Chapter Eleven
Oleander
The following morning, we woke to a knock on the cabin door.
We quickly pulled on fresh clothing and shimmied down the ladder.
Castien reached the front door first and pulled it open.
Acantha stood on the porch, a smile on their face when they saw me.
“Good morning, lovers,” they trilled as they stepped inside.
“I was coming to ask my brother how it went last night, but I see it went well.” They looked at me. “Did you talk to him?”
My face flushed. Had I not had the conversation the night before, there would be no avoiding it now.
“Acantha…”
I could hear the warning in Castien’s voice, but his sibling ignored it.
“Do not Acantha me. I am merely doing my sibling duty, which is to make sure that my older brother is not too much of an idiot to hold onto a good thing when it lands literally upon his doorstep. More than that, I do not want to hear you whine and moan about him for the remainder of our days, which as you know, will be a very long time.”
I laughed at the dramaticism behind their words. I could not imagine Castien whining about the loss of anything. I could not imagine him moaning in the way they meant it either. But Castien, my Castien, looked unnerved and uncomfortable by their words. I did not like it.
“We’ve spoken,” I assured them. “Not only have we spoken, but the conversation went very well.”
Acantha’s eyes brightened, and I could see so much of their brother in the look in their eyes. “Good,” they declared, clapping their hands together. “How much longer do you have at market?”
“I leave tomorrow morning.”
The reality settled over me. I wished I could stay longer, but I could not stretch the coin nor could I abandon my duties in Emberleigh for that long. I was to return to the shops in a few days’ time, and if the journey to market was any indication, I could not shorten my travel window.
“Then you have today off,” Acantha declared, their eyes landing on Castien.
“Do not argue with me. I had yesterday off, and you need to spend whatever time you can with Oleander before he leaves.” Castien’s lips parted, and I had no doubt that it was to protest. Acantha clapped their hand over his mouth.
“I said do not argue with me. I am more than capable of running the stall, and you can check in on me at lunch. Bring me food.”
They did not leave any opportunity for Castien to attempt another argument. The moment their hand fell away, they turned on their heel and left through the cabin door.
Castien blinked slowly, once, then twice, and a third time. “It appears we have the entire day to spend together.”
“It appears we do.”
I kissed him softly, a kiss that soon heated and had us tumbling over the back of the sofa. I landed on top of him, and we spent the morning making love before our stomachs grew too loud for us to ignore.
When we finally left the cabin, it was already mid-morning.
I was wearing the tunic he’d gifted me, and he’d chosen a nicer shirt than I’d ever seen him wearing.
It was a soft green that drew the color from his eyes.
We walked toward the market, hand in hand.
We stopped by his stall, just long enough to see that Acantha was doing well on their own.
There were two elves behind the counter with them, and the three of them were sharing laughs as they worked.
“Who are they?” I questioned, indicating Acantha’s friends.
“I have no idea, but if Acantha trusts them…” His words trailed off, and I took his hand to lead him away from the stall.
I knew that if he allowed himself to linger, he would only interfere.
The way Acantha and their friends moved about the stall spoke of experience.
I doubted this was the first time they’d assisted Acantha.
We walked the stalls for a while, browsing the wares on offer.
I spent a little of my coin to purchase him a small token of my affection.
It was a pin made of gold gears, arranged into a flower.
I passed the pin to him after we left, and he immediately put it on his tunic.
His smile made the lightening of my pockets worth it.
At lunchtime, we made our way to the prepared food stalls. “I want you to choose me your favorite food from Gearwick,” I instructed. “I will choose something from Emberleigh for you.”
“What if you do not like my selection or I don’t like yours?”
“Then I have my favorite meal from home, and you have yours.” It had very little risk.
We separated to find different stalls, and we met at a small table.
In the end, we split both meals equally.
The earthy flavors of the Emberleigh dish combined well with the spice of his choice from Gearwick.
It was like us: two things from different realms who enhanced the other in every possible way.
After we ate, we purchased three sandwiches from another vendor for Acantha and their friends.
Acantha thanked us, as did their friends.
Introductions were made. They were a couple from Dun Steorra Acantha had met the first afternoon, and a fast friendship had formed.
A fast friendship and the potential of a trade agreement.
Castien promised to speak to them tomorrow.
I did not know enough about what it was Acantha’s friends had to offer, and I would much rather spend the rest of the day with Castien than hammering out trade details.
The afternoon was spent much as the morning had been.
We walked the market, and we talked. He introduced me to a friend of his, Laurel, an artificer with an impressive tail who specialized in the same pleasure devices Castien invented.
I listened as they spoke, and an idea formed in my head.
I had met his sibling. I had now met one of his friends.
Years ago, I’d met his father—or one of his fathers.
I’d met so many important people in his life, yet I’d kept him away from Mother and Father.
We’d not ventured near the apothecaries, simply because I did not want Mother and Father to question him.
By the time he and Laurel said their goodbyes, my decision was made. I took a deep breath. “Would you like to meet my parents?”
“You want me to meet your parents?”
I wondered if this was a bad idea. Something in the tone of his voice raised warning flags in my mind.
I remembered everything I’d told him about my parents.
It had only been the bad, the parts where Mother and Father pressured me or made me feel less than.
He did not know of the way my parents had supported me, and I’d not told him that it had been Mother who had played a part in convincing me to speak to him.
I wanted her to see that it had worked. I was more certain now than I’d been when the idea formed in my head. “Yes. Please come meet Mother and Father.”
“If they are unkind toward you—” he started.
I felt a fondness toward him that I’d never felt for anyone before. My future lay with him. The protective look in his eyes only confirmed this. I could move to Gearwick if it meant that I would be able to hold onto the man that made me feel this way.
I took his hand, and we started down the path.
When we arrived at my parents’ apothecary, I saw Mother and Father standing together behind the counter.
There was only one client wandering the stall, picking up products and sniffing them before putting them down.
The Gods had delivered us the perfect moment for introductions, though I knew the nature of their stall.
This window would close the moment a patron required their attentions.
I pulled him toward the stall. Mother saw us first, and she gifted us with a rare smile. “Oleander,” she greeted, her voice far more solemn than the expression on her face.
“Mother.” I returned the greeting with a slight incline of my head. “Father.”
“What brings you to our stall today?” Father asked. “You’re not unwell, are you? It appears the illness I had yesterday has been spreading around the camp. I’ve had no less than seven people asking for potions and syrups to soothe their symptoms.”
“I’m well,” I assured my parents. I could see the relief in the furrow of Father’s brow.
It was subtle, but I’d become well adept at reading my parents.
I sometimes thought that it was one of my few skills.
It had translated to reading other people when I’d left my village, benefiting me greatly in the shops I worked.
“I am here because I would like you to meet someone.”
Mother perked. “Is this the person you spoke to me about yesterday?”
What would be next? Would Raylen appear and ask the same question? Did everyone need to reveal to Castien that I’d spoken to them? It was embarrassing.
But when I stole a glance at Castien, he looked pleased. “Mother, Father, meet Castien. I hope that you will see him around for a long time to come.”
“Is he from Emberleigh?” Father asked.
“Gearwick, sir,” Castien answered without missing a beat, “but I travel to Emberleigh for trade frequently.”
The mention of the word trade piqued Father’s interest, and he began asking questions about Castien’s shop.
Castien was in his element, talking about his devices and commerce.
He might have thought he was not a charming man, but he had both Mother and Father engaged in a way I could never manage.
He found ways to bring me into the conversation, and he even sang my praises for the help I’d given him that week in his stall.
He spoke highly about my people skills and the way I’d interacted with his customers.
Mother and Father shared a few stories of times they’d seen the same from me around the village.
It felt like something from another life.
Their conversation lasted until a parent brought their ailing child to Mother. The child had caught whatever bug it was that Father had the day prior. We were no longer important. We called out our goodbyes and left to continue our day.
“Your parents were not as bad as I expected,” Castien stated as we walked away.
“They like you,” I told him.
“You spoke to your mother about me?”
My cheeks heated. “I did. She told me that I was not to let practicalities stop me from seeking happiness.” I did not know it was possible for my face to get warmer than it already was, but somehow, it did.
I felt the cool press of his lips against my hot skin. “I am glad that you listened.”
“So am I.”
Over the remainder of the day, we explored every nook and cranny of the market.
He took me back across the Glaesflod Bridge and introduced me to the vendors he knew there.
There was another clothing merchant, far less expensive than the ones in the market proper.
I left with a new pair of trousers, two tunics, and just enough coin to guarantee I would be able to make the journey home.
When there was nothing left for us to see, Castien and I went back to the main part of the market and found seating in the Pavilion. “I have a proposal,” he began as we sipped cold water from colder glasses.
I looked at him curiously. There was typically only one kind of proposal at Everend Market, and I knew that was not the kind he meant.
That proposal would come in a year if our relationship grew and withstood distance and time.
Something deep in my core told me that it would.
Still, my stomach fluttered. “What is your proposal?”
“We go back to your tent and pack everything, and then we go to my cabin. You can leave from there. It is closer to the main roads, and it means I do not have to spend tonight without you.”
I agreed quickly. We finished our waters and made our way back to my tent.
Packing to leave took a lot longer than packing to arrive had.
Castien was skilled at fitting all my belongings into my sack in a way I never could.
If I did move to Gearwick over the course of the next year, then he would be an asset.
We grew distracted as we stripped the bedding from my pallet, falling into it and kissing until I felt lightheaded and drunk.
I was tempted to allow it to go further, but I wanted to go back to his cabin and the solid walls it offered.
It would be far less likely for us to be overheard there, and as brave as he made me, I did not care to have someone walk by and hear what we were up to.
He folded the bedding and managed to get it and the pallet packed just as neatly as he had my clothes. Underneath the bedding, he found a small satchel of herbs I’d forgotten I’d brought. “What is this for?” he asked, holding it up.
“It is to soothe nerves,” I told him, taking the satchel from between his fingers. “There is an elf I know in Emberleigh who grows it at his home.”
“How is it used? Is it a tea?”
“No. You light the dried leaves on fire and inhale the smoke.”
“And that is good for the nerves?”
I nodded. “It is, though it has some side effects. Every time I partake, I get very hungry.” I looked down at the dried leaves and stuck the satchel in my pack. “In more than one capacity.”
Heat flared behind his eyes. “Is it only for anxiety?”
My lips unfurled into a smile. “No. Some elves use it for pleasure as well.”
“Then, maybe, tonight, I should learn about this Emberleigh custom. I should understand it if I’m possibly to marry an elf from Emberleigh, correct?”
I laughed and agreed. We finished packing and went back to his cabin.
My load was lighter with him carrying half of it, and I hoped it would be that way for the rest of our life.