Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 963

Chapter 963: Chapter 963

Dawn broke with gentle light, as if the world had exhaled overnight and forgotten its previous tension. Jude awoke to the sweet scent of jasmine, carried by the breeze through the open windows of their home. He rose quietly, every muscle relaxed for the first time in days. The yesterday journey up the mountain and the opening of the dais, those echoes still hummed in his bones, but unlike before, they no longer carried a sense of frantic urgency. They had accomplished something, step by step, and now they were being allowed to rest in that accomplishment.

Grace appeared behind him in the doorway, her hair damp from the morning mist. "The children are up," she murmured. "And the wives are gathering by the fire."

Jude nodded and went to the hearth, where rose and Lavender tea bubbles in a clay pot. The steam carried through the house, tender and light. He drew a small cup and inhaled, then walked outside, Grace following with another for him.

The orchard was alive again. Ribbons fluttered from saplings, light mist wove through trunks, watchers lingered at the borders, just visible in morning glow. The wives stood in clusters, wrapped in blankets or carved tunics, each holding plates of fruit or incense. Jude spotted Layla handing a bowl of peaches to Serena and Susan passing smaller bundles of lavender to Emma and Zoe. All of them wore the carved bracelets or ribbons they’d made for the mountain journey, a tagon of memory etched in wood or vine, colorful threads braided with intention.

He made his way into the circle, greeting each wife with a nod or a gentle squeeze on the arm. When he reached Scarlet, she offered him a carved pigeon from the mountain’s stone. Jade hair glinted in morning light. Serena passed him smoked fish while Sophie handed honeycomb. Rose pressed a cloth-wrapped package of dried bread. Emma placed a smooth shell upon the firepit rim. Lucy and Natalie tied tiny woven charms to his belt. Even the children, Raven and Laurel, hovered shyly, eyes bright, clutching bits of cloth.

At the center, Zoey held two clay cups of fresh goat’s milk. She handed one to Jude, one to Grace. They drank. The orchard sighed with their exhale.

Jude stood carefully and raised his cup. "For memory. For passage." He looked at each wife: "For trust." They drank together in silence, watching steam coil upward, the watchers shimmer beyond.

They ate breakfast, flatcakes, fruit, bread, cheese, smoked fish, none of them speaking much, savoring the connection. Finally, Rose cleared her throat. "We should speak of next steps."

Scarlet leaned forward. "The dais is open. The mountain bore witness. We have gifts and tokens for the watchers and for the place. Do we leave something at the dais?"

Grace glanced at Jude, eyes bright. "Something intangible, maybe. A promise."

He nodded. "First: rest. Recover. Second: we form a circle of six to return to the dais and speak together. Then we assess. The watchers will be with us."

Sophie’s voice was soft: "We might need a ritual. Something to ensure the land doesn’t fracture beneath our words."

Jude considered that. "Then we will plan it. For tonight, though, we rest. We share laughter and warmth and bear each other’s presence. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go at sunrise."

The wives smiled, relief and anticipation mixing in their expressions. A pact formed in the hush of dawn: rest now, action when the sun climbs again.

By midday, the camp shifted into domestic tranquility. The children chased butterflies. Grace and Lucy wove new ribbons into each other’s hair. Serena and Susan practiced bow drills for fun, Swapping parries and holds. Natalie and Rose collected flowers for dye. Scarlet sharpened her dagger by the logs while humming. Emma and Sophie bound bark scrolls into a makeshift book to record their journey. Zoey danced barefoot among saplings, drawing curious watchers closer before they drifted back. Jude helped build a simple swing near the fig-glyph tree, two ropes and a board, enough for one child at a time.

The afternoon sun warmed the ground. Naps were taken. Laughter echoed through branches. Birdsong returned in melody, not caution. The watchers, pale and soft, drifted in the distance, like quiet sentinels on rotation. Their presence felt gentle, as if holding space for the wives to reclaim normalcy.

When twilight descended, days still stretched long. Jude stood by the firepit with Grace, holding hands as officials of their shared reading. "I feel lighter," Grace whispered. "I think the mountain is speaking to us, not warning."

"I feel the same," Jude said. "Let’s craft the ritual while we’re here, in the quiet." He looked at the wives nearby. "Do you trust me to guide the words?"

Sophie stepped forward. "Your heart has led us true." A murmur of agreement followed.

Jude closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened them, watchers had drifted closer, their forms silver in moonlight. A circle of about twenty lingered just beyond the saplings. They were silent, seen by everyone now.

He cleared his throat. "We will gather at the mountain tomorrow midday. Six of us: Grace, Scarlet, Serena, Emma, Layla, and me. We will present ourselves with offerings: bread, fruit, runner’s feather, carved wood, gem stone. We will speak aloud our passage: that we come as memory-bearers, promised to uphold the island’s story, as hosts and heirs, not masters."

Grace repeated, "And we release intentions in return: that the watchers continue their vigilance, the mountain remain tender, and the land hold us gently."

Serena nodded. "Then the watchers will witness. The watchers will respond with signs."

Jude looked at their faces. "If we misstep tomorrow, we’ll gather here and speak apology. If we succeed, we return and celebrate." He glanced upward. The sky cleared. A few stars lingered. The watchers drifted closer.

He concluded, "Tonight, we stay. We do not journey." Applause was hushed but sincere. Songs rose in low harmonies amid twilight. Hands were held. Stories exchanged. Lovers touched again, bodies whispered blessings into the dark.