MASHA

The human woman, who would become known to Masha as “Grandmother,” had been gathering medicinal herbs in the forest when she discovered a Beastwoman in labor. The Beastwoman, Masha’s mother, was dirty and wounded when Grandmother found her. She was barefoot, and the skin on her feet was raw, as if she had been running for several days. Both ankles had scabs upon layers of scar tissue–telltale signs of being shackled. According to Grandmother, she was likely a runaway slave.

Grandmother was a midwife by profession, and being bound to her ethics as a midwife, ensured a safe delivery of the Beastwoman’s child. When Grandmother handed the Beastwoman her newborn babe, she cried tears of joy before passing. The Beastwoman, as it was told by Grandmother, was very thin and frail. Any remaining strength went into giving birth to this baby girl. Grandmother, wanting to ensure that this child knew just how cherished she was, named her Masha. A name meaning “beloved” in their language.

Masha was taken in by Grandmother and Grandfather, who had no children, and raised as one of their own. She was the only one of her kind in the village of humans. If it weren’t for Grandmother’s midwifery, the three of them would have likely been completely ostracized. Their presence was merely tolerated.

When Masha was five, she was awakened to the idea of prejudice towards her kind when the parents of other children forbade them from playing together. By age ten, the other children’s curiosity about her appearance had turned into disgust. This was when Masha began to keep her ears and tail covered as much as possible. At age fifteen, her peers had become openly hostile when the seeds of prejudice had begun to bloom.

Masha could bear it, though. She was loved and adored by Grandmother and Grandfather. As long as she had the two of them, she could persevere.

Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, Grandmother passed away from illness.

Grandfather had been too old to labor for some time already, so Masha took whatever work the villagers were willing to give her in order to support the two of them. She cleaned, she tilled fields, she weeded gardens and mucked out animal pens. But under no circumstances did the villagers allow her to touch their food, whether in preparation as a cook or in harvesting their crops.

Masha made a pittance on this work. She used the money to buy the foods she could not grow, hunt, or forage herself. When Grandfather grew ill, Masha prepared what she could based on the teachings of Grandmother, but a time came when she had to choose between buying food or medicine.

At age nineteen, while returning home with the medicine she spent everything on, Grandfather passed away in his sleep. He was buried in the garden with Grandmother.

A year later, during the Coming-of-Age Day festivities in the sleepy village, Masha was asked to leave.

“We’ve tolerated your presence up until now,” one village elder said.

“If you don’t leave of your own free will, then we’ll have no choice but to force you out,” another village elder seethed.

“You’ve tolerated me?” Masha tried to hold back her anger. Being angry would only make things worse.

“Yes, tolerated. You should be more grateful. We could have sold you into slavery,” the second elder hissed.

“A caravan is leaving town once the festival is over. We suggest you leave with them,” a third elder mumbled as the three of them left Masha without another word.

A suggestion? No, this was a threat. Leave with the caravan, or something bad might happen to you. What were her other options?

That night, Masha packed up everything from her life that could be carried with her. The last thing Masha packed up was a small silver box containing three different locks of hair tied off with ribbon. Two locks of silver hair were labeled “Grandmother” and “Grandfather,” while a single lock of black hair was labeled as “Mother” in a different handwriting. Though the pain of leaving her adoptive parents behind was immense, she took solace in knowing she would be carrying a little piece of them with her.

In the morning, Masha joined the caravan of artisans and entertainers leaving town after the festival had ended. She wasn’t sure where she would end up, but Masha tried to remain optimistic. Beastmen, having descended from the coupling of humans and animal spirits eons prior, had an innate affinity for the animal they descended from. Masha, being of the Dog Clan, knew that she could find work elsewhere tending kennels.

More importantly, Masha hoped that wherever she ended up next, she could start a new life. She could make friends, fall in love, and start a new family. A blank slate.

Two days into that journey was when bandits attacked the caravan.

It started with a slit throat in the darkness. Then, the chaos of the raid crashed down upon them like a torrential rain. People scattered in all directions, trying to flee, trying to fight back.

A rather large human male slashed through crowds of people with a scimitar as he approached Masha with a wicked smile. She grabbed a cookpot from the campfire that was full of boiling stew and threw the whole thing at the man, knocking him back and scalding him.

Masha turned to run away, but was immediately caught by a Bull Beastman. He threw her down onto the ground and straddled her. Masha felt his fat hands grip her neck and smelled his rancid breath as he brought his face closer to hers. She tried to push him away by his horns, but his strength surpassed her own.

She reached blindly for something she could use to defend herself. Masha felt the blade of a knife with her fingertips. She gripped the wooden handle and slashed the Bull man’s throat.

He let go of her throat to clutch at his own while blood poured out. Masha gasped for air and crawled away from him, still clutching the knife. With the other hand, she grabbed her rucksack and stood up.

It was then that an arrow pierced her heart, killing her.

When Masha woke up alone in the world of the labyrinth, her first thoughts were not those of fear or confusion. She only had survival on her mind. As she stepped into the maze and became entangled in the vines of a carnivorous plant, Masha did not panic or despair. She fought back.

Every challenge that the labyrinth threw at her, Masha overcame. Though she had seen evidence of corpses within the maze, it wasn’t until the day she heard screaming just beyond the walls of the path she had been treading that her suspicions were confirmed. She was not in that place alone.

At first, Masha was shocked that they all so readily accepted her as she was. They happily ate the food she prepared. They depended on her and allowed her to depend on them in turn.

The human man, Joel, was unlike anyone she’d ever met in her life. He was rough around the edges, sure, but Masha sensed something in him she felt drawn to. Masha could tell by the walls he put up that Joel was someone who had been beaten down and tread on by society just like her.

When Masha woke up Joel for his turn keeping watch on the night they had all shared their hopes and dreams with each other, she had felt an intense yearning for him. Whether it was because he was the only man who had treated Masha with kindness besides her Grandfather, or because he was presently the only adult man in this world, it was all irrelevant at that point.

“Um…I have a rather strange request,” Masha mumbled as she stared at his pink lips.

“Huh?” Joel yawned and scratched his head in confusion.

“C-can I please kiss you? Just once?” she blurted out. Masha felt so embarrassed by how brazen she was being that she couldn’t even look him in the eye.

Taking his silence as a rejection, Masha began to move away from him. His hand gripped her wrist and stopped her.

“Not over here,” he whispered. “Let’s move away so we don’t wake them up.”

He guided Masha to a spot on the opposite end of the fountain. The two of them sat down side by side, their knees just barely touching. Joel was still holding Masha’s hand. His grip was firm but gentle. Masha wondered what he was thinking and feeling. She still found herself unable to look him in the eye.

“Let me look at you,” Joel said in a low, husky voice. He touched her chin and gently tilted her face towards his. Masha’s eyes met his intense gaze, and she felt herself flush.

“I-if I’m too strange, y-you don’t have to–”

“No backing out now,” he chuckled. “Sure, you’re not exactly my usual type, but you’re not bad on the eyes.”

He let go of her hand and grabbed Masha around the waist. Joel pulled her closer to close the distance between the two of them. Before she could react to what was happening, he kissed her.

Masha was frozen in shock when he pulled away and opened his eyes.

“Want more?” he asked with a sly smile. Masha nodded vigorously enough that her ears flopped around. Joel stifled his laughter.

“Okay, close your eyes this time,” he murmured, pulling her in for another kiss.

They kissed over and over again until Masha was out of breath. He embraced her tightly and ran his hands up and down her back, brushing his fingertips against the skin on the nape of her neck.

“Joel…” Masha shuddered at his touch.

“Do you want to keep going?” he whispered in her ear. Masha pulled back and shook her head. They could save that for another night. For now, she was satisfied.

The two of them walked back to the campfire and fed it with fresh kindling. That night, Masha fell asleep ready to dream of sweet things.

In the week or so she’d been in this world, traversing this maze, Masha had a feeling that there was no going back home to her world. In meeting these people, she knew deep down that she would never receive the same kind of kindness and acceptance in her homeland. It was because of this that Masha decided to stay in the world of the labyrinth.

After all, Peony had been there for fifty years already, so it was possible to not only survive but thrive. She and Peony could continue helping each other and helping others. While she understood her new friends couldn’t understand–they all wanted to go home–they still respected her decision. The last thing Masha could do for them was get them safely to the end.

It was for that reason that Masha acted without thinking. She saw Chinatsu standing frozen in front of the Basilisk, trembling. The great serpent opened its mouth and lunged at sweet little Chinatsu, and Masha dove.

The pain was hot and intense enough for Masha to lose consciousness.

When Masha was unconditionally accepted by these strangers, for the first time in her life, she felt at peace. Walking beside them, learning about them, growing closer–it was what she’d wanted all along. She’d made friends. She fell in love. She could die happy and fulfilled.