Human Company | Page 7

"I'm thinking a good steady company to keep you out of mischief."
I folded my arms. "Not farmers."
"Now Gypsy. Don't be stubborn. I want you to let Littlewolf take you to the fair. Be nice, give her a chance and perhaps we'll forget this morning's little adventure."
"You'll give Tiny her job back?"
"Well, perhaps. But you can't keep getting the girls into trouble."
#
When I left the court and looked about for Littlewolf, I spotted her long blonde hair and bronze skin across the courtyard. She was in the stables petting Axeblade's horses and talking with Yellowbird and Shortbull.
I crossed the yard and slipped under the rail to join them. "Victory is my favorite," I said.
"She's got the look of a workhorse," Littlewolf said. "I bet she could pull a straight furrow."
I patted the gray mare's neck and rubbed my hand over her flank. "She'll not see a plow I hope. It's carrying warriors into battle she's bred for."
"It's the same," Shortbull said. "My mom says that the best workhorses are the steadiest in a fight." Shortbull would be steady in a fight: her name perfectly suited her muscular build. Even her voice possessed a solid huskiness.
"We've formed a company." Yellowbird's voice sang. Finely chiseled features made her exceptionally attractive, but she had fair skin and coal black hair, so it wasn't until she spoke that you understood her name.
"So look at you," I said while tugging at Littlewolf's sleeve. All three girls were outfitted in matching leather vests with hardwood buttons. "Are you looking to do some courting perhaps?"
"Did the Mechanic speak to you about us?"
"I forget. Something about keeping you out of trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Come on," I said. "There's lots to see at the fair."
#
The fair was the event of the year. Everyone came: farmers to sell their produce; merchants to hawk their wares; and craftswomen to show their skills. And of course they offered treats to eat and prizes to win. But the real excitement was in the arena where the girls competed for their futures in the archery and wrestling.
Girls liked stories about old Earth because, in these stories, there was always a boy for every girl. But I always laughed when I heard them. "Earth's a myth," I would say. "How could just one girl properly support a boy?"
"Oh, would you rather belong to the fems?" the meaner girls would reply. Everyone knew that they kept us as pets.
Never mind. After the collapse of the Western Elevator, came the Troubles, an age long struggle for survival. When the cloning technology was lost, boys became the only means of reproduction, so we were important now.
But in tinkering with our genes, the fems had almost engineered us out of existence, so we were always too few. Wars were fought over us until the One Law led the farmers' army to victory.
Looking back, one had to wonder why it took so long to work out. The One Law required girls to ban together into marriage companies. As company, they pooled their resources to attract a boy and fought together to defend their claim to him. What could be more natural than that?
#
We toured the exhibits. The girls were excited about picking out breeding stock from the prize animals at the fair. Shortbull was particularly impressed with the good selection of pigs. She quickly got into an argument with Littlewolf over the merits of the Landrace versus the Berkshire breeds. Then Yellowbird started in about how the Duroc breed was the most adaptable.
"Let's go watch," I said when trumpets announced a competition.
A crowd of cheering and jeering girls already surrounded the wrestling pit, but they gave way when I pushed on them. When I reached the front row, I saw Apogee rubbing oil onto Redblood's arms and legs. He was taking his time about it, rubbing it in like he was more interested in touching than helping. Slayer and Stoneheart walked around the pit, kicking the sand smooth and glaring at Redblood's opponent.
No one expected Redblood's marriage to Apogee to go unchallenged. Someone needed to do it, but not Winifred, not Tallebrand's daughter. For despite Winifred's habit of hanging about the court and fawning over Apogee, she could not hide her merchant's heart. The mechanicals are an expense and of no real use, she claimed. They would not fare well with her as Mechanic. No one that loved them would cheer for her.
The oil saved them. When the trumpets sounded, the girls stepped into the ring and right away Winifred feinted to the side and dived for Redblood's legs. She caught one and started to pull it out from under Redblood, but her hand slipped on the oily skin. Redblood pulled free and the girls began circling each other.
The pattern repeated: several times they grappled and one girl or the other would gain an