a pecking order in a harem of sorts.

The door opened as she finished and Anna came in accompanied by a male who I hoped was Zeldi's father.

The stallion was a lighter brown than Anna and had a scar across his chest that gave him an odd roguish look. Seemed male centaurs don't wear shirts, or he just didn't like them. He wore a sturn expression on his face that was immediately banished when he lay eyes on his daughter. "Zeldi my baby girl!"

"Hey dad. It's been a long time." Zeldi said back getting up to hug her father.

"Too long. I've been trying to reach you all this time but I never knew where they took you." Daxel tried to explain while crushing his daughter in a hug.

Zeldi melted into her father's embrace. "Across the sea. They didn't want to risk you coming after me so I was transported by boat to a new land."

"Well you're never leaving this village again. We can get you your own place and you can start your drinks business again." Daxel said giving Zeldi another squeeze that made her to try to tap out.

Helayt glared at me as he said this and interrupted the father daughter pair. "Unfortunately the human here says that she won't be staying."

Immediately his scowl returned. "Like hell she's leaving again."

I raised my hands in surrender hoping to give myself some room to explain. "Not my choice. Coming here is only temporary and regardless of how much we want to we can't stay forever."

"Mother Helayt, father please listen to my mate. He has done everything right for me and deserves the ability to explain." Zeldi backed me up.

A collection of growls came from the Centaurs but they didn't attack so I took that as my opportunity to explain. Yenem came from the kitchen to hear my explanation and Anna sat down as well.

It got a mixed response from the group especially when Tilty was mentioned as apparently she or at least her father was well known and seemed to be a generally nice guy. Though the biggest response was when I mentioned that I was a traveler and it took Zeldi agreeing with me to calm them all back down.

"Travelers are just myths. Fabrications to those with nothing so that they have some reason to hope." Yenem commented from her spot beside Zeldi. Her birth mother not moving from her side.

"Hard to explain falling down a well into a world with Centaurs as a myth then." I joked.

"Easy. You lied." Came her response, though she did look at Helayt as she said this only to stop herself saying more when the dark mare didn't react.

She was going to be hard to persuade. Then again she had just had her daughter returned to her and here I was saying I was going to magically take her away again.

"Mother he's not lying, and even if he is why would he do everything he's done if he was working with the Baron? He could have just sold me once he had the deed." Zeldi said backing me up.

"Look." I said bringing the attention back to me. "I know I look bad in this situation and regardless of if you believe me the main purpose of bringing Zeldi back to you guys was so that I could try and diminish the distance these past few years have taken. I now realize I'm the one standing in the way of all of that so I'm going to just head out."

"Wait Master! You can't just leave." Zeldi tried to stop me but I snuck past her attempt to grab my hand.

"Zeldi I have you for the rest of the month. Spend some time with your family while you have the chance." I said over my shoulder. "It's not worth wasting the time you have with them bickering about my origins. It won't change anything."

The others didn't stop me as I made it out the door.

"But Master."

I gave her a wink before closing the door. Was it a little mean? Sure, but it was better for Zeldi if she spent what time she could with her mum.

Now though what can I do? I really needed some proper pants but didn't really have anything I could trade with. Guess I could go for a walk, see what a Centaur village is all about?

My answer was taken from me when Helayt came out of the house with the aura of someone that wanted something. "Walk with me mate of my daughter."

Beats wondering aimlessly though my side reminded me to be careful. She took me in a direction down the main street eyeing my attire the whole time until she finally broke the silence.

"I don't fully trust you."

The fully may mean here's a part that does. I thought hopefully. Zeldi's mother seemed to hate me already so hopefully I can at least get in the good books of one of her mother's.

"But?" I prompted.

"Choosing to believe you got your hands on that deed just to make Zeldi your bitch doesn't quite match up with how you have treated her the last two days. I want to hate you simply because you're not a centaur and you are forcing my daughter to be nothing but a farm animal but she doesn't give the impression that you are tricking her." Helayt hummed as she pulled us into a store.

The clerk on desk took one look at me and pointed towards a corner that got far less attention than the rest of the store based on the layer of dust. The reason became obvious as it was clothes for me or more correctly my species. Makes sense why Centaurs wouldn't use it.

"I don't have any money." I admitted as Helayt started to pull a few things off the shelf.

She stopped and held up a pair of pants against my waist in a dusty gray that looked to be my size and could be held up with a belt of simple rope.

"Take it as a thank you for allowing us to see her again and as an apology for kicking you before I gave you a chance to explain." The darker woman answered, thrusting the clothing into my arms along with a pair of underwear. She then indicated to a curtain for me to get changed behind.

I did as instructed and found the pants to be a lot more comfortable than I expected. The underwear was a little too big but worked.

"Is there anything I can do to make you trust and like me more? I do intend to keep her and wish to bring her back every moon cycle but it's going to be hard if you all hate me." I said over the curtain.

"Explain the other purpose of bringing Zeldi back to us. You mentioned that the main reason was for her to see us but what are the others?" Came the reply.

Ah that's why she's here. Makes sense why she's the head mare of she's thinking like this. But that does pose the question of if Zeldi would be my head mare. Not like I would be having only Centaurs on my farm unless I can only get them as producers.

I pulled the curtain back and stepped away from the changing area. Helayt gave me a nod to say she accepted while giving the clerk some coins.

I waited till we were outside before explaining. "It gave us a bypass to all of our current problems."

"Explain." Helayt demanded not angrily but as if we shouldn't have the problems to begin with.

"Based on our story what are the biggest problem we have?" I asked turning the question on her. "Considering that the farm won't let anything harm us and Zeldi cannot be kidnapped no matter how much someone tries."

Helayt raised an eyebrow at me but thought about it for a few minutes. "Supplies." She answered carefully. "With what you have said about Tilty you lack resources to actually do anything more that survive and this shop of yours is not good enough to actually be a decent replacement if you want to grow the farm due to needing Zeldi's milk to fund the very items you need to live. Another producer wouldn't solve the problem either as you are struggling to care for just her as is."

Helayt stopped and turned fully towards me. "And by having a way to move between your farm and this village even temporarily would give you a way to buy basics without spending there Farm Points or whatever that you need."

I smiled as she got it.

"So your plan was to come here, reunite Zeldi with us while also gaining a few items that would be easy to acquire as to not spend your Points?" She asked for clarification.

"And to complete Zeldi's own personal quest." I added.

That got a confused look so I elaborated. "Zeldi herself has a personal quest same as I do, she needs sell one hundred liters of her milk and with no traders coming through the farm she can't and for some reason my store doesn't count towards it. Not something we can do this trip but next moon cycle..."

"You can sell her milk here without having to travel through whatever barrier Tilty has set up to stop you." She finished. "Interesting. So there is an alternative reason for coming here."

Maybe not the reaction I expect.

Helayt nodded seeming to decide something. "Now I trust you more. I never think that others do something out of the goodness of their hearts, there is always some motivation behind it. Yours is to acquire items so you can save your Farm Points while increasing Zeldi's favor with you."

Not quite what I was going for but if it means she trusts me I'll take it.

Helayt patted her equine back the same way Zeldi had when she wanted me to get on. "Come, if that is your task then I suggest we get started. You have come to family with a problem and regardless of your species we would be reminisce for ignoring it. But know this Clovek, mate of my daughter. A Centaur family is your greatest ally in times of strife but the worst enemy to have. Treat her right."