Chapter 4
It had been seven days since I found Forrest injured in the Nightwood, and six days since the Cult of Children declared all healing practices banned.
My emotions had been all over the place regarding the latter.
At first it was mostly rage. Then it downgraded into roiling anger and finally settled on hardened resolve.
Despite what they thought, they did not control me, nor did they control the people of this village.
They could make our lives miserable, though, and for that fact alone, it had been deemed safest for me to go about my practice under the cover of darkness and with the utmost secrecy.
Since the ban, I had seen a handful of people who had been referred to my home for treatment by Magda.
I felt sad that it had come to this, but I was proud of the bravery that this small group of villagers possessed, and that they trusted me enough to take the risk.
We were in this together, and we would get through it together.
My emotions regarding Forrest had become a bit more complicated, and honestly, completely unexpected.
Forrest’s recovery had come a long way within the last week.
On the surface, all his wounds had healed, and the scars left behind were barely visible.
Physically, he no longer required my assistance with basic tasks, such as getting dressed, bathing (I was still conflicted about this one), or moving around my home.
Mentally, he seemed to be in good spirits despite not having regained any of his memories.
I tried not to let on how concerning this was to me, because I didn’t want to cause him any additional stress or pressure to remember things, which would be counterproductive to memory recovery.
Forrest loved to spend his days in the living room, reading by the fire with Nocturna and Astra, while I worked away in the kitchen on my potions, elixirs, and salves.
In the evenings, he assisted me with treating the ill villagers who came to visit me.
There had been myriad questions about who Forrest was and where he had come from.
He didn’t have to lie to them too much when he told them that he had no idea.
We kept to the story that I had found him injured near the woods, minus the whole fox bit.
I had also taught Forrest how to wrap his own head with bandages, so when villagers visited, he could hide his ears and play the role of a recovering patient perfectly.
Although it wasn’t a viable long-term solution, it worked for the time being.
I had been meaning to go into the village to buy him clothing that would fit and a hat, but truth be told, I was avoiding the task.
Given my recent demotion in social status, I wasn’t exactly eager to get myself yelled out of shops or endure the not-so-subtle whispers and gossip about me and my “witchly activities.” It was something I had to remedy soon, though.
He could only pull off the bandaged-head look for so long before people started asking why he wasn’t getting any better.
I could only imagine how poorly that would reflect on me and my abilities as a healer.
During the quiet evenings, when Forrest and I were alone together, we would sit on the sofa and talk about the events of the day. Forrest would tell me about whatever story he was currently reading, and before long, this ritual had quietly become my favourite part of the day.
The last few days had been unseasonably cold.
It seemed fall had lasted only a few weeks, and now we were being thrown straight into winter.
It had started to snow quite heavily, and the temperature was well below freezing.
Forrest and I huddled on the sofa, the fireplace blazing, reading our respective books—Forrest was reading something about ancient man and the goddesses, while I was working on another romance novel.
The kettle was on the stove, boiling water for peppermint tea.
Nocturna and Astra were curled around one another, asleep on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Since the Cult of Children had banned my practice, this had been the first quiet night we’d had.
It was peaceful and calm, a much-needed reprieve from the chaos of the realm around us.
Later that evening, several rough knocks on the front door interrupted our relaxation.
After Forrest hurried off to his room, I opened the door to find a tall, stern-looking man and a petite, cowering woman standing on my porch—the woman was holding a small, swaddled bundle.
She looked up at me, eyes swollen and red, and whimpered, “Please help us, Aurelia.”
I looked around to see if anyone had followed them. Satisfied that it was just the two of them, I stepped aside. “Of course. Come inside, quickly.” After locking the door, I turned to face the sullen couple, gesturing to the sofa. “Please, sit down.”
A shocked gasp escaped the man as he made his way around the sofa. His face paled as he took in the two mountain cats lounging on the rug in front of the fireplace.
“Oh, sorry. They’re totally harmless … for the most part. Girls, do you mind?” I hurried over to Nocturna and Astra, shooing them out of the space.
Nocturna and Astra slowly got up. They took their time to stretch their limbs before lazily lumbering to my bedroom. Nocturna made sure she brushed against the frightened man’s legs as she went by. A visible chill ran through him.
“Please, sit.” I motioned toward the sofa. I had chosen the warm, comfortable setting by the fire purposely to put patients who had been brave enough to seek my help at ease. “What is it that you need help with?”
The woman sat down at the opposite end of the sofa, angled away from her husband.
Barely on the edge of the cushion, she leaned forward, clutching the bundle as close to herself as she possibly could.
Her entire body was trembling. It was as if she feared whatever she was holding would be taken away from her.
“It’s our daughter, Willow. She’s been sick with a cold for the last couple of weeks.
We’ve done everything the Children of the Celestial Mothers have instructed, but she’s only been getting worse and … ” The woman started to cry.
I looked closer at the bundle in her arms and realized that what she was holding was a small baby. I approached the mother cautiously, reaching my hands out toward the child. “May I?”
The mother nodded. Hesitation gripped her.
Her tortured face scanned mine, then the room around us.
When she made eye contact with her husband, he gave a brief nod.
Whatever permission she was looking for in this silent discussion between them was received.
After several silent seconds, she let loose a deep breath and reluctantly passed the baby over to me.
I pulled back the cloth that swaddled the baby, and my heart dropped. She was pale as the Nightwood mists. Her breaths were shallow and wet. Likely pneumonia. Chances of survival: razor-thin. Even with my magic.
“Are you able to tell me what you and the Children of the Celestial Mothers have done for her?” I asked, doing my best to keep my voice calm and steady as I laid the baby down on the small table in the living room.
I looked up at Forrest, who had just come back into the living room with his head wrapped.
“Can you put some more wood on this fire? We need to warm this little one up. Fast.”
Forrest nodded. Sensing the urgency of the situation, he swiftly added more wood to the fire. Afterward he stood ready, waiting for my next order.
I looked up at the reticent parents on the sofa and smiled weakly. “Ma’am? Sir? Are you able to tell me what has been done for your child?” I didn’t want to frighten them more than they already were, but time was running out for this little one.
The woman spared her husband an unkind glance before leaning toward me and the baby.
“Two weeks ago she came down with a slight cold. I was able to manage it on my own with some things I had picked up from Magda’s.
” The woman began wringing her hands furiously, her face twisting with pain.
“But no matter what I did, she continued to get sicker, and I knew I couldn’t manage it on my own anymore.
I wanted to bring her to you then, but my husband refused.
” Her eyes glared fiercely at her husband.
He was easily a foot taller than her, but at that moment, he appeared so small.
“All right, so you gave her some cold remedy. That didn’t seem to help. What else was done?” The sense of urgency building within me was becoming almost unmanageable, as every word spoken was taking time away from helping the fragile being in front of me.
The woman returned her fiery gaze to me and her baby. “He said we should take her to the sanctuary and let them help her. We took her there every day, like they said we should. We made offerings to Vikteriya, and they prayed to the goddesses on Willow’s behalf.”
“So they did nothing for her,” I interjected as I looked between the man and woman. The tension between the two was evident by the distance they kept from each other on the sofa.
The woman nodded curtly, taking a moment to compose herself before continuing.
“Tonight she took a turn for the worse, and we rushed her over to the sanctuary for help. Maxx looked us in the eye and told us that this was all part of the goddesses’ plan, and we had to accept that.
They wouldn’t do anything more for her.” She hung her head, sobs taking over.
The man finally spoke up. “If we had been more devoted to the Celestial Mothers, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” He glanced over at his wife, who was refusing to acknowledge him.
I looked to Forrest. “Can you please go to the cellar and grab some of the menthol salve and peppermint tincture?”
Forrest nodded and headed into the kitchen to grab the items.