12. Fiella
“Sorry for barging in like this, Lunette–I needed some peace and quiet,” I explained to my favorite neighbor as I wandered throughout her shop, grazing my fingers along the leaves of the plants lining the windowsills.
Lunette owned the plant shop next door, Lu’s Blooms, and she was the best. The druid woman was a peaceful presence, always supportive and welcoming of my company. She was almost as tall as I was, so we bonded in ridiculous-height-solidarity. And she always smelled like cherries.
“No worries, Fi, you know you’re welcome any time. Just don’t touch that one!” She swatted my wandering fingers away from a particularly interesting looking plant. It had red leaves that looked almost spiky.
“Let me guess, it’s poisonous?” I asked, taking a few steps away from the monstrous plant in case the air around it was toxic as well. “You idiot, you’re going to get yourself in trouble again! You know you’re supposed to keep things safe around here,” I admonished.
Last year, Lunette got herself into a sticky situation regarding a plant that induced extreme nausea. It was not pretty.
“Yeah, yeah, that only happened one time! This one is clearly labeled as “Do Not Touch” if you would have been paying attention,” she explained as she flitted around the shop spraying her plants with enchanted water. She spared a moment to shoot me a sharp glare, but it didn’t have any real heat behind it.
Lu’s Blooms was like an oasis. The enchanted windows enhanced the sunlight streaming in, even during the freeze season, and kept the shop bright and warm.
I liked to come in here when I needed a breath of crispy, fresh air. Lunette’s company was a plus as well.
“So…” Lunette said distractedly, untangling a persistent batch of vines. “What brings you over to my neck of the woods?”
I huffed out a deep breath and leaned my elbows onto the counter, bracing myself.
“I just tried to bite a stranger and now I’m hiding from him. Well, I guess he’s not technically a stranger anymore, but still. I hardly know him.”
Lunette dropped the vines she was working on, planted her hands on her hips, and turned to face me, finally giving me all of her attention. Unfortunately.
“Come again?” she asked. Her eyebrows were practically touching her hairline.
I explained, briefly, the situation I’d gotten myself into. From the incident, to Redd’s involvement, to my attempt to pounce on him to prove myself able to protect my shop.
“Now Fi, why in the realms would you launch yourself at him? What did you think was going to happen?!” she asked, exasperated.
“I don’t know what came over me! I was seeing red! Literally! He implied that I was weak!”
“Well, you’re going to have to face him again eventually,” she muttered, trying but failing to hide her laughter. “What’s your plan? Are you going to claim temporary insanity? Act like it never happened? Face it head on? Your options aren’t great, but there are options.”
“I was actually planning on diving into the river and never coming back, but I like your ideas better.”
Lunette laughed full-on, tinkley and bright. Gods, she had the best laugh.
“You’ll be fine. But you better come back later and keep me updated, you know I love hearing all the drama.” She did–Lunette loved nothing more than a bit of juicy gossip.
I agreed to keep her in the loop. After chatting for a while longer and noticing that Lunette was subtly trying to get back to work, I decided to head back to my shop.
More time had passed than I thought, and the suns were sinking below the horizon. Gods, how long was I there? Time really passed differently in the oasis.
Blessedly, my shop was empty when I returned. No handsome vampires in sight. It was certainly for the best, because I had completely forgotten to grab a broom. My cover would have been blown.
I took a moment to sit and draft a letter before I locked up for the day, my hands shaking slightly. I couldn’t quite identify the emotion that was seeping through my perpetual cloud of despair.
With a strange shiver of anticipation, I dropped the folded paper into one of the crumbly mailboxes on my way home. I sure as hell wasn’t going to bury it in the dirt where I had found the mysterious response earlier. I figured, if that letter found me, then surely this one could find its recipient as well.
My cheek might have twitched–the corner of my mouth making a pitiful attempt to lift into a smile. Though my soul was still withered, and my heart was still crushed from the devastating loss of my shop, I was finding new reasons to be hopeful.