เจ้าบ่าวก้นครัว-อาริตา

I let out a breath of relief and set my pen down. That wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared it would be. I glanced around the auditorium at the other students taking the same Calculus exam. There was already a few finished exams on Professor Redding's table down in the front of the room. I was always afraid of being the first one finished. It usually was a bad sign for my grades.

I checked to make sure my name was on my exam, and stood gathering my things before heading down the stairs to turn in my final.

"Have a good holiday, Mr. Stanwood," Professor Redding said as I added my papers to the stack. He looked up at me over the nearly destroyed copy of a romance novel. It was the same one he'd read during all of our exams this semester.

"You too, Professor. See you next year."

He arched an eyebrow up at me, and returned to his book as I left.

My roommate was waiting for me out in the hallway. John was a tall lanky kid and always hungry. I'd never see anyone eat as much as John did and stay skinny.

"Hey man, how'd you do?" he said, standing from the spot he'd claimed on a near by bench.

I shrugged. "Okay, I guess? I don't feel horrible about it."

"Let's head back, you probably want to drop that bag of books off before we do anything else. "

I readjusted the strap of my bag, moving it higher up on my shoulder. I thought earlier it'd might be a good idea to get some last minute studying in right before the exam, but I was too nervous to concentrate.

My roommate trudged alongside me as we discussed the horrible selection of questions Professor Redding had chosen. The dorms and the cafeteria were on the other side of the campus, but it really wasn't a bad walk. The sun had set while we were in the exam, turning the snow-covered campus into a dark and silent place. I always loved this time of night, when the campus was still, and the cold silence reminded me of the dark forests that surrounded my home. It made me homesick even though there was nowhere else I'd rather been than at school.

"So, you in for game night tonight?" John asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shrugged. "You know I'm not really great at those drinking games y'all play."

He slapped my shoulder with his hand, shaking my entire frame. "That's why we invite you, Ez! Besides, we've got to work on that tolerance of yours. You would think being from the country and all, you'd have better drinking habits than all of us, especially with those parents of yours."

I laughed with him, but kept my excuses to myself. It was easier to blame strict parents than to try and explain the truth: that alcohol could lead to some deadly consequences in my family's line of work. "I should probably clean up and study for my last exam."

"Whatever," John said as we turned the last corner to our building. "It's not like you don't have all week to do that."

A loud shriek of a bird called out over the little square between the buildings. The familiar sound froze me in my tracks and automatically sent my gaze searching the trees for its source.

"You coming?" John yelled. He stood with the door to our dorm open, waiting for me to climb the steps.

I shook my head. "Uh, no. I just remembered I need to go back, uh, to the library. I need to find a book." Gods above and below, that sounded lame, even for me.

John gave a look that he'd given me a lot this past semester. One that went with him shaking his head and muttering something about crazy country folk. Again, it was easier to let him make his own assumptions about my oddities than to explain the truth.

"Right, see you later then." He shut the door behind him, the automated lock clicking into place.

I waited a moment more, making sure that he wouldn't turn back, before walking around the edge of the building to the little wooded area that separated the dorms from the parking lots. The bird called again, a different sound this time, one that I was even more familiar with. I lifted my arm as a large black shape swooped down from one of the pine trees, landing on my arm with a gentle squeeze of his claws. I hugged the raven to my chest, tears pricking at my eyes.

"Poe, what in the world are you doing here?" I whispered.

He rubbed his head under my chin, his beak nipping at the hair pushed behind my ear.

"I missed you, too, but that doesn't explain why you're here."

The raven straightened, shaking out its feathers in a gesture that could only be described as a shrug.

"Poe," I said, finding it hard to be stern when I was so relieved and happy to see my friend.

Poe tilted his head, then bent to peck at one of his metal bracelets. The longer one on his right leg was meant to hold messages. I released the clasp on it, and pulled out the tiny scroll of paper that had been wrapped inside. Poe jumped up to his favorite perch, my shoulder, as I pulled out my outdated cell phone to read the scroll by its light.

Ezra, your presence is required at home. Please return immediately.

The note was signed by William Stanwood, the head of the Family and my father. It was an order I couldn't refuse.

I stared at the dorms and the lights from the buildings of my university beyond them. This past semester I'd been normal. I'd fit in. Well, kinda fit in. There was only so much one could do to fit into modern society when they'd grown up without most common conveniences like computers or cell phones; there wasn't any reception for such things on our mountain. But here, I'd started to find myself. I could only hope I'd be allowed to return.

I left Poe in the square and returned to my room to gather what I needed to take home. I packed just a few things. Clothes were a given, considering I'd brought the only few sets I owned. I also grabbed my laptop, textbooks, and notes for the exam on Friday in hopes that I might make it back in time to actually take my exam. John had already left, so I wrote a quick note on his microwave - a place I know he'd see it soon, and went down to the student parking lot.

Poe was already waiting for me on the luggage rack of my beat up SUV. It had horrible gas mileage, but it got me around. I tossed my bag in the back seat and pulled the tattered plaid blanket from the trunk for Poe, curling it into a makeshift nest in the passenger seat before lowering him into the car. It wasn't the first time we'd road-tripped like this, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last. I climbed in and started the car. Taking a deep breath, I checked to make sure I had everything I needed.

"Time to go home."