Chapter 2
Olinbury was aflutter with activity, readying for the Festival of Reaping.
The festival took place across the lands, celebrating the turning of the season and giving thanks to Lugh, the god of harvest, for providing another season of crops.
Harvests had been dwindling year after year, and scarcity had become one of the driving factors of the tensing fervor of crimes and violence.
Disappearances of nobles and commoners alike were becoming more frequent with each passing year.
My father was among the victims who were never found.
Devotions and prayers to our pantheon of gods and goddesses, which had always bolstered the lives of the people of Edenalee, had not yielded favorable results for many seasons.
Rumors spread that we had been abandoned by our deities, creating fear and chaos, and lighting the fuse to the societal bomb on the cusp of exploding.
Our priests tried to temper fears, preaching that the citizens of Edenalee should pray, devote, worship, and sacrifice more to appease our deities.
It was hard for those who didn’t have much left to surrender more.
Still, the people in villages across all Edenalee held onto hope, needing something to celebrate in times of strife, when slivers of joy were needed the most. People traveled from all over Edenalee to join in the village festival, and we had an increase in activity in our shop, much to the delight of Greta.
She left me to tend to the apothecary with a spark in her eye, claiming she had to put the wheels of her plan into motion—a plan she had yet to share with me.
An hour after her hasty departure, Greta returned to the apothecary as I finished helping a woman find the herbal tonic to cure her son’s foot infection from stepping on a nail.
“Have a nice evening.” I smiled too widely at the patron to hide my nervous demeanor as she exited the shop.
Greta hurried to the front door and locked it behind the customer. “I need you to listen to my plan thoroughly before shutting any part of it down.”
Oh, I am going to hate this. I crossed my arms. “I’m listening.”
She ran her thumb over the smooth surface of the amethyst pendant around her neck. “Remember my new herb vendor, Alec? I just returned from seeing him at his wares stand at the festival.”
How could I forget the man whom Greta tried to match me with the moment he set foot into the apothecary? Something I shut down swiftly. The thought of allowing a man to tear down the wall I had meticulously built around my heart made my stomach curdle.
Alec arrived a couple of weeks after our previous herbal distributor, Veris, stopped coming to the village.
Rumor had it she was found with illegal herbs in her possession and was taken into custody by the royal guard.
Regardless, our supplies were low when he arrived, and Greta was worried for the business and not being able to supply the townspeople with their needs.
Alec, who grew and dried his own plants and herbs, was looking to develop partnerships with local businesses, and Greta almost leapt into his arms when he told her what his craft was.
I nodded. “Yes. I remember Alec.”
“I filled him in on your situation.” She took a breath.
“Later tonight, he is heading to Gorstine Village to buy some…er…less than legal plants. Oh, don’t give me that look!
Anyway, he is supposed to meet a contact in that village and has agreed to sneak you and Cora out of Olinbury in his carriage of goods.
Once in Gorstine, his contact will take you both to Brissil, where he said there are plenty of job opportunities.
Brissil is vast and easier to blend in, but it’s at least a week's journey from here.” She leaned in closer.
“Alec even said he can get you and Cora papers with fake names and backstories.”
I blinked, my lips parting. “I can’t believe they’ll help us escape.”
“Money and negotiations talk, dear. These are still businessmen after all. Alec named his price, and I countered it with not heading straight for the King’s Guard with knowledge of his illegal activities. He lowered his price, and I agreed to it.” Greta shrugged.
“What was his final price?” I questioned, eyes narrowed.
She waved me off. “None of your concern. I wouldn’t agree to a price I couldn’t put forth. Besides, I can’t let you and Cora go back to those wretched people.”
I wrapped Greta in a tight hug, lifting her tiny frame off the floor. “Greta, I don’t know how I can ever repay you. How are we going to get on Alec’s cart, though? Terren has men watching us.”
“I called in a favor that Minsah owed me for giving her a rare tincture that helped her mother evade death’s door.
I called on Airmed to steady my hand and help me choose the right herbs and amount.
Luckily, our divine goddess answered this time.
” Greta gestured at our altar in the corner of the apothecary, meant only for the goddess of healing and herbs.
“Minsah has enlisted her three brothers, who know everyone in this village and will be able to spot which men are strangers and are watching this place. Her brothers are already milling about outside, trying to determine who is from the area and who isn’t.
Give them a few hours, and they will know who they are, where they stationed themselves around the street, and how many of them there are. ” A smile spread across Greta’s face.
“The festival draws in many outsiders to the village. How can they be sure they have the right men?”
“No offense, dear, but you are from Tellisonuh City and a former noble.” She patted my hand. “Your people speak and act differently from us. By the Divine, it has taken you at least three years to assimilate enough for you to pass as a local!”
True. My accent was different from that of those born in this village. My rigid posture and refined movements would often garner sideways assessments from the locals. I shook my head. “That still doesn’t explain how we are going to sneak past them.”
“Ah, yes, yes.” Greta’s eyes gleamed. “Well, Minsah is a beautiful young woman who is friends with several other beautiful young women. They agreed to distract these men long enough for you and Cora to load onto the cart and get out of here. Men are simple creatures and easily distracted. Alec will look like he is making a delivery to me, and when the ladies are in place, Minsah’s eldest brother will give the signal for you and Cora to go out the door and onto the cart.
It is all set, and everyone agreed, though none of them needed much convincing.
Tricking wealthy outsiders is a hobby for them. ” She was practically giddy.
My mouth dropped, and I let out a small laugh. The tightness in my chest started to loosen. “You’re amazing, you know that? An absolute genius of a woman.”
Her grin faded. “Now…for the part you are not going to like.”
I raised an eyebrow and stared.
“Due to the illegal nature of Alec’s procurement, he can’t take the traditional route through the forest to get to the next town for fear of being stopped and checked by the King’s Guard, giving away your location but also putting him in jeopardy of being caught with things he shouldn’t have.
” Greta put her hands together, bringing them to her lips.
Her fingertips skirted along the seam of her mouth.
“Alright?”
“He takes one of the unkempt paths that runs parallel to the barrier,” she rushed out and stared at me.
My eyes widened, and my stomach churned. “Have you lost your mind? Are you drunk? Did you sample some of Alec’s illegal plants?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “The dramatics.” She took my hands in hers and softened her face and voice. “I know you don’t like this, but it’s the only way we can get you and Cora out of here. Think about it. People steer clear of the barrier. Terren won’t follow you there.”
Sweat formed along the ridges of my spine. “And with good reason! You know what could happen!” I paced, wringing my fingers.
Around eight hundred years ago, seraphs and humans cohabitated our world in relative peace and camaraderie.
Seraphs were said to be the result of the Divine procreating with humans.
Demigods, in a way, with magical abilities and greater physical strength.
Eventually, seraphs grew to see humans as lesser creatures and dominated us into roles of servitude and enslavement.
With no magic to protect themselves, humans resorted to physical violence to fight against their oppressors. Many were killed.
The Divine, horrified at the bloodshed between their beloved creations, separated the humans and seraphs, giving them both their own share of the continent.
A dangerous barrier was erected between the two lands that could not be breached, and those who had tried died in agonizing suffering, went mad, or were never seen again.
Greta’s gentle hand lay on my shoulder. “This is our only option, dear. Choose this path.”
I closed my eyes and took a cleansing breath, knowing Greta was right, and I had no other plan. “When do we leave?”
“Tonight. During the peak of the festival. The crowds will make for good cover.”
I nodded.
Before I could say anything more or talk myself out of it, Greta took off for the street beyond the shop. “I have to alert everyone that the plan is a go,” she blurted in a hushed tone before closing the door behind her.
I stared out the window in silent prayer to Clotha, goddess of fate, asking her to guide us on this chosen path.
Clotha wove destiny, unravelling and knotting together journeys based on choices and purpose.
But paths weren’t carved in stone and could always be molded into something else.
I had to believe that. It was the first time in my life that I had prayed to her.
My devotion to the goddess had always been quicksand, moving out from underneath me the more I struggled to navigate the paths she designed for me.
I laid my hopes and apprehension at her feet. I only hoped she heard my plea.